#stop the ancient romans from ever conquering britain

[tweedfrog]

Time travel to do list:

1. Stop the British East India Company from ever forming to prevent the rise of the 2 greatest evils this world has ever known: Biritsh People and the Stock Market.

2. Punch Leo Tolstoy in the face (this one is for u Sophia Tolstoy)

3. Purchase a bottle of the 60 drops of opium cough syrup

4. Befriend that one ancient farmer from babylonia (??? I think???) who was requesting water for his field and basically wrote the first ever "per my last email" and "cc-ing _____ for visibility!!!" In the history of mankind

[bean-na-farraige-agus-foraoise]

Druids ain’t shit and here’s why.

Straight from the Pond- here’s a lesson from your friendly neighborhood historian.

It’s a long post so the history lesson is under the cut. 

Druidic “history” (or pseudohistory rather) actually begins with early renaissance politics. 

Basically Italy is dominating politics and religion by being able to call back to an ancient history that led directly into the formation of the centralized Catholic church. Surprising nobody who's familiar with European history- the German states want in on that action but they don't really have that direct line linking them to antiquity beyond their conquering by Rome- so, like any good 15th century academics, they create that link by just making shit up. 

So they look back at ancient roman writings, and see mention of druids, and also realize that they actually don't know fuck all about them, there's no records of them beyond a few classical authors- and for the record, classical authors are NOTORIOUSLY unreliable, there are entire graduate level seminars dedicated to teaching people how to read through ancient Roman propaganda, almost every druid I have ever met has taken classical authors at face value, anyway I digress, they just start making up a history of the druids, German lands used to be populated by Celts, and they create these mystical druids who serve as the direct precursor to The Church in these areas, like they forge documents and everything so when Italy goes "oh yeah since when?" they have something to hold up as a "gotcha" - they fashion statues and hide them in crypts as further evidence. It’s wild. 

So, France sees that the German states are becoming more politically popular within the HRE (Holy Roman Empire) because of these druid stories, and so they go "Hey Celts used to live in France too... we should have druids"- and they create druid stories. Scotland at the time is very close with France politically and they go "Hey us too, we're still Celts,” and then it spreads to Wales, and then England. Ireland is mostly staying out of druid nonsense- like in this period of the OG pseudohistories Ireland is like "this is disgusting we don't want druids" so like all the writings in Ireland in this period on druids are like "yeah the Church HATES druids"

Things quiet down for a little bit, because the stories are established, the cards have been played, whatever, but then Neo-Classicism and the Enlightenment- and now suddenly it's cool to have ancient history again - but like... Britain has "we got conquered by Rome" or "hey a few centuries ago people were saying we had druids?”; so naturally the more nationalistic go with druids....which is how we get, Iolo Morganweg.  Iolo's real name is Edward Williams but he insisted on going by his "bardic name"- bc druids.  Williams was a Welsh antiquarian- who is in some scholastic circles considered the father of “modern” druidry.  Williams literally named his son Taliesin after the bardic poet behind the Poems of Taliesin which is frequently in association with the Mabinogi in Brythonic texts. To pull from the wiki on this asshole: 

[he made] claims that ancient Druidic tradition had survived the Roman conquest, the conversion of the populace to Christianity, the persecution of bards under King Edward I, and other adversities. His forgeries develop an elaborate mystical philosophy, which he claimed as a direct continuation of ancient Druidic practice. Williams's reportedly heavy use of laudanum may have been a contributing factor

Yeah.... just... yeah. So not only did he forge like hella documents, which today in the 21st century, over 100 years after he was revealed as a fraud, are still more popular than the originals- but he also is the reason that ogham is like that. Williams created a ‘bardic alphabet’ based on combining Scandinavian runes and extant ogham - we are still wading through his bullshit trying to fix ogham. 

And this brings us to the Celtic Twilight...... 

To quote @liminalblessings​, “And a bunch of noodle fuckers decide "hey, we didn't bastardize the Irish enough for the last however long.... We should do more of that."” But for those of you not familiar with the term, it's a nationalistic pan-Celtic movement that wanted to like, make the Celts in vogue again? but like their idea of the Celts as "noble savage” - because the modern era was scary. At this point, Pan-Celtic Nationalism is starting to rise as pushback against British colonialism in Celtic nations. Unfortunately it's heavily reliant on the Druid myth as like.... A foundational shared cultural history between the surviving Celtic nations. The point largely is, though, "look at us. We should all be sticking together because we're the same / cousins / brothers". Which leads to a L O T of Celtic culture from various countries kind of getting.... molded into one singular idea- which is USUALLY what we think of today when we think of Celts. Basically everything gets branded as Irish because the Irish were “pure” and a “separate racial identity” as opposed to the Scots and Welsh. It took that idea of a pan-Celtic singularity, and then went ham with it mostly on Irish pre-Christian stuff, and as it occurred not too long after Williams’ fuckery, it really cemented those forgeries and psuedohistories in the cultural memory. And Williams wasn’t exposed as a fraud until after the Celtic Twilight had died down.

Now... Yeats, we all know Yeats- some people recommend his writings for learning about the fairies. DO NOT LISTEN TO THOSE PEOPLE. Yeats makes up an entire tree calendar, and also files all Scottish fairy lore under the “Irish” tab because he’s part of the Celtic Twilight and didn’t you know that everything Celtic is actually Irish? Fuck this guy. #yeetyeats

Enter... Robert Graves- destroyer of histories and all around fuckwit. Graves maked up an ENTIRE religious notion around a mother goddess and shit. And like, the irony of that is the people he supposedly went to originally were like lol dude you're a fucking idiot none of this is real. But he published it anyways and of course it got taken seriously. And then there's a lot of reverse etymology at this point which is just.... really bad linguistics. And because of Graves’ white goddess + said bad linguistics by others, you get Danu.(Danu is a whole thing, please shoot me an ask if you want a post about all of that nonsense). 

So.... Gerald Gardener.... to quote @liminalblessings​ again- “didn’t have a direct role in druidism, except he kind of did.”  See, Gardner had a good friend who was hella interested in the Celtic twilight. Said friend was hella inspiried by Gardner's "recreation" of old British trad witch traditions... But he didn't jive with the old British trad witch traditions. HE jived with Irish Druidry. So while Gardner's doing HIS thing, his friend's doing the modern Druid thing- heavily drawing from Gardner's own work but "making it more historically Druid" Except, as you may have picked up- there is no such thing as “historically druid” that can be reconstructed. Basically he can only pull from Williams, but because he had issues with with the old 15th century on stuff, up to the Twilight era (despite those being his sources) so he tries to distance himself from the earlier movements and leans hella heavy into Gardner's work as a result. Which is, if you've ever wondered, why Wicca and Druidry have such incredibly similar ritual structures and beliefs.

SO, this guy starts the Druid Order, decides that he’s gonna like pull his teachings from Williams- but he's also gonna say that Williams has nothing to do with his druidry because y'know, Williams has relatively recently been revealed as a fraud. This guy goes through the grueling process of ripping off his best bud gardner founding Druidry, right. So The Druid Order has this rebranding in 1951, that lauds the “history of the druids” as written by Williams but simultaneously rejects Williams saying “yeah we have nothing whatsoever to do with that guy.” Mix into this narrative, Gardener’s “burning times” bullshit, and now not only do we have mythical pseudohistorical druids, but a rewrite of Williams’ “the druids survived conversion” which then turned into - “The druids were heavily persecuted by the church and survived a horrible burning times but despite this there’s a tradition of continuous druidic belief.” Here begins the bullshit known as “vestiges of pagan thought”- which took actual historians not even a decade to disprove, and yet still circulates in pagan circles, because nobody picks up a fucking book.  Theoretical Folkloric archaeology became very popular at this time, which postulates (incorrectly) that all folk traditions and folklore absolutely stems from Pagan times and is 100% the Christianization of pagan practices and thoughts- which is not at all true. (Not-so-friendly reminder that Eostre? DOESN’T FUCKING EXIST. STOP FALLING FOR A JOKE MADE BY A MONK)

Td;lr so far- the druids went from 

the Catholic clergy before the Catholics existed 

to 

a religious group that survived conversion

to

druids survived an intense and violent persecution 

And now? In this our 21st century? 

Well.... druidic organizations today tend to still push these ahistorical narratives, that buy into the pagan persecution complex.... and several of these organizations also have known racists and terfs on their recommended reading lists. And while some organizations have made attempts to become more historically accurate- but the end result is usually.... bad. It tends to result in them using a source from like 1960 that’s been disproven 1000 times since by other historians to go “look a historian agrees with us!” rather than like... keep up with current research trends and academic standards. Druids also tend to be hostile to the syncretism of the Irish church which is just..... so fucking dumb. Don’t worship gaelic deities if you can’t accept that our lore are Christian texts about pagan beliefs. 

So yeah..... druids ain’t shit and I can prove it historically. I am also more than willing to send anyone links to full length books on the history of druids if you want to learn more. 

[a-world-in-grey]

King’s Speech in Eos

Prompted by and ask from @ends-of-the-wayward-storm that spiraled out of control. Tagging @secret-engima because she’s always down for my rambles.

If anything doesn’t make sense or you notice any grievous errors, let me know!

I’m gonna cover the broad history of King’s Speech, including origin, evolution, and its spread throughout Eos, along with some hcs on the varying concurrent historical events that would influence the language. It’ll be somewhat vague, because we don’t have hard dates for... a lot of events.

Origin

Gonna start with a bit of set up for what Eos might have looked like around Somnus’ time.

Going way back, we’ve got Solheim. We know it existed in at least Cleigne and Duscae, given we’ve found ruins there. I also theorize that the rest of the Solheim Empire stretched further north of Cleigne and maybe even up to the three islands off the north-western coast of the Cleigne region. It’s possible the Solheim empire stretched into Western continent - most likely Tenebrae and Succarpe and Eusciello - but I don’t have enough information to make a solid assumption one way or the other.

As the ruling power of the time, Solheimian would have been the dominant language within their territory (think Roman empire and Latin), and it would have persisted amongst the survivors after Solheim fell.

On the Eastern continent, that would have been the Cleigne and Duscae regions. On the Western continent, Pitzala, where they did find very ancient remains of humans that I think were theorized to be from that time period?

So Ancient Solheim would have influenced the languages in Cleigne, Duscae, and part of Tenebrae.

Now we get to Somnus’ time. Somnus, who founded Lucis, whose tomb is in Duscae. It is very, very likely that Duscae is Somnus’s birthplace, and the birthplace of the Lucian Kingdom. And early King’s Speech.

So, we’ve got at the moment, the various regions/kingdoms: On the Eastern continent - Cleigne, the newly formed Lucis in Duscae, Leide, Cavaugh, and Galahd. Accordo is in the middle of the ocean to the south. And on the Western continent - Tenebrae (the mountainous Ulwaat region and the coast Pitzala region) and Niflheim (the regions of Succarpe, Eusciello, Vogliupe, and Ueltham).

At this point, the Old Lucian language will have the most in common with the language of the Cleigne region (they might even be different dialects of the same language) and Tenebrae, as Aera and Ardyn are shown to have no issues communicating. (Admittedly, the historical world building in the game is not what I would call extensive, so it’s likely the game developers and writers never actually considered this when making the game.)

Leide will have its own language, as will Cavaugh and Galahd. Accordo has its own language, one likely to be vastly different from any of the others on the continents. As far as Niflheim, the Ueltham region will have a separate language, perhaps similar to the Vogliupe region, and the Succarpe and Eusciello regions might have similarities but will be separate from the Tenebrae and inland languages.

So there’s Old Lucian (Duscae and Cleigne dialects), Old Tenebraen (which is separate but mutually intelligible to Old Lucian), Old Leidan, Old Cavaugh, Old Galahdian, Old Accordan, Old Niflheimian (Ueltham and Vogliupe dialects), and Old Succarpe/Eusciello.

Someone please write a fic of that era where the characters have to deal with language barriers. Please. Think of the sheer opportunity for miscommunication! The drama! The comedy!

Old Lucian to Middle Lucian: Birth of Continental Lucian

Also known as the Lucian Kings get Conquest Happy.

Rome falls, Latin lingers but ultimately falls out of global use, and Late West Saxon is the predominant language in England.

And then 1066 rolls around and the Normans invade, bringing both French and Latin with them. The West Saxon language of the common locals eventually picks up the Norman and Old Norse from the ruling upper class, and the Latin from the Church, becoming Anglo-Norman, better known as Middle English.

Congratulations, this is exactly what happens when Lucis conquers Leide and Cavaugh. Just replace West Saxon with Old Leidan and Old Cavaugh, and French-Latin with Old Lucian-Tenebraen.

Mix well, and bam, we’ve now got what Lucian historians will call Continental Lucian.

Galahd is still minding its own business, and no sane Lucian wants to go to the jungle, so while Old Galahdian isn’t the same as was during Somnus’ era, vocab falling in and out of use, it hasn’t changed all that much.

Old Niflheimian has changed however. Ueltham is somewhat isolated from the rest of the continent, so their language changes less, but the Vogluipe region has evolved to the point they are no longer a different dialect of Old Niflheimian but their own separate language as they pick up bits and pieces from Tenebrae and Eusciello. Old Tenebraen will develop two different dialects by this point - High and Low Tenebraen. Low Tenebraen will shift closer to Vogliupe, Eusciello, and Succarpe influences and is the common language in Tenebrae. High Tenebraen is the language of religion and used by the Oracles, priests, and upper classes. It’s the language used for higher education on the Western continent.

Accordo, unlike Galahd, has become the trading hub of the world, and picks up influences from Leide, Lucis, Succarpe, and Tenebrae, which shifts them from Old Accordan to Middle Accordan.

Global Conquest: Rise of the King’s Speech

Or, in other words, The Warrior.

Loses his wife, wages global war in his grief. Only one of the Kings of Yore to have his tomb outside the Lucian continent. (Which I also have hcs on but that is a completely separate post.)

Now, the writers do not tell us just how far the Warrior or the kingdom of Lucis managed to conquer. The Warrior is buried in Tenebrae, so we know he made it at least that far.

Which, I’m going to quibble on in just bit.

Given how the King’s Speech is global, even in Niflheim (presumably, we don’t ever see your run of the mill Niflheimian commoners/working class), it’s highly likely that Lucis once controlled both continents. And Accordo.

And here’s where we get into some, well, very not nice parts of history.

King’s Speech is the language of Eos. The only other language we ever see is that of the Astrals (and maybe Ancient Solheim? That wasn’t in the cutscenes so I’m a bit iffy), which means either the majority of Eos are bilingual, or King’s Speech is the only language.

How do you make half a dozen other languages disappear?

Genocide.

Not necessarily full on Holocaust round them up and exterminate them. But by forbidding them to speak or write in their language. Ever. By taking their children and raising them in a different culture, until there’s no one left who remembers how to speak their language at all.

It’s horrible, I know, and I doubt anyone wants to go that dark when writing their fics, but that’s what history tells us. The Indigenous tribes of North America, forced onto reservations and sent to ‘cultural’ schools to raise them as ‘white men.’ Britain, making it illegal to speak Welsh, Irish, and Scottish. Those are the examples I’m most familiar with, but I don’t doubt there’s a lot more.

A language is a representation of its people. Of its culture. It changes with its people.

And dies with them.

So for at least a couple generations - probably closer to five or six - Lucis occupied most of the world. But not all of it.

Tenebrae.

Tenebrae, the longstanding allies of Lucis. Tenebrae, ruled by the only other family with Bahamut’s Blessing. It would not be surprising at all if Tenebrae served as a foothold for Lucian forces to strike into Niflheim territory, to conquer the continent.

It can be so very easy to go from, we are blessed, to we deserve this, to we deserve more. When a Blessing becomes a Birthright, where does it stop?

When your Empire crumbles.

We don’t have a date for the rise of the Aldercapt dynasty. Only that they became the rulers of Niflheim, and they later decided to conquer the world, using magitek advances uncovered from Solheim ruins.

Which, if you are the ones to lead the faction that frees your home from the occupying forces, you might just get put in charge. And then if you need a way to defend your people in case the magic wielding enemies come back, you might just turn to the ancient civilization rumored to have fought the Astrals.

Yeah. Can’t really argue with that.

So King’s Speech becomes the global language. Ueltham, Vogliupe, Euscellio, and Succarpe disappear. Low Tenebraen likely disappears as well. Accordo may suffer its own occupation during this time, in which Accordan disappears, or it gets so heavily colonized by Lucians that the two languages merge, producing the Accordan dialect of King’s Speech.

Modern King’s Speech

With the entire world - with a couple exceptions - now speaking the same language and Lucian forces pushed back to their own continent, we’re going to start seeing different dialects emerge again.

Niflheim will develop their own dialect, different accents in Ueltham, Vogliupe, Eusciello, and Succarpe, but the same dialect depending on how rapid Niflheim’s technological advancement is. 

Tenebraen King’s Speech will be closest to Old Tenebraen and Old Lucian, and therefore known as High King’s Speech, favored by the upper classes around the world, but especially in Tenebrae, Niflheim, and Insomnia. 

Accordan King’s Speech will be the dialect most different from Standard King’s Speech, due to lingering Accordan influences but also due to Accordo being a major trade center and being influenced by the other dialects.

Lucian King’s Speech will become known as Standard King’s Speech. There will be a couple notable dialects, the Leidan and Insomnian dialects though the Leidan dialect will be the most noticeable.

At some point, Galahd is also conquered, but while they submit and King’s Speech becomes part of Galahd, they remain insular enough that they keep their native language alive. Though there is enough influence from the mainland through King’s Speech on Old Galahdian that it firmly shifts into the Modern Galahdian language.

[almostarchaeology]

Before Conan the Barbarian, There Was Bran

By Adrián Maldonado

I write about medieval barbarians in my legit academic work, and use this blog to explore how they occasionally escape from our powerpoint slides into the public consciousness.

I recently realized that for all my degrees, I didn’t know a thing about one of history’s most famous barbarians. It was high time I looked up Conan.

Stock image of Dark Age Europe

In my 80s childhood, Conan the Barbarian was a kind of folk character – a stock image of a beefy white guy in a furry loincloth with a giant sword. (I would probably be picturing Conan the Librarian, to be honest.) But I already had He-Man in my life, a knock-off Conan cartoon made to sell toys, though I could not have known that because the cartoon was so unspeakably awesome it would brook no questioning. Indeed, I only discovered the Schwarzenegger Conan films later on, when I was old enough to realize he had made other weird, non-science fiction films back in the Reagan era. I knew vaguely that the character was based on a book, or was it a comic book? This was before the internet, and before I could ever give a shit about a character with no good action figures.

Flash forward twenty years or so, when I am a grizzled Xennial hunched over his computer, writing about depictions of the Picts in pop culture. Immersed in terrible filmic depictions of ancient Scottish warriors (always warriors), it struck me that I had never thought about Conan the Barbarian. What kind of barbarian was he meant to be? Did his story take place in some kind of historical epoch? Were there Picts in it that I could add to my list?

Imagine my shock when I did find a Pict down this rabbit hole (or souterrain?), and he looked like this:

Whatever else I was working on, stopped.

***

Robert E. Howard is best known today as the creator of Conan the Barbarian. But little did I know that he was one of the first pop culture appropriators of the Picts. Indeed, he was writing about the Picts long before he even conceived of Conan. The Picts were his muse. I feel like this is important, and I may need more than one blog post to say why. But first, an introduction.

I had seen some hilarious renderings of Picts over the years, but they always fell into the usual stereotype of tattooed maniacs hurling themselves onto Roman spears.

Tattooed maniacs hurling themselves onto Roman spears (source)

This 1960s paperback collection of stories by Howard entitled Bran Mak Morn, apparently the last king of the Picts, depicted this king Pict as a Neanderthal surrounded by howling ape-men. To me, this seemed like the purest distillation of the idea of the barbarians beyond the wall as sub-human, a trope developed in Roman imperial propaganda and continually reproduced today by the Hadrian’s Wall heritage ecosystem.

The paperback was one of a series of reprints of Howard’s genre-defining pulp fantasy of the 1920s and 1930s, brought back to life in the wake of the Tolkien wave of the 60s. Closer inspection revealed that Frank Frazetta’s 1969 cover image bore little resemblance to the description of Bran himself in Howard’s tales, even if his Pictish ‘race’ was certainly of a simian variety. More on this presently. What I wanted to know first was how a Texas kid learned about the Picts in the early 20th century, and came out with this.

***

Robert E Howard had a tough childhood in his native Texas. Coming from a broken home, he moved around a lot and read books to keep himself company. In 1919, at the age of 13, his father dragged him to New Orleans while he took classes, so he squirrelled himself away in a library on Canal Street. It was there that he first read about the Picts in a book about British history. The image of a little, dark race from the north that hassled the Romans but could never be conquered fascinated him. Perhaps due to the ray of light this book gave him at a sensitive point in his childhood, the Picts remained ingrained in his mind for the rest of his short life, which he would later take in 1936, at the age of 30.

Like many other nerdy kids, he wrote stories to pass the time. In his archive were found several early writings which reveal the impact the Picts had on him. There is a school paper from 1920-23 about the Picts. The first story he ever submitted for publication was about the Picts, ‘The Lost Race’, but it was rejected by the editor of Weird Tales in 1924. He sold his first story later that year, beginning his professional writing career. A revised version of ‘The Lost Race’ was finally published in Weird Tales in 1927, introducing the world to Bran Mak Morn, a Pictish king who fought the Romans. He would go on to make several more appearances in Howard’s swords-and-sorcery tales, and the Picts eventually became one of the myriad ‘races’ in Howard’s Hyborian Age, a proto-prehistoric shared universe inhabited by Conan the Barbarian.

Bran Mak Morn by Gary Gianni (source)

Howard’s Picts are a peculiar bunch. From his first essay on them, he describes them as the remnants of the stone age inhabitants of Britain, comparing their appearance to Native Americans. In this view, they were the ‘Mediterraneans’ (as opposed to Celts or Nordics) who first brought the knowledge of farming to Britain in the Neolithic. They were eventually swept aside by the fair-skinned ‘Celtic’ race of metalworkers, at which point they were forced to mingle and interbreed with the indigenous cavemen, a barely human simian-like race. This meant that by the arrival of the Romans, the Picts had become stunted, swarthy, long-armed ape-men. All except Bran Mak Morn, their king, who had kept his bloodline pure. All pretty disgusting racial logic now, but hey, so the argument goes, it was the 20s.

Except that here it was, unfiltered and raw, in a book released during the height of the civil rights struggle in the United States. I bought this ancient artefact off of Amazon for pennies, and holding it in 2017, it felt like I’d acquired an illicit antiquity. Plenty of writers have tripped over themselves to call out and defend Tolkien and Howard regarding the racial (if not always racist) component to their mythical prehistories, so I won’t go down that route just now. But that cover image haunted me.

***

In 2005, Bran Mak Morn received a brand-new edition, the Weird Tales stories now bundled with unpublished manuscripts, fragments of Howard’s correspondence, and critical essays by Rusty Burke and Patrice Louinet. Armed with an annotated timeline of Howard’s Pictish writings, which spanned his career, and supplemented with google-fu, I was able to clarify the genesis of Bran Mak Morn.

Former Canal Street public library, New Orleans, 1911 (source)

It is possible to trace the public library Howard visited when he was 13, when he first encountered a British history book and his vision of the dark, prehistoric Picts. The Canal Street public library in question must be the one that formerly stood at 2940 Canal Street at the corner of South Gayoso, opened in 1911. A photograph survives on the New Orleans library website, and Google Maps reveals it is now a Yoga studio.

Origin myths of the Picts (source)

Rusty Burke has also plausibly identified the very book that Howard seems to have read: The Romance of Early British Life (1909) by George Francis Scott Elliot. This is apparently one of the flashy, pulpy ‘Library of Romance’ published by London-based Seeley and Co, described as ‘profusely illustrated’ ‘gift books’, which included among their number volumes such as The Romance of Modern Mining and The Romance of the World’s Fisheries. The author Scott Elliot was a botanist and antiquarian, president of Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society during an apparent low point in its history.

The fairly ridiculous book in question seems to have been written for Edwardian teenage boys, and does indeed bear the DNA of Howard’s later writing on the Picts: “In very ancient times Britain had been twice conquered, first by the small, dark Picts of the Mediterranean, and later (about 2000 or 1000 B.C.) by the tall, brown-haired, Gaelic-speaking Celts (237).” The chapter on the introduction of farming to Britain is called ‘The coming of the Picts’, in which Scott Elliot explains that they have been called by several names before – Homo Mediterraneus, Basques, Iberians, Silurians, the Firbolg, the Dolmen-builders – but he calls them Picts to save on ink (80-1). He claims they are still readily identifiable in the present day, as the short, brunette people who are mostly found in towns and cities, unlike the fairer Teutons or Kelts who prefer the countryside (92-3).

Howard’s vision of the Picts was thus formulated by the equivalent of our contemporary public archaeology, an accessible potted prehistory of Britain by one of Scotland’s leading antiquaries. Why this particular image, of a dark, forgotten people without a history, resonated so deeply with him, is a subject to ponder. But he was clearly not alone in his fascination. While racial views of the past soon died out in archaeological writing, they would go on to have a tenacious grip on the fantasy world. And which of these two genres do you think has a greater influence on people’s image of the medieval past?

***

Why does any of this matter? It is a demonstration of the role of ‘the Picts’, in various guises, as the untermenschen of what you might call western folk history. The fact that a young boy in inter-war Louisiana could head to the nearest library, read about them in a cheap history book, and then build a world-beating fictional universe that is still beloved today based on this is remarkable. As I’ve spent some time documenting on these pages, that image of the Picts is still in a way with us. A recent article in the Glasgow Herald has the reporter coming to the shocking insight that the Picts were not ‘hairy savages’ after speaking briefly to a couple of scholars. I wonder if that means we are doing our job well, or terribly.

It also opens up questions about the central role of race at the origins of both archaeology and the fantasy genre, a sticky subject that will have to be the subject of future blog posts [Editor's note: now read the follow-up to this post]. In the meantime, go check out similar topics being covered over on The Public Medievalist. 

And hey, why not donate to your local public library while you’re at it?

***

Follow us on ​@AlmostArch

Header image via Jeff Black

[food0drink]

Mythological Apples

Eve is reported to have bitten into one, or perhaps it was a quince. Hera received some for a wedding gift or maybe they were lemons. Apples have been around for a long time and our enjoyment for the tasty fruit is one of the earliest and most natural of inclinations - all children love apples.

We cultivated apples in 3000 BCE in the Swiss lake-dwellings long before the Romans conquered Britain and brought the art of apple cultivation with them. The Spaniards brought apples to Mexico and South America. The Pilgrims of Massachusetts Bay Colony planted apple seeds. It's certainly a popular fruit

In Greek mythology, Atlanta refused to marry unless a suitor could defeat her in a runnng race. One suitor, Milanion, accomplished this goal by dropping 3 golden apples (gifts of the Goddess of Love) during the race. Atlanta stopped to pick them up, lost the race, and became his wife. An ancient Greek who wanted to propose to a woman would only have to toss her an apple. If she caught it, he knew she had accepted his offer. (In Germany during medieval times a man who ate an apple that was steeped in the perspiration of the woman he loved would succeed in his pursuit of her)

In another Greek myth, Eris Goddess of Discord was enraged because she had not been invited to the wedding of a fellow god and goddess. She tossed among the guests a golden apple with the inscription, "For the fairest." Three goddesses felt they were worthy. In order to put an end to the squabbling, Paris, a mortal, was called upon to judge the fairest. He chose Aphrodite. Hera and Athena, the rejected goddesses, were furious and caused great devastation to Paris and his family. And we know what that meant - the sack of Troy.

When Aeneas escaped from Troy to Italy, the Sibyl told him that the only means of entering and returning safely from the underworld was to carry the fruit of the golden bough. In accordance with the cult of the goddess Diana at Nemi it's more than likely that the golden bough was an apple branch.

In Teutonic mythology, Iduna, wife of Bragi the Poet, was the goddess of eternal youth and the guardian of the "golden apples." If any of the gods felt the approach of old age, they only had to taste of one of these apples to remain young. She was abducted by a giant (aided by Loki) and the other gods aged rapidly. Loki was sent to rescue her so that she might restore youth again.

In Britain apples are most identified with the Island of Avalon, whose name is derived from the Welsh word for apple: afal (pronounced aval). Avalon is where the mortally wounded Arthur is taken to be healed, a place where there is ever sunlight and warm breezes, the land is lush with vegetation, and the inhabitants never age nor know pain or injury.

Apples come in many colours, shapes, sizes, degrees of crispness, sourness and sweetness. The beauty of the apple is that its taste will change from year to year depending on the growing conditions, the flavour even varies from apple tree to apple tree.

Go out and get an apple. They're good for you. And remember what Horace advised : "Whatever variety of apple you eat, to get the best make sure to buy only those picked by the light of the waning moon"

[chisonogliitaliani-blog]

Look I ain't being racist But have a look around at what this place is I mean the flag is red and white but I don't see no pink faces They don't wanna integrate is the issue it's blatant I know talking straight is rare when primary schools have translators but lets face it This fucking country's gone down the shitter Immigrants nick our jobs and impregnate our sisters Willing to work for pittance and quicker to chirpse your mrs When I can't get a job or my good old British dick sucked Still free money and housing, it takes the piss bruv Crying about asylum they're seeking and preaching Islam - if there's war in your country it's not our fault is it? Nah And that Jamaican fella Mandela's a terrorist bruv So now all them black fellas think they're heavy Gs, selling weed, rioting, can't even score at penalties At school they do terribly but it's a sly act, they can write tight lyrics to make my son act black Good at maths and fractions when it comes to selling crack to Somalian's doing voodoo sucking on that fucking cat The turks sell heroin, Romanians are skets and thieve, we already know from cricket Paki's are enemies! They kill their own daughters over a kiss - honour killing! all they want is bombs and fiddling kids It's in their Quran to kill us, them Hindus Sikhs should go back to Pakistan where they gangbang their sisters It takes the mick, by which I don't mean them IRA pricks But I try to be a patriot, they're calling me a racist! Paki's are [?] pedophiles, the Jews are reptiles, the recession was the Rothschild's greed gone wild! I will not smile while Britannia gets spit roasted! Brits have hosted aliens and now we've blown it Apologising for the empire, [?] have poked and coaxed us into losing all that's close to us It's bollocks, mate! The darkies are glad we had the colonies, we only borrowed cotton and modernised their economy Gave the knobs democracy, built them railways [?] middle eastern borders that were fail safe Educated them in the ways of the great race Even paid for their vacations and in those great days we bonded, through labour We made Jamaica Took africans on a cruise there, didn't even make you pay bruv! Indians to everywhere, Africa and Malaysia They didn't even know about science - we trained ya Made them our fond pets, and of course it's nonsense that we gave them all an inferiority complex Or horribly tossed them into poverty fostered communalism, or pulled a resource robbery on them 'cus honestly: From Kashmir and Palestine to Scotland, mate, all they wanna say is thanks. Big up the monarchy! 'Cus we brought 'em back to our shores, taken 'em in And now they trying to put their black sperm on Kate Middleton They're sick, mate Illiterate, with benefits in brick laying, kicking of in Bradford, picking on the poor BNP Demonstrating in Luton they're devastating the community, The EDL bravely fell and now they've cleared the way to London Riz is getting paid up in Wembley Chicken and chips, liquor and cigarettes is what they trade Add a bit of curry it's a recipe for heart disease Revenge is sweet It's a conspiracy, making Brits obese so chicks will dig their skinny limbs Unzip their jeans they'll stick it in, corrupt our breed, they're on it mate Plotting since 1948, until they tan the union jack like it's on holiday So watch it mate They're out to fuck our sisters in a pool club, infiltrating the borders, shops on all of da corners They wanna see Sharia law enforced on us all, 'cus their daughters are awful whores but still go clubbing to [?] They run the hospitals from sweeping the floors to doctors so called underpaid, playing the paupers So when it all kicks off and there's war they won't treat us, they'll say the paracetamol's all gone Caribbean and the middle eastern hordes are sending us [?] kebabs and helping Man City score They're so determined that them immigrants thought that they should be more hidden so they painted their paws white Fucking Eastern Europe, now we've opened the door they're all building loft extensions we can afford It all started with Mosques, false visas, black barber shops, polski [?] We have been invaded whilst we slept, soon Eastenders will be set in Abdul Square I wanna rediscover all our national flare I wonder how it was when we all had blonde hair- yeah, [?] I'll google our history Wait- what the fuck? The English were [?] and Celts originally, all Irish and Welsh types in kilts, you're fucking kidding me, sheep shaggers and haggis? Wikipedia: delete Then came Italians, slick and slippery, Roman invasion, Inter-Milan and Celtic interbreeding, but at least they were white, not Asian and poor. Wha- a North African legion guarded Hadrian's Wall? This is disturbing right, and then came the German tribes - fucking Hitler did us in before he was even alive! Tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes, what a scandal, who knew we'd already lost world war II? Then viking invaders pounded the north and the east - I knew it, them Geordies always sounded foreign to me But the saddest revelation is this Battle of Hastings... somebody called Norman came and gave us a pasting 1066 these French sissy pricks all conquered us? Oh fuck you William the Conqueror! Then the English language then started and laid the basis for parliament, but that don't mean berets and garlic can ever be a part of us But William did something else nice for us too, wanted business to boom so he invited the Jews! From all over Europe they came, settled and spawned, but English blood can't be Jewish, otherwise... we'd have horns, right? Shit, wait, I'm lost, so now we're Paddy Spaghetti Jew [?] Viking Frogs? Well, at least they're from white culture- wait... Scientists find an ancient East African skull from before all this up in the North of England? Well that's written in the Guardian so of course it's fiction! It's bad enough they had African drummers in Edinburgh in the 1500s, and Henry VII's trumpeter was a black man named John Black! That still don't mean Dizzee Rascal should've done that fucking olympic rap Then refugees, protestants from Holland and France changed a lot of shit, made society more advanced, built churches, brought culture, nice weavers Wait- they were basically asylum seekers! This is a lot to digest on a night in, that great British culture is such a volatile thing, people stopping by on our Isle from horizons afar, so to get 'em back, we colonised them! And though I don't really know who 'we' is, I know who the others are, 'cus we ruled their regions, made engines and an empire that never ends, 'cus of our [?] Paddy Dutch Frog intelligence Britannia ruled the waves, and 'cus she was... cruel to slaves. Trading flesh paid the ways for our bestest days Well alright okay, one percent of how many we sold can stay Wait- if we did that it'd double the population? Alright I take that back, sorry my mistake then Luckily for now it's under .01 So lets call it quits yeah, anymore we don't want 'Cus in the 1890s British didn't mean dark... apart from Indian MPs and Finsbury Park The first black footballer and thousands of half and fully black kids borns back when slavery flopped And then about 1.3 million Indians fought for us in WWI... brilliant! I mean, silly them, and all the other troops and colonies I wanna laugh, but the noise just won't come out properly And after the wars when Britain was nearly killed off we begged brown, black and polish to come and rebuild us Help them other country, take factory jobs, and they did, Like a rush of wind in Tilbury docks So I suppose I should be letting all these immigrants off? And I suppose Britishness isn't as simple as part, a lot of stuff's been mixed into it and pickled a lot but those immigrants are different to all the new lot! I mean, they're coming in bigger waves than the earlier hordes Even if they aren't invading and starting as many wars... And even if our DNAs like a bukakke in porn There's one British tradition that will always remain pure and that's being prejudiced against the immigrant scum! Whether it's Paki, frogs, vikings, or Ethopians skulls, and when they end up a part of us and we all become one, we wait till the next lot try coming along And when they do, my Somali Polish kids will be pissed at all this immigrants coming over and ruining shit. The red cross on the flag means no entry - duh! Wait- what d'you mean Saint George was Turk? -Riz Ahmed, 2016 Englistan Una satirico rappresentazione giornaliera moderna all'immigrazione in Inghilterra. questo pensiero di immigrazione è condiviso in tutta l'Europa

[ohnohetaliasues]

London OC Submission

Hey, this is my very first Hetalia oc. Since I found your blog I have read through every oc that you have reviewed, and have dramatically changed my oc. This is that first time I have submitted something, and I would be really grateful if you could review and give me any pointers on how to improve it :)

Oh my goodness! I’ve never had anyone say that to me! That makes me so happy! Thank you so much! I’m so glad that I helped you improve, and I’d be very happy to look over your OC of you. 

Name: London

Oh my goodness! I just finished making a London OC!

Human name: Edwina Marinus

Nicknames: Ed, Eddy, Win

(Edwina is an old English name that means ‘rich friend’ and Marinus is a Latin surname meaning ‘of the sea’)

Old English would be something a bit more preferable, but I do like the name Marinus very much.

I just called my London OC Audrey Kirkland. You’re way more creative than me.

Age: 23

Britain in canon Hetalia is 23, so I’d imagine that 20 or 21 would be a better age.

Birthday: 10th September

(This was the date that 11 tribes surrendered to Claudius, and marked the conquering of what was to become Britain)

That’s a good date. Good job.

Gender: female

Appearance: London has straight light brown which is in a layered pixie cut, hazel eyes and slightly tanned skin. London is rather androgynous, and flat chested, which often results in her being mistaken for a boy. She is five feet six inches and weighs ten stone. She tends to wear casual, comfortable clothing such as jeans, t-shirts and boots. She doesn’t take much care of her appearance, and hardly ever wears makeup.

I’d question that, as London is one of the highest fashion capitols of the world.

Personality: London can be arrogant, proud and very stubborn. She enjoys her reputation in the arts, fashion, education, healthcare and financial, to name a few, which she often boasts about to other capital cities (especially Paris and Madrid). She is quite pessimistic, cynical, and often very blunt and will always speak her mind, which usually alienates herself her other capital cities. She has quite a sharp wit, She is also extremely loyal towards her friends, and won’t hesitate to defend them, whether it means getting involved in a physical or verbal fight. London is intelligent when it comes to numbers, however, she isn’t the best at reading people (unless she knows them for a very long time), which often results in arguments. London can hold her drink better than England, and when she gets drunk she often gets rather depressed and nostalgic. However, she is also a welcoming, multicultural city, with a large, diverse population, which has made her views very liberal and more tolerant. She speaks with a strong cockney accent.

I like that, but a lower-class London accent would probably work better.

This information is very well represented.

Hobbies: London tends to be quite boyish in her tastes, due to being raised as a boy, although she knew she was a girl. This was mainly down to protect her from other countries that might see her as weak. She enjoys sports (held the modern Olympics three times), especially fencing, archery and horse riding. She has a particular fondness from murder mysteries, and can often be found in the library reading one. London is not the best cook (especially compared with countries such as France and Italy), however she is better than England which is all she cares about.

Fears: London’s biggest fear is thunder storms. This only appeared after the Blitz and she still hasn’t recovered. London also fears fire (Great Fire of London), and rats (the plagues that killed the majority of her population throughout history)

Perfect!

History (I know this is very long but I tried to shorten it as much as possible, only keeping the bits that I thought were the most important. However, as you can see I believe that a lot of London’s history is important and contributed to her personality): London was officially founded in 43AD, after the Roman invasion and was called Londinium. When she was younger, she was mistaken for a boy by Ancient Rome, due to her wild behaviour, and slightly boyish looks. In 60AD, Boudica destroyed the small city, and it took ten years for London to recover. Throughout the Roman settlement in Britain, London faced attacks from Anglo-Saxons, which led to the Romans building a defensive wall. The perimeter of the City of London is roughly along the line of this wall, something that London hates. When the Roman Empire started to decline, occupation also fell. This gradually led to Londinium declining and eventually being abandoned.

After the Romans left London, she became part of the Kingdom of Essex and converted to Christianity. St. Pauls Cathedral was also built during to period in London’s life. However, this period was marked with bloodshed, caused by invading Vikings from Denmark, who had London from 871 to 886. After London was recaptured from the Danish, her name changed from Londinium to Lundenburh, and started to develop her own local government. The late eighth and throughout the ninth century, London was subjected to many battles between the Vikings and the English.

After the victory of William the Conqueror in 1066, the Tower of London was built, which London initially hated. 1216 was the First Barons’ War and London was captured by Prince Louis who was rebelling against King John, although he was eventually forced to withdraw. Throughout the medieval period London resisted French influence (cultural and language wise). Trade for London also grew during this period, and dramatically increased her population, although this dramatically reduced due to the horror of the Black Death.

I literally have nothing to correct.

This is a really good OC.

The Early Modern period was a time of dramatic religious unrest for London (Reformation), and as she had strong links to mainland Europe, via trade, meant that Protestantism spread quickly throughout the city (literacy rates and print culture in London). During the Early Modern period London’s importance grew due to her trade connections across the world, the East India Company was founded during this era.  There was also the start of immigration to London, which also contributed to London’s wealth. However, xenophobia was high during this time.

The Stuart era led to a vast expansion of London and another plague epidemic. The popularity of the theatre increased from the Elizabethan era. However, Charles I was a highly unpopular monarch, and the increasing tensions between Parliament and the monarch eventually led to the English Civil War. London ultimately took the side of Parliament, and had survived many attacks from the royalists. After the hardship of Oliver Cromwell, London was relieved when Charles II took the throne. However 1665 saw the emergence of the Great Plague, and 1666 saw the Great Fire of London, which destroyed about 60% of the city and made London permanently afraid of fire. After the fire, London was rebuilt with bricks instead of wood.

The 18th century saw even more rapid growth, and the early start of the Industrial Revolution. Coffeehouses emerged during this era, which London really enjoyed, and literacy rates increased as well. London had hoped that religious unrest had stopped during the reformation, however, there were still riots between Protestant and Catholics during this era. The American Revolution deeply hurt London, although she would never say how much she missed America.

By the 19th century London was the largest city in the world, and was a global political, financial and trading capital. During this century the divide between the rich and the poor increased dramatically, which was caused by the invention of the railway. During this time the underground and the sewage system (which is still in use today), where also invented. Due to being the most powerful capital city in the world at time point London liked to show off, and the most prominent example of this was the Great Exhibition.

The twentieth century was when London went into decline. Despite being powerful at the being of the century, bombing raids in both world wars led to London becoming afraid of loud bangs and bright flashes (she especially afraid of thunder storms). The Great Depression also hit London hard, and high levels of unemployment led to the rise of both the extreme left and the right. The 1960s saw the rise of successful bands such as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Immigration also increased, making the city more diverse, however, this also meant an increase in racial tensions. London also faced bombing attacks from the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s.

Perfect. You really did your research.

Relationships

Ancient Rome: Rome was the person who founded London and is her father. However, she does not see him as her father. There were several bloody battles, and the brutal crushing of the indigenous people that made London afraid of Rome. She still resents the fact that her left her without an explanation.

I like that it says that she resents him instead of her having a loving father-daughter relationship.

England: They two of them often have very different opinions (e.g. politics, England is conservative while London is Labour [2015 election results]), however they both do care about each other. England and London can often be seen having a cup of tea together and either reminiscing about history or watching Doctor Who. However, London does refuse to drink with England, and she views him as a lightweight, and not fun to drink with. However, England will often try to persuade her to be more lady like, which London hates.

Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin: London does not get on with any of the other British capitals. They view her as a spoilt, over privileged brat who doesn’t realise how lucky she is. The relationships constantly change due to the ever shifting, recent politics (tbh, I don’t really want to get into this *cough* Brexit *cough*).

Ah yes. That. I’m not British myself (I’m from mid-western America) but from what I’ve heard from my British friends here on Tumblr, things didn’t turn out too well.

America: When America first became independent London was heartbroken. She viewed America as a younger brother, and cared about him deeply. However, in recent years her view of him has dramatically changed. She now sees him as annoying and obnoxious, and comments by American politicians about her city has not improved her view of him. Although she often complains about him, she does care about him.

Lisbon: London’s closest friend, they have been allies since the Anglo-Portugal Treaty of 1373. She trusts him completely, much more than any of her other alliances. In recent years she has developed she has developed a slight crush on him, however, she did not act on her crush because she believes that he only views her as a friend, and does not want to ruin their long friendship.

I like this very much.

Paris: Much like England and France, she has a rivalry with Paris. She constantly competes against her in terms of fashion, although they both have very different styles. However, they do have a respect for each other. London respects the Parisian food scene, while Paris respects London for her financial status (although neither will admit this out loud).

Madrid: London hates Madrid, and Madrid hates London. This mutual hatred originated with the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and since then Madrid has always tried to best London, sometimes with success and sometimes with failure. They are also jealous of each other when it comes to Lisbon. Madrid is jealous of London’s long term friendship with Lisbon, while London resents the fact that Lisbon and Madrid are neighbours and see each other more often.

This is perfect and hilarious.

Moscow: She used to be close with Moscow, seeing at Tsar Nicholas II and King George V were first cousins. During formal events the Tsar and the King use to swap uniforms, and cause confusion seeing as they looked very similar. However, since the Russian Revolution Moscow and London haven’t been as close, and have become more distant instead.

Not really very noteworthy, but I like that it’s in here.

Berlin: Kaiser Wilhelm II was also cousins with King George V, however, Berlin and London wasn’t as close as Moscow and London. Due to being bombed in both WW1 and WW2, London did hold some resent to Berlin in the early and mid 20th century, however, in modern times their relationship has improved.

The same as what I said with Moscow.

Overall, this OC is very well thought over, and very well researched. I really like the representation, but the last name is still questionable, and the age needs to be tweaked. I really like her appearance, though. If you ever need any more help, you know how to call. I’m really happy I could help! 

Thanks for letting me review such a wonderful OC!

~Kat

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.11

9 – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends, where the Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine being established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years. 1185 – Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. 1226 – The first recorded instance of the Catholic practice of perpetual Eucharistic adoration formally begins in Avignon, France. 1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. 1390 – Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius. 1541 – Santiago, Chile, is besieged by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco, to free eight indigenous chiefs held captive by the Spaniards. However, the Spaniards decapitated them and rolled their heads on the main square, horrifying the indigenous warriors, and subsequently ending the attack. 1565 – Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta. 1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there. 1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. 1683 – Battle of Vienna: Coalition forces, including the famous winged Hussars, led by Polish King John III Sobieski lift the siege laid by Ottoman forces. 1697 – Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history. 1708 – Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power. 1709 – Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France. 1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. 1758 – Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1776 – British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf Massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek. 1786 – The beginning of the Annapolis Convention. 1789 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1792 – The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored. 1800 – The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. 1802 – France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont. 1803 – Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin. 1813 – War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C.. 1814 – War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war. 1826 – Captain William Morgan, an ex-freemason is arrested in Batavia, New York for debt after declaring that he would publish The Mysteries of Free Masonry, a book against Freemasonry. This sets into motion the events that lead to his mysterious disappearance. 1829 – Surrender of the expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown to retake Mexico. This was the consummation of Mexico's campaign for independence. 1830 – Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions. 1836 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War. 1851 – Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves led by William Parker fight off and kill a slave owner who, with a federal marshal and an armed party, sought to seize three of his former slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, thereby creating a cause célèbre between slavery proponents and abolitionists. 1852 – Outbreak of Revolution of September 11 resulting in the State of Buenos Aires declaring independence as a Republic. 1857 – The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah. 1897 – After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom. 1903 – The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world. 1905 – The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13. 1914 – World War I: Australia invades German New Guinea, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka. 1916 – The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907. 1919 – United States Marine Corps invades Honduras. 1921 – Nahalal, the first moshav in Palestine, is settled as part of a Zionist plan of creating a Jewish state, later to be Israel. 1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia. 1941 – Charles Lindbergh's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany. 1943 – World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica. 1944 – World War II: The Western Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen. 1944 – World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. 1945 – World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo. 1950 – Korean War: President Harry S. Truman approved military operations north of the 38th parallel. 1954 – Hurricane Edna hits New England as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore. 1967 – China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched an attack on Indian posts at Nathu La, Sikkim, India, which resulted a military clashes. 1968 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew. 1970 – The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25. 1971 – The Egyptian Constitution becomes official. 1972 – The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service. 1973 – A coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. 1973 – JAT Airways Flight 769 crashes into the Maganik mountain range while on approach to Titograd Airport, killing 35 passengers and six crew. 1974 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew. 1976 – A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it. 1980 – A new constitution of Chile is established under the influence of then Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which is subject to controversy in Chile today. 1982 – The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces. 1989 – Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. 1991 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew. 1992 – Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu. 1997 – NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars. 1997 – After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom. 2001 – The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killing 2,977 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. Two aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 2007 – Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs. 2008 – A major Channel Tunnel fire breaks out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for six months. 2011 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opens on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. 2012 – A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. 2012 – The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. 2015 – A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.

[ciathyzareposts]

Rome: Pathway of Power – The Woad Warrior

Written by TBD

Hector’s Journal #2: “You’ve heard the story before. The slave who became a general… or was it the other way around? Either way, I keep improving my station through means having nothing to do with my skills. Let’s see if I can keep this going – if I do, I could even be Emperor one day!”

When last we looked in on Hector the slave owner, he’d failed multiple times at having his slave win a gladiatorial battle. So without having any better ideas, I kept trying…

Reloading after not having played the game for a few days, I’d forgotten I’d saved the game after already owning a slave so accidentally bought a different slave.

Let’s take a look at my inventory…

Slaves are like Pringles – you can’t stop at one.

Well, I’ve now got two slaves and 25 sesterces. I still owe the moneylender 60 sesterces and need some amount more than 40 to bribe my way into the Palace. So let’s see if we can win a fight at the arena now. Maybe Billius and Barbarus can be the first ever tag-team.

On my first attempt, both Billius and Barbarus died to Ignominius’ sword.

But I kept trying. After another loss, my fight was against Lurkio instead of Ignominius. I remember Lurkio being bad at fighting before, so felt my chances were good.

Nice work, Billius!

Well, it was much easier against Lurkio. I’m glad I’ll never have to fight the unbeatable Ignominius. Let’s see who wants to challenge the new champion, Billius…

Oh, bugger.

Billius died, then I entered Barbarus, who also died. 65 sesterces still wasn’t enough to bribe the palace guard, so it was back to the drawing board.

I’d saved after Billius won the first fight, so just kept quitting the game and reloading (the game won’t let me load within the game so I have to quit without saving, then restart the game in order to do the equivalent of a LOAD command.)

Eventually Billius beat Ignominius.

The fact that the guy who risked his life gets nothing may seem inequitable, but just be glad I have the ability to LOAD an infinite number of times, Billius, or you’d be dead.

Well, I didn’t know how to withdraw Billius from the competition so a new challenger, Lecherus, killed him in the next fight. I still had 105 sesterces, and Billius had only cost me 5 so I leave as the soldiers take Billius’ body away. I’ll be sure to say something good about him for my eulogy – he did make me a profit of 75 sesterces, after all.

ECONOMIC ADVICE: If you reload and save-scum enough, slaves have a very good ROI.

Anyway, now that I’m richer, the palace guard will let me in for 80 sesterces.

Hmm. Perhaps the conspirators should have just bribed the guard to get an audience with the unguarded Emperor?

While talking to the Emperor, I now have a WARN option in my DO menu, so I use it.

After I warn him about Fellonius’ murder plot, I get a little cutscene.

And if he hadn’t confessed, I’d have been the one put to death. What a fair and balanced legal system!

I’m immediately given a commission as a Centurion. I’m sent to the rain-soaked land of Britannia, which, while currently part of the Roman Empire, has been somewhat retaken by a rebellious tribe of Celts.

So who exactly IS the Boss? Hogg? Nass? Tony Danza?

BRITTANNIA

Wait, so not only did the Emperor make a guy with no military experience a soldier, he put me in charge of an entire invading army? This Emperor is an idiot – maybe I should have let Fellonius depose him.

Oh dear. I’m now in a Real Time Strategy game. Now, it’s time to admit that RTS games are not one of my favourite genres. I like city building games like Pharaoh and Emperor, but get bored with the fighting parts. I hate controlling armies and having to carefully use the best strategies in order to succeed. And there aren’t any difficulty settings in this game so it looks like I’m stuck. Sigh.

As the only part of RTS games I like is building things, I choose to build a fort on the beach we start at.

Maybe we can conquer this land by challenging the Celts to a sandcastle building contest.

The way this section of the game works is we need to conquer this land by taking the enemy standard. Basically, it’s a ‘Capture the Flag’ game. Exactly how taking a flag determines which government controls your country isn’t made clear, but it’s no more ridiculous than watery tarts distributing swords, so I’ll let it pass.

First, let’s look at some of the features of this new interface by detailing the buttons on the left of the screen.

UNIT These buttons let us control each of our IV legions separately, or just use them all together with the ALL button. I did some things early on by getting different units to do things, but quickly got everyone killed by splitting my army so only used the ALL button for most of the game.

FORM The form command simply lets you line up your soldiers in the direction you choose. I can have my units form up in orderly rows to the north, south east or west. I found this useful when entering a choke-point, such as a bridge that I suspected Celts to be amassing behind. But I mostly didn’t use this, not knowing where the bad guys were until they were already running at us.

ORDER I can give lots of orders. While I tested out all those possible commands, I basically used a total of four of them.

WHO? This gives me details on whichever soldier I click on.

Sometimes they are various levels of tired so I let them rest. This guy is ENERGETIC so he can keep working for now.

Oh no, Centurion Benny Hill has died!

RUN This works the same way as in the cities. Run only works for me though, so if I have soldiers following me they lag behind very quickly. A useless command in this section.

MAP

The map starts in a fog of war. The red dots in the bottom right are my soldiers. I can move the red cross wherever I want and Hector will pathfind there. You can see the southern wall of one of the villages at the middle left.

STD This just lets me drop or pick up my standard (flag.) I can put it somewhere and at any point have the soldiers rally or retreat to it, but in reality I just kept it with me at all times except when I accidentally dropped it somewhere.

SYSTEM This also works the same as the city levels, which lets me quit (with or without saving) or restart the level or game.

Anyway, I start off by just having all soldiers follow me as I walk around looking for some Celts to kill.

Ooh. I think I found Pointy Stonehenge?

When I meet some British soldiers, I try the complicated battle tactics of screaming at everyone to do the bleeding obvious.

These are the kind of military tactics you get when you promote a guy who has never led anyone in his life.

Little known fact: Ancient Celts used Australian slang.

After a short fight, we lose. I lose a lot in this game. The dodgy pathfinding I’ve found so far in this game doesn’t belong solely to Hector. When I order my troops to attack, a number of them run off in random directions rather than where the obvious enemies are. Perhaps they want to take the long way around? Partly due to this, but mostly due to my general lack of skill and tactics, I die a lot. Whenever I die, I get an end screen and am told how I am to be killed.

You aren’t the first people to burn me in a wicker cage. I faced the same death in King’s Quest VI! I know how to get out of this – does anybody have any tears from a baby tear plant???

There are a few villages on the map that I can attack.

And sometimes the game’s stupid pathfinding makes me restart the entire chapter because it sucks.

For some reason, my partly built fort stopped me from leaving through the extremely large gap to the west and I had to restart the section. I hate you, game’s pathfinding!

It does kind of look like I know what I’m doing sometimes, but trust me, I don’t. All these men died within a few minutes.

And sometimes weird things happen, and all the Celts seem to be sitting down nursing a grazed knee or something.

I’m not trying my luck so I order the army to walk past them hoping they don’t notice us.

Now, as I mentioned, I died a lot in this part. I’ll admit that after many deaths I looked up a walkthrough for this stupid strategy section – I hope you don’t mind. I was really getting frustrated and had no desire to fully learn a system I wasn’t having fun playing. By cheating in this manner, I read that if I enter the huts I can actually make some cash which will apparently be useful in the future.

Pillaging: To rob a place using violence. I get that you’re waging war here, Hector, but do you have to sound so gleeful about it?

The walkthrough also gave me lots of tactics, and the advice to take all the villages before going for the standard, as I might need the money later.

But I couldn’t be bothered with all that, so after resorting to a walkthrough, I largely ignored it, and just kept restarting, ordering my entire army to follow me, and aiming straight for the main village in the north, almost always getting myself and my army killed before reaching the village.

Eventually, after many tries, I win the battle and me and my remaining 4 soldiers take the British Standard.

That’s what you get for trying to be independent, Britain! And I suggest you do the same in future if any of your rebellious colonies tries to rebel!

I return to Rome as a victorious General.

And as such a victor, the Emperor gives me another promotion.

It’s good that no jobs in the Roman Empire require any skills or experience. A few months ago my only experience was in mail delivery!

The crowd gives me a round of applause, and I get ready to start my new job. I notice that Barbarus is still following me around. I’m glad he found me after I arrived back from Britain.

And after that ordeal in Britain (I mean MY ordeal, not Hector’s) I think it’s time to take a break for now. At the start of this section I thought I was travelling a similar career path as Maximus from the movie, Gladiator. Now that I’m a Senator I’m wondering if I’m following the path of a different movie character.

I AM the senate!

Session time: 2 hours 30 minutes (I swear it felt like I was playing that RTS section for much longer) Total time: 5 hours 35 minutes Inventory: 85 sesterces, Barbarus

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/rome-pathway-of-power-the-woad-warrior/

[overcomeyouraversiontohistory]

How to Overcome your Aversion to History in No Time

Let’s face it: Back in high school most of us had a history teacher (or two) who made us hate or even fear history. She or he would walk into the classroom with a (gulp) history book and a couple of spare pencils for those of us who had managed to “forget” to bring a pencil to class that day.

Some of us would look the other way while the (gulp) history book was dropped on the teacher’s desk with a thud. A few students wondered if that was the day in which they would finally be brave enough to make a dash for the fire alarm (they knew the exact number of steps and the exact amount of time needed to get there), after which the building would be cleared and, by the time someone figured out that there was no fire, first period or second period or whichever period would be over and there would be no history lesson.

Others secretly hoped to get a coughing fit, or a sneezing fit, or an epileptic fit, or any fit that might excuse them from class.

But nobody pulled the fire alarm, and nobody had a fit, and so the torture began.

First the teacher called on you, seemingly at random, and told you to start reciting some names and dates that you were supposed to have memorized the day before: Rome 476 … Hastings 1066 … Constantinople 1453 … Paris 1789 … Normandy 1944 … Berlin 1989. Your classmates crossed their fingers hoping that they would not be called on when you failed to regurgitate those useless bits of information. 

 When the teacher was satisfied with the fact that she had humiliated nearly everyone in the classroom, she’d start a new lesson. Students opened the textbook to the page she or he indicated, and either took turns reading aloud a paragraph or two, or, if the teacher was of the lazy kind, each student had to read the entire lesson in silence.

 Some students made the mistake during the first days of the school year to ask the new teacher a question.

 “Excuse me, teacher, I don’t understand something.”

 The teacher then gave you an epic death stare and said something like:

 “What! You don’t understand? Maybe you should read it again!”

 If after reading it twice you still had a question, the teacher not only did not answer it (she or he probably didn’t know the answer anyway) but broke into a maniacal fit of laughter, making you feel like a total idiot.

 At the end of the school year you simply hoped for a passing grade, and then you went home to plan and plot how to destroy all history books (and maybe history teachers too).

 Don’t get me wrong. I have great respect for books and I would never abuse one, although I did once. It was the time when I threw a history textbook into a bonfire, the one I used in Mrs. Doe’s class. (Don’t worry, Mrs. Doe, I won’t reveal your real name, but you know who you are!) I had hated every minute of the class and then I went and took out my fury on the poor innocent book. (Yes, poor innocent thing. It didn’t choose how it would be used by the teacher, or did it?) I stood there for a while, looking at the smoldering remains, until there was nothing left but ashes.

 At this point you may be thinking that I never picked up a history book again. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, years later, when I had overcome the trauma of being in Mrs. Doe’s class, I did pick up and read hundreds of history books. I even got an MA and then a PhD in history. And I love it! 

 So now I want to help you overcome your dislike or fear, like I did, and I will show you how by making a few suggestions.

 ONE.

Let’s say that you are bored out of your wits because it has been snowing for days and the piled-up snow on your porch won’t even let you open the front door. So you decide to flip through the TV channels and you see nothing but the usual lame drama that is identical to other lame drama, or boring and predictable scandals that sound just like other boring and predictable scandals. 

 I want you to go online (Wikipedia is usually a good place to start) and google something like: Top ten cases of political assassination in ancient history, or The five spies who changed the course of Italian history, or Intrigue and the English throne.

 You will quickly find out that reality, as we know it from history books and websites, can be far more fascinating than anything sitcoms or soaps (or so-called “reality shows”) can produce. Chances are you will not only read the particular article that you first found but you will follow links to other history sites in order to learn all the juicy details. 

 TWO.

Next time you see an event and a date, say, Sarajevo 1914, instead of rolling your eyes (it’s OK, it’s a normal human reaction when confronted with seemingly-random information) and trying to remember why you should care, google it. Wikipedia or another website will probably do more than your history teacher ever did for you, not only by naming the players involved but also by explaining the context of the events that took place in Sarajevo in 1914.

 Eventually you will get used to asking about the context of events. The assassination that took place that day was just the last spark needed to set off the First World War. But its many causes went back over half a century. Go ahead, look them up. You will see that the war was about more than little airplanes carrying machine guns and hero pilots.

 THREE.

Pick up any object in your house, say, a pencil, an article of clothing, or a gadget. Try to figure out how much you know about it: why do you use or wear it, why has it been created like that, how long have people been using or wearing it. Fill in the gaps using Wikipedia.

 Soon you will learn not only about the object and its history but you will also learn a lot about trade, both in the modern world (don’t people all over the planet buy items stamped “Made in Taiwan”?) and also in antiquity. Did you know that wealthy Romans 2000 years ago were wearing silk from faraway China? 

 If you have the time that day and are a little curious, google something like Consequences of trade in the ancient world, and you will find out that people took more than just objects with them: they took ideas (political, religious, etc.), they took diseases (if you don’t believe me look up Black Death), they took technologies, and so on.

 If by now you are not completely hooked on history, continue with:

 FOUR.

Let’s say that you are watching or reading the news and you learn that unrest in country X (Spain, Russia), where one small section of the population is trying to secede (Catalonia, Crimea), has led to large-scale attacks on innocent civilians, some of whom have died or been seriously wounded.

 You may want to google country X and find out exactly what is going on (don’t expect the media to tell the whole story): why does a group want to separate (ethnic motives, religious motives, political motives), how long have they been trying, why won’t the leaders allow a part of their country to secede.

 Chances are that after you find out everything you always wanted to know about the topic, you will want to know where else in the world similar attacks have occurred. You will probably google Terrorist attacks in ancient Rome and find out that in 88 BC, king Mithridates of Pontus ordered the murder of 80,000 Roman citizens (men, women, and children) in several cities of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) because they had been conquered and annexed to the Roman republic. To say that the people who carried out the attacks were not happy about the annexation would be an epic understatement.

 FIVE.

You see yet another Kardashian story in the news (whether it involves one of the sisters or the brother or the mother is irrelevant) and you want to gag. Their lives were never interesting in the first place, so why are they always in the news? And why do we have to read about them or see them?

 Well, we don’t. Throughout history there have been thousands of people whose lives have been more interesting (and relevant). So may I suggest googling Famous people in ancient Britain, or Celebrities in ancient Rome, or Women warriors throughout the ages? You’ll be glad you did. And I can assure you that you will be in awe when you see the accomplishments of some of those people.

 SIX.

Let’s say that you hear about a cringe-worthy issue, such as human trafficking or pedophilia, both of which are (sadly) constantly in the news. You wonder what kind of people could possibly be so cruel as to hurt children, women, and men in ways that cause long-term damage of all kinds.

 You also wonder who first came up with the idea that it is OK to abuse other human beings. Google something like Origins of slavery, and you will find out that this practice goes back more than 10,000 years. As soon as people settled down and began cultivating the land, they also starting acquiring more property, and that included human beings, who have been traded and abused ever since.

 You will also find out that the only difference between ancient and modern slavery or human trafficking is that, until about 200 years ago, in many parts of the world trafficking was legal and even encouraged by the authorities. In ancient Rome, for example, taxes had to be paid on the sale of a slave. Since the abolition of the slave trade and then of slavery itself, it has become illegal. But that hasn’t stopped the traffickers involved in a very lucrative business from enslaving and selling hundreds of thousands of human beings.

 SEVEN.

You have been invited to a party and volunteered to be in charge of the entertainment. You think this will be your opportunity to impress someone special. With the skills you have acquired by following suggestions 1-6 you will be able to come up with interesting issues from the past (distant or recent) and write each on a 3x5 card.

 Ask each guest to pull a card, read it, and say how that historical event may relate to current events. Chances are that everyone will be as amazed as you are by the relevance of the past in our lives.

 When you play this game, everyone will be a winner. You will be a winner because you will have been forced to do some research on the topics you wrote on the cards – and learned a lot. Your friends will be the winners because they will want to know where your passion for history came from, and will join the ranks of former history haters.

 So I hope these easy suggestions have helped you overcome your hatred and/or fear.

 You don’t need to go and get a degree in history. But you may have started to have fun (yes, FUN!) with history. And chances are that you are going to start questions about everything else you see, read, or hear in the news and elsewhere.  

 Please feel free to share your comments on the suggestions above and let me know if and how they have helped you. Any suggestions for future blogs are also welcome.

 Finally, here are some of the Kindle books that I have published, in case you want to explore the topics I have written about: Queens of the Ancient World, from A(da) to Z(enobia), The Fall of Rome: Lead Poisoning and other Myths, The Divine Augustus, in the Words of the Divine Augustus … More or Less, and I Spy … for Rome and her Enemies. You will find all of them on Amazon.com. I also write historical fiction, but that is a story for another day.

[bfparker-blog]

"Laying the Atlantic Cable, 1866; A Social Studies Dialogue."  By Franklin Parker and Betty J. Parker, bfparker@frontiernet.net

"Laying the Atlantic Cable, 1866; A Social Studies Dialogue."  By Franklin Parker and Betty J. Parker (See end About Authors). Article first appeared in Review Journal, Philosophy and Social Science, Edited by James J. Van Patten, Special Issue 2004, Volume XXIX, pp. 103-124.

 Introduction

 In its time the laying of the Atlantic Cable in 1866 was a far-reaching technical achievement. It was an important historical event, first, as an early example of international technical cooperation, specifically Canadian-U.S.A.-British cooperation. Secondly, it was important in science, technology, international relations, and international business. In many ways the Atlantic cable helped make the modern world possible.

 After reading this dialogue and after doing library and internet research, teachers, students, and other readers may want to answer and discuss the following:

 1. Name and describe the most influential leaders who helped lay the 1866 Atlantic Cable.

 2. Tell which leaders were most crucial in this endeavor and why.

 3. Describe economic, social, technical, and other developments necessary for the successful laying of the cable.

 4. How was the laying of the cable financed?

 5. Describe the important consequences of the successful laying of the cable.

 6. Report the part played in the laying of the Atlantic Cable by the telegraph, the galvanometer, gutta-percha, oceanic studies, and other inventions.

 7. Tell how the U.S. Civil War affected the laying of the Atlantic Cable.

 8. Compare Britain’s interest and greater political need for the Atlantic Cable as against the U.S.A’s interest and need.

 The following is in Dialogue form:

 Betty: Why is the history of the 1866 Atlantic cable worth knowing? Why share this topic in dialogue form with high school and college students as well with other readers?

 Frank: We have forgotten how important the Atlantic Cable was and what U.S. life was like in the 1850s and 60s. The story of the Atlantic Cable reminds us that Europe then dominated the world. Britain was its political and financial center. The U.S.A. was a far away backwater country separated from Europe by a wide and stormy North Atlantic.

 Betty: It took weeks for letters, goods, and people to cross the Atlantic on a ship considered fast for the time. Then, on July 27, 1866, to the world’s amazement and on the fifth attempt over a 12-year period, the Atlantic cable, spearheaded by U.S. businessman Cyrus West Field, instantly connected New York with London.

 Frank: John Steele Gordon’s Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the

Transatlantic Cable (see Sources at end) concluded that the Atlantic cable electrified people in 1866, changed history forever, helped make the U.S. a major player on the world scene, and created the beginning of the world as a global village.

 Betty: This great 19th century engineering feat was an epic struggle costing millions of dollars, involving British, U.S., and European politicians, financiers, ships, sailors, technicians, and scientists.

 Frank: The Atlantic cable was an early instance of international cooperation. It followed decades of U.S.-British angers over the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and frictional Civil War incidents. There were failures and disappointments in attempts at laying the Atlantic cable but it finally ended in a history-changing victory.

 Betty: Historians have compared the successful completion of the transatlantic cable, July 27, 1866, to the U.S. landing on the moon, July 1969, 103 years later.

 Frank, tell us: What U.S. and British national factors hastened the laying of the cable? What technical developments, inventions, and economic factors made the Atlantic cable possible?

 Frank: Americans in the early 1800s were little better off than the ancient Greeks or Romans in travel time and in speed of communications. Christopher Columbus took a month to reach the New World in 1492. The Mayflower took 23 days to cross the Atlantic in 1619. When the Atlantic cable was completed, the average ship using sail or steam still took several weeks to cross the Atlantic.

 Betty: The Industrial Revolutions of the 1700s and 1800s changed life by making goods and services faster and cheaper and more available than ever before. It is worth knowing exactly how this occurred.

 Frank: Weaving cloth, the basis of the British economy, was advanced by British inventor John Kay’s (1704-64) flying shuttle and by the inventors of the spinning jenny and the water-driven power loom. Scotsman James Watt’s (1736-1819) steam engine increased textile factory output; and, when applied to wagons on rails, increased and speeded the movement of people, goods, and services. The economy and life conditions improved, especially in Britain, Western Europe, and the U.S.A.

 Betty: George Stephenson’s (1781-1848) first successful steam locomotive called the Rocket on the Manchester to Liverpool railway spread railroad lines around the world.

 Frank: The middle class grew. New wealthy factory owners, open to ideas, replaced landed gentry in commercial influence. After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, peace enabled Europe to turn its energies from war to commerce and industry.

 Betty: In the U.S., Eli Whitney’s (1765-1825) cotton gin, a rotating drum with spikes, efficiently pulled cotton fiber from its seed. It made cotton king in the South. New York City, which became the U.S. financial center partly by financing cotton sales abroad, grew in wealth and power.

 Frank: Understanding electricity, essential in developing the telegraph, was hastened by Benjamin Franklin’s (1706-90) key hanging from a kite in a thunderstorm.

 Betty: Lightning from clouds to earth was recognized as the release of built-up differences in potential. Chemical batteries were developed that gave carbon a positive charge and zinc a negative charge.

 Frank: A connecting copper wire between differences in potential allowed an instant flow of electric current. England’s Sir William Watson (1715-87) in 1747 proved that an electric current could travel a long distance along a copper wire.

 Betty: On May 24, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872) used a sending key to make and break an electric circuit. This start and stop of electric flow at the receiving end, which had a highly coiled wire, made it an electromagnet, which attracted and repelled a piece of metal, producing a click-clack sound.

 Frank: The Morse code: dot-dash (or dit-dah) for A; dah, dit dit dit for B, dit dit dit dah for V, and so on, made telegraph messages possible. Morse’s first message on the telegraph wire between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., was: “What Hath God Wrought?”

 Betty: Another change: Canals replaced slow and costly hauling of mid-west farm products over the Allegheny Mountains to eastern markets. The Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River at Albany allowed cheaper, faster access along the Hudson River to New York City.

 Frank: Between 1800 and 1860 the amount of U.S. commerce passing through New York City rose from only 9% to 62%. New York City became the biggest boom city in the world. In 1835, on the upswing of that boom, 16-year-old Cyrus West Field left his native Stockbridge, Mass., to seek his fortune in New York City.

 Betty: Unlike his seven older brothers who attended Williams College, Cyrus Field persuaded his Congregational minister father to let him seek work in New York City. There a brother arranged his apprenticeship in A. T. Stewart’s (1803-76) dry goods department store, the biggest in New York City, which later became John Wanamaker’s (1838-1922).

 Frank: After his apprenticeship at A.T. Stewart’s department store, Cyrus W. Field joined his brother Matthew Field, a partner in a Massachusetts paper mill. From bookkeeper, Cyrus became a leading salesman of paper supplies in New York State and throughout New England.

 Betty: Field then became a junior partner in E. Root & Co., a New York City paper wholesaler. That firm failed after the Panic of 1837. Field acquired its paper stock. Although not himself liable for the failure, he settled the firm’s debts at 30 cents on the dollar. His own firm, Cyrus W. Field and Co., became the leading U.S. wholesaler of paper and printing supplies.

 Frank: Wealthy, living in New York City’s fashionable Gramercy Park, Field soon paid all of E. Root & Co.’s debts, even though he was not obligated to do so. The golden reputation he earned enabled him later to raise millions from investors for the Atlantic cable.

 Betty: Still in his 30s, Field gave the management of his own firm to others and looked for new worlds to conquer. In November 1853, his brother Matthew introduced him to a Canadian engineer Frederick Gisborne (1814-80). That meeting changed Field’s life.

 Frank: Canadian Frederick Gisborne, a self-taught engineer, headed the Nova Scotia Telegraph Co.  Nova Scotia, with its main city of Halifax, is a Canadian peninsula in the Atlantic, northeast of Portland, Maine. To Nova Scotia’s northeast is Newfoundland, fourth largest island in the world. Its main city, St. John’s, is North America’s nearest point to Ireland, England, and Europe.

 Betty: Frederick Gisborne was trying to build a telegraph line from St. John’s, southwest to Cape Ray, Newfoundland, there to connect through a submerged cable under Cabot Strait in the Atlantic to Cape Breton Island; and continuing into Nova Scotia. Telegraph lines to Portland, Maine, Boston, and New York already connected Nova Scotia. Gisborne, out of money, his cable incomplete, was bankrupt.

 Frank: Field asked: Why are you trying to build your telegraph line from St. John’s to Nova Scotia?  Gisborne replied: So that ships carrying news from Europe landing at St. John’s can telegraph that news to New York City, saving a day or two.

 Betty: Cyrus Field was not impressed. For European news to reach New York one or two days earlier was not worth his time or trouble. Later, at home, looking at his world globe, Field realized that to send an almost instant telegraph message by a cable submerged in the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and Newfoundland and then to New York, would be worthwhile and could be profitable.

 Frank: November 9, 1853, the day after talking to Gisborne, Field wrote Samuel F. B. Morse to ask if an Atlantic cable was a practical possibility. Yes, answered Morse. He had experimented with an underwater telegraph line in New York harbor in 1843 and was confident it could be done. Morse offered to help.

 Betty: Field also wrote to Lt. Matthew F. Maury (1806-73), head of the U.S. Navy Charts and Instruments and an expert on ocean winds and currents. Lt. Maury replied that the U.S. Navy had just completed a survey of winds and currents and made depth soundings in the most traveled U.S. to Europe shipping lanes. Maury ended: “…between Newfoundland…and Ireland the practicality of a submarine telegraph across the Atlantic is proved.”

 Frank: Needing capital Cyrus Field turned to his Gramercy Park neighbor Peter Cooper (1791-1883). Cooper had made a fortune in a glue factory and then built the first locomotive for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  Cooper was then organizing Cooper Union, a tuition-free night technical school for working adults. Field’s cable plan stirred Cooper’s yearning to better serve mankind.

 Betty: To Cooper, Field’s Atlantic cable idea fulfilled the Biblical prophecy that “knowledge shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the deep.” Cooper told Field: you find other investors and I will support you.

 Frank: Field persuaded three wealthy men to become investors: 1-Moses Taylor (1806-82), controller of New York City’s gas lighting industry; 2-Chandler White, who made a fortune in the paper business; and 3-Marshall O. Roberts (1814-80), a major ship owner.

 Betty: The investors, with Frederick Gisborne, Samuel F.B. Morse, and Cyrus Field’s attorney brother, pored over maps and charts. They absorbed Gisborne’s telegraph company into their newly formed New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Co.

 Frank: The Newfoundland government leaders hoped for economic benefit. They granted the new company a 50-year charter and some financial aid. On May 8, 1854, Peter Cooper became president, Cyrus Field was chief operating officer, and other officers were named. They committed themselves to raise $1.5 million, a huge sum then, but as problems mounted, not nearly enough. Cyrus Field wrote 14 years later: “God knows that none of us were aware of what we had undertaken to accomplish.”

 Betty: In early 1855 brother Matthew Field supervised 600 workers completing the telegraph line across southern Newfoundland. Cyrus Field went to England for advice about the cable. He spoke to John Watkins Brett (1805-63), expert in submarine telegraphy who, with his brother Jacob Brett, had in 1851 successfully laid a 22-mile telegraph cable under the English Channel between Dover and Calais, France.

 Frank: John W. Brett suggested a cable of three twisted copper wires, each covered with a new insulator, called gutta-percha. Bundled together, the wires were wrapped in tarred hemp, covered with another layer of gutta-percha, and the whole sheathed in galvanized iron wire.

 Betty: Gutta-percha came from trees grown in Malaysia. Unlike rubber, gutta-percha did not break down in cold salt ocean water but hardened, yet was supple, a perfect insulator.

 Frank: The cable, made in England, was placed on the steamship Sarah L. Bryant, which headed across the Atlantic to lay the cable under the Cabot Strait, south of Newfoundland.

 Betty: In Canada Field chartered the James Adgar  ship to tow the Sarah L. Bryant across the Cabot Strait as it laid the cable. Field entertained aboard the Sarah L. Bryant the Peter Coopers, the Samuel Morses, Field’s two daughters, and two nationally known clergymen. Buffeted by storms and distracted by the partying guests, the towing ship’s Captain Turner rammed the Sarah L. Bryant.

 Frank: The cable kinked and, to prevent its weight already in the water from dragging the Sarah L. Bryant under, the cable was cut and lost.

 Betty: It was a painful lesson. The delicate maneuver to be learned was how to coordinate cable laying speed and braking mechanism with cable weight, ship’s speed, wind gusts, weather changes, and shifts in currents. It had to be learned by trial and error.

 Frank: The cost of failure to lay a cable under the Cabot Strait in August 1855 was $351,000. The cable was finally laid under the Cabot Strait in late 1856 and the telegraph line completed from Newfoundland to New York City, about 1,000 miles. Total cost, $500,000, a third of the firm’s capital. Field returned to London in 1856 to raise more money.

 Betty: The British government, wanting rapid communication with its far-flung empire, backed Field with cable laying ships and a £14,000 annual subsidy (or $70,000 a year).

 Frank: This subsidy gave British government messages priority over private messages. The exception was–U.S. government priority over British government, if U.S. support matched Britain’s support.

 Betty: Encouraged, Field, in London, formed the Atlantic Telegraph Co. (October 1856) and sold shares worth £350,000 (about $l.75 million).

 Frank: The U.S. Congress hesitated to match Britain’s offer. Some U.S. Congress members doubted that the cable would work. Others said that the rich cable backers should pay their own way. Others were traditionally anti-British.  The U.S. Senate passed the needed legislation by one vote, the U.S. House of Representatives by a few more votes. Pres. Franklin Pierce signed the Atlantic Cable aid bill on March 3, 1857.

 Betty: Atlantic Ocean soundings between Newfoundland and Ireland made by a U.S. ship and a British ship determined the best cable route.

 Frank: Added to the team were British chief engineer Charles T. Bright (1832-88), who chose Valencia Bay, Ireland, as the best cable connection port.

 Betty: Also added as advisor was Glasgow University Professor William Thomson (1824-1907), later Lord Kelvin). William Thomson, described by later historians as half Albert Einstein and half Thomas Edison, invented the galvanometer, which precisely measured electric current variations in the cable.

 Frank: No single ship at the time was big enough to carry the new, thicker, heavier 2,500-mile long cable. In July1857 the cable was divided between the USS Niagara and the HMS Agamemnon. Samuel F.B. Morse’s plan was followed: both ships to start from Ireland, one laying its cable, with a splice made in mid-Atlantic, and with the other ship laying its part of the cable to Newfoundland.

 Betty: Both ships set out from Ireland, each loaded with the 1,250 mile long carefully coiled cable.  On August 6, 1857: the cable was caught in the braking machinery.  It broke, was successfully spliced together, and the brake speed was adjusted.

 Frank: By August 8, 1857, 85 miles of cable was laid. Two days later, August 10, the electric signal in the cable faded, was revived, and the cable, after being laid 400 miles, broke and sank. The first Atlantic cable attempt of 1857 had failed.

 Betty: Cyrus Field returned to a New York City hard hit by the financial Panic of 1857. His own paper firm was in debt. Always optimistic, Field went to Washington, D.C., and got the U.S. Navy to lend him the USS Niagara and the USS Susquehanna.

 Frank: The Navy also assigned him the Niagara’s engineer William E. Everett (1826-81) as the Atlantic Cable Co.’s chief engineer. Engineer Everett built more efficient cable laying and braking systems. Glasgow University’s Professor Thomson built a more efficient marine galvanometer to measure cable electric currents more precisely.

 Betty: Spring and summer 1858. Second cable laying attempt. Engineer Charles Bright’s plan was followed: one ship laid cable from Ireland, the other from Newfoundland. They were to meet and splice their ends of cable together.  On June 13, 1858, as the two ships approached each other, the worst North Atlantic storm in memory buffeted them mercilessly.

 Frank: Coal bins on deck broke loose. Coal dust, mist, fog, and mountainous waves caused a cable break; 45 seamen were in sickbay, some with broken bones. The second cable-laying attempt of 1858 had failed.

 Betty: In London, gloomy and defeated, the Atlantic Cable Co. chairman and vice chairman resigned. They advised their fellow board members to sell all assets and liquidate the company. Staggered, Field used all of his persuasive powers to hold the remaining board members. True, he told them, 300 miles of cable had been lost. But there is still enough cable on the ships to complete the job. Let us try again.

 Frank: Try again they did in 1858, with short-lived success. The cable worked for two weeks. Some 400 messages were exchanged. The signal then disappeared. Elation turned to despair. Press and public dismissed the cable as a waste of time and money.

 Betty:  Still, Cyrus Field persisted.  On July 17, 1858, the cable lying fleet left Ireland, this time without cheering crowds.  During August 1858, the cable laying ships grappled the ocean floor for the broken cable ends. Cable ends were found, raised, spliced and the electric signal was faint but grew stronger.

 Frank: On August 5, 1858, the USS Niagara approached Newfoundland. The signal from HMS Agamemnon nearing Ireland still worked. Elated, the USS Niagara crew docked at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. At the nearest telegraph station Field telegraphed his wife, his father, the Associated Press, Peter Cooper, and U.S. President James Buchanan (1791-1868): “The cable is laid. …By the blessing of Divine Providence it has succeeded.”

 Betty: The HMS Agamemnon approached Ireland, docked in Valentia, Ireland, its signal with the USS Niagara in Newfoundland still working. Engineer Charles T. Bright telegraphed the London board of directors and the press: “The Agamemnon has arrived in Valentia [Ireland], and we are about to land the cable. The Niagara is in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. There are good signals between the ships.”

 Frank: Not knowing that this connection would last only a few weeks, David Field wired enthusiastic praise to his brother Cyrus.

 Betty: August 16, 1858: Queen Victoria (1819-1901) cabled congratulations to Pres. James Buchanan. But the signal was weak. It continued weak for a time, stopped, and remained silent. Public jubilation turned to scorn. Newspapers that had lionized Field now lampooned him. Friends and partners avoided him. Only Peter Cooper told Field: “We will go on.”

 Frank: But the Civil War drained U.S. resources. Field could not find U.S. investors. Britain, however, still wanting quicker communication with its empire, formed a commission of inquiry.

 Betty: The commission found, five years later (July 1863): 1. That Cyrus Field’s lack of expert advice led to the 1857 failure. 2. That a substitute cable voltage measuring device had permitted high voltage to burn out the cable during the first and second 1858 attempts. 3. That cable laying would be more manageable if done by a single large ship.

 Frank: The ideal ship for laying the cable was the Great Eastern, the largest ship of its time. It had been launched November 3, 1857, as an Atlantic passenger ship.

 Betty: The Great Eastern had two iron hulls and watertight compartments. Its powerful steam engines propelled both a screw-driven propeller and two enormous side paddle wheels. It had five smoke stacks and six sail masts to catch the wind.

 Frank: Earlier Field had met I.K. Brunel (1806-59), Great Eastern’s designer, when traveling from Valentia, Ireland, to London. Brunel took Field to see the Great Eastern then being built and said prophetically to Field: “Here is the ship to lay your cable.”

 Betty: But it was the 1861 Trent Affair, an incident that provoked near war between the U.S. and Britain, that persuaded Cyrus Field to contact U.S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward (1801-71). That contact and Field’s success in finding investors in London revived the Atlantic cable attempt and involved the Great Eastern.

 Frank: The Trent Affair began on October 11, 1861, when Confederate agents James M. Mason (1798-1871) and John Slidell (1793-1871s) slipped through the Union blockade at Charleston, S.C. They went by ship to Cuba and there boarded the British ship Trent. The Confederate agents were heading for England and France to raise money and arms for the South.

 Betty: November 8, 1861: USS San Jacinto’s Capt. Charles Wilkes (1798-1877), on his own, stopped the British Trent with canon shot, boarded her, forced Mason and Slidell’s removal, and imprisoned them.

 Frank: Britain, officially neutral, protested this illegal seizure of passengers from a British ship as an act of war. Britain demanded an apology and the prisoners’ release. Angers flared. Anticipating war with the U.S., Britain ordered troops sent to Canada.

 Betty: On November 24, 1861, in Washington, D.C., President Lincoln (1809-65) discussed the Trent Affair with his Cabinet. Lincoln told them: one war at a time, gentlemen. He disavowed the illegal seizure, stated that Capt. Wilkes had acted on his own. Lincoln ordered the Confederate agents released.

 Frank: Cyrus Field immediately saw that had the Atlantic Cable been operating, rapid government exchanges would have explained Capt. Wilkes’s rash act, resolved the incident, and Britain would have avoided large military expenditure. Field shared these thoughts with U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. Seward agreed with Field and instructed the U.S. Ambassador in London Charles Francis Adams (1807-86) to help Field raise more British funds for a new cable attempt.

 Betty: A greater irritant to U.S.-British relations that happened during the U.S. Civil War was later called the Alabama Claims. The Confederacy, without a navy of its own, secretly bought British-built ships and armed them as raiders. One such British-built ship renamed by the Confederate States of America, the Alabama, sank many Union ships, causing loss of lives and cargo.

 Frank: After the Civil War an international court arbitrated the Alabama affair and required Britain to pay the U.S. $15.5 million indemnity for illegally selling ships to the Confederacy.

 Betty: Despite these irritants, Field, in London, secured from the British government an increase in the annual subsidy to £20,000 (or $100,000 a year), provided the cable worked. Field still could not find investors in the U.S., which was mired in Civil War.

 Frank:  By January 1864 the investors Field found in England included railroad contractor Thomas Brassey (1805-70) and House of Commons member John Pender (1816-96).  Field negotiated with a new gutta-percha company to manufacture an improved cable. That company’s officials also agreed to invest £315,000 (just over $1.5 million) in Atlantic Telegraph Co. shares.  Best of all, Field contacted the Great Western Railway’s head, Daniel Gooch (1816-89), who formed a syndicate to buy and use the Great Eastern as the cable laying ship.

 Betty: July 23, 1865: The Great Eastern under Capt. James Anderson (1824-93), with attendant ships, left Valentia, Ireland, to lay cable to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. The Great Eastern carried 21,000 tons. This included the heavy new-coiled cable to be laid using an elaborate new braking system. It also included a 500-man crew, scientists, and experienced cable technicians, all British subjects except Cyrus Field. It carried live animals aboard for food (ships then had no way to refrigerate food).

 Frank: An electric signal sent on the cable from Valentia was monitored by the galvanometer aboard the Great Eastern as it laid cable. When that signal weakened or stopped, cable laying stopped, the cable was reeled back aboard ship until the bad spot was located, repaired, spliced, and cable laying was then continued.

 Betty: On August 2, 1865, after 1,200 miles of cable laying a mechanical mishap caused the cable to break less than 600 miles from Newfoundland. Using grapples, the cable end was found but could not be brought up from the ocean depth. With grappling rope gone and supplies short, Capt. Anderson marked the exact position of the lost cable end by sextant readings and buoy markers and headed back to Ireland.

 Frank: Instead of derision, Field found himself acclaimed as a hero in England. Press and public applauded the fact that the cable had been laid two-thirds the way across the Atlantic. Encouraged, the Atlantic Telegraph Co. directors raised new capital. The plan for the new try in 1866 was to lay a whole new cable from Ireland to Newfoundland; then, on the way, retrieve the lost 1865 cable, splice it to new cable and have the incomplete first one serve as a second cable line.

 Betty: A legal difficulty prohibited the Atlantic Telegraph Co. from selling stock for a year. This delay led its directors to create a new Anglo-American Telegraph Co. Shares were sold. Money was raised. A better cable was manufactured. Better cable laying machinery was constructed. The Great Eastern was made sturdier for cable laying.

 Frank: June 30, 1866: the Great Eastern left the Thames Estuary, England. It flew U.S. flags on July 4, 1866, off the Irish coast. July 13, 1866: fixing one cable end to its Irish port location, the Great Eastern laid cable toward Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.

 Betty: The Great Eastern crew, more professional, efficient, disciplined, and motivated than on previous attempts, made good time laying cable. The ship’s 1866 route paralleled but avoided tangling with the 1865 cable whose end the captain intended later to find, splice, and use as a second cable line.

 Frank: July 24, 1866: The Great Eastern passed the point where the 1865 cable end lay. Three days later, July 27, 1866, was the magic day.

 Betty: The rain had stopped. The fog had lifted. The Great Eastern reached the fishing village of 60 homes and a church with the quaint name of Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. The cable end, taken ashore, was connected to a land telegraph line.

 Frank: The electric signal from Valentia, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, was loud and clear. When this fact was confirmed, bells rang. People shouted. Cyrus Field telegraphed the Associated Press: “…We [have] arrived…. Thank God, the cable is laid, and is in perfect working order.”

 Betty: New York Times article, July 31, 1866, p. 1, stated: Queen Victoria cabled congratulations to U.S. Pres. Andrew Johnson (1808-75). Within the hour the U. S. President replied to Her Majesty. On the same day the mayors of New York City and London exchanged cable greetings. New York Times headline, August 4, 1866, p. 1, c. 7, headlined: “The Atlantic Telegraph. Immense Success of the Great Enterprise.”

 Frank: Queen Victoria showered knighthoods on British cable participants: Sir Charles T. Bright, engineer; Sir Samuel Canning (1823-1908), engineer; Sir William Glass, cable manufacturer.

 Betty: Sir James Anderson, Great Eastern’s captain, Sir Daniel Gooch, who secured the Great Eastern as the cable ship; and Sir Curtis Lampson (1806-85), Atlantic Cable Co.’s deputy chairman.

 Frank: Glasgow University Professor William Thomson, who invented the galvanometer, was named Lord Kelvin. At his death he was honored by burial in Westminster Abbey.

 Betty: Queen Victoria would have also handsomely honored Cyrus W. Field had he been a British subject. The British press soon dubbed him “Lord Cable.” The U.S. Congress awarded him a gold medal in March 1867.

 Frank: Field, rich again, paid his debts, built New York City’s Third and Ninth Avenue Elevated Trains, owned two New York City newspapers. But he was not a good investor. He lost about $6 million.

 Betty: Field died in 1892. His tombstone in Stockbridge, Mass., reads: “Cyrus West Field to whose courage, energy and perseverance the world owes the Atlantic telegraph.” Frank, could anyone else but Cyrus W. Field have successfully laid the Atlantic cable?

 Frank: Someone else might have laid the Atlantic Cable. But no one did. He, Cyrus W. Field, alone came forward. He persisted to the successful end. He alone pursued the Atlantic cable idea for 12 years, through five attempts. He alone convinced investors, raised funds, and coordinated U.S. and British scientists, engineers, ships captains and crews. He made the Atlantic Cable an international affair. He got the U.S.A. and Britain, two nations historically at odds with each other, to work together. He brought together the old and the new world.

 Betty: Always seasick he made 50 Atlantic crossings. He used his skill, drive, personality, and determination to make the Atlantic cable succeed. Not until the 1960s did satellite communication supplement but not replace the cable. Frank, what did the Atlantic Cable accomplish?

 Frank: The Atlantic Cable revolutionized communication in business, government exchanges, and international news. It also made the haves aware of the have nots, and visa versa, another kind of ongoing revolution. Betty, what do we owe this man?

 Betty: Author John Steele Gordon’s very last sentence in his book says it all: “[Field] laid down the technical foundation of what would become, in little over a century, a global village.”” What we have long needed do is to work for peace in this global village we call earth.

 Afterword

 After reading the above dialogue and taking time for library and internet research, students and readers may answer, orally in class or individually in writing, the concerns posed in the Introduction. Answers and opinions may then be exchanged and discussed.  Cyrus W. Field and the Atlantic Cable is a topic worth school study.

 Book Sources

 1. Buchwald, Jed Z. “Thomson, Sir William (Baron Kelvin of Largs),” Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. by Charles C. Gillispie (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1976), Vol. XIII, pp. 374-388.

 2. Dunsheath, Percy, ed. A Century of Technology (New York: Roy Publishers, 1951), pp. 272-273.

 3. Gordon, John Steele. Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable (New York: Perennial, 2002), 240 pp. This book, the primary source used in this article, is reviewed in: a-Internet URL:

http://www.walkerbooks.com/books/catalog.php?key=226 b-I, Vol. 128, Issue 9 (Sept. 2002), p. 90.

 4. John, Richard R. “Field, Cyrus West,” American National Biography, ed. By John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), Vol. 7, pp. 876-878.

 5. McNeil, Ian, ed. An Encyclopedia of the History of Technology (London: Routledge, 1990), p. 715.

 6. Singer, Charles, et al., eds. A History of Technology. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press), Vol. 4, pp. 225-226, 660-661.

 Internet Sources

 1. “Atlantic Cable,” http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/hst/atlantic-cable/sil4-0045.htm

 2. Canso and Hazel Hill, “Transatlantic Cable Communications; ‘the Original Information Highway.'”

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/canso/earlycab/tech.htm#transatlantic

 3. “1866, Cyrus Field, The Laying of the Atlantic Cable,”

http://207.61.100.164/candiscover/cantext/science/1866fiel.html 

 4. “Field, Cyrus West (1819-1892),” http://74.1911encyclopedia.org/F/FI/FIELD_CYRUS_WEST.htm

 5. _________________________. Short sketch and 1858 photo of C. W. Field taken by Civil War photographer

Mathew Brady, original in National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/brady/gallery/78gal.html

6. [Great Eastern]. http://www.greatoceanliners.net/greateastern.html

 7. _____________. http://www.scripophily.net/eassteamnavc.html

 8. Harding, Robert S., and Mumia Shimaka-Mbasu, “Anglo-American Telegraph Company, Ltd. Records, 1866-1947.” http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8073.htm

 9. “History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy From …1850, to the present day ….”,

http://www.atlantic-cable.com/, is a near exhaustive Atlantic Cable database. It includes a Cable bibliography; a Cable timeline from 1850; early British, Canadian, and U.S. Cable experimenters; and articles on the 1858, 1865

and 1866 transatlantic Cable laying attempts. It has photos of and articles about Cyrus W. Field and others connected with the 1854-66 cable laying attempts, including the Great Eastern and other involved ships.

 10. “History of Telecommunications from 1840 to 1870,” http://www.2.fht-esslingen.de/telehistory/1840-.html#1866

 11. “John Steele Gordon,” Rotary Club of New York. http://ussterilizer.com/bulletin_08-26-2003.pdf

 12. “Laying the First Transatlantic Cable,” http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/4-14-01askeds.html

 13. “Manufacture of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, from Illustrated London News, 1857,”

http://www.victorianlondon.org/communications/telegraphcable.htm

 14. “Samuel F.B. Morse,” http://www.invent.org/halloffame/106.html

 15. “Sir James Anderson [Capt., Great Eastern], 1824-1893,” http://www.newman-family-tree.net/Sir-James-

Anderson.html

 16. “The Transatlantic Cable.” http://www.history-magazine.com/cable.html

 New York Times (chronological order)

 1. “Telegraph, Atlantic.” New York Times Index: A Book of Records. Sept. 1851-Dec. 1862. Page 294 (entries

for Sept. to Dec. 1858), page 325 (1859). See also same topic in 1860 and 1862.

 2. “Atlantic Cable,” July 29, 1866, p. 4, c. 7. July 30, 1866, p. 1, c. 1-4.

 3. “Ocean Telegraph,” July 31, 1866, p. 1, c. 6-7.

 4. “Atlantic Telegraph,” Aug. 2, 1866, p. 5, c. 4. Aug. 4, 1866, p. 1, c. 7.

 About the Authors

 The Parkers are graduates of Berea College near Lexington, Ky., where they met in 1946. They were married in1950; graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana, 1950; and from  Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 1956. Franklin Parker taught at the Universities of Texas, Austin, 1957-64; Oklahoma, Norman, 1964-68; West Virginia University, Morgantown, 1968-86; Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, 1986-89; and Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, 1989-94. Betty Parker, a researcher and writer, wrote and co-edited with Franklin Parker many education books and articles; and did extensive research resulting in George Peabody, A Biography, Vanderbilt University, revised 1995. The Parkers continue scholarly pursuits at Uplands Retirement Community, P.O. Box 406 Crossville, TN 38571-406, E-mail: bfparker@frontiernet.net 

 More of the Parkers’ writings can be found by typing in google.com (or other search engine subject heading) this topical heading:  “Writings of Franklin Parker, 1921, bfparker@frontiernet.net, and Betty J. Parker, 1929-.”

 END OF MANUSCRIPT.  E-mail any corrections to:  bfparker@frontiernet.net

[charlessizemore]

Why It’s Time to Think Like a Roman

Years ago, when I was earning my master’s degree from the London School of Economics, I was known to skip out of lectures a little early on Fridays, throw on a backpack, and do some exploring on the weekends.

With just about anywhere in the U.K. or Europe accessible within a few hours, my decision on where to go was usually made by price. (I was, after all, on a grad student’s budget.)

Train tickets to northern England were cheap, so one September weekend I decided to hike along Hadrian’s Wall, the ancient boundary between Roman Britain and the barbarian north.

The wall stretches for 73 miles, mostly through sparsely inhabited farmland. It’s beautiful – in a harsh, rugged sort of way.

“Why here?” I asked myself as I hiked the Hadrian’s Wall Path.

There were other sites that could’ve worked as a defensive fortification. The island is thinner and a wall would be easier to defend further north in the Scottish lowlands. Or why not simply forget the wall, push northward, and conquer all of Scotland too?

No one really knows why the Romans built the wall exactly where they built it, but I have my own theories.

It came down to an analysis of risk versus reward.

Any military excursion puts lives and treasure at risk. But the added return of pushing into modern-day Scotland was minimal. (And the Scots wouldn’t invent golf or Scotch whiskey for another thousand years.)

Financing a war where the only spoils would be sheep and a craggy, windswept land inhabited by barbarians made little sense. The Romans were far better off drawing lines and consolidating what they already had.

That’s basically how I feel about the high-yield corners of the stock market right now.

It’s not that I think a crash is necessarily imminent; if I did, I’d recommend to my Peak Income readers that we lighten up on our existing income-producing positions, and I am distinctly not doing that…

This is more a feeling that, at current prices, the potential upside of adding new positions might not be worth the potential downside, particularly now that we’re in one of the market’s most dangerous seasonal periods.

Major corrections can come at any time of year, of course, but they tend to happen around September and October.

And, furthermore, we now have 22 open positions in the portfolio, many of which are recent additions. Before I added anything new this month, I thought it reasonable, and smart, to let what we have season a little.

So, in this month’s issue – in a more detailed and comprehensive way than I ever have before – I go through our existing portfolio recommendation by recommendation, to review why we own what we own and what our game plan should be going forward.

If you aren’t already a subscriber, it’s a perfect time to try Peak Income. If you missed it, I give “buy” or “hold” signals for all 22 positions in our model portfolio, and I re-recommend one of my earliest picks, laying out all the reasons for all the moves.

What I also really tried to drive home in the September issue is why bond yields are extremely important to what we do. All income-focused securities tend to react similarly to market conditions, which makes sense. They’re subject to the same buying and selling pressures from investors.

Lower bond yields mean higher bond prices… and higher prices for anything tied to bonds. A lot of our success so far in Peak Income – we currently have three positions with greater than 20% gains, seven others in double-digits, and only one showing a loss – has come from being willing to buy what I call “private income funds” at times when other investors panicked about falling bond prices.

Their overreaction was our opportunity.

Today bond yields are higher than they were two weeks ago, but the trend throughout 2017 has been one of falling yields.

I’m always looking out for catalysts that might cause yields to spike. And, at the moment, our biggest risk, oddly enough, is a functional government.

One of the reasons bond yields have slumped is that Mr. Market is losing faith that the pro-growth Trump agenda, including tax cuts, will pass. Slower growth means lower inflation, which, in turn, means lower bond yields and higher bond prices.

So a do-nothing government actually works in our favor.

I’m not going to suggest we sell everything and run for hills if Congress and President Trump suddenly discover how to work together. But I’d definitely be on high alert for a yield spike and would likely keep our stop-losses even tighter than usual.

That, too, is risk versus reward thinking, and it’s why I sometimes need to remind myself to do as the Romans did.

Charles Sizemore Editor, Peak Income

Much more from Charles Sizemore and the rest of the Dent Research team at Economy & Markets

[ancientsdocument-blog]

HISTORY

ENOUGH   WARS

PART ii

  ANOTHER THEORY

Part two

 Syria : سوريا

          Another horrifying crusade.

    Crusades

    Crusades were not only fought in Palestine ,  and a shocking fact is that they haven’t stopped till present.  

The order of the holy sepulcher of Jerusalem is still working in Jerusalem as mentioned in one of their references.

Plans for Syria and the Levant are still in Process.

 Syria was the center of the Omayyad Caliphate for nearly three hundred years. Its  buildings and antiquities are a clear proof for many origin’s of European buildings later renovated as medieval .   That could be a reason why the last campaign (2011) insisted on ruining most of its buildings of heritage especially Al Ammawy mosque  المسجد الأموي   that was a model for all mosques at that period  العصر الامويfound in Spain , southern, eastern and main Europe.

 “Towards the end of the 7th century a vigorous architectural and decorative art production based on its own original aim began in earnest under the Omayads”.  (Encyclopedia of Art).

Another Encyclopedia admits : “ we recognize Islam emerges and becomes heir to the oriental Hellenistic civilization “.

   HIDDEN CHRONICLES

 Eslam At France :

      After the fall of the Roman empire and the invasion of barbarians (different tribes + pirates from northern Europe) , a wave of Arabian domination seized over the Asiatic and African provinces and swept far into  Europe.  

    Eslam spread far as Spain , France (FutureLearn , 2014 , page 2.3.) and Italy.

    The western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narboneirs was ceded to the Visigoths king.  It was known as simply as Gallia or Narboneirs.  It was part of the cultural and linguistic region named Occetania. It included the southern half of France, parts of Italy and Spain, while northern provinces were called Gall (Galin Aquitania).

   After Visigoths kings adopted Eslam , it was introduced in France and Italy.

Southern France and other parts of Europe came under Eslamic rule.

    The first battle ever won by Franks was by Charles Martel in Poitiers, battle of Tours,  but Moslem provinces existed till the 15th  c.

    After the conquest of Spain, Moslems pushed into southern France.

    In the 10th c. Moslem territories existed,  ex.: Fraxinet (Farah Shanit), Septemania,  etc., but  Francs continued their attacks.

    When Francs stormed and conquered southern France , they called it Gothia or the Gothic.  It was a march of the Carolingian family empire.

    Popes ordered several crusades against what they called infidel cathar heretics.     In the 13th c.  Occetania came under  Catholic control as a result of the Albegensian crusades.

    Catholic kings gradually conquered southern France , sometimes by wars and slaughtering the population, sometimes by annexation with subtle political intrigue.

    In 1543-1544  A.D. after the siege of Nice, Toulon was used as an Ottoman naval base under the Ottoman admiral Hagreddin Barbarrossa.

Toulon cathedral was originally a mosque .

(Wiki encyclopedia.org).

    From the end of the 15th c., the nobility and bourgeoisie started learning French, while the people stuck to theirs, specially the Occetan.   A strong feeling of national identity against the occupiers.

      In 1662 A.D. Jean Racine wrote in a trip to Uzes :”what they call France is the land beyond the Louvre, which to them is a foreign city”.  

   Note:

    Goth: Goth derived Visigoths, who ruled territories in Spain, France and parts of Italy.  

    Hence the renovated Gothic art and architecture turns out to be another dismissed ancient Eslamic trace.

   Eslam in England :

      Eslamic heritage at England dates back to prior than many could imagine.

    On their maps, early Moslem cartographers included Britain under the Umayyad dynasty   (FuturreLearn , 2014 , page 2.3.).

    There is evidence of  British coinages issued  with the Arabic text “Mohamed apostle of God” by British kings among which was that issued by Offa  king of Mercia  (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms) with his name clearly visible on it.

    Gold dinar coins issued by the contemporary Moslem ruler caliph Al Mansur , shared by caliphs at Cordoba (Spain), the most important coinage in the Mediterranean at that time, were found in England.

Wiki – Encyclopedia.org.

    Western and Southern Britain’s history especially Wales and Mercia (meaning in old English border people) derived from the Arabian  word Marsa  مرسي  meaning also so,   for 300 years from 600 -900 A.D. its destiny was closely linked to that  of the Iberian peninsula (Spain).

 Britan could also mean in Arabic بر ثاني = البر الثاني  .

 Notes and extracts :

-The Mercian influence and reputation reached its peak when in late 8th century Charlemagne recognized the Mercia king Offa’s power, and accordingly treated him with respect (that could have been flattery).

-West Saxon and the Anglo-Scandinavia wars.

-later wars erupted.  Normans  continuing to storm and plunder on both sides of the channel.

-As Danish settlements continued in Mercia in 877 and east Anglia 896 A.D.

-In 1002, The Pope’s secret order  for the massacre of Danes  occurred all over southern England.

-other crusades totally forged and omitted any Moslem trace.

- Saxon : a tribal name such as Mierce.

-Saxon in Germany= Sassan

They used the word Anglo to distinguish Saxons of England from the   Saxons of Europe.

    In  history Sassans were the Persians.  Does this explain the presence of Persian writings and heritage in numerous European territories including Greece and central Europe!  especially dating back to the period 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th century !    which historians just quit without mention in their pilings!!

-The Sassan cultural influence extended far beyond the empire’s lands reaching far as western Europe.  It played a prominent role in the formation of art and architecture of medieval Europe.

 The knot could be easily unfold knowing that ancient wars between the Romans and the Persians had its impact on their vast territories, which reached by Persians (Sassans) remote areas  as far as western and northern Europe.

- The Anglo Saxons were the more powerful and warlike tribes.  

-Some historians trace the Anglo-Saxon origin as from Macedonia ( The History of the Works of The Learned – 1699).

-In the late Roman empire they lived near German sea coast.

-7 major kingdoms in England were conquered by Saxons, they shared same  religion , social and cultural ties.  They competed as the donate king could exact tribute.

-During the rule of Samans (Persian Moslems) northeastern and western Europe was under their rule.  

-1148 records Prussia under Samanides domain.

 During the 13th century A.D. old Prussians were partly exterminated by the German Knights of the Teutonic orders as in the north Latvia and Livonia were attacked by the knights of the sword who in 1237 joined the Teutonic.  While the Polish Lithuanians combated the knights who were crushed in defeat in the order 1410.

  1569 records  existence of Jews and Moslem Polish and Belourussians.

Balkan = is a Turkish word meaning mountain.  Albania, Bulgaria, Greece Turkey and most Yugoslavia came under Moslem rule for 100 years before Ottomans.

   During the 19th century as the Turkish empire contracted, new names appeared on the map as western powers finally grasped and divided its territories.

-Slavs : northeastern Europe.   Slavs states were composing 50% of Europe.

 Slavs: Carantania, Nitra and Moravian.

-English ruling council = witan.

-William the Bastard  (1028-1087 A.D.) was the Norman who attacked England and conquered it in 1066.

-Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman invasion of 1066.

  Eslam in Wales :

      48 A.D. recorded history of Wales begins with the arrival of Romans on Welsh border.

    Julius Caesar report its people as Galls = Celts.

    Romans departed from England in the fifth century as Saxons (Sassans) invaded it. There is  evidence of their existence in Wales by 550 A.D.

    In 778, Offa king of Mercia built a dyke from sea to sea, the first building between the Welsh and English people. Offa’s dyke shaped the territory of Wales.  Wales proved resistant to the Normans , who conquered vast parts of  England though submitting to king Henry II for a while.

.  By 1100 A.D., the Normans had been driven out of Gurynedd, Ceredigion and most of Powys.

    In 1176 Rhys holds a grand gathering of poets and musicians from all over Wales at Ardigen castle.

    Rhys ap (son of) Gruffydd 1132-1197 launched his last campaign against Normans in 1196 .

Rhys ap Maridudd  الرئيس بن مردود  1250-1292 was the next Welshman to revolt against English crown. Then Madog ap Llywelyn  الولي  in Gruynedd.

    Wales raised several revolts against England, last was led by Owain Glyndur in the early 18th century.

      In 1707 Wales became part of the kingdom of Grand Britain.

    Though the earliest  recorded connections  between Wales and the Moslems world is swiftly mentioned dating back to the early 12th century in classical documents, yet we can easily guess the mutual interwoven fate with Mercia and other Celtic clans that came under Roman, Sassanian then eventually  Moslem Caliphate (especially during king Offa’s era)..  

     We also notice the resemblance of words and names as Rhys (ريس – رئيس)    , ap   (اب او بن ) as traditionally used by Moroccans.

    Ex.  Avecienne (Abecienne: the Persian scientist  ابن سينا ) .

    The names itself Asser (أسر) , the Welshman who was the biographer of king Alfred of Wessex.  Alfrida فريده   , mother of Altheryhs who was also called unraed الرائد  .     Aeltheweard = الذاالورد  (709 d.)

Odda  (d. 1056)عوده

etc…

    Hwice that was assimilated into Mercia  . هويس

    A portrait of one of their Rhys shows similarity to the Arabian war-wear at that time.  Besides the castles have obvious Arabian trace.

 Eslam in Ireland :

 ِ     ِAccording to Wiki encyclopedia, the earliest mention of Ireland in Moslem sources originates in the works of Al-Idrisi in his famous Tabela Rogeriana mentioned Irelanda –al kabirah ايرلندا الكبيره  .

    In June 1631, Murad Ryhs (Jan Jonszoon), a Dutch (from Holland who converted to Eslam then ruled in Turkey) , is recorded to have sailed to its coastal village west Cork.

    In 1845 Ottoman Sultan AbdelMeguid  sent three ships full of food + 1000 pounds to the Irish people. A letter in the Ottoman archives of Turkey written by Irishmen documents their thanking  to the sultan for his help.

    The usual swift gap documentary between the 7th and 10th century A.D.,  in its history makes us doubt  a usual missing Islamic trace.

 Eslam in Scotland :

 Caledonia settlements: Romans built Hadrian wall to keep Picts out.

      Around the 9th century,  a group of Picts (east and north Scotland) were emerged with Gauls. They settled together at Alba, neighboring Britons (they spoke the Celtic language), and formed the kingdom of Dal Rida الرضا   .   (later Scotland).

  Eslam at Germany :

   Under Augustus , Rome began to invade Germany (the area from the Rhine to the Ural mountains), besides attacking large swathes of the region Belgica and Aquitanie.       Iranian, Baltic, Slavic tribes In central and eastern Europe, Austria , Baden, Varrenberg, southern Bavaria, southern Hessen, the western Rhineland ,were Roman provinces.

    There is evidence that Germany shared the same history as that of Italy , France and Spain after inheriting the empire’s provinces during Moslem’s golden age.

    In the 12th c.,  Germany enjoyed prosperity and art flourished.  There were artistic and cultural centers and a wide array of techniques similar to those used by Italian artists and designers.

    (despite 12th c., great famine and black death).

    The eastern part of Germany was inhabited by western Slavic tribes.  Germanic tribes came into contact with Celtic tribes of Gaul , as well as Baltic, Slavonic tribes in central and eastern Europe .

     During the Merovingian period, Francs gradually conquered Austrasia, Neustria and Aquitaine and pushed further to subjugate Saxony and Bavaria.  After  the Saxon Hessengour came under the rule of Franconians, by the 12th c., It was later renamed Thuringia.

Hessen:    حسنfrom the 7th c., on, served as a buffer between areas dominated by the Saxons and the Franks .

Saxon= Sassan in German.

    The German Roman empire subsequently emerged from the eastern portion of Charlemagne’s empire (east Francia), followed by the Ottonian rulers (919-1024 A.D.) who consolidated several major duchies and the German king Otto was crowned by them ‘holy Roman emperor’, 962.  

     Otto grew up in England in the care of his grandfather king Henry II .(Wikipedia.org/wiki-Germany).  He became the foster son of  his internal uncle Richard I of England.  He then left England to join the third crusade.  

    Islamic art and architecture  is clearly visible in southern Germany that was lately termed Ottonian after renovations.

    In the 12th c., Hohenstaufen German princes expanded further south and east into territories inhabited by Slavs.    Etc…  

    Popes ordered several campaigns : In 1147 , Pope Eugene sent a crusade to Germany campaigning against the Wendish Slavs who settled around the Elbe river.   Teutonic orders against what they called infidels of the Baltic was answered by a German monk who ran a hospital in Acre in a previous crusade.   Also Widegerade embarked upon the brothers of the sword crusade ordered by pope Innocent III.

    The third crusade was answered by emperor Fredrick Barbarossa but it ended by his army totally annihilated, and the victory of the Moslem leader Saladin ending their crusading atrocities in Jerusalem  1187 A.D.  

  Eslam at Albania :

      Known as kingdom of Illyria since the second milleniem B.C.

    In the 7th century the Illyrian kingdom expanded that it competed with the Roman empire.

    In 228 B.C. Romans sent a fleet about 200 ships to fight queen Tuta , queen of Illyria (Illyrian Ardian Kindgom).   In 219 B.C. king Philip V, the Macedonian arrived to aid Illyria , but the result was the Romans occupation of all Balkan.

    In 167 B.C. ,  the trade road from western to eastern Rome  was via Engnatia, and it started from Durres port in Albania (through Thessaly northern Balkan  till Constantinople).

    Roman emperor Diokletes divided  the kingdom into 4 parts (he himself was from Durres-Albania).    Albania expanded to compose most of  Balkan including Kosovo.  

    Albania remained Roman till the arrival of Arab Moslems.  Civilization flourished again as its inhabitants adopted Islam.

    Francs tried to storm and attack it several times, that it finally opened its gates to the Ottomans,  protectors of Moslem nations from Franconian attacks at that time.

    In 1389, Serbs attacked Turks , but had a humiliating defeat and fled north.

    Albania remained part of the Ottoman empire from 1479-1912 A.D.  

    In the 20th c., after world war I , the great military offensive powers, after disintegrating  most of the previous Ottoman empire and dividing  the ploy, deprived Albania of nearly half of its lands, bestowing it to Serbs , including Kosovo in 1913.  Thousands of Albanians fled to Turkey escaping Serb Massacres.

    In 1918, Yugoslavia was erected with its capital Belgrade which included many of the Albanian lands.

    By 1940, nearly 18,000 Serb families arrived replacing those Albanians killed, ethnic cleansed or forcibly evacuated leaving behind their original lands.

    Albanians inherited the flag of the Roman eastern empire which is the eagle with two heads  still on their flag till present.

  Eslam at Bulgaria :    

    Bulgaria was included in the Roman empire.   From 567 A.D.  It was part of the Persian Avar Khaganate that was established in the Pannonian basin region. Avars established themselves in Hungary and vast parts of Europe.    As the Gokturk empire expanded westward,  Khazen Bayan I led a group of Avars and Bulgarians eventually settling in Pannonia in 568 A.D. (an ancient province of the Roman empire).

    By the 7th century Moslems gained footholds through the Balkans as they controlled the silk trade road.  Bulgaria eventually came under  Omayyad’s caliphate rule.  Pop Leo II issued the  iconoclasm law by orders from Caliph Yazid II which kept in use for nearly 150 years till Caliph Hisham’s arrival.

    Eslamic civilization flourished from the 7th -11th century.

 During the 8th c., as Abbasids were fighting Omayyad’s royal members to replace their rule, bishop Leo III Alsurian (the Syrian),  grasped the chance and launched a massive offensive against Arabs.   Then Constantine stormed Constantinople, ethnic cleansed its population, tricked the Persian khanates of Bulgaria (khan Kurmz and Khan Talaat), to be fighting only Arabs but put them to sword by his sudden treasury which he called the Nobel war, continuing his attacks against El Walid (742, 743), storming Italy, Germania,Cyprus, Melane, Syria ,heading towards Iraq, as Arabs retreated to the Ionian islands.

    The campaign which turned into a massive massacre.

    Later the Abbassid caliph Haroun el Rasheed 775 A.D. regained those lands after annihilating his army at Constantinople 782 and continued victoriously till the Bosporus.  

    Attacked by a Franconian failing crusade by the 9thc.,  and another by Byzantine Orthodox in 1018 for a short duration, Bulgaria came under the khanate’s rule for 600 years.  

    By the 12th c.,  Bulgaria came under the rule of the Mongol Khanates, as Volga Bulgaria was made subject to the Moslem Mongol Khanates of the Golden Horde.   City of Bulgar flourished for a long time as it eventually mingled with Russia.  (The gigantic Golden Horde included most cities of present Russia and extended westward reaching Poland and Finland).  

      During the 11th century , many crusades were launched by the Francs to take over Jerusalem, passing through the Balkans Peninsula.  On their way, they had exterminated the Moslems there.

    The Balkan wars ended by the defeat of crusaders.  And by 1396 A.d.    هجريهAH  799 Ottomans controlled Bulgaria and the Eslamic culture flourished again.

    In 1878 in their process to create a great ethnic Orthodox  Serbia, most of Bulgarians were expelled by western powers with Russians interfering to complete the killing spree for the dissolution of the Ottoman empire and deletion of any Eslamic trace.  Moslems of the Balkans have been severely persecuted .

    Since Bulgaria’s independence in 1908 , Moslems were forced to convert to Christianity or deported , killed or imprisoned .   Thousands fled.

    During the Balkan wars of 1912-13 , the biggest waves of Pomaks (the main ethnic Moslem group in Bulgaria  (descendants of  the ancient Slavic or Slavonic inhabitants of the Balkans) immigrated to Turkey.

    By the end of world war I , the Bulgarian nationalists continued their hostilities against Moslem inhabitants , as Serbs bombed and destroyed most of  their schools and mosques.  

    Since `1942, a law was passed which commanded Moslems to change their names into Christian ones, and ancient villages’ names were changed!

    In 1944, the communist regime came into scene and launched their assault campaign against Moslems.

    In 1989, despite the collapse of the racist regime of Zhevkov, inequalities continued with religious freedom restricted.  

    In 1989 more than 300,000 Moslems were deported from Bulgaria and mosques converted to churches.  Only a single mosque remained to be renovated as a historical monument.

  Important Notes :

 - As usual the mythical period of the 7th – 11th century in Bulgaria confusing historians turned out to be Eslamic.

- The Abbassids who fought Omayyads  (claiming their relation to Abbas (prophet’s uncle) to justify their rule (batenies),  were merely Persians fighting Arabs.  

-Abbassids gave orders to exterminate all Arabs except Arabs of Eden (Yemen) ! (Sheba tribe) السبئيه - سبأ  .

-Ironically Abbassids proved to be allies to the Francs, as Haroun El Rasheed attended Charlemagne’s crowning at Rome !

-It was the Abbassids (despite other great achievements) who revived the ancient Greek philosophies, and introduced the Sunni and Shia teachings and sects  with their books associating it in their rule with Koran (a great sin) which early Moslems prohibited as past nations sin  – thus separating the once unified Moslem nation into battling groups with Awlia’s to follow.

-Thus Persians , east , though Moslems,  and Francs , west raising the cross , started a plundering cleansing offense for any Arabian trace.

-which culminated in Persians themselves being exterminated from Europe without trace .!

   Eslam in Moscow (MocKBa) :

      The whole of present Russia was part of the Moslem Caliphate from the 7th -12th century A.D.

Oka river was part of the Volga trade route which was under the khanate’s control.

    By the 12th c. , as Francs were embarking on their Teutonic order crusading campaigns, a minor settlement Kievan Russ  (Velhynia or Vladimir Suzdal)  was created. Armies were aided by prince Leszek the white of Poland.

     Suddenly Mongols appeared conquering and seizing most of Asia and northeastern Europe.

    When Mongol Tatars appeared , they were Shamanists.  Genghis Khan , their leader , conquered the people between Iraq and Indus.   Baghdad was sacked and burnt with its precious library , ending the  Abbasid Caliphate there as its rulers moved to Egypt reigning nominally.

    The Mongol empire subjugated the Tatars under the leadership of Genghis’  grandson Batu Khan, who laid siege to Bulgaria in 1236 and Vladimir Suzdal  in 1238, and its royal family perished, while one of its princes retreated northwest, summoned a new army  (attempt of invasion by Swedes in 1240) that was exterminated.  Another attack by Livonian brothers of the sword , a regional branch of the fearsome Teutonic knights was crushed ;  as Tatars invaded Hungary and Poland.

    Russ princes concluded a defense alliance with the Khans of the Horde  in order to repel attacks of the fanatic Teutonics.

 Eventually Mongols adopted Eslam and all Russ principalities submitted to Moslem Mongol rule for nearly 300 years.

    Moscow (Moscvoy)  was a tributary vassal of the Mongol ruled Golden Horde under Tatars till 1480.

    Many Russ princes adopted Eslam with imperial marriage coronation sometimes.  

    Yaroslav II of Vladimir (1191-1246), was summoned by Batu Khan (Moslem) to his capital Sarai 1243 and confirmed him as a suzerain over Russian princes after marrying his sister.

    Many Russ princes converted , changing their names to Moslem ones.

Yuri, the eldest son of Daniel I, adopted Eslam, married Ozbek Khan’s sister and was trusted  to control the entire basin of Moscow river.  He was given the title kanyoz of Moscow (prince or sovereign) = duke.     Later grand duke of Vladimir.

Nagai Khan married a daughter of a previous Byzantine emperor and gave his own daughter in marriage to a Russ prince (Theodor the Black).

    Tolerant Khans allowed Orthodox Christians to find their first monastery with the wooden church in Moscow. (bishops who were termed later as emperors in modern history rewriting).

    Russ emirs used to gather the tribute (jazyah) for Tatars.  But in 1476 , Ivan III refused to pay the customary tribute to the grand Khan Ahmed .  He further attacked Mongols and claimed Moscow independent from the Horde, annexing Novgorod republic in 1478.  The following year, the Khan who had retreated to the Steppes was suddenly attacked, routed and slain; and the golden horde suddenly fell to pieces.  

    Evan III grasped the chance , annexed Tver in 1485 and part of Lithuania in  1503. He tripled the territory of his realm and took the title Tsar.  Evan married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor.

    His successor Vasili III gained more territories from Lithuania in 1512.  His son Evan IV  was crowned in 1547.  Tsardom was proclaimed in 10/1547.  Evan IV (termed the terrible) stuck his heir son in a rage and killed him.

    In 1571 Tatars of the Crimea stormed Moscow and burnt it.

    Finally, whether in the eastern or western states, it was the church that systematically preached, conducted and organized all crusading campaigns that culminated in the perishing of Moslem inhabitants with their heritage without trace.

    In 1609, a Swedish army led by Jacob de la Garde, stormed Moslem territories in Volga , Crimea and continued till Moscow whose population were revolting against the tsardom proclaimed.  They returned in 1611, followed by a Polish Lithuanian attack.

   But by 1612 Moscow was liberated from the Polish invasion.  

    In 1748 Catherine the great, a German princess born in a tiny town in Germany married to prince Carl Peter Ulrich , and came to the Russian thrown. In 1762 she made a coup against her husband and came to rule after his death 1796.

    In 1812, the French army attacked Moscow burning and destroying it. (Napoleon’s campaign).

    The path to revolution1825-1920.

1917 bolshvik revolution that culminated in the communist rule of The Soviet Union under dictator leadership.

1991 dissolution  of USSR.

 Eslam In Japan :

    Nipon or Niban, its name which seems to have come to it since the 7th c.

Since 710 A.D. its capital was Nara.   In 784 the capital moved to Nagaoka; and `100 years later to a spot called Oda.  Later the capital became Kyoto.

    The indigenous Japanese race shows elements in common with the ethnic type of central and southern China. Japan had ties with the T’ang Moslem dynasty in China and its emperor sent imperial envoys to it.  In the middle part of this period an imperial order was issued by their emperor Shamu  (701-56) that a provincial place for prayer be built in each province.

      Records of Japan can be found in the works of the Moslem cartographer Ebn Khordabeh , who mentions it as  the land of Waq waq : ‘East of China in the lands of waq waq’, which was so rich in gold – ‘gold and ebony are exported from Waq’.

    Mahmud Khashgai’s  11th’s century Atlas indicates the land routes of the silk road and Japan in the map in the easternmost extent.

    Kubla Khan’s (the Mongol ruler) most trusted were : Sinu, Hin, Koreans and Chinese. But during the Yuan dynasty there was a conflict with Japan as Wekou extended his support to the crumbling Song dynasty, Kubla Khan initiated the Mongol invasion of Japan .  He also attempted to subjugate Burma,  Vietnam and Java ; as other lands’ indigenous people submitted to Mongols by 1308 A.D.

    During the 14th c.,  Hungure emperor of Ming dynasty  made Ryukyu kingdom a tributary vassal and Chinese settlers consolidated the island for their ruler in Nanjing.  During that period there was  contact between the Hun general Lou yu of the Ming dynasty and the sword smiths of Japan.

           جزر الجنوب الغربي جزر ريوكيو باليابانيه        ريوكيو شوتو

Nansei islets Ryukyu : a chain of Japanese islets between the island of Kyushu and Taiwan.

    The Ryukyu kingdom became independent from the 15th – 19th  c.

    Its king confined Okinowa island and extended the kingdom to the Amani islands.   Despite its small size it played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval eastern and southeastern Asia.

   The big secret :    

    Finally , after all such facts are revealed , don’t be surprised if told that the vatican building was originally a mosque .  Or that Oxford (Oc) was a previous Arabian cultural center.

    p.s.: Oc= langue d’Arab.

  Some conclusions:

    Thus we find that first atrocities against the Caliphate was by not only vandals (norman or foreign attacks) but agents from inside the caliphate who abused the tolerance and just spirit of the era to conspire or coup against their leaders with those outsiders who started their aggression grasping any chance or periods of weakness  to attack.  

    From those the ethnic minorities or batenies  الباطنيه  (those who claimed to enter Eslam but bottomed conspiracies=hypocrites) hoping to regain their ancient glories.

Ex. : The Fatimides of Egypt (Jewish origin), enemies of the Seljuk Romans.

They entered into negotiations with the crusaders for facilitating their capture of Moslem held towns in Syria and the Levant in their first crusade as 20,000 crusaders marched south towards  Jerusalem in 1099 A.D. massacred Jerusalem’s inhabitants and stormed their territories.

    Today predecessors of Fatimides are the Derouz of Lebanon, whom Tel Aviv trusts much and appoints as border guards. (a branch of them alweyin from which Bachar of Syria relates).

    Finally, if from the 640th  A.D. (7th c.,) ,  Roman provinces came under Eslamic rule, followed by the Persian ones in 651 A.D. , it’s not impossible to expand much further in a shorter period of time after the collapse of the two great powers at that time.

    Besides, historians could now put the usual hidden or unknown chronicles, especially of the 7th and 8th century in its proper and just order .

    References :

-         Encyclopedia Britannica

-         Wiki-encyclopedia.org

-         The History of Art – MC Graw Hill.

-         Islamicweb.net

-         Cambridge Encyclopedia

-         بيزنطه ثراء في التاريخ السياسي والاداري – د. قسام عبد العزيز

-         The Cambridge Ancient History – Volume VII (The Hellenistic Monarchies and the Rise Of Rome p.326

-         The Cambridge Medieval History  - Volume IV –p.85.

-         Haggeir.blogspot.com

-         Triumphposts.tumblr.com

        LOGIC DICTATES

 What they say about a nation

Used to be thought wise for ages

Are false rumored  fabrication

Said without mind nor sensation

 It’s mentioned in The Holy Book

We’re nation of moderation

No fanatic   extremism

Nor relate to despotism

 Your words can’t change

What’s thus stated

Any break from stated rules

Would be outsiders deviation

 That won’t work this time with you

All that was forged or purchased

With those nations ethnic cleansed

As used for passed thousand years

 Not this time would pass as planned

Not we ethnic cleansed this time

Not we letting pass such crime

All those nations that were gone

 Their rights would come one by one

Dirty plans would soon just perish

And kind truth again will flourish

Though such wars since ages waged

 Passed so simply as were staged

Leaders they played roles on earth

Blustering reprobating plans

Thinking justice would not come

 What they thought was fairy tale

Would shock unbelievers there

They would then wish to return

Do good deeds and good guys turn

 But time past will not come back

No matter how long days passed

You were given your last chance

 O man   why were you astray

With your life on bargains paid

Waiting for a false last prize

Cheated .. say you weren’t wise

 Only truth for good reward

It’s the law and its sword

Finally the dawn would rise

Sweeping forgeries and dark days

 Only justice you would here

From an Omma that’s so dear

Justice’s  near

If not here

Surely Domes day.

     �I���'

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.11

9 – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends, where the Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine being established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years. 1185 – Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. 1226 – The first recorded instance of the Catholic practice of perpetual Eucharistic adoration formally begins in Avignon, France. 1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. 1390 – Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius. 1541 – Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco. 1565 – Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta. 1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there. 1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's English Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. 1683 – Battle of Vienna: Coalition forces, including the famous winged Hussars, led by Polish King John III Sobieski lift the siege laid by Ottoman forces. 1697 – Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history. 1708 – Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power. 1709 – Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France. 1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. 1758 – Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1776 – British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf Massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek. 1786 – The beginning of the Annapolis Convention. 1789 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1792 – The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored. 1800 – The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. 1802 – France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont. 1803 – Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin. 1813 – War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C.. 1814 – War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war. 1826 – Captain William Morgan, an ex-freemason is arrested in Batavia, New York for debt after declaring that he would publish The Mysteries of Free Masonry, a book against Freemasonry. This sets into motion the events that lead to his mysterious disappearance. 1829 – Surrender of the expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown to retake Mexico. This was the consummation of Mexico's campaign for independence. 1830 – Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions. 1836 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War. 1851 – Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves stand against their former owner in armed resistance in Christiana, Pennsylvania, creating a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement. 1852 – Outbreak of Revolution of September 11 resulting in the State of Buenos Aires declaring independence as a Republic. 1857 – The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah. 1893 – Swami Vivekananda's address at the First Parliament of the World's Religions. 1897 – After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom. 1903 – The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world. 1905 – The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13. 1914 – World War I: Australia invades German New Guinea, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka. 1916 – The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907. 1919 – United States Marine Corps invades Honduras. 1921 – Nahalal, the first moshav in Palestine, is settled as part of a Zionist plan of creating a Jewish state, later to be Israel. 1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia. 1922 – The Sun News-Pictorial is founded in Melbourne, Australia. 1927 – Crimean earthquakes. 1941 – Charles Lindbergh's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany. 1941 – Ground breaking commences for The Pentagon, the future home of the United States Department of Defense, sixty years to the day before it was attacked on September 11, 2001. 1943 – World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica. 1944 – World War II: The Western Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen. 1944 – World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. 1945 – World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo. 1950 – Korean War: President Harry S. Truman approved military operations north of the 38th parallel. 1954 – Hurricane Edna hits New England as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore. 1968 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew. 1970 – The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25. 1971 – The Egyptian Constitution becomes official. 1972 – The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service. 1973 – A coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. 1973 – JAT Airways Flight 769 crashes into the Maganik mountain range while on approach to Titograd Airport, killing 35 passengers and six crew. 1974 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew. 1976 – A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it. 1978 – Janet Parker, a British medical photographer, became the last recorded person to die from smallpox. In light of this incident, all known stocks of smallpox were destroyed or transferred to one of two Biosafety level 4, WHO reference laboratories for smallpox. 1980 – Voters approve a new Constitution of Chile, later amended after the departure of President Pinochet. 1982 – The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces. 1985 – Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's baseball record for most career hits with his 4,192nd hit. 1989 – Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. 1991 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew. 1992 – Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu. 1995 – RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 hits a 29-metre (95 ft.) rogue wave during Hurricane Luis causing her to list 55 degrees. 1997 – NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars. 1997 – After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom. 2001 – The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated suicide attacks killing 2,996 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. Two aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.[6] 2005 – Israel had completed the disengagement from Gaza plan. 2007 – Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs. 2008 – A major Channel Tunnel fire breaks out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for six months. 2011 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opens on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. 2012 – A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. 2012 – The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. 2015 – A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.11

1185 – Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. 1226 – The Roman Catholic practice of public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass spreads from monasteries to parishes. 1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly-led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. 1390 – Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius. 1541 – Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco. 1565 – Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta. 1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there. 1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's English Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. 1697 – Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history. 1708 – Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power. 1709 – Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France. 1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. 1758 – Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1776 – British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf Massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek. 1786 – The beginning of the Annapolis Convention. 1789 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1792 – The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored. 1800 – The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. 1802 – France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont. 1803 – Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin. 1813 – War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C.. 1814 – War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war. 1826 – Captain William Morgan, an ex-freemason is arrested in Batavia, New York for debt after declaring that he would publish The Mysteries of Free Masonry, a book against Freemasonry. This sets into motion the events that lead to his mysterious disappearance. 1829 – Surrender of the expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown in order to retake Mexico. This was the consummation of Mexico's campaign for independence. 1830 – Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions. 1836 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War. 1851 – Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves stand against their former owner in armed resistance in Christiana, Pennsylvania, creating a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement. 1852 – The State of Buenos Aires secedes from the Argentine Federal government, rejoining on September 17, 1861. Several places are named Once de Septiembre after this event. 1857 – The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah. 1897 – After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom. 1903 – The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world. 1905 – The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13. 1914 – Australia invades New Britain, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka. 1916 – The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907. 1919 – United States Marine Corps invades Honduras. 1921 – Nahalal, the first moshav in Palestine, is settled as part of a Zionist plan of creating a Jewish state, later to be Israel. 1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia. 1922 – The Sun News-Pictorial is founded in Melbourne, Australia. 1939 – World War II: Canada declares war on Germany, the country's first independent declaration of war 1941 – Charles Lindbergh's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany. 1943 – World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica. 1943 – World War II: Start of the Nazi liquidation of the Minsk and Lida ghettos. 1944 – World War II: The Western Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen. 1944 – World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. 1945 – World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo. 1950 – Korean War: President Harry S. Truman approved military operations north of the 38th parallel. 1954 – Hurricane Edna hits New England as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore. 1968 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew. 1970 – The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25. 1971 – The Egyptian Constitution becomes official. 1972 – The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service. 1973 – A coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. 1974 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew. 1976 – A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it. 1980 – Voters approve a new Constitution of Chile, later amended after the departure of President Pinochet. 1981 – The bombing of La Moneda in Chile by the CIA-backed Junta's Armed Forces. 1982 – The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces. 1985 – Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's baseball record for most career hits with his 4,192nd hit. 1989 – Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. 1992 – Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu. 1997 – NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars. 1997 – After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom. 2001 – Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of al-Qaeda. A total of 2,996 people are killed. 2007 – Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs. 2008 – A major Channel Tunnel fire broke out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for 6 months. 2012 – A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. 2012 – The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. 2015 – A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.