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useless-catalanfacts · 1 month ago

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Forgive my simplifying this or not understanding the nuances as well as I could have, but with what seems to be so much historic, linguistic, and cultural overlap (at least with certain touchstones), is there a reason Catalans and Valencians have branched in identity?

Hello! Sorry for the delay in answering. I've been very busy so I don't have time to add sources for everything as I always try to do, but I'll give you the terms so you can do your own research.

The identity of being Valencian, Catalan, Balearic, etc or from more specific areas like Penedès, Pyrenean, etc don't necessarily mean these people don't also identify in general terms as Catalan (Catalan Countries). Most people identify with different levels. For example, this is how I would say my identity: I am from my town, I am from Penedès (the cultural area within Catalonia), I am from Catalonia, I am Catalan from the Catalan Countries, and I am Mediterranean. They aren't exclusive, all the contrary.

That being said, it's true that there are people (increasing in number) who are Valencian and their Valencian identity has diverged from the broader Catalan Countries identity, or are from Catalonia and their identity as Catalan is limited to Catalonia. In the Valencian case, this tends to be people who don't speak Valencian/Catalan (you'll see why in the post), but there are even some who do.

Catalans and Valencians have historically (since the conquest in 1200s) been part of the same people, as they themselves often talked about back then (they called themselves the same nation). Catalans moved south and settled in what became the Catalan-speaking part of the Valencian Country, and Aragonese people moved south and settled in the inland that eventually became the Spanish-speaking part (eventually Aragonese got substituted by Spanish). The kings were the same in both, families were related in both, the language was/is the same, the books that circulated were in both, etc. It was not perceived as different, but because of how the Catalan political system worked, each area that they invaded was made into its own kingdom: Kingdom of Mallorca and the Kingdom of València were created in this moment. These kingdoms were part of the same system, more or less in a federation with Catalonia and Aragon. (Aragon was always seen as more different because it had its own separate history/legacy and legal privileges.)

Now, fast forward some centuries. After all the kingdoms of this Catalan-Aragonese federation are conquered by the Castillian armies in the War of the Spanish Succession (ending in 1715), all these federated kingdoms lose their independence and become simply part of Spain. When Spain organizes its administrations, it does so under a system of provinces, and the provinces are not allowed to group themselves together (that's why the Mancomunitat de Catalunya in 1914-1923, the first time that provinces were allowed to put together their money and do a few things together, was such an important thing at the time, even though it was almost purely symbolic).

A strong repression follows, which will continue very strongly with Franco's fascist dictatorship (1939-1978). During all of this long time of repression, the Catalanophobic Spanish nationalists tried the "divide and win" strategy, creating theories that said the Catalan Countries have nothing to do with each other and putting us against each other (saying x other area wants to steal your history and claim it as theirs —when in reality it's a common history— and this kind of statements). Some of these movements manufactured by the fascists only convinced a handful of people and never got far, for example the "Leridanismo" movement, which said that the Lleida area (Western Catalonia) isn't actually Catalonia. This will sound absolutely ridiculous to anyone now (and already sounded absolutely ridiculous to most people back then), but when the government is the one deciding education and funding institutions... Well, some times it works. In Lleida it didn't because it has literally zero things to base itself on, but in the Valencian Country it sank in a little bit (not much at first) because there's the (real) claim that the Kingdom of Valencia used to be its own entity (in federation with Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Aragon, and at times parts of what now is Italy).

Meanwhile, the education system was very reduced and extremely controlled by the government (later, a fascist dictatorship). Many people didn't go to school or went only for a few years, so many people didn't know much outside their town and the city they go to market in. Many people didn't know any history, they knew the language they speak but they didn't know what is spoken where or how far away other places are. This is normal in the kind of society 1940s-1950s Iberia was. So these people would go to school and be taught (by the fascist dictatorship's schools) that Spain is an eternal empire chosen by God to wage the holy crusade etc etc etc and the province division. Thus, the government wanted to make people identify only with Spain, and to a little extent the province they're in, but erase the idea of larger nations that could be stronger together.

Towards the end of the dictatorship and when the dictatorship ended (1978), the Valencian Country was where Catalan independentism was the strongest. For context, the dictatorship ended when the dictator Franco died peacefully of old age in bed (1975) and then starts a period where the fascist government tries to reorganize to keep as many things the same while giving in to a minimum of democracy to be internationally respected as a modern country. In this context, one of their obsessions was to keep the subjugation of the nations (that's why, for example, when political parties were legalized, the only parties that were kept illegal were the ones who were pro-independence). Here enters the strategy to divide the Catalan Countries: blaverism.

Blaverism is a political movement that was funded by the far right-wing Spanish nationalists that claims that the Valencian Country has nothing to do with the rest of the Catalan Countries. It denies the existence of the Catalan Countries, and says that the Valencian language is it's own separate language instead of just the historical term for the Catalan language in the Valencian Country. They deny the term "Valencian Country" because they consider "country" a word that is too strong because, to them, the Valencian Country is nothing more than a Spanish region. They also make a lot of pseudohistorical claims that make absolutely no sense, for example saying that "Valencian" was already spoken there before the Catalan conquest (?????) and some even say that "Valencian" cannot be related to Catalan because while Catalan is obviously a Romance language (=language that comes from Latin) "Valencian" is a language that doesn't come from Latin but from Ancient Iberian itself (????????????? For context, Ancient Iberian is a non-Indoeuropean language that hasn't been desciphered). At this point you're probably wondering if these people can really be that stupid to believe this, and to be fair I don't believe that many people who defend these theories actually believe in them, at least not the "higher-ups". But that's why they need to keep people ignorant. First of all, they took advantage of already-existing Catalanophobia and accentuated it a lot, leading to a new wave of neonazi anti-Catalan(Valencians speakers included) violence during what was called the Battle of València (1970s-1990s). Since everyone who grows up within the Spanish system and society is taught Catalanophobia, many people (including Catalans) can be very Catalanophobic. This internalised Catalanophobia was used to make Valencians more easily convinced of whatever stupid theories they were told, because some of them wanted to believe anything that would tell them they aren't Catalans and they can distance themselves from those horrible, stupid, annoying, arrogant, stingy Catalans.

But now you'll be thinking: "okay, people are willing to believe what will prove them right and make them feel good without having to rethink who they consider worthy of existing or being equal and who they don't. But how can you claim Catalan and Valencian are two different languages, when they're less different than American English is to England English? And when people from Northern Valencian Country speak in the same way as people from Southern Catalonia, while people their dialect is more different from the dialects from other parts of Valencia and other parts of Catalonia?". This is why they desperately need ignorance and still to this day use the law to create it.

On the left: map of the dialects and accents of Catalan. On the right: map of the Catalan Countries with the territorial divisions. You can see how the territorial divisions don't match at all with the dialectal areas, with the exceptions of Northern Catalonia and the islands because of their isolation.

When the dictatorship ended, Spain's system has continued to be based on the region system (called comunidades autónomas). Each region has its own regional government with limited power over certain things (nothing even close to the degree of autonomy that the states of the USA have, or Scotland and Wales in the UK, but it's something). This means that each region has its own of certain things, such as TV channels.

When the TV and radio channels for each region started, you could watch them from anywhere you wanted as long as there were towers/posts that sent the signal there. Since in the Valencian Country, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands we speak the same language, it was common for people to watch the TV channel or listen to the radio they liked from either. This was nice because it meant we had more choice than only 1 TV channel in our language. But this also meant that everyone knew that we speak the same language and can understand each other perfectly. So in 2011, when the PP (right-wing Spanish nationalist) party was in the government of the Valencian Country, they decided to ban Catalonia's TV channel in the Valencian Country, and ban the Valencian TV channel in Catalonia. There were many demonstrations in the Valencian Country and many Valencians tried to keep up pirate signal towers, but the government sent people to saw them down and legally persecuted those who put up the towers. This continues nowadays. With modern TVs, we don't need repetition towers because it works through the internet: we can see the regional TVs and radios of all the regions (Castilla, Madrid, Galicia, Aragón, Extremadura, Cantabria, Andalucía, Murcia, etc)... except for Catalonia's if you're in València, and València's if you're in Catalonia. (I went more in depth about the illegalization and persecution of Catalonia's TV and radio stations in the Valencian Country in this post linked here, it's in Catalan but you can copy-paste it on Google translate if you're interested). This means that now we aren't in communication, we don't follow what happens there are much, and people might become less familiar with other accents. In conclusion, we are being isolated from each other. This way, people are more likely to believe blaverists when they say "those aren't like us", because they don't know what "those" are like.

This "each region have its thing which mustn't be shared with any other" thing also applies to symbols. Each region has its flag. Since the Middle Ages, all the Catalan Countries and Aragon had the same flag (the four red bars on a yellow background, which is the shield of the House of Barcelona). But the Spanish regional system demanded every area to have its own "regional flag". Catalonia kept its historical flag, but the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands made up a new flag when the region system was being reorganized at the transition from dictatorship to democracy (the Valencian Country's current flag was created in 1982). This new Valencian flag was made by adding a new design of the blue ribbon with a crown on the historical (Catalan) flag. "Blue" in Catalan/Valencian is "blau", thus the term "blaverista" (literally it would mean "blue-erist") because they were the ones who used this new non-historical flag just to be separate from Catalonia. For a few decades, this flag was seen as a very political symbol and you could guess the ideology of those who used it, but over time, after so many years of the governments having it hanging and the newest generations seeing it around as the only flag of their area and studying it in school as the flag of their region, to the young generations it's becoming a less political flag and it's being accepted as simply what the Valencian flag is. This is another very visible example of how shared cultural symbols are artificially separated to make us look more different from each other than we are.

The same isolation applies to other things, including the school system. Each region in the state of Spain studies Spain things in general (history, geography, etc) and some things specific to their region (for example, in Catalonia you learn all the counties of Catalonia and their capitals, in Valencia the same for the counties in Valencia, etc) which means that we are artificially kept apart from the places of our nation that are outside of our region in the Spanish region system.

Now, for all these reasons, it's increasingly more common for people from the Valencian Country to be ignorant about Catalonia (and believe only the stereotypes), and for people from Catalonia to be ignorant about the Valencian Country (and believe the stereotypes). Add to this the huge amount of hatred against Catalonia that the Spanish nationalist political parties rely on in the Valencian Country for votes. As a result, Catalonia is villainized in the Valencian Country, and the Valencian Country is invisibilized in Catalonia.

To sum up, Spanish nationalism keeps us isolated from each other and tries to make us hate each other. This is possible thanks to ignorance and already-existing Catalanophobia, as well as a reinforcement of regional identities and the Spanish identity to counter the Catalan-Countries identity. It's worth adding that this is such a common tactic done by imperialist countries to dilute and kill the local languages that the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages warns against it and prohibits, among other things, banning peoples from receiving the TV and radio signals of other areas that speak their same language. Spain has ratified this charter but still violates it.

I talked about this topic previously in this answer about the language issue, it might be useful to you:

There could be many more things to say and examples to give, but I think this is enough for now. I hope it makes it more understandable now. Thank you for your interest!

As always, of course, everyone but especially Valencians are more than welcome to comment everything you want to say.

#blaverisme #ask #anonymous

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thatscarletflycatcher · 2 years ago

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How come Uruguay’s official name is República Oriental?

The full explanation is a bit complicated, considering how long the independence wars were, and how many hands had power in succession over what now is Uruguay (Spain, Britain, Portugal, Brazil, the United Provinces of River Plate...) but the long-ish summary would be:

During the Spanish colonization, as you know, the Americas were divided in viceroyalties:

The viceroyalty of River Plate had its capital in Buenos Aires, which is on the west coast of River Plate, where the Paraná-Paraguay river net meets the Uruguay River way:

The distance between BSAS and the closest point-port on the other side of the river (Colonia del Sacramento, which for that reason was a contention point between Portugal and Spain) is 51km. You can only see the lights of BSAS from Colonia.

Upstream River Plate into River Uruguay, the distance is much narrower, but the Uruguay is still an important river (notice how much more significant it is than Cuareim river in the northern border with Brazil, even if you don't take into account the Salto dam):

Because of that, it became a natural border that separated this and the other provinces, and so it was called Provincia Oriental, meaning that it was on the eastern side of River Uruguay. Had BSAS been upstream the Paraná, the separation wouldn't have been seen as so significant (it's also important to note that back in the day, because of sea currents and rocky coasts, the eastern shore was difficult to reach successfully by sea).

When Uruguay became a country, for the sake of continuity and ease, it was named Estado Oriental del Uruguay and then República Oriental del Uruguay. Basically the name is "the country to the East side of River Uruguay".

For a long time citizens of Uruguay were indistinctly called either Uruguayos or Orientales, and one choice or another had different political meanings: Uruguayan implies an adherence to the politically unitarian view (as it only applies to people born after the republic) while Oriental implies ties to a longer history and to a more federal mindset (although it was also emphasized by military regimes and similar as for obvious reasons the national heroes were all Orientals and not really Uruguayans). Nowadays officially the use of Uruguayan is encouraged for reasons of... making the demonym easily understood to foreigners, but the use of Oriental is not forbidden (although it is becoming mostly poetic/lyric in use).

#ask #apesoformythoughts #Uruguay

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brookstonalmanac · 5 months ago

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Events 6.23 (before 1950)

#Events

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rauthschild · 5 months ago

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It has been endlessly enumerated that in our research, the British have always been "at the bottom of the dogpile".

Their ubiquitous presence in every scrap, every illegal trade, every bank fraud, every diplomatic disaster, and every war for the past three hundred years --and especially during the last hundred and fifty years-- has been a cause for comment and wonder.

It begs credibility to assume that any one People on the face of the Earth could, from their relatively diminutive homeland, innocently stumble into the ground floor of every evil enterprise and situation with such utter consistency, if they were not the Causative Agent.

It turns out that unraveling the gigantic Mercenary Conflict and fraud known as "the American Civil War" requires looking at the English Civil War that rocked the world less than a hundred years prior.

It was as a result of the English Civil War and the Treaty of Utrecht that followed during the reign of Queen Anne, that a Trading Company known as Great Britain was formed, and as a further result, the Office of the British Monarch operating as "King of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales" -- in Territorial Jurisdiction -- was also created.

How many Black Brits, much less Autochthonous Black Americans, Aussies or Frenchmen, ever knew that "Great Britain" was a company, not a country?

And that a British Monarch was the equivalent of a Company President or CEO on steroids?

Finally, who knew that this "Monarch" functioned entirely in International -- that is, Territorial -- Jurisdiction?

This "territorial government" comprised a secondary and secret government, engaged in a realm of endeavor quite divorced from normal public cognizance and operating outside the normal law.

Finally, we have the reason why, in both Britain and America, people constantly prattle about "democracy" ---which has never been the form of government in either country.

England is supposed to be a Constitutional Monarchy and America is supposed to have a "republican form of government" under its own Common Law.

There isn't a word about "democracy" anywhere in any founding document, except in this hidden realm of so-called Territorial Jurisdiction, which is international in nature.

This, the end result of the English Civil War, is where the problem started. It created an entirely different level and kind of government operating outside the normal law of England, Ireland, Scotland, or Wales.

The deceit involved in forcing Territorial Rule on the sleeping General Public, via a process of impersonation, denigration, legal chicanery, inland piracy, and fraud, required linguistic acrobatics.

The word "person" would mean "corporation" for Territorial Government purposes; the word "enfranchisement" would have a double meaning involving both the creation of a franchise corporation and conferring the ability to vote for corporation officers, instead of electing public officials.

The living people might have a Constitutional Monarchy, but soon, everyone would be legally defined as being "dead at Law", and existing only as a franchise corporation of Great Britain, a Trading Company, run as a democracy under Territorial Code.

This is precisely the illegal, unlawful, and immoral means that has been used to kill -- on paper -- half the world's population, and create the most ruthless, criminal, and hidden business conglomerate in world history.

Of course, this did not happen overnight and it did not occur in a vacuum with nobody knowing about it.

A substantial number of senior government officials certainly knew about the switch to Territorial Jurisdiction and the evasion of the government's contracts owed to the people.

The compartmentalized public employees implemented the parts and pieces of the transition scheme, knowingly or not; the bankers funded it, and the lawyers planned it out so as to take advantage of it for themselves.

What started with the English Civil War, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the Treaty of Utrecht, has ended with the flaming compost heap currently consuming the world's economies and threatening all of us with nuclear war.

"Great Britain" along with its "British Empire" may no longer be operating with impunity, but the aftermath of its understated demise and its attempts to redefine itself -- and keep on operating -- have resulted in the current Mess.

It is apparent that having suffered the backlash of world opinion for the oppressions of the British Raj in India and for its Colonial Empire and its abuse of the Commonwealth Countries, the British Government made an outward show of reform, but in fact, doubled-down and replaced Colonialism with a worse and even more destructive form of Corporate Feudalism.

We suppose that having pulled the Old Switcheroo from National to Territorial Jurisdiction, and having successfully redefined the Social Contract to the disadvantage of the average members of the Public, the Perpetrators imagined that they could simply do another change of jurisdiction and transfer their government operations to the global Jurisdiction of the Air without anyone being the wiser.

Once enfranchised under the veil of commerce and commercial law, everyone (but them) could be enslaved and denigrated down another rung, deprived of more rights, and forced to live under the Uniform Commercial Code generated by faceless and unelected attorneys.

Of course, Public Law, Nationalism, and Populism are all anathema to these guilty criminals operating in Gross Breach of Trust and Contract.

Their very lives depend on the Public not waking up and not holding them to account for the things they have done "in the name of the government" -- without actually being the government and without acting under the contractual constraints of the government owed to the living people.

Their only plea can be that the people "volunteered" to do this to themselves and to their own government by signing private service contracts and enfranchising themselves, giving up their private property rights and their ability to elect their own public officials, purportedly in exchange for corporate benefits.

There are a number of problems with this legal defense, most especially the stickler that all these supposed enfranchisement contracts were undisclosed, unconscionable, and still not recognized by the victims themselves.

There's also the issue that no rational man or woman presented with the loss of all their private property and fundamental rights would agree to exchange them for paltry and arbitrary benefits funded by their own work.

Any valid contract in any jurisdiction requires full disclosure and the governments involved in this gigantic crime spree against their own people could never afford that.

Full disclosure of the actual deal, "New" or otherwise, would mean its immediate and permanent rejection by the Public, so it all had to be done under conditions of strict secrecy.

Here we have an excerpt taken from the first Will composed by Cecil Rhodes, stating that his estate legacy was to be used for:

"The establishment, promotion, and development of a Secret Society, the true aim and object whereof shall be for the extension of British rule throughout the world, the perfecting of a system of emigration from the United Kingdom, and of colonization by British subjects, of all lands wherein the means of livelihood are attainable by energy, labor, and enterprise, and especially the occupation by British settlers of the entire continent of Africa....the whole of South America....the whole United States of America, as an integral part of the British Empire and, finally, the foundation of so great a Power as to render wars impossible, and promote the best interests of humanity."

While Rhode's closing statement clothes his criminal intent with some flavor of philanthropy, the ruthlessness of his own actions and the abuses that his British South Africa Company visited upon South Africa during its tenure as the "government" of that country, speaks volumes for itself.

Under Rhode's command, the vicious practice of racial Apartheid was enforced, brutal domestic concentration camps were used to subdue the native population, and British elitism reached a new zenith of despotic asset-stripping snobbery.

If the British are elite, they are elite criminals, distinguished apart from the rest of humanity by their uncanny ability to lie, cheat, steal, debauch, and betray trust without a backward glance or qualm of conscience, while maintaining a sanctimonious and hypocritical belief in their own superiority.

We don't recognize this behavior as anything superior; we recognize it as garden variety criminality and we call the British Government --- the Monarchy and Westminster --- out for it.

This world-spanning criminality has been promoted by the Secret Society envisioned by Cecil Rhodes, and it initially included Rhodes, Lord Nathan Rothschild, Lord Esher, Lord Rosebery, Lord Salisbury, Alfred Milner, and the publicist William Stead. They would later be joined by Lord Pirbright (Henry de Worms-Rothschild), Henry Wellcome (an American pharmaceutical giant) and other highly placed individuals, who would foster British Imperialism into the modern age.

These men, long dead, used their personal power and fortunes to promote evil ideas and actions which have continued long beyond their own physical tenure.

In addition to eugenics, concentration camps, racial purity, and numerous other sick and repugnant ideas promoted by this small and ruthless cadre, we have them to thank for the First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Gaza, and all the other minor wars and encroachments that have made the world unstable and miserable since the formation of this group in 1891.

This is the "small and ruthless" secret society that President John F. Kennedy spoke about just a few days before his assassination.

The Rothschilds, in particular, the British branch of Rothschilds, have been up to their necks in government influence intrigues and information manipulation since the Napoleonic Wars and simply merged some of their activities and resources with Rhodes and his group for their mutual benefit.

The only serious competition offered against these British Elitists has come from the Society of Jesus --- the Jesuits, who have embraced such concepts as murder for Jesus, in pursuit of world peace through world dominance--- the same quasi-philanthropic excuse offered by Rhodes himself.

We can safely assume that the recent attacks against the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit Order in particular, and such acts of terrorism as the burning of Notre Dame, have been promoted by the current version of this same evil and self-serving British Crime Club.

Neither one of these groups have ever once seriously considered that the ends do not justify the means and that world domination is not part of the natural order of things.

Whether priests or demagogues, captains of industry or world-spanning financiers, all these men have served a common evil in the name of doing good.

Good can never come from lies, force, and fear; any benefit attained by these means is born tainted and can only wither and become more corrupt with time.

This is precisely what we observe in the Halls of Academe, in the Courts, in the Churches, in the Militaries, and in what passes itself off as Government.

#blacklivesmatter #blackvotersmatters #donald trump #joe biden #naacp #blackmediamatters #blackvotersmatter #news #ados #youtube

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auslanderklpl · 1 year ago

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Madre Hobuna

Being a 2000s kid that had a semi decent grasp on english and a deep need to view all things non suitable for my age demographic. I found myself sinking quickly inside all things horror or supernatural.

From small, passion driven blogspots to shock sites, my internet journey landed me in places that still carry some of my major inspirations and influences for my art.

Who doesn’t remember horribly photoshop cryptids and aliens from ye olden days? I certainly do and I strive my humanoid contraptions to resemble that uncanny, almost random aesthetic of early internets photoshop.

One of those inspirations was the legend behind the 9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9 reddit creepypasta series.

At the beginning I thought of it as a homage to the Silent Hill series, like an extreme AU of the first games from its heavy womb symbolism. The interfaces scream that is a womb-mimic like the pods avatars were stored in the J.Camerons franchise. And the titular creature, the Mother with the Horse eyes only strengthens my personal interpretation of the symbolism of this series.

A deity like being that interferes with the on goings of the world and ripping and sewing the storyline together. You can argue is a successful version of The God of Furies , a being of true neutral values and ideals who strungs the pendulum of the world on its own rythm, without being itself involved in the happenings it orchestrates.

But heres the conundrum: Horses arent ussualy a motherly symbolism. In ancient Greece and Rome horses were a symbol of power and glory: values that are ussualy given musculine character. In medieval times horses were seen as a symbol of strength and noble origins: a healthy horse was expensive both to aquire and keep.

Furthermore horses arent that good as mothers in the animal kingdom go, although thats also a human fault (this is a half assed idea but from some minor research they seem to have a semi better relationship than bovines do to their calfs).

Given these thoughts, the idea of a horse to be given the title of Madre(mother in spanish) is an oxymoron, but it also makes a lot of sense. In my view, Madre Hobuna isnt a stereotypical mother deity. She isnt a Madonna nor a Maria (orthodox name of Holy Mary). She is more of a guide than a voice of reason or comfort.

And thats why i depict her as such. I dont view her as a freudian interpretation of the mother i wished to see nor as a stand in for a feminine deity.

She is her own person and she marches alone like a abandoned war horse in the sea storm that we call life, and thats why she is in my mind so many years (her creation is roughly at 2020? )

#new artblr #artwork #art essay #oc #please bear with me #i am not an expert #just googled stuff #art interpretation

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k00278429 · 2 years ago

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Temporary project - Aztec warrior

The Aztec warrior was highly honored in society if he was successful. Success depended on bravery in battle, tactical skill, heroic deeds and most of all, in capturing enemy warriors. Since every boy and man received military training, all were called for battle when war was in the offing. Both commoners and nobles who captured enemy warriors moved up in military rank or became members of military orders. Many nobles joined the army professionally and functioned as the command core of the army.

While the Aztec economy depended on trade, tribute and agriculture, the real business of the empire was war. Through war, the Aztec Empire gained tribute from conquered enemies. People captured during war became slaves or sacrifices in the Aztec’s religious ceremonies. Expanding the empire through further conquests strengthened the empire and brought more riches in tribute. For this reason, the emperor rewarded successful warriors of both classes with honors, the right to wear certain garments in distinctive colors, nobility for the commoners and higher status for nobles and land. Every Aztec warrior could, if he captured enemy warriors, advance far in society.

Rank in the military required bravery and skill on the battlefield and capture of enemy soldiers. With each rank, came special clothing and weapons from the emperor, which conveyed high honor. Aztec warrior clothing, costumes and weaponry was instantly recognizable in Aztec society.

I decided to draw the eagle warrior, The Eagle warriors were one of the two main military societies, the highest rank open to commoners. In battle they carried atlatls, bows, spears and daggers. They received special battle costumes, representing eagles with feathers. They became full-time warriors and commanders in the army. Great physical strength, battlefield bravery and captured enemy soldiers were necessary to obtain this rank. Commoners who reached the vaunted Eagle were awarded the rank of noble along with certain privileges: they were given land, could drink alcohol (pulque), wear expensive jewelry denied to commoners, were asked to dine at the palace and could keep concubines.

The reason i chose to draw an Aztec warrior is because they are such a big part of mexican culture. A lot of parts of their culture can still be seen in society today. Despite this its clear the Aztec empire was temporary. While they felt that they would last forever unfortunately the Spanish invaded and killed almost all of the Aztecs. This proves that not matter how important or powerful a person is their life will always be temporary.

I use color pencils and markers do to this draw

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astrognossienne · 3 years ago

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tragic beauty: lupe vélez - an analysis

“I had to play with boys, girls found me too rough.” - Lupe Vélez

This is an analysis I’ve wanted to cover for a while for quite a few reasons. Primarily because, in a few ways, I see myself in her and, as such, feel the need to defend her and assert her true legacy: as a pioneer. Which brings me to the main reason I wanted to do this: to correct the scurrilous rumours about her premature death cooked up by a hating ass imbecilic Aquarius whose infamous book doesn’t deserve to be named. So if you want to hear the truth about this lady, read on.

Known as the “Mexican Spitfire”, Latin bombshell Lupe Vélez was (an to an extent, still is) a much-maligned and terribly misunderstood woman. A true Cancer, she was a force of nature and unconsciously antagonized others and made them uncomfortable because of her authenticity to herself and her emotional nature. Born during a storm, she had a naturally stormy personality. She could be hilarious and charismatic one moment, and depressive and vicious the next. Instead of anyone trying to understand her, they just stuck her with the “spicy fiery Latina” stereotype, not knowing or caring what was behind it. The harshness of her life before stardom may explain some of her fearsome, yet fun, personality; she grew up with violent trauma – watching her father kill and almost be killed during the Mexican Revolution. She also is believed to have had undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which would explain her extreme moodiness and outbursts.

One of the first Latina actresses to make an impact in Hollywood, she was subjected to the racist, sexist Hollywood tropes that forever typecasted her—she was called “senorita cyclone,” and the “hot tamale”. The Hollywood press willfully misunderstood Vélez’s sex positivity and consistently portrayed her as a woman who took great pleasure in her body, and indeed, the tempestuous Vélez had numerous affairs, including a particularly torrid one with a young Gary Cooper, and a tumultuous marriage to “Tarzan” star Johnny Weissmuller. But in 1944, at age 36, she found herself pregnant with the child of a little known-actor name Harald Ramond, who would not marry her and this reality made her come undone, and like my other baby Carole Landis, she succumbed to an drug overdose. Her promiscuity, right or wrong, became part of the way her stardom was packaged and promoted. Also, the press naturally compared her to (and pitted her against) Hollywood’s only other female Mexican star—the “high-class” and elegant Dolores Del Rio. The press couldn’t even find sympathy for her even in death and a false story was printed that she drowned in the toilet after vomiting up a spicy Mexican dinner. Her death is parodied and mocked to this day. Again, she’s a true Cancer in the sense that the same imperfections that everyone else has, she is seen as less than human for having them. I hope to help right that wrong by honoring Vélez for being the trailblazer that she is. At any rate, Vélez would seem to be a prototype for contemporary female stars, from Madonna to Rihanna, who have proclaimed their pleasure in their body and their sexual liberation — a pro-sex activist before her time, doomed to suffer the rejection of a more puritanical age.

Lupe Vélez, according to astrotheme, was a Cancer sun and Leo moon. She was born María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to young upper-middle class parents. Her father, Jacobo Villalobos Reyes, was a colonel in the military, and her mother, Josefina Vélez, was an opera singer. They also had another son, John and daughter, Annette. The Villalobos family were considered prominent in San Luis Potosí and most of the male family members were college educated. The family was also financially comfortable and lived in a large home with servants. As a young girl Lupe showed an interest in performing, but her father was outraged at his daughter’s “low-class” dreams, and forbade his daughter from being in show business. All that changed during the war. Her family was in a state of upheaval—the Mexican Revolution was happening, her father had been presumed dead in the war and all their money was gone. While most of her family members were too proud to get jobs, a teenage Vélez did just that, supporting the family by working as a saleswoman in a department store. She then finagled an audition with a local theater. However, her father was indded alive and well and soon returned home from the war. Because at that time becoming an artist and coming from a well-to-do family was seen as embarrassing, her father refused to let her use his last name in theater, so she used her mother’s surname.

She proceeded to seek out venues where she could dance the then-popular “shimmy.” In 1925 she was cast in the big stage revues Mexican Rataplan and !No lo tapes! and became a big audience favourite. Her name got around to American stage star Richard Bennett (father of American film stars Constance and Joan Bennett), who was looking for a Mexican cantina singer for his new play. Lupe traveled to Hollywood but was rejected for the part for being too young. While in Hollywood, Lupe met film and stage comedienne Fanny Brice, who took a liking to Lupe because of her sparkling personality. She put in a good word for Lupe to impresario Florenz Ziegfeld (creator of the Ziegfeld’s Follies), who could use Lupe in one of his Broadway musicals. However, MGM producer Harry Rapf heard of Lupe as well, and offered her a screen test. When producer Hal Roach saw the test, he immediately signed her to a contract. Vélez soon made her major film debut in Douglas Fairbanks’ action-romance The Gaucho in 1927. The film was a huge hit and Vélez was an overnight sensation.

Along with her professional life gaining steam, so did her love life. Vélez sought out some of Hollywood’s hottest men, which wasn’t hard for a hot and sexy number like Lupe; men flocked to her like bees to honey. She was romantically linked with Gary Cooper, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, cowboy Tom Mix, “Tarzan” actor Johnny Weissmuller, Errol Flynn, John Gilbert, Henry Wilcoxon, singer Russ Columbo, Randolph Scott, author Erich Maria Remarque (who wrote All Quiet On The Western Front and later married Paulette Goddard), Clayton “Lone Ranger” Moore, director Victor Fleming (director of Gone With The Wind), and boxers Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey.

One of her first conquests was cowboy star Tom Mix. She also had an with newcomer Clark Gable, who cut off their romance because he was afraid Lupe would run all over town discussing their sexual secrets, which she did. Soon she had a torrid affair with comic genius Charlie Chaplin in 1928. Lupe revitalized Chaplin’s libido after he had gone through a torturous divorce from his wife. Whatever time she had for the many men in her life, that same appreciation didn’t extend to other women and she would frequently battle with the other females with whom she had to work with and would often threaten them; when she was starring in director D.W. Griffith’s Lady of the Pavements, she had to co-star with an actress named Jedda Goudall, whom she hated, and the two had a ferocious cat-fight on the set. When she made her final appearance on Broadway in the Cole Porter musical “You Never Know”, Vélez and fellow cast member Libby Holman feuded viciously. The feud came to a head during a performance where Vélez punched Holman in between curtain calls and gave her a black eye, which pretty much ended the run of the show. Vélez was territorial about the men in her life, she was vicious toward any woman who might be competition for her man or an acting role. She mocked Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and Shirley Temple, and her arch nemesis Dolores Del Dio by doing imitations of them.

When she was cast in the film The Wolf Song in 1929, she met Gary Cooper and immediately started what would be her first widely publicized romance. Theirs was a one-sidedly volatile relationship; he would often appear in public with scratches and bruises. One time, she attacked him with a knife during a fight. He needed stitches. By the end of their time as a couple, Copper had lost 45 pounds and was physically exhausted. He was ordered by the studio to take a vacation. As he boarded a train, Vélez shot at Cooper but missed. Lupe soon moved on to other men; she had a thing for fighters. In addition to having a brief fling with boxer Jack Dempsey, she conducted a flagrant, but secret, affair with the black boxer Jack Johnson. In those days, blacks and whites almost never conducted sexual affairs out in the open. She met Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller at the hotel where she was staying that was owned by film star Marion Davies. One problem: Weissmuller was already married. But no matter, he dumped his wife for Lupe and married her October 8, 1933 in Las Vegas. Theirs was not a happy, serene marriage, and they constantly battled, with Lupe filing for divorce several times in 1934 and changing her mind each time. Weissmuller’s patience was so strained he dumped a plate of salad on her head at Ciro’s nightclub. Finally, in 1938 she filed a petition that was finalized in 1939.

After having many hit pictures with MGM, they unceremoniously dropped her. The excuse was that the studios were no longer going to make Spanish versions of their films and there was no longer a need for Latin actresses. Vélez returned to Mexico in 1938 to star in her first Spanish-language film. Arriving in Mexico City, she was greeted by 10,000 fans. The film La Zandunga, was a critical and financial success and Vélez was slated to appear in four more Mexican films, but instead, she returned to Los Angeles. She soon went to RKO Studios and starred in the B-movie The Girl From Mexico. Despite its lowly status, the picture became a tremendous hit with audiences. RKO rushed her into another film, this time called Mexican Spitfire, playing an emotionally volatile singer named Carmelita. The 1940 film became another smash for Lupe. The Spitfire series of eight slapstick comedy films rejuvenated Lupe’s sagging career. In late 1941, she had an affair with writer Erich Maria Remarque whose wife, actress Luise Rainer later wrote that Remarque told her “with the greatest of glee” that he found Vélez’s volatility hot.

At this same time Lupe took on another lover in the form of a French 27-year-old bit actor named Harald Ramond. He was a strong and controlling man who knew how to tame Lupe. After she discovered that she was three months pregnant, she announced her engagement to Ramond without his knowledge or consent. When he learned of her pregnancy, he refused to marry her. Deeply hurt and stunned, she felt backed into a corner; she knew her career would be ruined in Hollywood if word got out she was pregnant and unmarried. It just wasn’t done in those days. And despite her wildness, Lupe was a devout Catholic, so abortion was out of the question. She could see only one way out: suicide. On December 18, 1944, at the age of 36, Vélez swallowed 70 Seconal pills, she lay down on her pink satin pillow on her over-sized Hollywood bed and arranged herself like a movie star, with her hands folded across her chest and went into an eternal sleep. Dramatic to the end, Lupe went out of this world in glamorous style. She left a suicide note addressed to Harald, which read:

“To Harald, May God forgive you and forgive me too, but I prefer to take my life away and our baby’s before I bring him with shame or killing him. How could you, Harald, fake such a great love for me and our baby when all the time you didn’t want us? I see no other way out for me so goodbye and good luck to you, Love Lupe.”

THAT is the truth. But the bottom line is: how she lived her life as well as the circumstances around her death are all irrelevant at the end of the day. What matters is the loss of a great multi-talented, pioneering Mexican star and a legacy unrealized and stunted by a world that wasn’t ready for her.

Next, I’ll talk about the most famous of her paramours, the yin to her yang, a perfect example of the special chemistry that Taureans and Cancers share, the strong, silent hero of the silver screen: Taurus Gary Cooper.

Stats

birthdate: July 18, 1908

major planets:

Sun: Cancer

Moon: Leo

Rising: Gemini

Mercury: Cancer

Venus: Leo

Mars: Pisces

Midheaven: Pisces

Jupiter: Virgo

Saturn: Aries

Uranus: Capricorn

Neptune: Cancer

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot: She may have seemed at times to be a shy, vulnerable, romantic individual who only wanted to please, but underneath she had a voracious appetite for adoration and respect, and would not stop until she got it. Without a doubt, she had a very warm feeling for others, and domestic security with plenty of happy togetherness is high on her list of priorities. When it came to cooperation with others, however, she had her limits because she was profoundly individualistic and, albeit in a charming manner, she insisted on doing things her way. Ultimately the most important thing for her was believing in herself and being true to her standards and aspirations. Most of all, she needed to fulfill her creative potential, which was like an intimate companion with whom she shared her life. You nurture it, protect it, and then you show it off, and whatever walk of life you are in, you tend to be a fine performer.

This gave her a lot of self-respect and a touch of vanity as well, and her emotional sensitivity combined with her underlying imperiousness tended to impress others and made them take her seriously. She was a devoted member of her flock, and she zealously and jealously protected and promoted whomever she was devoted to. When it came to developing her own talents, however, she seemed to know that she had to pull away in order to grow into her greatest self. Others may have thought she was a bit of a show-off but that was not the case: she simply had a deep sense of the importance of her own creative talents, and she felt only half alive if she did not honour them. Although she was pretty sensitive to criticism or rebuffs, she was just as committed to honesty and personal integrity; and despite her vanity, she eventually learned to laugh at herself.

She had a very good memory and found it easy to learn subjects that interested her. She was very kind and thoughtful towards others. Her imagination was very keen, but if it got carried away, she may have experienced irrational fears. Even though she may have tried to maintain a scientific and objective outlook, her mind was actually dominated by her emotions. When it came to careers, she may have felt initially vague or confused about what she really wanted to do. She was eventually forced to give up her career of choice by events out of her control (as was evidenced by the tides turning from the “Mexican spitfire” female ideal due to the changing of the times). There was probably some element of self-sacrifice involved somewhere in her choice of career (the element of sacrifice being that she had to sacrifice her child, and ultimately her life, in relation to her reputation as an unwed mother as well as her unborn child’s reputation as an illegitimate child). She had good technical and scientific ability due to her, at times almost fanatical, attention to detail. She was also fastidious when it came to matters of health, diet and appearance. She was not afraid of work and was very resourceful and capable. She also worked well in a team. She became very annoyed if somebody else questioned the way that she operated. Her energy levels were somewhat inhibited, her self-confidence reduced, and her ambitions restricted through fear of failure. Times of strength and weakness alternated within her. Even though her decision-making ability could be ineffectual through over-caution, she often seemed to be placed in situations where a quick decision was needed. When she succeeded, it was mainly through her own efforts. She also showed a tendency towards wanting to start at the top, wanting to avoid the hard work that gets you there.

She belonged to a generation with a rational and logical attitude to life. There was a conflict between tradition and convention, and the experimental and unconventional. As an individual, she had to learn to strike a balance between the erratic and the conventional. As a member of this generation, she had the ability to come up with original ideas which could be of practical value. She was part of a very artistically talented and creative generation that wanted to escape from the demands of the world around them into a world of excitement and glamour. She was part of an emotionally sensitive generation that was extremely conscious of the domestic environment and the atmosphere surrounding her home place and home country. In fact, she could be quite nostalgic about her homeland, religion and traditions, often seeing them in a romantic light. She felt a degree of escapism from everyday reality, and was very sensitive to the moods of those around her. Bow embodied all of these Cancer Neptunian ideals. As a Gemini Plutonian, she was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, she showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, she questioned more and learned more. As a member of this generation, having more than one occupation at a time would not have been unusual to her.

Love/sex life: It wasn’t easy to be passionate and emotionally explosive and also hold on to her dignity, but this was what she wanted to accomplish. She tried to conceal the pulsating softness of her sexual nature behind a façade of control and bluster. She thought that her display of strength and jolly self-confidence would hide her vulnerability and her susceptibility to virtually any sexual diversion. Of course, no one was really buying this cover up. They saw the luscious edges of her erotic hunger peeking through her disguise. That’s why they were all so anxious to be around her. The biggest problem in her sex life was how to deal with change. She loved it and she hated it. She loved following the lead of her feelings and surrendering herself to the moment. Too much consistency, even loving consistency, was apt to leave her bored and dissatisfied. But she also saw change as a threat to her sense of control and to the emotional security that she valued so highly. Because of this duality in her thinking, her reaction to changes in her sex life was abrupt, contradictory, and (horror of horrors) a little undignified.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Gemini

Lilith: Libra

Vertex: Scorpio

Fortune: Gemini

East Point: Gemini

Her North Node in Gemini dictated that she needed to prevent her idealism from influencing her thoughts to such a high degree. She needed to consciously develop a more clear-minded and analytical approach involving her thought processes. Her Lilith in Libra was definitely working overtime here. Relationships somehow caused her to err, and her partner choices caused much suffering. She expressed herself through others. As a lover, she was aggressive, yet co-dependent. As a mistress, she was not above trying to cause a divorce, which she did with Johnny Weissmuller and she ultimately became fatally despondent when she found herself pregnant with a bit actor's baby. She used her good looks as a weapon to help her get ahead in the movie industry. Also, Lilith in Libra strangely enough, manifested itself as a sort of lighter female Capricorn archetype, and she pulled herself up by the bootstraps in a rather glamorous way, going to work after her father left the family unit. As such, she exhibited graceful gumption right until the very end. Her Vertex in Scorpio, 5th house dictated that she had a desire or continual need for feeling irresistible and irreplaceable on all levels of intimacy, whether spiritual, intellectual, emotional, or physical. From the fires of hell to the heights of heaven, the further and deeper the range of interaction she could experience with another the more fulfilling. She had a childlike orientation, in all of its manifestations, toward relationships on an internal level. That implicit trust, or perhaps naivete, that was instilled in our childhood persisted far into maturity. The concomitant explosions and occasional tantrums when these constructs are violated also accompany this position. She had a need for fun, creativity, and excitement in a committed relationship, no matter how many years it has endured. She often had deep fears, typical of children, of abandonment, as well as a need for universal acceptance, no matter how she acted, which she needed her partner to respect and nurture, rather than rebuke, especially in adulthood. Her Part of Fortune in Gemini and Part of Spirit in Sagittarius dictated that her destiny lay in travel, education and communication. She was able to overcome enemies by her words and by her writing. Happiness and fulfillment came from being able to express herself fully. Her soul’s purpose lay in seeking truth, justice and fairness. She felt spiritual connections and saw the spark of the divine when she studied, broadened her mind through new philosophies, or looked for inspiration outside the home. East Point in Gemini dictated that she was often insatiably curious and loved to collect little bits of (what seemed to be useless) information and trivia. Her interests were quite varied, and she may have been somewhat scattered. Sometimes her curiosity could appear cold and callous as her level of objectivity was potentially high. There was usually an openness to learning in any situation.

elemental dominance:

water

fire

She had high sensitivity and elevation through feelings. Her heart and her emotions were her driving forces, and she couldn’t do anything on earth if she didn’t feel a strong effective charge. She needed to love in order to understand, and to feel in order to take action, which caused a certain vulnerability which she should (and often did) fight against. She was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. She generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. She was exciting to be around, because she was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, she could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, she chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, she was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because she was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—she was bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at her best, her confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves.

modality dominance:

mutable

She wasn’t particularly interested in spearheading new ventures or dealing with the day-to-day challenges of organization and management. She excelled at performing tasks and producing outcomes. She was flexible and liked to finish things. Was also likely undependable, lacking in initiative, and disorganized. Had an itchy restlessness and an unwillingness to buckle down to the task at hand. Probably had a chronic inability to commit—to a job, a relationship, or even to a set of values.

house dominants:

2nd

3rd

1st

The material side of life including money and finances, income and expenditure, and worldly goods was emphasized in her life. Also the areas of innate resources, such as her self-worth, feelings and emotions were paramount in her life. What she considered her personal security and what she desired was also paramount. Short journeys, traveling within her own country were themes throughout her life; her immediate environment, and relationships with her siblings, neighbours and friends were of importance. The way her mental processes operated, as well as the manner and style in which she communicated was emphasized in her life. As such, much was revealed about her schooling and childhood and adolescence. Her personality, disposition and temperament is highlighted in her life. The manner in which she expressed herself and the way she approached other people is also highlighted. The way she approached new situations and circumstances contributed to show how she set about her life’s goals. The general state of her health is also shown, as well as her early childhood experiences defining the rest of her life.

planet dominants:

Neptune

Mercury

Sun

She was of a contemplative nature, particularly receptive to ambiances, places, and people. She gladly cultivated the art of letting go, and allowed the natural unfolding of events to construct her world. She followed her inspirations, for better or for worse. She was intellectual, mentally quick, and had excellent verbal acuity. She dealt in terms of logic and reasoning. It was likely that she was left-brained. She was restless, craved movement, newness, and the bright hope of undiscovered terrains. She had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. She likely had strong leadership qualities, she definitely knew who she was, and she had tremendous will. She met challenges and believed in expanding her life.

sign dominants:

Cancer

Gemini

Leo

At first meeting, she seemed enigmatic, elusive. She needed roots, a place or even a state of mind that she could call her own. She needed a safe harbor, a refuge in which to retreat for solitude. She was generally gentle and kind, unless she was hurt. Then she could become vindictive and sharp-spoken. She was affectionate, passionate, and even possessive at times. She was intuitive and was perhaps even psychic. Experience flowed through her emotionally. She was often moody and always changeable; her interests and social circles shifted constantly. She was emotion distilled into its purest form. She ventured out to see what else was there and seized upon new ideas that expanded her community. Her innate curiosity kept her on the move. She used her rational, intellectual mind to explore and understand her personal world. She needed to answer the single burning question in her mind: why? This applied to most facets of her life, from the personal to the impersonal. This need to know sent her off to foreign countries, where her need to explore other cultures and traditions ranked high. She was changeable and often moody. This meant that she was often at odds with herself—the mind demanding one thing, the heart demanding the opposite. To someone else, this internal conflict often manifested as two very different people. She loved being the center of attention and often surrounded herself with admirers. She had an innate dramatic sense, and life was definitely her stage. Her flamboyance and personal magnetism extended to every facet of her life. She wanted to succeed and make an impact in every situation. She was, at her best, optimistic, honorable, loyal, and ambitious.

Read more about her under the cut.

Lupe Velez was born on July 18, 1908, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as Maria Guadalupe Villalobos Velez. She was sent to Texas at the age of 13 to live in a convent. She later admitted that she wasn't much of a student because she was so rambunctious. She had planned to become a champion roller skater, but that would change. Life was hard for her family, and Lupe returned to Mexico to help them out financially. She worked as a salesgirl for a department store for the princely sum of $4 a week. Every week she would turn most of her salary over to her mother, but she kept a little for herself so she could take dancing lessons. With her mature shape and grand personality, she thought she could make a try at show business, which she figured was a lot more glamorous than dancing or working as a salesclerk. In 1924 Lupe started her show business career on the Mexican stage and wowed audiences with her natural beauty and talent. By 1927 she had emigrated to Hollywood, where she was discovered by Hal Roach, who cast her in a comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Douglas Fairbanks then cast her in his feature film The Gaucho (1927) with himself and wife Mary Pickford. Lupe played dramatic roles for five years before she switched to comedy. In 1933 she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper (1933). This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful. In 1934 Lupe appeared in three fine comedies: Strictly Dynamite (1934), Palooka (1934) and Laughing Boy (1934). By now her popularity was such that a series of "Mexican Spitfire" films were written around her. She portrayed Carmelita Lindsay in Mexican Spitfire (1940), Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940), The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941) and Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943), among others. Audiences loved her in these madcap adventures, but it seemed at times that she was better known for her stormy love affairs. She married one of her lovers, Johnny Weissmuller, but the marriage only lasted five years and was filled with battles. Lupe certainly did live up to her nickname. She had a failed romance with Gary Cooper, who never wanted to wed her. By 1943 her career was waning. She went to Mexico in the hopes of jump-starting her career. She gained her best reviews yet in the Mexican version of Naná (1944). Bolstered by the success of that movie, Lupe returned to the US, where she starred in her final film as Pepita Zorita, Ladies' Day (1943). There were to be no others. On December 13, 1944, tired of yet another failed romance, with a part-time actor named Harald Maresch, and pregnant with his child, Lupe committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal. She was only 36 years old. (x)

#lupe velez #cancer #star analyses #astrology #long ass post #tragic beauty #mine

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kaimaciel · 3 years ago

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I don't think he is resentful for not being able to conquer Portugal. I mean, why should he be? Yes, it's true that all the kingdoms tried to unite the Iberian Peninsula many times (Portugal included) but they all wanted to be the ones to rule, that's why they never agreed. Let's remember that there was a war (commonly called the War of the Castilian Succession) because both Portugal and Aragon wanted to unite with Castile (which was divided between the supporters of Juana (Portugal) and those of Isabel (Aragon)). And the Iberian union occurred because Portuguese kings would often marry their princesses and princes into the Spanish monarchy in hope of placing a Portuguese king on the Spanish throne and therefore reunify Spain under Portuguese rule, but just the opposite happened. So yes, multiple attempts were made to conquer the peninsula and unite all the kingdoms, but that wish was never one sided.

I imagine he can still feel sad and hurt that the union didn't go well and they couldn't be together and ended up separating and distancing themselves, but I don't see any reason why he should feel resentment. Unless he blames Portugal for distancing himself as a defense mechanism (but I see this more likely when he was young. Now I think the subject only makes him sad and accept that this is the way things are and what happened cannot be changed bc thinking about what things could have been done differently and all the mistakes that could have been avoided is useless and only brings a feeling of emptiness and sadness, and that line of thinking never ends well). And honestly, there are too many problems and internal shit to regret unsuccessful attempts to include more territories to the country xD and the country is not exactly known for being the most stable and united in the world anyway xD I think that currently he only wants peace, tranquility and stability. And this may just be my personal opinion, but to me is very weird to think of wanting to increase the country's territory because...generally the Spaniards aren't patriotic at all. In fact, it's generally frowned upon to be apatriot or to feel pride of the country or its history (people often look at you weird or think outright that you are a fascist). It's an unwritten rule that the average Spaniard doesn't speak well of Spain: the country is shit and abroad is always better. Consequences of the civil war and the dictatorship I suppose, but that is the general mentality. Society has instilled in that feeling pride of your country is a bad thing and a fascist thing. It's kinda a complicated and delicated subject 😅

And personally I can imagine that it's difficult to talk about serious or negative things that he tries to avoid. I think that in general when something bothers him he tries to ignore it, bc talking about it means acknowledging the problem and he can no longer deny its existence and pretend that everything is fine. I think he doesn't know how to deal with negative emotions, so he just tries not to think about it, hide and ignore them and pretend that everything is fine and there is no problem, bc maybe if he does that enough it will come true. If he convinces himself that he is okay and happy and everything is peachy he will end up being okay and happy and everything peachy. Obviously this doesn't work and things pile up until they inevitably spill over in a not very pleasant way. And I suppose it's partly difficult for him to understand why other people don't try to do the same, forget all the negative things that happened and try to be happy (which really does nothing to solve the problem, obviously) which in turn frustrates others.

So (this is just my opinion, of course) but I can imagine that it's difficult to get him to talk about topics that he doesn't want or that make him uncomfortable, and the only way to do it is to corner him without escape and force him to recognize the problem and that they have to talk about it.

That's my opinion at least, other people can think dirently of course

Thank you for your answer, Anon.

I'm not going to bring politics into this (we're talking about fictional countries doing stupid shit), but, very briefly, I think the Portuguese are somewhere in the middle (I'm talking IRL, not Twitter), regarding national pride. The thing is, Portugal's history is not well known outside the lusophone diaspora, certain maps still show the peninsula with only Spain in it to this day, we're not talked on the news, etc, so we get the feeling that if we don't talk about ourselves, no one else will, and distancing from Spain, make ourselves different from Spain plays a huge part in our national identity.

Recently, I watched this geography documentary where the narrator said "Portugal is great, but it's no Spain".

Ouch. I mean, it's true, but ouch.

I was using some of those emotions of national inferiority complex for my hcs. Port feels ignored by Antonio, always in his shadow, maybe one of the reasons he started sailing in the first place was to try and find some sun for himself.

It's not Tonio's fault, maybe Tonio even felt rejected by Port when he saw him leaving and couldn't understand why his brother was growing cold and pulling away from him, but he didn't ask him why either, and Port did not tell him why he was pulling away.

Port focuses too much on the negative, expects the worse, if he sees Tonio all smiling, he thinks "Look at him happily and surrounded by a ton of friends! He doesn't care if I'm not here at all!"

And if he wants to discuss uncomfortable issues like the management of the rivers and the dams, or the nuclear power plant, he gets pissed when he feels his concerns are not being taken seriously.

It all comes down to Port feeling that Spain doesn't see him as an equal.

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mannien · 3 years ago

Text

Mornings in Sheffield Park | TH - CHAPTER 1

The one with stress, takeout food around the world, late night walks, and Disney dreams.

Word count: 6.6k

Warnings: some stress, some anxiety, mention of sex, and a lot of smiles

Masterlist

Fourth week into the morning pitch meetings at BBC, Millie felt lifeless and drained. The room was usually exploding with ideas, creative energy, and a lot of constructive feedback to the few interns who were allowed to join the conversation with editors, writers, and producers. That morning had started ugly enough for her: with an overwhelming number of e-mails about the schedule and missing content for Politics Live.

When she first landed her spot at BBC, Millie was over the moon. She was constantly calling it a dream come true, a once in a lifetime opportunity for her to begin a writing career in media. Her degree seemed to be the best choice for her future and Millie was ready to prove that graduating from humanities can actually land her a decent job. Her first days were filled with morning preparations, early commute to the city centre and exceptionally smoothed out shirts. The work environment in such a fast-paced industry felt inspiring and daunting at the same time, but Millie felt obligated to use this experience to its full potential. Each day she attempted to learn more than the day before and possibly show off a tiny bit more of her creative skills to her superiors. She spent her evenings researching topics and people, trying not to fall out of the loop. Being one step forward was hard work, one that Millie desperately wanted to ace.

The second week of her internship brought a slight shift to her agenda. After grasping the general concepts of working for a major radio and TV broadcasting company, she was aware of the production processes. She tried to happily follow up all the details about the work of a writer, a researcher, or an editor – just so she could be prepared for the follow-up of the introductory week. And as she hoped her interview was remembered and she would soon contribute to any program touching upon music or pop culture, her dreams and calls were slowly fading away. The intern manager ascribed her to the team devoted strictly to politics and daily news, having no vacancies for the popular radio programs. Even though she took whatever spot was offered, it was only to get more insight and experience.

Having already managed to speak up a few times during the morning routines in the conference room, Millie eased herself into the work environment and was treated like a regular employee. But the first wave of success quickly passed, especially when she was hit with growing emptiness in her brain. She did not enjoy politics, so as far as she could, she attempted to sneak in a sociological aspect into the context. But her tactic had an expiration date.

A couple of heads were expectantly turned at Millie when she was unsurely stuttering her weak ideas for the upcoming programme. She knew it wasn’t going well and she was mentally cursing herself for trying to impress the producers that much so early on.

“This isn’t gonna work. We’ve covered this enough in the evening news. Let’s take five, and maybe you’ll come up with a different angle. I’ll give you another shot here.”

Hugh, the head writer took off his glasses and watched her fidget in her seat. She nodded and took a deep breath, before leaving the room for a short break. Her mind was racing in panic; she wasn’t ready to admit that she didn’t have any idea. She walked back and forth through the corridor until she cursed quietly and walked away to the main hall. She pulled her phone from the back pocket and without overthinking this anymore, she called her boyfriend. He picked up after the third ring.

“Babe, can I call you back…”

“No, Frank,” She felt determined and fierce. Her hands shook from the pure view on board members slowly coming back from the kitchen with fresh coffee mugs. They were probably waiting to hear her another take on the TV show which Millie, wholeheartedly, was beginning to hate. “My work on the programme is too basic and I’ve been roasted for the past fifteen minutes or so. Hugh has me in the spotlight in front of everyone. Help me, please?”

“It’s not your fault they’ve given you a job you’re not good at, babe. It’s just an internship, they will roast you anyway.”

Millie’s lungs were ready to stop working and suffocate her. She feared she might start hyperventilating, or at least meet up with a panic attack from the nerves. Franklin’s reaction seemed to be absolutely unfair and inconsiderate of her actual feelings, and he must have felt that through the piercing silence on the line.

“Look, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t worry so much about it. They will probably just give you another placement where you’ll fit more, I don’t see why it’s such a bad thing.” And just like that, she started doubting herself and her right to overthink her situation. It didn’t sit well with Millie and she could feel anger slowly making its way through her veins.

“Can’t you just fucking help me? This one time?” She lost her temper, she lost her patience. At the same time Riley, one of the end writers, started waving at her from the end of the hall as to show her that her time is coming to an end. “I need a hook, or something that would spark a debate. Brexit-themed, maybe. Can you think of anything?”

Frank groaned loudly. He wasn’t exactly happy that she made him break down his ambitious wall and let her in on topics he was too invested in. Millie could hear him moving around as he left his desk of the equally large office of The Guardian, until the line went surprisingly quiet. Her anger and fear made her clutch her phone tightly to her ear, while her legs started carrying her slowly to the terrifying conference room.

“Think internationally. See what the Spanish had to say about May’s resignation from the Office. Think economics in the EU. Try to stand on the Union’s side and do some fair judgement.”

“Give me facts, not ideas. You’re the one who knows politics.”

“Spanish government says that May’s resignation is bad news. Compare it to the popular opinion that she was the worst Prime Minister since the 18th century and the American war on independence.” Millie breathed in, trying to desperately grasp all the details he just provided her with.

“That’s a… harsh and history-digging argument,” She mumbled in surprise, “where did you get that from?” She grabbed a yellow post-it note from the reception desk and quickly scribbled the key words on it. Her briefing on politics was never something like this and she could feel the embarrassment making its way into her heart. It wasn’t her way of thinking and she felt like a fraud.

“I can’t tell you that.” By the end of the single sentence Millie could feel the blood escaping her face, making her look pale and scared for dear life. She didn’t want to have heard that sentence, she was definitely happier not knowing how did he come up with a story like this. That was one of the many reasons she tried not to talk business with him.

“An opinion entry. A column for The Guardian. Shit, you just busted one of your colleagues.”

“Sometimes I hate it that you’re smart. Did I ever tell you that?”

“You just saved my internship!”

“Please don’t say that. I will pretend that we just talked about the weather.”

“I’ll spend them the details. You’re the best, Frank.”

“Alright, go kick ass.”

And that she did. Franklin did save her internship, mainly because Millie avoided the specifics about who and why said something so harsh about the resigning Prime Minister. However, it definitely did spark interest among the production board. Afraid of not being so lucky next time, she decided to politely suggest a replacement for her permanent internship division within BBC, due to her ‘personal discomfort with discussions over issues of such importance and potential shame to their glorious country.’

Millie felt bad for using her boyfriend’s knowledge for survival at work. She wasn’t genuine and her idea didn’t come from her hard work - it was sourced in fear and anxiety-driven reactions. This situation proved to her that she wasn’t fit for the position, but it also raised her stress levels around the fact that she couldn’t get by on her own in the industry. She didn’t want others to navigate her through it all, but the conversation she had with Frank had also made her uncomfortable. Her need of support in a stressful situation was primarily turned down, so—naturally to her character—she started to worry even more.

With a heavy heart and two bags of Wagamama takeout, she walked up the stairs to his apartment. She was usually working until later hours than Frank, so all she really needed was for him to open the door for her. She leaned on the doorframe as she waited patiently for the two turns of the lock. He opened still in his work attire – tailored jeans and a light grey button up shirt. He was holding his phone next to his ear and humming approvingly to the speaker when he looked her up and down. He winked at her and let her in, as he continued to talk with someone.

Inside, Millie found the TV turned on with a football game playing. His work jacket was still hanging on the back of the tall stool in the kitchen, and the grocery bags laid unpacked on the table. She took off her shoes and made her way to the kitchen, where she made a little room for their food on the countertop. Pulling off her sweater, she peeked into the shopping bags – she wasn’t surprised to find a couple bottles of beer and food essentials, a multipack of tissues and a large box of condoms.

“What’s all this, babe?” Franklin came up to her and briefly kissed her on the lips, before looking into the boxes with deliciously smelling food.

“I just thought it might be nice to eat some goodies,” She smiled, trying to sniff out his mood first. He smiled back at her with approval and reached for the plates in the cupboard, so she continued, “also, it’s a ‘thank you for being my saviour today,’ kinda thing.”

“Ah, yeah. I bet everyone on my floor will hate BBC’s guts for that.” Frank said it so casually, with a shrug to follow up, that Millie struggled to understand the dynamic he had at The Guardian. He seemed to be a great fit for his team, because a week into his new job, he was already invited for Friday drinks and talked about his co-workers just like anyone would about their long-time friends. She couldn’t understand how was he getting so lucky at any step, but the last thing she wanted to do is doubt him. Any time worries and competitiveness clouded her brain, Millie was making extra room for compassion and support.

Frank unloaded some of the curry on his plate and started eating with a fork, and then made his way to the living room where he spread out on the sofa. He didn’t say anything else, somewhat scaring Millie that he will let her know he’s uncomfortable randomly, on a promisingly good day. Trying to figure out her brain, she followed his actions and took some extra food to the coffee table, before sitting down next to him.

“But you’re not gonna get into trouble for that, are you?” she was biting the inside of her cheek hard, definitely not used to not being judged for using someone else’s help.

“Nah, I don’t think so. They don’t know I’ve got a girl at BBC, so I should be just fine.”

Millie ate her curry in silence, suddenly at loss of words driven by his surprising statement. She didn’t want to raise an argument or seem overly sensitive. But for some reason she hoped that he would talk about her at work, especially considering his already formed strong bonds in the office, and a definitely higher success rate in his position. Ever so charming Franklin, he always glowed among people. She couldn’t really fight with this, so she just kept any comments to herself and focused on her food.

Frank switched the channel to the evening news and pulled her to his side once they were done eating. It comforted Millie to know that at the end of the day, they could both enjoy each other’s company, no matter what was happening at work. She didn’t pay much attention to the news, but rather focused on the way he reacted to it and what he enjoyed. She felt too tired to get invested in another load of politics, so she just soaked in his warmth and curled more into his side. He smelled of coffee and heavy, musky cologne that he liked to reapply frequently. Millie closed her eyes and breathed out the stress that weighed her down after a long day, finally finding peace.

“I’ll go grab a beer, you want one?” he abruptly stood up, making her slightly loose her balance and lean back towards the pillows. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips in a thin line.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“You sure? You’re awfully quiet today.” He spoke already from the kitchen, not even catching a glimpse of her pursed lips.

“I just need to wind down. It’s been stressful day.” She pushed a little smile on her cheeks as he came back with a frown. He took a few large sips of his drink and put it on the table, before lowering himself on the couch and leaning over Millie.

“I can help you relax, if you want.” He raised an eyebrow in a flirtatious manner, leaning into her and leaving a series of delicate kisses on her lips. He then moved onto her jaw and sucked on her skin, but never left a mark. Slowly massaging her waist, he slid his hand under her shirt and sprawled his fingers across her hip to pull her closer.

Millie enjoyed the warmth that started to spread through her body, but she couldn’t find any energy to give some of it back. She felt drained and exhausted, so a mere thought about participating in sexual activities was sure to make her at least slightly uncomfortable. Unless Frank was willing to change something about it.

“Okay, hold on,” her chuckle and a light push at his chest made him narrow his eyebrows in confusion, “I don’t think I’ve got enough energy today, Frankie.” Her whisper was followed by a reassuring smile. She weaved her fingers through his short hair and kissed the tip of his nose.

“What if I provide you with some energy first?”

“What, you’ll give me an energy drink?” She laughed at her poor joke and he chuckled, too, but more at her silliness than anything else. He laid her down comfortably and cautiously peppered her with kisses on her neck and the tiny bit of cleavage that was available without unbuttoning her shirt. She was slowly giving in, allowing him to get lower on her body and touch her. Frank either wanted to make her feel better, or was really horny. But whatever the case was, she didn’t want to stop him and ruin his enthusiasm. The glow in his eyes and admiration painted across his face were too intoxicating to back away. His touch was filled with sparks of emotions and a kind of drive that Millie was addicted to. She felt wanted and needed, and that’s what made her return the heated kisses despite her hooded, weary eyes.

They walked hand in hand through the chilly evening, sometime after she persuaded Frank to walk her to the nearest tube station. The wind was slightly tickling her neck, but other than that she felt at peace. She let her hair down, flowing gently with each blow of the air and lightly caressing her face like a safety blanket. They swayed their hands until they had to make room for a group of people passing by.

“Jane texted me about a little get together this Friday,” She mumbled into the night, trying not to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere around them.

“Ah, yeah. Aaron told me about it, too. I guess we’re going, right?”

“Yeah, it might be nice. The girls mentioned this new club near their apartment? I think that’s where they wanted to go.”

“Cool. I could use a little break.”

As they continued their walk, Millie mostly focused on leading the way through tight London streets. Franklin’s parents rented him an apartment in the city centre, close to everything you could dream of in London. It also meant crowded streets at any hour, so to have a nice walk around the neighbourhood usually requested it to be late at night. But it didn’t matter to him, as long as he had a short commute to the office and all other things that life requested from him, within reach. There were times when he would mention coming back to Manchester and supporting his parents at their law firm, but Millie saw how much he preferred his growing career as a journalist. Mathilda and William were a generous couple, so they shared their resources with him and tried to help him get into the business as smoothly as possible. Sometimes she wanted to ask him about his permanent position at The Guardian and whether his name had anything to do with it, but she never felt comfortable enough to do it. Some things were better left unspoken.

Reaching the staircase to the station, Franklin stopped and made her turn to him and look up at his smiling face.

“Thanks for coming over tonight. I had fun.”

“Yeah, me too.” She smiled shyly, nodding her head in reassurance.

“I wish you could finally move to the city, though. It would be so much easier if you were a few blocks away.”

“You do realize that even if I moved out, it wouldn’t be anywhere nearby?” Her chuckle resonated through her body, almost as if she wanted to humour herself at the topic that had started to come up more often in their conversations.

“I could ask around the office if anyone has a room available to rent.”

“But I don’t want to share my personal space with strangers, you know this. Don’t try to change my mind about it.” She smiled tightly.

Frank has been trying to persuade her into moving out for months. He wanted to be closer to her, within a short train journey, rather than a whole commute in and out of Kingston. He felt comfortable in the business of London, and Millie liked to call him out on being spoiled by having an apartment on his own in such a lively part of the city. But she wasn’t financially ready to leave her family home in equally comfortable Southwest London, where she had all she needed within her reach, and her social life was just a tiny bit longer train trip away. It was a source of their small disputes from time to time, because it was Millie who spent more time on going to his place and spending time there. Naturally, it made her feel more engaged in their relationship and Frank tried his best make up for the difference. But one thing that never occurred, was Millie staying over for longer than a night. Even a night’s sleepover was a rare event, somehow always blessed by excuses from either one of them.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he pecked her lips and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I talk about it out of concern, okay?”

“Okay. But I like my train rides and I like Kingston. So let’s just deal with it for now, yeah?”

“’Course,” He sent her a tight smile before giving her one last kiss. “Text me when you get home.”

“Will do.”

Millie was one of those people who could be easily judged as thinkers. Years of taking trains and buses in and out of central London taught her to cherish every moment of peace she gets during her journeys. That’s how she learned to create playlists for each season – summer commutes were always different than autumn ones; they required different sounds and lyrical quality. Intense months during university semesters also showed her how to read fast between the stops and how to juggle standing on the tube and holding an open book without falling, as the train slowed and rushed every few seconds.

As she was approaching her station in Kingston, she stopped the music but kept her earphones in. A bunch of other people was hurrying to get out of the train and get home as soon as possible, but after leaving the station, she would have a lonely 15-minute walk to her neighbourhood, so she always tried to stay alert in the evenings. Getting on the sidewalk in the busiest area of Kingston, she closed her book and put it back in her backpack, pulled the jacket tighter around her middle and continued her steady walk.

The air was getting crispier with each minute outside. It was refreshing and calm, disturbed only by a few laughs from the pub across the street and two cars passing her by. She turned into one of the quieter streets, where the buildings were becoming shorter and more separated from each other. Brick fences and trimmed hedges adorned the concrete sidewalks on both sides of the street, illuminated only by a few lanterns. Most of the light was coming from the windows in a row of semi-detached houses that Millie has known for a good chunk of her life.

Right when she wanted to cross the street and take a right, she heard a subtle clicking of a dog collar and a leash. Soft padding from the back was slowly approaching her and becoming louder, as well as someone’s whistle.

“Tess, come here!” a hushed call didn’t disrupt the peace of the night, but rather added the familiarity that Millie adored. She slowed her walk and turned around, just in time to be met with lightly jogging blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She panted lightly with her tongue out and reached Millie’s legs, where she tucked her head and mewled timidly.

“Oh, and who do we have here?” Millie chuckled at the dog’s persistence in keeping close. She scratched her head and patted her on the back, “are you on your evening walk, Tessa? Is that right?”

“We didn’t mean to scare you, Millie,” Dominic reached them and sent Millie a kind and apologetic smile, “good evening.”

“Hi, it’s good to see you.” She beamed at the middle-aged man, whom she learned to adore like a family member.

“Likewise, yeah. Heading home?”

“I am, just got off the train.”

“We will keep you company, then. Is that alright?” He fixed his glasses and leaned down to attach the leash to Tessa’s collar. Millie’s insides warmed and her mind calmed down at the idea that she will get to spend a few minutes with a friend.

“Absolutely, thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. I bet Tom would have my head, hadn’t I offered,” they chuckled at the mention of his son. Their laughter died off comfortably and escaped into the night air, while Millie reminisced about the caring nature of the Hollands. “How is it going at BBC?” he asked after a moment, letting her go first through a narrow passage.

“It’s… going,” she smiled shyly, not sure how to dress up her words. In Dominic’s company she always felt one step behind in her creative skills; his writing and comic abilities exceeded her capabilities, or so she thought. “but I feel like I’ve definitely hit an end with politics. I know it’s only been a month, but it’s just… it keeps on proving that I should be writing about something else.”

“Oh, it’s totally understandable. Rest assured, you’re not the only one stuck like this,” They turned the corner onto her street. “but I wish you luck there. They have some sensible editors, so I assume you’ll get a chance at something else as well.”

“I hope so. Today I asked them about switching departments and the intern manager told me she will think about it, so there is a tiny light.”

“Something will always work out. You’re smart, you’ll find your way there.”

Dom and Millie continued down the sidewalk, until Tessa stopped near the gate to Millie’s house. She sniffed the pavement and turned back to the girl who crouched down to pet the Staffy one last time.

“Thanks for walking with me,” her smile was genuine, coming straight from her heart. “please say hi to Nikki and the boys. Is Sam still home?”

“He is, he starts his practice at the end of June. So, we all will be here to celebrate your birthdays.”

“Oh, that’s great! It’s been a while since we’ve all been together.”

“That’s true. But you’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

“I know, thank you.” With fondness painted across her face, she scratched Tessa’s ear and stood up straight, reaching for the keys in her pocket.

“Have a good night.”

“You too. Bye, Tess!”

Whenever she got the chance to interact with someone from their family, Millie instantly felt their love and care penetrate her straight to the core. It was this kind of relationship that had been built through the years, only making it stronger and bringing it closer to the concept of family.

Nikki, Dom’s wife and Anna, Millie’s mother met shortly before Millie and Tom were born. At first only neighbours, soon they became best friends to the point of engaging their families in a kind affair. Greetings at the doorstep turned into late night family dinners and weekends away with the kids. They were used to spending most of the birthdays and holidays together, especially when Millie and Tom’s birthdays two days apart brought them all closer. She raced her best friend in Anna’s womb and came out to this world right before the brown-haired boy. Ever since the Beavers celebrated the birth of their third and youngest daughter, the Hollands began their journey with four boys. They always stayed close and treated each other like family, deeming it necessary to nourish their friendship and turn it into something everlasting. The example of their parents taught Millie and Tom to mimic the closeness and made them create their own little world.

Millie’s older sisters also treated Tom, Harry, Sam and Paddy like brothers, but not as much as Millie did. Samantha and Liz were already grown toddlers when the families got together, so they figured more as the female patrons of their youngest sister and her adventures with the boys. But Millie and Tom’s friendship turned into something so effortless and harmless that no supervision was necessary. They were each other’s partners in crime, best friends from next door. Their mothers had signed them up for the same dance classes, helped them get to the same summer carnivals, and let them have late nights in makeshift dens. Millie was one of the first people their dog, Tessa, got familiar with. She missed him dearly when he started his journey as a young actor, but Nikki made sure he always made the time to call his best friend when the time zones were somewhat cooperating. They nurtured their friendship through Millie’s education and Tom’s career, not stopping even for a moment. He was there for her always, carrying her home when she scratched her knee after falling off the slings. She would help him with homework whenever he felt too embarrassed to ask his parents. Tom escorted her home from her disaster of a prom; he was the first one to understand her anxiety and help her through it. And Millie always read the books and scripts Tom needed to prepare for auditions. Just like that, they always found home in one another.

Their house smelled of baking and freshly watered plants. As quietly as possible, Millie took off her shoes and tip-toed into the kitchen, turning on only the least invasive, small lights. She put down her backpack and lightly stretched, letting out a tired, yet content breath. Her eyes scanned the kitchen in search for the source of the sweet scent, and there it was, on a cooling rack in the corner, covered with a tea towel – fresh lemon sponge cake, the favourite of Millie’s mother. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, it added an extra layer of sweet comfort to the late night’s atmosphere. She left the cake untouched, but put the kettle on to quickly make herself a cup of tea for a good night’s sleep. She let out an overwhelming yawn and rested her hips on the side of the countertop, patiently waiting for the water to boil.

She felt her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. The brightness of the screen was almost blinding, until it adjusted to the low lighting in the room. She could feel the anticipation growing in the back of her head as she noticed a new message.

(Tom) I got you something today

After a second or two, a picture loaded under the message. Millie gasped and smiled like mad, when he showed her a pair of Minnie Mouse sequin ears. It was an artefact that Millie has always dreamt of, not having an opportunity to go to Disneyland ever in her childhood. She awaited the chance with high hopes and wandering mind, but she knew the trip had to be thorough, well-planned, and wholesomely happy.

(Me) You were in Disneyland????

(Tom) yeah we did promo for spidey today

(Me) I’m so jealous rn

(Me) THANK YOU FOR THE EARS!!!!!

(Tom) it’s alright

(Tom) I didn’t get any weird looks at all

(Tom) Just casually carried around this shiny sparkling beauty

(Me) I bet you loved this feeling

(Me) I bet you bought yourself a pair too

(Tom) Don’t tell anyone

(Me) You could always pretend they’re for Tessa

(Me) I just saw her and your Dad btw

Whenever her and Tom texted, it always sparked a never-ending conversation about sweet nothings. They mocked each other, talked about their days, spoke about all things home. It allowed them a safe space from their daily hustles; Millie was able to breathe lightly and happily, and Tom had a chance to detach from the world he desperately tried not to drown in.

Almost spilling the tea, she slowly made it upstairs without losing the sight of her phone screen. She struggled to turn off the lights in the corridor without making a noise but somehow, she managed not to disturb her parents too much, as she reached her bedroom. Safe within her own little space, she put down the mug and let go of her backpack and jacket. She threw herself on the softest bedspread and waited patiently for Tom’s reply.

The text bubble stopped and a massage didn’t appear, but her phone started ringing. Millie answered the FaceTime call and waited for the camera on his phone to adjust and show his familiar face.

“I had a meeting with Disney and they want me to participate in one of their projects for a Marvel-themed ride at Disneyland,” from a crooked angle she could see his neatly gelled hair and uneven eyebrows. Tom was walking somewhere, but then sat down and perched his phone on the mug that stood on the coffee table, so that she could see him better.

“That’s exciting, right?”

“Oh, yeah!” She could see him rummage in a brown paper bag and pull out a box with some takeaway food. “But I’m telling you this because we could turn it into our Disneyland trip that you’ve wanted, right?”

“That would be nice, yeah.” She smiled back at the screen, but a terrible yawn sneaked in to her expression. Tom scrunched his forehead and took a large sip from a bottle of water.

“I didn’t wake you up now, did I?”

“No, I just came back home. I am tired, though.”

“Yeah? How was work?”

“Stressful and not nice. It wasn’t a good day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Wanna talk about it?”

Tom spent the next minutes carefully listening to her words and trying not to spill his soup on his fresh clothes. He hummed to some of the stories and asked little intrusive questions, to get the whole picture. She kept rubbing at her eyes and stifling her yawns every now and then, at last making a mess of her mascara and getting it all over her skin. Despite the seriousness in her voice, Tom smiled fondly to himself at the view of her ruined face that probably mimicked her current mental state. It wasn’t something he should laugh about, but it was rather endearing to have her so comfortably sharing her lows with him, while he casually ate his lukewarm, very late lunch.

“Why are you laughing at me?” She returned his smile, knowing it was probably something she did.

“You made yourself look like panda.” He chewed on a chunk of chicken from his second plate. The wrinkles by his eyes deepened with each of her chuckles and proved to them that this is the lightness they need in their daily routines. “Well, it’s good you asked for a new placement. You should be comfortable in your work environment. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she yawned again and stopped herself mid-rubbing her eye again, earning a wholesome, groggy laugh from her friend, “your dad thinks they will give me another chance.”

“I mean, he knows some people there, so he probably has a point.”

“Yeah, I just don’t want to get my hopes up too high, you know?” A comfortable silence rested between them after he nodded and continued munching on his food. Millie stood up from her bed and took the phone with her, but also started to slowly get ready for the night.

“You will know when the moment feels right and shows you something worth a shot. Trust yourself, Mills.”

“I guess…” she trailed off, making her way to the closet to find fresh pyjamas. “I’m glad my panda face entertained your… what is it, lunch break?”

“Sort of, yeah,” he chuckled, enjoying the playfulness of her tired self, “I should be coming back in two weeks. We could hang out then, if you’ll have the time.”

“Oh, for sure.”

“Alright, I’ll let you rest. Text me anytime, yeah?”

“I will. Thanks for the Minnie ears!”

“You got it, Minnie Mouse. Sweet dreams.”

* * *

After her little mishap with Politics Live, Millie tried her best to keep up the hard work, but stay low. She tried not to focus too much attention and just assist other workers in their tasks, only coming up with ideas when necessary. She strived to come back to her public voice, but she knew she needed it to have a comfortable outlet, preferably in another setting and on different topics. She was greeting the intern manager with additional caution and kindness, trying her best not to leave her case forgotten.

Segregating files for the research team seemed to be the best solution to her temporary creative break. Her attention to detail and wholesome care about the task being done to its full potential came in handy. She volunteered to help the group of meticulously scribbling and researching men in keeping their documents in order.

The soft mumble of the radio in the background was interrupted by a guy named Tim. He always wore rock band t-shirts under his jackets and Millie swore she had seen him participate in a wild dance routine during the last year’s Glastonbury Festival. He stopped typing on his keyboard and started to quietly hum a song that was definitely different to what Scott Mills was announcing on Radio 1.

“Oh my God, do you guys know this song? I can’t get it out of my head!” he groaned in frustration, making a few people in the open space office chuckle.

“Do you know any words, maestro?” Millie’s head snapped up at the sound of Kim, the intern manager’s voice. She was passing by with a bunch of files and a coffee, before she perched herself on his desk, obviously making fun of her friend.

“It’s got this very cool, mariachi-like trumpet between the lines,” he mimicked a trumpet player and hummed some more, “and the guy sings something about stopping a feeling…”

“Justin Timberlake?”

“You know he’s not my jam, Kim! It’s an old-school song.”

“You’re the old-school one here.” Kim’s comment earned a couple more laughs at poor Tim, who was genuinely struggling. “you’re the researcher, have you googled it?”

“Of course I googled it, stop mocking me! People are watching.”

Their little light-hearted exchange brought a breezy atmosphere to the office and made Millie smile some more. She kept on looking up at Tim to check if he’s found the song he was looking for, but without luck. Her fingertips started to tingle with each swipe through the pages in a file, because she felt like she knew the song. Deciding to come against her decision to lay low, she gently cleared her throat and swallowed her nerves of speaking up in a new environment.

“Hey Tim, have you tried to find it on Spotify?” they both looked at Millie with playful smiles, as anyone would to the up and coming intern fresh out of university.

“I don’t think it’s the title of the song, so I won’t find it there.”

“But you actually could,” she offered, biting her lip nervously “since the recent update, you can now type in the lyrics into the search bar and the results will show you all licensed songs with the same or similar lyrics.” Tim instantly reached for his phone and started typing away.

“Oh really? I didn’t know that, let’s see…” Kim looked into his phone and watched his progress.

“And since you’ve remembered a catchy verse, it’s very possible that others also tried to find this song through the same words. So, it will probably come up within the first few results.”

“Alright, smarty.” He shook his head in amusement. Millie watched as Kim’s face got ridden of any emotion and just stared at Tim’s work.

“But if nothing comes up, you can always try ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ by Blue Swede.”

Millie waited with racing heart at their reactions. Tim clicked on one of the results and raised the volume, filling the room with a sound so familiar to Millie’s memory. She smiled shyly and internally patted herself on the back, before coming back to her task.

“How did you know this song?” His triumphant smile was radiating, as he did a little dance in his seat and twirled on his rolling chair. “It’s such an old tune, I didn’t think your generation would know it!”

“Yeah Millie, how did you know?” Kim encouraged his question and watched her carefully, almost as if she was studying her intern.

“It’s in the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy. I wrote a paper on it.”

“Hm.” Kim’s unreadable expression was giving Millie chills, but in a positive way. She liked to be asked about things that interested her and prompted her to be creative, so the way this situation evolved was close to burst her heart into passionate flames. “I’ll ask the Radio managers if they want a music and pop culture geek, how’s that sound?”

It sounded like Millie put the trust in herself at the right time.

****

tagged: @peeterparkr @katieraven @kozybear@sunsetholland @hey-marlie @lauras-collection@cunaeparker @constellationsv @heyhihellowhatsup0 @spideyspeaches

If it bothers you that you’re tagged, please let me know!

#tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fluff #tom holland x oc #mornings in Sheffield park #misp #tom holland fanfic #tom holland blurb

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maximumphilosopheranchor · 3 years ago

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Hello

I was wondering if you knew anything about Philips relationship with his half brother John of Austria.

Hello!

Their relationship was... interesting.

Philip only found out about his existence after their father's death and first met him after his arrival to Spain. Philip acknowledged him as a brother, showed affection and was very generous to him. On their first meeting Philip openly hugged and kissed him and made him Knight of the Golden Fleece. He gave him the family title "of Austria", household and place at court alongside Philip's own son Don Carlos and Philip's nephew Alessandro Farnese, later duke of Parma. He was treated fully as the family member and became a prominent member of Philip's court. John of Austria was entrusted with carrying Philip's firstborn daughter Isabel Clara Eugenia to baptism. He was the one who warned Philip about Don Carlos’s plans to escape to Vienna, and his assassination attempt by Don Carlos were reasons that triggered Philip to lock up his son. Don John also was the only illegitimate Habsburg family member whom Philip buried in El Escorial near their father.

Furthermore, John of Austria wasn't a merely decorative figure, Philip appointed him to very important tasks - he was a military commander to suppress the Moriscos revolt in Andalusia in 1568-1569, he commanded the fleet of the Holy League at Lepanto in 1571 against the Ottomans and gained a spectacular victory (that earned him international fame), and in 1576 he was appointed governor-general in the Netherlands which, however, turned out to be a bad decision.

Although Philip entrusted him all these important missions it seems that Philip thought that his brother was rash and needed to be watched. Thus, giving him supreme command to put down the Morisco revolt Philip paired him with Philip’s old close associate Luis de Requesens and urged him always to consult him. And there were reasons for it because Jonh of Austria used to disobey Philip's direct orders and sometimes it made problematic situations even more problematic and greatly frustrated Philip.

A real discord between them began over Don John’s appointment as governor-general of the Netherlands. Why did Philip believe that Don John was the right person to deal with the huge mess that had developed in the Netherlands is a mystery to me although I understand his reasoning that only his family member possessed the necessary authority for this office and Don John had military experience and reputation. But Don John didn’t want that post and accepted it only reluctantly and on certain conditions. He demanded freedom of action, as much troops and money sent as he asked for and, more importantly, to carry out the conquest of England. For Don John was quite ambitious and dreamed of becoming the king of England! The plan was proposed by some bunch of English and Irish Catholic exiles and the pope and envisaged that Don John with an army should invade England, liberate Mary Queen of Scots, depose Elizabeth I, marry Mary Queen of Scots and reinstate Catholicism in England (it was assumed that the English Catholics will raise up and assist him). Don John was very excited about all this but he needed Philip’s backing. Philip promised him all he wanted but once he arrived in the Netherlands Philip issued a new set of instructions to him that ordered him to pacify the Netherlands, restore peace and order and only then to think about conquering England because for Philip at this point the priority was the pacification of the Netherlands (remember the Dutch revolt!). In short, Philip tricked his brother into accepting the post. When Don John received the instructions he was angered, furthermore the things in the Netherlands were going bad for Philip (the unpaid Spanish army had mutinied and sacked Antwerp killing thousands of people, only one province remained loyal to Philip) and the situation demanded sensitive treatment. Don John though continued to focus on bringing the plan to invade England (Enterprise of England) to fruition and, according to Geoffrey Parker, in that he had two allies – his own secretary Juan of Escobedo and Philip’s secretary of state Antonio Pérez who at this point handled all correspondence between Philip and Don John (which apparently was something that Don John insisted upon, normally this correspondence would go through the hands of Gabriel de Zayas, Philip’s another secretary who was responsible for the affairs of Northern Europe). The actions of this trio - Don John, Escobedo and Pérez - , according to Geoffrey Parker, were directed to the conclusion of peace in the Netherlands on whatever price to clear the way for the Enterprise. And at first it seemed they were quite successful at that. In 1577 Don John signed an agreement (the Perpetual Edict) with the States General of the Netherlands, organized withdrawal of the Spanish troops and the provinces of the Netherlands recognised Philip’s sovereignty… that is, except Holand and Zealand which were led by William of Orange and which were not represented in the negotiations between Don John and the States General. Don John tried to persuade William of Orange to accept the agreement but the latter wasn’t in peace with its conditions and refused, not least because of the encouragement from Elizabeth I who thanks to the Dutch efforts who had intercepted, deciphered and passed to the English Don John’s letters to Philip had found out about Don John’s invasion plans. Don John then lost control. Still determined to carry out the plan to invade England he decided to raise troops for the Enterprise in Germany for the money that was granted to this task by the papacy, called back the departed Spanish troops, sent Escobedo to Philip with “orders to secure either the return of the foreign troops or permission for him to return to Spain” so that he could join to the expedition to England that according to his new plan was to be led by one English catholic exile Thomas Stukely (even if Philip didn’t participate) and then he declared war on William of Orange without waiting Philip’s permission. Philip was shocked and outraged about all this but eventually decided to resume war. Meanwhile the States General ignoring Don John invited William of Orange to Brussels and together they made new demands. With Spanish troops back and under his command Don John attacked Brussels, made William of Orange to flee, and demanded to Philip more troops and more money.

One thing that should be mentioned now here is that both secretaries - Escobedo and Pérez - had covert dealings between them behind Philip’s back and Perez had a habit to manipulate with information, like withholding important information from Philip in promoting his own self-professed goals that amounted to treason. But Escobedo and Pérez fell out, and fearing that Escobedo might denounce his activities to Philip Pérez by fabricating documents persuaded Philip that Don John on Escobedo’s urgings had plotted not only to conquer England but also to return to Spain to make a coup against Philip. And so Philip ordered Pérez to murder Escobedo – or it’s what Geoffrey Parker writes, all of this is according to him. There are other versions on these events and on why Pérez wanted to get rid of Escobedo too. Some say that Pérez didn’t work in concert with Don John and Escobedo, that Pérez didn't like their warlike ways, that he didn't want war to be resumed in the Netherlands, that he had his own idea how the matters should be arranged in the Netherlands, that he had covert dealings and secret communications with the Dutch rebels and Escobedo knew it and could use it against him. Who knows, it's one big muddle.

Anyway, Escobedo was assassinated on 31 March 1578. Don John still in the Netherlands demanded the murder to be avenged. Philip finally decided to recall him from the Netherlands but it was too late – Don John died of typus on 1 October 1578 completely failed his mission. Later Philip found out that Pérez had lied to him regarding Escobedo and Don John, and ordered his arrest.

So yeah Philip and Don John’s relationship by the end was pretty strained. Also, to think about it Don John character-wise reminds me of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. I think their personalities were quite similar, also both were handsome, popular and had many love affairs. And when I was reading how Don John ran off from court to participate in the relief of Malta after Philip had turned down his request and Philip sent people to catch him and bring back it felt like reading about Elizabeth and Essex because they experienced exactly the same situation.

#ask #anonymous #Philip II #Philip II of Spain #John of Austria #Juan of Austria

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dwellordream · 3 years ago

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“...The Dothraki are described as having three main weapons: bows (AGoT, 86, 555, 558, 597, 669), whips (AGoT, 86, 194, 493, 555, 596, 669) and a curved sword called an arakh (AGoT 85, 86, 327, 493, 555, 556, 559, 560, 596, 597, 669, 674); of these, the arakh is clearly the most prominent... When a Dothraki warrior enters Vaes Dothrak, each, “unbelted his arakh and handed it to a waiting slave, and any other weapons he carried as well” – after the arakh, the other weapons are seemingly afterthoughts (AGoT, 327). The prominence of the arakh in the narrative is underscored by the fact that it is the only one of these weapons whose name we learn in Dothraki, or which is described in terms of its shape or special function (AGoT, 85), while the bows and whips remain just bows and whips (ironic, as it was Steppe bows, not Steppe swords, which were unusual).

We might dismiss this as simply an accident of Daenerys’ perspective – that, being Westerosi, she focuses on the weapon most meaningful to the Westerosi – but that’s clearly not true. After all, the offering of an arakh is how Daenerys’ loyal followers demonstrate their fealty to her, in a ceremony that is clearly Dothraki, not Westerosi (AGoT, 674). It is also, I should note, the only weapon we see non-Dothraki using that is clearly identified as being foreign and typical of the Dothraki. It remains special through the eyes of multiple point-of-view characters, including military men.

(And, as an aside, now that we are this far in, it seems obvious but worth saying that the fact that Martin has no Dothraki viewpoint characters in his narrative is hardly a saving grace; it merely intensifies the ‘view of a savage culture from outside’ effect. As we’ll see, this makes perfect sense given what seem to be the actual inspirations for his depiction.)

The prominence of a curved iron (or steel) sword lets us rule out a Great Plains Native American inspiration for this kit right out; the sword was never a significant part of Plains Native American armament (the lack of tool-metal production in the Americas prior to European contact means that there was no indigenous sword-making tradition, although the maquahuitl represents a clever sort of ‘sharpened club’ design). Even after contact, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the expense of trading for a sword wouldn’t have been justified by its utility over a steel axe which might also double as a tool (on axes, see W. Lee, “The Military Revolution of Native North America: Firearms, Forts and Politics” in Empires and Indigenes (2011), 62-3). So we must turn to the Eurasian Steppe.

And immediately we run into problems, not that any of these weapons are wrong per se, but that their proportion and prominence is all mixed up and that there are other, far more important weapons missing. For a Steppe nomad, by far, above and away, the most important weapon was the bow. The Armenians literally called the Mongols “the nation of archers” (May, Mongol Art of War, 43). Nomads spent the most time learning the bow (May, op. cit. 42-49) and it was the one indispensable weapon. Indeed, so indispensable that nomads were generally required to have several; the Liao Shi records that Khitan nomad warriors were required to possess four bows and 400 arrows, while John de Plano Carpini reports that the Mongols all needed to have 2-3 bows and three larger quivers (May, op. cit. 49-50). The Steppe bow itself would also have looked unusual in both shape and construction to a Westerosi observer either strung or unstrung – they were composite bows, made with a wood core, a backing of horn and a rigid end-piece (called a siyah in Arabic) and were generally drawn with the use of a thumb-ring to reduce strain on the thumb (May, op. cit., 50-1). This unique construction allowed these bows to reach draw weights and launch energies equivalent to the far larger yew longbows of England and Wales and still be compact enough to use from horseback.

...But even after the bow, the sword is not first. Or even close to first. Or, indeed, even on the list! The Khitan regulations I mentioned included four bows, two spears (one ‘long’ and one ‘short’), a club, an axe and a halberd, but no sword. John de Plano Carpini describes the full kit as two or three bows with quivers, an axe, ropes, and swords only for the wealthy (May. op. cit., 50). Speaking more broadly, May notes that spears (used as lances from horseback) seem universal in accounts of the Mongols, but “accounts are contradictory regarding whether these [swords] were universally used” (May, op. cit., 52). While May supposes that the ughurgh-a, the Mongolian lasso, might have been used in combat – and it may well have – we have no definitive evidence of it. If it was ever a weapon, it doesn’t seem to have been an important one.

In short, while the Dothraki’s weapons are an arakh-sword, a whip, and a bow in that order, the Mongol’s chief weapons were his bow, followed by his backup bow, followed by his other backup bow, followed by his spear, and then his axe and only then followed by a sword, should he have one, which he might well not. The reason for preferring an axe or a spear for the humble nomad should not be too surprising – iron in quantity could be hard to get on the Steppe. Spears and axes are not only weapons, but also useful hunting and survival tools; swords are generally weapons only. Nomads generally cannot do their own metal working, so swords would have to be imported. Moreover, even in a melee, the first recourse would be to a spear, whose reach on horseback was a huge advantage, making a sword an expensive imported foreign luxury backup weapon with no additional utility. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Steppe nomads, once successful and moving into agrarian areas, liked to acquire swords – swords are effective weapons! – but the sword was about the furthest thing from the core of Mongol culture the way the arakh is practically the symbol of Dothraki culture.

The other issue, of course, is the arakh itself. Martin describes the weapons as “long razor-sharp blades, half sword and half scythe” (AGoT, 85) and goes back to that scythe analogy (e.g. ASoS, 245). It seems generally asserted that what Martin means by this is something close to a scimitar (I have to confess, I haven’t found anywhere that Martin says this, but I’ll take the reader consensus). A scimitar of some sort (the term refers not to a specific form of sword, but a whole family of curved sabres, almost all originating in Asia) is the correct sword. Mongol swords were, John de Palno Carpini tells us, “pointed at the end but sharp only on one side and somewhat curved” (May. op. cit., 50), something like a Turkish kilij or a Persian shamshir (both forms of scimitar), though given his description, perhaps not as strongly curved as some of the examples of those types.

I have to admit, ‘scythe-sword’ (ASoS, 245) is a really strange way to describe most of the weapons in the scimitar ‘family’ (which includes a number of different curved sabres from Asia), though. A scythe-blade faces the wrong direction, but it is also sharp on the wrong side – scythes are sharp on the inside of the curve, whereas scimitars are sharp on the outside of the curve. There are swords with sharp edges on the inside of the curve (I tend to class these as ‘forward curving’ swords due to the direction of the curve when the sword is held), such as the Greek kopis, the Spanish falcata and the Nepalese kukri; of these, only the kopis seems to have been a cavalryman’s weapon (Xen. On Horsemanship 12.11). These forward curving weapons, being shorter and stockier, are clearly not what was intended by the arakh, which is consistently described as long (e.g. AGoT, 85, ADwD, 884).

Instead, the scythe metaphor fits the overall framing of the arakh, a weapon “better to cull the infantry ranks without breaking stride,” a “murderous blade against half-naked foes,” (ADwD, 884), a “wickedly sharp scythe-sword” (ASoS, 245), ineffective against armored opponents. Not an elegant, fine weapon, but a cruel ‘murderous’ one, made for ‘culling’ unarmored infantry and peasants, as one reaps wheat or hay. I don’t want to push this point too far – in all of these many pages, the arakh simply doesn’t get enough characterization to make the case watertight – but the characterization it does get all seems to push in this same direction: a murderous weapon for a murderous people…which of course fits with effectively all of the other characterization the Dothraki have been given. On the balance, I think Martin is a skilled enough writer to understand the implications of the scythe-sword description and to have intended them (and then subsequently reinforced them).

Nevertheless, credit where credit is due, while the place of the arakh is entirely out of all sensible proportion with how it would be considered by actual nomads, it is the correct sort of sword for a steppe nomad (if we assume it is, in fact, a scimitar of sorts). That said, prioritizing the arakh belies a fundamental misunderstanding of how Steppe (or Plains Native American, for that matter) warfare and culture worked. Placing the arakhat the front is thus indicative of deeper problems.”

- Bret Devereaux, “That Dothraki Horde, Part IV: Screamers and Howlers.”

#the dothraki #grrm critical #bret devereaux #weapons #history #mongol

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useless-catalanfacts · 2 years ago

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Hi! This is kind of a weird question but I figured I might as well ask 😅

When the Spaniards colonized Cuba, were there Catalans(Catalonians?) with them?

Hi! Sorry for the delay in answering, I was trying to find an older post where I talked about this to link it and we all know how the Tumblr search function works lol.

The answer is not at first, yes in the 19th century. The reason why there weren't Catalans during the conquest and the first centuries of colonization is because Catalans (as well as Jewish and Romani people and also criminals) were forbidden from travelling and trading with the "new continent".

I will translate to English part of an answer I gave to a similar question some time ago that asked about the whole American continent.

Until the 18th century (with the War of Spanish Succession), the Kingdom of Castile and the kingdoms of the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation shared a monarchy but not institutions, that is to say, they had the same king and queen (a very important thing in Castile, where the monarchy had a very large, highly centralized power; but not that important in the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation where institutions such as the Courts and the Generalitat ruled). They were independent states that shared a monarchy, but with different laws and customs.

Queen Isabela of Castile (the one in the Catholic Kings, during her reign Columbus "discovered" America) specified in her will that the conquered lands would be possessions of Castile alone. The conquest of America was a Castilian enterprise, so until the 18th century only Castilians participated in it with very few exceptions. Citizens from kingdoms of the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation (generally) could not embark to settle in America.

After the War of Spanish Succession (as you know Castile wins and eliminates the laws and institutions of the Catalan-Aragonese territories, and unifies administratively what is currently Spain), there is no longer distinction between Castile and Catalonia-Aragon, therefore there can be a beginning of Catalans, Aragonese, Valencians and Balearic people who participate in the colonization. And from that moment until the end of colonialism there have always been some.

The Spanish king Charles III signed the decree that allowed Catalan people (and others) to trade with the Americas in 1778, that is after 274 years where Andalusian (Southern Spanish, part of the Kingdom of Castile) harbours had had the monopoly. This was very unpopular among the Castilian oligarchs, but it was done as part of a series of reforms that were needed to bring the Spanish monarchy out of debt and failure. From then on, some Catalans migrated to the Americas (mostly Cuba, Argentina and Uruguay).

In the last decades of the 1700s and in the early 1800s, historians estimate that about 8,000 Catalans migrated to Cuba, that is about 1% of the population of Catalonia at the time (source). These were mostly poor people (Catalonia was very impoverished since the defeat of the war in 1714, the occupation and the blockade from trading with its old allies) who wanted to become merchants.

In the 19th century, migration to Cuba intensified, and between 1820 and 1840 most of the "Spanish" immigrants who arrived to Cuba were from Catalonia. And it continued in the last half of the century intensified by the devastating effects of the grape phylloxera plague. Many people in Catalonia were farmers who worked in grape fields, and when the phylloxera plague completely destroyed all the fields they were left with nothing. People moved to Cuba to try to make a living and hopefully come back when they had saved up some money. Some came back, those are called "indianos" or "americanos" and they built beautiful houses in a style reminiscent of Cuba, there was a lot of social prestige from being an "indiano". But most didn't come back.

Cuban documents at the time talk about Catalans in a very similar way that nowadays in Western Europe we can hear about Pakistani immigrants. To say "corner store" or what New Yorkers call "bodega", they would call it "el catalán de la esquina" ("the corner Catalan") or just "el catalán" ("the Catalan") because most of these shops were run by poor Catalan immigrants who worked and lived in the same room (they would sleep behind the counter).

Besides this, there was also trade (and, to a lesser extent, migration) of the upper class. They traded with coffee and sugar cane and there were even some in the slave trade(!), which sadly was still legal at the time. People from Catalonia also founded some of the Cuban brands that are still famous nowadays, like the rum Bacardí. And many famous Cuban people are children of the Catalan diaspora.

So, to sum up the answer to your question, there were no Catalan people during the Spanish conquest of Cuba nor the first centuries of colonization. The first Catalan people to migrate to Cuba went after 1778 and mostly in the 19th century. Lots of Catalans moved to Cuba, and there's a big Catalan influence in Cuba and a big Cuban influence in Catalonia (architecture, music, food...).

#ask #anonymous #història #cuba #history #diaspora

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rabbitcruiser · 3 years ago

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Peñíscola, Spain (No. 6)

During modern times the Renaissance walls were built, ending in 1578, by the military architect of Felipe II , Giovanni Battista Antonelli , being one of the most relevant examples of fortification in the Mediterranean. They bear a great resemblance to the walls of Ibiza . The reason for these constructions was the great pressure of piracy and the Turkish threat in the 16th century .

During the Germanías , the castle of Peñíscola was the refuge of the viceroy of Valencia .

After a period of local crisis at the end of the 17th century , after the dynastic change to the Bourbons, the population starred in one of the most relevant chapters in its history. She declared herself a supporter of the Bourbon side, together with her military governor, Sancho de Echeverría and Orcolaga .

The Kingdom of Valencia , for the most part, was in favor of the aspirant to the Austrian throne, like the rest of the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon , for which Peñíscola was besieged for two years, mainly by English and Dutch detachments. One of the most relevant chapters on this site was the so-called "Battle of the Trenches."

Finally, after being the winner of the War of the Spanish Succession , Felipe V declared Peñíscola a city, with the titles of "Very Noble, Loyal and Loyal City." Likewise, it was fiscally benefited and its council ennobled.

A memory of that episode is the church-hermitage of the Virgen de la Ermitana, built by the military governor of the city, Sancho de Echevarría.

Source: Wikipedia

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brookstonalmanac · 1 year ago

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Events 6.23

229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. 1280 – The Spanish Reconquista: In the Battle of Moclín the Emirate of Granada ambush a superior pursuing force, killing most of them in a military disaster for the Kingdom of Castile. 1305 – A peace treaty between the Flemish and the French is signed at Athis-sur-Orge. 1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins. 1532 – Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France sign the "Treaty of Closer Amity With France" (also known as the Pommeraye treaty), pledging mutual aid against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. 1565 – Dragut, commander of the Ottoman navy, dies during the Great Siege of Malta. 1594 – The Action of Faial, Azores. The Portuguese carrack Cinco Chagas, loaded with slaves and treasure, is attacked and sunk by English ships with only 13 survivors out of over 700 on board. 1611 – The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson's fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again. 1683 – William Penn signs a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania. 1713 – The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada. 1757 – Battle of Plassey: Three thousand British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000-strong Indian army under Siraj ud-Daulah at Plassey. 1758 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Krefeld: British, Hanoverian, and Prussian forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany. 1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Landeshut: Austria defeats Prussia. 1780 – American Revolution: Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of Springfield, now of Millburn Township). 1794 – Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kyiv. 1810 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company. 1812 – War of 1812: Great Britain revokes the restrictions on American commerce, thus eliminating one of the chief reasons for going to war. 1860 – The United States Congress establishes the Government Printing Office. 1865 – American Civil War: At Fort Towson in the Oklahoma Territory, Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie surrenders the last significant Confederate army. 1868 – Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer". 1887 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation's first national park, Banff National Park. 1894 – The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. 1913 – Second Balkan War: The Greeks defeat the Bulgarians in the Battle of Doiran. 1914 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa takes Zacatecas from Victoriano Huerta. 1917 – In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire. 1919 – Estonian War of Independence: The decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cēsis; this date is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia. 1926 – The College Board administers the first SAT exam. 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane. 1938 – The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States. 1940 – Adolf Hitler goes on a three-hour tour of the architecture of Paris with architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker in his only visit to the city. 1940 – Henry Larsen begins the first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1941 – The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later. 1942 – World War II: Germany's latest fighter aircraft, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales. 1946 – The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. 1947 – The United States Senate follows the United States House of Representatives in overriding U.S. President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft–Hartley Act. 1951 – The ocean liner SS United States is christened and launched. 1956 – The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa. 1959 – Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career. 1960 – The United States Food and Drug Administration declares Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world. 1961 – The Antarctic Treaty System, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, its islands and ice shelves, comes into force. 1967 – Cold War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey for the three-day Glassboro Summit Conference. 1969 – Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren. 1969 – IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry. 1972 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about illegally using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins. 1972 – Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds. 1973 – A fire at a house in Hull, England, which kills a six-year-old boy is passed off as an accident; it later emerges as the first of 26 deaths by fire caused over the next seven years by serial arsonist Peter Dinsdale. 1985 – A terrorist bomb explodes at Narita International Airport near Tokyo. An hour later, the same group detonates a second bomb aboard Air India Flight 182, bringing the Boeing 747 down off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 aboard. 1991 – Sonic the Hedgehog is released in North America on the Sega Genesis platform, beginning the popular video game franchise. 1994 – NASA's Space Station Processing Facility, a new state-of-the-art manufacturing building for the International Space Station, officially opens at Kennedy Space Center. 2001 – The 8.4 Mw  southern Peru earthquake shakes coastal Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami followed, leaving at least 74 people dead, and 2,687 injured. 2012 – Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials. 2013 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first man to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope. 2013 – Militants storm a high-altitude mountaineering base camp near Nanga Parbat in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan, killing ten climbers and a local guide. 2014 – The last of Syria's declared chemical weapons are shipped out for destruction. 2016 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%. 2017 – A series of terrorist attacks take place in Pakistan, resulting in 96 deaths and wounding 200 others. 2018 – Twelve boys and an assistant coach from a soccer team in Thailand are trapped in a flooding cave, leading to an 18-day rescue operation.

#Events

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random-thought-depository · 4 years ago

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Continuation from this post: some other “these events happened at about the same time or close together in history” things:

- The French Revolution happened shortly after the American Revolution, and the Haitian Revolution happened shortly after the French Revolution, and the big wave of revolution that freed Latin America from Spanish control happened shortly after the Haitian Revolution. I think this wasn’t a coincidence: these revolutions were connected!

- The first civilizations arose in Egypt and Mesopotamia at the end of the great drying of the Sahara and Arabia. Again, I think this wasn’t a coincidence! The drying climate meant people had to rely more on big labor-intensive irrigation works, which meant that cooperation and coordination on a large scale became more important. The great drying probably drove refugees into the Nile valley and the lands around the Tigris and Euphrates, increasing the population density of those regions. This would have meant even more reliance on labor-intensive large-scale irrigation, and also those extra people would have helped staff the work-gangs, work-shops, and armies of the new kings. The influx of refugees probably also meant a mixing of cultures, which probably stimulated technological, cultural, and institutional innovation.

- The peopling of the Americas and the first experiments with grain farming in the Middle East might have been happening at about the same time.

- The Norman conquest of England was within living memory at the time of the First Crusade.

- The Classical Maya period was 250-900 CE, roughly coinciding with the late Roman Empire and the Dark Ages in Europe. The collapse of the Classical Maya centers was during the 900s, about a century or two after Charlemagne’s time (IIRC the 900s CE is around the end of the Danelaw period in England).

- The moai (the big heads) of Easter Island aren’t ancient; they were built during the late Middle Ages and the early modern period.

- New Zealand was peopled during the Middle Ages, IIRC some centuries after the peopling of Iceland. New Zealand was one of the last lands on Earth to be peopled.

- Lady Murasaki lived in the late 900s and early 1000s CE; a little before the Norman conquest of England. To me Heian-period and pre-Heian Japan feels like the Bronze Age, but it’s from a completely different period of history; it existed in the same world as Vikings and Charlemagne and the Tang Dynasty; I think that’s interesting. Speaking of Japanese history, the Japanese warring states period and the height of classic samurai feudalism was the 1400s and 1500s.

- Australia was peopled at least 30,000 years before the Americas, and Homo sapiens expansion into northern Eurasia seems to have taken much longer than Homo sapiens peopling of Australia. There’s a lesson in this: cold seems to have been a more daunting barrier than ocean. That makes sense in a way: the Homo sapiens out-of-Africa migrants were likely tropical/subtropical coast-dwellers, and they could have just followed the tropical/subtropical southern coast of Asia all the way to Java (which you could have walked to from Asia back then because sea levels were lower), never leaving warm coastal regions. After that they would have needed just one big innovation to reach Australia: sea-worthy boats. Adapting to the cold northern regions of ice age Eurasia would have required more radical changes to their tool-kit and lifestyle. I think something similar happened in the Americas: there are surprisingly old signs of human presence in South America, and I suspect what happened is the first Americans were fisher-whaler-beachcomber people who lived on a stretch of ice-free coast between the Pacific and the ice age North American glaciers, and as they expanded they mostly just followed the coast south, and they kept doing that until some of them reached Tierra del Fuego within maybe a few centuries. If an alien visited Earth around 13,500 BCE I think they might have found a few tens of thousands of people living along the west coast of the Americas from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and the rest of the Americas still almost uninhabited (maybe there’d be a few thousand people living in the inland hills of California and the inland jungles of Central America, but that’d be about it). Only the most adventurous early Americans moved inland, where they’d have to survive without the resources of the sea and the beach, and became the Clovis People and other inland early American hunter-gatherer cultures. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were humans living along the shores of the Straight of Magellan before there were humans living in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.

A somewhat different but related thing: communicating the sheer length of ancient Egyptian history:

- Sargon the Great gets called the first empire-builder, but I think that title really should belong to Narmer, or whoever the first Pharaoh of a unified Egypt was. We often don’t think of Narmer as an empire-builder for the same reason we often don’t think of Qin Shi Huangdi’s great empire as an empire: the empire was so successful and enduring that it eventually started to look like a natural fact of human cultural geography. You know your empire has really succeeded when most people don’t think of it as an empire! Sargon the Great lived about 800 years after Narmer, so the difference in time between them is similar to the difference in time between Julius Caesar and Charlemagne.

- The Great Pyramids were built in the 2500s and early 2400s BCE, about 500 years after Narmer’s reign. This was early in Egyptian history! I think it’s interesting that the Egyptians did this huge construction project early in their history and never did anything like that again. I really wonder what happened there. Did building the Great Pyramids ruin the economy? Did the mobilization of the huge workforce needed to build the Great Pyramids stir up the disease pool and cause plagues (did something similar happen when Amarna was built and populated and did that contribute to the failure of the Atenist reformation?)? Anyway, like I said, the Great Pyramids were built relatively early in Egyptian history ... though the time difference between Narmer and the builders of the great pyramid was comparable to the difference in time between us and Columbus and Henry VIII!

- There were three most ancient centers of civilization that emerged at about the same time: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley Civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization collapsed around 2000 BCE and we don’t know much about it; we can’t read their writing. I think it’d be fascinating if we could learn more about the Indus Valley Civilization! Were they politically fragmented, like Mesopotamia, or were they a single state, like Egypt? There’s some evidence that might suggest the latter, but it’s impossible to know! So many unanswered questions!

- The Thera eruption that might have contributed to the decline of Minoan civilization happened around 1600 BCE. This was around the same time as the Hyksos rule in northern Egypt; if I’m reading my Wikipedia skimming right there’s a record of the Thera eruption recorded on a stelae set up by the Pharaoh who reconquered northern Egypt from the Hyksos!

- Tutankhamun lived in the mid-1300s BCE. Tutankhamun lived more than a thousand years after the Great Pyramids were built! The builders of the Great Pyramids were as distant from Tutankhamun as the Vikings are from us!

- And Cleopatra (the famous one, Cleopatra VII) lived about 1300 years after Tutankhamun! Tutankhamun was as distant from Cleopatra as Charlemagne is from us! And the Great Pyramids were about 2500 years old in Cleopatra’s time; their construction was about as distant from her as Buddha, Confucius, and Socrates are from us! As that meme says: Cleopatra lived closer to the construction of the moon rockets than the construction of the Great Pyramids.

Remember when I said Pharaonic Egypt and the US kind of remind me of each other? Well, the US is less than 250 years from its founding. 250 years from the founding of the unified Egyptian state they’d just recently stopped doing human sacrifice (the earliest Pharaohs were buried with human retainer sacrifices, about a century or so into the Pharaonic period they stopped doing that and switched to burying the Pharaohs with little dolls that were supposed to substitute for the servants) and they were just building the Step Pyramid of Djoser, just beginning the pyramid-building tradition that would culminate in the Great Pyramids centuries later.

Alternately, the other culture that really reminds me of Pharaonic Egypt is China, and its Narmer-equivalent lived after Alexander the Great. The Chinese still have about 800 years to go before they can say their civilization-state is as enduring as Pharaonic Egypt!

I really wonder if the Pharaonic Egyptian religion would still be going strong if Christianity and Islam hadn’t come along. It survived for so long!

#history

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