From: Brumar89 | 11/12/2022 1:19:25 PM | | | | Genealogist reveals results of DNA study on local Black families Adele Uphaus 2
John Noel, right, claps after finding out his brother, William Noel, left, has DNA that links back to the earliest known human, as study results were revealed at James Monroe High School. A genealogist gathered data in an attempt to determine some of the city’s oldest Black families.
TRISTAN LOREI photos, THE FREE LANCE–STAR
Gaye Adegbalola dances after finding out her DNA links her family back to Egypt at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg on Friday.
TRISTAN LOREI / THE FREE LANCE–STAR
Dr. Paula Royster, left, an African diaspora scholar, shares the ancestry and DNA results for 10 representatives of the oldest Black families of Fredericksburg at James Monroe High School.
TRISTAN LOREI / THE FREE LANCE–STAR
An audience member listens to the DNA results during the 'This is who you are' event at James Monroe High School.
Adele Uphaus Genealogist Paula Royster had a stunning announcement for those gathered Friday to hear the results of research she conducted into the origins of some of Fredericksburg’s oldest Black families—and for William Noel in particular.
“Mr. Noel, you are the only person living in these United States with this particular DNA type,” she said. “You have the same haplogroup as the first human man. Adam is with us today.” Royster is a scholar of the African diaspora and founder of the Center for African American Genealogical Research, a nonprofit whose mission is to reunite African-descended Americans with their distant African relatives.
Since this spring, Royster has worked with representatives of 10 local families to research the answers to questions they had about their family histories.
The project, called “Reclaiming Our Time,” was a product of conversations that started in 2020 about how Fredericksburg tells its Black history. Royster’s work was funded by St. George’s Episcopal Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, the Duff McDuff Green Jr. fund of the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock Region and the Mayfield Civic Association, as well as by several individuals.
Each participant in the project also volunteered DNA for testing. Royster presented the results of her research and the DNA tests at a gathering Friday at James Monroe High School.
The results for Noel—a longtime Fredericksburg resident—were so exciting that they kept her awake at night, Royster said. His DNA is part of a group known as A000, which predates modern humans and has as its common ancestor the man from whom all other human men are descended—a person genealogists call “Y-line Adam.”
That type of DNA is extremely rare outside of Africa and was not even known to exist until 2012, when it was discovered in a South Carolina man, Royster said.
“Your DNA is 40,000 years older than his,” she told Noel.
Prior to the 2012 discovery, the oldest known haplogroup—the term for a group of organisms that share a common ancestor—could be traced only to a descendant of Y-line Adam.
“We all have these ideas about who came first,” Royster said. “You, Mr. Noel, represent the beginning of all creation.”
Noel is one of the surviving members of the segregated Walker-Grant High School class of 1950, which staged one of the earliest civil rights protests in Fredericksburg when they were denied a permit to hold their graduation ceremony at the Dorothy Hart Community Center because the facility was for whites only.
“I wonder what the story would have been like if people knew [what Noel’s DNA reveals],” Royster said.
The DNA results for some of other participants—who included teacher, musician and activist Gaye Adegbalola; health care official and youth mentor Xavier Richardson; Michael Carter Jr., owner of Carter Farms, a century farm in Orange; and Trudy Smith, Mayfield Civic Association president—showed origins in ancient Egypt, Iberia, Senegal and the Congo.
Royster’s family history research also showed that Adegbalola is related to Spotswood Poles, a Negro League baseball player who was known as “the Black Ty Cobb.”
She discovered that project participants Tom Duckenfield and Valerie Wright are related to “Edie,” who was enslaved to Thomas Jefferson and was sent by him to Washington, D.C., to train as a chef, and that ancestors of Terry Hailstock were free men from Angola who fought in the American Revolution.
Royster summarized the findings by referring to the slave auction block that stood at the intersection of William and Charles streets before it was moved to the Fredericksburg Area Museum.
“You can see that our history didn’t begin with that 1,000-pound block on the corner,” Royster said.
https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/genealogist-reveals-results-of-dna-study-on-local-black-families/article_2959b0ec-61e4-11ed-9548-2f2a86862547.html |
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From: Brumar89 | 11/15/2022 9:49:33 AM | | | | Amateur historian discovers 600-year-old English coin in Newfoundland Published 15th November 2022
Credit: Darek Nakonieczny
Amateur historian discovers 600-year-old English coin in Newfoundland
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Written byHadani Ditmars
This article was originally published by The Art Newspaper, an editorial partner of CNN Style. The discovery of a rare gold coin on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada, may challenge traditional historical narratives about the timing of European contact in the region, as it predates explorer John Cabot's arrival on the island by at least 70 years. In a press release last week, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador said that the English coin was found during the summer of 2022 by Edward Hynes, a local amateur historian, who reported it to officials as required under the province's Historic Resources Act. The 600-year-old coin predates the first documented European contact with North America since the Vikings, in a region with a 9,000-year-old history of human settlement and rich Indigenous traditions.
After consultation with Paul Berry, a former curator of the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum, the coin was identified as a Henry VI quarter noble, minted in London between 1422 and 1427. In the 1400s, the coin would have represented a significant sum of money, valued at 1 shilling 8 pence, or around 81 Canadian dollars ($61) today.
Prior to this discovery, a coin minted in the 1490s and found in 2021 at the province's Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site was considered the oldest English coin ever found in Canada. As Berry says that the coin was likely out of circulation when it was lost, there is much speculation about exactly how the gold quarter noble coin made its way to Newfoundland and Labrador. The precise location of the discovery is being kept secret to discourage treasure hunters.
Both sides of the coin, which is pictured next to a modern-day Canadian quarter for scale. Credit: Darek Nakonieczny
In an interview with the CBC, provincial archaeologist Jamie Brake — who says that after ongoing study is complete the coin will likely be put on public display at The Rooms museum in the provincial capital of St. John's — commented on the significance of the find. "Between England and here, people over there were not yet aware of Newfoundland or North America at the time that this was minted," he said. The discovery of the coin underscores the intriguing archaeological record in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's easternmost province. Stories of Viking arrival are contained in Icelandic sagas, citing visits by Leif Erikson over 1,000 years ago, and archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement, which was found in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, and declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1978.
Other unconfirmed accounts of European contact include tales from England's Channel Islands about a ship being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish; historical Portuguese maps depicting Terra do Bacalhau (or, the land of codfish); and the "Voyage of Saint Brendan," a legendary account of an early 6th-century sea voyage by an Irish abbot. In 1583, Newfoundland became England's first possession in North America and the establishment of fishing operations on the outer coastline of the island cut off access to traditional food sources for the indigenous population. "There's been some knowledge of a pre-16th century European presence here for a while, you know, excluding Norse and so on," Brake told CBC. "The possibility of perhaps a pre-16th century occupation would be pretty amazing and highly significant in this part of the world." https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/gold-coin-newfoundland-archeological-discovery-scn/index.html
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From: Brumar89 | 11/21/2022 8:19:04 AM | | | | Popeye, the Sailor Man, was Based on a Real Person
Do you love Popeye the Sailor Man? If so, you’re not alone; this iconic cartoon character has entertained people for generations. But you may not know that Popeye was based on a real person.
This article will discuss Popeye’s history and his real-life inspirations. We will also explore his popularity and how he has become a pop culture icon.
So, sit back and enjoy learning about the fascinating story of Popeye the Sailor Man.
Who Created Popeye?Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, born in Chester, Illinois, in 1894. Segar was a newspaper cartoonist who first introduced Popeye in his comic strip, “Thimble Theatre,” in 1929.
The character of Popeye was inspired by a real-life sailor named Frank “Rocky” Fiegel. Fiegel was a rough-and-tumble man whom E.C. knew from his hometown.
Fiegel worked in a local saloon. Segar based the character of Popeye on Fiegel because he wanted his comic strip to be realistic.
In all honesty, Popeye wasn’t supposed to be the main character, but he quickly became popular with readers.
A “people pleaser” and a daydreamer at heart, E.C. pursued his lifelong dream of being a famous cartoonist and took a leap of faith.
It’s likely he didn’t realize just how popular the sailor would become, yet he took the chance anyway.
Frank “Rocky” Fiegel Segar’s comic strip was originally about a cast of characters, including Olive Oyl, Ham Gravy, and Castor Oyl. The Thimble Theatre was featured in the New York Journal on December 19, 1919, and despite the rumors, it wasn’t an instant hit.
Like many publications, it built a steady following. E.C. took inspiration from his hometown, studied those people’s characteristics, and made them come to life in his comic strip. But it was Popeye who stole the show and captured people’s hearts.
When E.C. met Frank, he was a retired sailor contracted by the Wiebusch’s Tavern in Chester, Illinois. His job was to clean the place and maintain order amongst the patrons.
He was always getting into fights, so he had a deformed eye, leading to people calling him “Popeye.” He’d won so many fights that he became a local legend.
And because he constantly smoked his pipe, he would speak out of one side of his mouth. Frank was born in 1868 and migrated from Poland, with his family, to America when he was young. So, Popeye’s appearance didn’t come from E.C.’s imagination either.
Frank often smoked like a chimney and wore striped sailor’s t-shirts and his trademark cap daily. He also had a strong chin and thick, muscular arms.
When he was with children, he held the pipe with the corner of his mouth and told them about foolish things he did when younger – often boasting of his physical strength and loudly claiming that spinach was what made him invincible.
Like all the other children, E.C. grew up listening to Frank’s stories, turning them into elaborate adventures in his mind. E.C. said that Frank was known for fighting, but he was also known for playing with children and telling stories.
Ultimately, Frank’s gentler traits are what inspired E.C. to create his character in Thimble Theatre.
A Brief History of Popeye Popeye first appeared in the comics on January 17, 1929, and spoke his famous first line, “‘Ja think I’m a cowboy!?”
On August 27, Olive Oyl mistakenly kisses Popeye on the cheek, instantly winning over the sailor’s heart and beginning their on-page love affair.
The character was an instant success and has appeared in comics, cartoons, movies, and TV shows ever since.
Over the years, Popeye and his adventures have undergone some changes, starting in 1933 when Bluto enters the picture as Popeye’s nemesis and Olive’s love interest.
On July 14, 1933, a Betty Boop cartoon titled Popeye the Sailor was produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
William Costello initially voiced Popeye, but later, Jack Mercer took over. During his animated appearance, he also earned his own theme song. The show also coined one of Popeye’s most famous lines, “I’m strong to da finish ’cause I eats my spinach.”
Later that month, on July 24, Popeye finds Swee’Pea the “infink” on his doorstep and decides to adopt him.
Throughout the rest of 1933 and 1942, Popeye got a cartoon series produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. He became one of the most popular cartoons from the 1930s to the 1960s.
He even had short 15-minute episodes on the radio. Then, in 1942, Popeye received his first color adaptation from Famous Studios. From then on, Popeye would influence young generations worldwide.
The character would achieve TV syndications and magazines and be featured in art. In 1980, a live-action film was released with Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl.
Popeye would also be commemorated on an official stamp from the U.S. Postal Service in its “American Comic Classics” collection around 1995. Later, in 1998, Hanna-Barbera ran a new series starring the sailor.
How Did Popeye Become So Popular?Generations of children have watched Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons and read the comics, but how did this lovable character become so popular in the first place?
Frank had the tough guy persona and often tackled terrific feats and succeeded – just like Popeye does in the cartoons.
In addition, Frank’s stories about his younger years and physical strength inspired E.C. to create Popeye as a tough guy who consistently beats the odds – primarily because he eats spinach.
Of course, there are other reasons for Popeye’s popularity. For one, he’s relatable. Many people see a bit of themselves in Popeye – whether it’s his determination, sense of humor, or love for Olive Oyl.
In addition, Popeye is always ready for a fight, and people admire that about him. He’s also unafraid to stand up for himself and those he loves, which is another quality many people want to have.
Ultimately, it’s Frank’s gentler traits that have inspired Popeye the most. He may be tough on the outside, but he’s a big softie on the inside. He loves children and always has time for a good story.
These qualities have made Popeye the lovable character we all know and love today. But no matter how the story has changed, one thing has remained the same: Popeye is still the little guy who always manages to come out on top, which is something we can all root for.
https://www.historydefined.net/popeye-the-sailor-man-was-based-on-a-real-person/
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From: Brumar89 | 11/28/2022 7:25:06 PM | | | | Why Benjamin Franklin Spent His Life Chasing Money The Conservative Income Investor November 17, 2022 1 Comment
With all of this talk about firing on the site lately, I wanted to share with you a more optimistic spin by sharing with you the story of why Benjamin Franklin wanted to get rich. Rather than seeing financial independence purely in terms of trying to avoid poverty and financial ruin, Benjamin Franklin saw financial independence as something that would provide him with the platform to do something great.
Franklin’s immense popularity prompted people like King George to call him the “most dangerous man in America”, simply because his original ideas (Daylight Savings Time, bifocal glasses, etc.) and witty responses to his adversaries stirred up jealousies in the minds of very powerful people. Heck, the legend is that Benajmin Franklin did not receive the opportunity to write “The Declaration of Independence” simply because his fellow American politicians feared that he would include a subtle joke at Britain’s expense in the Declaration of Independence that would be latent in the text until years later when Franklin would reveal it.
But Franklin had his financial house in order when he began to become an outspoken character, and that was because his anonymously published Poor Richard’s Almanac generated so much immediate wealth that he was able to be “effectively retired” in his late 30s and early 40s. I put the term in quotes and left the age range vague because Franklin used his profits to buy newspapers, publish court records, and get his hands on print shops that would generate substantial sums of income, but were not entirely free from consuming up his time.
Benjamin Franklin grew up poor because his dad was a candle-maker that had sixteen children, and Franklin’s taste of extreme poverty inspired a desire for self-sufficiency at an early age, and thankfully he was able to make lots of money in a hurry thanks to Poor Richard’s Almanack so that he could pursue inventions, the publishing of unpopular opinions, and a leadership role in America’s nascent republic.
I have no doubt that Franklin’s financial success provided him with the backbone to take on bold invention projects and voice controversial opinions in the American square. While your ambitions may not involve forming a country, the lesson from Franklin’s life is that your life can really begin to open up once you have the right financial infrastructure in place. If you are a small business owner, you are going to behave much differently when you need $6,000 to come in the door next month to keep all of your bills paid, compared to someone who is pursuing business projects solely with the purpose of making the best product possible without the need for an immediate financial tradeoff.
Early in Franklin’s life, he was a supporter of slavery. By 1758, he was able to publicly take the position that schools should be opened for the purpose of educating slaves, which was then a very bold position to take. If Benjamin Franklin was broke, I highly doubt that he would have been able to become a progressive of his time by favoring slave education and even advocating for the abolition of slavery towards the end of his life.
Historical figures don’t exist in a vacuum. When you are scraping by financially, you are not necessarily in a position to take bold stances, particularly if they veer substantially away from the mainstream “safe” opinion. If you have unpopular views and causes that you want to support, financial strength is an important ingredient in being able to successfully pursue them. A lot of times, people just study the political viewpoints of people in isolation of context, and more often than not, increases in passive income lead to increased boldness.
Of course, Franklin was brilliant in his own right before he became wealthy. When he was just twenty years old, he came up with these thirteen virtues to live by:
“Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
“Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
“Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
“Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
“Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.”
“Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
“Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
“Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
“Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
“Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.”
“Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
“Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
“Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”
We associate Benjamin Franklin with public service and inventions, but it’s easy to not bother to ask, “How did he get himself in a position to be a public servant and have the time necessary to pursue inventions?” The answer is that he got very rich off of publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack. That was his fountain of power. That is what provided him the opportunity to make other investments, and live out a robust American life. With economic success, I doubt Franklin could have found his public or creative successes. All of this stuff is intertwined, and economic security provides an outlet for boldness elsewhere.
theconservativeincomeinvestor.com |
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From: Brumar89 | 11/29/2022 6:14:36 PM | | | | The conquest of Mexico under question, 500 years on August 13 marks half a millennium since the fall of the Aztec Empire, and dozens of new books are casting doubt on the version of history written by the victors An 18th-century depiction of the clashes between Hernán Cortés‘s soldiers and Tlaxcala community.DEA PICTURE LIBRARY (DE AGOSTINI VIA GETTY IMAGES)
CAMILA OSORIO Mexico - AUG 09, 2021 - 07:57 EDT
In his iconic 1995 book on the Haitian revolution, Silencing the Past, historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote something that may appear obvious, but bears repeating: “Human beings participate in history both as actors, and as narrators.” History is not only what happened, but what we are told happened.
Of course, that does not mean that history is subjective, because some facts are undeniable: explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in America in 1492, and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés reached the shores of Veracruz, Mexico in 1519. But to understand the conquest of Mexico, we need to look at who was narrating it, as the angle or the sources they choose can tell us more about that moment than the facts themselves. “History is a consequence of power,” wrote Trouillot. “The most important task is not to determine what history is, but how it works.”
'Claro que tenemos miedo'. Hablan los vecinos de la Melitopol bajo control de Rusia | EL PAÍS
Portada de 'Relación de 1520', de Luis Eduardo Granados.
This year, August 13 marks the commemoration of 500 years since the ultimate fall of the Aztec Empire in modern-day Mexico. In the last two years, publishing houses in the country have produced dozens of new volumes questioning the credibility of the powerful storytellers who saw 1521 as a set victory of the Spanish over the Mesoamerican Indians. The full story of that battle, they say, was more complex.
“Every source is first and foremost a fact within its social, spatial and temporal context,” writes Luis Fernando Granados, a historian at Mexico’s Universidad Veracruzana, in his new book Relación de 1520 (or Record of 1520). He is critical of Hernán Cortés, considered the master storyteller of his time. In the book, Granados questions the credibility of the letters that the conquistador sent to the Spanish crown between 1519 and 1526, and that for centuries were taken as official accounts. Granados points out that there is no original manuscript from Cortés, but rather a transcription made years later by a scribe. There were letters written by several people, but these were political documents to the queen rather than a careful historical account. “If we stop considering them as the master version of Mexico’s past, that could have as refreshing an effect on the historiographical as on the purely historical,” he said. (Granados died in July of this year.)
One of the most interesting books on Cortés’ lack of credibility is entitled: ¿Quién conquistó México? (or Who Conquered Mexico?), by historian Federico Navarrete, and published by Debate books in 2019. This book poses different answers to the question of who conquered Mexico, and states: “It was La Malinche [Cortés’ consort], it was the indigenous conquerors.” Cortés, in reality, had a minuscule army when the Aztec Empire fell, and the real victors in August 1521 were his allies – the Mesoamerican enemies of the Aztec Empire, made up of indigenous warriors from Cempoala, Tlaxcala, Cholula, Texcoco and Chalco. “The idea of the absolute victory of the Spaniards in 1521 is nothing more than a partial and self-serving version, invented by Hernán Cortés himself, to extol and exaggerate his own role in the events,” the book adds.
Another narrator whose words were taken as gospel was Bernal Díaz del Castillo, conquistador and author of La Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (or The True History of the Conquest of Nueva España”), whom Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes called Mexico’s “first novelist.” In 2019, the Taurus publishing house translated into Spanish When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History, a work by US historian Matthew Restall dissecting official narratives, which begins by casting doubt on Díaz del Castillo’s credibility regarding Aztecan emperor Moctezuma and Cortés. The Aztec leader was neither cowardly nor naive, and Hernán Cortés was not a brilliant Spanish strategist, the book asserts. The victory of 1521 was, Restall insists, that of the conquering indigenous allies. He argues that what we now call “conquest” was a later and much more complex process.
“We have abandoned the term conquest, in the singular, and instead prefer the term conquests plural, in order to emphasize that the defeat of [the capital of the Aztec Empire] Tenochtitlan was only the beginning of a historical step,” writes historian Martín Ríos Saloma of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has compiled essays by the best researchers in Mexico and Spain in his work Conquistas (or Conquests) released this year. His book makes an effort to search for the narrators whose past has been silenced, including “the voices of indigenous actors, of women, of the army captains, of the Castilian soldiers.” To ignore them, he believes, is to offer “a simplistic, Manichean and isolated vision of the historical processes happening in the world at that time.”
One of these silenced voices opens El quinto sol (or The Fifth Sun) by Camilla Townsend, translated into Spanish by the Grano de Sal publishing house this year. Chimalpahin, an indigenous historian who worked in a church, wrote in the evenings during his spare time to try and save the memory of his ancestors. To revisit writings like his, set down a century after 1521, is to deconstruct false narratives, Townsend says, offering the example of the exaggerated myth of Aztec human sacrifice. “The Aztecs were conquered, but they also saved themselves,” the author notes, “by writing down everything they could remember of their peoples’ history so that it would not be lost forever.”
The list of new publications in this year of commemoration can seem endless. Mexican historian Pedro Salmerón rejects the term conquest in La batalla por Tenochtitlan (or The Battle for Tenochtitlan). “The war was much more prolonged, the resistance was far greater and long-lasting and, in fact, it has not ended,” he stresses. Enrique Semo, in La conquista, catástrofe de los pueblos originarios (or The Conquest, Catastrophe of the Original Peoples) is more interested in the history of a new capitalist system present in Mesoamerica than in the date of 1521 itself. “Instead of eliminating or displacing the indigenous people in order to make use of empty spaces, the imperative was to reduce them to manageable groups,” he says.
Novelists and graphic novelists have also done their part as the anniversary approaches. The Planeta group published several novels this year focused on women. Montezuma’s daughter features in La otra Isabel (or The Other Isabel) by Laura Martínez-Belli, while Montezuma’s sex slave Malintzin appears in Amor y conquista (or Love and Conquest) by Marisol Martín del Campo. Meanwhile in El camino del fuego (or The Way of Fire), by Celia del Palacio, a Totanaca priestess allies herself with the Spaniards. Illustrator José Luis Pescador uses a comic book approach to tell the story of the war in La caída de Tenochtitlan (or The Fall of Tenochtitlan). They are all new narrators of what happened in 1521 – some more powerful than others – and they have created new accounts of the conquest, or conquests, that we are unsure how to name in the 21st century.
https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-08-09/the-conquest-of-mexico-under-question-500-years-on.html#?rel=mas |
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To: Brumar89 who wrote (539) | 11/30/2022 3:54:59 PM | From: TimF | | | Cortés, in reality, had a minuscule army when the Aztec Empire fell, and the real victors in August 1521 were his allies – the Mesoamerican enemies of the Aztec Empire, made up of indigenous warriors from Cempoala, Tlaxcala, Cholula, Texcoco and Chalco. Tactically that's true. The small numbers of Spanish troops did provide important advantages to the overall force sometimes with their horses, guns, and armor, but they were too outnumbered to win without their numerous allies.
Strategically though these allies were not winners long term though, as they became Spanish subjects and were treated unequally at best, horrifically at worst. The conquest wasn't really over when the Aztec's were taken down, the allies were not firmly under Spanish control, but eventually they would be. |
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To: TimF who wrote (540) | 11/30/2022 6:08:23 PM | From: Brumar89 | | | I'm sure the repeated epidemics of disease was the more crippling blow.
Mexico's population is supposedly about 15% pure native, with most of the rest being of mixed descent (maybe 50/50 European and NA). There are pure Europeans, plus descendants of Asian and African ancestry as well. . |
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To: Brumar89 who wrote (541) | 11/30/2022 7:04:46 PM | From: TimF | | | Yes that was huge, and not just for the Spanish creating their empire but for Europeans in general taking over in the Americas.
They largely did takeover Africa without such a massive increase in disease (in fact Europeans had more problems with African diseases) but that was with industrialized production on their side.
Without the huge spread of deadly diseases in the "new world", the Europeans still might have conquered much of the Americas, but much of the conquest would have happened later, and the native population might still be majorities. |
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From: Brumar89 | 12/4/2022 5:21:17 PM | | | |
Theodore Roosevelt giving a campaign rally speech in an undated photo. Like Donald Trump, he was a larger-than-life character with a tremendous ego. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
How Teddy Roosevelt offers an ‘ominous’ lesson for Trump and the GOP in 2024
Analysis by John Blake, CNN
Published 7:39 AM EST, Sun December 4, 2022
CNN — He was a former Republican president with a mammoth ego, a sense of entitlement and simmering resentments. Critics called him mentally unstable and a racist, and some even noted his small hands.
We’re talking, of course, about one of America’s greatest presidents — Theodore Roosevelt.
There’s been a lot of commentary recently about the legendarily tough Roosevelt, who once insisted on giving a nearly 90-minute speech moments after being shot in the chest by a would-be assassin. After former President Trump recently announced plans to run for the White House in 2024, some pundits said he could provoke a schism within the GOP that could hand the presidency to the Democrats—the same scenario that Roosevelt triggered in 1912.
Roosevelt precipitated this GOP doomsday scenario when, almost four years after leaving the White House, he challenged his party’s presidential nominee in 1912, William Howard Taft. Roosevelt tagged the portly Taft with insulting nicknames such as “Fathead,” “Puzzlewit” and “Flubdub.” When he failed to secure the GOP presidential nomination, he claimed the party’s nominating process was corrupt.
He then formed a third party to run in the general election, which split the GOP base, handing the election to the Democratic presidential candidate, Woodrow Wilson.
“The parallels to 1912 for the Republicans are striking and terrifying,” says Jerald Podair, a historian at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. “There was very little the GOP could do institutionally in 1912 to prevent this debacle. Roosevelt was determined to become president again and held a substantial portion of his party in thrall. So there was no compromise possible, no middle-ground face-saving to save the day.
President William Howard Taft in 1910. Roosevelt chose Taft as his successor, then turned against him in 1912. MPI/Getty Images
“1912 is not so much a warning to the Republican Party in 2024 as it is an ominous prediction.”
But look deeper, and you’ll find at least three other ominous parallels between Roosevelt and Trump. They reveal that the line between a great and failed president is much thinner than most people realize.
Yes, Trump and Roosevelt differ in many waysComparing Roosevelt with Trump may seem at first like historical blasphemy.
Sure, there are some superficial similarities. Both were born into moneyed New York families, both had wealthy, demanding fathers who profoundly shaped them, and both took on the political establishment of their era.
But Roosevelt was a progressive who battled corporate monopolies, disdained the idle rich and had a genuine compassion for the poor. He championed many reforms — a living wage, a social safety net that included workmen’s compensation, pensions for the elderly — adding up to what he called a “Square Deal” for the less fortunate.
Trump’s signature policy victory during his only term in office was the passage of a tax cut that largely benefited corporations and the wealthy.
Roosevelt’s physical courage was also unquestioned. Before he became president, he once knocked out a gun-toting, drunken cowboy who accosted him in a bar. And he led a regiment of calvary volunteers, known as the Rough Riders, on a famous charge during the Spanish American War in 1898.
An illustration showing Theodore Roosevelt leading the Rough Riders on their charge of San Juan Hill, near Santiago de Cuba, on July 1, 1898. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
President Trump has said his heel spurs earned him a medical deferment which kept him out of the Vietnam War.
Roosevelt had a formidable intellect. He spoke both French and German and authored an estimated 35 books, ranging from assorted biographies and tomes on hunting and nature to a well-regarded analysis of naval warfare.
Trump mused during a 2020 White House briefing about whether disinfectants such as bleach could treat the coronavirus in humans, asking if there is “a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning.”
Roosevelt was “a rabid reader of books and learner of things,” says David Gessner, author of “ Leave It as It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness.”
“Roosevelt had a curiosity, an empathy and an interest in the world beyond himself, whether that was other people—he was a surprisingly great listener—or the natural world,” Gessner says.
But both men were driven by ‘raw egotism’But Gessner also believes Roosevelt and Trump shared at least one dominant trait: “raw egotism.”
Trump’s need for constant ego stroking is well documented. Despite contrary photographic evidence, he claimed he had attracted the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration. A bogus 2009 Time magazine cover with an all-caps headline, “TRUMP IS HITTING ON ALL FRONTS … EVEN TV,” once hung in at least five of his country clubs. And during a 2017 NATO gathering, Trump shoved other foreign leaders out of the way so he could be photographed at the head of the group.
But Roosevelt’s ego was also as big as his carving on Mount Rushmore, scholars say.
The Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote in her book, “Leadership in Turbulent Times,” that Roosevelt craved the spotlight “as a plant craves sunshine.”
Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, once said of her father: “He wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding and the baby at every christening.”
A healthy ego is not necessarily bad for a president. It took enormous self-confidence for a relatively inexperienced senator with a funny name to think he could become the nation’s first Black president.
Abraham Lincoln delivering his famous address on November, 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery on the battlefield at Gettysburg. Universal History Archive/Getty Images
Or consider Abraham Lincoln. Historians love to talk about his humility, but it took tremendous self-belief to redefine the meaning and purpose of America in 272 words—something Lincoln did with his majestic “Gettysburg Address.”
But Roosevelt’s ego marred his political judgment. He despised Woodrow Wilson, the president who succeeded him, even though Wilson pushed through many of the progressive policies Roosevelt was unable to pass, says Podair, the Lawrence University historian.
“Roosevelt was resentful of anyone who would steal the spotlight from him,” Podair says. “He was openly jealous and resentful of Wilson, though he really didn’t disagree with Wilson about very much except whether the United States should enter World War I. He had nothing but disrespect for Wilson, and it wasn’t because of anything personal about Wilson. It was the fact the Wilson was president, and he was not.”
Both shared a flair for commanding attentionLove or loathe him, there has never been a president like Trump.
No other president was a reality TV star, once slammed an opponent to the floor at a pro wrestling event, or boasted about the size of his penis during a debate. He erased the line between entertainment and presidential politics in a way that had not been done before.
With his use of Twitter, Trump also mastered a way to speak directly to his supporters and enemies – and to spread disinformation – without interference from the media.
Trump’s ability to command media attention is unparalleled among contemporary presidents. He generated constant headlines with a seemingly never-ending parade of lies, outrageous statements and racist tweets.
Roosevelt also commanded attention in an unprecedented way when he assumed the presidency in 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley. At 42, he was the youngest American president at the time, bursting into the Oval Office like a human tornado with his perpetual grin and nonstop motor.
“He was a completely outsized political character, the likes which had never been seen in Americans politics,’ says Podair. “He is the Donald Trump of his day.”
Before Roosevelt, most presidents resembled political fossils—stolid, sober figures stuck in the tar pits of tradition. Congress largely dominated national politics in the 1800s, and political machines typically decided who was going to occupy the White House. But Roosevelt is credited with making the president the center of American political life. He is considered the first modern president.
How did he do it? Through sheer exuberance, audacity and a clever sense of public relations.
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Americans were fascinated by a president who skinny-dipped in the Potomac River, sparred with boxers in the White House (one match even left him partially blinded), and dragged cabinet member on rugged hikes in Washington’s Rock Creek Park. In his spare time, he transformed the US Navy into an imperial juggernaut dubbed the “Great White Fleet,” took on Big Business to protect the average American and won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russian-Japanese War in 1905.
The core of Roosevelt’s approach to life and government was what he called “ the strenuous life” of being “The Man in the Arena.”
He once said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without errors and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds…”
Roosevelt showed much of that same vigor in courting the press. Like Trump, he was a pioneer in using the media to increase the power of the presidency.
He was the first president to initiate the building of a press office in the White House; the first to make an official appearance in an automobile; and the first to travel abroad on official business. He even took journalists and photographers with him on hunting trips.
Before there was the Trump reality show, there was the Teddy reality show.
“He’s our first celebrity president, our first modern media president,” Podair says. “He was a reality show unto himself.”
Both found it difficult to leave the public arenaYet some of the same qualities that make a president great are the same traits that make them awful ex-presidents, historians say.
Start with how they handle power. The Oval Office attracts people who are drawn to power. Presidents can set the national agenda, start wars and become mythical figures if they possess enough personal charisma.
But power can also be addictive. Some ex-presidents become depressed with the sudden loss of power and attention. Though he was never president, former Secretary of State James Baker captured this surreal shift faced by ex-presidents when he once said, “You know you’re out of power when your limousine is yellow and your driver speaks Farsi.”
George Washington bidding farewell to his officers after ending the British occupation of New York City in 1783. Archive Photos/Getty Images
George Washington is consistently rated as one of our greatest presidents in part because of how he stepped away from the spotlight. As the first American president, some historians say he could have stayed in office and become a virtual king. Yet he limited his time in office to two terms and retired to Mount Vernon.
Washington is often compared to Cincinnatus, the Roman statesman who was called out of retirement and given unlimited authority to defend Rome against foreign invaders but relinquished his power after Rome won and returned to his farm.
Roosevelt, though, wasn’t the type to take up a plow. He didn’t adjust well to such a loss. He felt entitled to be president again because all the other presidential candidates were weaklings compared to him, Podair says.
“We’re talking about a self-aggrandizing, very egotistical— an effective president, no question about it—but someone who had the idea that many presidential level politicians have: that only he can save the country,” Podair says.
Roosevelt failed in his second bid to capture the White House in the 1912 presidential election. By then the country had moved on. Roosevelt, though, didn’t know how to do the same.
“He went back to Oyster Bay in Long Island and sank into depression,” says Gessner. “He couldn’t really handle not being in the public eye. He wasn’t built for it.”
Gessner says the same is true for many other ex-presidents, adding that presidents who weren’t known for their huge egos tended to adjust best to life outside of the Oval Office.
“You could argue that our most successful ex-president is one of our most humble, and that’s Jimmy Carter,” Gessner says, citing Carter’s charitable work, peacekeeping missions and successful efforts to eradicate a tropical disease. “Ego is necessary to become a president and do things and get things done. But it can hurt people when they’re out of power.”
Former president Jimmy Carter works on building a home during a Habitat for Humanity event in Denver, Colorado, in 2013. RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty Images
Roosevelt eventually recovered from his failed presidential bid by embracing another journey. He embarked on a dangerous expedition through the Brazilian jungle to navigate an unmapped river in the Amazon.
He faced deadly rapids, alligators and piranhas. At one point his party almost starved, and one man murdered another over food.
Roosevelt, then in his 50s, barely survived the trip. He called it his “last chance to be a boy.” He never quite recovered from the ordeal and died in his sleep in 1919, at the age of 60.
“Death had to take him sleeping,” Vice President Thomas Marshall said at the time. “For if Roosevelt had been awake, there would have been a fight.”
Trump is not navigating the Amazon, yet he faces treacherous political and legal waters as he attempts to retake the White House. He is still refusing to accept the result of the 2020 election. Much of his recent 2024 campaign announcement focused on restoring him, an aggrieved party, to the Oval Office. Like Roosevelt, he’s given his main GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a pejorative nickname.
So will Trump’s 2024 journey end in triumph, or failure? If he fails, his inability to leave the arena could split the GOP and hand the presidency to a Democrat.
Roosevelt did just that in 1912, but he is still considered one of America’s greatest presidents because of his other accomplishments.
If Trump’s third quest for the White House fails, the verdict from history may not be so kind.
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From: Brumar89 | 12/9/2022 1:35:45 PM | | | | Murderous 1600s pirate hid out in US colonies with impunity
One of the world's most ruthless pirates hid in plain sight in the American colonies, according to new evidence By WILLIAM J. KOLE - Associated Press
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Metal detectorist Denise Schoener, of Hanson, Mass., searches for historic coins and artifacts in a farm field in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, Henry Every, one of the world's most ruthless pirates, wandered the American colonies with impunity. Schoener found a 17th century silver coin with Arabic inscriptions in 2019 in a field in Little Compton.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist Denise Schoener, of Hanson, Mass., searches for historic coins and artifacts in a farm field in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, Henry Every, one of the world's most ruthless pirates, wandered the American colonies with impunity. Schoener found a 17th century silver coin with Arabic inscriptions in 2019 in a field in Little Compton.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Late 17th century silver coins with Arabic inscriptions, below, and a gold nugget, above, rest on a table in Warwick, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Metal detectorist Jim Bailey believes the gold nugget, found in a potato field, in Little Compton, R.I., about a mile from where the silver coins were found, likely originated somewhere alongAfrica's Gold Coast, a center for the slave tradein the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist Jim Bailey uses an optical magnifier while examining 17th century silver coins with Arabic inscriptions, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Warwick, R.I. Bailey, who found a 17th century silver coin with an Arabic inscription in the ground in Middletown, R.I., believes the coins were plundered in 1695 by English pirate Henry Every from Muslim pilgrims sailing home to India after a pilgrimage to Mecca. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, every one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Four 17th century silver coins with Arabic inscriptions rest together on a table in Warwick, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. The coin, at top left, was found in Connecticut, while the other three were found in Rhode Island. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, every one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist Jim Bailey holds an optical magnifier while sitting for a photograph, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Warwick, R.I. Bailey, who found a 17th century silver coin with an Arabic inscription in the ground in Middletown, R.I., believes the coins were plundered in 1695 by English pirate Henry Every from Muslim pilgrims sailing home to India after a pilgrimage to Mecca. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, every one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist George Mallard, of Hanover, Mass., displays what he said is likely a piece of lead that could have been a projectile for an historic firearm, while searching for artifacts and coins in a field on a farm, in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s Henry Every, one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist Denise Schoener, of Hanson, Mass., searches for historic coins and artifacts in a farm field in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, Henry Every, one of the world's most ruthless pirates, wandered the American colonies with impunity. Schoener found a 17th century silver coin with Arabic inscriptions in 2019 in a field in Little Compton.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist George Mallard, of Hanover, Mass., displays what he said is likely a piece of lead that could have been a projectile for an historic firearm, while searching for artifacts and coins in a farm field in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Mallard found a 17th century silver coin with Arabic inscriptions in a field in Tiverton, R.I., in 2018.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
Metal detectorist Denise Schoener, of Hanson, Mass., searches for historic coins and artifacts in a farm field in Little Compton, R.I., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. One coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, Henry Every, one of the world's most ruthless pirates, wandered the American colonies with impunity. Schoener found a 17th century silver coin with Arabic inscriptions in 2019 in a field in Little Compton.
Steven Senne - staff, AP
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — One tarnished silver coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Newly surfaced documents also strengthen the case that English buccaneer Henry Every — the target of the first worldwide manhunt — hid out in New England before sailing for Ireland and vanishing into the wind.
“At this point, the amount of evidence is overwhelming and indisputable,” historian and metal detectorist Jim Bailey, who's devoted years to solving the mystery, told The Associated Press. “Every was undoubtedly on the run in the colonies.”
In 2014, after unearthing an unusual coin engraved with an Arabic inscription at a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in Middletown, Rhode Island, Bailey began retracing Every’s steps.
Research confirmed that the exotic coin was minted in 1693 in Yemen. Bailey then discovered that it was consistent with millions of dollars’ worth of coins and other valuables seized by Every and his men in their brazen Sept. 7, 1695, sacking of the Ganj-i-Sawai, an armed royal vessel owned by Indian emperor Aurangzeb.
Historical accounts say Every's band tortured and killed passengers aboard the Indian ship and raped many of the women before escaping to the Bahamas, a haven for pirates. But word quickly spread of their crimes, and English King William III — under enormous pressure from a scandalized India and the influential East India Company trading giant — put a large bounty on their heads.
Detectorists and archaeologists have since located 26 similar coins stretching from Maine to the Carolinas. All but three coins turned up in New England, and none can be dated later than when the Indian ship was captured.
“When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘Wait a minute, this can’t be true,’” said Steve Album, a rare coin specialist based in Santa Rosa, California, who helped identify all of the silver Arabic coins found in New England.
“But these coins have been found legitimately and in a few instances archaeologically, and every single one predates the sacking of the ship," said Album, who has lived in Iran and has traveled widely in the Middle East.
Detectorists have also unearthed a gold nugget weighing 3 grams (a tenth of an ounce) — slightly heavier than a U.S. penny — from a potato field perched on a hilltop in seaside Little Compton, Rhode Island.
There’s no documented evidence that naturally occurring gold has ever been found in the state. Bailey and other experts believe that the nugget likely originated somewhere along Africa's Gold Coast, a center for the slave trade in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Adding to the intrigue, two silver Arabic coins were recovered not far from the nugget, and Every is known to have seized a considerable amount of gold while sailing off the coast of West Africa.
The latest evidence putting Every on American soil isn't just metallic — it includes paper and pixels.
Bailey had already found records showing that the Sea Flower, a ship used by Every and his men after they ditched the vessel they'd used in their murderous raid, arrived in 1696 in Newport, Rhode Island. He's since surfaced documents that show that the pirate captain was accompanied by three Rhode Islanders he took aboard from another pirate vessel when he fled India. All three came ashore with Every in the Bahamas on March 30, 1696, and Bailey said that they essentially served as getaway drivers in exchange for plunder.
Captured pirates William Phillips and Edward Savill testified on Aug. 27, 1696, that one of two ships that left the Bahamas went to Virginia and New England before reaching Ireland. Critically, Bailey said, the records clarify a muddy timeline that long has been misinterpreted by historians to suggest Every lingered two months on the Caribbean island — something he'd never have done as a fugitive.
“There's no way he stayed in the Bahamas to sit on the beach and work on his tan while waiting to be captured,” Bailey said. “Indeed, Every was in New England for over a month weighing his options for starting his life anew in the colonies or going back home to England.”
Every’s exploits have inspired Steven Johnson's book “Enemy of All Mankind,” and the final installment of PlayStation’s popular “Uncharted” video game franchise. Earlier this year, Sony Pictures released a movie adaptation starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas.
Bailey’s next challenge: figuring out what happened to Every after the trail ran cold following his arrival in Ireland on June 20, 1696. It's the mystery's elusive final chapter — one he hopes to detail in a forthcoming book about the cold case.
“We’re chasing down the lost history behind one of the greatest crimes of the 17th century,” he said.
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