we are still here

2006-01-04T00:29:00.000+09:00

test

Shirley Horn

2005-10-24T09:12:00.000+09:00

Shirley Horn, one of the last great jazz divas.

Where are all the dead women? If anything spells out the necessity of feminism it's the fact that at least 90% of the obituaries in the British national press are for men!

Dang Thuy Tram's diary

2005-10-23T10:08:00.000+09:00

"I had to do an appendix operation without enough medicine. Only a few
tubes of Novocain, but the wounded young soldier never cried out or yelled. He
continued to smile to encourage me. Looking at the forced smile on his dry lips,
knowing his fatigue, I felt so sorry for him...I lightly stroked his hair. I
would like to say to him: 'Patients like you who I cannot cure cause me the most
sorrow, and their memory will not fade.'"

The diary of a Vietnamese doctor who was killed during the Vietnam war at the age of 27 has caused a sensation. It has sold over 300, 000 copies 'generating numerous translations and a television show and sparking a wave of patriotic nostalgia among young Vietnamese.' Read more at Oh My News.

Amnesia, Roman double standards and Rubenesque violence

2005-10-23T09:32:00.000+09:00

The moving story (oh dear that sounds like such a cliche) of a 35 year old man who found himself on a train to Coney Island with absolutely no idea who he was.

Tom Holland says that the BBC's latest series about the Romans goes OTT on the sex scenes and misses what was really interesting about Roman life.

Waldemar Januszczak sees Rubens as more than a chocolate box painter of plump ladies. He cites the considerable sexual violence in Rubens' work and describes him as 17th-century Quentin Tarantino. Do you agree?

Female obituaries

2005-10-22T23:50:00.000+09:00

Sarah Levi-Tanai, Yemenite Israeli choreographer, composer and performer.
Mildred Shay, actress.

Napoleon and Betsy Balcombe

2005-10-21T10:36:00.000+09:00

A delightful drama from Radio 4.

In 1815, a young English girl, Betsy Balcombe, is living with her family on the
island of St Helena . Her life is about to change, as she meets the most
dramatic, glamorous and sinister figure of the age. Julia Blackburn's Betsy and
Napoleon is a true story based on contemporary accounts.

Yorkshire Greats

2005-10-21T09:17:00.000+09:00

Bernard Ingham on why he included only five women in his new book, Yorkshire Greats. A sweet little interview with a political dinosaur.

Inspirational women

2005-10-21T08:45:00.000+09:00

Vivian Malone Jones died after a stroke in Atlanta at the age of 63. She came to public attention as one of two black students who enrolled at the University of Alabama in 1963.

When, in 1965, she received a degree in business management, she became the first African-American graduate in the university's 134-year history - the first black student had been Autherine Lucy, who, in 1956, sought a master's degree in library science, only to be suspended and later expelled, ostensibly for her own safety, after three days of rioting and threats.

Betty Leslie Melville devoted decades of her life to the protection of a rare species of giraffe.

At the outset of her interest in the early 1970s, there were only about 120, but they now number up to 400 in Kenya and 500 altogether, due to the efforts of her and her third husband Jock Leslie-Melville, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish earl, who died in 1984.

Helen Cresswell, who has died aged 71, was one of Britain's most prolific children's writers, creating memorable and often funny characters in books and television dramas for more than 45 years. Cresswell was passionate about her role, insisting that children "deserve the best" in novels, and in television adaptations and series created specially for them, as well as introductions to the classics.

Recent additions to Project Gutenberg

2005-10-21T08:03:00.000+09:00

I've just been looking at the recent addition on Project Gutenberg. It's amazing really that they are adding so much so quickly. The following texts are written by women:

Corinne or Italy by Madame de Stael (1766-1817)
Skyrider by B.M.Bower (1871-1940) (author of westerns)
The Mayor's Wife and A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katharine Green
May Brooke by Anna H.Dorsey
Greenwich Village by Anna Alice Chapin
Fanny goes to war by Pat Beauchamp

Rivers goes nuts

2005-10-19T18:46:00.000+09:00

Joan Rivers goes nuts.

Iceland women's strike of 1974

2005-10-19T13:38:00.000+09:00

Fascinating stuff. It makes me want to run around outside waving my spare bra.

Carnival of the feminists

2005-10-19T12:13:00.000+09:00

Read it here! It's very good.

Is time travel possible?

2005-10-19T11:17:00.000+09:00

It's nerve wracking enough going to live in a foreign country without knowing what it's like. I don't understand why anyone would want to live in the future. How awful must it be to be homesick for a world that no longer exists.

However is time travel theoretically possible?

It's a question that has been seriously considered outside the realms of science fiction. This BBC article discusses one of the paradoxes of time travel. A new model using the laws of quantum physics (I don't even know what that is) suggests that it is possible to go back in time but that we can only observe events, we can't alter them. The fact of the present being the way it is means that anything you do in the past can only lead to the present state of affairs.

Michio Kaku describes the physics behind time travel here. I've never been able to get my head round the fact that time can speed up and slow down. If time were a thing like soup I could imagine it changing in consistency, but isn't time an abstract, an idea? How can it change? I really wish someone would explain that one to me. (Ah, this sort of helps.)

Einstein gave us a much more radical picture. According to Einstein, time was
more like a river, which meandered around stars and galaxies, speeding up and
slowing down as it passed around massive bodies. One second on the earth was Not
one second on Mars. Clocks scattered throughout the universe beat to their own
distant drummer.

Kaku outlines two issues that get in the way of time travel.

A huge amount energy is required. 'One either has to harness the power of a star, or to find something called “exotic” matter (which falls up, rather than down) or find a source of negative energy.'
In principle a worm hole can be used to connect two regions of time but there is no way of knowing if it would be stable.

Stephen Hawkings thinks that time travel may be possible but that there are huge obstacles. He discusses these issues further in this lecture. It made my head hurt reading it but it's worth a look.

The KT Boundary

2005-10-18T12:48:00.000+09:00

Across the entire planet, where it hasn't been eroded or destroyed in land movements, there is a thin grey line. In Italy it is 1 cm thick, in America it stretches to three centimetres, but it is all the same thin grey line laid into the rock some 65 million years ago and it bears witness to a cataclysmic event experienced only once in Earth's history. It is called the KT Boundary and geologists believe it is the clue to the death of the dinosaurs and the ultimate reason why mammals and humans inherited the Earth. Find out more here.

Kepler's supernova

2005-10-17T19:38:00.000+09:00

Kepler's star

2005-10-17T19:16:00.000+09:00

The last supernova to be observed in the Milky Way was spotted by several observers on 9th October 1604. These included John Brunowski in Prague who informed Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), then the Imperial Mathematician to the Habsburg Emperor. Kepler studied the phenomenon so intensively that it was later named Kepler's star. (You can see a photograph of its remnants here. I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.)

Kepler's star was the second supernova to be observed in a generation. In 1572 the rather good looking Danish astronomer, astrologer and alchemist Tycho Brahe had discovered one in the constellation of Cassiopeia. He was possibly not the first to see it. Early in his career Kepler had been Tycho's assistant. Incidentally if you've heard the story of an astronomer who died because he was too embarrassed to leave a banquet to go to the toilet, that was Tycho. It may however not be true.

The birth of stars

2005-10-17T18:51:00.000+09:00

A star is a body that at some time in its life generates its light and heat by nuclear reactions, specifically by the fusion of hydrogen into helium under conditions of enormous temperature and density. The Sun is powered by hydrogen fusion, as are many of the other stars you see at night. The fusion does not take place throughout the star, but only in its deep interior, in its core, where it is hot enough. To create the conditions for such "thermonuclear fusion," stars must be massive. The Sun has the mass of 333,000 Earths. Stars can range up to about 100 times the mass of the Sun (at which point nature stops making them) down to around 8% that of the Sun, at which point the internal temperature is not high enough to run the full range of nuclear reactions (which requires at least 7 million degrees Kelvin).

The space between the stars is filled with dusty gas. If the gravity in a dust cloud is great enough they can form into one or more stars. Contraction causes more rapid spin, which creates a disk around the birthing star, from which it can draw matter. Further condensation within the disk can create planets (or even stellar companions). The contraction of forming stars raises the internal temperature, finally to the point of ignition of hydrogen fusion. (I haven't written any of this. It's been abridged from here)

Leptons- electrons, muons, tauons and neutrinos

2005-10-17T17:31:00.000+09:00

An atom was originally thought to be the smallest particle of matter. However we now know that atoms are made up of other even smaller particles. Most atoms consist of negatively charged electrons, positively charged protons and neutral neutrons. Perhaps an easy way to remember it is that neutrons are obviously neutral, protons are pro-actively positive and electrons have to be negative because there’s nothing else left.

Electrons are thought to be leptons. This means that they can not be broken down into anything smaller. Electrons belong to the lepton family of fermions. The other fermions are muons, tauons and neutrinos. I see from wikipedia that a tauon is ‘a negatively charged elementary particle with a lifetime of 3×10−13 seconds and a high mass of 1777 MeV (compared to 939 MeV for protons and 0.511 MeV for electrons).’ Well that clears that up then. A muon ‘is a semistable fundamental particle with negative electric charge and a spin of 1/2.’ ‘In physics, spin refers to the angular momentum intrinsic to a body, as opposed to orbital angular momentum, which is generated by the motion of its center of mass about an external point.’

Neutrinos can pass through matter unhindered for some reason that I can’t even begin to understand. They are an important product of supernovae. A supernova can be a massive star that collapses inward under the force of its own gravity or a white dwarf star (A white dwarf is an astronomical object which is produced when a low or medium mass star dies) that gathers material from a companion star until it reaches its limit and undergoes a thermonuclear explosion. Protons and electrons combine in the core of supernovae to form neutrinos. (Source: wikipedia)

Now, the Holocene, the Cenozoic

2005-10-17T16:27:00.000+09:00

The Cenozoic is the present and most recent of the four geological eras. It was preceded by the Mesozoic era which encompassed the the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods. The dinosaurs died at the end of the Cretaceous period 65.5 million years ago. The Cenozoic is the age of mammals. In the last 65.5 million years we hairy milk producing beasties have evolved into a diverse collection of land, sea and flying mammals. However our history began long before then as we mammals coexisted with the dinosaurs.The Cenozoic could also be called the age of birds, insects and flowering plants as they have also evolved to the same degree during this time.

The Cenozoic is also divided into subsections. It consists of the Tertiary and the Quaternary. The Tertiary is divided into the Neogene (which covers the Pliocene and the Miocene) and the Paleogene (which covers the Oligocene, Eocene and Paleocene). These terms are as familiar to scientists as phrases like ‘early modern’ or ‘divine right of kings’ are to historians. In the last week I have struggled to learn about natural history because I lacked an understanding of this basic vocabulary. I hope I haven’t made any mistakes in this article because all the new words are a bit confusing.

We live in the Quaternary, which stretches back to about 1.6-1.8 million years ago. Recent changes in international classification have subsumed the Quaternary into the Neogene. Assuming for now that we can still use the term Quaternary, it is itself divided into the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. The last 10, 000 radiocarbon years (each year equal to 1.3 normal years) have been the Holocene. If I’ve understood it correctly a glacial period divided the Holocene and Pleistocene. A glacial period is not the same thing as an ice age. I think an ice age covers warm and cold periods known as glacial and interglacial. The Holocene is an interglacial period. I’m a little bit confused but I assume the ice age is over and we’re not just in a lull. Are we?

North and South Korea timeline

2005-10-17T13:51:00.000+09:00

1945- End of the second world war the USSR occupies the area of Korea north of the 38th parallel and America occupies the south.

1946 - North Korea's Communist Party (Korean Workers' Party - KWP) inaugurated. Soviet-backed leadership installed, including Red Army-trained Kim Il-sung.

1948 - Democratic People's Republic of Korea proclaimed. Soviet troops withdraw.

1950- South Korea declares independence and North Korea invades.

1953- An armistice ends the Korean war. Two million people have been killed.

1960- In South Korea President Syngman Ree steps down after student protests against electoral fraud. New constitution forms Second Republic, but political freedom remains limited.

1960s - In North Korea there is heavy industrial growth.

1961 - In South Korea a military coup puts General Park Chung-hee in power.

1963 - In South Korea General Park restores some political freedom and proclaims Third Republic. Major programme of industrial development begins.

1972 - In South Korea martial law is declared. Park increases his powers with constitutional changes.

After secret North-South talks, both sides seek to develop dialogue aimed at unification.

1979 - In South Korea Park is assassinated. General Chun Doo-hwan assumes power.

1980 - Martial law is declared after student demonstrations. In the city of Kwangju at least 200 killed by the army, causing resentment that has yet to fade. Fifth republic and new constitution.

In North Korea Kim Il-sung's son, Kim Jong-il, moves up party and political ladder.

1981 - In South Korea Chun indirectly elected to a seven year term. Martial law ends, but government continues to have strong powers to prevent dissent.

1986 - In South Korea the constitution is changed to allow direct election of the president.

1980s - In South there is an increasing shift towards high-tech and computer industry.

1987 - In South Korea President Chun is pushed out of office by student unrest and international pressure in the build-up to the Sixth constitution. Roh Tae-woo succeeds Chun, grants greater degree of political liberalisation and launches anti-corruption drive.

1988 - Olympic games in Seoul, South Korea. First free parliamentary elections.

1991 - North and South Korea join the United Nations.

1992 - North Korea agrees to allow inspections by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but over next two years refuses access to sites of suspected nuclear weapons production.

1993 - In South Korea Roh is succeeded by Kim Young Sam, a former opponent of the regime and the first civilian president.

1994 - In North Korea Kim Il-sung dies. Kim Jong-il suceeds him as leader, but doesn't take presidential title. North Korea agrees to freeze nuclear programme in return for $5bn worth of free fuel and two nuclear reactors.

1995 - US formally agrees to help provide North Korea with two modern nuclear reactors designed to produce less weapons-grade plutonium.

1995 - In South Korea corruption and treason charges are brought against Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan.

1996- Pyongyang announces it will no longer abide by the armistice that ended the Korean War, and sends troops into the demilitarised zone. A North Korean submarine runs aground in the South, 11 crew found shot dead in apparent mass suicide and 13 killed by South Korean forces during massive search operation.

South Korea admitted to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In North Korea severe famine follows widespread floods.

1998 - In South Korea Kim Dae-jung sworn in as president and pursues "sunshine policy" of offering unconditional economic and humanitarian aid to North Korea.

South Korea captures North Korean mini-submarine in its waters. Nine crew inside found dead.

1998 - In North Korea the late Kim Il-song declared "eternal president", while Kim Jong-il's powers widened to encompass head of state.

UN food aid brought in to help famine victims in North Korea.

North launches rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific Ocean. Pyongyang insists it fired a satellite, not a missile.

2000 June - Summit in Pyongyang between Kim Jong-il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. North stops propaganda broadcasts against South.

2000 August - Border liaison offices re-open at truce village of Panmunjom.

South Korea gives amnesty to more than 3,500 prisoners.

One hundred North Koreans meet their relatives in the South in a highly-charged, emotional reunion.

Kim Dae-jung awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

2001 May - In North Korea a European Union delegation headed by Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson visits to help shore up the fragile reconciliation process with South Korea. The group represents the highest-level Western diplomatic mission ever to travel to North Korea.

2001 June - North Korea says it is grappling with the worst spring drought of its history.

2001 August - Kim Jong Il arrives for his first visit to Moscow after an epic nine-day, 10,000-kilometre train journey from Pyongyang. Kim apparently dislikes flying.

2002 January - US President George W Bush says North Korea is part of an "axis of evil", along with states such as Iraq and Iran. Pyongyang says Mr Bush has not stopped far short of declaring war.

2002 September - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea, the first Japanese leader to do so. He meets Kim Jong-il who apologises for the abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s.

2002 March - Group of 25 North Koreans defect to South Korea through Spanish embassy in Beijing, highlighting plight of tens of thousands hiding in China after fleeing famine, repression in North.

2002 June - Battle between South Korean and North Korean naval vessels along their disputed sea border leaves four South Koreans dead and 19 wounded. Thirty North Koreans are thought to have been killed.

2002 December - In South Korea Roh Moo-hyun, from governing Millennium Democratic Party, wins closely-fought presidential elections.

2002 October-December - Nuclear tensions mount. In October the US says North Korea has admitted to having a secret weapons programme. The US decides to halt oil shipments to Pyongyang. In December North Korea begins to reactivate its Yongbyon reactor. International inspectors are thrown out.

2003 January - North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a key international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of atomic weapons.

2003 April - Delegations from North Korea, the US and China begin talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the first such discussions since the start of the nuclear crisis.

2003 July - Pyongyang claims that it has produced enough plutonium to start making nuclear bombs.

2003 August - Six-nation talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear programme fail to bridge gap between Washington and Pyongyang.

2003 October - Biggest mass crossing of demilitarised zone since Korean War: Hundreds of South Koreans travel to Pyongyang for opening of gymnasium funded by South's Hyundai conglomerate.

2003 October - Pyongyang says it has finished reprocessing 8,000 nuclear fuel rods, obtaining enough material to make up to six nuclear bombs.

2004 February - South Korean parliament approves controversial dispatch of 3,000 troops to Iraq.

2004 March-May - In South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun suspended after parliament votes to impeach him over breach of election rules and for incompetence. In May the Constitutional Court overturns the move and President Roh is reinstated.

2004 April - More than 160 killed and hundreds more injured when train carrying oil and chemicals hits power line in town of Ryongchon in North Korea.

2004 June - Third round of six-nation talks on nuclear programme ends inconclusively. North Korea pulls out of scheduled September round. In South Korea US proposes to cut by a third its troop presence. Opposition raises security fears over the plan.

2004 August - In South Korea Yeongi-Kongju area selected as site for new capital, to replace Seoul by 2030. (But!)

2004 September - South Korea admits that its scientists carried out an experiment to enrich uranium in 2000. In November the UN's nuclear watchdog rebukes Seoul but decides not to refer the matter to the Security Council.

2004 December - Row with Japan over fate of Japanese citizens kidnapped and trained as spies by North Korea in 70s, 80s. Tokyo says eight victims, said by Pyongyang to be dead, are alive.

Parliament votes to extend the deployment of South Korean troops in Iraq.

2005 February - Pyongyang says it has built nuclear weapons for self-defence.

2005 March - Anger as Japan restates its claim to a small group of islands whose sovereignty is disputed by Seoul and Tokyo. South Korea says the move seriously damages relations.

2005 June - Fugitive former head of Daewoo returns and is arrested for his role in the industrial giant's $70bn-plus collapse.

2005 July - Fourth round of six-nation talks on nuclear programme takes place in Beijing after a 13-month boycott by Pyongyang.

Source: BBC timelines for North and South Korea.

Turn your website into a plant

2005-10-17T11:21:00.000+09:00

Turn your website into a plant, via botanical girl.

Paul Robeson

2005-10-17T10:51:00.000+09:00

I know almost nothing about Paul Robeson so of course I was surprised to read that he had his son educated in Soviet Russia in order to avoid racial discrimination. I'd like to know more about the black experience in the USSR. Snowball, can you help?

Carnival of the feminists

2005-10-17T10:06:00.000+09:00

Send your nominations for carnival of the feminists to Natalie.

The cheondogyo religion

2005-10-17T09:21:00.000+09:00

The thirty three independence campaigners who gathered in Tapgol park on 1st March 1919 included Buddhist, Christian and Cheondogyo leaders. I had never heard of Cheondogyo until I stumbled across a temple near the shopping district of Insadong in Seoul.

Chondogyo preaches that there is God and that He resides in each of us -
not in Heaven as Christianity and other religions preach. It strives to convert
our earthly society into a paradise (Heaven) right here on Earth. It attempts to
transform the believers into intelligent moral beings with high social
consciousness. In this respect, it is humanistic socialism.

Cheondogyo, which means 'Heavenly way', originated in the nineteenth-century Donghak movement. If you're imagining a story of straightforward religious awakening then you're mistaken. Donghak emerged from a peasant liberation movement. There's a lot of information about it on wikipedia which I must admit I've only skimmed.

If you go to the Cheondogyo website you can find this slightly rickety English description of the religion. This section might be of interest to anti-evolutionists in America.

The Chondogyo God Hanulnim, as the foundation of all things, is an
ingenious mix of individualist non-conformism, being both transcendent and
innate. That is to say, Hanulnim, as the one absolute entity, is the leader of
creation who brings all things into being. But Hanulnim is also a God who
continuously operates through human beings to create anew and to help them
evolve so that they might achieve the purpose for which they were created. Thus
Hanulnim is the transcendent entity that created the myriad things of the Cosmos
while at the same time, being innate to all things of the universe, Hanulnim is
the limitless material form of the Cosmos, forever changing and creating it.
This work of creation and evolution is the utterly impartial, omniscient, and
omnipotent power that has created and directs all living things in Nature, and
the endless creation and evolution of all things in the Cosmos. Furthermore,
this creation and evolution is not artificially created but is, through change
without action(muwiihwa, 無爲而化), spontaneously created through the providence of Hanulnim. That is to say, it is a wholly autonomous creation and evolution and
not a heteronomous one.

Samil movement and the Gwangju massacre

2005-10-17T08:45:00.000+09:00

In Korean il means one and sam means three. The Samil (literally three one) movement took its name from the Korean independence protests of 1st March 1919. On that day at two in the afternoon thirty three campaigners met in Tapgol park in Seoul to read a declaration of independence. The crowds who gathered around them formed into a procession which was then crushed by Japanese police. The figures provided by wikipedia suggest that over seven and half thousand demonstrators were killed and more than sixteen thousand wounded. (source) If such a high mortality figure seems extraordinary it helps to remember the large numbers who took part in the protests over President Noh's impeachment in 2004. You can read more about that here and see a photo if you scroll down.

A large number of people were also killed in the Gwangju massacre. Following a coup on 12th December 1979 martial law was declared on 17th May to suppress student demonstrations. In Gwangju a demonstration by students escalated out of control when armed forces responded with violence.

By May 21, some 300,000 people had joined the protest against the General's power; weapons depots and police stations were looted of their weapons and the civil militias, the Citizen Army, beat back the armed forces. With all routes leading in and out of the city blocked by armed forces, the city effectively became a commune, and
a civilian body was formed to maintain order and conduct negotiations with the
government. Although order was well maintained, a number of negotiations to
resolve the situation made no results. On May 27, airborne and army troops
from five divisions were inserted and defeated the civil militias in the downtown area in only 90 minutes. Up to this day, a total of 20,000 soldiers were located to
Gwangju, where the population was approximately 740,000. Source

To this day the death toll is disputed and it has been suggested that between two hundred to two thousand people were killed. You can read a little bit more on this socialist website.

Natural History Museum website

2005-10-17T00:13:00.000+09:00

If you're feeling particularly bored you might enjoy twirling this ammonite around. Or you could make the Martians dizzy by turning their planet in the wrong direction. You can find out more about Mars here.

Around Tapgol park

2005-10-16T23:06:00.000+09:00

This afternoon I spent 20 minutes in Tapgol park (previously called Pagoda park). It's small but worth a look if you happen to be in central Seoul. When Korea was colonised by Japan the park saw the birth of the March 1st Independence movement. If you want to learn more you should take a few moments to read about teenage independence fighter Yu Kwan Soon (Ryu Gwan Sun). If you visit the park you can see friezes commemorating the protest as well as two Buddhist monuments dating from the 15th century. You can read the account of another blogger's visit here.

If you are in the area you can also visit:

Insadong (Quite a nice shopping district. It's described as traditional by tourist information but it's really quite modern and I don't understand why people rave about it. Shops sell souvenirs ranging from good quality to absolute tat)
Yeung Poong bookstore (Good selection of English and Japanese language books. More books about Korea than the nearby Kyobo bookstore. Food court. Paper etc..)
Cheonggyecheon stream (Just round the corner from Gwanghwamun subway station and the Kyobo bookstore. Recently renovated stream. Very popular at night with local people. If the city council play their cards right this area could become Seoul's equivalent of London's Covent Garden. I'll say that even if the Lost Nomad is not impressed with it.)

Astrobiology

2005-10-15T22:47:00.000+09:00

I am currently looking through Nasa's Astrobiology magazine.

Astrobiology rests upon a remarkable confluence of science, technology, and popular culture. This historical juncture invites collaborative and indeed synergistic action on the part of scientists from virtually all disciplines and on the part of the public. Through astrobiology we learn about the boundary conditions surrounding our own existence. Discovering how life begins and develops, finding out whether life exists elsewhere, and determining our future on Earth and beyond will have a profound and fundamental effect on the human species. Astrobiology affects our views of the universe, our science, our culture, and ourselves–in short, every aspect of our existence.

Dust. . .

2005-10-15T15:25:00.000+09:00

. . . in the Andromeda galaxy.

And now for a bit of popular theology

2005-10-15T13:18:00.000+09:00

Complicated things, angels.

The Moa: the world's tallest bird

2005-10-15T09:05:00.000+09:00

I would like to blog about science as easily as I do about history but I'm a little shy. The problem is that I don't know anything. I feel stupid. Whenever I post a scientific fact anyone with even an atom of knowledge will be saying 'Duh, we all knew that. Where were you?' Never mind, you will have to bear with me.

I've been listening to In Our Time quite a lot this week and I have particularly enjoyed hearing about the weird creatures that lived in other periods. I've heard about marsupial sabre tooth tigers, rolled up carpets with teeth and other species of human. Back in England I enjoyed those BBC series like Sea Monsters and Walking with Dinosaurs. My enjoyment was always rather spoilt by a geneticist who used to rail about what bad science these shows were. I don't know anything about the quality of popular science on tv. Their history equivalents can be a bit superficial but there's nothing to rail against.

If you're interested in strange creatures you might like this video talk about the Moa, the world's tallest bird. I've never seen a video on a museum website before and I think it's a fantastic idea. The talk is also a fascinating insight into Victorian natural history studies.

Hamster babies

2005-10-15T08:44:00.000+09:00

Last night I was thinking that when my two hamsters die I wouldn't get anymore unless they had a tank the size of a small car. Hamsters, gerbils and, I expect, other small rodents, spend a lot of time trying to escape. I think that should tell us something. I forgot about them until it was time for bed and I dropped some seeds into the tank. I noticed that the male was nosing an unusually large pink object.

Oh sh*t!

It's a hamster baby!

We covered the tank with a Ginseng gift set packet and I went to bed worrying that the baby would get eaten. I've heard that hamsters do that sometimes. I also wasn't very pleased with myself because the tank needed cleaning and now I can't touch it for two weeks.

This morning I gingerly peeped in and there was the 'male' hamster running around with what looked like two babies coming out of her bottom.

Oh no! Labour problems! What shall I do?

Then I saw a third and realised that they were suckling milk. It seems very careless of her to run around like that but quite impressive that the babies manage to hold on. I just hope she doesn't go on the wheel with them.

Will someone tell the cat to walk round my laptop and not over the keyboard.

More on the hobbit

2005-10-15T00:02:00.000+09:00

I'd be intrigued to know just how weird a species of human can get.

"So we've got the prospect of having other new species of human on various parts of island South-East Asia. Some of them could be really weird, having adapted to specific island environments." BBC

Meet a female thatcher

2005-10-14T18:43:00.000+09:00

Meet a female thatcher. Did you know that some English thatches still have medieval straw on them?

Cenozoic

2005-10-14T13:01:00.000+09:00

This programme is worth listening to just for the marsupial sabre toothed tigers.

The Cenozoic Era of Earth's history began 65 million years ago and runs to
this day. It began with the extraordinary 'KT event', a supposed asteroid impact
that destroyed the dinosaurs, and incorporates the break up of Pangaea, the
enormous landmass that eventually formed the continents we know today. It is
known as the 'Age of the Mammals', and it is the period in which warm-blooded,
lactating, often furry animals diversified rapidly and spread across the globe
on land and in the sea.

On the science blogs today (even a bit of history)

2005-10-14T10:09:00.000+09:00

John Hawks finds an article about 4000 year old noodles and continues to discuss the hobbit. Was the hobbit just a microcephalic human?

I particularly enjoyed Razib's question: "What kind of adult spends 70-80 hours breeding flies, running simulations and deriving proofs rather than spending time with their families, watching sports or going to church?" Every researcher can replay that sentence by replacing the science words with those appropriate to their own disciplines. The question popped up in a long and interesting discussion about science. I found it easier to understand than Foucault but I still can't summarise it.

Kerim brings news of the expulsion of the bushmen of the Kalahari after tens of thousands of years of habitation.

Mark thanks his parents for being so supportive of his career as a physicist and says some things about mums and dads that are relevant to all academics.

Sylvia Pankhurst

2005-10-13T10:21:00.000+09:00

Sylvia Pankhurst: suffragette, socialist, internationalist and African campaigner. (I didn't know that did you?) Listen here.

Asian history carnival

2005-10-13T10:04:00.000+09:00

Great blog posts and a very pretty map. Here.

How to find more history blogs

2005-10-13T09:02:00.000+09:00

I am completely lacking in blogging inspiration this morning. It's obviously just one of those weeks. So I thought I'd see what everyone else is writing about by searching for history on technorati.

The first blog I came across was Rua da Judiaria by Portuguese writer and historian Nuno Guerreiro. (If you go to the bottom of each post you can find an English translation.) I've never seen his blog before although it's often mentioned on Rhine River. Among many other things Nuno writes about Portuguese and American Jewish history. I particularly like this photo. (I've only just noticed that they're not sunglasses on Nuno's head. It's funny how our minds fill in the blanks with the expected isn't it?)

I also found an Italian blog called Kattoliko Pensiero. If you want to translate any of the posts you'll have to run it through google. I'm not sure why this one was listed under history as it consists entirely of conservative Catholic posts. This article is 'interesting', saying that Catholics are discriminated against in Bosnia by Nato and the EU. I don't know whether they are or not but I feel very uneasy about the inflammatory tone of the language in this post. I hope I'm not doing the wrong thing by linking to it. If you want to read more about Vinko Puljic, the cardinal of Sarajevo, there are some more articles here. You can see a brief wikipedia history of the recent war in Bosnia here. This site contains a number of more detailed links although some are now missing. This text provides a helpful outline of the causes of the break up of Yugoslavia.

I also found Miss Mabrouk of Egypt. I'm not sure why she's listed under history either. She certainly writes a good blog and I found this post particularly amusing.

Ah at last, a normal looking history blog. Ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce you to Steve's Famous On This Day in history blog. It is rather good.

Your daily dose of heebie jeebies

2005-10-12T15:27:00.000+09:00

I'm listening to Abduction, Alienation and Reason. You can find it on the top of the listen again list here under A and read more here.

Sue Nelson tells the story of John E Mack, an eminent Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University who was also passionately interested in the phenomenon of alien abduction.

Science News from the BBC

2005-10-12T14:43:00.000+09:00

There will be as many as 50 million environmental refugees in the world in five years' time. That is the conclusion of experts at the United Nations University, who say that a new definition of "environmental refugee" is urgently needed. More. .

The Velociraptor dinosaur made famous by the Hollywood movie Jurassic Park may not have been quite the super-efficient killer we all thought. More. .

China's second manned space mission is just the latest stage in what is becoming an increasingly ambitious project that may one day see a Chinese astronaut on the moon. More. .

World civilisations

2005-10-12T13:02:00.000+09:00

I've just been browsing through one of the sites linked to The Best of History Websites. Washington University has set up a series of internet 'classrooms' for undergraduates studying world civilisations. The texts are written for readers who already have a background knowledge of the events and ideas discussed. There is a heck of a lot on this site and I haven't yet been able to find a comprehensive index. This page gives quite a few details but I don't think it encompasses everything. Modules include ancient Egypt, the Bhagavad Gita, Islam and the Chinese Empire. The site also includes resources like image galleries and primary texts.

We are all here thanks to science

2005-10-12T12:19:00.000+09:00

I have just returned from the hospital where I have had a great big lump of green plaster removed from my leg. As I wobbled my way home (if you've never broken a bone you won't believe how weak my muscles feel) I had a bright idea. I should blog about science as well as history! In a roundabout way it's all part of the same field of knowledge. I have just been stealing links from Pharyngula's blogroll for the new science section in my sidebar. My favourite so far is Squidblog (well everyone loves squid don't they?) If you're interested in Homo floresiensis (remember the Hobbit?) John Hawks is going to be writing about the findings in his next blog post. There's also more here on the fantastically well written The Loom . Finally over on Savage Minds there is an interesting post about what we can or can not call science.I quote:

The problem is that to accept all belief systems about the natural world as science makes nonsense of the term science. Whether it is intelligent design or aboriginal knowledge, these forms of knowledge are important to those who embrace them, but why do we need to label them as being “scientific” as well? It is true that many things aborigines know through their traditional forms of knowledge have, in fact, been proven to coincide with scientific knowledge as well. But some have not. This alone shows that traditional forms of knowledge can never be coterminous with science.

On a completely unrelated note I discovered this eighteenth-century cooking blog yesterday.

Diary of a Lady of Quality

2005-10-11T21:30:00.000+09:00

I should also point out that the nineteenth-century diary of Miss Frances Williams Wynn is being posted here. If you feel like getting the heebie jeebies read this entry.

Eighteenth-century diaries

2005-10-11T20:58:00.000+09:00

Whilst browsing through the links on Early Modern Resources I came across the 1798-99 journal of a Royal Navy seaman in the Caribbean. Old diaries are always fascinating and this one is no exception. Consider this paragraph:

All Northen Physical* men say, that water, & water & Malt Liquiors, is
the best beverage for Youth. Our Doctor Fothergill when he was very young, and
just begun practize, recommended to his Patients Brandy & water, or Gin with
water or Rum. But this great man, when lying on his death bed, said he was very
sorry for his conduct in that particular, and considered it as the very worse
thing, he had done in all his practize; as by his own observation he had learned
unintentionally, many of his patients to be confirmed Drunkards.

I will definitely make time to read the whole journal more carefully in future. By just glancing through it I can see that there's a lot of material for historians of racial attitudes in the West Indies.

Early Modern Resources also links to the diary of Martha Ballard, an eighteenth-century Massachusetts midwife. You can read it both in her handwriting and in a typed transcription. Specific themes and events in the diary are grouped together so that you don't have to read the whole text to follow the story. This page is devoted to entries about the Purrington murders.

Clear and warm. my Husband & I were awake at 3h ys morn by mrss Heartwel and
Gillbard who brot us ye horrible tydings that Capt Purington had murdered all
his famely Except his Son James who must have Shared the Same fate had he not
been So fortunate as to make his Escape after an attempt was made to take his
life. he was wounded with an ax, he fled in his Shirt only and alarmd mr Wiman
of ye horrid Scein, who immediately ran to Son Jonas. they two went to hous
where the horrid Scein was perpetrated. my Son went in and found a Candle which
he lit and to his great Surprise Said Purington, his wife & Six Childn
Corpss and Martha, he perceived had life remaining, who was removd to his house.
Surgical aid was immediately Calld and Shee remains alive as yet. my husband
went and returnd before Sun rise, when after takeing a little food he and I went
on to the hous, there to behold ye most Shocking Scein thal was Ever Seen in
this part of ye world. may an infinitely good God grant that we may all take a
sutable notis of this horrid deed, tearn wisdom there from.

It's sometimes too easy to treat centuries old murders like some kind of historical entertainment. However I think you'll agree that Martha's words press through the reality that this was a horrible thing that happened to real people and not something that we should feel entertained by.

*Physician

Another piece of the medieval jigsaw

2005-10-11T15:00:00.000+09:00

Lynx died out in England 2,500 years later than previously thought. BBC

History blogging

2005-10-11T11:16:00.000+09:00

I have got just enough of a sore throat to squash my historical curiosity and there are very noisy builders in the flat just above me. So instead of discovering something new for myself I thought I'd have a look at the latest offerings from the other history bloggers who are linked to Cliopatria and Sharon's blog. There are many different kinds of history blogs. Some are general interest like mine whilst others focus on particular periods or issues. They also vary in tone from cosy chat over a cup of tea to high academic terminology. I hope that you will find one that inspires you to set up a history blog of your own.

In this post Kristine from Earmarks in Early Modern Culture explains why she recently started history blogging. She refers to Ivan Tribble who has been saying that blogging may not be a good idea for young academics who are looking for jobs. Blogging is very popular in the academic world, particularly among postgraduate students and people who have just started climbing up the career ladder. Kristine herself is a PhD student in the Netherlands, across the water in London Masters student Rob has been writing Detrimental Postulation, and veteran blogger Konrad (a Harvard PhD student) has been writing about East Asian history for years. Many young academics strongly believe that blogging is a powerful new tool for information exchange. There is one problem though. Academic careers depend on new research and having it tied to your name rather than claimed by somebody else. This makes many young academics very wary about putting their original research online before it has been published in paper journals. How much of an issue this is depends on the blogger's academic subject area. Some academic work is based around the interpretation of known information and theories. For these researchers blogs are an excellent sounding board for the development of their ideas. Other academics, particularly some historians, work in the archives for months and even years to find hard facts. They very wisely do not share those facts online before they have been able to do what they can with them in their own work. (I'm sorry if my syntax seems to be a bit clumsy here. The builders upstairs are distracting to say the least.)

There is a strong feeling among academic bloggers in North America that their knowledge equips them to comment on contemporary affairs. This is in the tradition of the public intellectual. It's very different in Britain where we tend to laugh hysterically at any academic who sticks his or her head above the parapet. These academic and post-academic bloggers all discuss contemporary events at least sometimes. They're not all North American either.

Now I have drifted away from my original intention which was to highlight recent history postings. I could be lazy and just refer you to Carnivalesque and the History Carnival, which both gather posts on a regular basis. However I have focused too much on academic bloggers and I wouldn't want you to think that they are the only ones who post about history. Natalie is a journalist, David (who I think writes for tv) often posts on historical subjects, this David is an art dealer and collector, Melinama is a musician and Flea (who doesn't write about history very often) sells sex toys. I don't know what Snowball does. It'd be interesting to draw up a list of history bloggers outside academia. I don't know whether it would be seen as divisive, creating a them and us mentality, or if it would be a kind of encouragement. The academic blogosphere is accessible to everybody but it does sometimes focus on specifically academic issues (like Ivan Tribble, how to get funding, how to publish, student plagiarism, the latest academic to disgrace him or herself etc. .) It'd be nice to read about people fitting in historical interests around their jobs in banking, SAHMing etc..I suspect there is already a network of non-academic history blogs out there. Most things seem to be catered for on the blogosphere, it's just a question of finding them.

Well here ends my rambling post. You'll be pleased to hear that the builders have stopped drilling (for now). Oh no, they've started again.

Edited to add:
Via Cliopatria: two more articles on whether blogging damages academic careers.

30,000 killed, 50,000 injured, more than 2.5 million need shelter

2005-10-10T09:33:00.000+09:00

"We lost everything we had in just one minute. My shop is done. My house is gone and now we have to wait here without anything," said Mohammed Habib, who was with his five children, sitting on a road above the Jhelum river. Guardian

What compounded the tragedy in Bagh was the number of children and teenagers who perished. At least six educational institutions were destroyed, causing about 2,000 deaths. Mohammed Yousuf, 60, a retired headmaster, sobbed beside the body of his 21-year-old nephew, retrieved from the wreckage of a college. Mohammed Saghir had been sitting an examination when the building collapsed, leaving more than 1,000 students buried inside. Times

Disasters Emergency Committee
International Red Cross/Red Crescent
Oxfam

African Native Americans

2005-10-08T17:12:00.000+09:00

Native Americans in Oklahoma kept black slaves until 1866. After they had gained their freedom they were accepted as full members of the tribe. An error of judgement by the white clerks who registered tribe membership a century ago now means that African Americans with Native American blood are fighting for official recognition of their heritage. Read more here.

(By coincidence this exhibition has the same title as my blog)

In Our Time

2005-10-08T15:01:00.000+09:00

This afternoon I'm listening to archived programmes from In Our Time. I started with this excellent exploration of the Cambrian explosion. If you like imagining what sort of weird creatures live on other planets then you'll enjoy this discussion of life on Earth 550 million years ago. I'm now half way through this programme about alchemists.

National biography in Trafalgar square

2005-10-08T09:15:00.000+09:00

If you have access to the Oxford DNB have you used the theme biography section? It lists groups of individuals and gives the background to the history that unites them. They range from the members of the amateur athletics association to women members of the British parliament.

One article discusses the men and woman who are depicted in statue form in Trafalgar square. Of course as we all know the man on the column in the middle is Horatio Nelson. The other people are: Sir Charles James Napier, Sir Henry Havelock, King George IV, John Jellicoe, Admiral Sir David Beatty, Andrew Cunningham, Edith Cavell and King Charles I.

Critics have argued that Trafalgar square no longer represents what Britain is today. There's just one woman, and everyone else is white, privileged and a member of the establishment. Napier is sometimes known as the conqueror of Sind. Havelock helped to put down the Indian mutiny. Nelson, Jellicoe, Beatty and Cunningham were admirals. Charles and George were kings. The only politically correct person there is first world war nurse Edith Cavell, who has recently been joined by a sculpture of the naked and pregnant artist Alison Lapper. To those who are ashamed of Britain's imperial past the square is an embarrassment.

Trafalgar square is what Britain thought it was before it became a more inclusive society. Removing any of those statues would be rewriting history. I think as well we should not detract from the achievements of the individuals depicted there. They all did important things. What we need is to balance it out with statues of other British heroes. Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole and Jack Straw (the leader of the peasant's revolt) come to mind. I'd also like to see a sculpture depicting sixteenth-century Catholic and Protestant martyrs. Even something representing the factory workers of the Industrial Revolution would be good.

I think it'd be a mistake to start adding contemporary figures. We don't need Diana or Bob Geldof or whoever some people might have in mind. It would spoil the feel of the square and it's not necessary because there are so many figures from earlier centuries who deserve depiction.

Blasts of air

2005-10-07T13:20:00.000+09:00

There's a comedy quiz show on Korean tv where celebrity contestants are blasted with air coming up from their desks. It always happens when one of them has to sit in a tank waiting for things to be dropped on them. A button is pressed and then either the hapless person in the tank gets it or the others have thirty seconds of blasting. I rather like that latter because Koreans spend a lot of time and money on hair care. Some people in Britain imagine that Koreans are either very staid and serious or do perverse things on game shows like putting live frogs in their pants. I have to tell you that it's not like that at all. The Korean comedy scene is very strong and ultra-hip. It is far more physical than British comedy but to western eyes doesn't seem at all strange. A lot of Korean shows remind me of programmes you see on Italian tv (apart from the semi-clad beauties thank god). Like the Italians they're very big on group participation and getting the whole family involved.

Anyway, that isn't the point I wanted to make with this post. I've just been reading a blog that makes me feel as if I've had air blasted in my face. (That's a compliment by the way.) I would like to introduce you to Adventures in Historical Materialism. I haven't given much thought to the forthcoming Trafalgar celebrations but Snowball has. It's refreshing to find a British history blogger with strong opinions because the majority seem to be North American.

Queen Min - links

2005-10-07T09:15:00.000+09:00

Queen Min was the most powerful woman in nineteenth-century Korea. She was very anti-Japanese and hoped to use an alliance with Russia against them. She was murdered by the Japanese in 1895.

Links
Japanese documents shed new light on Korean Queen's murder (plus related articles in sidebar)
Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power
Korea Times article

Korea was occupied by Japan from 1910 to 1945. Before this the Japanese had a long history of interference in the peninsula. Anti-Japanese feeling is an important part of North Korean nationalism and much history teaching in South Korea is also directed against them. The Japanese behaved very badly in Korea so this is hardly surprising.

History teaching in Asia is fraught with difficulties when it comes to Japan's relations with China and Korea. A common complaint is that Japan refuses to recognise the extent of its historical atrocities. I have spoken to Koreans who are bitterly upset about this. I have also spoken to ordinary Japanese people who can't understand what the problem is. As an inexperienced outsider I can't comment on the issue. It does remind me however of my own history education. I went to secondary school in Britain in the early 1990s, and in my history lessons I learnt very little about British interference in Ireland. When I first met Irish teenagers at university I was taken aback by the strength of their feelings and I realised that there was a lot I hadn't been told.

The Kharnak

2005-10-06T14:47:00.000+09:00

I'm in a Radio 4 linking frenzy this morning. I've just been listening to the 2005 Journey of a lifetime. You can hear it here. The other day I wrote about the challenges that face people who want a career in history. It's a very competitive market and at times getting that position in a museum or university (or wherever) can become an all consuming ambition. I find that thinking about people who live in radically different cultures helps me to keep a sense of perspective. In the programme photographer Chris Brown goes to meet a nomadic Himalyan people called the Kharnak. I can't believe that the jobs I look at mean anything to them at all. When we look at other cultures we see the common bonds that make us human and are the really important things in life. All the other stuff is paraphernalia.

Shakespeare

2005-10-06T14:10:00.000+09:00

Why do some people find it so hard to believe that Shakespeare was Shakespeare? Honestly I despair sometimes. Read here to find out about another contender for the title of the real Shakespeare.

Arthur C.Clarke

2005-10-06T13:39:00.000+09:00

If you are interested in science fiction you'll like The Science and the Fiction, an interview with Arthur C. Clarke. You can find it under Wednesday in the listen again column on the right side of this page.

Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton

2005-10-06T11:47:00.000+09:00

Over in the US the second monday in October is Columbus day. According to Wikipedia this celebration of Christopher Columbus was first held in New York on 12th October 1792. It was organised by the Tammany society, who were founded in 1786 'as a patriotic fraternal organization whose primary activities were social, with an initial movement within the society to improve the image of Native Americans.' (source)

Aaron Burr led this group from 1797 and was vice president under Thomas Jefferson. He seems to be better remembered however for his duel with his political rival Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was a very important figure in the early history of the United States. During his time as secretary of the treasury he had a significant impact on the country's development. He proposed the establishment of a precursor to the Coast Guard, contributed to the foundation of the Navy, ended a period of bankruptcy by placing the economy on a sound footing and developed the First Bank of the United States. You can read more about his work here.

Hamilton is also remembered for the Maria Reynolds affair. Maria, the wife of an abusive con man James Reynolds, first approached Hamilton in Philadelphia in 1791 asking for help. She said that her husband had abandoned her and that she needed money to go to New York with her daughter. Hamilton delivered the money in person and the two began an illicit affair. When her husband found out he blackmailed Hamilton, who paid him over several years to be allowed to continue sleeping with Maria. At the same time Reynolds became embroiled in a speculation scheme and implicated Hamilton, knowing that the politician would rather reveal his affair than admit to involvement in the scheme.

Hamilton admitted everything to a congressional enquiry, even showing them his love letters. He was cleared of involvement in the speculation but news of his affair with Maria was passed onto his rival Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson used this knowledge to spread rumours about Hamilton's private life. The scandal damaged Hamilton's reputation and probably cost him the presidency in 1800. Maria Reynolds divorced her husband shortly afterwards and ironically her attorney was Aaron Burr. (Source)

Burr and Hamilton fell out after the latter made remarks about Burr during a private conversation. A newspaper picked up the story and Burr demanded an apology. Hamilton said that he could not remember the incident the newspaper described and an exchange of letters followed. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel on 11th July 1804. Hamilton fired away from his opponent but Burr shot him in the abdomen. A letter Hamilton wrote the night before the duel suggests that he deliberately missed Burr. "I have resolved, if our interview is conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire." He died the following day and was buried in Manhattan. (Source)

Burr was charged with murder in New York and New Jersey but he never stood trial for it. Instead he fled to his daughter's family in South Carolina. He was able to complete his term as Vice President in Washington D.C. and left office in 1805. He then became involved in an incredible conspiracy. You can read all about it here as I've been slouched over my laptop all morning and my shoulders are hurting.

Bill of rights causes headache for Sunderland council

2005-10-05T15:06:00.000+09:00

The council's ability to issue parking fines is being challenged as contrary to legislation passed in the late seventeenth century. Listen here. (Can you spot the historical mistakes made by one of the speakers?)

Dr Benjamin Church

2005-10-05T10:13:00.000+09:00

Dr Benjamin Church found himself in a rather awkward position during the American revolution. He had strong connections with people who supported British rule and with those who wanted American independence. He was an active polemicist for the supporters of independence but was imprisoned for sending information to the British. Was he really a traitor to the American cause or could it have been a double bluff? Tara Dirst and Allan Kulikoff explore Church's story in this article, which also introduces a new resource for historians of the revolution.

Rough notes on Korean history

2005-10-05T09:39:00.000+09:00

The Choson dynasty ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. It replaced the Koryô dynasty of 918-1392. In the Koryô period Buddhism was supported by the royal court. Buddhism had a major impact on the production of art and many new temples were built. The early Choson monarchs distanced themselves from their predecessors by supporting Confucianism.

The Choson monarchs established a new governing elite, the yangban. The yangban remained important throughout this long period.

The term yangban refers to members of the "two orders" of civil or military officialdom. Whether his post was civil or military (the former was considered more prestigious than the latter), a yangban was, essentially, a literati. The yangban was expected to hold public office, follow the Confucian doctrine through study and self-cultivation, and help cultivate the moral standards of Chosôn society. As an elite class, the yangban enjoyed many privileges and actively sought to preserve the purity and exclusivity of their group—for instance, through marriage only among members of the yangban class. It was not a monolithic group, however. There were numerous internal distinctions, and the yangban strove to maintain a hierarchical order among themselves. Source

A wealth of information on Korean history can be found on the various pages of this timeline.

Early modern ghosts

2005-10-04T23:31:00.000+09:00

A nice post from Sharon about avenging ghosts.

British Hindu history on Radio 4

2005-10-04T13:20:00.000+09:00

Krishnan Guru-Murthy follows the personal stories of three generations of British Hindus to find out how their faith has shaped their identity, the way they live, and the cultural landscape of Britain. Here.

Bound feet

2005-10-04T12:57:00.000+09:00

Listen here for an interview with one of the last generation of Chinese women to have bound feet.

Ruby Bridges

2005-10-04T11:36:00.000+09:00

In 1954 the US supreme court ordered the end of racially segregated education. Before then white and black children were educated in separate schools. In 1960 five year old Ruby Bridges was chosen to be one of the first four black girls to attend a previously all white school in New Orleans.

On her first day at school she had to be escorted by federal marshalls because there was a crowd of angry white parents at the door. (The bigotry is unbelievable.)

Charles Burks, one of the U.S. Marshals who escorted Ruby Bridges and her mother into the school building, remembers the little girl who became a hero. "She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn't whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier. And we're all very proud of her."

In an act of protest the white parents kept their children out of school for most of the year and Ruby was educated alone. Ruby's father also lost his job and her grandparents their place as tenant farmers. By the start of the next year Ruby's school was fully integrated and she is now remembered in America as a hero. You can read more about her here.

Korea's first period of unification

2005-10-04T08:35:00.000+09:00

If you had asked me to guess whether Silla, Baekje or Gogureyo united the Korean peninsula by the end of seventh century I would have said Gogureyo. It was by far the biggest of the three kingdoms. It may surprise you to know that it was actually the significantly smaller Silla. With the aid of the Chinese, Silla conquered first the Gaya federation of chiefdoms in 562, then Baekje in 660 and Gogureyo in 668. I haven't read much about Korea's relations with China over the centuries but I know they have often been allies. During the Silla period trading and diplomatic ties with China were particularly strong.

Confucianism has played a strong role in the shaping of Korean culture and identity. However under the unified Silla dynasty Buddhism was the official state religion. The strong association between Buddhism and the state can be seen in the building of temples and icons paid for by the royal family. Archaeological evidence has also shown that until at least as late as the sixth century rulers attempted to bolster their reputations by associating themselves with Shamanism. (Shamanism is indigenous to Korea and is still going strong today. A friend of mine recently opened a new shop. In the first week she caught a heavy cold and had her purse stolen. She put it down to forgetting to burn money at the river so rushed off to do it at the first available opportunity.) Queen Seondeok was reputed to have the shamanistic ability to see into the future.

I've taken this account from an internet source which I'm not going to reveal just yet because I can still get posts from it. I don't want you reading ahead of me now. ; -) On a completely unrelated note there are ninety-four academic positions available here. I just thought I'd point it out.

The Pyongyang Metro

2005-10-03T14:01:00.000+09:00

Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea. This fascinating site is dedicated to its metro system. Make sure you take a look at the photographs of communist art on the station platforms. This kind of art is called Socialist Realism and can be found in present and former communist countries across the world. The style idealises the communist way of life. Typical paintings depict happy factory labourers, smiling farmers and rosy cheeked children- all working hard for the good of the state.

Links
Chinese propaganda posters
Soviet Union
Wikipedia article

Beag air Bheag

2005-10-03T12:46:00.000+09:00

Gaelic is the native language of Scotland. It is currently spoken by less than 60, 000 people but it is becoming more popular. There are now calls to put the Gaelic word for Scotland - Alba - on the country's football strip. You can read about that here. (I think Alba is such a lovely sounding word I'd be quite happy if they renamed the whole country.)

You can learn more than a little Gaelic on this BBC site. (click on the song book for Gaelic songs)

Hagia Sofia

2005-10-02T18:17:00.000+09:00

I am now on the way to being owned by a slightly mixed one year old Turkish Angora cat. She was called Hannah but we have renamed her Sofia after the church/mosque of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. This building is nearly fifteen hundred years old and is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. It has served as a Greek Orthodox and Catholic church, becoming an Islamic mosque in the fifteenth century and a museum in 1934. I visited once about ten years ago but I am afraid to say I remember the stray cats outside far better than the ancient mosaics inside. It is supplanted in my memory by the basilica of San Marco in Venice, which is also a great example of Byzantine architecture.

The man who planted trees

2005-10-02T17:47:00.000+09:00

In the comments box Tony drew my attention to Jean Giono. I wondered who he was and now I know. You can read The Man Who Planted Trees here. It's a heart warming story that makes me feel good about absolutely everything. I suggest you read it asap.

There is some debate over whether it is fact or fiction. A lot of the sites I've glanced at say that it's fiction. This passage may say that the story is true but seems to conclude that it's not. I'm not sure because I'm not very good at French. Can you tell me what it says?

Elzéard Bouffier a-t-il vraiment existé? On voudrait le croire. Et si c'étaient les
naïfs qui, dans ce cas, avaient raison? En décembre 1982 le magazine Harrowsmith
publiait, sous la signature de Jean Giono, le texte intégral dit par Philippe Noiret dans le film de Back. De nombreux lecteurs en ont conclu que ce personnage avait bel et bien existé, ce qui les a incités davantage à reboiser leur environnement. Une Québécoise, Madame Beverley von Baeyer, s'est même rendue dans le village perdu de Banon, pour y fleurir la tombe d'Elzéard qui, selon Giono, y avait été enterré en 1947. Deux ans plus tard elle racontait son pèlerinage dans Harrowsmith. C'est à la mairie de Banon, après une longue course en taxi vers ce lieu perdu, qu'elle apprit que Giono était un romancier plus connu dans la région qu'Elzéard Bouffier. Elle ne fut pas trop désenchantée: Elzéard Bouffier, avoua-t-elle, rejoignait mes héros:
Robin Hood, Hereward the Wake... Giono avait, sans le savoir, réussi un canulard
international; d'autres Pèlerins étaient venus, d'Allemagne notamment.

Queen Seondeok of Silla

2005-10-02T17:30:00.000+09:00

It's not easy to find English language information about Seondeok online. She ruled Silla from 632 to 647, inheriting the throne from her father because he had no sons. She was renowned for her sharp intelligence, which she certainly needed because her reign saw rebellions and war with Baekje. Seondeok sent scholars to China and presided over the building of Buddhist temples. This site suggests why women were able to rule in Silla at that time.

Korea- once three kingdoms

2005-10-02T16:29:00.000+09:00

After the war of 1950-1953 Korea was divided into two countries. Today the north is a closed communist state and the south a capitalist democracy. It's not the first time that this land has been under different governments. Korea was once three separate kingdoms. These were Silla, Baekje and Gogureyo. The three kingdoms period lasted from the first century BCE to the mid-seventh century.

Gogureyo was by far the largest of the kingdoms and covered all of present day North Korea, some of modern China and extended below Seoul. In comparison the southern kingdoms of Silla and Baekje were tiny. You can see where they were on this map. You'll note a smaller confederacy of chiefdoms called Kaya or Gaya. I have not yet been able to find out exactly how long it existed for but you can get an idea of the chronology here. In the coming weeks I'll be blogging more about Korean history.

Autumn

2005-10-01T13:31:00.000+09:00

You know it's autumn in Seoul when middle aged men climb the trees on city streets to pick the nuts off them. I don't think anyone back in Britain would even think to do that. It suggests to me that until relatively recently most Koreans came from a rural background.

Fascinated by recent history?

2005-10-01T10:23:00.000+09:00

If you want to find out more about any historic event between June 2003 and the present day visit the Today archive.

Also on Radio 4 you can hear the story of this young Cornish family tragically caught up in the Mexican revolution.

Today's antiques, yesterday's souvenirs

2005-10-01T08:43:00.000+09:00

Every artefact tells a story. Just look at this handkerchief produced in 1707. It is printed with a text that describes five British victories in the war of the Spanish succession. It is never possible to know the exact motives of individual consumers. It is likely that many bought the handkerchief because its triumphal message allowed them to show their support for the war. The war was ended by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. This bronze medal was made to celebrate this event. It was technically possible to manufacture this medal in large numbers. This suggests that it was sold in shops and could be bought by members of the public.

These two examples show how some of today's antiques were once highly topical objects. Just as you and I would buy mementos of Royal weddings and other events, the people of the early modern period also bought souvenirs when something exciting happened. When Charles II married his Portuguese bride in 1662 a large number of lockets were made. On this silver heart shaped locket you can see Charles' head on one side and Catherine of Braganza's on the other.

A pub near my family home is decorated with porcelain figurines. On the windowsill in the snug stands a nineteenth-century three-figure group representing (if memory serves) Turkey, France and America. My father looked at it and said 'Oh yes that was produced to commemorate the treaty of XXXXX.' (I can't remember what he said.) The point I'm making is that we are surrounded by yesterday's souvenirs. It's worth looking around you to see what's in your neighbourhood.

Trafalgar

2005-10-01T08:31:00.000+09:00

The 21st October will be the two hundredth anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. Andrew Lambert writes:

During the engagement at Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, the Royal Navy annihilated the greatest threat to British security for 200 years, but lost Britain's national hero in the process. Little wonder the battle transcended the mundane calculation of ships and men, victory and defeat. It guaranteed Britain's control of the oceans, the basis of her global power for over a century.

The BBC has set up a related series of articles, timelines and interactive activities here. Nick Slope's piece explores the activities of women in the navy of that time.

The Knight of the Burning Pestle

2005-10-01T08:22:00.000+09:00

If you are in London (I am not) you might want to see this Jacobean play at the Barbican.

The rest of us can take consolation in this excellent adaptation of The Professor by Charlotte Brontë.

It's a bouncing baby boy

2005-09-30T22:07:00.000+09:00

For my new nephew Zachary George -------- born this morning in London.

Careers in history

2005-09-30T20:15:00.000+09:00

Careers in history are hard to come by. Anyone who wants to work in museums, auction houses, schools or universities faces very tough competition. Why? I suppose because everyone loves history. I did a PhD in history and when I realised that very few PhDs ever have academic careers I was absolutely devastated. I have since discovered that many students who train to be lawyers and teachers also fail to find jobs in their chosen areas. It's a tough world out there.

When you're trying to enter a profession with such a low success rate it takes a lot of courage to imagine that you will be one of the people who get through. It's far easier to believe that you will fail. In reality it's not what you do as a student, it's how you behave when you're qualified. If you want to work in a competitive area like museums or universities it's best to take it for granted that it will probably take you a long time to get the job you want. You should also bear in mind that it may never happen. However, don't let that put you off once you have started down that path. You must remember that it's a common problem in careers as diverse as journalism and medicine. Basically if you leave off following history after having trained as a teacher or academic or museum curator, you will still face the same problems in many second choice careers.

Everyone reaches a point where they have to stop following the dream. You can't wait for that job forever because you need to pay the mortgage and support your family. Don't feel too hard done by even if you've given it your best shot. Very few people have their dream job. When that day comes just think that historians are luckier than most. We do not need to be paid for what we do.

Finale- American history week- Mary Fisher c.1623-98

2005-09-30T09:47:00.000+09:00

Mary Fisher became a Quaker whilst working as a servant in Selby. In 1652 she was imprisoned in York castle for sixteen months after going up to a minister at the end of a church service and shouting:

Come downe, come downe, thou painted beast, come downe. Thou art but a hireling, and deluder of the people with thy lyes

After her release she went on a missionary tour of East Anglia and the south of England with Elizabeth Williams, an older unmarried woman. The pair were stoned by scholars after Fisher called them 'unclean birds' when preaching in front of Sidney Sussex college in Cambridge. The mayor ordered that they be stripped to the waist and whipped at the market cross. It was noted that they were treated with particular harshness. Following this experience Fisher was imprisoned twice in York castle for reprimanding a Pontefract priest and refusing to give securities for good behaviour.

Fisher's story became part of American history when in 1655 she went to the West Indies and New England with married mother of five, Ann Austin. In 1656 they arrived in Boston where the deputy governor and council confiscated more than a hundred books and ordered them to be burnt by the common hangman. Austin and Fisher were imprisoned and stripped naked to be searched for marks that would show they were witches. (Have you spotted the motif yet?) After five weeks they were banished to the West Indies and then returned to England.

In 1657 Fisher set off for the Mediterranean with a group of other Quakers. They visited the Ionian island of Zante before Fisher and three others reached the Ottoman coastal city of Smyrna. They were forced out of Turkey in 1659 after the English representative there thought that their activities were bringing England into disrepute. Fisher, then accompanied by a woman called Beatrice Beckley, went to visit the Sultan in Adrianople. He listened to their views and received them with kindness. She finally returned to England in 1659 and in 1662 married the prominent Dorset Quaker William Bayly. In that same year she was arrested and roughly treated in London despite being pregnant.

Bayly lost his life at sea in 1675 and in 1678 Fisher married John Cross, a London Quaker. They emigrated to America where Cross died in 1687. Fisher herself passed away in Charlestown, South Carolina in 1698. She left a rich Quaker legacy in the form of her grandaughter Sophia Hume, who became a prominent minister and writer. (source: DNB article by Stefano Villani)

American History week- the finale

2005-09-29T21:20:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow will be the final day of my self-imposed American history week. Whew! I know so little about the subject that it hasn't been easy finding things to write about. I enjoyed reading about Anne Bailey, the Harlem Renaissance and the histories of Louisiana and Texas. Have you got any suggestions for aspects of American history I can write about tomorrow? I'm particularly interested in women, ethnic minorities and cross-cultural exchange.

American History week- Texas

2005-09-29T14:15:00.000+09:00

Some like to claim that America has no history, but you only have to look at the state of Texas to see that isn't true. Over the last thousand years the land has been under the control of several different peoples. Before the arrival of European settlers Texas was inhabited by Native Americans, including the internationally famous Apache, Cherokee and Comanche. Reading Wikipedia I see that there are now three federally recognised Native American tribes living in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta, the Kickapoo and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo. (I don't know what federal recognition means so if anyone can tell me I'd be grateful.) The history of these tribes is fascinating in itself. The Kickapoo originally came from the great lakes area in the north but moved south in stages because of conflict with other tribes and contact with settlers. You can read more about them here. The Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo on the other hand originally came from New Mexico. In this account of the Alabama-Coushatta I see that Native Americans played a role in the civil war.

The Polk County Indians played only a minor role in the Civil War. John
Scott, later chief of the Alabama-Coushattas, and nineteen members of his
tribe were sworn into Confederate service on April 11, 1862. After serving
briefly in Company G, Twenty-fourth Texas Cavalry, at Arkansas Post, they
returned home and were organized by Capt. William H. Beazley into a cavalry
company unattached to any regiment. In December 1864 this company listed 132
men on its roster and was part of the Sixth Brigade, Second Texas Infantry. The
primary job of this new organization was to construct and operate flat-bottom boats for transporting farm produce to the Confederate forces along the Gulf Coast.

From 1690 to 1821 Texas was a Spanish colony and then from 1821 to 1835 a part of Mexico. Texas was an independent republic until it joined the United States in 1845.

American folklore- tall tales

2005-09-29T09:11:00.000+09:00

I don't know if you've seen the episode of The Simpsons where the family hitch a ride in the cargo waggon of a train. They share their journey with an old tramp who agrees to tell them tall tales in return for regular sponge baths from Homer. I had never heard the expression tall tales before and I wonder if it's only found in America. This site explains that in America the stories are called tall tales because:

A tall tale is a special kind of hero story because the heroes of tall
tales are "larger than life". They are bigger or stronger than real people. They
solve problems in ways that are hard to believe.

I certainly can't suspend my disbelief when I hear about a large lumberjack called Paul Bunyan who went about creating the landscape with a giant blue ox called Babe. Some tall tales are based on historical characters. The Simpsons episode featured the tree planter Johnny Appleseed. You can read all about him here. Americans might find this hard to believe, but in Britain I don't think many people have even heard of Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed.

American History week- What was the Louisiana purchase?

2005-09-29T08:45:00.000+09:00

Nearly half of the United States was bought from France in 1803 for $3 per square mile. This large chunk of land ran right down the middle of the country, previously separating the east and west coasts. You can see just how much territory was bought in the Louisana purchase when you look at this map. In France Napoleon was keen to sell the land because it would make America a stronger force against the British. The money also gave him more power to make war in Europe.

The presence of the French colony is still felt in many ways. About 5% of the people in the state of Louisiana speak French and many place names are also French. Just think of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Citizens with a French heritage are known as Creoles and Cajuns. The ancestors of the Creoles typically came from France and the French colonies in the West Indies. The Cajuns are descended from the Acadians, French speakers who were expelled from Canada in the mid eighteenth century.

American History week- The Harlem Renaissance

2005-09-28T17:27:00.000+09:00

It's quite awful to think that when my granny was born there were still people in America who could remember slavery. Back then British women didn't have the vote either. You'd think with all those changes that my grandmother would be looking rather staggered, but no. She takes it all in her stride.

When granny was approaching her teenage years America was witnessing the Harlem Renaissance. I wonder if in 1920s Hertfordshire she knew that African-American culture was experiencing a great creative flourishing of literature and the visual arts. If she could see well enough to read a computer screen I'd show her this website with all its links to writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

Men dominated as always but a significant number of female writers are now well known. This website is devoted to Zora Neale Hurston. I think granny would agree with this statement of Zora's:

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground."

A limited number of biographies of Harlem Renaissance women are available here. Hallie Quinn Brown strikes me as particularly interesting, and not just because she had tea with Queen Victoria.

American history week- Evolution

2005-09-28T14:22:00.000+09:00

In Pennsylvania this week parents have gone to court to argue against the teaching of Intelligent Design in their local schools. (BBC) This theory suggests that because living beings are so complex they must have been designed by a creator. The parents say that it should not be taught alongside Darwinian evolution because it is more religion than science. Evolution (BBC)was first* widely proposed in the nineteenth-century by Charles Darwin. His best known publication on the matter is On the origin of the species, which can be read on Project Gutenberg and on the BBC website linked above. Darwin found that species gradually change over time in response to developments in their natural environment. The plants and animals that are best suited to particular habitats survive to pass on their genes whilst those that are not die out. Over thousands and millions of years these changes create new species. For example we share a lot of genetic material with chimpanzees, as well as common ancestors.

I think Darwinian evolution is accepted as fact by the majority of Britons but it is still controversial in many parts of America. Certain types of Christianity have such a strong presence in the states that a significant part of the population prefers to believe the Biblical explanation for the origins of the world. (i.e. God created the world in seven days.) Evolution has been the subject of American court cases before. This week's case reminds many in America of the Monkey trial of 1925 when John Scopes, a biology teacher, was charged with illegally teaching the theory of evolution. You can read a detailed account of it here.

* Darwin was not the only person to come up with ideas about evolution. The early 18th-century botanist Linneaus came close and George Louis Leclerc discussed the idea in a 1774 publication. You can read more about them and other pre-Darwinian evolutionists here.

History on Radio 4

2005-09-27T21:26:00.000+09:00

I enjoyed the first episode of Radio 4's new series about the British Empire. You can listen to it here. You might also like this dramatisation of The Professor by nineteenth-century novelist Charlotte Brontë. Each episode will be available online for seven days after broadcasting.

American history week- Mad Anne Bailey

2005-09-27T11:52:00.000+09:00

It may surprise American readers that we Britons know a lot about your films and tv shows but very little about your history. I would like to learn more so from now until Friday all posts on this blog will be about American history. I'm using internet sources so if I make any mistakes please tell me.

Anne Bailey was born as Anne Hennis in Liverpool* in 1742 and emigrated to Virginia in 1761. It is likely that she went as an indentured servant. After her first husband Richard Trotter was killed at the battle of Point Pleasant* in 1774 she started dressing like a man and took up arms against the Native Americans. In 1788 she married her second husband John Bailey and lived in West Virginia. During a siege by Native Americans in 1791 the settlers ran out of gun powder. Anne Bailey saved them by riding a hundred miles for help and returning with powder on the third day. source

She was called Mad Anne because she did not behave in the way that women were expected to. The author of this 1856 United States Magazine article virtually deprives Anne of the right of being called a woman at all. I think this says a lot about nineteenth-century attitudes to women:

Imagine a short, thick-set, coarse and masculine figure, with a face bronzed by
exposure, and marked with the unmistakable outlines of care and passion, and you
will have a fair portaiture of Anna Bailey, or "Mad Ann, the Huntress," as she
was commonly called, for our traveler was a woman. A woman in nothing save sex,
however, for every instinct and feelng was masculine. She hunted, rode and
fought like a man, and, man like, she delighted in all the excitement and
adventure of border life.

In 1826 Anne Royall recorded her impressions after meeting Anne Bailey. Her opening comment 'This female is a Welch woman, and is now very old' suggests that Anne may have been from one of the many Welsh families that have settled in Liverpool, and therefore not English at all. She also implies that locals thought Anne Bailey had an unusual accent. Instead of 'an owl on an elm upon the bank of Elk river' she would say 'the howl upon the helm on the bank of the helk.' Anne Bailey would have spent most of her life in America by this point so there is no telling where she picked it up.

*Read this article for debate about whether or not this was the first battle of the American revolution.
** This poem by a twentieth-century poet wrongly describes her as a Londoner.

Child soldiers

2005-09-27T08:32:00.000+09:00

The Observer reports that Hurricane Katrina may have released armed dolphins into the Gulf of Mexico. Dolphins have been trained to go on attack and kill missions since the Cold War and have even been used to detect underwater mines in Iraq. Understandably this is not popular with animal rights groups and I have to agree with them. Dolphins are as clever as we are but they can not make a consenting choice about their participation in war. It makes me think of the recruitment of child soldiers. Amnesty International's website about it is here.

Children have been involved in warfare throughout history. For many centuries soldiers were followed from battle to battle by their wives, sons and daughters. Children also worked directly alongside the soldiers as drummer boys and equipment carriers. During the American Civil war popular songs called ballads were written about the battles. Shiloh was remembered with a ballad about a drummer boy who died on the battlefield.

On Shiloh's dark and blood ground, the dead and wounded lay.
Amongst them was a drummer boy, that beat the drum that day.
A wounded soldier raised him up, His drum was by his side.
He clasped his hands and raised his eyes and prayed before he died:
Look down upon the battle field, Oh Thou, our Heav'nly friend,
Have mercy on our sinful souls. The soldiers cried, "Amen."
For gather'd round a little group, Each brave man knelt and cried.
They listen'd to the drummer boy who prayed before he died.

"Oh Mother!" said the dying boy, "Look down from Heav'n on me.
"Receive me to thy fond embrace, Oh take me home to thee.
I've loved my country as my God, To serve them both I've tried."
He smiled, shook hands. Death seized the boy who prayed before he died.

Each soldier wept then like a child, Stout hearts were they and brave.
They wrote upon a simple board these words "This is a guide
To those who mourn the drummer boy who prayed before he died."

This sad ballad is about a young British drummer boy who died at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

In 1944 children played an important role in the Warsaw uprising. The capital of Poland had been occupied by the Germans since the beginning of the second world war in 1939. On 1st August 1944 the inhabitants of Warsaw rose against the Germans in an attempt to reclaim their city. The uprising lasted for two months until the Poles were forced to surrender on 2nd October. At least 150, 000 civilians were killed. This site explains how Polish boy and girl scouts organised a postal service around the city so that people could communicate with each other.

A question for my readers- please delurk

2005-09-26T19:17:00.000+09:00

It's been very nice watching the number of readers grow in the last week. This is all thanks to Nate, Brandon, Natalie and Sharon for mentioning me on their blogs.

I have a question for you. If you decided to be a school teacher which age group would you teach and why?

Sir Kenelm Digby- love, science and wounded dogs

2005-09-26T11:39:00.000+09:00

It was whilst listening to the second episode of Radio 4's History of Folly that I heard about the beliefs of Sir Kenelm Digby. Born in Buckinghamshire on 11th July 1603 he was the oldest son of Sir Everard Digby, who was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder plot of 1605. His childhood playmate was also his future wife, the celebrated beauty Lady Venetia Digby. In 1619 his mother sent him on a Grand Tour of Europe in the hope of keeping him away from Venetia. He had fallen in love with her and although she was of noble birth her lack of money meant that she was considered to be an unsuitable match.

According to his memoirs Digby had all kinds of adventures on the continent. In France he attended a party where he caught the eye of the middle-aged queen mother Marie de' Medici. The next day a messenger escorted him to the queen's home where she tried to seduce him. After making his politest excuses Digby escaped and had it spread about that he was dead. He then went to Florence in Italy where he stayed for two years. In 1623 he went to Spain where he helped in the attempts to negotiate a marriage between the future Charles I and the daughter of the King of Spain. (This marriage never happened and Charles I married a French princess.)

In London Venetia thought that Digby was dead and threw herself into a life of wild parties. She became the lover of several men and had at least one illegitimate child. What she did not know was that Digby's letters to her had been suppressed by his mother. When she finally found out that he was alive she thought the lack of letters meant he did not love her anymore. However after Digby returned to England in 1624 they married in secret, probably in January 1625. They had a very happy marriage, although like many of his aristocratic contemporaries he had several affairs. During the years of his marriage Digby continued to travel, sailing extensively in the Mediterranean in the service of Charles I. All that changed on 1st May 1633 when she was found dead in her bed from a cerebral haemorrhage. Digby was grief stricken and never remarried.

Digby retreated into scholarship and began to conduct scientific experiments. Perhaps motivated by grief he researched ways to revive the dead and became convinced that he had succeeded with stinging nettles and crayfish. You can hear more about that in the radio programme I've linked to above. In 1635 he went to live in Paris where he continued to experiment and converted to Roman Catholicism. At that time England was officially a Protestant country and Catholics were often suspected as enemies of the state. For the rest of his life he petitioned for toleration for Roman Catholics in England.* A brief summary of the final years of his life can be found here.

The radio programme also mentions Digby's belief in the powder of sympathy. Nobody had yet calculated how to measure the earth's longitude. This meant that sailors often got lost and thousands died in shipwrecks. If they could accurately keep track of the time in their home port this would enable them to use the sun's position to work out where they were. Digby brought the following solution back from France:

To apply the Powder to the longitude problem, a wounded dog was to be put
aboard a departing ship, and a trusted individual was left ashore to dip a bit
of the dog's discarded bandage into Sympathy solution every day at a prearranged
hour. The dog could be counted upon to yelp in pain at that instant, thereby
announcing the crucial home-port time to the crew. source

The powder of sympathy was also used on sword wounds. It was thought that if it was sprinkled on the sword sympathetic rays would then beam to the wound and heal it. (You can hear a better explanation on that radio programme.)

*Information for this post condensed from Michael Foster's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Thomas Chatterton- boy poet and forger

2005-09-26T08:24:00.000+09:00

Systers in sorrowe, on thys daise-ey'd banke,
Where melancholych broods, we wyll lamente;
Be wette wythe mornynge dewe and evene danke;
Lyche levynde okes in eche the odher bente,
Or lyche forlettenn halles of merriemente,
Whose gastlie mitches holde the traine of fryghte,
Where lethale ravens bark, and owlets wake the nyghte.

Thomas Chatterton was the third child of a Bristol writing master and a seamstress. He never knew his father Thomas Chatterton senior because he died three months before his birth in November 1752. Despite their never meeting the father's actions would have a dramatic impact on the life of the son. Thomas Chatterton senior was a keen antiquarian who collected Roman coins, researched his family tree and wanted to write a history of Bristol. He rescued medieval documents from the church of St Mary Redcliffe as well as receiving a quantity of waste paper from the church to cover his pupils' copy-books (exercise books).

At first Thomas Chatterton junior was not an impressive student and he was dismissed from his father's school for being incapable of learning. Maurice Evan Hare writes:

Thomas, then, was a moody baby, a dull small boy who knew few of his letters at four; and was superannuated--such was his impenetrability to learning--at the age of five from the school of which his father had been master. He was moreover
till the age of six and a half so frequently subject to long fits of abstraction
and of apparently causeless crying that his mother and grandmother feared for
his reason and thought him 'an absolute fool.'

His mother and sister had to teach him to read from a black letter* bible and an old music book that had belonged to his father. He loved the illuminated capitals and became an avid reader. As he grew up he was increasingly fascinated by the medieval period. Maurice Evan Hare writes:

At the age of eight we hear of him reading 'all day or as long as they would let him,'
confident that he was going to be famous, and promising his mother and sister 'a great deal of finery' for their care of him when the day of his fame arrived.

Using the ancient paper saved by his father Thomas began composing the works of an invented fifteenth-century monk Thomas Rowley. His Rowley wrote poetry, plays, letters, architectural and antiquarian reports and the biography of a fifteenth-century counterpart. His forgeries extended beyond Rowley and the first to reach print was the thirteenth-century account of the opening of a new bridge in Bristol. This appeared in a newspaper called Felix Farley's Bristol Journal in 1768. Local antiquarians became interested in Thomas who was able to provide them with large quantities of 'original' literature about medieval Bristol. They were suspicious but for some reason the young forger was not exposed and even received assistance from a number of individuals.

In 1769 Thomas attempted to gain the patronage of Horace Walpole. Walpole was the youngest son of prime minister Robert Walpole and a famous writer and antiquarian. This was a mistake because Walpole and his friends denounced Thomas' work as forgeries. Chatterton was furious but went into poetic overdrive. Within a year of the Walpole incident he had published thirty-one different pieces of poetry and prose under a variety of pen names and was quickly acquiring a reputation for genius. In April 1770 he left for London to follow a career as a writer and journalist.

We must remember that he was still only a teenager when he arrived in London. He seems to have done very well. He impressed his contemporaries with his charisma and manliness and his literary output was still prodigious. He was known to associate frequently with prostitutes and in June or July he moved into the garret room of a brothel. (I thought you'd like that detail R.) Maurice Evan Hare writes:

He lodged at first with an aunt, Mrs. Ballance, in Shoreditch, where he refused to allow his room to be swept, as he said 'poets hated brooms.' He objected to being called Tommy, and asked his aunt 'If she had ever heard of a poet's being called Tommy' (you see he was still a boy). 'But she assured him that she knew nothing about poets and only wished he would not set up for being a gentleman.' '

Mrs Ballance's desire that Thomas should 'not set up for being a gentleman' reflects the greater rigidity of the eighteenth-century social structure. She perhaps feared that something terrible would happen to her nephew if he went above his station.

It is likely that at some point he caught a venereal disease. He died of an overdose of arsenic and opium on 24th August 1770 and was given a pauper's burial in Shoe Lane. The corpses were removed when the land was redeveloped so his final resting place is unknown. Everybody thought that he had killed himself but Nick Groom (the author of the DNB article I've based much of this post on) believes that it was the unwise mixing of recreational and medicinal drugs. Groom reasons that he was enjoying literary success and appeared to be in high spirits in his letters which suggests that suicide was unlikely. Maurice Evans Hare writes of the letters:

His letters to his mother and sister were always gay and contained glowing
accounts of his progress; but in reality he must have been miserably poor and
ill-fed.

This site also presents the other viewpoint:

He became severely depressed and experienced other health and financial
problems which he could not overcome. In August 1770, Chatterton committed
suicide by swallowing poison and was dead by the age of seventeen.

Horace Walpole was popularly blamed for Chatterton's death because he had not recognised his genius and offered him patronage. Chatterton's memory came to represent the stereotypical Romantic myth of the doomed and impoverished young poetic genius who dies impoverished in his garret. Many of the great writers of the nineteenth century studied him although at the same time he was largely dismissed as a forger.

The Rowley poems with an introduction by Maurice Evan Hare can be found here.

*We would describe black letter font as Gothic lettering. You can see examples of it here. It was the earliest form of printed type. I don't know when it fell out of use but it was still appearing in cheap publications aimed at less educated people in the later seventeenth century.

Hurricane Rita

2005-09-24T17:57:00.000+09:00

If you know anyone in Texas I hope they're ok.

Casanova the Christian II

2005-09-24T13:40:00.000+09:00

Brandon has answered my questions about Casanova's religious attitudes.

Sceptred Isle: Empire

2005-09-23T17:16:00.000+09:00

For six weeks from Monday 26th September Radio 4 will be broadcasting thirty episodes of This Sceptred Isle: Empire, a narrative history of the British Empire. The series begins with an overview of empire, followed on 27th September with England's colonisation of Ireland. Thirteen episodes are devoted to different aspects of the 16th century, nine to the 17th century and six to the 18th century. A full episode guide can be found on the website which also has pictures, an interactive timeline, further information and the chance for listeners to send in their own stories of empire. Each episode can be accessed online for five days after its broadcast.

He schal be rostyd in his scalys

2005-09-23T14:19:00.000+09:00

Most of the American fruits are exceedingly odoriferous,and therefore are
very disgusting at first to us Europeans: on the contrary, our fruits appear
insipid to them, for want of odour.

I found this comment in the introduction to The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390. The book itself is a piece of history because it was compiled by Samuel Pegge in 1780. I would very much like to know which fruits he was talking about.

Pegge's introduction is also interesting for other reasons. Before he explains the history of the 14th-century recipes that the book is about, he describes cooking habits from the ancient Greeks to the Normans. Like today's historians he includes notes so that we can see where he got his information from. I don't recognise the sources that Pegge uses in the following passage on the ancient Britons. Strabo [12] may be the Greek historian. Note 11 is referenced as 'Cæsar de B. G.'

The Aborigines of Britain, to come nearer home, could have no great expertness
in Cookery, as they had no oil, and we hear nothing of their butter, they used
only sheep and oxen, eating neither hares, though so greatly esteemed at Rome,
nor hens, nor geese, from anotion of superstition. Nor did they eat fish. There
was little corn in the interior part of the island, but they lived on milk and
flesh [11]; though it is expressly asserted by Strabo that they had no cheese
[12].

To modern readers it seems a little odd that Pegge begins his introduction with this brief run through of historical cooking habits. I have seen this kind of historical summary in several other history books from the 17th and 18th century so perhaps it was just the thing to do in those days.

The recipes at the heart of the book are written in an old form of the English language known to us as Middle English. Yet I think any cook could follow them today. The first recipe tells us how to make ground beans, which Pegge notes was a dish for poorer households (rather like baked beans for students). I think the strange letter represents a 'th' sound.

FOR TO MAKE GRONDEN BENES. I.Take benes and dry hem in a nost [kiln] or in
an Ovene and hulle hem wele and wyndewe [winnow] out þe hulk and wayshe hem clene an do hem to seeþ in gode broth an ete hem with Bacon.

I particularly like the injunction to eat them with bacon (ete hem with Bacon). It's still common in Britain today for people to say em instead of them. We usually think it's linguistic laziness but I heard somewhere recently that it's related to the time when the word didn't have a th sound. I'm sure there's a more detailed explanation and I'd like to hear it if anyone knows.

We often imagine in Britain that our cooking was bland and insipid until the introduction of mediterranean food during the 1980s and 1990s. (I think really it was just a post-war blip and traditional British cooking is very good) Among the recipes is proof that we knew how to make a good salad even in the 14th century.

SALAT Take persel, sawge, garlec, chibolles, oynouns, leek, borage, myntes, porrectes, fenel and ton tressis, rew, rosemarye, purslarye, laue and waische hem clene, pike hem, pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde and myng hem wel with rawe oile. lay on vynegur and salt, and serue it forth.

I don't understand all the ingredients. I suspect 'sawge' is sage, 'garlec' is garlic, 'chibolles' might be a kind of onion and 'oynouns, leek, borage, myntes' are obvious. The raw oil, vinegar and salt are definitely a salad dressing. I'll leave you with a lobster recipe. I think a lot more people would be vegetarians if we started calling the animals we eat 'he' and 'she' instead of 'it'.

XVI. FOR TO MAKE A LOPISTER.

He schal be rostyd in his scalys in a ovyn other by the Feer under a
panne and etyn wyth Veneger.

H.V.Morton

2005-09-22T15:43:00.000+09:00

Natalie Bennett presents two lovely extracts from 1930s writer H.V.Morton.

Mr. Spectator

2005-09-22T15:14:00.000+09:00

The Spectator was first published in London on 1st March 1711. It appeared six times a week and by mid-March had a daily circulation of three thousand. It ran until issue no. 555 on 6th December 1712. (DNB) It was written by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison using the voice of Mr. Spectator, an imaginary narrator. In the first issue, transcribed here, Mr. Spectator said that he started the journal because he seldom spoke and he hoped:

to print myself out, if possible, before I die. I have been often told by
my friends, that it is pity so many useful discoveries which I have made should
be in the possession of a silent man. For this reason, therefore, I shall
publish a sheet-full of thoughts every morning, for the benefit of my
contemporaries; and if I can any way contribute to the diversion or improvement
of the country in which I live, I shall leave it, when I am summoned out of it,
with the secret satisfaction of thinking that I have not lived in vain.

I'm sure many bloggers have the same thought.

Casanova the Christian

2005-09-22T09:05:00.000+09:00

It's long been an ambition of mine to read Giacomo Casanova's autobiography. I bought a paper copy several years ago but I never got round to reading it because it was in Italian. At the time I thought I was buying the original text because he was Italian, but I have since found out that it was first written in French. The recent BBC dramatisation of Casanova's life only intensified my interest and I was pleased to find an English translation on Project Gutenberg. I think most people who are old enough to be interested in such matters (and a fair few who are not) know that Casanova is famous for his enormous sexual appetite. You will understand then that my desire to read his autobiography is not entirely motivated by historical interest.

Casanova wrote about his life when he was an old man looking back on his youth. He says:

dear reader, I trust that, far from attaching to my history the character of impudent boasting, you will find in my Memoirs only the characteristic proper to a general confession, and that my narratory style will be the manner neither of a repenting sinner, nor of a man ashamed to acknowledge his frolics. They are the follies inherent to youth; I make sport of them, and, if you are kind, you will not yourself refuse them a good-natured smile.

Before he died in 1798 he gave the manuscript to his sister's son-in-law and it was eventually published in the 1820s. It was not until 1960 that we had access to the complete text and you can find out why here.

I'm not used to e-books so I can only read short sections at a time. This morning I read the preface in which Casanova explains his beliefs and his intentions as a writer. The most surprising thing I found was that despite his reputation he had a strong Christian faith. The preface is peppered with references to God. Almost at the very beginning Casanova writes:

I believe in the existence of an immaterial God, the Author and Master
of all beings and all things, and I feel that I never had any doubt of His existence, from the fact that I have always relied upon His providence, prayed to Him in my distress, and that He has always granted my prayers. Despair brings death, but prayer does away with despair; and when a man has prayed he feels himself supported by new confidence and endowed with power to act. As to the means employed by the Sovereign Master of human beings to avert impending dangers from those who beseech His assistance, I confess that the knowledge of them is above the intelligence of man, who can but wonder and adore. Our ignorance
becomes our only resource,and happy, truly happy; are those who cherish their
ignorance! Therefore must we pray to God, and believe that He has granted the
favour we have been praying for, even when in appearance it seems the reverse.

I wish that I knew more about Christianity in the eighteenth century because I would like to know where Casanova stood in the range of attitudes that existed at the time. I am guessing that he must have been a free thinker rather a religious conservative. He believed that God gave man the ability to reason, make his own decisions and follow his own path. Some other Christians at the time thought that God had already decided what would happen to them. I've highlighted the lines where Casanova refers to this idea.

Man is free, but his freedom ceases when he has no faith in it; and the greater power he ascribes to faith, the more he deprives himself of that power which God has given to him when He endowed him with the gift of reason. Reason is a particle of the Creator's divinity. When we use it with a spirit of humility and justice we are certain to please the Giver of that precious gift. God ceases to be God only for those who can admit the possibility of His non-existence, and that conception is in itself the most severe punishment they can suffer.

I found that Casanova's writing does meander a bit. A lot of eighteenth-century books do this so it's not a sign that he was a bad writer. He is definitely worth reading, particularly for his comments on human nature. I'll leave Casanova with the final word:

I have felt in my very blood, ever since I was born, a most unconquerable hatred towards the whole tribe of fools, and it arises from the fact that I feel myself a blockhead whenever I am in their company. I am very far from placing them in the same class with those men whom we call stupid, for the latter are stupid only from deficient education, and I rather like them. I have met with some of them--very honest fellows, who, with all their stupidity, had a kind of intelligence and an upright good sense, which cannot be the characteristics of fools. They are like eyes veiled with the cataract, which, if the disease could be removed, would be very beautiful.

George Psalmanazar

2005-09-21T08:55:00.000+09:00

Travel books were very popular in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Britain. The readers who bought Equiano's and Sancho's narratives were probably already familiar with tales of Africa and other parts of the world. Unlike today when we expect the writer to have actually been to the places he or she described it was normal in those days for accounts to include sections of previous travel books. To us it seems like cheating, but for them it was merely a way to make a book more informative. Some writers however were out and out frauds. These include George Psalmanazar who went about early eighteenth-century England claiming to be Taiwanese. He was in fact born into a poor gentry family in the south of France in 1679. He first began to pretend to be Asian when making a tour of northern Germany and the Netherlands. He needed money so he told people that he was a Japanese convert to Christianity. George then joined the army in Germany, now pretending to be from Formosa*, which he said was dependent on Japan. It was at this point that he met a British chaplain who saw through his fraud but allowed him to be sent to Oxford where it was intended that he should teach Formosan to Christian missionaries. In 1704 George became very famous when he published An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa. His fantastical inventions raised suspicions among educated people, including his claim that the Formosans' religion required them to make an annual sacrifice of 18,000 boys under the age of nine. (I should think the island would have been depopulated if that had really been the case!) He also wrote that Formosan men ate their ex-wives. He was finally caught out when he met a French Jesuit who had spent time in China.

In the end George came clean. He spent the rest of life taking odd jobs such as tutoring and fan painting. He also worked with early journalists and contributed to books on subjects as diverse as printing and geography. He was very religious in his later years and died in 1763.

* Formosa is the old name for Taiwan. (source: DNB Look at this!!! The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is celebrating its first birthday with three days' free online access from 23 to 25 September 2005. Everyone will be able to access the full Oxford DNB and its 55,000 biographies of the men and women who have shaped the history of Britain. )

Olaudah Equiano's sister

2005-09-21T08:41:00.000+09:00

When I sat down at the computer this morning I realised that I didn't know what happened to Olaudah Equiano's sister. So I turned to chapter II of his autobiography. They were kidnapped from their village by Africans, later separated, briefly reunited by coincidence and then never saw each other again. This separating of relatives was something that Equiano felt particularly strongly about. He writes:

I remember in the vessel* in which I was brought over, in the men's apartment, there were several brothers, who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasion to see and hear their cries at parting. O, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you? Is it not enough that we are torn from our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of gain? Must every tender feeling be likewise sacrificed to your avarice? Are the dearest friends and relations, now rendered more dear by their separation from their kindred, still to be parted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom of slavery with the small comfort of being together and mingling their sufferings and sorrows? Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters, or husbands their wives? Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty, which, while it has no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh horrors even to the wretchedness of slavery.

* The slave ship.

If Carretta is correct then this part of the autobiography is fictional. When I read it I felt that Equiano was actually there. Even if he wasn't he must have taken his account from the experiences of other slaves he had met. That means that whichever way you look at it the first chapters are a true story.