The Development of Writing in Ancient Civilizations

Writing is the inscription or printing of symbols on a medium to communicate thoughts or ideas and to record events – and it had an interesting history in early ancient civilization. Here, Jeff Blaylock tells us some interesting facts about the history of writing.

Egyptian hieroglyphs, image available here.

Before written communication grew in use, there were verbal and non-verbal ways to communicate through sounds and gestures that were only beneficial in close-knit groups. Writing arose due to the need to communicate timelessly and over a long-distance. Our tribal ancestors needed to inform others, what they thought, felt, did, experienced and believed. One way this is evident is through ancient cave wall drawings made tens of thousands of years ago. They depicted epic battles of men wielding spears and shooting arrows, things people possessed, such as herds of cattle, and burial and divination rituals. The history of writing then has pictures as the first forms.

For those studying the evolution of communication, understanding these early forms of expression can be fascinating and rewarding. Indeed, when it comes to academic writing assignments on this topic, sites such as Writepaper can help to write a paper, offering assistance in articulating complex ideas effectively.

Writing systems

Writings systems originally used symbols to replace the cumbersome drawings of objects, sounds, and actions. A lot of factual material could then be preserved through writing and passed down undistorted, for generations. 

Pictographs – symbols that represent objects, animals, people

Phonograms – symbols that represent sounds from spoken language

Pictograms – symbols that represent actions and events

Cuneiform: Mesopotamia 3500-3000 BCE

Cuneiform comes from Latin cuneus, meaning wedge. It was developed by ancient Sumerians who lived in Mesopotamia (including modern-day Iraq), around 3500-3000 BCE. It was first used by temple officials and scribes to record animals and other goods that the temples owned. It was later adopted by the great civilizations of the region such as the Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Elamites, and Hurrians.

The tools and methods

The writing system uses symbols to characterize objects, sounds, and actions. The writing device used is the end of a sharply cut reed and wet clay is the writing surface. Wedge-shaped marks at the edge of the reeds are pressed upon the clay to form characters. On a lump or block of wet clay, a simplified picture of the item is drawn. The clay is allowed to bake in the sun until it becomes a permanent record.

Hieroglyphics: Egypt 3200-3000 BCE

Hieroglyphs are characters used in a system of picture writing. They were used to represent speech sounds. Later on, the pictographs and phonographs were made up of letters which were known as "alphabetic signs". Hieroglyphics were in part influenced by the Sumerians before taking a more original path. The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were a syllabic language. By using phonograms, pictograms and alphabetic signs, they were mixed in art form and hence rich in presentation. 

The tools and methods

This form of writing was reserved for holy texts; hieros means ‘sacred’ and glypho means 'engrave' in Greek. The standard writing device was the fine reed pen used by the scribes, while a smooth papyrus scroll was the writing surface. The hieroglyphics were so varied and most of their useful content was widely published owing to the vibrant nature of ancient Egyptian civilization. Previously characters were carved and painted on wood, walls, tombs, and rocks. With papyrus, writing became more fluid and the documents more portable.

Chinese characters: China 1600 BCE

Chinese writing is composed of signs that have both syllabic and semantic value. It was initially used for sacred functions, and then it was largely applied for administrative purposes and literature. In its evolution, it never attained the alphabetic stage. All Chinese characters add up to approximately 47,043.

The tools and methods

Chinese symbols are also called ‘square forms’ or fangkuaizi. Their meaning is expressed using short strokes that go in different directions on a surface or medium. The first surfaces where the characters were inscribed were dry bones, and later Bronze, Seal scripts, clerical scripts, and Square scripts.

Evolution of writing

Since its inception, writing has evolved according to human needs and the level of technology available.

There are four major stages in this evolution of writing.

1.     Picture-based writing

As mentioned above, these were the very early writings that utilized limited media for presentation such as cave walls. Colorful and sometimes very detailed drawings were made. It was often artistic.

2.     Word-based writing

When early civilizations invented spoken words for objects and actions, they applied symbols to denote them and these symbols replaced actual tedious drawings. Most symbols were oversimplifications of previous drawings.

3.     Sound-based writing

This evolution took effect after advanced languages with vowels and consonants were developed. Words had distinct pronunciations which needed to be presented visually. The symbols representing words were varied across different civilizations and were not tied back to drawings or images.

4.     The alphabet: 800-750 BCE

The Greeks identified 24 characters otherwise known as letters that would form a widely accepted foundation for words. The letters would later be borrowed and assimilated into Latin and English. Today, alphabets are of course used widely.

Conclusion

In all the forms it has existed, writing has functioned to preserve an as accurate as possible human heritage, culture, and history in all its diversity. It has helped dissipate news to a wide audience through print media and spread knowledge and ideas in books. Without writing, scientific inventions, the advancement of technology, and modern civilization would not have been possible. 

Author’s Bio

Jeff Blaylock writes articles and well-researched essays on a variety of topics. He has experience in writing historical accounts of ancient civilizations. His writings are catchy and informative - for casual readers and intellectuals alike.

Editor’s note: The article contains external links that are not affiliated in any way with this website. Please see the link here for more information about external links on the site.

Abraham Lincoln: The Story of how he Became a Wrestling Champion

Widely considered the greatest President in American history, much has been written about the man, the myth, the legend: Abraham Lincoln. From his acclaimed debates with Stephen A. Douglas, to his creation of the Emancipation Proclamation, to the Gettysburg Address, and finally his tragic death by the hands of John Wilkes Booth after the Civil War, President Lincoln will forever be an icon of US history. Even Lincoln’s childhood and early adulthood has come under scholarly examination. However, what is less spoken of is the strange but prolific wrestling career of the Great Emancipator. Brenden Woldman explains.

A painting of Abraham Lincoln reading as a boy. By Eastman Johnson, 1868.

In the moderately sized city of Stillwater in Payne County, Oklahoma stands the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Enshrined within those hallowed halls are America’s greatest wrestlers, from collegiate athletes to Olympic champions. But there is one man who was granted a spot within the Hall for his grappling tactics within the ring, and earned him an “Outstanding American” honor.[1] Though his gangly stature became a point of insult for his political rivals and contemporaries, with one man once telling Lincoln that he did not possess the “features the ladies would call handsome,” the future president as a young man was, surprisingly, built from stone.[2]  Lincoln may have been a thin, wiry young man standing at 6 feet, 4 inches and 180 lbs., but years of working manual labor as both a farmer in the Kentucky backwoods as well as a rail splitter helped forge a naturally strong specimen of a man who towered over any and all who stood beside him.[3]

Wrestling fame

Though he had no dreams of sporting grandeur, the future president, like many of his contemporaries who worked manual labor jobs, enjoyed physical activities like wrestling as a leisure activity. But just like in his political career Lincoln was a calculated and ambitious wrestler. Still, conversely to his political persona the young Lincoln was a confident sportsman who could be simply described as cocky. Lincoln’s confidence in his ability stemmed from his mastery of the “catch-as-catch-can” manner of wrestling, a brawling and combative style known for its bull-like aggressive rushes and hand-to-hand combat tactics to the opponent. Nevertheless, this bar fight style of wrestling still needed more than a hint of skill to pin a rival.[4] Lincoln’s rare mix of thin and wiry but broad, strong, and smart athlete made him nearly impossible to beat. His physical prowess made Bill Green, a local store owner from New Salem, Illinois, note that “[Lincoln] can outrun, outlift, outwrestle and throw day any man in Sangamon County,” after the young man beat multiple opponents in one day.[5] Moreover, Lincoln matched his reputation as an in-ring force with his loud public trash talking. After decisively defeating another opponent with a single toss in the ring, Honest Abe being as honest as he could be looked into an entire crowd and challenged any and all who dared to face him. Lincoln shouted, “I’m the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.”[6]Unsurprisingly, there were no takers.

The legend of Lincoln the wrestler continued to grow during the late 1820s and into the early 1830s. But what made Lincoln a local wrestling legend came in 1831, when the Great Emancipator was only 22 years old. Lincoln was quietly tending to the store he worked at as a clerk in New Salem when his boss Denton Offutt out of the blue challenged any of the local Clary’s Grove Boys to a good natured wrestling match with his star clerk.[7] The Clary’s Grove Boys, who were known for their rowdy, fraternity-like attitude toward frontiers life, enjoyed drinking and fighting more than anyone around.[8] After Offutt boasted that no one could beat his employee, the Clary’s Grove Boys’ “champion wrestler” Jack Armstrong took the challenge, believing, that he “had found only another subject by which [they] could display its strength and prowess.”[9] Lincoln accepted the challenge, getting up from behind his counter, and prepared to wrestle the feared Armstrong. 

Confident that he could outmatch the taller but gawky Lincoln, Armstrong felt no fear. Who could blame him? Lincoln had been, and would continue to be, judged by his physical appearance his entire life. However, soon after the match began, the Clary’s Grove Boys champion realized he had bit off more than he could chew. Lincoln from the start was able to control the match due to his enormous reach, forcing Armstrong to fight dirty as a means of desperation.[10] Annoyed by the lack of sportsmanship, Lincoln lost his temper and, according to legend, won the match by grabbing Armstrong by the neck, raising him above his head, shaking him around, and slamming him on the ground.[11] The crowd was shocked by Lincoln’s clear victory, and the rest of the Clary’s Grove Boys were angered by the result. Enraged, the Clary’s Grove Boys began to threaten Lincoln. Luckily, Armstrong bounced back up and defended the future president. Smiling, Armstrong looked at his friends and said, “Boys, Abe Lincoln is the best fellow that ever broke into this settlement. He shall be one of us.”[12]

A very impressive career

Lincoln gained the respect of Jack Armstrong and the rest of the Clary’s Grove Boys. As a result of his victory, the young Lincoln gained the reputation as the champion wrestler of New Salem, gladly taking on, and easily defeating, any and all opponents who came to challenge him. Amazingly, Lincoln was nearly impossible to beat. According to historians who have researched the win/loss record of Honest Abe, Lincoln has only one confirmed lose in allegedly more then 300 matches over the course of 12 years.[13] That sole lose came at the hands of Pvt. Lorenzo Dow Thompson, the St. Clair wrestling champion whom Lincoln met when he was a Captain during the Black Hawk War. Upon hearing of Thompson’s prowess at wrestling, Lincoln was certain in his own ability and “told my boys I could throw [Thompson].”[14] As confident as ever, Lincoln set up a match between himself and the private when both of their regiments had down time from fighting. Unfortunately, much like how Armstrong underestimated Lincoln, Lincoln underestimated Thompson. Though still in his physical prime, Lincoln realized rather quickly after the match began that he was wrestling “a powerful man” in Thompson, and that “the struggle [of winning] was a sever one.”[15] Shockingly, Lincoln for the first time in his career was thrown out of the ring and lost the match. When his men came to the defense of their captain claiming Thompson had cheated, Lincoln laughed and said Thompson won fairly. When asked how did he know, Lincoln simply said, “Why, gentlemen, that man could throw a grizzly bear.”[16]

In retrospect

There is something funny when we read or write about famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln. For the most part, we think we know everything there is to know about a figure because we have been indoctrinated about the “greatest hits” of these figures. We all know about the stoic Lincoln who unified the Union during the Civil War, freed the slaves, and was assassinated, but we should never think we know everything about someone. Moreover, the importance of Lincoln as a wrestler transcends something more than an interesting tidbit of information about America’s greatest president. Lincoln learned about his own strength and confidence as well as humility through the sport. Writer and historian David Fleming said it best, noting that “when his wrestling skill diminished, Lincoln’s leadership qualities emerged.”[17] Without what he learned from wrestling, Abraham Lincoln would not have been the same man that became America’s sixteenth President.

Do you think Abraham Lincoln’s wresting career was important for his later political career? Let us know below.

 

You can read Brenden’s previous article on US politics: Violence in the Senate – Slavery, Honor and the Caning of Charles Sumner here.

[1] Christopher Klein, “10 Things You May Not Know About Abraham Lincoln,” History.com (A&E Television Networks, November 16, 2012), https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-abraham-lincoln)

[2] Susan Bell, “Lincoln's Looks Never Hindered His Approach to Life or Politics,” USC News (USC, February 19, 2015), https://news.usc.edu/75846/lincolns-looks-never-hindered-his-approach-to-life-or-politics/)

[3] “The Railsplitter: Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life,” National Museum of American History (National Museum of American History, n.d.), https://americanhistory.si.edu/lincoln/railsplitter)

[4] Bob Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” National Wrestling Hall of Fame (National Wrestling Hall of Fame, n.d.), https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/)

[5] David Fleming, “The Civil Warrior,” Sports Illustrated (Sports Illustrated, n.d.), https://vault.si.com/vault/1995/02/06/the-civil-warrior-on-the-us-frontier-young-abe-lincoln-was-a-great-wrestler-and-sportsman)

[6] Klein, “10 Things You May Not Know About Abraham Lincoln,” https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-abraham-lincoln

[7] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/, R.J. Norton, “Abraham Lincoln's Wrestling Match,” Abraham Lincoln Research Site (Abraham Lincoln Research Site, n.d.), https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html)

[8] Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[9] Dan Evon, “Is Abraham Lincoln in the Wrestling Hall of Fame?,” Snopes.com (Snopes.com, n.d.), https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lincoln-wrestling-hall-of-fame/

[10] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/

[11] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/, Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[12] Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[13] Bryan Armen Graham, “Abraham Lincoln Was A Skilled Wrestler And World-Class Trash Talker,” Sports Illustrated (Sports Illustrated, February 12, 2013), https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-was-a-skilled-wrestler-and-world-class-trash-talker)

[14] Evon, “Is Abraham Lincoln in the Wrestling Hall of Fame?,”https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lincoln-wrestling-hall-of-fame/

[15] Ibid.,

[16] Ibid.,

[17] Graham, “Abraham Lincoln Was A Skilled Wrestler and World-Class Trash Talker,” https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-was-a-skilled-wrestler-and-world-class-trash-talker

5 Facts About Education in the 17th Century

Education has taken on many forms and there have been great periods of educational development over the centuries. The 17th century, however, was a polarizing era in education and, to a large extent, caused a great rift between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.

Although there were some great advances in the time, there were also some low points. Here, Connie Elser explains some facts about education in the 17th century.

Glasgow University, Scotland in the 1650s. Scotland had an impressive education record in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The rich were separated by education

If you had the money for an education, then you were part of the in-crowd; however, very often the people who had money were born into it. There weren’t many self-made rich around, which limited the number of people who had access to quality education.

The majority of people were illiterate and, as a result, could not go to university either. Although there was a great educational divide in Europe, the 17th century helped to give spark to some more liberal education in the 18th century. In most cases, the universities had religious ties or involvement and the church was in control of what was taught and what not. 

It was the forerunner to the age of enlightenment

Due to the constraints in education, some people started to expand their minds and become more innovative. They were not very pleased that there was such a divide between those who had an education and those who did not. 

This is one of the reasons why in Europe, new ideas were starting to crop up. Innovation in education was one of the areas that received particular attention. The non-conformist, anti-establishment intellectuals are a testimony to the change in Europe and that Europe was starting to break free from medieval thinking.

Gradually, common people gained more access to education because of the many innovative ideas that abounded at that time. As such, although economic segregation started to weaken little by little, there were countries that were more egalitarian than others.

Sweden was the place to be for the commoner

Although the majority of Europe was segregated in terms of education, Sweden took a different route. It was one of the first countries to educate the masses. By royal decree, all the people were expected to be literate by the 1680s.

Although the reason this was put in place was so that everybody was able to read the scriptures, it had a knock-on effect. Once you could read, there was no law that stated that you could only read the Holy Scriptures. 

People started to read more widely and also gained knowledge that was previously not widely available. Commoners started learning about different subject matters that unlocked possibilities for them and the generations that succeeded them.

There was often artisan schooling for those less fortunate

In the rest of Europe, there was still some education for the masses. Education just had a different form, depending on which side of the divide you found yourself on. Whereas the rich were able to formally educate their children, the common folk more often passed down their trade. 

Artisan training was common and fathers passed their skills down to their sons and mothers passed their skills down to their daughters. There were also some cheaper options available for the commoner in the form of dame schools, charity schools and some church or independent schools that catered for the poor.

The Scots were looking out for those less fortunate

Another group who were trying to do something for common folk were the Scottish. The church was supportive and by the late 16th century, it was declared by the Presbyterian Church that every parish in Scotland should have a school (although this proved impossible at the time).

This meant that the Scots had more parish elementary schools than the English and these schools were not just aimed at the rich and established. They were there for everyone. This was very evident as literacy rates shows us that the Scots had high literacy rates in the 18th century in the 18th century.  

That made a difference to a whole generation because more people managed to read, making it easier for them to engage with other educational and entertainment material.

Conclusion

Much can be said about education in the 17th century, but the one thing that stands out is that while the rich/poor divide remained, it started to show the early inklings of mass education. People broke free of the norm that education was only available for the rich – and, out of desperation, innovation and the future of education was born.

Editor’s note: The article contains external links that are not affiliated in any way with this website. Please see the link here for more information about external links on the site.

Russian Prince, U.S. businessman, hero of World War II: The Unbelievable Life of Sergei Obolensky

Serge Obolensky (1890-1978) may not be somebody you have heard of; however he led a fascinating life. From World War I to the Russian Civil War, from London to New York, from marrying the daughter of one of the richest Americans to capturing Sardinia in World War Two - and playing a key role in the US hotel industry. Dmitriy Nikolayev explains.

Serge Obolensky, Source: Available here.

There have been some amazing people in the history of Russian immigration to the USA. The life of the Russian aristocrat, Prince Sergei (Serge) Obolensky, was full of rises and falls, deprivations, great financial success, and military exploits. During the First World War he was awarded the highest medals for personal courage; later, the Bolsheviks hunted him. In America he became one of the founders of the U.S. Special Forces, a lieutenant colonel of the Office of Strategic Services, and a U.S. Army paratrooper at the age of 53. Obolensky successfully completed the task of peacefully seizing Sardinia and transferring it to American forces. He became a successful businessman, socialite and publicist, vice chairman of the board of directors of the Hilton Hotels Corporation. Obolensky was married several times, including the daughter of the Russian emperor Alexander II and the daughter of one of the richest people in the USA, John Jacob Astor IV, who died in the sinking of RMS Titanic.

The revolution of 1917 in Russia turned out to be a disaster for the country. Entire groups of society (for example, the nobility and the clergy) were proclaimed ideologically alien to the new Bolshevik state. There was no place for them in the new country. Several million people were forced to emigrate from Soviet Russia. Many died in the Russian Civil War (1917-22), between the ‘red’ communists and the opposition ‘whites’. Those few who remained were repressed or had to hide their origin. Life scattered the ‘white’ Russian immigration across different countries and continents. Some tried to find a new life in Europe, some fled to China, and some moved to the United States.

Sergei Obolensky was the oldest son of Prince Platon Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky (1850-1913) and Maria Naryshkina (1861-1929). Thereby, both of his parents were the representatives of noble families of the highest rank. In 1897 his parents divorced. From the age of seven, the prince was brought up by his father. In 1912, Obolensky went to study in Oxford, England. There he got acquainted with representatives of the English aristocracy, including the Prince of Wales (the future king of England, Edward VIII). At the beginning of World War I, Obolensky returned to Russia and joined the army as an officer in the Cavalier Guard regiment. He was awarded three St. George’s crosses, which was the highest medal for bravery in Tsarist Russia.

During one holiday Sergei Obolensky met Ekaterina Yuryevskaya, the daughter of Alexander II in his morganatic marriage. Despite the significant difference in age for the time (she was 12 years older than the Prince), they got married in 1916. Then the revolution erupted. First Obolensky hid from the Bolsheviks in the Crimea, using a fake passport, then the couple moved to Moscow. He found a job for a textile factory in Moscow, and his wife began working as a schoolteacher. Their property in Russia was confiscated, and having such noble titles became simply dangerous.

Fleeing from the communist regime, the Obolensky couple moved to Europe. After wandering around several countries they settled in London. The Prince still had money in English banks. His former university connections helped as well. Even so, his marriage with Catherine broke up and they got divorced. 

Immigration from Russia

In London, Obolensky found a job in sales of agricultural machinery. He started to participate in social life and attend balls and parties of the English nobility. At one of the balls he met Alice Muriel Astor. Alice's father, John Jacob Astor IV, was one of the richest people in the United States, the great-grandson of the first American millionaire who was among the passengers of the Titanic in 1912. The last time he was seen, he was calmly smoking a cigar on a sinking liner. Obolensky proposed and they soon got married and settled in New York.

The Russian aristocrat joined the circle of confidants of the head of the family business of Vincent Astor and became the manager of its hotels and restaurants. Alice gave birth to their two children, son Ivan and daughter Sylvia. Though they divorced in 1932, Serge maintained friendly relations with both his ex-wife and her brother Vincent. Obolensky ran Astor's fashionable St. Regis Sheraton hotel on Fifth Avenue.

Vincent successfully navigated the financial crisis of 1929 and became an advisor to President F.D. Roosevelt and sometimes provided Roosevelt with his yacht "Nurmahal". Along with Vincent’s financial success, Obolensky’s prosperity grew as well. The Prince hosted lavish parties. George Gershwin presented the fragments of his still unfinished opera “Porgy and Bess” at one of his birthdays. 

Serge also helped Russian emigrants who were in a difficult financial situation in America, while his interests were not limited to the hotel business. Before the Second World War, he was successfully involved in perfumery with his immigrant friend Aleksandre Tarsaidze.

During World War II

When the war broke out, Obolensky decided to join the army again. But this time it was the US Army. His cavalry past was not in demand, but he thought that his experience of hiding from the Bolsheviks could be useful in the Special Forces. At first, he was refused. Nevertheless, Obolensky continued his training, passed the exams to be an officer, became a lieutenant, and soon received the rank of captain. He did it in his free time when working at the hotel.

Bill Donovan, the man who was busy organizing American commando forces, was living in the same hotel at that moment. He just formed the OSS - the Office of Strategic Services, which later became the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. After talking with Donovan, the Russian Prince became part of the OSS. Obviously, Obolensky had an extraordinary talent for convincing people, finding a common language with different individuals. He could use his gift both in business and in military service.

First, he got several months of special training. The commanders developed not only the technical side, but also the tactics of guerrilla warfare. For this, Obolensky translated a manual for Soviet partisans into English, which formed the basis for the preparation of sabotage groups. After that, Serge took part in training in various branches of the army, from the Marine Corps to the tank forces. At the age of 53, Obolensky made his first parachute jump.

In September 1943, shortly after the overthrow of Mussolini, Obolensky, having landed in Sardinia with three other commandos, came into contact with General Basso, who commanded the Italian forces there, and, passing him special messages from Eisenhower, the Italian king and Marshal Badoglio, persuaded him to join the American forces. The capture of Sardinia was regarded as one of the most impressive achievements of the OSS at that time. Later he received the order to prevent the destruction of the power plant by Germans during their retreat. This task was also completed successfully.

The life of Serge Obolensky after the war

After the war Obolensky continued to work in his hotel business. He went to work for the fast-growing hotel empire of Conrad Hilton. And soon he became a vice president of the Hilton Corporation. In 1949, the Russian aristocrat also started his own public relations firm in New York City, Serge Obolensky Associates, Inc.

Serge continued to host society parties too. There are some photos of him with American celebrities; for example, on one of them he is dancing with Marilyn Monroe. At "white balls", which he sometimes arranged, he danced on the table the so-called "Russian dance with daggers" - even when he became much older. In 1971, Sergei Obolensky married for the third time to Marilyn Fraser Wall. He was 81 years old that year, his wife was 42. During the last years of his life, they lived in Gross Point, a rich suburb of Detroit. Sergei Obolensky died in 1978, at the age of 88. He worked in the hotel business until the last days of his life.

What do you think of the life of Sergei Obolensky? Let us know below.

The Great Flu of 1918 and CoVID-19: A Wake Up Call

CoVID-19 is leading to great change in how societies and economies operate the world over; however the Great Flu (or Spanish Flu) of 1918 caused devastation some 100 years ago. Here, Daniel L. Smith considers what happened in 1918 and in retrospect what it could mean for CoVID-19 now.

Daniel’s new book on mid-19thcentury northern California is now available. Find our more here: Amazon US| Amazon UK

U.S. Army Camp Hospital No. 45, Aix-Les-Bains, France, Influenza Ward No. 1, in 1918. Influenza pandemic ward during World War I.

So here we are. In a great modern-day national quarantined lock-down. A new procedure for most people in America and the West. Has anyone ever heard of the Great Flu  - or Spanish Flu - of 1918? The Great Influenza of 1918 might arguably resemble the CoVID-19 flu that we are seeing today, at least to some degree. For instance, we notice that Iran is dealing with a large viral outbreak with over 1,000 casualties that they are allowing to be officially reported inside of their borders.[1] Of course they are also hyping up the situation by calling for “over one-million deaths” from this unfriendly influenza.[2] During the Great Influenza the global economic and social effects were catastrophic for everybody at that time, not just Asia and the Middle East.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention wrote: “The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not a universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919.  In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918.

“It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide, with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.

“While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.”[4]

After doing some research, I found out that Iran (Persia) seemed to suffer the most casualties from the Great Influenza of 1918. A telegram from the Minister in Persia (Caldwell) to the US Secretary of State read: “American Relief Commission en route to Persia (Iran), headed by Doctor Judson, are scattered on the Pacific at Seattle, Bombay, Kermanshah, and Harakiri. They have immense supplies of much-needed medicine, supply of which is almost entirely exhausted in Persia. Epidemic of influenza prevails and quinine retails at $125 a pound.”[5]

In Retrospect

In this transcript, the American Relief Commission was charged with supplying Iran specifically with viral medication for the pandemic’s relief efforts. The point that is being made here, is that these viral and bacterial outbreaks do happen and these things will continue to happen. There will be war, there will be sickness, there will be pestilence and famine.[6] People will be injured, and people will lose their lives. It is the way of humanity, as we can see today when we look into our more recent history. It is clear that people know this, as panic and fear have driven people nationwide to hoard supplies at grocery and department stores.[7] Shelves are empty. Supply simply cannot keep up with demand.

Was the 1918 Influenza epidemic bad? Sure it was. It's obvious by the way the United States, Britain, and Germany have been unleashing their national “war-time powers” for the (so far milder) CoVID-19 today, powers not seen since WWI and WWII.[8]  And there is good reason to be aware of the history behind this whole “Pandemic” feature of post-Modern America.[9] With the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO) trying to unite countries across the globe to fight CoVID-19 in unity and parallel coordination, it should make you ponder the political freedoms that everybody has taken for granted here. I feel as of right now our American liberty is being thrown under the bus in some sense. Some might say all for an illusion of a false sense of security.[10] A certain security that absolutely no government can offer you, or your family.

An over-reaction?

Statistical numbers on fatalities due to this global pandemic just aren’t matching up with the reality of this fully overblown response and lock-down of millions upon millions of people across the globe. Here’s the breakdown for infections: “COVID-19: Approximately 247,400 cases worldwide; 14,250 cases in the U.S. (as of Mar. 20, 2020). Regular Flu: Estimated 1 billion cases worldwide; 9.3 million to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year. And here’s the breakdown for Deaths: COVID-19: Approximately 10,067 deaths reported worldwide; 205 deaths in the U.S., (as of Mar. 20, 2020). And for the regular Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year.”[11]

As we all sit and wait out what has been dubbed the newest pandemic to affect humanity, we should take time to appreciate everything that we have in our own lives. This means educating ourselves on issues that we do not understand. This also means we should also take this time to reflect on our own household and community. As we endure our newest and most politically uncharted direction for some time, we should also ponder taking on an old-time responsibility and obligation to our American solidarity, heritage, and traditional acts of participation in community affairs. We have hit a crossroads in humanity’s timeline. From here on out, regardless of your social class and occupation, we are all prisoners of the political and social cycle that we as individuals choose (and don’t choose) to be part of.

Daniel was due to give a talk about his book on mid-19thcentury northern California later this year. It’s now been canceled; however, you can keep up-to-date on when it is rearranged for here.

Finally, Daniel Smith writes at complexamerica.org.

Resources

[1] "Iran Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 600, Syria Shuts Schools." Worthy Christian News. Last modified March 14, 2020. https://www.worthynews.com/47764-iran-coronavirus-death-toll-passes-600-syria-shuts-schools. 

[2] "Coronavirus Ravages Middle East As Iran Warns of 'Millions' of Deaths." Worthy Christian News. Last modified March 17, 2020. https://www.worthynews.com/47862-coronavirus-ravages-middle-east-as-iran-warns-of-millions-of-deaths.

[3] "The Minister in Persia (Caldwell) to the Secretary of State. Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1918, Supplement 2, The World War." Office of the Historian. Last modified October 2, 1918. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1918Supp02/d709.

[4] "History of 1918 Flu Pandemic." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last modified January 22, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm.

[5] Ibid., Office of the Historian.

[6] "African Locust Swarm Headed for Middle East." Worthy Christian News. Last modified March 17, 2020. https://www.worthynews.com/47840-african-locust-swarm-headed-for-middle-east.

[7] Solé, Elise. "Hoarding Toilet Paper Amid the Coronavirus: Why Are People Doing It?" Yahoo. Last modified March 19, 2020. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/hoarding-toilet-paper-amid-the-coronavirus-why-are-people-doing-it-203046290.html.

[8] Rawlinson, Kevin. "'This Enemy Can Be Deadly': Boris Johnson Invokes Wartime Language." The Guardian. Last modified March 18, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/17/enemy-deadly-boris-johnson-invokes-wartime-language-coronavirus.

[9] "Trump Says He Will Invoke Wartime Act to Fight 'enemy' Coronavirus." U.S. Last modified March 19, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trump-act/trump-says-he-will-invoke-wartime-act-to-fight-enemy-coronavirus-idUSKBN2152XL?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews.

[10] "COVID-19: Is A Psyop – Cabal Wants To Turn The World Into A Militarized Police State." Investment Watch – Spreading the Truth. Empowering the People. Last modified February 19, 2020. https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/covid-19-is-a-psyop-cabal-wants-to-turn-the-world-into-a-militiarized-police-state/.

[11] Dr. Maragakis, Lisa L. "Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vs. the Flu." Johns Hopkins Medicine, Based in Baltimore, Maryland. Accessed March 20, 2020. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu. 

The Role of the Baptists in the Pursuit of Religious Liberty in America: Part 3 – How Baptists Became Tolerated

When thinking about the Constitution of the United States, names like James Madison usually come to mind. But a friend of the great "architect of the Constitution," John Leland, a Baptist minister, had much to do with Madison's giant accomplishments. In fact, without Mr. Leland's influence the establishment clause in the First Amendment may not exist as we know it. In this series of articles we explore the critical but little-known role played by the Baptists in helping to secure America’s cherished religious freedoms. In the third article we will see how the view of Baptists changed from a disease to be eradicated to being tolerated, amid the creation of the Rhode Island Royal Charter.

Victor Gamma explains. You can read part 1 on the persecution suffered by Baptists in 17thcentury America here, and part 2 on Roger Williams and religious freedom here.

A possible painting of John Clarke, an influential leader during the early days of the Baptist Church in America. Painting by Guilliam de Ville and in the Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island. Available here.

While Roger Williams was busy upsetting tender Puritan sensibilities, other colonial firebrands were stoking the fires of dissent. John Clarke emerged as an influential leader, too, during the early days of the Baptist Church in America. Clarke arrived in Boston from England in 1637 as a minister and practicing physician. He soon gravitated to Rhode Island, that budding haven of freedom, where he worked with Roger Williams and helped found Newport. Like his more famous co-religionist, Dr. Clarke was a religious refugee from Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1644 the Newport congregation had become another center of Baptist activity under Clarke’s leadership. Meanwhile, Massachusetts had, in the same year, outlawed Baptists. The law, reflecting the conflict with Williams and others, reiterated the Puritan concern over the alleged Baptist threat to established order:

“Foreasmuch as experience hath plentifully and often proved, that since the first rising of the Anabaptist, about one hundred years since, they have been the incendiaries of the commonwealths, and the infectors of persons main matters of religion, and the troublers of churches in all places where they have been . .  . and so must necessarily bring guilt upon us, infection and trouble to the churches, and hazard to the whole commonwealth.”

Soon after the Witter incident (discussed in the first article in this series here), Clark left for England along with Roger Williams with the goal of securing a charter for Rhode Island. Immediately after arriving in England, Clark was moved to write a treatise on the subject of religious liberty, Ill Newes from New-England, or, A Narrative of New–England’s Persecution, Whereas Is Declared that While Old England is Becoming New, New–England Is Become Old. In the treatise, Clarke presented his beliefs of governmental non-interference in matters of religion. Clarke's purpose was to alert government leaders to the facts regarding Puritan persecution of other Christians, to defend liberty of conscience, and to propose methods of advancing the Gospel. The earnest doctor hoped to stir up the Puritan government, whom, he hoped, would be outraged to hear about the terrible abused degrading the English outpost across the Atlantic. Specifically, Clark wanted them to take action to uphold liberty of conscience and protect his hard-pressed fellow Baptists. Clarke felt free to exaggerate if it would serve his purpose, "Thereupon they (the Puritan government of New England) have been too deeply engaged in the shedding of much innocent blood in this Land," asserted Clarke. He attempted to convince Parliamentary leaders that the Puritans of Massachusetts were exercising a high-handed government contrary to Biblical principles and odious to that which Parliament itself had fought for when opposing the oppressive rule of the King and his Bishops. To prove his authenticity Clarke also recounted his own persecution at the hands of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He began by stating that his trial at the hands of the Massachusetts authorities involved none of the elements of fairness so beloved of Englishmen. Specifically, Clarke related that his trial lacked accusers, witnesses, jury, 'law of God, or man." Instead, after the charge was brought the sentence followed, along with a scolding from the Governor, John Endicot. Here Clarke was accused of being an Anabaptist and of re-baptizing. Clarke denied the charge of being an Anabaptist or of re-baptizing and pointed out that such an accusation could not be proven. When the Governor persisted in his accusations, Dr. Clarke stated his beliefs, or in his parlance, testified, regarding true baptism and liberty of conscience. Clarke's withering indictment of the 'The Antichristian Rule in New England' proved to be effective. This "drum major of freedom" so alarmed Massachusetts’ authorities that they responded with a counterblast of their own entitled The Civil Magistrates Power in Matters of Religion Modestly Debated, published in 1653. Despite their rebuttal, Clarke's expose led to his next, and greatest, accomplishment, the Rhode Island Royal Charter.

The Rhode Island Royal Charter

The struggle to acquire a charter kept Clarke in England for next twelve years. It was vital that Rhode Island had its interests defended because all the other colonies were hostile towards the young colony. They were fortunate to have a determined agent to act as their advocate in England. After a lengthy process, including ten letters and petitions to the king in one year alone, Charles II, affixed his seal to the document on July 8, 1663. The charter was quite radical for its time. Among its provisions, the one most dear to Clarke touched on religious liberty:

“Our royal will and pleasure is that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any difference in opinion in matters of religion ..."

This charter remained the basis of Rhode Island's government until 1842. The following words, written by Clarke himself in all capitals to press his case, are carved into the frieze of the Rhode Island State House: ‘TO HOLD FORTH A LIVELY EXPERIMENT THAT A MOST FLOURISHING CIVILL STATE MAY STAND ... AND BEST BE MAINTAYNED ... WITH A FULL LIBERTIE IN RELIGIOUS CONCERNMENTS’.With this charter, the Baptists had a safe haven in the New World. The struggle for liberty in the other colonies, however, was just beginning.

Now, read part 4 here. It is the final part in the series - How Baptists Ensured Religious Freedom.

What do you think of the article? Let us know below.

References

Clarke, John. Ill Newes from New-England, or, A Narrative of New–England’s Persecution, Whereas Is Declared that While Old England is Becoming New, New–England Is Become Old. London: Henry Hills, 1652.

Backus, Isaac. History of New England With Particular Reference to the Denomination of Christians called Baptists. Ulan Press, 2012.

Brackney, William H. editor. Baptist Life and Thought: a Source Book. Valley Forge PA: Judson Press, 1998.

Green, Samuel. The Book of the General Laws and Libertyes Concerning the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts.Cambridge:1648.

James, Charles. A Documentary History of the Struggle for Religious Liberty in Virginia.ForthWorth TX: RDMc Publishing, 1900.

Leonard, Bill J. Baptist Ways: A History.Valley Forge PA: Judson Press, 2001.

Mather, Cotton. MagnaliaChristi Americana: or The Ecclesiastical History of New England. London, Thomas Parkhurst, 1702.

Shurden, Walter B. (2008). Turning Points in Baptist History. Mercer University Press.

Ward, Nathaniel. The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam in America, 1647, www.publicbookshelf.org.

The TV Series Chernobyl: A Masterpiece?

The TV series Chernobyl has been the subject of acclaim by many people. Here, Shannon Bent returns and gives us her generally positive take on the series. However, she also considers the inaccuracies in the show and some of the negative impacts, including the vandalization of the Chernobyl area.

This follows Shannon’s articles on Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie (here) and Topography of Terror (here), the UK’s Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker (here), and the definition of a museum (here).

A 2013 photo of a ferris wheel in Pripyat, the town in which the Chernobyl power plant was. Source: Tiia Monto, available here.

We all love a good war film, or period drama TV show. History carries its own drama and intrigue that we can capitalize on and use for entertainment value. And yes, it is okay to say that you are interested in a movie about the darkest moments for the human race; arguably it is part of the human condition to have interest in ‘horrible’ subjects. And then big film companies have a fantastic ability to take these already amazing, impressive, unbelievable historical subjects and add even more drama, explosions and death to it. Sometimes to the point of impertinence. 

As a historian, historical accuracy is the most important thing in not only my work, but in my own time when enjoying TV, books and films. I enjoy action, drama, suspense. But all this cannot be at the expense of historical accuracy. There’s just no need for it! There are so many war films that take drama and action over the heroic stories of those that actually fought and it is a huge shame. 

Moving away from war

I’m going to move away from war for a moment. I know, shock. In my defense, when you have a degree in something, it tends to occupy your mind more than other subjects. But the first piece of popular culture (using a term harping back to my Sociology class) I want to speak about is the recent HBO series ‘Chernobyl’. I don’t wish to use the word ‘masterpiece’ more than once in this series of articles so let’s get it out of the way first off. This series was a masterpiece. I have never been more gripped, more hooked, more moved, by a piece of cinematography than I was by this mini-series. I was skeptical at first. While the writers, producers and cast list was enough to make anyone impressed, it was the topic that concerned me. We have a tendency to wait a few decades before we begin to encompass historical events like this into popular culture. That, or we begin fairly soon after the event so that it is fresh in everyone’s mind and people that were apart of it can be involved if they wish. The Chernobyl disaster happened in 1986, and not only that but during the most secretive period in the world’s history, the Cold War. (Okay, I lied. I said there was no war in this one. There is. Sorry.) This makes accurately commenting on the subject tricky to say the least. For a start, of course 1986 is within many people’s lifetimes. However, to be crude and obvious about it, not many people that were there have survived to be able to tell their story today. Furthermore, anything that happened within the Soviet Union was kept under tight lock and key, and even with the downfall of the regime in 1991 that supposedly made archives and records accessible to governments, journalists and historians, knowledge on everything that occurred is sketchy at best. Let alone knowledge on a subject as damming as this. 

So, I was skeptical. I was worried if it was going to be handled sympathetically, accurately, and without too much political correctness when it came to ‘pointing the finger’ so to speak. There were many things that could have gone horribly wrong. But we were all in for a positive shock.

The Bridge of Death

The series begins a mere few hours before the disaster occurs yet does a fantastic job at setting the scene in communist Ukraine. It presents Pripyat as the purpose-built town it was intended to be – all existing purely to house workers for the power plant. Filmed in previously communist Lithuania, the architecture is perfectly Soviet. The reactor room was reconstructed on the set with minute accuracy, but we have photos to help us with that. This means costumes etc. can be fairly accurate too. These things should be correct; however, like I say, photos and, lets be honest, logic, should lead to these things being accurate. It’s the smaller matters that may be an issue. 

I’ve just spent the last half an hour annoying my parents who are trying to read the newspaper by reading out lines from various articles I have found online about the accuracy of this series. There seemed to be a consistent item that was cited in these articles – ‘The Bridge of Death’. In the first episode, it is shown that many residents of the town went to stand on a bridge that directly faced the power plant to watch the fire, and this eerie blue glow that sat above it. The episode also depicts a type of ‘ash rain’ falling onto the skin of the onlookers, adults and children alike, presumably radioactive ash. At the end of the episode, in a manner that a lot of historical dramas like to adopt, the producers add in comments about what has been more accurate or extra information about scenes shown before. The comments at the end of this episode claim ‘of the people who watched from the railway bridge, it has been reported that none survived. It is now known as ‘The Bridge of Death’’. This has been highly disputed by just about everyone. A BBC article containing the comments from Mr Breus, an engineer at the power plant and eyewitness of the disaster just hours after it happened, says that many people would have slept through the night and would have only been aware of the explosion the following morning. I am inclined to agree. Depending on how loud the explosion was (and I know that sounds potentially stupid, it is an explosion. It’ll be damn loud. But what I mean is, taking into account proximity to the town, surrounding terrain etc., it may not have been loud enough to wake some people) many people may have continued to sleep unaware. The series practically implies that half the town took a picnic up to the bridge to go and watch. Also, I do not wish to insult the intelligence of the people of Pripyat by implying that an explosion or fire at a nuclear power plant is something to go and watch like one would a firework display. It is more likely that even if residents were aware, most would have done the smart thing of staying in their homes until morning and awaiting official information.

Google this concept and you will find forum after forum, website after website, thread after thread, about how there is no evidence of this being true. Keep in mind this is one of the most highly researched events in history, and I don’t just mean by historians. Every sector of science has taken this one under its wing; environmental scientists, human scientists, biologists, chemists, physicists, sociologists, anthropologists. You name it, they have studied it. Not to mention historians, journalists and writers collecting eyewitness accounts and numerous stories from just about every element of society in Pripyat. If there was a notable amount of people collecting on a bridge to watch the biggest nuclear disaster in history, someone would have noticed the pattern and commented on it. Perhaps this is a case of drama for drama’s sake. People are pretty annoyed about this point. It’s a fairly large misleading point, and furthermore to claim that everyone depicted died is even more misleading.

Chernobyl Tourism

There are various other historical inaccuracies that people have pointed out, and a few accounts of drama for drama’s sake. Overall though, the consensus is that the series was done sympathetically, mostly accurately and with fantastic self-awareness of the enormity of what they were commenting on. Even I, who believe that historical inaccuracy is the worst thing people could grace TV and cinema with, can overlook these elements in favor of overall understanding better the hell that these people went through in dealing with this disaster. But more to the point, very much more to the point than my last 1,000 words have been, far worse and sinister things have come out of this series than just a few historical inaccuracies or dramatization of the facts.

I will forever maintain that the human race is its own greatest vice. We are an incredible species; we develop and research and discover. We advance at the speed of light to make our lives better. Yet we are still infinitely stupid. Within a month of the series airing on its various platforms, visitors to the exclusion zone rocketed in numbers. I guess to be expected, to an extent. If you draw attention to any historical site or event in popular culture, you are, by definition, making it popular. This is very much the point of this series; making history popular and how we react to it. I will also admit my guilt in jumping onto this bandwagon. Many times I have seen a site on TV or read about it in a book or article and insisted on going to see visit it. After all, standing in the place in which history has occurred brings it to life, as I have said before. However, I must say, not many of these places I have been eager to visit contain the most radioactive areas of land on the planet. I considered it, once, when I was looking for interesting trip destinations. While it was cheap to visit (it has considerably risen in price now as I’m sure you can imagine), it was a fleeting consideration and it was short-lived. 

However, unfortunately, many people aren’t flocking to the site to pay their respect to history, to the people that lost their lives because of the tragedy. No, instead they are going there to take selfies and graffiti the buildings. And it is not just the visitors that are capitalizing on ‘dark tourism’. Online and at the site there are gift shops selling souvenirs such as t-shirts with the radioactive symbols on, ‘radioactive glow’ mugs and key rings, fridge magnets and hats. But perhaps more disturbingly than all of this, the official souvenir vendors at the checkpoint entering the exclusion zone are selling bottled ‘radioactive air’ and ‘Chernobyl ice cream’, supposedly made from the contaminated milk of local cows. The amount of times I have used inverted commas in this article to do with this topic is disturbing to me. These elements of gifts and souvenirs are fairly alarming when you consider that they are supposed to be a thing which would give the user radiation poisoning. Apart from being totally stupid, it is the most appalling, unethical, amoral thing I have ever read in my life. 

Reading up on what these tours off, how these tour companies bring bus after bus of people in, making their guests spend longer at these souvenir stands than at the actual site, and then allow these visitors to pick things up, climb into buildings, vandalize the area and litter the now reclaimed wildlife-filled forest is utterly disgusting. Both parties are to blame here. Yes, the people should know better; have some basic humility. But these tour companies shouldn’t be allowing such vile behavior in such a dangerous place. Ultimately, the bottom line is that while living history is amazing, and the concept of standing in the very place that history happened is very important to many including me, this should not be happening. Who is to blame is to be debated, of course, and is hotly contested. To me, everyone is. Everyone from the tour companies to the people behaving badly on the tours are all throwing their hat into this ring of destruction and in some manner competing to see who is worse.

The importance of the media in popularizing history

The question is, seeing as this has all stemmed from the HBO series as the popularity of the site rose along with the viewing figures of the show, how much is the entertainment industry to blame? And I’m referring to more general concepts too, not just Chernobyl; World War battlefield sites and movies, areas of natural beauty that appear in the media, these are all places that have been affected by the emergence of media popularity through TV and film. 

Ultimately, I feel the question is should we have to miss out on educational and entertainment opportunities of TV and movies so that idiots don’t know where to go to defile and destroy an area of great importance to humanity.?

This seems harsh maybe. But if you’ve read anything else I’ve written you may know by now I pull no punches in these articles. I’m fed up with people thinking that their stupid actions should take priority over the preservation of a place in which people lost their lives to try and save others. Not many things can make my blood boil like this topic does. I was beside myself with anger when I began reading the articles I have mentioned and quoted in this piece. I do not believe we should stop creating fantastic pieces such as the series Chernobyl just in case someone decides that they want to graffiti a radioactive building or somebody decides to capitalize on a very real deadly concept of radioactive material and uses it to sell some kind of ‘quirky’ and ‘individual’ gift. However, I feel ultimately this is the price we pay if we wish to encompass sites such as Chernobyl into popular culture. It doesn’t matter how good your intentions are, how historically accurate you make your show, you always run a risk of being misconstrued or misinterpreted or simply people missing the point that this area is a) dangerous, b) should be protected, and c) is sacred to the people that once lived there and witnessed this disaster. Even if you can beautifully articulate this point in your work, as I feel Chernobyldid, capitalism will continue to roam free in the area and people will continue to not understand why taking smiling selfies in a reactor room where people lost their lives is in poor taste, to put it mildly. 

Creating series like this are so important for everyone, and I cannot express how vital it is for everyone to understand this topic, no matter how little of it they understand. And if we remove the tour guides, the souvenir shops and the memorabilia, the Chernobylseries has achieved its main goal: one thing is for sure, the disaster of Chernobyl on the April, 26 1986 will never be forgotten. 

What do you think of the article? Let us know below.

References

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/shortcuts/2019/jun/04/chernobyl-welcomes-the-tourists-a-messy-and-morally-queasy-experience

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/dark-tourism-chernobyl/index.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48580177

https://works.bepress.com/philip_stone/31/

A Secret US Cold War Facility in Greenland: Operation Iceworm

During the Cold War both the Americans and Soviets set up secret facilities all over the world in order to give them an advantage over the other side. One of the most ambitious was Operation Iceworm (or Project Iceworm), an American attempt to set-up a major base in frozen Greenland with many nuclear missiles that could reach the USSR. K.R.T Quirion explains.

The PM-2A nuclear power plant. From 1960 until 1963, the electricity was provided by this portable nuclear reactor, known as PM-2A.

In 1959, Army surveyors began preparing for a new U.S. military station to be built on the Greenland icecap. It would come to be called Camp Century. The official statement claimed that it would be an experiment in constructing military facilities on the icecap. The Army would test various construction techniques under Arctic conditions, explore practical problems with a semi-mobile nuclear reactor, and support scientific experiments.

Publicly, Camp Century claimed to show how ordinary Americans could live and work in a remote location, and a veritable first-step in determining whether a viable moon colony could ever be maintained. Tunneling began in 1959 and went on for three years. Eventually, the underground facility would house sleeping quarters, laboratories, offices, a barbershop, laundry, library, and warm showers for 225 soldiers. The entire base was powered by a nuclear reactor that had been shipped in to provide electricity.[1]

Despite the public claim that Camp Century was nothing more than a “nuclear-powered Arctic research center,” the truth was more reminiscent of a James Bond film.[2]In 1997 the Danish Institute of International Affairs published a report titled Grønland under den kolde krig(Greenland during the Cold War), in which the contents of a newly declassified U.S. document were discussed.[3] This report outlined the existence of a top-secret plan by the U.S. Army to construct a massive nuclear missile facility under the Greenland Icecap. During the early 1960s, the Danish government had no idea that this strategic base was being constructed underneath their own sovereign soil. Plans for this base were kept secret from the Danes because at the time the Danish government supported the popular “no to nuclear weapons in Denmark” movement.[4] But, to those in the know, Camp Century was the home of “Operation Iceworm.”

Nuclear Facility Plans

In the early years of the Cold War, NATO relied almost entirely on the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal to deter Warsaw Pact aggression. By the mid-1950s, the U.S. was struggling to meet the ever-escalating demands of its global war against the Soviet Union. NATO allies were demanding that the U.S. deploy nuclear forces in sufficient number and range to credibly deter a Soviet attack. In a 1960 report entitled the Strategic Value of the Greenland Icecap, the U.S. Army Engineer Studies Center described a plan to deploy 600 Mid-Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBMs) across 52,000 square miles of Greenland’s frozen ice sheet.[5]

The new two-stage “Iceman” missiles that army planners envisioned for “Operation Iceworm” had a range of 3,300 nautical miles. From its strategic location within the Arctic Circle, Camp Century and its retinue could cover 80% of all relevant Soviet targets.[6]Furthermore, because of its design and harsh climate, the base would be nearly invisible and penetrable only by ground forces or the most massive of thermonuclear assaults. Finally, as a safeguard, the missiles would be moved every few hours via a subterranean railway among 2,100 different launch sites and controlled by sixty launch control centers (LCCs) embedded in hardened bunkers.[7]

Accommodating the “Iceman” missiles and the 11,000-strong defense and support team needed to maintain them would require a massive expansion of Camp Century’s livable facilities. The Army calculated the price tag of “Operation Iceworm” as around $2.37 billion. Construction of the strategic facilities began as soon as tunneling started in 1959. 

Challenges

Despite initial success, the lynch pin of the entire facility, the subterranean railway that would transport the “Iceman” missiles, was found to be infeasible. After construction began it was found that the tunnel walls, made only of ice and snow, were in continual flux due to the natural shifting of the icecap. This constant movement caused the tunnels and trenches to narrow as their walls deformed, bulged, and settled. In some instances the tunnels collapsed entirely. These complications created a danger for Camp Century’s nuclear arsenal and made transportation on the missile train impossible.[8]Even the nuclear reactor, which provided electricity to the Camp, was in constant danger from the ice shifting. By the summer of 1962 the ceiling of the reactor room had dropped five feet and had to be lifted to avoid fatal contact with the reactor. Collapsing continued and the Army was forced to deactivate and remove the reaction chamber of the nuclear generator.[9]

Due to these complications, and a fierce inter-service rivalry for control of strategic nuclear assets, “Operation Iceworm” was abandoned in 1963 having never received any of its nuclear ordnance. Camp Century remained operational for a few more years as a summer research facility until it too was decommissioned in 1967. When the Army final left, minimal deconstruction and removal was conducted. Along with the facilities and transportation infrastructure, 200,000 liters of diesel fuel as well as other chemical, biological, and radiological wastes were left under the ice. [10]The Army abandoned Camp Century hoping that the remaining memory of “Operation Iceworm” would be “preserved for eternity” under the perpetual snowfall of the Greenland Icecap.[11]

Let us know what you think of Operation Iceworm below.

Now, you can read K.R.T Quirion’s recently published series on telegraphy in the US Civil War here.

[1]Petersen, Nikolaj, “The Iceman That Never Came,” Scandinavian Journal of History 33, No. 1 (2008): 75–98, https://doi.org/10.1080/03468750701449554, 78.

[2]Ibid., 75.

[3]Niiler, Eric, “When the Pentagon Dug Secret Cold War Ice Tunnels to Hide Nukes,” History.com, A&E Television Networks, March 27, 2019, https://www.history.com/news/project-iceworm-cold-war-nuclear-weapons-greenland.

[4]Nielsen, Kristian Hvidtfelt, and Henry Nielsen, Aarhus University, Centre for Science Studies, and Aarhus University, “How the US Built a Mysterious Military Camp under the Greenland Ice Sheet,” SNORDIC-FRONT, December 19, 2017. https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-forskerzonen-history/how-the-us-built-a-mysterious-military-camp-under-the-greenland-ice-sheet/1451993.

[5]Petersen, “The Iceman That Never Came,” 79.

[6]Ibid.

[7]Weiss, Erick D., “Cold War Under The Ice: The Army’s Bid for a Long-Range Nuclear Role, 1959-1963,” Journal of Cold War Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, (Fall, 2001): 31-58, doi:10.1162/152039701750419501, 41.

[8]Niiler, “When the Pentagon Dug Secret Cold War Ice Tunnels to Hide Nukes.”

[9]Colgan, William, Horst Machguth, Mike Macferrin, Jeff D. Colgan, Dirk Can As, and Joseph A. Macgregor, “The Abandoned Ice Sheet Base at Camp Century, Greenland, in a Warming Climate,” Geophysical Research Letters

 43, No. 15 (April 2016): 8091-96, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016g1069688, 8091.

[10]Ibid., 8092.

[11]Ibid., 8091.

The Netherlands in South Africa: Dutch Colonization in the 17th Century

Modern day South Africa has had contact with Europeans for centuries, and the first group to settle there were the Dutch. Here, Matt Lowe looks at the history of Dutch settlement in South Africa in the 17thcentury and considers how this played a part in later South African history.

A painting depicting the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck, first Commander of the Cape, to Table Bay in April 1652. Painting by Charles Davidson Bell.

At the far southern end of the Old World, the land that is now known as South Africa has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. Nowadays, in the West, South Africa is remembered as the land of Apartheid with continued racial tensions between the black majority and white minority, the legacy of the country’s complicated colonial past. European-descended South Africans are relatively new arrivals to the region, but just how long they have been present in the country may not be evident. Permanent European settlements were first founded by the Dutch in 1652, unintentionally leading to the creation of a new ethnic group in South Africa with its own language, history, and ideology, and, perhaps most notably from a modern perspective, its own unique sins.

The Dutch East Indies Company and the Founding of Cape Colony

Beginning in the early 1400s, the Age of Discovery saw ships from several European nations set out with the explicit purpose of finding new lands and trade routes. As a small country with maritime prowess, the Portuguese were among the most prolific explorers during this period. A Portuguese expedition led by Bartolomeu Dias was the first to locate the Cape of Good Hope at the southwestern tip of South Africa. Ten years later, Vasco da Gama would follow the same route and push further on to be the first to sail from Europe to India. During this voyage, da Gama briefly landed north of the Cape and made contact with the Khoikhoi natives for the first time. For over one hundred years, no other European nations would spend any considerable amount of time or effort in the region.

Like Portugal, the Netherlands was a small country dependent on sea trade. The Dutch wanted to gain a foothold in the immensely lucrative spice trade and sent its fleets to India and the Far East. The Dutch government decided that a chartered company would be useful to profitably govern the growing colonies in India and Indonesia. Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East Indies Company was founded in 1602 and was given almost total political and economic authority over the Dutch possessions in the East. It soon became official protocol for outgoing and returning VOC ships to anchor at the natural harbor of Table Bay at the Cape of Good Hope as a convenient place to rest the crews on the long voyages.

In 1651, the Council made the decision to send a small fleet to the Cape to establish a permanent supply base. Jan van Riebeeck, who had been a competent and loyal employee of the VOC since 1639, was chosen to command the expedition and directly oversee the development of the colony. His orders were simple. He was to find ways to provide food and clean water to the visiting ships and to construct a fort to defend the settlement. Of course, these objectives proved rather difficult to achieve. The expedition, made up of Dutch (and some German) VOC employees and their families and soldiers, departed the Netherlands on December 24, 1651 and arrived in Table Bay on April 6, 1652. Van Riebeeck could not have known it at the time, but the arrival of his fleet would define South African history for the next three and a half centuries.

Early Development

The first priorities were to find food sources, make contact with the native population, and begin construction of the fort. All these efforts progressed simultaneously. Some settlers were put to work experimenting with growing various kinds of European crops, while others were sent to explore the coast and further inland for meat and fish. Prior to the expedition’s arrival, the region had been sparsely populated by the Khoikhoi (or Khoi) and San tribes. The Dutch made initial contact with the Khoi and began trading European goods for local cattle. This relationship benefitted both parties and continued for several decades. There were periods of conflict between the Khoi and the settlers, of course, but the Dutch tried to stay on good terms with them when possible. The San group, however, were not interested in dealing with the Dutch. With food sources established and a fort under construction, Cape Town, the first settlement, was established.

Ships began arriving at Cape Town within a year of its founding, bringing supplies to help the colony grow and consolidate. Van Riebeeck and his settlers were diligent, and the viability of the colony soon became evident. The climate at the Cape proved well suited to growing European crops and trees as well as plants from India and the Far East. Sufficient numbers of cattle were purchased from the Khoikhoi that there were eventually enough for Dutch farmers to raise their own herds. Additionally, the first wine grapes were planted, which began the long tradition of South African wine. Establishing law and order was a priority as well. Early on, Robben Island in Table Bay, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 years, was used as a prison and place of exile. Criminal settlers, slaves that attempted to run away, and Khoikhoi and San people that tried to steal from or cheat the Dutch farmers were sent there to live in isolation from the main colony. However, similar to the contemporary European colonies in North America, disease killed many early settlers before adequate housing had been built to protect them from the elements. Population growth in the colony was slow in the early years due to these factors as well as the low numbers of new colonists that arrived from Europe. Over time, however, the colony would become more robust and fresh settlers would steadily arrive for centuries to come.

From the start, the VOC shipped slaves from India, the East Indies, and West Africa to Cape Colony. Since there were only a few hundred European settlers, the colonists alone could not make the farms and ranches functional. Life for the slaves was difficult, although the settlers were prohibited from harming them, as they were considered VOC property. Initially, there were too few settlers to keep watch of the slaves, and many were able to escape into the interior, although there was no hope for them to ever return to their homelands. The natives of the region were not enslaved, however, since the Dutch needed to do business with them in order to survive. In fact, interracial marriages between Dutch men and Khoi or slave women were condoned by the VOC under the proper circumstances. The first mixed marriage occurred between a Dutchman and a freed Indian slave girl in 1658, and the first official Protestant wedding between a European and Khoi woman in 1664. The descendants from these relationships and the colony’s slaves would, in time, create a separate ethnic community known as the ‘Cape Coloureds’ that number in the millions in modern South Africa.

Consolidation of Cape Colony

Legally and practically, the VOC had a monopoly on all the economic activity of Cape Colony. This did not mean, however, that every settler was a company employee per se. Independent citizens, or free burghers, were allowed to own their own farms, ranches, mills, and other businesses, provided, of course, that they sell most of their goods to the company for fixed prices. This arrangement allowed for the VOC to make Cape Colony profitable while, ideally, giving enough freedom to its residents to live how they wanted. Most of the burghers were former VOC employees that had already served the company abroad. The free burghers gradually developed a distinct identity as a community, one that valued individualism and distrusted formal authority. Some burghers would become “trekboers”, or semi-nomadic ranchers. The trekboer lifestyle was an early manifestation of the individualism that would become a prominent feature of Afrikaner culture in later centuries. 

Van Riebeeck was relieved of his command in 1662. The Cape Colony commanders that followed van Riebeeck would primarily continue the policies and projects that he had begun. The fort would eventually be replaced by the much larger and more complex Castle of Good Hope, which still stands today in Cape Town. It was not until Simon van der Stel assumed the governorship in 1679 that the colony began to mature economically and expand further inland. Starting with van der Stel, the role of commander was upgraded to governor, with all the civil administrative connotations it entailed. Under his leadership, new towns were founded, agricultural production increased to surplus levels, and the colony started to transform into more than just a supply station for VOC ships.

During van der Stel’s tenure, the first French Huguenots arrived in Cape Colony. While most Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France went to England and the Netherlands, the VOC paid for around two hundred men, women, and children to emigrate to South Africa starting in 1688. France had been an enemy of the Dutch many times prior, but the Huguenots were broadly welcomed at the Cape, due mostly to their Protestant faith which they shared with the Dutch and German colonists. As the colony continued to grow, the Huguenots worked in farming and ranching and contributed greatly to the quality of South African wine. The French settlers assimilated into the Dutch culture of the region, although French surnames are still present among the modern Afrikaner population.

Simon van der Stel retired in 1699 and was succeeded by his son Willem. Unfortunately for the colonists and the VOC leadership, Willem van der Stel was deeply corrupt. For over seven years, van der Stel built a massive estate with company funds and deliberately took steps to monopolize the colony’s farms and ranches under his and his associates’ control. Company employees and free burghers viewed this with great concern and began to organize against van der Stel’s rule. With much trouble and the wrongful imprisonment of prominent burghers, a petition detailing the governor’s abuses and signed by dozens of colonists was shipped back to the Netherlands in 1706. The VOC leadership, wary of discontent in one of their most important colonies, sent orders back that called for peace to be restored at the Cape, dismissed van der Stel, and ordered him to return to Amsterdam. Willem van der Stel left the colony in 1708 and would never return. With his departure, the early period of modern South African history had ended.

Conclusion

During this first half decade of development, the southwestern point of the continent had been permanently altered. The embryonic European population had grown to around two thousand persons, while there were two to three times as many slaves. The land had been tamed and the colonists had learned to utilize the good weather of the region to grow crops, raise livestock, and make high quality wine. It had transformed into a place for permanent settlement rather than merely a VOC outpost. Notably, the fierce independent nature that Afrikaners would become known for in later centuries began to coalesce. Physical distance from the authorities and the need for self-sufficiency in a new land combined to make the colonists distrustful of outside interference in their affairs. Importantly, they began to view themselves as a separate, unique community rather than just a European oasis in Africa. The mass exodus of “Boers” from the Cape in the 1830s and their subsequent wars with the British were the direct results of this independent streak that began in the 1600s. For better or worse, the Europeans were in South Africa for the long haul, and the settlers, slaves, natives, and their descendants would have to reckon with this fact for centuries to come.

How do you think early Dutch settlement impacted later South African history? Let us know below.

References

“History of Slavery and Early Colonisation in South Africa.” South African History Online.
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-slavery-and-early-colonisation-south-africa.

Hunt, John. “Dutch South Africa: Early Settlers at the Cape 1652-1708.” Leicester, United Kingdom: Troubador Publishing, 2005.

Theal, George McCall. “History of South Africa Before 1795: Foundation of the Cape Colony by the Dutch.” London, United Kingdom: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1907.

The Tower of Babel & The Hadron Collider: Civilization’s Final Attempt To Play God?

There have been many attempts by humanity to ‘play God’ over history. Here, Daniel L. Smith explains the Hadron Collider project in the context of the Tower of Babel narrative from the Bible, Genesis 11:1-9.

Daniel’s new book on mid-19thcentury northern California is now available. Find our more here: Amazon US| Amazon UK

Tower of Babel by Lucas van Valckenborch, 1594. In the Louvre Museum.

When we consider lessons being taught and learned throughout our lives, we don’t necessarily think of these lessons starting at the very beginning of time. These lessons include the ethical and moral principles in which Christianity itself is based upon. Even further though, we never pull back far enough to see how lessons affect society and humankind as a whole unit. From the beginning mankind has chosen to take the path, seemingly today more frequently traveled, in poor decision making for achieving scientific greatness—all starting with Adam and Eve—with their choice to eat the apple from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Humanity didn’t learn its lesson from The Fall, which shows us that humanity can’t do it their own way. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. This ultimate expulsion sealed the fall of mankind.

The world was a wicked place in the days of Noah. The disgraceful, disgusting, violent, immoral and unethical societies in those days were something horrific. Dr. David Leston wrote that “archaeologists have unearthed bodies of people who lived in Mesopotamia, they have found evidence that cannibalism was practiced. In short, this was a very brutal era, in which humanity showed little to no regard for one another.”[1]He goes on to mention that in “January 1996 National Geographic did a comparison between rodeo riders and their injuries, and skeletons uncovered from the time of Noah. They found striking similarities between the injuries of the two groups, suggesting that this was a very violent society. When people reject God and the boundaries and purposes that He has created for them, they become a law unto themselves, and society becomes more weaker and dangerous.”[2]The net result? The same as always, extreme anarchy and a violent world. So, God flooded the world and spared the only honest and Godly man alive at the time. It was Noah who God gave the task of rebuilding civilization.

Man’s Rebellion

It was right after the Flood that people would repopulate the Fertile Crescent (the Middle East). This was a very fertile and agriculturally productive area which was quick to develop, and fought over heavily. One of humankind’s early technological developments was the ability to design and manipulate materials and so to make structures such as buildings. It was mankind’s obligation from God to subdue the earth. He ultimately gave mankind all the faculties necessary to create great constructions. However, in man’s rebellion against God, this gift was used in ways to honor men and not Him—such as The Tower of Babel. This attempt at building a ziggurat megastructure was humankind’s next attempt at playing God. Just a note here—it will blow your mind to look at the similarities in the Mesopotamian ziggurat of biblical days and a typical ziggurat from South America.

In Genesis 11, the tower planners said “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”[3]The planners of course were referring to making a name for mankind above God’s name. God saw this ability of man’s to centralize power effectively for the purposes of glorifying themselves. He then—in an instant—created world languages to confuse the masses and dispersed them globally. This effectively explains human migration in the ice age, world language and similarities in technology worldwide. Today, humankind over time has once again gathered to challenge God once again.

The Parallel?

On January 15, 2019, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) unveiled plans for an even larger Large Hadron Collider, with a 100km (62-mile) circumference - about four times longer than the current machine. The Future Circular Collider (FCC) will be almost 10 times more powerful than the current machine too. CERN said the FCC, which should be in use by 2040, would "significantly expand our knowledge of matter and the universe".[4] It was built by CERN between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundreds of universities and laboratories, as well as more than 100 countries.[5]The final end-game to this complex science experiment is the specific knowledge of this “God-particle” that adheres all of the atoms of physical matter together—which is where we get our physical reality from. This is arguably a tongue-in-cheek observation of humanities last parallel to the ancient Tower of Babel. 

This time, however, God is not going to come down to the Land of Shinar (the Fertile Crescent) to shake His head in humankinds disappointing direction. No. This should only serve humanity as a reminder. A sign of the times that we live in today. In the Biblical sense, humanity did not learn its lesson from The Fall. Nor did mankind learn its lesson from The Flood. Nor did mankind learn from the freedom of slavery that Moses gave the Israelites from the Pharaoh in Egypt. Nor did mankind learn from Sodom and Gomorrah. Finally, mankind didn’t learn either from the Tower of Babel. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Europe’s Large Hadron Collider is civilization’s last whole combined scientific effort to become God before humanity’s final Tribulation. 

Daniel is giving a talk about his book on mid-19thcentury northern California. Find out more here.

You can read Daniel’s past articles on California in the US Civil War (here), Medieval Jesters (here), How American Colonial Law Justified the Settlement of Native American Territories (here), Spanish Colonial Influence on Native Americans in Northern California (here), Christian ideology in history (here), the collapse of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (here), early Christianity in Britain (here), the First Anglo-Dutch War (here), and how Ulysses S. Grant saved Native Peoples in 1850s California (here).

Finally, Daniel Smith writes at complexamerica.org.

[1]Dr. Leston, Stephen, and Christopher D. Hudson. "From Creation to the Tower of Babel | The Age of Noah." In The Bible in World History: How History and Scripture Intersect, 31. Uhrichsville: Barbour Pub, 2011.

[2]Ibid. p. 32.

[3]The Holy Bible (NKJV) | Genesis 11:4.

[4]"CERN Plans Even Larger Large Hadron Collider to Find More 'God Particles'." Worthy Christian News. Last modified January 16, 2019. https://www.worthynews.com/38497-cern-plans-even-larger-large-hadron-collider-to-find-more-god-particles.

[5]"Large Hadron Collider." The Telegraph. Accessed December 27, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/large-hadron-collider/3351899/Large-Hadron-Collider-thirteen-ways-to-change-the-world.html.