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Persons.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)
US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg (1856-1937, very distantly related to the cereal Kellogg brothers) was an an attorney when Pres. Theodore Roosevelt asked him to lead a federal antitrust case in 1905. He later led the government's case against Standard Oil. He was US Senator from Minnesota from 1917-23, and then he served as ambassador to the UK before becoming Coolidge's Secretary of State. From 1930 to 1935, he was a justice on the Permanent Court of International Justice. Not bad for a man who always self-conscious that his formal education ended at age 14 in a Minnesota one-room schoolhouse.
Aristide Briand (1862-1932) was born and raised in Nantes, where he became a close friend of novelist Jules Verne. After studying law, he went into politics and became a leader in the French Socialist and trade unionist movement. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1902. Over the next 30 years, he served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and 11 terms as Prime Minister. He was one of the earliest European leaders to envision a future European federation.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)
US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg (1856-1937, very distantly related to the cereal Kellogg brothers) was an an attorney when Pres. Theodore Roosevelt asked him to lead a federal antitrust case in 1905. He later led the government's case against Standard Oil. He was US Senator from Minnesota from 1917-23, and then he served as ambassador to the UK before becoming Coolidge's Secretary of State. From 1930 to 1935, he was a justice on the Permanent Court of International Justice. Not bad for a man who always self-conscious that his formal education ended at age 14 in a Minnesota one-room schoolhouse.
Aristide Briand (1862-1932) was born and raised in Nantes, where he became a close friend of novelist Jules Verne. After studying law, he went into politics and became a leader in the French Socialist and trade unionist movement. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1902. Over the next 30 years, he served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and 11 terms as Prime Minister. He was one of the earliest European leaders to envision a future European federation.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
Places.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)
On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the pact at Paris. Signatories included France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Japan. Later, an additional forty-seven nations followed suit, so the pact was eventually signed by most of the established nations in the world.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy. (More about that in Thing post later today)
On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the pact at Paris. Signatories included France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Japan. Later, an additional forty-seven nations followed suit, so the pact was eventually signed by most of the established nations in the world.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
Thing.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
I mean, the idea of outlawing war seems very simple-minded and ridiculously idealistic, right? Actually, it was a major shift in foreign relations and diplomacy. Before the pact, nations were quick to use military options first and declare war. Now, the signatories have agreed to use war only as a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted. That was a new way of looking at the world.
Also, the Kellogg-Briand Pact became the cornerstone precedent for crimes against world peace and crimes against humanity. It provided the basis for prosecution of war criminals, such as in the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following WWII.
On July 24, 1929, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, or the General Treaty for Renunciation of war as an Instrument of National Policy, went into effect. While it has been ridiculed for its moralism, lack of enforcement teeth, and vagueness, it actually marked a major change in foreign policy.
The Internationalists by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro makes the case that the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, in fact, one of the most transformative events in modern history.
I mean, the idea of outlawing war seems very simple-minded and ridiculously idealistic, right? Actually, it was a major shift in foreign relations and diplomacy. Before the pact, nations were quick to use military options first and declare war. Now, the signatories have agreed to use war only as a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted. That was a new way of looking at the world.
Also, the Kellogg-Briand Pact became the cornerstone precedent for crimes against world peace and crimes against humanity. It provided the basis for prosecution of war criminals, such as in the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following WWII.
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Person.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
London had an unstable childhood in Oakland California, largely educating himself in a library. At 13, he began working 12-18 hours a day in a fish cannery, then bought a small boat and became an "oyster pirate," poaching on others' oyster beds. When his boat sank, he signed on to sail to Japan in 1893. Between 1893 and 1897, he was alternately sailor and hobo, so he had little to lose when the gold rush alarm was sounded.
After the rush, London wrote and became a social activist for animal rights, workers' rights, and socialism. He died of a morphine overdose in 1916.
His two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang are companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students have rarely read either.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
London had an unstable childhood in Oakland California, largely educating himself in a library. At 13, he began working 12-18 hours a day in a fish cannery, then bought a small boat and became an "oyster pirate," poaching on others' oyster beds. When his boat sank, he signed on to sail to Japan in 1893. Between 1893 and 1897, he was alternately sailor and hobo, so he had little to lose when the gold rush alarm was sounded.
After the rush, London wrote and became a social activist for animal rights, workers' rights, and socialism. He died of a morphine overdose in 1916.
His two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang are companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students have rarely read either.
Place.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
Dawson City was the jumping off point for the Klondike Gold Rush. It was a Native American gathering site before a white settlement was planted in 1897. By 1898, the population was 17,000, but in 1899, the population decreased by half. Still, it served as the capital of the Yukon territory until 1952. In the 1960s and 1970s, the population hovered at about 700. As of 2016, it was 1,375.
Dawson City and its surroundings figure prominently in London's two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
Dawson City was the jumping off point for the Klondike Gold Rush. It was a Native American gathering site before a white settlement was planted in 1897. By 1898, the population was 17,000, but in 1899, the population decreased by half. Still, it served as the capital of the Yukon territory until 1952. In the 1960s and 1970s, the population hovered at about 700. As of 2016, it was 1,375.
Dawson City and its surroundings figure prominently in London's two most famous novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.
Thing.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
In 1904, London joined the notorious Bohemian Grove, a secret men's club and campground outside San Francisco. In mid-July each year, the club hosts a two-week plus encampment for some of the most prominent men in the world. Artists, celebrities, politicians, presidents, and business magnates have been among the members and guests. One rule is that outside concerns and business deals are left outside the camp and not discussed inside. However, a meeting in 1942 was one of the first planning meetings of the Manhattan Project.
Formed in 1872, the club officially provides these men a place to unwind, relax, and commune with nature, socialize, and put on plays, shows, and musicals. Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that darker, more mysterious things happen there......
London's two most famous novels are The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.
On July 25, 11 days after news of gold went out, John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916) booked an eight day steamship passage from San Francisco to Juneau in order to join a hundred thousand others streaming into the Klondike in search of gold. From Juneau, it was a hundred miles by canoe to Dyea, 33 miles overland along the Chilkoot Trail, and finally floating 550 miles to Dawson City, a tent city nearest the gold fields. He never struck it rich, but the Klondike Gold Rush was the source of his most successful writing, as Jack London.
In 1904, London joined the notorious Bohemian Grove, a secret men's club and campground outside San Francisco. In mid-July each year, the club hosts a two-week plus encampment for some of the most prominent men in the world. Artists, celebrities, politicians, presidents, and business magnates have been among the members and guests. One rule is that outside concerns and business deals are left outside the camp and not discussed inside. However, a meeting in 1942 was one of the first planning meetings of the Manhattan Project.
Formed in 1872, the club officially provides these men a place to unwind, relax, and commune with nature, socialize, and put on plays, shows, and musicals. Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that darker, more mysterious things happen there......
London's two most famous novels are The Call of the Wild and White Fang, companion books, mirrors, based on his mining experience. Call takes a domestic dog into the wild, and Fang is a wolf that is somewhat domesticated. Sadly, in my generation, they were almost universally read in American schools. Today's students seem to have rarely read either.
Persons.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
Pizarro (1478-1541) was born out of wedlock to a poor woman in Trujillo, Castile, and he grew up illiterate. A second cousin to Hernan Cortes through his father, he saw a chance for fame and fortune in the conquest of the Americas. He accompanied Balboa's expedition, which marked the first sighting of the Pacific by Europeans from the Isthmus of Panama. He was appointed alcalde (mayor) of Panama City after he arrested Balboa and turned him over for execution. In Panama he heard stories of golden cities in South America, located on a river called Piru --perhaps El Dorado? He also followed the exploits of his cousin Cortes in Mexico. So he decided to conquer Peru.
With just under 200 men, he conquered a vast empire of an estimated 12 million. How? Like Cortes, he had the advantages of gunpowder, horses, war dogs, armor, steel weapons, and, most importantly, disease. He also has the advantage of arrival just after an intense civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa, brothers vying to be emperor. Atahualpa won the civil war, but his army of 50,000 was defeated by Pizarro, and he was captured. Pizarro promised to release him if his people filled a room with gold as ransom.They did. Pizarro convicted Atahualpa of treason against the Spanish king and executed him anyway.
The Last Days of the Incas tells the story.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
Pizarro (1478-1541) was born out of wedlock to a poor woman in Trujillo, Castile, and he grew up illiterate. A second cousin to Hernan Cortes through his father, he saw a chance for fame and fortune in the conquest of the Americas. He accompanied Balboa's expedition, which marked the first sighting of the Pacific by Europeans from the Isthmus of Panama. He was appointed alcalde (mayor) of Panama City after he arrested Balboa and turned him over for execution. In Panama he heard stories of golden cities in South America, located on a river called Piru --perhaps El Dorado? He also followed the exploits of his cousin Cortes in Mexico. So he decided to conquer Peru.
With just under 200 men, he conquered a vast empire of an estimated 12 million. How? Like Cortes, he had the advantages of gunpowder, horses, war dogs, armor, steel weapons, and, most importantly, disease. He also has the advantage of arrival just after an intense civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa, brothers vying to be emperor. Atahualpa won the civil war, but his army of 50,000 was defeated by Pizarro, and he was captured. Pizarro promised to release him if his people filled a room with gold as ransom.They did. Pizarro convicted Atahualpa of treason against the Spanish king and executed him anyway.
The Last Days of the Incas tells the story.
Place.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Ruling from the capital of Cusco, the Emperor, or Inca, oversaw an area of 7770,000 square miles, mainly following the Andes mountains in western South America.
The Incas constructed one of the most remarkable empires in history without developing currency, the wheel, draft animals, the use of iron or steel, or even a writing system. However, they did develop monumental architecture, an extensive road network that connected the entire empire and is partially in use today, finely woven textiles, a system of communicating using knotted strings called quipu, and advanced surgical techniques including cutting through the skull.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Ruling from the capital of Cusco, the Emperor, or Inca, oversaw an area of 7770,000 square miles, mainly following the Andes mountains in western South America.
The Incas constructed one of the most remarkable empires in history without developing currency, the wheel, draft animals, the use of iron or steel, or even a writing system. However, they did develop monumental architecture, an extensive road network that connected the entire empire and is partially in use today, finely woven textiles, a system of communicating using knotted strings called quipu, and advanced surgical techniques including cutting through the skull.
Person too.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
The Incas embalmed their dead and wrapped their bodies into a bundle. The cold, arid climate of the Andes took care of the rest. Over a thousand mummy bundles have been discovered. Some of the mummies, however, were those of children, sacrificed to Inca gods.
The best preserved examples of these were discovered in 1999 in a small chamber about 5 feet underground high up on a mountain called Llullaillaco. The oldest mummy, a girl found to be around the age of fifteen, was dubbed la doncella. She has become widely known as the "Maiden of Llullaillaco". A bacterial infection was discovered in her lungs during an examination. She wore a dress with her hair elaborately braided, along with a feather-adorned headdress. She died in her sleep, a fate shared with the other children. The children were usually drugged and died in their sleep.
It is believed that La Doncella was an aclla, or Sun Virgin – she was a virgin, chosen and sanctified at around the age of ten years, to live with other girls and women who would become royal wives, priestesses and sacrifices. The practice of ritual sacrifice in Inca society was intended to ensure health, rich harvests and favourable weather.
On July 26, 1519, Francisco Pizarro received a Royal charter granting him rights to the west coast of South America. On July 26, 1529, he was appointed Governor of Peru. On July 26, 1533, Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, even though the Incas had paid the huge ransom demanded in gold and silver.
The Incas embalmed their dead and wrapped their bodies into a bundle. The cold, arid climate of the Andes took care of the rest. Over a thousand mummy bundles have been discovered. Some of the mummies, however, were those of children, sacrificed to Inca gods.
The best preserved examples of these were discovered in 1999 in a small chamber about 5 feet underground high up on a mountain called Llullaillaco. The oldest mummy, a girl found to be around the age of fifteen, was dubbed la doncella. She has become widely known as the "Maiden of Llullaillaco". A bacterial infection was discovered in her lungs during an examination. She wore a dress with her hair elaborately braided, along with a feather-adorned headdress. She died in her sleep, a fate shared with the other children. The children were usually drugged and died in their sleep.
It is believed that La Doncella was an aclla, or Sun Virgin – she was a virgin, chosen and sanctified at around the age of ten years, to live with other girls and women who would become royal wives, priestesses and sacrifices. The practice of ritual sacrifice in Inca society was intended to ensure health, rich harvests and favourable weather.
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Persons.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
There's a huge cast of characters, including three I knew little about, leaders of the French Resistance who made the D-Day landings and the retaking of France possible.
Germaine Tillion (1907-2008) was an ethnologist at the Museum of Man in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Like many of her coworkers, she immediately went into action hiding Jews, helping prisoners to escape, and gathering intelligence. After being betrayed by a priest, she was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. She survived and returned to ethnography along with working to find and prosecute war criminals.
Virginia Hall (1906-1982), an American, was the first woman trained to be part of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). She and her wooden leg, which she named Cuthbert, became Germany's most wanted agent in France. The intelligent she gathered had a direct impact on the success of D-Day.
Jean Moulin (1889-1943) was and us one France's greatest heroes, organizing and leading French Resistance movements until his capture and 17 days of the most brutal torture administered by the "Butcher of Lyon" Klaus Barbie. He was eventually murdered, without revealing anything.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
There's a huge cast of characters, including three I knew little about, leaders of the French Resistance who made the D-Day landings and the retaking of France possible.
Germaine Tillion (1907-2008) was an ethnologist at the Museum of Man in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Like many of her coworkers, she immediately went into action hiding Jews, helping prisoners to escape, and gathering intelligence. After being betrayed by a priest, she was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. She survived and returned to ethnography along with working to find and prosecute war criminals.
Virginia Hall (1906-1982), an American, was the first woman trained to be part of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). She and her wooden leg, which she named Cuthbert, became Germany's most wanted agent in France. The intelligent she gathered had a direct impact on the success of D-Day.
Jean Moulin (1889-1943) was and us one France's greatest heroes, organizing and leading French Resistance movements until his capture and 17 days of the most brutal torture administered by the "Butcher of Lyon" Klaus Barbie. He was eventually murdered, without revealing anything.
Place.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
One of the things I learned was that one of the first, and most active, cells of the French Resistance to form in Paris was composed of many of the staff members of the Musee de l'Homme, aka the Museum of Mankind or the Museum of Humanity. Founded in 1937 by Paul Rivet, the Museum's collection came from earlier natural history museums, going back to private cabinets of curiosity that existed in Europe from the 16th century. The museum's original purpose was to gather in one place all that can define humanity: its evolution, its unity and its variety, and its cultural and social expression.
When Nazi tanks rolled into Paris in June 1940, many of the scholars, anthropologists, ethnologists, and other staffers of the museum immediately became Resistants, gathering intelligence, forging paperwork, helping people escape, and even conducting sabotage. Many, like Germaine Tillion were arrested, tortured, and sent to concentration camps. Several were executed.
I kind of like the idea of curators, archivists, librarians, and academics swinging into action and danger.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
One of the things I learned was that one of the first, and most active, cells of the French Resistance to form in Paris was composed of many of the staff members of the Musee de l'Homme, aka the Museum of Mankind or the Museum of Humanity. Founded in 1937 by Paul Rivet, the Museum's collection came from earlier natural history museums, going back to private cabinets of curiosity that existed in Europe from the 16th century. The museum's original purpose was to gather in one place all that can define humanity: its evolution, its unity and its variety, and its cultural and social expression.
When Nazi tanks rolled into Paris in June 1940, many of the scholars, anthropologists, ethnologists, and other staffers of the museum immediately became Resistants, gathering intelligence, forging paperwork, helping people escape, and even conducting sabotage. Many, like Germaine Tillion were arrested, tortured, and sent to concentration camps. Several were executed.
I kind of like the idea of curators, archivists, librarians, and academics swinging into action and danger.
Thing.
Relationships.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
One of the most fascinating things about WWII is how the Allied leadership viewed each other and related to each other. (I guess the same is true for Hitler and Mussolini.) FDR, Churchill, and Charles De Gaulle we're too much alike in many ways: stubborn, arrogant, self-assured, egotistical, petulant etc. Their relationship was a very tenuous one. Even though Churchill and FDR greatly admired and respected each other, they had their clashes. And when you throw De Gaulle into the mix, it's a wonder the alliance held together at all.
Churchill immediately backed De Gaulle as the leader of the Free French and an ally, but they had major disagreements. De Gaulle said "When I'm right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time."
FDR never liked De Gaulle, calling him all sorts of names, including would-be dictator. He actively supported another French general, Henri Giraud, as the rightful leader of the Free French, and he refused to recognize De Gaulle's government until late 1944, after recognizing the new government in former Axis country Italy. Still, FDR blocked De Gaulle from attending the Yalta conference.
Relationships.
I just finished reading Taking Paris by Martin Dugard and found it to be a great book about the surrender if France in 1940 and the major events leading up to the Allies' retaking the city in 1944. Ignore the history snobs who, in their reviews, complain about it being "popular history," "not serious history," and not deep enough. I learned from it and found it very interesting.
One of the most fascinating things about WWII is how the Allied leadership viewed each other and related to each other. (I guess the same is true for Hitler and Mussolini.) FDR, Churchill, and Charles De Gaulle we're too much alike in many ways: stubborn, arrogant, self-assured, egotistical, petulant etc. Their relationship was a very tenuous one. Even though Churchill and FDR greatly admired and respected each other, they had their clashes. And when you throw De Gaulle into the mix, it's a wonder the alliance held together at all.
Churchill immediately backed De Gaulle as the leader of the Free French and an ally, but they had major disagreements. De Gaulle said "When I'm right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time."
FDR never liked De Gaulle, calling him all sorts of names, including would-be dictator. He actively supported another French general, Henri Giraud, as the rightful leader of the Free French, and he refused to recognize De Gaulle's government until late 1944, after recognizing the new government in former Axis country Italy. Still, FDR blocked De Gaulle from attending the Yalta conference.
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Person.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
Lewis (born 1935) grew up in an impoverished farming family in Louisiana. Along with his close cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggert, he developed an affinity for the piano. His parents mortgaged the farm to purchase one. Lewis was a natural, and he regularly snuck out of the house to go listen to the music played at a black juke joint, soon developing his own wild and super high energy style and antics. His music and lifestyle were too wild for the Southwest Bible Institute, so he started touring and performing, becoming a pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly.
Always controversial, his career stalled when he arrived in the UK at age 22, with his third wife Myra, who was his first cousin once removed and 13 years old, although he told the press she was 15. The uproar cancelled the tour, and Lewis floundered professionally and personally for a decade before turning to country music and regaining some success.
His last public performance in concert was in 2013, and he suffered a stroke in 2019. In 2020, it was announced that he had recorded a gospel album with super producer T-Bone Burnett, but there's no word on its release.
In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
Lewis (born 1935) grew up in an impoverished farming family in Louisiana. Along with his close cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggert, he developed an affinity for the piano. His parents mortgaged the farm to purchase one. Lewis was a natural, and he regularly snuck out of the house to go listen to the music played at a black juke joint, soon developing his own wild and super high energy style and antics. His music and lifestyle were too wild for the Southwest Bible Institute, so he started touring and performing, becoming a pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly.
Always controversial, his career stalled when he arrived in the UK at age 22, with his third wife Myra, who was his first cousin once removed and 13 years old, although he told the press she was 15. The uproar cancelled the tour, and Lewis floundered professionally and personally for a decade before turning to country music and regaining some success.
His last public performance in concert was in 2013, and he suffered a stroke in 2019. In 2020, it was announced that he had recorded a gospel album with super producer T-Bone Burnett, but there's no word on its release.
In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.
Place.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952. In addition to the above-named artists, Sun also released some of the first recordings of Charlie Rich, Ike Turner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Conway Twitty. Lewis began recording at Sun in 1956 and often appeared as a session musician for other artists. This led to the famous "Million Dollar Quartet" recording session featuring Lewis, Presley, Perkins, and Cash.
In 2017, CMT ran a dramatic series about Phillips and Sun Records that deserved more than one season. Check it out if you can find it.
In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952. In addition to the above-named artists, Sun also released some of the first recordings of Charlie Rich, Ike Turner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Conway Twitty. Lewis began recording at Sun in 1956 and often appeared as a session musician for other artists. This led to the famous "Million Dollar Quartet" recording session featuring Lewis, Presley, Perkins, and Cash.
In 2017, CMT ran a dramatic series about Phillips and Sun Records that deserved more than one season. Check it out if you can find it.
In 2014, one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, worked with Lewis to write an authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It doesn't disappoint.
Thing.
Graceland Gates.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
In November, 1976, Lewis was arrested for allegedly intending to shoot Elvis. According to Lewis, his old buddy Elvis had been trying to get him to visit for a while, but he was too busy. That night, he was in a Memphis club, where somebody just happened to give him a loaded gun for some reason, and he remembered Elvis wanting to see him. So naturally, he took off in his Lincoln Continental, loaded gun on the dashboard and bottle of champagne on the seat next to him and headed to Graceland. At around 3 AM, he announced his arrival by crashing his car through the Graceland Gates and attempting to throw the full champagne bottle through the closed car window. Elvis, watching the entire event in closed circuit security TV, called the police. Lewis was charged with carrying a pistol and public drunkenness.
Graceland Gates.
On July 28, 1957, "The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, first appeared on TV, on The Steve Allen Show, performing his huge first national hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." (Watch it on YouTube.) He had made his first records in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, about the same time as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf made their breakthrough records there.
In November, 1976, Lewis was arrested for allegedly intending to shoot Elvis. According to Lewis, his old buddy Elvis had been trying to get him to visit for a while, but he was too busy. That night, he was in a Memphis club, where somebody just happened to give him a loaded gun for some reason, and he remembered Elvis wanting to see him. So naturally, he took off in his Lincoln Continental, loaded gun on the dashboard and bottle of champagne on the seat next to him and headed to Graceland. At around 3 AM, he announced his arrival by crashing his car through the Graceland Gates and attempting to throw the full champagne bottle through the closed car window. Elvis, watching the entire event in closed circuit security TV, called the police. Lewis was charged with carrying a pistol and public drunkenness.
Person.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
The brothers' story alternates with the story of Jacques le Moyne (1533-1588), a Frenchman and the first European artist in North America. Little is known about le Moyne before he joined the French expedition of Rene Laudonniere, whose mission was to establish a French colony in what is now southern Georgia and northern Florida. That settlement was named Fort Caroline, but the location is unknown. For decades, it was thought to be near the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, but recent scholarship and investigation suggest that it may have been as far north as the mouth of the Altamaha River near Darien Georgia. (This is where Brown places it in his novel )
Le Moyne served as cartographer and illustrator. Obviously, he stunk as a cartographer because we don't know where they were for sure, but he produced the first European illustrations of the flora and fauna of North America. He also produced a lot of drawings of the native Timucua. The Timucua were a powerful confederacy that dominated south Georgia and north Florida at the time of European arrival.
Fort Caroline seemed to be doomed from the start. The colonists and the Timucua enjoyed peaceful relations in the beginning, but that soon soured. Supplies and food ran low, and some colonists mutinied. The final blow came in 1565 when Spanish forces from St. Augustine attacked, not only because the French were French, but also because they were Huguenots (Protestants). 25 escaped the slaughter.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
The brothers' story alternates with the story of Jacques le Moyne (1533-1588), a Frenchman and the first European artist in North America. Little is known about le Moyne before he joined the French expedition of Rene Laudonniere, whose mission was to establish a French colony in what is now southern Georgia and northern Florida. That settlement was named Fort Caroline, but the location is unknown. For decades, it was thought to be near the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, but recent scholarship and investigation suggest that it may have been as far north as the mouth of the Altamaha River near Darien Georgia. (This is where Brown places it in his novel )
Le Moyne served as cartographer and illustrator. Obviously, he stunk as a cartographer because we don't know where they were for sure, but he produced the first European illustrations of the flora and fauna of North America. He also produced a lot of drawings of the native Timucua. The Timucua were a powerful confederacy that dominated south Georgia and north Florida at the time of European arrival.
Fort Caroline seemed to be doomed from the start. The colonists and the Timucua enjoyed peaceful relations in the beginning, but that soon soured. Supplies and food ran low, and some colonists mutinied. The final blow came in 1565 when Spanish forces from St. Augustine attacked, not only because the French were French, but also because they were Huguenots (Protestants). 25 escaped the slaughter.
Place.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution. For years, experts have maintained that Fort Caroline was built on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville Florida. In 2014, however, a new theory was proposed. This theory puts the fort at the mouth of the Altamaha River in southeast Georgia (where Brown puts it in the book), based on a study of French maps and the references to the Guale language, spoken in Georgia but not in Florida. As of now, this theory is still challenged. Opponents maintain it would be impossible for Spanish forces to make the march from St. Augustine to the Altamaha. The debate continues.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution. For years, experts have maintained that Fort Caroline was built on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville Florida. In 2014, however, a new theory was proposed. This theory puts the fort at the mouth of the Altamaha River in southeast Georgia (where Brown puts it in the book), based on a study of French maps and the references to the Guale language, spoken in Georgia but not in Florida. As of now, this theory is still challenged. Opponents maintain it would be impossible for Spanish forces to make the march from St. Augustine to the Altamaha. The debate continues.
Things.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution, and the story of Jacques le Moyne, the artist who accompanied the expedition and the first European to illustrate North American Indians. When the Spanish destroyed Fort Caroline, all but one of le Moyne's drawings were destroyed as well. The story is that he re-drew everything from memory when he returned to France.
After his death, an engraver, Theodore de Bry bought the drawings from his widow and published them. He also published the drawings of Roanoke's governor John White. Because of this, historians urge caution when interpreting these pictures. They are kind of removed from an actual eyewitness account, and de Bry never crossed the Atlantic. The Native Americans look like Mediterranean Europeans, and some illustrations mix different cultural customs and artifacts. However, they were all hugely influential in shaping Europeans' view of Native Americans.
Today's my brother's birthday, so I'm featuring a historical fiction novel about brothers, The River of Kings by Georgia-born Taylor Brown. It mixes the contemporary stories of two brothers, their relationship with their father, and the myth and history surrounding Georgia's Altamaha River, "the Little Amazon," which may have been home to a 1564 failed French colonial expedition. It's weird; I love Brown's writing style and the ideas of the stories he tells, but I haven't finished any others, and this one took a while. It's still a memorable book for me.
River of Kings mixes a contemporary story with the history of Fort Caroline, an attempt by French Huguenots (Protestants) to settle somewhere safe from persecution, and the story of Jacques le Moyne, the artist who accompanied the expedition and the first European to illustrate North American Indians. When the Spanish destroyed Fort Caroline, all but one of le Moyne's drawings were destroyed as well. The story is that he re-drew everything from memory when he returned to France.
After his death, an engraver, Theodore de Bry bought the drawings from his widow and published them. He also published the drawings of Roanoke's governor John White. Because of this, historians urge caution when interpreting these pictures. They are kind of removed from an actual eyewitness account, and de Bry never crossed the Atlantic. The Native Americans look like Mediterranean Europeans, and some illustrations mix different cultural customs and artifacts. However, they were all hugely influential in shaping Europeans' view of Native Americans.
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Persons.
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
The original B-52s lineup started with musicians Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson finding each other and just playing around with music for fun. They brought in Ricky's sister Cindy and Kate Pierson as singers and Fred Schneider for, well, whatever he adds to the mix. Their unconventional, i.e. weird, musical and personal aesthetic styles got them noticed around town, and their first single, "Rock Lobster," earned an underground following and got them gigs at New York's famous CBGB and Max's Kansas City clubs. Their rise was begun. Along the way, the band was devastated by Ricky Wilson's death from AIDS. After coming back together, Cosmic Thing was their huge album breakthrough with the single "Love Shack." Strickland hasn't toured with the band for several years and isn't joining the farewell tour.
REM formed in Athens in 1989 when Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry got together. Recognized as one of the first alternative bands, they became one of the most successful bands in the world; in 1996, they signed the biggest recording contract in history to that point, with Warner Bros for $80 million. Berry left the band in 1997 due to health issues, but the others continued until parting amicably in 2011.
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
The original B-52s lineup started with musicians Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson finding each other and just playing around with music for fun. They brought in Ricky's sister Cindy and Kate Pierson as singers and Fred Schneider for, well, whatever he adds to the mix. Their unconventional, i.e. weird, musical and personal aesthetic styles got them noticed around town, and their first single, "Rock Lobster," earned an underground following and got them gigs at New York's famous CBGB and Max's Kansas City clubs. Their rise was begun. Along the way, the band was devastated by Ricky Wilson's death from AIDS. After coming back together, Cosmic Thing was their huge album breakthrough with the single "Love Shack." Strickland hasn't toured with the band for several years and isn't joining the farewell tour.
REM formed in Athens in 1989 when Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry got together. Recognized as one of the first alternative bands, they became one of the most successful bands in the world; in 1996, they signed the biggest recording contract in history to that point, with Warner Bros for $80 million. Berry left the band in 1997 due to health issues, but the others continued until parting amicably in 2011.
Place.
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
Opened in 1979, the 40 Watt Club in downtown Athens Georgia rivaled New York's CBGB and L.A.'s Whiskey a Go Go in terms of breaking new New Wave and Alternative bands in the 1980s and 1990s. It became a favorite venue for hometown acts like REM, Pylon, Love Tractor, Drive-by Truckers, The Whigs, and Guadalcanal Diary.
In 1991, the club moved to its fifth and current location on West Washington Street.
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
Opened in 1979, the 40 Watt Club in downtown Athens Georgia rivaled New York's CBGB and L.A.'s Whiskey a Go Go in terms of breaking new New Wave and Alternative bands in the 1980s and 1990s. It became a favorite venue for hometown acts like REM, Pylon, Love Tractor, Drive-by Truckers, The Whigs, and Guadalcanal Diary.
In 1991, the club moved to its fifth and current location on West Washington Street.
Thing.
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
The B-52s took their name from southern slang for the beehive hairdo. The hairdo got its nickname from the resemblance to the noses of B-52 bombers. Hair historians actually trace the 20th century beehive to
Margaret Vinci Heldt of Elmhurst, Illinois, regarded as the hairstyle's creator. The look first appeared in Modern Beauty Shop magazine's February 1960 issue. It's been worn, especially by southern women ever since. Wilson and Pierson made beehive wigs a part of kooky eclectic style, and voila!
The B-52s, an American New Wave/Alternative band formed in 1976, recently embarked on their farewell concert tour. That news prompted me to pick up Rodger Lyle Brown's book, Party Out of Bounds. It's the story of how people who viewed themselves or were viewed as misfits and weirdos found each other in a conservative little college town and made Athens Georgia a creative hub for American rock music in the 1980s and early 1990s, with The B-52s and REM (my favorite band) leading the way.
The B-52s took their name from southern slang for the beehive hairdo. The hairdo got its nickname from the resemblance to the noses of B-52 bombers. Hair historians actually trace the 20th century beehive to
Margaret Vinci Heldt of Elmhurst, Illinois, regarded as the hairstyle's creator. The look first appeared in Modern Beauty Shop magazine's February 1960 issue. It's been worn, especially by southern women ever since. Wilson and Pierson made beehive wigs a part of kooky eclectic style, and voila!
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Person.
At the end of 1702, Daniel Defoe was married with eight children and owner of a brickworks in Tilbury a borough in Essex, England. He was also a paid government propagandist, an early spin doctor. He wrote tracts in praise government policies, that is the policies of King William III, but he was also a "Dissenter" or "Nonconformist," meaning that he was a Protestant, but he had misgivings about the state church, the Church of England.
When Anne succeeded William, she immediately began an offensive against Nonconformists, bad timing for Defoe. He published an anonymous satirical pamphlet called "The Shortest Way With Dissenters," in the voice of a fictional High Church zealot. Few got the satire. Defoe was arrested and tried for seditious libel. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to the pillory. For the last three days of July 1703, he was put into the pillory for an hour each day. (Stay tuned for today's Thing post in the use of the pillory.)
Once released, he had lost his brickworks and became very depressed. Soon, however, the same government that pilloried him re-employed him as a propagandist and as a spy in Scotland.
In 1719, he published Robinson Crusoe, and has since been recognized as one of the earliest English novelists.
At the end of 1702, Daniel Defoe was married with eight children and owner of a brickworks in Tilbury a borough in Essex, England. He was also a paid government propagandist, an early spin doctor. He wrote tracts in praise government policies, that is the policies of King William III, but he was also a "Dissenter" or "Nonconformist," meaning that he was a Protestant, but he had misgivings about the state church, the Church of England.
When Anne succeeded William, she immediately began an offensive against Nonconformists, bad timing for Defoe. He published an anonymous satirical pamphlet called "The Shortest Way With Dissenters," in the voice of a fictional High Church zealot. Few got the satire. Defoe was arrested and tried for seditious libel. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to the pillory. For the last three days of July 1703, he was put into the pillory for an hour each day. (Stay tuned for today's Thing post in the use of the pillory.)
Once released, he had lost his brickworks and became very depressed. Soon, however, the same government that pilloried him re-employed him as a propagandist and as a spy in Scotland.
In 1719, he published Robinson Crusoe, and has since been recognized as one of the earliest English novelists.
Place.
In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish privateer ( that's pirate if you're French or Spanish) on board the Cinque Ports captained by Thomas Stradling. About 420 miles off the Chilean Coast, the ship anchored off a deserted island of the Juan Fernandez island chain to take on supplies and make repairs following a battle. Crewman Selkirk recognized that the ship was not seaworthy and refused to continue. Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the island with a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling refused to let him back on board. Selkirk's original instincts were correct; the Cinque Ports foundered off the coast of Colombia.
Selkirk adapted and survived alone for 4 years and 4 months. A couple of Spanish ships stopped by the island, but the Spanish would have hanged him if they had found him. Finally, another English privateer arrived, and Selkirk was rescued. He became a major celebrity when his story was published. In 1721, he died of yellow fever while serving as an officer in the Royal Navy.
Daniel Defoe was obviously inspired by Selkirk's story when writing Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719. He made some geographical changes, setting the story in the tropical Caribbean instead of the Pacific.
In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish privateer ( that's pirate if you're French or Spanish) on board the Cinque Ports captained by Thomas Stradling. About 420 miles off the Chilean Coast, the ship anchored off a deserted island of the Juan Fernandez island chain to take on supplies and make repairs following a battle. Crewman Selkirk recognized that the ship was not seaworthy and refused to continue. Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the island with a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling refused to let him back on board. Selkirk's original instincts were correct; the Cinque Ports foundered off the coast of Colombia.
Selkirk adapted and survived alone for 4 years and 4 months. A couple of Spanish ships stopped by the island, but the Spanish would have hanged him if they had found him. Finally, another English privateer arrived, and Selkirk was rescued. He became a major celebrity when his story was published. In 1721, he died of yellow fever while serving as an officer in the Royal Navy.
Daniel Defoe was obviously inspired by Selkirk's story when writing Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719. He made some geographical changes, setting the story in the tropical Caribbean instead of the Pacific.
Thing.
When found guilty of seditious libel for his satirical pamphlet The Shortest Way, Daniel Defoe was sentenced to three hours in the pillory, over three days.
"The public pillory was used to punish minor offenders including cheats, liars, and homosexuals, by shaming them in public. They were liable to be pelted by the crowd with rotten eggs and fruit, dead cats and dogs, mud and every variety of filth, and in extreme cases with stones, saucepans and other missiles that caused serious injury. Some were killed or maimed for life. Defoe was put in the pillory on the last three days of July, for an hour each time in three of the busiest places in London – outside the Royal Exchange in Cornhill (near his own home), near the conduit in Cheapside and finally in Fleet Street by Temple Bar. It seems to have been raining steadily most of the time, which though uncomfortable would have kept the crowds down, and the experience proved more of a triumph than an ordeal. All that was thrown at him were flowers while his friends sold the spectators copies of The Shortest Way and A Hymn to the Pillory which he had composed for the occasion." (From Richard Cavendish | Published in History Today Volume 53 Issue 7 July 2003)
When found guilty of seditious libel for his satirical pamphlet The Shortest Way, Daniel Defoe was sentenced to three hours in the pillory, over three days.
"The public pillory was used to punish minor offenders including cheats, liars, and homosexuals, by shaming them in public. They were liable to be pelted by the crowd with rotten eggs and fruit, dead cats and dogs, mud and every variety of filth, and in extreme cases with stones, saucepans and other missiles that caused serious injury. Some were killed or maimed for life. Defoe was put in the pillory on the last three days of July, for an hour each time in three of the busiest places in London – outside the Royal Exchange in Cornhill (near his own home), near the conduit in Cheapside and finally in Fleet Street by Temple Bar. It seems to have been raining steadily most of the time, which though uncomfortable would have kept the crowds down, and the experience proved more of a triumph than an ordeal. All that was thrown at him were flowers while his friends sold the spectators copies of The Shortest Way and A Hymn to the Pillory which he had composed for the occasion." (From Richard Cavendish | Published in History Today Volume 53 Issue 7 July 2003)
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