#ancient seafaring

[ltwilliammowett]

For the first time in millennia, a Magan Boat sails off the coast of Abu Dhabi. It’s a reconstruction that has taught the world much about the skill and achievements of Bronze Age sailors

Archaeology on Marawah Island, west of Abu Dhabi, has revealed that 8,000 years ago the Arabian coast was home to a sophisticated seafaring people. They built stone structures, herded livestock, fished and dived for pearls, crafted jewelry, and developed a talent for sailing that started a remarkable cultural exchange.

By the Bronze Age, around 4,500 years ago, the region was prominent enough to have a name in ancient writings: Magan. From the island of Umm an-Nar, in modern Abu Dhabi which was part of ancient Magan, merchants sailed an international trade route that connected Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq, to the Indus Valley in today’s India and Pakistan. Magan traded locally sourced pearls, stone and copper, one of the most sought-after commodities of the time, for ceramics, fabrics, jewelry, and other precious objects. Its ships were renowned through the Arabian Gulf.

The ship was built using 15 tons of locally sourced reeds that were painstakingly prepared by being soaked, stripped of leaves, crushed, and then tied into bundles using rope made from date palm fibers. These formed the hull, to which was attached a wooden frame. The boat’s dimensions were calculated based on what is known about similar vessels as well as hydrostatic analysis of what was needed to make it float. The reed hull was then waterproofed with a coating of bitumen, which was traded from Iraq. The heavy sail, raised purely by muscle without the benefit of pulleys, was crafted of goat’s hair in a patchwork of shades.

The result was the world’s largest ever reconstructed Bronze Age vessel: 60 feet long, capable of carrying 36 tons of cargo, and achieving surprisingly high speeds of 5.6 knots.

[inspofromancientworld]

Ancient Seafaring

By listfiles/Kanguole - Own work, based on file:map of Sunda and Sahul.png and usingCoastline from Natural Earth 1:50m Physical Vectors125m depth contour derived from 2-Minute Gridded Global Relief Data (ETOPO2) v2, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, using gdal_contour (from GDAL)., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127823375

Earliest evidence that hominids took to the sea on boats was from tools and trace evidence left on a rhinoceros skeleton from about 631,000-777,000 years ago, likely to the Philippine island of Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines. At this time, Homo erectus was most likely the voyager. At that time, with the lowered sea levels because of the ice sheets that pushed as far as the 40th parallel in some places, covering maybe 30%, drawing water out of the oceans. While this made it so that many of the islands off of the southern tip of India were joined together, reaching the Philippines would have taken at least a short sea voyage.

It wasn't until about 65,000-53,000 years ago that Homo sapiens crossed what is now known as the Wallace line to reach what is now Australia. The winds at the time would have been favorable for what would have been at least a 55 mile (88 km) journey with no land in sight. Winds would have changed about 58,000 years ago, making the crossing much more unlikely, which points to a single period of colonization of Australia.

By Cat's diary (猫猫的日记��) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34243737

About 35,000-32,000 years ago was the beginning of maritime trade networks as evidenced by Philippine and Wallacea obsidian appearing one nearby islands, though exactly how people traveled by sea isn't know, whether by rafts or dugout canoes. These trade routes likely began by following the coastlines and moving by between line-of-sight islands.

The earliest evidence of whaling appears around 6000 BCE in Korea. Most likely, the method involved many small boats to cut the whale off from the ocean and herding it to land with noise and perhaps arrows.

By Obsidian Soul - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75764398

Between about 3000 and 1500 BCE, with the use of catamarans, outrigger ships, and tanja or crab claw sails, the Austronesian people began leaving Taiwan and colonizing islands as far reaching as Easter Island and New Zealand to the east and Madagascar in the west. They also supported a trade network that was the precursor of the Maritime Silk Road, which began in the 2nd century BCE. These trade routes gradually began using the monsoon winds, which would blow in one direction for half the year and switch directions in the other half, making it possible for bulk trading and for the Maritime Silk Road to develop. Maritime trade routes grew safer than overland routes due to a lack of bandits, improved navigation technologies, and lack of 'extortionate tolls by local potentiates.'

By Pavljenko - Own work using:Map first shown in Bellwood et al. (2011) and taken from Benton et al. (2012), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116424449

Evidence of the spread of Austronesian people is evident in the languages spoken on the many islands they reached. There are many words that are derived from Sri Lankan or south Indian languages, such as the various words for 'ship' including paṭavu, paḍava, padau, folau, halau, and wharau. Austronesian peoples used advanced navigation techniques, using both constellations and the timing of stars rising over the horizon to navigate. There also appears to have been a 2,000 year pause in expansion, to about 700 CE, when the Polynesian people group moved into the Cook Islands, Hawaii, Easter Island, and Aotearoa, New Zealand.

The Chinese began trading with the Austronesian peoples during the Han dynasty (220 BCE-200 CE), calling them 'Strange Things of the South' (Nánzhōu Yìwùzhì — 南州異物志). Despite this, or maybe because of it, they didn't develop their own navy until the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE).

[wild-wow-facts]

The Ancient Navigators of the Ocean

Discover the incredible world of sea turtles! From their epic migrations to unique adaptations, these ancient mariners are a marvel of nature.

Check out my other videos here: Animal Kingdom Animal Facts Animal Education

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Viking Ice Skates

In a discovery that harkens back to the days of Nordic exploration and seafaring prowess, Viking Ice Skates from the 10th century CE emerge as a testament to the adaptability and ingenuity of these legendary mariners.

Crafted from leather and horse bone, these relics offer a fascinating window into a world where icy landscapes presented both challenge and opportunity.

As the Viking Age unfurled across the northern seas, the need for swift and efficient movement extended beyond the waves to the frozen landscapes of the North.

The Viking Ice Skates, fashioned with materials readily available to these intrepid seafarers, embody their mastery over both water and ice, underscoring the versatility that defined their pursuits.

The composition of these ancient ice skates sheds light on the resourcefulness that defined Viking craftsmanship.

Leather, pliable and durable, formed the base of the skates, offering comfort and flexibility to those who donned them.

Horse bone, carved into blades, enabled a gliding motion across frozen surfaces, bridging the gap between land and frozen waters.

Beyond their functionality, these ice skates offer a portal into the mundane yet captivating aspects of Viking existence.

As seafarers and traders, Vikings navigated a diverse range of environments. The ice skates underscore the multifaceted nature of their lives, highlighting the interplay between practicality and cultural adaptability.

In a time where technology and travel were vastly different from the present day, the Viking Ice Skates provided a means of efficient movement across frozen landscapes.

The relics, a silent testament to their owners' journeys, stand as a connection to the daily experiences of these seafaring adventurers.

Viking Ice Skates not only speak of practicality but also offer a glimpse into cultural practices.

Skating, beyond its functional purpose, may have held social or recreational value. The skates' existence within Viking society underscores the integration of ice-bound activities into the fabric of their lives.

The discovery of these ice skates resonates with the broader mission of preserving historical artifacts.

As these relics emerge from the depths of time, they remind us of the importance of safeguarding and studying the past to better understand the cultural and technological foundations upon which we stand today.

Viking Ice Skates, though seemingly modest, echo the enduring legacy of a civilization that has captivated modern imagination.

They remind us that the Vikings were not confined to the pages of history but were dynamic individuals who adapted to their surroundings, leaving a mark that endures through the ages.

Viking Ice Skates stand as more than mere relics; they are a testament to the Vikings' mastery over diverse environments and their capacity for innovation.

These ice skates transcend the boundaries of time, allowing us to skate through history and glimpse the daily lives of these legendary seafarers.

As they emerge from the past, they extend an invitation to explore the interplay between necessity, creativity, and cultural evolution that defined the Viking Age.

📍Swedish History Museum, Stockholm

[practically-an-x-man]

Me writing yet another history-based fanfiction: yayyyyyy research time!

[queen0fm0nsterz]

do you think the music box is a constant throughout each loop? I mean, both Six and Rascal had their own different music boxes independent from each other, so I don’t know. I wonder what the other Ladies’ music boxes sounded like.

I actually think yes. Yes they do have themes. And I hand picked them from the LN ost repertoire myself.

Fox - Beneath the Waves

Tengu and Scarecrow - The Death Waltz

Teapot - Prison Toys

I think narratively all these songs would make logical sense when paired up with the Ladies.

Teapot has a prisoner motif and is known to be curious, so the song having this sense of wonder only to end on a nostalgic piano recreation of the melody makes especially sense when you remember there's a piano in her section. The Death Waltz goes to the sisters for obvious reasons, but I also like how the musical base of the song plays a completely different tune from the singing voice, yet the two don't necessarily make the other less enjoyable. They just go together on parallel lines. As for Fox... Beneath the Waves is perfect because to me it really sounds like someone being lost and not knowing where to go/be, only for the Maw to come in at the very end.

[ultrachoppedpenguinbouquet]

Ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians may have Mapped Antarctica.

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny Pt.9

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.8] [Pt.10]

"Fan-sea meeting you here. You must be Phantom!"

Danny slowly turned around, grin blinding. "I shore am. Who's asking?"

Danny knew exactly who was asking. Bludhaven's vigilante, Nightwing. If the giant dark blue bird emblazoned on the front of his suit didn't give it away, the friendly demeanor and the puns would have. Plus, now that Danny's figured out who Tim was, the rest were pretty simple dots to be connected.

"Hi. I'm Nightwing. Thanks for saving Batman."

"I am Phantom. You are welcome. Please lecture him on the necessity of keeping the waters clean."

"Uh, I think he knows," Nightwing grinned. “So, why are you cleaning Gotham’s bay? I heard the Atlantic is nice this time of year.”

“Exactly. This?” Danny flapped a gloved hand around them, specifically at the moldy docks and the paint scraped board. “This is not nice. If it were nice, I wouldn’t need to be cleaning it. Look at that paint! It’s flaking off into the water! Does Gotham not have proper boat maintainance? That’s dangerous for the waters and seafarers!”

“Woah, you know a lot about boats,” Nightwing commented, crossing his arms and leaning back. What the hero didn’t know was that he knew more about boats than Danny did, as Danny’s hyper fixation was more focused on space ships and Dick had education à la maison de Bruce Wayne which usually meant an absurd amount of information for someone who doesn’t actually use boats as a regular mode of transportation.

“Rust! Rust is very much a thing!” Danny ranted, using his ice to scoop up water and using it like a makeshift filter. “It weakens bonds! It’s a tetanus hazard! And oh, don’t even get me started on how you people mutated the ocean life!”

“Mutated ocean life? I’m pretty sure we hadn’t. It’s just a little weird, right?”

Without another word, Danny dove into the weird ecosystem that was the Gotham bay. He came back holding a wriggling green thing the size of a worm.

“Do you know what this is?” Danny demanded. The thing flopped around on his gloved hands.

“A sea monkey?”

“They’re brine shrimp. Brine. Shrimp. Do you know what regular brine shrimp look like???” Danny shoved the thing at Nightwing, who took a step back.

“Not like that?” He replied, a quizzical look on his face.

“No, not like that! What in the ancients is this?!” Danny waved the weird sea brine that had started glowing faintly, like Danny’s natural ectoplasm glow. “Far be it from me of all people to judge evolution but this was all man made!” Danny gently tossed the brine shrimp back into the bay. “Brine shrimp is staple food for the ocean! You’ve got weird brine shrimp? You’ve got weird fish! Why is it impossible for this place to, for even one day, refrain from dumping hazardous chemicals or dead bodies in the water?”

“Ooookay, how about we take a breather?” Nightwing quickly glanced around, trying to find something to change the subject, feeling oddly guilty at the earnest expression on the kid’s face. “Uh, I was actually wondering if you’d swing by the waters near Blüd?”

Danny crossed his arms. “I clean the waters as a past time because you humans don’t know how to keep it clean. I am not a personal, on call, seakeeper.”

“Batman will pay you for your time,” Dick offered. Danny straightened. Amity didn’t actually cost that much to live well, but Gotham was a whole other ball park. The rent might be dirt cheap for a city, but the special pricey little add ons such as gas masks and space level insulation on top of the sky high insurance policies were draining what’s left of his half dead soul. As they say, Danny was a city dweller first and Phantom second.

“How much, when, and I won’t fish up the bodies unless he pays me extra.”

“Four thousand base pay, extra one hundred per identity, fifty for bodies with no shades, and on the weekends.”

Danny straightened as his mother’s steel spine, Jazz’s whip sharp wit, and his own craftiness made their appearance as he bargained. “Five thousand. Rate agreed, but I can only do every other weekends and I’ll have to call out some days.”

“Okay.” Nightwing rocked back on his heels with an affable smile. It’s Bruce’s money and it’s going towards his probable future baby brother, after all, even if said baby brother is a dead immortal Atlantis founder. Or something.

Danny groaned. “You are supposed to bargain back. But I’ll take it.”

“Great! Who do we got tonight?” Nightwing looked down at the plastic/burlap wrapped person Danny dragged onto the shores a bit ago.

“The lake kept the body cold, so it should be preserved adequately if you want to examine him,” Danny tilted his head to the side, the flames of his hair tilting with him. “He said his name is Gorganzo Bean.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s a nickname he got for eating a whole can of beans straight.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it. Any more details?”

“Sure.”

When Danny reached to take the money from Nightwing, he found that the hero had tightened his grip on it.

Danny pointedly dropped his gaze from Nightwing’s face to the money.

“Wait. I- I heard from a source that you could possibly smell souls.”

Danny yanked the cash out of Nightwing’s hand and shoved it into his shoulder. If that didn’t confirm Nightwing’s identity, he doesn’t know what would other than the guy telling Danny who he was. “You’ve been speaking with Danny. Yes, I can.”

“Can you tell what’s wrong with my brother?” Nightwing blurted out.

Danny stared at him, his legs flickering in and out to his tail form. “…Other than dressing in probably leather or Kevlar and going out to beat criminals with his bare hands?”

Nightwing opened and closed his mouth. He coughed awkwardly. “Other than that. Why is he- um, stinky? Soul-wise,” Nightwing added, clearly humoring the tinny little voice at the base of his temples that was an annoyed Red Hood saying that he showered. “He showers often. And is definitely not stinky body odor wise.”

“I am not a doctor. Well, not now anyways,” Danny said, thinking about his future PhD. “But he’s got a… soul infection. His natural immunity- all souls have a natural immunity against regular outside influences- is working hard to repel the equivalence of chronic bronchitis.”

“There’s… no way to help him?”

“I never said that,” Danny tilted his head. “Bring your brother to meet Danny. He could probably handle it.”

“The civilian?”

“His parents hunted my kind, once. He helped protect me and my people. If anyone knows how to cure it, it would be him.”

Phantom could not afford to deal with this right now, because Danny had a presentation tomorrow that he needed to finish.

“Oh. Thank you, Phantom.” Nightwing said, looking relieved and pensive. Danny decided right then and there that was Future Danny’s problem.

Danny nodded distractedly, blinking out.

He blinked back in. Nightwing jerked back. “Do you happen to have any examples of corrupt politicians in Gotham?”

Nightwing blinked before laughing. “It’d probably be easier to name the ones that aren’t.”

“Good to know. Thank you!”

——

A couple of days later, Tim and two older guys ambushed him in the quad.

“Hi! I’m Dick! This is my brother Jason! We’re Tim’s older brothers!”

Danny looked down at his hand- trapped in an overexcited handshake- and back up at Dick.

Whatever expression he was making, it must have been ha-fucking-larious because Tim and Jason burst out into laughter. Danny cursed his past self.

“Yeah?” Danny blinked. Wait. His smile grew and he made a face like he just realized something. “Oh. So you’re Nightwing?”

The laughter cut off.

“Haha, what?”

“Phantom told me you’d be coming but I, uh, thought you’d be in gear. Not… straight up telling me who you are?”

“You’re in regular contact with Phantom?” Tim demanded.

“Yeah, dude. After you- wait, you’re Red Robin!” Danny whispered.

“Oh shit, B’s gonna be pissed,” Jason drawled, looking mildly amused and hiding an extremely cautious, possibly lethal (if it weren’t for the fact that Danny’s pretty much impossible to kill with regular weapons) reaction.

“You’re one to talk. I’d smell your soul no matter what your disguise was.”

“…About that.”

——

You might be wondering: wouldn’t Dick know not to show up in civvies?

Yes. Except for the fact that Tim stalked Danny for weeks after he met Phantom and Danny hadn’t hung out with (himself) at all. They think Danny doesn’t know Phantom well enough to even talk to him much, despite being from the same town because: they’re all big city kids and have never experienced small town solidarity and, more importantly, gossip grapevines + they have no idea these two are the same people.

A deleted scene:

“When did you have time to talk to Phantom?” Tim demanded. Jason nudged Tim. That had hinted too much at what Tim was doing on his off hours and stalking was usually frowned upon.

“When I wasn’t talking to you, duh.”

[serpentface]

A Chi drake carrying a week old chick under his robes. He wears typical robes and headgear that supplement feathers for sun and heat protection, and shoes that protect against hot sands. His legs are almost entirely bare of feathers, a trait common only in the most genetically isolated desert qilik populations of the contemporary.

They are one of the many peoples of the region collectively known as the Deadlands, a massive area of desert stretching beneath the equator and trailing out into grassland and savannah in tropical latitudes of a southern continental mass. In the distant past, this region itself held grassland and open savannah and was predominantly inhabited by humans. It experienced rapid desertification over a couple thousand years due to a changing climate, and now vast swaths of the region are completely uninhabitable to large vertebrates. In the contemporary, the only sophont peoples to permanently dwell within its interior are qilik and some nomadically flying caelin.

The Chi are based around a settlement built upon the remains of an ancient human city and around its lake (once potable, now far too salty to drink or for agricultural uses). This salt lake, while not drinkable, supports the basis of the Chi's survival. They feed primarily on the massive swarms of brine flies that dominate the lakeshores, as well as brine shrimp. Parties of foragers venture beyond their home territory in search of other desert insects and reptiles, and forage the coasts and a few scattered oases. Of particular significance is the seasonal appearance of small, migratory wading birds that stop over at the lake to feed on flies and shrimp. This temporary abundance supplies the majority of their meat intake and is of great cultural significance.

They are in closest contact with the Sisisistse people, a collection of semi-nomadic qilik clans who establish themselves around the region's scattered oases and desert springs. A few Sisisistse clans are allies and trade partners to the Chi, but the majority are hostile due to a long history of territorial conflict and the brutal destruction of one clan by the Chi. The closest desert spring to Chi territory was once home to a Sisisistse clan, who, after trade relations decayed, were driven out by Chi warriors, with many of their number slaughtered. This spring is now a permanently occupied Chi outpost and frequently skirmished over.

They are one of few peoples of the vast Deadlands that have sustained and regular contact with the outside world via a few small coastal ports, where salts and a few rare dyes are traded with seafaring qilik peoples from outside the deserts (primarily for textiles- native textile sources are scarce).

Somewhat rarely among qilik people, the Chi place limited significance on gender roles, with drakes, hens, and faeder all performing most of the same tasks and living fully co-mingled lives. The sexual dimorphism of this population is substantially less dramatic than most qilik, to the point that they are imagined as a race of androgynes by many foreigners. Most individuals have bright red-orange plumage (derived from brine shrimp), which drakes emphasize via contrast with predominantly monochromatic garb. Drakes are still tasked with the majority of childrearing (as is nearly ubiquitous among qilik.)

[gemsofgreece]

The Ancient Greek word for ship was ναῦς. The word is borderline obsolete in Modern Greek, except the majority of seafaring terms actually derive from it.

For example,

ναύτης (náftis) = sailor

ναυτικό (naftikó) = navy <- that’s where the English word originates too

ναυπηγείο (nafpiyío) = shipyard

ναύλα (návla) = ticket for a mode of transportation, especially ships

The common Modern Greek terms for ship are πλοίο (plío) and καράβι (karávi).

Πλοίο comes from the verb πλέω (pléo) which means “float and sail” and it is also etymologically Greek.

I mostly make this post for καράβι which I was convinced to this day that it was a loanword, perhaps from Turkish or Latin.

Today I learned that καράβι too is etymologically Greek, from Koine Greek καράβιον (karávion), from Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabhos) which meant “prawn”.

A little stupid of me because even the modern Greek word for prawn is καραβίς (karavís) or more commonly now καραβίδα (karavíða) but somehow I never made the connection.

So once again Greeks had the exact word for ship but at some point in time they went nah fook that from now on we gonna call ships

✨Prawn-ions✨

[dramatic-dolphin]

i got one of the two topics i didn't wanna get bc i knew the least about them (but the better one), but i managed to scrape together a 4, and the prof was like "can i ask you some questions about another topic for a better grade?" and that topic was one of the two i fell into rabnithole researching today at 2am, so i ended up mildly infodumping about ancient maritime history, which got me a 5. success!

had an utterly refreshing 2.5 hours of sleep so i'm planning to get over with this exam as fast as i can and then immediately go home to sleep

[ltwilliammowett]

A charming little octopus from a Roman villa at Villaquejida, Spain, 2nd-3rd century AD. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid. Photo by Alison Fisk

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hello, this blog has been so helpful with writing tips.

Do you have any tips or information if you want to have a character that is Basque? Also if there's any information about the culture during the late 18th and early 19th century. Thanks!

Writing Notes: The Basques

Basque - member of a people who live in both Spain and France in areas bordering the Bay of Biscay and encompassing the western foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.

In physique, the Basques are not notably different from the other peoples of western Europe; their language, however, is not Indo-European.

Basque language - language isolate, the only remnant of the languages spoken in southwestern Europe before the region was Romanized in the 2nd through 1st century BCE.

Today, the Basques remain physically somewhat distinct from their neighbours.

They are typically broad-shouldered and heavily built,

with distinctive triangular faces, and

they have light brown or medium brown hair and

often blue or grey eyes.

As is well known, they have the highest proportion of rhesus-negative blood in Europe (25 per cent) and

one of the highest percentages of type-O blood (55 per cent).

Many have interpreted these data, together with recent genetic data, as evidence that the Basques genuinely do represent a continuation of an ancient European population, comparatively little affected by millennia of the movement of peoples from east to west across Europe, just as their language indisputably represents the last survival of the pre-Indo-European languages of Europe.

As research has suggested, the Basques are a practical people par excellence.

They excel at business and commerce and they have produced notable industrialists and bankers.

The estuary of Bilbao is lined with blast furnaces and shipyards, and every city and town in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa is crammed with industrial concerns, large and small, though the recent economic recession has hit the country hard.

Increasingly there are signs that economic activity is moving from the crowded coastal provinces to the more spacious and comparatively undeveloped expanses of Araba and Navarre.

The French Basque Country has not shared in this industrial development: designated by the centralist government in Paris as an area set aside for tourism, it offers little employment apart from that available in the garish strip clubs and casinos of Biarritz and the rest of the coast.

Two miles from Biarritz, the quiet Basque farmhouses look much as they looked a hundred years ago, though more and more of them are being abandoned as uneconomic, and the region is suffering depopulation as younger Basques leave to look for work elsewhere.

The land inhabited by the Basques has a mild and damp climate and is largely hilly and wooded.

It contains mines of iron ore, which early on favoured the development of industries, particularly shipbuilding.

The Basques traditionally farmed small holdings of bottom land and carefully tended slopes of grass, which they cut by hand and fed to stabled cows.

Apple orchards and mountainous sheep pastures were also important to their economy. The farmhouses are loosely grouped into villages or are scattered over the lower slopes.

The household (including buildings, farm, and family) was an entity of great permanence that was formerly defended by a traditional law of inheritance which ensured the descent of the property intact to a single heir or heiress.

Traditional Basque culture therefore revolved around this individual farmstead, called the caserío, the isolation of which resulted in a strong sense of family kinship among its occupants.

Besides being farmers of small acreages and shipbuilders, the Basques were traditionally seafarers.

Basques played a leading part in the colonization of the New World, sailing with the conquistadors and being among the first to exploit the whaling grounds of the Bay of Biscay and the cod fisheries off Newfoundland.

The Basques’ ethnic solidarity and their position astride the Franco-Spanish frontier also made smuggling one of their traditional occupations.

The Basques have a strong allegiance to Roman Catholicism.

They were not converted to Christianity until the 10th century, however, and, although they are now among the most observant of Spanish Catholics, animism survives in their folklore.

Traditional Basque culture has declined with the pronounced urban and industrial development of the region, and emigration to France and the Americas has sharply reduced the population living in caseríos.

In most of the larger industrial towns, not only Basque customs but also the Basque language tend to be lost.

Basque is still spoken in remote inland mountain areas, but in the late 20th century, virtually all Basques spoke French or Spanish, whether or not they spoke Basque.

The Basques possess a distinctive culture and language, perhaps the result of their relative isolation from the rest of Europe until comparatively recently.

A BRIEF HISTORY. It has been suggested that their ancestors migrated to Europe from the Caucasus about 12,000 years ago and about 5000 years ago moved to the Basque country.

Although the Basque country is divided between France and Spain, the Basques have maintained an identity separate from both states.

From the 14th century onwards the Basques were renowned for their fishing and whaling skills.

18th-19th Century. After a period of relative independence, Basque self-government was abolished by the Spanish government in Madrid beginning in 1839. Over time, a growing Basque nationalist movement began to insist on political unity and agitate for a separate Basque nation.

Basque culture underwent a revival in the late 19th century, which ensured its continuance into the 20th century.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Basques supported the Republic; in reprisal, German aircraft acting on behalf of Franco’s Nationalists destroyed the Basque town of Guernica in 1937.

Under Franco’s regime, concerted attempts were made to suppress the Basque culture and language.

In recent decades many Basques in Spain have campaigned for an independent Basque state, some through the nationalist party Herri Batasuna or its violent military wing ETA (Basque Fatherland and Liberty).

In 2011, after several abortive ceasefires, ETA declared ‘a definitive cessation of armed activity’.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Thanks so much for your kind words, glad to hear! Choose which of these information would be most appropriate to incorporate into your specific story. Do go through the sources as well for more details. Hope this helps with your writing.

[book--brackets]

Temeraire by Naomi Novik (2006-2016)

DESCRIPTION

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire. 

 Capt. Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo–an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation’s history.

 Thrust into England’s Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon–Temeraire himself– has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England’s shores to China’s palaces, from the Silk Road’s outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?

Wayside School by Louis Sachar (1978-2020)

There was a terrible mistake. Wayside School was supposed to have been built with thirty classrooms all next to each other in a row. Instead, it was built with the thirty classrooms all on top of each other - thirty stories high! That may be why all kinds of strange stuff happens at Wayside School. Especially, on the thirteenth floor. It is a school full of unusual characters too. Mrs Gorf the meanest teacher in the world. Terrible Todd who always gets sent home early. John who can only read upside down.

Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black (2002-2007)

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she drifts from place to place with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces them back to Kaye's childhood home. But Kaye's life takes another turn when she stumbles upon an injured faerie knight in the woods. Kaye has always been able to see faeries where others could not, and she chooses to save the strange young man instead of leaving him to die. 

But this fateful choice will have more dire consequences than she could ever predict, as Kaye soon finds herself the unwilling pawn in an ancient and violent power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms--a struggle that could very well mean her death.

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist (1982-1986)

My name is Pug. I was once an orphaned kitchen boy, with no family and no prospects, but I am destined to become a master magician...

War is coming to the Kingdom of the Isles from another world, bringing with it chaos and destruction. Pug yearns to train as a warrior and fight for his kingdom alongside his foster-brother, Tomas, but instead he is forced to follow a different path: a path that will lead him right into the heart of the enemy. And one that will change the course of the war - and two worlds - forever.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (2009-2011)

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet. 

 Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. 

 Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. 

 With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (1985-1993)

Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (2020-present)

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

In an attempt to prove himself a true brujo and gain his family’s acceptance, Yadriel decides to summon his cousin’s ghost and help him cross to the afterlife.

But things get complicated when he accidentally summons the ghost of his high school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz – and Julian won't go into death quietly.

The two boys must work together if Yadriel is to move forward with his plan.

But the more time Yadriel and Julian spend together, the harder it is to let each other go.

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (2003-2004)

After finding a mysterious, handmade field guide in the attic of the ramshackle old mansion they've just moved into, Jared; his twin brother, Simon; and their older sister, Mallory, discover that there's a magical and maybe dangerous world existing parallel to our own--the world of faerie. 

The Grace children want to share their story, but the faeries will do everything possible to stop them...

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (2012-2015)

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs, the captain of the Queen's Guard. While they begin to uncover a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect the secret behind her musical gift--a secret so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (1996-2022)

Gen can steal anything—at least that's the boast he's made in wineshops across the capital city, and this bragging has landed him in the king's prison. His chances of escape look slim—even for someone of his talents. When he is invited to join a quest to steal an object straight out of a legend, he's hardly in a position to refuse.

[portraitsofsaints]

Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris)

Feast day: September 27

Patroness of the Catholic missions to seafarers

Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris. The title was used to emphasize Mary's role as a sign of hope and as a guiding star for Christians, especially gentiles, whom the Old Testament Israelites metaphorically referred to as the sea, meaning anyone beyond the "coasts", or, that is to say, sociopolitical, and religious (Mosaic law), borders of Israelite territory. Under this title, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of those who travel or seek their livelihoods on the sea.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase. (website)

[hollysoda]

Dragon of Time - one of the largest dragons to be seen in the skies. It is said to be the oldest of its brothers, having been reported to exist in many eras, and was therefore named after its timelessness. Though some doubt whether it truly is a good dragon, for the sharp markings on its face and whitened eyes give off the impression of something dangerous

Wolf Dragon - named for its furry wolf-like appearance. It only breaks the cloud barrier at dusk and roams the night, it’s somber howl becoming a folklore for travellers in forests. Legends say that it was once a friend of the Twili, and it circles around the Arbiter’s Grounds every night

Warrior Dragon - named for the metal plating that covers its back, and for how it only seems to appear before soldiers of pure heart/soldiers down on their luck. It is said that seeing the Warrior Dragon will bless the person with strength and courage, and if a feather from one of its blue whiskers were to fall before a captain they would be ensured victory

Winged Dragon - the rarest of the dragons, for it favours staying above the clouds and roaming the islands in the sky. Unlike most other dragons, it is more bird like, being covered in crimson feathers and sprouting large wings. It’s red feathers sometimes fall to the surface, and if spotted by a romantic couple they are blessed with eternal love. Some researchers argue that the Winged Dragon is even older than the Dragon of Time

Fairy Dragon - this dragon is often seen floating above Fairy Fountains, and it is said that new fairies are born from this dragon’s scales. It too has wings, but these ones are shaped like a butterflies. Some ancient texts read that parts of fairy dragon can heal even the most fatal injury or sickness, and a great evil once sort out the dragon in order to revive their leader

Long-Eared Dragon - an unusually pink dragon, adorned with golden horns and claws and most notably long rabbit-like ears. It soars around the entirety of Hyrule, but more sightings of it have been recorded around Eventide Island than anywhere else. If you are lucky enough to get close to this dragon, there is a sense of great calm in the air around it, as if the spirit within once fought many hard battles and now roams the sky in peace

Wind Dragon - a brilliant blue dragon that is a popular legend amongst seafarers and fishermen. It roams the coastlines, and is even said to sometimes dwell under water as there are stories of large draconic shadows being spotted beneath boats. If you ever feel a sharp breeze steering your sail away from your destination, it is most likely the Wind Dragon warning you of danger. However, the Wind Dragon is also often blamed for dangerous storms

Rainbow Dragon - a remarkably smaller and yet colourful dragon with iridescent scales. It is said to harness the powers of wind, fire, water and the earth combined, making it quite difficult to approach. Legends spread amongst blacksmiths say that if one were to meld one of its scales to a weapon the weapon would become unbreakable, and in an age where smithing is becoming a lost art many pray that they’re lucky enough to see the dragon

Dragon of the Wild - perhaps the most commonly reported dragon, for some claim to have known the spirit that resides within. It flies low around the entirety of Hyrule, but will then also return to the skies to fly with the Light Dragon. Over recent years it has become a staple sight in Hyrule and stories of the dragons origins have been passed down from generation to generation. It has become a commonly worshipped symbol for adventurers and soldiers alike