10.13.07
Posted in Doing History, TiH at 10:34 am by Stephanie
Happened upon this about Columbus Day.
Columbus was not the first European to successfully cross the Atlantic. Viking sailors are believed to have established a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland sometime in the 11th century, and scholars have argued for a number of other possible pre-Columbian landings. Columbus, however, initiated the lasting encounter between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
Notice the answer to the question of who got here first and why Columbus Day.
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09.25.05
Posted in TiH at 11:46 am by Stephanie
On Sept. 25, 1957, with 300 United States Army troops standing guard, nine black children were escorted to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, days after unruly white crowds had forced them to withdraw.
Source: New York Times - On This Day
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09.18.05
Posted in TiH at 10:23 am by Stephanie
Nov 15 1763, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon began surveying the Mason-Dixon line to establish the bounds between Maryland and Pennsylvania. By 1802 all states North of this line except New Jersey will have passed anti-slavery laws.
(c)Copyright 1992-2003 by Robert Heckendorn, All Rights Reserved.
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Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon
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Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon
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Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon
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Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon
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09.16.05
Posted in TiH at 12:01 am by Stephanie
For Tim’s evil twin Tom:
Sep 15 1956, Play Doh is introduced
(c)Copyright 1990-2005 by Robert Heckendorn, All Rights Reserved.
(links to come at a later date)
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09.07.05
Posted in TiH at 8:24 pm by Stephanie
Sep 7 1533, Elizabeth I is born of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII at Greenwich
Sep 7 1548, Catherine Parr, widow of Henry VIII, dies
((c)Copyright 1990-2005 by Robert Heckendorn, All Rights Reserved.)
Since I’m on another Elizabeth I kick, these seemed appropriate to write about. I think the fire has been fueled both by The Other Boleyn Girl, which I have already written about and the continuing discussion in class both about what history is and what is the difference between history and historical fiction.
For me the boundaries are fairly easy to see. In History: A Short Introduction, John Arnold states unequivocally that historians must never ever make something up. Our job is to ferret out the facts and try to make some sense of them. If we must guess because there is a gap in the evidence, then we must state we are doing so.
Philippa Gregory writes about things that could not have been documented; conversations in private chambers about the king’s favourite sexual acts and family meetings held to discuss which Boleyn girl was to do what in order to gain Henry’s favour.
Henry’s and England’s eagerness for a male heir led to Henry’s 6 wives (that and a few other factors). His only legitimate male heir, Edward, died without another male heir in place setting the stage for political struggles between half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth, which included a religious struggle between Protestants and Catholics. The more I read about this, the more taken in I get.
Part of Catherine Parr’s “job” as Queen was to reconcile Henry to his daughters. After Henry died, Catherine married Thomas Seymour (brother to Henry’s 3rd wife, Jane Seymour). Thomas is alleged to have at least tried to take sexual advantage of a teenaged Elizabeth, and even plotting to marry Elizabeth.
Catherine died 15 years after Elizabeth was born, ~18 months after Henry and a week after her only child, Mary, was born (who died shortly after her mother did).
I am beginning to understand why people become so obsessed with the royals.
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08.29.05
Posted in TiH at 11:36 pm by Stephanie
Aug 29 30, St. John the Baptist beheaded by Herod rewarding Salome for dance
((c)Copyright 1990-2005 by Robert Heckendorn, All Rights Reserved.)
Out of all the things that happened this day in history, I picked this one to write about because I just saw a documentary about the Bible’s “Scarlet Women” and Salome was one of the women they discussed. (Biography Channel’s “Mysteries of the Bible: Scarlet Women”)
So, the anecdotal story first:
Salome was the daugher of Herodias, wife of Herod Antipas. Herod felt threatened by John the Baptist but was afraid to outright kill him. Herodias, on the other hand (or so the story goes), was sneaky and underhanded and devised a plan. On Herod’s birthday, mum sent sexy, nubile Salome out to dance. So taken by his (step)daughter’s dance, Herod promised her anything. Salome rushed backstage to her mother and asked what she should demand. Mama, being the good stage mother, told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. Dutiful Salome did as she was told and voila! That pesky political problem was solved.
The biblical version that’s been handed down for centuries, has John’s undoing as Salome’s doing. But, here is an interesting questions raised by the historians in this program: Why, if Salome’s name isn’t even mentioned in the bible is it her that we remember? Why not Herodias, whose name is mentioned? (See Mark, Chapter 6)
Who put whom up to what?
This is no mere story of a king thinking with the wrong head and letting the women in his life (Salome, manipulated by her mother) take control. This is a story of politics (the Romans were having a very difficult time with those pesky Jews), near-incest (Herodias was Antipas’ half-brother’s wife), divorce court (Antipas divorced his first wife to marry Herodias) and good old fashioned religious dictums (John the Baptist condemned Antipas’ 2nd marriage). It’s rip-roaring good stuff … maybe all blown out of proportion to make a point about … what?
Why does the bible blame a young girl for the ignominious downfall of one of its most important prophets? It was John the Baptist, after all, who was the baptiser of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. What is the point of martyring John in such a fashion?
Unless, it is to put Jesus front and center. The story of John’s death ends rather abruptly in Mark. After his followers pick up his corpse from Antipas, and lay it in a tomb, Jesus gathers his apostles to him and they go for a … rest. And then this leads to the whole loaves and fish for the multitudes and the walking on water and healing the sick … and John is no longer mentioned.
A common thread through this documentary (which began with the story of Eve) was the Bible’s need to demonize women (both literally and figuratively). Paul believed that women were to be subjugated to men because God created man first and then woman out of man’s rib. (Paul had his own issues with women, how’s that for stating the obvious?)
This whole “thing” with women gets sexuality and motherhood and goddesshood all mixed up in a gnarly mess and, through centuries of stereotyping, women get blamed for almost every narsty thing that happens to a man.
I’m not a biblical scholar, or a theologian, nor do I have any answers. Just lots of questions and sometimes I bump into something that makes me go, “hunh.”
Biography Channel
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
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Salome
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Personal Work:
San Juan Bautista - named after St. John the Baptist, one of the string of California Missons founded by Fr. Junipero Serra. This project was for my “History of California” class at Foothill Community College.
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