#1800 Act of Union

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1803 – Irish Rebellion of 1803 | Following an explosion at his arms depot on this date, Robert Emmet brings forward his planned rebellion in Dublin to 23 July.

The glorious failure of the 1798 rebellion had a profound impact on the young Robert Emmet. He romanticised the nationalist ideals held by the organisers, as demonstrated by an ode he wrote to them: “And those who were laid at rest Oh! Hallowed be each name; Their memories are forever blest – Consigned to endless fame.” Today there are many reminders of Robert Emmet’s 1803 Rebellion in Dublin,…

[thesunsethour]

little bits of irish history for curious hozier fans: street signs edition

Do you love the song Butchered Tongue? Pay attention to these lines here:

So, may I draw your attention to the The Official Languages Act 2003 (Section 9) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 391 of 2008).

ok stay with me

In 2008, the Irish government passed legislation that made it mandatory for road signs in Ireland to have both Irish (Gaeilge) AND English names on them (or, in Gaeltacht areas where Gaeilge is still the first language, only in Irish). Here’s an example:

The Irish, or Gaeilge, is always above the English and italicised. This is because that while Gaeilge and English are both official languages of Ireland, Gaeilge is the ‘first’ official language

However, while it was technically only legislated in 2008, bilingual road sings in Ireland had been extremely common for decades prior to it officially being made law. In fact, the first bilingual signs date back to the early 20th century - before our independence from Britain!

In Tom Spalding’s book Layers: The Design, History and Meaning of Public Street Signage in Cork and Other Irish Cities, he found that the first recorded bilingual street sign was in Blackrock, Dublin (An Charraig Dhubh, Baile Átha Cliath). Their local council in 1901 rolled out yellow and black bilingual road sings as part of the Gaelic Revival.

The Gaeilc Revical was a period of time in Irish history that saw a huge resurgence of Gaelic art, sport, and language. Literature was written by Irish people about Irish history, current affairs, and folklore. Traditional Irish music was learned and played again. Gaelic games (Gaelic football and Hurling) spread across the country. And Gaeilge, our language, was to experience an incredible revival.

Despite Ireland’s long colonial history, Gaeilge actually remained the majority tongue until the early 19th century. However, a combination of teachers beating children for speaking it at school, the genocide of the famine wiping out mainly poorer communities more likely to speak Gaeilge, and the knowledge that speaking English unfortunately provided more opportunities than Gaeilge, the language was almost killed off. (This is shown most clearly after the 1800 Act of Union that meant Ireland was ruled directly from London, with no parliament in Dublin).

Although these maps make for grim viewing, Irish is so very far from dead. Our children learn it from the ages of 4-18 in school (though I believe it can and should be taught better, but I digress). Gaeltacht communities are still going strong particularly in the west of the country. There are more Irish-language schools (gaelscoileanna) than ever before.

And every day as we pass by road signs that display Gaeilge proudly, it is as a result of decades, centuries of people refusing to stop speaking our mother tongue despite incredible violence.

I am far from a fluent Irish speaker, despite my 14 years of learning the language in school. But what Gaeilge I have, I have proudly.

(The work isn’t over, however. I do not feel knowledgeable enough to speak on Northern Irish efforts to implement more widespread bilingual signage but anyone who wishes to share some info please do!!)

[frogayyyy]

ok post cancelled i found the source

from 'Hay Any Worke for Cooper' written by Martin Marprelate (pseud.) published in March 1589 (google books says 1641 but that's wrong)

from wikipedia: "the Marprelate Controversy was a war of pamphlets waged in England and Wales in 1588 and 1589, between a puritan writer who employed the pseudonym Martin Marprelate, and defenders of the Church of England....

...Martin's tracts are characterised by mockery of Anglican dignitaries and satire against the corruptions of the Church of England. The style is 'a heady mixture of nonsense, satire, protest, irony and gossip', combined with pungent wit, 'full of the language of the street'....

...It now appeared to some of the ecclesiastical authorities that the only way to silence Martin was to have him attacked in his own railing style, and accordingly certain writers of ready wit, among them John Lyly, Thomas Nashe and Robert Greene, were secretly commissioned to answer the pamphlets."

so actually it's more like

a puritan, in 1589: pyhyhyhy XD fuck bishops

john lyly, probably: please that is so early 1580s #CofEforever

someone in the 1590s: pyhyhyhyhyhy XD

shakespeare, probably: please that is so 1580s lol

[presidentstalkeyes]

Pines Family Headcanons (Take 2)

I know I already did something like this, but that was a while ago and my headcanons have evolved since then, and my fixation brain is in Pines mode again so here we go! (Mostly focused on the Mystery Twins but with some attention to the older generations scattered about)

Past:

The first member of the Pines family to arrive in America in the 1800s was Gabriel Penzak, a Sephardic Jew from somewhere in the Balkans. His last name was changed to Pines at Ellis Island, and his family later assimilated into the majority-Ashkenazi Jewish community in New Jersey. He was the father of Elmer Pines and grandfather of Filbrick.

Filbrick was the youngest of four brothers (the others were Philip, Fillmore and Fulton). He was the 'weakest' of the four, compensating with his intellect and business sense. He was also born with highly sensitive eyesight - flashes of light would blind him for hours - requiring dark glasses later in life.

His eyesight also meant he was passed over for the draft in WWII. Since all three of his brothers died in the war, this possibly saved his life. As a young man, he operated and maintained film projectors at a traveling carnival, under a boss who taught him many tricks (and bore a resentment towards 'freak show' acts, viewing them as talentless). It was here he met - and accidentally impregnated - his future wife Caryn.

Caryn Romanoff's parents were Pavel, a grizzled sailor, and Tanya, a fortune-teller - both Ukrainian Jews who fled to America to escape persecution from Stalin's Soviet Union. She also had two siblings - older brother Dimitri, a troublemaker and later hatchet-man for the Mafia (never a made man due to his non-Italian ancestry, but close enough for his family to disown him) and little sister Shprintze, who was married three times and had five children in total, all of them named after Roman emperors (except for her only daughter Cleopatra).

Filbrick and Caryn's first son was Shermie, born in 1947. Their second sons, Stanford and Stanley, came 8 years later in 1954. Shermie was a star athlete in high school and always kinda distant from his little brothers, in addition to being Filbrick's obvious favourite. Also a notorious flirt and brought many girls back to the pawn shop (and distracting Stanford from his homework with the resulting noises), and tattled on Stanley for bringing a possum into the store, forcing him to let Shanklin go. Was later drafted into the Vietnam War in the 60s, missing out on Stan's eviction from the house. When he returned from the war, the first thing he did after finding out he was a brother short was to track down Ford and deck him in the face.

While in Hawaii on R&R, Shermie started a relationship with a local waitress called Wikiola Kale. After getting pregnant with his daughter, Wikiola got a plane ticket all the way to NJ to ask Shermie's parents to look after the child, being too poor to raise a child herself. Filbrick almost slammed the door in her face until Caryn intervened. The baby - Louise - was the one in Caryn's arms the night Stan was kicked out.

Louise Pines first grew up in Glass Shard, then moved to L.A. after her dad married a rich businesswoman called Fiona Safesmith (the relationship with Wikiola having not worked out). Fiona was a less-than-ideal stepmom, trying to force her daughter to go into acting and disparaging her interest in DD&D and mystery novels. She also cheated on her husband after an old war injury acted up and he lost the use of his legs, and later went to prison for tax fraud.

Louise would later get a degree in criminology and met a computer geek, amateur ufologist and 'radical cool dude' called Emile Sauvageon (who ran away from a strict, isolated religious family). They started a relationship and had twins in 1999: Mason and Mabel.

Present:

Dipper and Mabel's full names are Mason Emile Pines and Mabel Louise Pines, respectively.

Lou and Em only moved to Piedmont on Shermie's recommendation (and with his money). They would regularly clash with their neighbours for their 'weird' habits (and refusing to maintain their lawn). They considered themselves the arch-enemies of the local HWA.

Em worked at a fancy silicon valley tech start-up, while Lou was a private investigator (the boring realistic kind that mostly deals with insurance fraud and the occasional adulterer).

When he was little, Emile used to wow his son with stories about he was secretly an awesome space pirate with a cosmic ancestry, evidenced by Dipper's birthmark. And Dipper believed him. Really believed him. When his dad finally told him the truth, he did not take it well. Dipper also butted heads with his mom a lot over the existence of the supernatural - she would encourage him to examine things rather than blindly accept them, but he'd often think she was just doubting him for no reason. In short, he had some trust issues with his parents.

Dipper did have some friends in elementary school, but most of them moved away, and in middle school he alienated his fellow nerds after he was kicked out of the tabletop gaming club for being too rules lawyer-y. The resulting slump also lead to him falling behind on band practice.

Mabel is asexual and aromantic, but didn't realize it until much later. Finding she was drifting apart from her friends, she wrongfully attributed it to not having a crush (in truth they simply started to see her as immature and embarassing to be around - you know how kids can get :V). Not wanting to be 'left behind', she dedicated the summer in Gravity Falls to getting a romance as 'proof' that she was a totally grown-up big gal now (while her only reference material were 80s animated comedies and age-inappropriate romance novels).

Mabel very nearly didn't get to go to Gravity Falls at all - she was in danger of being forced to go to summer school due to poor grades (unlike her brother - and like her Grunkle Stan - she experienced great difficulty with any subject involving figures and rote memorization, especially math, the sciences, and computer studies). Only a week of late-night cram sessions spared her from this fate.

Contributing to the above, she also suffered from a form of anterograde amnesia - she would easily forget things that happened just the day before - sometimes even less - until presented with a reminder, usually in the form of an object or person, often her brother. She originally started scrapbooking to help her remember things. This wasn't diagnosed until a year after that summer.

Dipper was in the Boy Scouts in 2011. He hated the experience, camping out in the woods with no games or books, not relating to the other boys and resenting being ordered around by his hardass ex-army Scoutmaster. But he did get a merit badge in astro-navigation, so that's something.

Mabel had a brief stint in the Girl Scouts as well. She quit after an attempt to sell cookies somehow ended with her troop being chased out of a neighbourhood by a knife-wielding maniac in a bathrobe. To this day she's only told Dipper the full story.

One time, Dipper watched Small Soldiers and subsequently destroyed all his action figures checking them for military control chips. He was also banned from Chuck E. Cheese after his 7th birthday when he checked the animatronics for anything suspicious and made Pasquale's head fall off in front of everyone (on the same trip, Mabel tried to get the animatronic band freed from their exploitative contract so they could pursue their true musical potential).

One of Mabel's favourite movies is Rocky IV. For a long time she genuinely believed that's how the Cold War ended and was very disappointed to learn that wasn't the case.

Mabel had a bug-catching phase when she was 10, spurred on by all the creepy-crawlies that would nest in their unmaintained lawn. She'd catch bugs in jars and invite them to have tea and review movies with her. This came to an end after one of the jars smashed and released fireflies all over the house. She was finding descendants of Francisco the Firefly living in the basement as late as 2014.

Lou and Em were not getting divorced - they merely had a fight about paying off their mortgage after Em lost his job, and Dipper simply overreacted and assumed the worst. They sent the kids away that summer while they got their affairs in order. In the end, they had to sell the house and move into a cheaper apartment in Oakland.

Future:

When they first returned from Gravity Falls, the twins' grades took a nosedive as they had difficulty re-adjusting to mundane life, experiencing frequent traumatic episodes and refusing to follow instructions. Their parents had to be called in multiple times after both twins got into a fight in the hallway because another kid made up some dumb rumour that they'd joined a cult or had been abused by their 'creepy uncle', or were just faking their episodes for attention. They were only spared mandatory counseling thanks to emergency 'how to pretend to be normal' coaching from the Grunks.

Dipper has to start wearing glasses a few months after leaving Gravity Falls. Mabel of course made fun of this, thinking that only the male Pineses turn short-sighted (and forgetting about her mom). She had to start wearing glasses at 16, to which Dipper only replied by smugly grinning at her.

In high school, Mabel started a knitting club, which ended up being the most popular club in school - mostly because she insisted that it was a safe space for anyone, and anyone who tried anything funny would have their lives made hell. In her clubroom, nerds, preps, goths and jocks sat side-by-side in peace.

Mabel also took up sports, especially wrestling, becoming captain of the girls' wrestling team by Junior year. She took up a high-protein diet to build her strength - this combined with a childhood spent binging candy finally catching up to her lead to her putting on a lot of weight. By adulthood she's developed what she calls a 'sumo bod' - chubby, but strong (and great for hugs).

Meanwhile, Dipper took up track and gymnastics while regularly going to the gym - to the shock of everyone, as getting pre-Gravity Falls Dipper to exercise was like pulling teeth. If he was gonna have to brave another apocalypse, he didn't want to be saddled with noodle arms. By his 20s, the combination of his 'baby face' with his square jaw and muscular body has attracted a good amount of attention from girls (and boys) - attention he is alternately mildly perturbed by or totally oblivious to.

Dipper also devoted extra effort to his art skills, hoping to achieve the same level as Ford. Sometimes he'd climb up onto rooftops to get a good view of the landscape to draw, and then add a completely gratuitous monster because why not?

Despite his best efforts, Dipper was never able to overcome Mabel's height advantage. In fact, in their teen years she gained a few extra inches on him.

Dipper still regularly wears hats even as an adult - though he's no longer self-conscious about his birthmark, he's been wearing hats for so long it feels weird not to. It's like his 'thing' - Mabel has her sweaters, he has his hats.

Past his school years, Dipper mostly goes by Mason, especially with strangers - 'Dipper' is reserved for friends and family.

Dipper got a doctorate in forensic science at college, and also interned at a coroner's office. He also did some work as a runner on a film set, but the experience at the Used To Be About History Channel soured him on show business. Instead, after getting his doctorate he decided to take up Ford's offer to apprentice under him from years before, hoping to become a paranormal investigator in his own right (incidentally, Candy Chiu took the same offer, and now they work together).

Mabel went to college too, but didn't particularly want to, only going because she felt pressured. She ended up dropping out after the first year and still feels aimless, not knowing what to do with her life. She currently still lives with her parents and has a decently fulfilling job at an independent haberdashery (sweaters will always be there for her), but she's not sure that's what she wants to do.

Both twins are adored by Soos and Melody's 6-year-old kids (also twins) - they're considered honourary Uncle DipDip and Aunt MayMay.

When he turned 16, Soos gave Dipper his old truck - as much as he liked it, he can't exactly stick his kids in the cargo bay. Mabel meanwhile drives the Mabel-Mobile, an old Soviet military van painted pink with a huge shooting star mural, plus a liberal amount of graffitti and bumper stickers. Where she got it remains a mystery - not even she seems to remember.

Mabel has a serious weakness for booze. She experimented a lot with various substances during her brief time at college, but cocktails really stuck. When she's drunk, she tends to shift between giddy and sentimental, grumpy and ranty, and depressed and regretful. You know she's had too much when she starts singing about 'Lady Apocalypse'.

Dipper never got as into that stuff himself, but he was introduced to weed by Wendy, relying on it to calm his anxieties during exam season. He's currently trying to wean himself off it by means of alternate herbal cigarettes.

Waddles had to be sent back to Gravity Falls after a few years, since he rapidly grew too big to keep at Piedmont. He currently lives in a lean-to next to the Shack that Soos built. He still regularly sees Gompers, to Mabel's delight.

Wendy also got both twins into tattoos, convincing Mabel to get a huge shooting star on her upper right arm. For her 18th birthday she also got a special pair of tats on the forearms - a pair of arrows with the right marked 'Fasten In Case Of Hug!'. Dipper was reluctant at first, but caved when Mabel designed him a 'pine tree heart' emblem, which he wears on his right shoulder.

Both twins are in a special 'Never Mind All That' group chat, along with almost everyone else in the Zodiac, plus Candy and Grenda (but not Gideon). Mabel had the idea for a 'hotline' of sorts that they could message whenever the old post-apocalypse trauma started acting up - knowing from experience how important is to have people to remind you they're there.

Every year on the anniversary of the end of Weirdmageddon, both twins visit Bill's petrified body, and scribble tally marks on his face - one for each year, alternating between Dipper's blue marker and Mabel's pink one (this is something I've already mentioned elsewhere but I felt like it deserved to be at the end. :P)

[robertreich]

From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating Itself?

Ultra-wealthy elites…Political corruption…Vast inequality…

These problems aren’t new — in the late 1800s they dominated the country during America’s first Gilded Age.

We overcame these abuses back then, and we can do it again.

Mark Twain coined the moniker “The Gilded Age” in his 1873 novel to describe the era in American history characterized by corruption and inequality that was masked by a thin layer of prosperity for a select few.

The end of the 19th century and start of the 20th marked a time of great invention — bustling railroads, telephones, motion pictures, electricity, automobiles — which changed American life forever.

But it was also an era of giant monopolies — oil, railroad, steel, finance — run by a small group of men who had grown rich beyond anything America had ever seen.

They were known as “robber barons” because they ran competitors out of business, exploited workers, charged customers exorbitant prices, and lived like royalty as a result.

Money consumed politics. Robber barons and their lackeys donated bundles of cash to any lawmaker willing to do bidding on their behalf. And when lobbying wasn’t enough, the powerful turned to bribery — resulting in some of the most infamous political scandals in American history.

The gap between the rich and poor in America reached astronomical levels. Large numbers of Americans lived in squalor.

Anti-immigrant sentiment raged, leading to the enactment of racist laws to restrict immigration. And voter suppression, largely aimed at Black men who had recently won the right to vote, was rampant.

The era was also marked by dangerous working conditions. Children often as young as 10, but sometimes younger, worked brutal hours in sweatshops. Workers trying to organize labor unions were attacked and killed.

It seemed as if American capitalism was out of control, and American democracy couldn’t do anything about it because it was bought and paid for by the rich.

But Americans were fed up, and they demanded reform. Many took to the streets in protest.

Investigative journalists, often called “muckrakers” then, helped amplify their cries by exposing what was occurring throughout the country.

And a new generation of political leaders rose to end the abuses.

Politicians like Teddy Roosevelt, who warned that, “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” could destroy American democracy.

After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up dozens of powerful corporations, including the giant Northern Securities Company which had come to dominate railroad transportation through a series of mergers.

Seeking to limit the vast fortunes that were creating a new American aristocracy, Congress enacted a progressive income tax through the 16th Amendment, as well as two wealth taxes.

The first wealth tax, in 1916, was the estate tax — a tax on the wealth someone accumulated during their lifetime, paid by the heirs who inherited it. The second tax on wealth, enacted in 1922, was a capital gains tax — a tax on the increased value of assets, paid when those assets were sold.

The reformers of the Gilded Age also stopped corporations from directly giving money to politicians or political candidates.

And then Teddy Roosevelt’s fifth cousin — you may have heard of him — continued the work through his New Deal programs — creating Social Security, unemployment insurance, a 40-hour workweek, and requiring that employers bargain in good faith with labor unions.

But following the death of FDR and the end of World War II, when America was building the largest middle class the world had ever seen — we seemed to forget about the abuses of the Gilded Age.

Now, more than a century later, America has entered a second Gilded Age.

It is also a time of extraordinary invention.

And a time when monopolies are taking over vast swathes of the economy, so we must renew antitrust enforcement to bust up powerful companies.

Now, another generation of robber barons is accumulating unprecedented money and power. So once again, we must tax these exorbitant fortunes.  

Wealthy individuals and big corporations are once again paying off lawmakers, sending them billions to conduct their political campaigns, even giving luxurious gifts to Supreme Court justices. So we need to protect our democracy from Big Money, just as we did before.

Voter suppression runs rampant in the states as during the first Gilded Age, making it harder for people of color to participate in what’s left of our democracy. So it’s once again critical to defend and expand voting rights.

Working people are once again being exploited and abused, child labor is returning, unions are busted, the poor are again living in unhealthy conditions, homelessness is on the rise, and the gap between the ultra-rich and everyone else is nearly as large as in the first Gilded Age. So once again we need to protect the rights of workers to organize, invest in social safety nets, and revive guardrails to protect against the abuses of great wealth and power.

The question now is the same as it was at the start of the 20th century: Will we fight for an economy and a democracy that works for all rather than the few?

We’ve done it before. We can — and must — do it again.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for the Earth Kingdom-Avatar show:

Assuming that Aang represents the 1800s (colonialism, warships, coal and oil) and Korra represents the 1920s (jazz music, steampunk, cars), let’s say the Earth Avatar takes place in the Avatar world’s equivalent of the 1970s/1980s.

For episode 1, instead of the traditional opening, we get a montage of how the world has changed since Korra died. Someone is watching TV and is flipping between channels, resulting in this montage:

1) A cheesy commercial about the home computer, developed by the Air Republic (by this point, the Airbenders have formed their own country)

2) A tacky ad about a cruise line for Kyoshi Island. The ad is intentionally degrading and not at all respectful of the island (lots of “ooohhh, how exotic!” type of editing).

3) A 60 Minutes interview with the Fire Nation Prime Minister (the Fire Nation government has changed since Korra died). The Prime Minister accuses the Earth Avatar of “Fire-phobia” and that he is biased towards the Earth Kingdom since that’s where he was born.

4) A news report that the crime rates in Ba Sing Se are skyrocketing.

5) A music video from a Northern Water Tribe celebrity. The song is in the style of city pop (ex: Mariya Takeuchi, Plastic Love).

6) A movie adaptation of Aang’s story. The actor playing Aang is obviously based on Arnold Schwarzenegger and the costumes are all wrong. It’s like the 1980s’ version of “Avatar The Last Airbender”.

7) Another interview in which several intellectuals argue about a “revisionist” perspective of the Hundred Year War. The intellectuals argue that the Fire Nation “needed” to attack in order to combat Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe aggression. They also placed the blame of the war on Aang for “cowardly” running away instead of acting as a peacemaker and that the real reason why the war ended was because of Zuko taking the throne.

8) Another news report that war between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom is “imminent”. The Earth President and the Fire Nation Prime Minister both insist that they don’t want war but the news anchors cast doubt on the leaders’ statements. (obviously, this is to mimic the Cold War standoff between the US and the Soviet Union)

After the montage, we see that it was the Earth Avatar who was watching. He’s completely stressed out by what he was watching, which you can also see in his disheveled appearance. He tosses the remote and says something along the lines of, “Korra, if you’re out there, I need your guidance”. Korra doesn’t respond. The Earth Avatar then says, “Fine…I guess I’m on my own”.

Cue opening credits (which may or may not have 1980s synthpop beats).

[fruityyamenrunner]

you don't have to put other ppl down to lift urself up but the minstrels are right.

[batboyblog]

https://www.tumblr.com/batboyblog/753682769598644224/every-once-and-awhile-a-post-and-there-are-a-few

I think part of it is because it's both an anti-system and belief in grand gestures/magical thinking combined together.

Even not factoring in his more controversial decisions, A lot of people just don't value the idea of fixing the system, or trying to make a better one. They want the grand gesture, the big revolution that tears down all the uncomfortable nitty gritty things in one big fell swoop with guns blazing and slogans abound. The IMAGE of revolution is more valuable and important to them than actually doing the hard work, especially if they believe it proves them morally superior to the system and those who are part of it. That's why they never have any real solutions, or why they get so offended at the idea of actually trying to do the tougher work; because it might stain their purity of their anti-system beliefs and require them to actually do the work that requires compromise and difficult choices that don't feel good, but are the only real path forward because we don't live in a morally clean and pure world.

yeah maybe, I think the death of the information ecosystem is likely a bigger issue?

its not so much people don't value positive changes that are reforms rather than revolutionary, its that they literally are not aware they're happening at all.

I mean people under say 40? 45? are very unlikely to get their info from traditional media (which has its own serious problems) and the younger you go the smaller the % who read news from news sources (or watch TV news) most are getting info off social media and you either have nothing OR! super negative often bad faith takes on what Biden's doing has done

I mean for example, in December 2022 just before Christmas Biden signed a bill to block a rail strike, and everyone totally freaked and acted like Biden was an 1800s Gilded Age Barron sending in the Pinkertons and totally anti-union etc etc etc so much breathless madness.

come June 2023 the rail union had gotten what it wanted on sick days and openly thanked President Biden for his support in working through those months to pressure the railways and get the union what it needed, that second part of course isn't fun to make into a meme so I imagine most people never ever saw it.

thats one example but it keeps happening where people take the worst possible interpretation of what Biden is doing and then don't care about any follow up

[fatehbaz]

Various different ways of effectively legalizing slavery. All on display in different regions colonized by England. Including the formal system of chattel slavery at plantations in the United States; the criminalization of poverty and enforced labor regimes of urban factories in the British metropole in London; and the prison labor of penal colonies in Australia.

Reading about how some people were victims of all of these ways of de facto enslavement. For example, all of these conditions of imprisonment were experienced by one man named John Moseley.

Around the year 1800, this forced labor existed across the British Empire. At the time of the American Revolution, Moseley had been enslaved in tobacco fields under the chattel slavery system in the Tidewater region of colonial Virginia. When Britain offered emancipation to slaves willing to join the military campaign against the Americans, Moseley joined the British forces. When Britain conceded and surrendered, Moseley feared that he would be re-enslaved in the United States, where chattel slavery remained legal, so he fled to London. However, around this same time, in England, rural livelihoods were being made more difficult; during this so-called Industrial Revolution, many were forced to move to cities or accept manufacturing jobs. And authorities were beginning the tradition of criminalizing poverty, rounding up “vagrants and vagabonds” in urban areas, as debt and poverty were forcing people to work in brutal labor conditions in factories. So Moseley sought income through criminal fraud. Moseley was arrested. He was sentenced to death. However, a death sentence could be commuted if the prisoner submitted to “transportation” and labor. And thus Moseley was once again imprisoned in chains, once again forced to work, and shipped to the convict colonies of Australia.

As Jeff Sparrow puts it: 

To control the desperate and the jobless, the authorities passed harsh new laws, a legislative program designed to quell disorder and ensure a pliant workforce for the factories. The Riot Act banned public disorder; the Combination Act made trade unions illegal; the Workhouse Act forced the poor to work; the Vagrancy Act turned joblessness into a crime. Eventually, over 220 offences could attract capital punishment - or, indeed, transportation. [...] [C]onvict transportation - a system in which prisoners toiled without pay under military discipline - replicated many of the worst cruelties of slavery. [...] Middle-class anti-slavery activists expressed little sympathy for Britain’s ragged and desperate, holding [...] [them] responsible for their own misery. The men and women of London’s slums weren’t slaves. They were free individuals – and if they chose criminality, [...] they brought their punishment on themselves. That was how Phillip [commander of the British First Fleet settlement in Australia] could decry chattel slavery while simultaneously relying on unfree labour from convicts. The experience of John Moseley, one of the eleven people of colour on the First Fleet, illustrates how, in the Australian settlement, a rhetoric of liberty accompanied a new kind of bondage. [...] The eventual commutation of a capital sentence to transportation meant that armed guards marched a black ex-slave, chained once more by the neck and ankles, to the Scarborough, on which he sailed to New South Wales. [...] For John Moseley, the “free land” of New South Wales brought only a replication of that captivity he’d endured in Virginia. His experience was not unique. [...] [T]hroughout the settlement, the old strode in, disguised as the new. [End quote. Text by Jeff Sparrow. “Friday essay: a slave state - how blackbirding in colonial Australia created a legacy of racism.” The Conversation. 4 August 2022.]

[royalty-nobility]

Queen Charlotte

Artist: Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727–1788)

Date: This is a replica by Gainsborough of a portrait of the queen (Royal Collection) which he painted at Windsor Castle in September 1782.

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Metropolitan Museum, New York City, NY, United States

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As George's wife, she was also Electress of Hanover until becoming Queen of Hanover on 12 October 1814. Charlotte was Britain's longest-serving queen consort, serving for 57 years and 70 days.

[thethirdromana]

Upon my word, mother, I wish the old combination laws were in force.

I think the combination laws that Mr Thornton is referring to mean the 1799 and 1800 Combination Acts, which made trade unionism illegal. Any working man who combined (i.e. formed a union) with any other in order to gain better wages or fewer hours, or encouraged others to strike, could be sentenced to three months in jail or two months of hard labour.

Those laws were replaced by the Combinations of Workmen Act in 1825, which allowed trade unions to press for better wages or changes to working hours, but not anything else (which I assume rules out striking for workers' safety?) and barred them from picketing or other means of attempting to encourage others to strike. Those were the laws still in force at the time of North and South.

So in essence Thornton wishes that unions were banned altogether.

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1846 – O’Connell and the Young Irelanders party split over use of physical force.

The name Young Ireland was originally used in a disparaging way to describe the group of young Repeal Association members who were associated with The Nation newspaper. At the time, the Repeal Association was campaigning for the repeal of the Act of Union 1800 between the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The term was first coined by the “English” press, and later used by leader Daniel…

[jolly-ob-saint-nixilis]

What are the Pinkertons?

Pinkerton is a group that sells itself as private security and a detective agency. What they're known for are being union busters. Businesses hire them to infiltrate unions, keep an eye on anyone who might be pushing unionization, and intimidate strikers and unions.

During the Homestead Strike back in 1892 their involved lead to the deaths of 9 Steelworkers when they fired into a crowd. They were also involved with the 1877 Railroad Strike and the Battle of Blair Mountain.

Their involvement led to the downfall of the Molly Maguires, a group of activist with the Irish American and Irish immigrant coal miners. The Pinkertons gave information on people suspected of being in the organization to people with grudges against them so the miners would be ambushed and murdered.

The Compton Cafeteria riot is one of the first LGBT riots, predating Stonewall by 3 years. It hired Pinkertons in 1966 toharass gay and trans customers.

They've long been suspected of having been deeply involved with the Haymarket massacre which resulted in seven anarchist arrested despite no evidence ever presented linking them to the crime. It resulted in a trial where the judge was openly against the defendants, any potential jury member that was a union member or had socialist sympathy were dismissed, and most of the jury were open about not being truly willing to give them a fair trial. The prosecution's argument is that because they had not actively discouraging the person who had thrown the bomb, they were equally as guilty. Despite the bomber not being known. in fact, there is a widespread belief is was the Pinkertons who committed it. Four were hung after that trial. Witness reports say the ropes were all tied incorrectly and they were slowly strangled to death.

They're such shitbags that the U.S. actually has a law because of them. The Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 which limits the federal government's ability o hire private investigators and mercenaries.

And despite this all going back in the 1800s, they still exist and are still very action in union breaking. They were hired in 2020 to spy on Amazon Warehouse workers. Starbucks have also worked with ex-Pinkerton members to interfere with unionization.

In 2020 Michael Dollof, who was an unlicensed security guard, that was hired by the Pinkertons to be a security guard, shot and killed a protester.

The point of hiring them is to intimate and threaten people. They've been responsible for a lot of people dying.

This is what WOTC hired to get back a fucking box of magic cards. For them to show up at his door, they, obviously, knew where he lived. They could have contacted him themselves, but instead they sent the Pinkertons. There are countless agencies they could have contacted to require the cards back. They chose the Pinkertons.

I hope everyone involved in that decision gets hit by a bus.

[weirdestbooks]

Historical Oneshots (Chronological Order)

More historical oneshots are present in Countryhumans Hispanic Heritage Month

A Concerned Friend: Scotland has not heard word from England since the Norman Invasion. So when he got the chance to travel to London to see England again, he jumped at the opportunity. What he discovers is worse than being left in the dark.

The Murder of a Kingdom: Gwynedd had a bad feeling when he was invited to meet with Normandy. He should have listened to that feeling.

The Birth of an Empire: England was prepared to kill Wales by signing the acts disestablishing the Principality of Wales. Unfortunately, that plan backfired, and now England must deal with the consequences.

The Little Empire's Crush: Britain (although he is not yet known by that name) experiences his first crush. It's a shame that it is a man.

The Boy and the Charter: The Virginia character has just been signed. That has some effects on poor Roanoke.

Virginia, Jamestown, and Martial Law: The year is 1610. Jamestown has just been put under martial law. This action will have dangerous and invasive side effects on the two personifications that make up that land. And both of them are helpless to stop it.

Defenestrations: The Kingdom of Bohemia has a city called Prague. Apparently, it's good for throwing people out of windows.

Bonds & Bruises: There are strong bonds that bind countries to their colonies. Ireland despises how his bond with Britain feels.

The Dying Bay: Plymouth's land is about to become a part of Massachusetts Bay. He's made his peace with that, but Massachusetts Bay has not.

What's In A Name?: Even many years after Massachusetts Bay's death, Plymouth still refuses to take on his name. The birth of two new colonies begins to change that.

The New Father: Quebec (formerly known as Canada) has just become a British Colony. Now it is time he learns what that means.

The Silence That Falls When The War Ends: England was badly injured at Bunker Hill. So how did he handle it when he arrived home?

The Ghosts That Haunt You: Plymouth had never gotten over the deaths of Massachusetts Bay and Province of Maine. Statehood only further proved that.

The 11th State: America was so happy that his children were now getting bodies of their own. New York is the most recent, although he has some things to say about it.

Flight Lessons: New York and Pennsylvania were both born with wings. Their first attempt at flying could have gone better.

The New Century: As the 1700s end and the 1800s begins, America reflects back on life and how he got to where he is.

A Little Brother's Guidance: Michigan is unable to see the inner world. A newborn Illinois decides to be his eyes.

The Time Spend In A Gilded Cage: During the War of 1812, Governor Hull surrendered the entire Territory of Michigan to the British. Michigan is forced to live with the British for two years until he is returned to the Americans at the Treaty of Ghent. This details his entire experience during that war and what he experienced.

Parental Rage: The system's POV of Ghent, when they get Michigan back.

An Unwilling Reunion: 1822 Annexation of the Dominican Republic

Remember the Alamo: The End of the Texas Revolution

Blinded: Ireland tried to warn Hawaii of what Britain was truly like. Now he’s paying the price.

The Discovery of a Kindred Spirit: The moment Choctaw decides to donate money to the Irish during the Famine.

Mistakes In Love: Illinois has just learned about the existence of Beaver Island. He's not happy about it.

Shot From the Sky: The Battle of Vicksburg was a huge Union victory. Unfortunately for the Union, Michigan was seriously injured and nearly killed by his sister, Mississippi, during the battle.

Peshtigo: The Peshtigo fire was a brutal fire that ravaged Wisconsin. Both the state and its personification. Luckily, Wisconsin's family is there to help her.

The Faceless People You Have Yet To Meet: When Hawaiʻi became a part of the United States, she expected many things. However, she did not expect everyone to be talking about people who didn't exist and act like she was in the wrong for being confused about who they were. AKA Hawaiʻi becomes a US Territory, and the states forget to tell her about America having DID.

Texas Gets a Concussion (and he totally deserved it): Texas is furious after hearing about how the new territory of Hawaii burned his brother, Alaska. So he decides to confront Hawaii about it himself. (A Rewrite of a Scene from Texas' POV from the book "Born of Fire" by @aloha-from-angel)

The Death of Unity: The Japanese Empire was about to annex the Korean Empire after years of breaking him down. Korea still refuses to give in.

Celtic Brothers: Ireland is newly independent and struggling with chronic pain and an injury that has left him disabled. Good thing Scotland is there to help.

We Should Know Who We Are: Finland has been looking forward to meeting the new country of Estonia.

The Identity of the State: Illinois is in deep, deep trouble.

Delusions and Poison: Russia wants his “son” to forget his past. And Russia will do whatever it takes to make that possible.

Lost: The Karelian ASSR is a loyal citizen to his country and father, Russia. He helps remove the arm of Imperialist Finland and is hailed as a hero. So why does a part of him think his life is so wrong? Why does a part of him want to call Imperialist Finland father?

The Power of a Puppet: Philippines was trying his best to fight off the control of the puppet state put in place by the Empire of Japan. His efforts were not always successful.

Giving In: The American Troops have surrendered at Bataan. Philippines can't fight off the puppet any longer.

The Puppet Master: Philippines is now under the control of the puppet state, so it is time for him to meet his new master.

Puppet State: The Philippines has been trapped as Japan’s puppet for months now, and as Japan slowly breaks his mental state, she has another person she wants his help in breaking. His daughter, Guam.

Strike Back: Ohio and North Carolina were always the pilots of the family. So when they were informed of the plan now known as the Dolittle Raid, they were eager to participate.

When The Land Lacks a Host: When the Allies occupied Germany, they killed the personification of the nation and prevented a new one from being born. Turns out that has consequences.

One Good Leg: America got shot in the leg in the Battle of Okinawa. The person who saved him was not the person he was expecting.

The Other Side of the United States: America loves his kids, which sometimes makes it hard to remember he's an empire. Here's your reminder.

The North and the South: The births of North Korea and South Korea.

Becoming a Satellite: Hungary is about to become a satellite state. Shame he doesn’t know what it entails.

False Love of a False Father: Hungary knew the consequences would be dire if he lost the Hungarian Revolution. He still fights them regardless.

The Satellite Inspection: Soviet likes inspecting his satellites to make sure they are turning out like he wants them too. Sometimes, they aren’t. That’s when things get bad for them.

The Not So Good Friday: It was a peaceful Good Friday in 1964, and Alaska was enjoying his afternoon in Anchorage. Then he got hit by an earthquake.

The Meaning of Freedom: Philippines has not been having a fun time in the 20th century, as his mind is ripped away from him again and again. But finally, his mind is freed and he can begin to heal.

Kindred Spirits: Ireland had been helped by a lot of people during his Famine. The one he remembers the most fondly is the Choctaw Nation.

Successor: Poland doesn’t think he deserves to be Poland. His father disagrees.

Checkmate: Croatia has just signed the Sarajevo Agreement, a big step towards her independence.

The Nightmare: Finland's dreams are full of regret.

The River: Delaware and New Jersey don't exactly get along. A border conflict makes this worse.

Confessions: Britain is a terrible father, but he has many favorites, picked because of their majority white populations and their lack of a native personification as a birth parent. Or so they thought.

[fuckmeyer]

I saw a post about racist Jasper stans bitching bc they’re not able to enjoy shitty J*sper content bc of tags or whatever lol and someone said: “What is there even to enjoy?”. I had to laugh and I thought if you bc it’s so true. Most Jasper content isn’t even that enjoyable. It’s mostly the same boring white-supremacist garbage that I’ve seen before; even the jalice stuff is played out.

The only J*sper content I enjoy is content where he is worshipping Maria, thinking about Maria, talking about Maria, loving Maria, doing anything for Maria tbh. Is that bad? XD I owe it to you and your writing! idk something about a 19/20 year old dumbass confederate falling madly in love with a native brown woman and literally seeing her as a god-like figure as she’s basically handing him his karma for his racist crimes sends me. Ppl act like he was this awesome person before Maria and that it’s her fault he’s gutter trash now with the C*llens but he was gutter trash BEFORE he met Maria. She honestly made him so much better, stronger and MUCH more interesting. She literally created the man these stans thirst over so much. She is the blueprint.

the thing anti-María Jalice stans don't get is, without María, you do not have Jasper. for everything Jasper is, María is the catalyst ❤️

canonically, all we know about Jasper Hale pre-change is 1) he was born in Texas, 2) faked his age to join the Confederate Army* where he became the youngest major in Texas, & 3) was persuasive

beyond that, María made Jasper into the man the fandom adores. you like that he's an empath? guess whose venom made him one. you like that he's a warmonger? guess whose war he fought for. you like that he has a troubled past? guess who put the trouble in it. you like that he's "soft" "empath" "baby" (tbh i don't see it but ok)? guess who made him want to be that way. you like that he's submissive to Alice? guess who broke him in first.

you want Jasper with Alice but wish the María era didn't exist? lol just say you want the hot faceless Confederate to get with the psychic Mississippian & go

as for me, MARÍA ALL DAY BAYBEEEEE

here we have a woman who has suffered all her life at the hands of colonizers. born "1800s or earlier," we can suppose she has firsthand experience with colonization (at least Napoleon's invasion) & lived through Mexico's War of Independence. i.e., she has a deep familiarity with what it means to have your way of life ripped from you by invaders. PLUS she was a victim of Benito's army in the Southern Vampire Wars; her entire coven including her mate was killed.

& despite her losses, she rallied to take back her land & drive out her oppressors. baseline, she is a strong, cunning, powerful indigenous woman with a deep love for her community and her people. HOT

now let's look at Jasper, a bright leader in the Civil War who suffered defeat at the hands of the Union army. yes, María changed him. but did she force him to stay? to go to war? the newborn vamp with the strength & speed to overcome a "grown" vamp chose not to do so. the empath with the power to make anyone disregard him chose not to use it. some say María was "abusive" & "manipulative," but few acknowledge that Jasper had a choice.

why didn't Jasper leave? because he's submissive to anyone more powerful than him. because he was a loser. because the Southern Vampire Wars gave him a second chance at victory. because "empath" or no, he wanted to play war & win.

that's what's compelling about Jasper/María. as wrong as Jasper was for fighting for the Confederacy, he believed he was fighting for the same thing as she. he saw his way of life destroyed by "invaders" & fought back. it's a sick & twisted parallel between oppressor & oppressed that becomes subverted as their relationship goes on... & one that can heal them both.

María's experience with colonizers gives her a visceral picture of what it means to be oppressed... but her relationship with Jasper gives her the victory & emotional reflection she needs to move on. Jasper's military training gives him the hunger & knowledge for war... but his "curse" of empathy provides him with the tools he needs to recognize & address the horrors of his problematic past & move on.

tbh, i find Jasper & María are perfectly suited for a delicious character-driven narrative. Maria's story is that of a traumatized indigenous woman on a path from colonization to decolonization, & the sacrifices & destruction she endures realize that vision. Jasper's story is that of a troubled man on the path from self-hate to self-love, & what it means to undo the societal teachings/traumas & forge a life of empathy & forgiveness.

& that is something Alice alone can never give Jasper.

tl;dr all hail Queen María

[rabbitcruiser]

National Panda Day

Nature's cuddly ambassadors, with a diet that's 99% bamboo and an unmistakable appearance that's sure to melt your heart.

Giant pandas are big fluffy balls of fun and one of the most universally loved animals around, so it’s no wonder they have their own special day!

Yet due to habitat loss and fragmentation, pandas are sadly considered to be a vulnerable species and require dedicated conservation to preserve their numbers. National Panda Day is dedicated to celebrating these quirky creatures and spreading awareness of the threats they face in order to encourage efforts to protect them.

History of National Panda Day

The panda has been around for almost 20 million years and is the oldest living species of bear. Yes, that’s right, any rumors you’ve heard to the contrary about them not being bears is false – they are in fact part of the Ursidae (bear) family, although they do also have a fair amount in common with raccoons.

While pandas have long been respected in their native China, their shy and solitary nature means they feature rarely in Chinese history and art – the likelihood of coming across one bear, let alone an embarrassment of pandas (the excellent collective noun for these animals!), has always been slim. Yet with their clumsy and lovable character, they’re incredibly popular, so much so that back in the 1980s a Taiwanese zoo even painted a sun bear black and white to try and pass it off as a giant panda!

National Panda Day grew out of the need to help protect these beautiful bears, as sadly these big guys require conservation efforts to even have a chance at recovering from their current depleted state. With no more than 2-3,000 left in the wild and only a few hundred in captivity, we risk losing these precious mammals forever if we don’t act.

National Panda Day aims to promote efforts to preserve their habitat from threats such as urbanization and climate change and to support their protection all around the world. Ultimately it’s a day of hope, as panda numbers are gradually starting to increase again thanks to decades of conservation work, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgrading the species from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in 2016.

If we all work together, we can continue these amazing advancements and ensure that the panda is safe and thriving, now and in the future.

National Panda Day Timeline

1869

Westerners first learn of Pandas

When a French missionary visits China, he is gifted with a skin from one of these fuzzy black and white bears.

1961

Giant Panda on WWF Logo

In an effort to promote the most vulnerable species, the World Wildlife Federation places the Panda on its logo. The Panda is chosen as a powerful symbol and is one of the rarest and most endangered bears in the world.

1984

Pandas placed on Endangered Species list by US

Native to China, these bears are beloved by people all over the world, but their low reproductive rate makes them vulnerable to threats and even the possibility of extinction. Placing them as endangered is meant to protect Pandas.

2006

Panda reserves in China grow

Over just the eight years prior, the number of Panda reserves in China grows from 13 to 40. This significantly impacts the ability for Pandas to survive in their natural habitat and improves their chances greatly.

2016

Pandas move to ‘vulnerable’ status

The great news about the work toward helping Pandas is that it is working! Pandas are downgraded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with more than 1800 pandas living in the wild.

Why pandas need our protection

Pandas are sensitive creatures and disruptions to their environment (a mere six mountain ranges in south-central China) can lead to survival and reproductive issues.

These cuddly little tumblers are well-known for their prodigious appetites, consuming massive amounts of bamboo each day. Although they evolved to eat meat, these bears are by and large vegetarian and therefore have to eat vast quantities of foliage to obtain sufficient energy and nutrients.

They are also notoriously bad at reproducing, with female pandas fertile for no more than two to three days a year. Little success has been had in captivity, although things have been improving in recent years. Still, they aren’t prone to giving birth very often, and this means that any loss to their numbers is potentially tragic.

Man-made threats such as farming and road building only exacerbate these vulnerabilities, shrinking and fragmenting the habitat on which pandas depend. Climate change is also causing bamboo to grow higher up the mountains, steadily reducing the amount available overall. Not only will pandas increasingly struggle to feed themselves, but habitat loss will also make it harder for them to find mates and reproduce.

And it’s not just important to preserve the panda population for their own sake. They’re also vital for maintaining the ecosystem around them, helping forest vegetation to flourish and in turn other species in the area.

How to Celebrate National Panda Day

Well, obviously your first stop should be the zoo! Due to their low numbers, there aren’t a whole lot of zoos that have giant panda exhibits, but hopefully, you’ll be able to find one relatively close to home. If you are lucky enough to be near one, then this will be a great opportunity to learn more about these cuddly bears and contribute to vital conservation efforts. And if the stars align you might even get to see some adorable and rare panda cubs!

If conservation is a cause close to your heart, then take some time to make a donation to a charity, zoo, or nature reserve that supports this important work. You can even adopt one of these cute creatures through organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which famously features a panda as its logo.

Be sure to look into getting some panda souvenirs such as cuddly toys, artwork and accessories, especially if a percentage of the profits go towards protecting the panda. You can also buy panda-themed items for your desk or wear panda-themed clothes to really help spread awareness of this fragile species.

If you fancy channeling your inner panda and conserving your energy, then why not crash out on the sofa and watch a documentary or film about these amazing animals? Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda franchise is especially popular, with three feature films, various shorts, and a TV series following the adventures of Po Ping, a typically clumsy giant panda who eventually blossoms into a kung fu master. There are also plenty of great documentaries available, such as Born in China and Pandas,for you to brush up on your panda facts.

Learn some Panda facts

Get swept up in pandamania and help make sure they’re munching on bamboo for many more years to come!

National Panda Day FAQs

Are Pandas endangered?

While Pandas were recently considered to be endangered, the effort to help them has been effective and they were downgraded from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in 2016. The hope is that one day they can be removed from the list completely.

When is National Panda Day?

Every year, National Panda Day falls on March 16, celebrating the world’s favorite black and white, fluffy, bamboo-eating bear.

Are Pandas dangerous?

Although they rarely attack humans, Giant Pandas should still be considered dangerous. They have powerful teeth and claws, certainly making them capable of attacking if they feel threatened.

Are Pandas bears?

Some people aren’t sure if Pandas are really bears because they look different. As it turns out, Giant Pandas are actually categorized in the bear family, but Red Pandas are the only members of their family but are closely related to raccoons.

Do Pandas hibernate?

Though Giant Pandas are in the bear family, they do not hibernate like black bears do, and they also cannot stand up on their hind legs.

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