Although not technically beef jerky, Pemmican, is as close as you are going to get. Pemmican is a mixture of fat and protein (mainly buffalo, but deer, beef or anything else that was available), and is a nutritious food. It is a Cree food used by fur traders to remain nourished during the long treks across the Canadian plains during the turn of the century. It began with the Red River community in what is now Winnipeg Manitoba. The Metis began making it, as it basically lasts 'forever; without going bad. So how does something like Pemmican cause a war? I will show you how.
In 1811, Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk, set up the community of Red River, on a 116,000 Sq miles of land granted to him from the Hudson's Bay Company, in what is now Winnipeg. Douglas had a growing interest in the HBC, and wanted his Red River colony to help block fur trade to the rival North West Company. In 1814, the Governor of Red River, issued a proclamation limiting the number of buffalo that could be slaughtered per season by the local Metis peoples. This proclamation caused the Metis to call for their own sovereign Red River State for the Metis. They continued to ignore the proclamation, and killed more buffalo than they were allowed. They stopped exporting buffalo meat, but continued make it into Pemmican, which was consumed locally and sold to traders passing through the Red River Valley.
In 1815, the Governor forbade the export of local goods, which included Pemmican. In the process, he confiscated more than 400 pouches of Pemmican belonging to the North West Company. He forced the NWC to then close its trading posts within the limits of the Red River Community, and as a result the Nor'Westerners and their Metis allies vowed to wage a war against the community. Cuthbert Grant was granted the position of Captain-General of the Metis militia groups and designed a Metis flag for their to-be sovereign state.
With the fear of complete bloodshed, only 13 families remained in the Red River community, the rest had been driven out or left for their safety, and the Governor quickly surrendered. The numerous Metis militia groups continued to raze farms and burned buildings in the colony to show their anger with the local government.
The Metis demanded that the HBC remove the grants given to the Red River community and allow them free rain to hunt buffalo and remove any laws that limited their local heritage. They made it clear that the Red River Metis identified as a distinctive community and values system.
Many thought the conflict would end, but the war escalated the following year, when the HBC company burned the NWC's Fort at Gibraltar. As a result Grant, and the Metis waged war against the HBC by attacking the Brandon House, a major HBC trading post, and continued its halt its trade of Pemmican to all traders travelling though its territory.
The HBC finally realised that it needed to end the terror or else it would face further loses to its rich fur trade, met with the Metis and read them a strict proclamation against acts of violence. Grant, refused to accept the proclamation, and shot the HBC Governor. A small arms battle ensued, where the Metis overwhelmingly won. The Pemmican War, was no longer a commercial struggle between two rival fur companies, but it had developed into a guerrilla war.
As an act of retaliation against the Metis, Douglas led a group of mercenaries against the Nor'Westerners and the Metis. He captured Fort William in the process and arrested 15 senior NWC officials, and charged tghen with treason, conspiracy, and murder. This officially ended the war, but the Red River community never became the fur trade enterprise Douglas wanted it to be. In order to avoid a future conflict, the Crown forced the merging of the HBC and NWC in 1921, under the HBC banner.
Remembering History - The Pemmican War
For a recipe on how to make Pemmican, please visit, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-make-pemmican/#axzz2osn5YgJV
Sunday 29 December 2013
Friday 20 September 2013
The Treaty of Ryswick - The End of the Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War, also know by many as the War of the Grand Alliance, was a major conflict fought in the late 17th Century between King Louis XIV of France and a European wide coalition, which was led by the Anglo-Dutch Stadtholder-King Wiliam III, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, King Charles II of Spain, Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and many other minor princes in the Holy Roman Empire.
The War itself was main fought in mainland Europe and in its surrounding water ways, but it also spread to Ireland and Scotland, and spread between English and French settlers in the Americas. It is largely classified as the second of Louis XIV's three major wars.
The War was fought between September 1688 and September 1697, and ended with Louis XIV accepting William III of Orange as the King of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The Treaty of Ryswick officially ended the war. Negotiations started in May. The French wanted it to take place in The Hague, while the Allies wanted it to take place in Delft. They settled on a location in between the two towns, at the Huis ter Nieuburg Palace in Ryswick.
After a few weeks, negotiations had gone nowhere, and many believed the war would continue for years to come. This was when William III of Orange and Louis XIV agreed to let a representative from each party meet in private. Almost as if no conflict every existed, the two drew up terms of an agreement. The only problem was that Spain and the Holy Roman Empire would not agree to all the terms of the Peace Treaty.
Fearing a continued conflict, Spain reluctantly agreed to the terms and three of the four parties signed the Treaty on September 20th. Once the treaty was signed the battlefields went quiet, as the only belligerent power left was the Holy Roman Empire, but they had no enemy left to fight. William III of Orange quietly convinced Leopold to make peace with France, and the Holy Roman Empire signed on to the treaty, just over one month later, on October 30th.
The main basis of the treaty was that all towns and districts taken since the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1679 would be restored, as well as several other territorial sessions.
The War itself was main fought in mainland Europe and in its surrounding water ways, but it also spread to Ireland and Scotland, and spread between English and French settlers in the Americas. It is largely classified as the second of Louis XIV's three major wars.
The War was fought between September 1688 and September 1697, and ended with Louis XIV accepting William III of Orange as the King of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The Treaty of Ryswick officially ended the war. Negotiations started in May. The French wanted it to take place in The Hague, while the Allies wanted it to take place in Delft. They settled on a location in between the two towns, at the Huis ter Nieuburg Palace in Ryswick.
After a few weeks, negotiations had gone nowhere, and many believed the war would continue for years to come. This was when William III of Orange and Louis XIV agreed to let a representative from each party meet in private. Almost as if no conflict every existed, the two drew up terms of an agreement. The only problem was that Spain and the Holy Roman Empire would not agree to all the terms of the Peace Treaty.
Fearing a continued conflict, Spain reluctantly agreed to the terms and three of the four parties signed the Treaty on September 20th. Once the treaty was signed the battlefields went quiet, as the only belligerent power left was the Holy Roman Empire, but they had no enemy left to fight. William III of Orange quietly convinced Leopold to make peace with France, and the Holy Roman Empire signed on to the treaty, just over one month later, on October 30th.
The main basis of the treaty was that all towns and districts taken since the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1679 would be restored, as well as several other territorial sessions.
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| The Map of Europe Following the Nine Years' War Remembering History - The Treaty of Ryswick |
Sunday 11 August 2013
The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1918
When you discuss the discovery of the "New World" most people believe we knew everything about the continent of North America long before the 1900's. With stories of John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain, many people believe that once the battles between New France and British North America ended, the exploration of the continent largely ended. This however is not true. Many expeditions continued throughout the continent to help ups learn more about this mysterious land that would become Canada and the United States of America. One of these expeditions was the Canadian Arctic Expedition which ran from 1913 to 1918.
What would turn into one of the largest multi-country scientific expeditions was not originally sponsored by the Canadian government. The Expedition was supposed to be sponsored by the U.S. National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. When the Canadian government came to understand the scope of the expedition, they stepped forward to sponsor it, especially as Viljalmur Stefansson, who would be the leader of the expedition, was a Canadian citizen.
The expedition would be divided into two exploring parties, dubbed the Northern Party, which would be lead by Stefansson, and the Southern Party, which would be led by Dr. R.M Anderson.
The Northern Party was to explore for new land in the North and West of what was already mapped of the Canadian Arctic. The idea of finding other land masses (similar to the Canadian Arctic islands) or a small continent was thought to be possible. While looking for new land, ice depth, sound recording, magnetic, and marine biology experiments were also planned. The Northern Party would cover thousands of kilometres of lands never before seen, not even by the Inuit peoples of Canada's north.
The Southern Party was scientific documentation of the geography of the souther Arctic islands, geology, resources, wildlife and indigenous population of the Mackenzie River delta. Of particular interest was the possibility of copper deposits, and an expansion of trade routes. The objectives of the Southern Party was added to the goals of the expedition when the Canadian government took over the funding of the project. Dr. R.M Anderson, an Arctic Zoologist was put in charge of this scientific research.
The Expedition gathered in Nome, Alaska in July of 1913...unaware of the political strife that was beginning to boil in Europe, almost none would be aware of the events of the First World War until the end of the expedition. Thirty men of various disciplines would set off to explore the Canadian Arctic, and in the end seventeen would not return home.
The expedition was not free from disaster. When the expedition set sail from Victoria BC on route to Alaska, most of the men, supplies and equipment was loaded onto the flagship, the Karluk under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett. Once in Nome, Alaska, the Karluk was joined by two schooner ships, the Alaska, and Mary Sachs were purchased to handle the increased number of men and supplies with the expanding goals of the expedition. The ice conditions north of Alaska were extremely severe during the fall of 1913, and the Karluk got trapped in the ice. Stefansson, with five of his crew left the ship to hunt for caribou. The two schooners, were able to navigate the shallower water closer to the coast line and made it to Collinson Point, Alaska before they were forced to winter.
The Karluk was frozen in the ice and drifted east, then west towards Russia, where it was eventually crushed in the ice and sank just off the coast of Wrangel Island, off the Siberian Coast in January 1914. Most of the crew made it to the island. 8 died while making the crossing on the ice, and 4 more were killed later while attempting to cross the ice when separated from the crew. Bartlett and an Alaskan Inupiat hunter crossed the ice to Siberia and travelled back to Alaska to arrange a rescue for his crew on Wrangel Island. Bartlett would meet up with the USS Bear and would rescue his crew in the fall of 1914, where three more had died from the elements and limited resources. The loss of the Karluk forced the expedition to purchase additional ships, supplies and hire more help at an additional added cost, and put the expedition behind schedule. The two new schooners were the North Star and Polar Bear. This fleet of ships became know as the Expedition Navy, or the Canadian Arctic Expedition Navy.
The Mary Sachs would also not survive the expedition, and she gave her name to the community of Sachs Harbour, the engines can actually still be seen. The North Star was given as payment for services to Natkusiak, a hunter and key member of the expedition for his help during several years of service. The Alaska returned home to Nome, Alaska in 1916 loaded with people, specimens, and artefacts. The Polar Bear continued on as the expeditions main ship until 1918, and ended her career in Siberia.
According to the Museum of Civilization, "The Members of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (CAE) travelled in and around vast areas of the western Arctic that are now protected as national or territorial parks, or as bird sanctuaries or wildlife areas. Among the areas traversed or sudied by CAE members are: Herschel Island Territorial Park, Ivvavik National Park, Aulavik National Park, Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary, Tuktut Nogait National Park, Kitigaryuit National Historic Site, Bloody Falls National Historic Site, and the Coppermine River, a proposed Heritage River. Many expedition photographs of these places are available in the CAE photo collections and many specimen and artifacts brought back by the CAE come from these now-protected areas." http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/cae/indexe.shtml
The expedition which lasted went from 1913-1918, had a huge impact on the northern communities and in knowledge for the scientific community. Four islands were discovered in 1915 and 1916 by the Northern Party, and were the last major island discoveries in the Canadian Arctic, and the only islands discovered by a Canadian expedition. (Several other islands would be discovered by the Air following the Second World War). The expedition also confirmed that Croker Land (sighted by Robert Peary in 1906) and Keenan Land (said to have been discovered by John Keenan in the 1870s) did not exist.
The Sourther Party returned with thousands of specimens of animals, plants, fossils, geological surveys, artefacts from Copper Inuit and other northern cultures. They also returned with near 4,000 photographs, 9,000 feet of film,covering all aspects of the expedition.
More than fourteen volumes of scientific results were published as well as many scientific papers. Several books have been published on the Karluk disaster, but the vast majority of the story about the Canadian Arctic Expedition remains unknown in diaries. Only one has been published in full, Diamond Jenness' Arctic Odyssey.
Other titles about the expedition include:
The Friendly Arctic by Stefansson
With Stefansson in the Arctic by Noice
Adventures in the Arctic by Montgomery, re-telling of Lorne Knight's original work.
The People of the Twilight by Jenness
Dawn in Arctic Alaska.
The issue of Arctic Sovereignty, which has risen in recent years. was a huge concern during this period as well. Many of the Arctic island were transferred from Britain to Canada in 1881, but were mapped by a Norwegian, and numerous American explores had travelled on the Canadian islands where no Canadians had ever been or laid claim. This expedition allowed the Canadian government to add the islands to the maps, and lay official claim to then, as they were within the international water boundaries of the already established Canadian Arctic Islands.
Remembering History - The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18
What would turn into one of the largest multi-country scientific expeditions was not originally sponsored by the Canadian government. The Expedition was supposed to be sponsored by the U.S. National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. When the Canadian government came to understand the scope of the expedition, they stepped forward to sponsor it, especially as Viljalmur Stefansson, who would be the leader of the expedition, was a Canadian citizen.
The expedition would be divided into two exploring parties, dubbed the Northern Party, which would be lead by Stefansson, and the Southern Party, which would be led by Dr. R.M Anderson.
The Northern Party was to explore for new land in the North and West of what was already mapped of the Canadian Arctic. The idea of finding other land masses (similar to the Canadian Arctic islands) or a small continent was thought to be possible. While looking for new land, ice depth, sound recording, magnetic, and marine biology experiments were also planned. The Northern Party would cover thousands of kilometres of lands never before seen, not even by the Inuit peoples of Canada's north.
The Southern Party was scientific documentation of the geography of the souther Arctic islands, geology, resources, wildlife and indigenous population of the Mackenzie River delta. Of particular interest was the possibility of copper deposits, and an expansion of trade routes. The objectives of the Southern Party was added to the goals of the expedition when the Canadian government took over the funding of the project. Dr. R.M Anderson, an Arctic Zoologist was put in charge of this scientific research.
The Expedition gathered in Nome, Alaska in July of 1913...unaware of the political strife that was beginning to boil in Europe, almost none would be aware of the events of the First World War until the end of the expedition. Thirty men of various disciplines would set off to explore the Canadian Arctic, and in the end seventeen would not return home.
The expedition was not free from disaster. When the expedition set sail from Victoria BC on route to Alaska, most of the men, supplies and equipment was loaded onto the flagship, the Karluk under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett. Once in Nome, Alaska, the Karluk was joined by two schooner ships, the Alaska, and Mary Sachs were purchased to handle the increased number of men and supplies with the expanding goals of the expedition. The ice conditions north of Alaska were extremely severe during the fall of 1913, and the Karluk got trapped in the ice. Stefansson, with five of his crew left the ship to hunt for caribou. The two schooners, were able to navigate the shallower water closer to the coast line and made it to Collinson Point, Alaska before they were forced to winter.
The Karluk was frozen in the ice and drifted east, then west towards Russia, where it was eventually crushed in the ice and sank just off the coast of Wrangel Island, off the Siberian Coast in January 1914. Most of the crew made it to the island. 8 died while making the crossing on the ice, and 4 more were killed later while attempting to cross the ice when separated from the crew. Bartlett and an Alaskan Inupiat hunter crossed the ice to Siberia and travelled back to Alaska to arrange a rescue for his crew on Wrangel Island. Bartlett would meet up with the USS Bear and would rescue his crew in the fall of 1914, where three more had died from the elements and limited resources. The loss of the Karluk forced the expedition to purchase additional ships, supplies and hire more help at an additional added cost, and put the expedition behind schedule. The two new schooners were the North Star and Polar Bear. This fleet of ships became know as the Expedition Navy, or the Canadian Arctic Expedition Navy.
The Mary Sachs would also not survive the expedition, and she gave her name to the community of Sachs Harbour, the engines can actually still be seen. The North Star was given as payment for services to Natkusiak, a hunter and key member of the expedition for his help during several years of service. The Alaska returned home to Nome, Alaska in 1916 loaded with people, specimens, and artefacts. The Polar Bear continued on as the expeditions main ship until 1918, and ended her career in Siberia.
According to the Museum of Civilization, "The Members of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (CAE) travelled in and around vast areas of the western Arctic that are now protected as national or territorial parks, or as bird sanctuaries or wildlife areas. Among the areas traversed or sudied by CAE members are: Herschel Island Territorial Park, Ivvavik National Park, Aulavik National Park, Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary, Tuktut Nogait National Park, Kitigaryuit National Historic Site, Bloody Falls National Historic Site, and the Coppermine River, a proposed Heritage River. Many expedition photographs of these places are available in the CAE photo collections and many specimen and artifacts brought back by the CAE come from these now-protected areas." http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/cae/indexe.shtml
The expedition which lasted went from 1913-1918, had a huge impact on the northern communities and in knowledge for the scientific community. Four islands were discovered in 1915 and 1916 by the Northern Party, and were the last major island discoveries in the Canadian Arctic, and the only islands discovered by a Canadian expedition. (Several other islands would be discovered by the Air following the Second World War). The expedition also confirmed that Croker Land (sighted by Robert Peary in 1906) and Keenan Land (said to have been discovered by John Keenan in the 1870s) did not exist.
The Sourther Party returned with thousands of specimens of animals, plants, fossils, geological surveys, artefacts from Copper Inuit and other northern cultures. They also returned with near 4,000 photographs, 9,000 feet of film,covering all aspects of the expedition.
More than fourteen volumes of scientific results were published as well as many scientific papers. Several books have been published on the Karluk disaster, but the vast majority of the story about the Canadian Arctic Expedition remains unknown in diaries. Only one has been published in full, Diamond Jenness' Arctic Odyssey.
Other titles about the expedition include:
The Friendly Arctic by Stefansson
With Stefansson in the Arctic by Noice
Adventures in the Arctic by Montgomery, re-telling of Lorne Knight's original work.
The People of the Twilight by Jenness
Dawn in Arctic Alaska.
The issue of Arctic Sovereignty, which has risen in recent years. was a huge concern during this period as well. Many of the Arctic island were transferred from Britain to Canada in 1881, but were mapped by a Norwegian, and numerous American explores had travelled on the Canadian islands where no Canadians had ever been or laid claim. This expedition allowed the Canadian government to add the islands to the maps, and lay official claim to then, as they were within the international water boundaries of the already established Canadian Arctic Islands.
Remembering History - The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18
Sunday 28 July 2013
Oak Ridge, Tennessee - The Secret Atomic City
For my wife's birthday, I purchased her "The Girls of Atomic City" The Untold Story of The Women Who Helped Win World War II" by Denise Kiernan. The book explores the often untold history of Women during the Second World War. Many people in seminar's across University Campuses have studied Women's contributions to the War, building bombs, aircraft, tanks, trucks and many other things that cannot be listed as it would take more than the space available on this free blog!
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| Available from Amazon.com |
What I was surprised to learn, was that the United States built an entirely secrete city during the war to help build the Atomic Bomb. Everyone has heard about Los Alamos labratory, and many believe the bomb was built, developed, and tested at this location. I was even under this impression. "The Girls of Atomic City" tells the story of the thousands of women, who were moved to the newly built secrete military city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee to help build the Atomic Bomb, all while they did not fully know what they were developing. Each facility was responsible for a different piece of the weapon, and no one ever saw a finished product leave the facility, so no one knew what was being built.
The city itself was established in 1942 as a production site for the Manhattan Project - conducted by the United States, United Kingdom, and Canadian governments contributions. The area was selected because its relatively low population made the acquisition of the land relatively affordable, as almost all of the local residence were forced to evacuate their homes and move elsewhere. Oak Ridge became a military town, checkpoints to enter and exit the city, surrounded by fencing. The low population also helped keep the town a secrete. The population in 1942 was a mere 3,000 - but this would boom to more than 75,000 by 1945 and the end of the War. The largest facility built in Oak Ridge, the K-25 Uranium separation facility covered more than 44 acres. For a number of years, this was the largest building in the world. Aside from K-25, S-50 and Y-12 plants were built to separate the fissile isotope uranium-235 from its natural state. The United States also built the X-10 plant which is currently the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was originally established as a pilot project for the production of plutonium for a Graphite Reactor.
With the quick influx of people to this secrete town, prefabricated housing, apartments and dorms were established with a basic community layout, and dirt roads, as there was no time to pave the roadways, as the city was growing faster than it could accommodate.
Not only was the city a secret, what people were working on was a secret. No one working in the various plants (despite the Army and Government officials overseeing the community) knew what they were working on. People were to swear that they would not talk about what their were doing to their neighbours and colleagues living with them in Oak Ridge.
The vast majority of the population of Oak Ridge were women. They were completing much of the scientific exploration and projects that led to the development and success of the Trinity Test in 1945, and the weapons used against Japan in August of 1945.
When news of the first atomic bombing of Hiroshima Japan on August 6th 1945 made its way back to the United States, and President Harry S. Truman thanked all those who worked diligently at the Oak Ridge facility, was it revealed to the residents of Oak Ridge what they had been working on developing.
Even today Oak Ridge is still a national nuclear research and weapons facility. Here is what happened to the facilities operated at Oak Ridge:
K-25 where uranium was enriched until 1986 is in the process of being decommissioned and decontaminated.
Y-12 which was used for the separation of Uranium is sill in use for nuclear weapons processing and materials storage.
X-10 where the test Graphite Reactor is located, is now the site of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
S-50 liquid thermal diffusion plant was demolished at the end of the war.
As of the 2010 census, the population was at 29,230.
Now we can all be aware of the contributions of Oak Ridge Tennessee for ending the Second World War, that Los Alamos was not alone in its efforts during the Manhattan Project.
Remembering History - Oak Ridge - The Secret Atomic City
Friday 26 July 2013
The Dieppe Raid of 1942 - 70 years later - The Truth is Known, but is it being taught?
Almost a year ago, Montreal historian David O'Keefe announced that he had uncovered the true meaning behind the 1942 raid on the city of Dieppe. For nearly 70 years many Canadian veterans felt that they had fought on the beaches of Dieppe for nothing, that their comrades died for nothing. For 70 years, historians have argued that the Dieppe Raid was a test run for D-Day in 1944, that it was merely to test Hitler's Atlantic Wall defences, that it was to prove to Stalin a Second Front was impossible.
Each of these reasons has been discussed in high school history classrooms, in seminars on university campuses since the end of the Second World War. I am sure more students than I can count have written essay's arguing for an against each of the reasons given by historians. For years the true reasons behind the raid were kept from the world as the file was still considered "Top Secret."
David O'Keefe uncovered the true reason for Dieppe was to steal German Naval intelligence from the Naval HQ which was stationed in Dieppe, as well as steal an Enigma machine and operation manual to continue to decode the German's messages. Sir Ian Fleming (most famous for his 007 James Bond Novels) was involved in the planning an was even in the English Channel that night in hopes of success.
To learn more about O'Keefe's discovery please read Random Houses' post.
What I am interested to know, is how many Teachers took into account this recent discovery when teaching the minds of tomorrow about the 1942 Dieppe Raid this past 2012-13 School year? Or did History teachers continue with the lessons they have been using their entire career, keeping the Dieppe myth alive? It is something to think about...history is continually changing, and we as teachers, who have agreed to a life continued learning. I am extremely passionate about history, and have met my fair share of history teachers who don't actually enjoy or engage with history. It is I believe these teachers that give history the impression of being boring...causing students not to enjoy or look forward to taking history.
Remembering History - The 1942 Dieppe Raid, the Truth behind the raid - make sure to teach it!
Each of these reasons has been discussed in high school history classrooms, in seminars on university campuses since the end of the Second World War. I am sure more students than I can count have written essay's arguing for an against each of the reasons given by historians. For years the true reasons behind the raid were kept from the world as the file was still considered "Top Secret."
David O'Keefe uncovered the true reason for Dieppe was to steal German Naval intelligence from the Naval HQ which was stationed in Dieppe, as well as steal an Enigma machine and operation manual to continue to decode the German's messages. Sir Ian Fleming (most famous for his 007 James Bond Novels) was involved in the planning an was even in the English Channel that night in hopes of success.
To learn more about O'Keefe's discovery please read Random Houses' post.
What I am interested to know, is how many Teachers took into account this recent discovery when teaching the minds of tomorrow about the 1942 Dieppe Raid this past 2012-13 School year? Or did History teachers continue with the lessons they have been using their entire career, keeping the Dieppe myth alive? It is something to think about...history is continually changing, and we as teachers, who have agreed to a life continued learning. I am extremely passionate about history, and have met my fair share of history teachers who don't actually enjoy or engage with history. It is I believe these teachers that give history the impression of being boring...causing students not to enjoy or look forward to taking history.
Remembering History - The 1942 Dieppe Raid, the Truth behind the raid - make sure to teach it!
Monday 1 July 2013
Operation Greenhouse - Nuclear Test Series 1951
Much of the post war period that was the Cold War, was spent attempting to build a bigger, more powerful, and more accessible nuclear/thermonuclear weapon to deter the enemy from attacking. The Cold War saw the establishment of Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" dividing the world between the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc.
In 1951 the United States conducted its 5th Nuclear test series, code named Operation Greenhouse. As with any scientific test, the United States began experimenting with the concept of thermonuclear weapons, more commonly known as Hydrogen Bombs. This series of tests took place at the newly established Pacific Proving Ground. The test series would encompass four detonations, each mounted on steel towers to simulate areal detonations.
The four tests of Greenhouse represented a new aggressive design of nuclear weapons, looking to take the ultimate weapon one step further. Traditional nuclear weapons were very large in size, weight and required a high amount of fissile material. The ideas behind Greenhouse were to reduce each of the above traditional requirements to build more powerful weapons with less material, making them more operational.
A year and a half before Operation Greenhouse, on August 29 1949, the Soviet Union detonated RDS-1, nicknamed "Joe-1." The test yielded 22 Kilotons, and surprised the world. The United States only detected radioactive fission products days after the blast, and traced them back to the USSR. On September 23rd 1949, President Harry Truman announced to the world that the Soviet Union had successfully detonated an atomic bomb. This statement is considered by many to be the official beginning of the Cold War, as both the United States and the Soviet Union began working on the first Hydrogen Bomb.
The first two tests of Greenhouse, were of traditional nuclear weapons with minor adjustments to the firing mechanism. "Dog" tested on April 8th 1951 yielded 81 kilotons, and "Easy" tested on April 21st 1951 yielded 47 kilotons. It was the last two tests of this series that took major steps forward to designing a Hydrogen Bomb.
"George" was tested on the 9th of May 1951 and was the first recorded thermonuclear experiment conducted by the United States. "George" was actually considered a thermonuclear burn, due to the addition of a small amount of heavy isotopes of liquid hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) that were injected into the core of the bomb. "George" acted more liked a boosted nuclear bomb than a Hydrogen bomb. The findings from "George" validated the theories that brought about the ideas of a thermonuclear weapon, and would be used when designing "Ivy Mike." "George" yielded 225 kilotons.
The final test of Operation Greenhouse was "Item." Like "George," "Item" was a test of a boosted fission weapon. "Item" was injected with deuterium-tritium gas into the uranium core.The heat of the gas produced a thermonuclear fusion reaction, but not enough to be fully considered a fusion bomb. The planning behind "George" and "Item" was from the great mind of Dr. Edward Teller in 1947. Teller has designed the idea of a booster to create a more powerful reaction, causing a larger detonation. While much smaller than "George", "Item" yielded 45.5 kilotons, but proved effective in pumping the booster gas into the weapon before detonation. The test was primarily a test of the nuclear principles involved and to gain valuable research data. It was never considered a design for weaponizing a device.
The nuclear discoveries that Operation Greenhouse provided helped the United States design and successfully test "Ivy Mike" in November 1952. Thermonuclear Weapons would change the face of the Cold War, as would bigger and larger nuclear bombs.
Remembering History - Operation Greenhouse
In 1951 the United States conducted its 5th Nuclear test series, code named Operation Greenhouse. As with any scientific test, the United States began experimenting with the concept of thermonuclear weapons, more commonly known as Hydrogen Bombs. This series of tests took place at the newly established Pacific Proving Ground. The test series would encompass four detonations, each mounted on steel towers to simulate areal detonations.
The four tests of Greenhouse represented a new aggressive design of nuclear weapons, looking to take the ultimate weapon one step further. Traditional nuclear weapons were very large in size, weight and required a high amount of fissile material. The ideas behind Greenhouse were to reduce each of the above traditional requirements to build more powerful weapons with less material, making them more operational.
A year and a half before Operation Greenhouse, on August 29 1949, the Soviet Union detonated RDS-1, nicknamed "Joe-1." The test yielded 22 Kilotons, and surprised the world. The United States only detected radioactive fission products days after the blast, and traced them back to the USSR. On September 23rd 1949, President Harry Truman announced to the world that the Soviet Union had successfully detonated an atomic bomb. This statement is considered by many to be the official beginning of the Cold War, as both the United States and the Soviet Union began working on the first Hydrogen Bomb.
The first two tests of Greenhouse, were of traditional nuclear weapons with minor adjustments to the firing mechanism. "Dog" tested on April 8th 1951 yielded 81 kilotons, and "Easy" tested on April 21st 1951 yielded 47 kilotons. It was the last two tests of this series that took major steps forward to designing a Hydrogen Bomb.
"George" was tested on the 9th of May 1951 and was the first recorded thermonuclear experiment conducted by the United States. "George" was actually considered a thermonuclear burn, due to the addition of a small amount of heavy isotopes of liquid hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) that were injected into the core of the bomb. "George" acted more liked a boosted nuclear bomb than a Hydrogen bomb. The findings from "George" validated the theories that brought about the ideas of a thermonuclear weapon, and would be used when designing "Ivy Mike." "George" yielded 225 kilotons.
 |
| "George" Test shot mushroom cloud. nuclearweaponarchive.org |
The final test of Operation Greenhouse was "Item." Like "George," "Item" was a test of a boosted fission weapon. "Item" was injected with deuterium-tritium gas into the uranium core.The heat of the gas produced a thermonuclear fusion reaction, but not enough to be fully considered a fusion bomb. The planning behind "George" and "Item" was from the great mind of Dr. Edward Teller in 1947. Teller has designed the idea of a booster to create a more powerful reaction, causing a larger detonation. While much smaller than "George", "Item" yielded 45.5 kilotons, but proved effective in pumping the booster gas into the weapon before detonation. The test was primarily a test of the nuclear principles involved and to gain valuable research data. It was never considered a design for weaponizing a device.
The nuclear discoveries that Operation Greenhouse provided helped the United States design and successfully test "Ivy Mike" in November 1952. Thermonuclear Weapons would change the face of the Cold War, as would bigger and larger nuclear bombs.
Remembering History - Operation Greenhouse
Monday 24 June 2013
History Education Review and the Korean War
On May 20th I posted about the current Federal Review of History Education in Canada, and breaking the Peacekeeping Myth that is taught in the vast majority of our Grade 10 History classrooms (in Ontario, anyway), today I would like to highlight the upcoming 63rd Anniversary of the Korean War, a subject that almost always barely gets mentioned in a history classroom in high school, perhaps leading it to be called the "Forgotten War" and no war should ever be forgotten.
The Ontario ministry of education, grade 10 history curriculum calls for teachers to teach students about the important events between 1914 and the Present. The vast majority of the course covers the Second World War, and touches on the 1920s, 1930s and an overview of the Cold War, highlighting the Canadian built super aircraft, the Avro Arrow, and its demise, and the Avro myth in Canada today. The Korean War is a side note in most classrooms. Teachers often overlook it entirely or take a fraction of a class to mention that the war happened, and it is not a myth.
On June 25th 1950, the North Korean forces surprised the world when they invaded South Korea, and immediately the United Nations drafted resolution 82, which called for an end of the war, and the Korean peninsula to return to its divided state at the 38th parallel.
By August 15th the 2nd PPCLI was created and set sail for Korea, arriving in December and taking part in hostilities in February of 1951. By early spring 1951, more than 8,500 Canadian troops were supporting the United Nations with 600,000 South Korean, 326,000 American, 14,000 British, 5,000 Turkish, and hundreds of other troops from 17 nations to fight 1.3 Million Chinese troops, 270,000 North Korean Troops, and 26,000 Soviet troops (mainly in operational support roles, and not involved in direct combat).
The conflict, which still causes international issues today, 'ended' in 1953 with a ceasefire, after close to 800,000 dead and a million wounded. A total of 516 Canadians died, 1,042 were wounded, 1 is still listed as MIA, and 33 were taken as POWs.
It is hard to believe that despite the fact that the Korean War is Canada's third deadliest conflict, and perhaps one of the most important, in curbing the spread of Communism in the Far East, is skipped over in our history classes. As we get further from the end of the Second World War, our veterans dwindle in numbers. I am extremely worried that when the only veterans left are from the Korean War, our students will not know why their fight was so important, or even know it existed. This is just another reason why a review on the History curriculum is important.
I welcome any comments/concerns about my proposal/opinion about history education.
Remembering History - History Education Review and the Korean War
Monday 20 May 2013
History Education Review & The Peacekeeping Myth Broken
In light of the federal government's current panel reviewing the history curriculum across the country, I feel it is my part to weigh in on the debate. While education is a provincial power, the federal government is not looking to claw back, but it is looking to discuss what it considers requirements for today's youth.
In Canada's largest province, Ontario, History is only mandatory in Grade 10, and optional in Grade 11 and 12. Once a student reaches grade 10, the last time they have taken history is in Grade 8. The Grade 7 curriculum is supposed to teach students about British North America, the Fall of New France and the American Revolution, while Grade 8 history is supposed to teach Confederation and the Development of Western Canada. Lets be completely honest, as a history teacher, teaching Grade 11 and 12 students about New France and the American Revolution is difficult, good luck teaching it to Grade 7 students. By Grade 10, the curriculum is supposed to begin in 1914 and end at the present, so today teachers are expected to get to at least 9/11. It is a struggle, as most students have forgotten what happened between 1867 to 1914, let alone anything from British North America. Understanding our past, and the past of the world is extremal important. As it is always said, those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it.
The current debate revolves around the Conservative governments focus on Canada's military past, and opposition are raising red flags highlighting that this will hurt Canada's peacekeeping past and tradition. It should be noted these are the same people who have opposed the War in Afghanistan and Canada's participation in the intervention in Libya.
The Truth is, Canada was never a Peacekeeper to just keep the peace, we have stepped into Peacekeeping roles in order to protect our own interests and the interests of out Allies. Our Peacekeeping missions have been strategic warfare strategy that developed during the Cold War, and has died down since, because the Cold War has ended. This is why we are no longer a "Peacekeeping" nation. Canada's participation has always been in some way to bolster the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The best place to start a review of Canada's so called Peacekeeping Past is with Dr. Sean M. Maloney's “Canada and UN Peacekeeping—Cold War by Other Means, 1945-1970” This book is not an operation history of each mission, but was put together in order to clearly outline that Canada was peacekeeping in order to win the Cold War, and not peacekeeping in order to keep the peace.
The Canadian Military Journal has also debated this subject, while the current page has been archived, because this debate is (believe it or not) that old. http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo7/no4/wagner-eng.asp
The Article, entitled "The Peaceable Kingdom?" used Maloney's work as a basis, as well as one of the greatest Canadian Historians, J.L. Granatstein's work “Canada and Peacekeeping: Image and Reality.”
Personally, I was went through the current education program, however I choose to study history in Grade 11 and 12, as well as receiving a H.BA with a Specialization in History. I was taught this Peacekeeping Myth, and continued to believe it until I took the Grade 12 World Issues Course, which just happened to coincide with one of the deadliest years Canada faced in Afghanistan. Anyone could see, we were fighting a War, and not peacekeeping, so I learned to face it, we were not peacekeeper's any more, and I began to realise we never really were.
The Current curriculum continues to teach this Myth, and if it wants to teach it accurately point out that it has been taught as a myth for years. This review should entail ensuring History is taught more in school. I was forced to take Geography in Grade 9. What use was this too me? I have never ever used anything from that course. Make Geography optional for those who want to study it later in life. Grade 7 & 8 students split their time between Geography and History, this will allow those who enjoy the course to look to take it later. Because students are not required to take history, many get the idea that history is boring, and it is not. History, if taught properly is a story telling class.
If we are going to teach tomorrows leaders, we need to teach them properly, and teach them the reality and not national myths. I will not even get started on History teachers that are teaching Canadian History without ever having studied Canadian history - perhaps this is what leads to the misconceptions of history being boring as it is taught out of textbooks, and the myths continuing to be taught, as every textbook is outdated. I will point you to the new discovery of the Dieppe Raid in 1942, in which the textbooks still teach it as a raid with no meaning. Which has most recently been proven false.
I appreciate any comments any educators have on this opinion and any other comments out there.
Remembering History - History Education Review & The Peacekeeping Myth Broken
In Canada's largest province, Ontario, History is only mandatory in Grade 10, and optional in Grade 11 and 12. Once a student reaches grade 10, the last time they have taken history is in Grade 8. The Grade 7 curriculum is supposed to teach students about British North America, the Fall of New France and the American Revolution, while Grade 8 history is supposed to teach Confederation and the Development of Western Canada. Lets be completely honest, as a history teacher, teaching Grade 11 and 12 students about New France and the American Revolution is difficult, good luck teaching it to Grade 7 students. By Grade 10, the curriculum is supposed to begin in 1914 and end at the present, so today teachers are expected to get to at least 9/11. It is a struggle, as most students have forgotten what happened between 1867 to 1914, let alone anything from British North America. Understanding our past, and the past of the world is extremal important. As it is always said, those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it.
The current debate revolves around the Conservative governments focus on Canada's military past, and opposition are raising red flags highlighting that this will hurt Canada's peacekeeping past and tradition. It should be noted these are the same people who have opposed the War in Afghanistan and Canada's participation in the intervention in Libya.
The Truth is, Canada was never a Peacekeeper to just keep the peace, we have stepped into Peacekeeping roles in order to protect our own interests and the interests of out Allies. Our Peacekeeping missions have been strategic warfare strategy that developed during the Cold War, and has died down since, because the Cold War has ended. This is why we are no longer a "Peacekeeping" nation. Canada's participation has always been in some way to bolster the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The best place to start a review of Canada's so called Peacekeeping Past is with Dr. Sean M. Maloney's “Canada and UN Peacekeeping—Cold War by Other Means, 1945-1970” This book is not an operation history of each mission, but was put together in order to clearly outline that Canada was peacekeeping in order to win the Cold War, and not peacekeeping in order to keep the peace.
The Canadian Military Journal has also debated this subject, while the current page has been archived, because this debate is (believe it or not) that old. http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo7/no4/wagner-eng.asp
The Article, entitled "The Peaceable Kingdom?" used Maloney's work as a basis, as well as one of the greatest Canadian Historians, J.L. Granatstein's work “Canada and Peacekeeping: Image and Reality.”
Personally, I was went through the current education program, however I choose to study history in Grade 11 and 12, as well as receiving a H.BA with a Specialization in History. I was taught this Peacekeeping Myth, and continued to believe it until I took the Grade 12 World Issues Course, which just happened to coincide with one of the deadliest years Canada faced in Afghanistan. Anyone could see, we were fighting a War, and not peacekeeping, so I learned to face it, we were not peacekeeper's any more, and I began to realise we never really were.
The Current curriculum continues to teach this Myth, and if it wants to teach it accurately point out that it has been taught as a myth for years. This review should entail ensuring History is taught more in school. I was forced to take Geography in Grade 9. What use was this too me? I have never ever used anything from that course. Make Geography optional for those who want to study it later in life. Grade 7 & 8 students split their time between Geography and History, this will allow those who enjoy the course to look to take it later. Because students are not required to take history, many get the idea that history is boring, and it is not. History, if taught properly is a story telling class.
If we are going to teach tomorrows leaders, we need to teach them properly, and teach them the reality and not national myths. I will not even get started on History teachers that are teaching Canadian History without ever having studied Canadian history - perhaps this is what leads to the misconceptions of history being boring as it is taught out of textbooks, and the myths continuing to be taught, as every textbook is outdated. I will point you to the new discovery of the Dieppe Raid in 1942, in which the textbooks still teach it as a raid with no meaning. Which has most recently been proven false.
I appreciate any comments any educators have on this opinion and any other comments out there.
Remembering History - History Education Review & The Peacekeeping Myth Broken
Monday 29 April 2013
Operation Tiger - The Practice Run for D-Day
When history classes discuss World War Two, very little time is given to the operational planning of all the great battles that shaped the outcome of the war. Therefore, in today's Remembering History, we are going to explore Operation Tiger, the practice landings for the largest amphibious assault landing in human history.
As the war on the Eastern Front continued to go south, and with Stalin begging the Allies to open a second front in Europe, the British government set up a training ground at Slapton Beach, Devon to be used by the American "U" Force. These would later be the Americans who would land on Utah Beach in June of 1944.
Slapton beach was selected as it was an almost perfect twin beach for Utah Beach. The 3,000 local residents were evacuated so that during the live-fire exercises no civilians were injured.
The planned landing would take place in April-May of 1944, just prior to the actual D-Day landings in June. On April 22, Nine large tank-landing crafts and 30,000 American troops prepared to land on Slapton Beach.
Due to poor weather, the practice landings we delayed until April 27th, but the practice did not go as planned. It was doomed by a friendly fire incident. To make the exercise more real, live rounds were to be used so that troops were prepared for what June 6th would bring. Due to a miss-communication, a number of the destroyers did not receive the change in fire-orders, and began to bombard the beach. The beaches were lined with white tape, where troops were supposed to stop until the live-fire ended, but many missed the tape and continued forward.
Making matters even worse, troop convoys waiting in the English Channel were attached by German E-Boats. This attack, has become known to Historians as the Battle of Lyme Bay. Two British corvettes were leading the Tank carriers and troop carriers towards Slapton beach when Nine German E-Boats attacked.
The attack lasted a couple hours, and in the end 2 of the Tank transporters were sunk, and 2 more were damaged. 946 Americans were dead, most who drowned, and another 200 left injured from Friendly Fire. There were no German casualties.
The aftermath of the landing where a number of operational changes to the D-Day planning:
Radio Frequencies were standardized
Better Life Vest Training for troops - as lack of training caused most of the drowning cases
Better plans for rescuing troops floating in the Channel
Remembering History - Operation Tiger
As the war on the Eastern Front continued to go south, and with Stalin begging the Allies to open a second front in Europe, the British government set up a training ground at Slapton Beach, Devon to be used by the American "U" Force. These would later be the Americans who would land on Utah Beach in June of 1944.
Slapton beach was selected as it was an almost perfect twin beach for Utah Beach. The 3,000 local residents were evacuated so that during the live-fire exercises no civilians were injured.
The planned landing would take place in April-May of 1944, just prior to the actual D-Day landings in June. On April 22, Nine large tank-landing crafts and 30,000 American troops prepared to land on Slapton Beach.
Due to poor weather, the practice landings we delayed until April 27th, but the practice did not go as planned. It was doomed by a friendly fire incident. To make the exercise more real, live rounds were to be used so that troops were prepared for what June 6th would bring. Due to a miss-communication, a number of the destroyers did not receive the change in fire-orders, and began to bombard the beach. The beaches were lined with white tape, where troops were supposed to stop until the live-fire ended, but many missed the tape and continued forward.
Making matters even worse, troop convoys waiting in the English Channel were attached by German E-Boats. This attack, has become known to Historians as the Battle of Lyme Bay. Two British corvettes were leading the Tank carriers and troop carriers towards Slapton beach when Nine German E-Boats attacked.
The attack lasted a couple hours, and in the end 2 of the Tank transporters were sunk, and 2 more were damaged. 946 Americans were dead, most who drowned, and another 200 left injured from Friendly Fire. There were no German casualties.
The aftermath of the landing where a number of operational changes to the D-Day planning:
Radio Frequencies were standardized
Better Life Vest Training for troops - as lack of training caused most of the drowning cases
Better plans for rescuing troops floating in the Channel
 |
| This Sherman DD Tank was located in 1974 and lifted out of the water near Slapton Beach in 1984. It stands as the memorial to the Americans who died practising for the D-Day invasion which turned the tides of the war in the Allies favour. They did not die in vain. |
Saturday 23 February 2013
The Anglo-Zanzibar War 1896 - The 40 Minute War
When it comes to the length of a war, none takes the title of a Shorter War than the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, which was part of the greater Scramble for Africa by the European Empires , it lasted all of 38 minutes.
Zanzibar is an Island in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika, today it forms part of the Tanzania. The main Island, Zanzibar, is under the nominal control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698. Prior to this, Zanzibar was a Portuguese colony from 1499.
The Island of Zanzibar and the United Kingdom, were allies in the Scramble of Africa, as the British had recognized the sovereignty of the Island state in 1886, and were using it as a refuelling depot. The main challenger for East Africa to Britain was Germany. Sultan Khalifah granted the British land rights in Kenya and granted the Germans land rights in Tanganyika. This resulted in some unrest between Britain and Zanzibar. The Germans who did not show their respect of the Zanzibar Sultanate, refused to fly the Sultanate flag over their territory leading to armed unrest between German troops and local populations.
In 1890, Sultan Ali declared Zanzibar a British protectorate and appointed a British first minister to lead his cabinet. This position gave the British a veto vote over any future appointments of sultans. The same year, a spheres of interest in East Africa, causing more unrest between the British and Germans. In 1893, Ali's reign as Sultan was over and Sultan Hamad was appointed Sultan, and was very pro-British.
On August 25th 1896, Sultan Hamad died suddenly, and his nephew Khalid bin Bargash, was pro-German and was suspected by some as assassinating Hamad. Barhash moved into the palace complex in Zanzibar, without British approval. The British preferred Hamud bin Muhammed over Barhash. The British issued an ultimatum to Barhash to leave the palace and respect the Treaty of Ali. At the same time the HMS Thrush anchored itself off the coast of Zanzibar to show British force in the area.
On August 26th, to increase the British presence off the island, the HMS Racoon, St. George, and Philomel anchored with the HMS Thrush. The Sultan took posession of the HHS Glasgow and sent it out to sea to attempt and show his power, but just became surrounded when the HMS Sparrow arrived and the British increased their ultimatum to war if Barhash did not leave the Royal Palace.
On August 27th, the Ultimatum expired at 9am local time and General Lloyd Mathews ordered the British ships begin their bombardment of the island. At 9:02, HMS Racoon, Thursh and Sparrow opened fire at the Royal Palace. At 9:05, the Glasgow engaged the St. George which was futile, and once the St. George retaliated, the Glasgow sank.
38-Minutes after the battle began the British with 1000 troops controlled the town and had installed Muhammed as Sultan. The British removed many of the powers the Sultan had prior to this conflict.
In the end more than 500 Zanzibarians were killed, 1 Royal Yacht was sunk, 2 other boats were sunk, and 1 shore battery gun was destroyed. The British casualty list included 1 wounded. This odd conflict was over as quickly as it started.
Remembering History - The Anglo-Zanzibar War 1896 - The 40 Minute War
Zanzibar is an Island in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika, today it forms part of the Tanzania. The main Island, Zanzibar, is under the nominal control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698. Prior to this, Zanzibar was a Portuguese colony from 1499.
The Island of Zanzibar and the United Kingdom, were allies in the Scramble of Africa, as the British had recognized the sovereignty of the Island state in 1886, and were using it as a refuelling depot. The main challenger for East Africa to Britain was Germany. Sultan Khalifah granted the British land rights in Kenya and granted the Germans land rights in Tanganyika. This resulted in some unrest between Britain and Zanzibar. The Germans who did not show their respect of the Zanzibar Sultanate, refused to fly the Sultanate flag over their territory leading to armed unrest between German troops and local populations.
In 1890, Sultan Ali declared Zanzibar a British protectorate and appointed a British first minister to lead his cabinet. This position gave the British a veto vote over any future appointments of sultans. The same year, a spheres of interest in East Africa, causing more unrest between the British and Germans. In 1893, Ali's reign as Sultan was over and Sultan Hamad was appointed Sultan, and was very pro-British.
On August 25th 1896, Sultan Hamad died suddenly, and his nephew Khalid bin Bargash, was pro-German and was suspected by some as assassinating Hamad. Barhash moved into the palace complex in Zanzibar, without British approval. The British preferred Hamud bin Muhammed over Barhash. The British issued an ultimatum to Barhash to leave the palace and respect the Treaty of Ali. At the same time the HMS Thrush anchored itself off the coast of Zanzibar to show British force in the area.
On August 26th, to increase the British presence off the island, the HMS Racoon, St. George, and Philomel anchored with the HMS Thrush. The Sultan took posession of the HHS Glasgow and sent it out to sea to attempt and show his power, but just became surrounded when the HMS Sparrow arrived and the British increased their ultimatum to war if Barhash did not leave the Royal Palace.
On August 27th, the Ultimatum expired at 9am local time and General Lloyd Mathews ordered the British ships begin their bombardment of the island. At 9:02, HMS Racoon, Thursh and Sparrow opened fire at the Royal Palace. At 9:05, the Glasgow engaged the St. George which was futile, and once the St. George retaliated, the Glasgow sank.
38-Minutes after the battle began the British with 1000 troops controlled the town and had installed Muhammed as Sultan. The British removed many of the powers the Sultan had prior to this conflict.
In the end more than 500 Zanzibarians were killed, 1 Royal Yacht was sunk, 2 other boats were sunk, and 1 shore battery gun was destroyed. The British casualty list included 1 wounded. This odd conflict was over as quickly as it started.
Remembering History - The Anglo-Zanzibar War 1896 - The 40 Minute War
Monday 18 February 2013
Killing from a Distance - The Best Snipers
With the death of Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history earlier this month, and after watching "Enemy at the Gates" yet again, I decided to put together a list of the deadliest snipers in history.
Robert Furlong
Currently a Police Officer, Furlong, a former Canadian Forces sniper, as a member of the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry. Furlong is known for his record breaking sniper kill in 2002 during Operation Anaconda, during the War in Afghanistan. Furlong, armed with a .50 Caliber McMillan Brothers Tac-50 Sniper Riffle. He killed a Taliban fighter at a distance of 2,430 meters. Furlong held the record for the longest confirmed kill, from 2002 to 2009.
Craig Harrison
Harrison, a Corporal of Horse (CoH) for the Blues and Royals of the British Army holds the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat history. In November 2009, Harrison killed 2 Taliban fighters in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan at a distance of 2,475 meters. Harrison was armed with a L115A# Long Range Riffle.
Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney
Charles Mawhinney joined the U.S. Marines in 1967 and served the Corps during the Vietnam War. He holds the record for number of confirmed kills, at 103, for Marine Snipers. His kill rate, exceeds that of legendary Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock. In his 16 month deployment he killed 103 enemies, and another 216 kills were never confirmed. The average sniper kill was 300-800 yards during the war, Mawhinney have several confirmed kills over 1000 yards, making him one of the most accurate snipers in the Vietnam War.
Adelbert F. Waldron
Waldron is on this list as he held the highest number of conformed kills for any American Sniper in history until the deployment of Chris Kyle. With a 109 Confirmed Kills, Waldron is also one of the most accurate Snipers ever deployed. Waldron served during the Vietnam War in and around the Mekong River. His most impressive kill came while aboard a Tango Boat where he killed a Vietcong Soldier hiding in a coconut tree with one shot over 900 meters away while in motion.
Carlos Norman Hathcock II ("White Feather")
With 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War, Hathcock was hated by the Vietnamese. The Vietnam Army put out a $30,000 bounty on his life for killing so many of their men, and officers. Compared to other bounty's for other U.S. snipers offered by the Vietnamese, were typically around $8. Hathcock was known for his extremal accurate shot, known for rarely missing and requiring a second shot. He is most famously known for his kill where he killed an enemy sniper, where his bullet went through the scope of the enemy sniper. Hathcock also spent 4 days crawling through a meadow to kill a Vietnamese General who was commanding officer of the Vietnamese Army.
Francis Pegahmagabow
Although virtually forgotten once he returned to Canada after World War I, Pegahmagabow had 378 confirmed kills and lead to the capture of at least 300 Germany soldiers. He was an Ojibwa Warrior fighting for Canada during various battles including the Second Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Second Battle of Passchendaele, and the Battle of Scarpe. Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal three times and seriously wounded twice during the war. He also volunteered to run through enemy fire to get more ammunition when his unit was running low. After the war Pegahmagabow served a political life.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Pavlichenko was 24 years old when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. She was one of the first volunteers when Russia asked for women to join the infantry. She was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. With her shooting accuracy, she became one of 2000 female snipers in the Soviet Union. With 309 confirmed kills, she is the most successful female sniper in combat history. Her first deployment was during the conflict in Odessa, and after 2 months in combat, she had killed 187 Germans. She spent another 8 months in the Crimean Peninsula, where she recorded another 257 kills. Of her 309 kills, 36 were enemy snipers.
Chris Kyle
Kyle was a U.S Navy SEAL and was the most lethal sniper in American Military history. He had 160 confirmed kills, with another 95 unconfirmed. Kyle was deployed during the Iraq War, specifically the Second Battle of Fullujah. He was awarded 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, 2 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, A Purple Heart, and other operational medals. After leaving the military Kyle was helping former soldiers who were struggling with PTSD, and was killed in a Shooting Range shoot-out in February 2013.
Vasily Zaytsev
Probably one of the best known snipers in history thanks to Hollywood and the film, "Enemy At the Gates." Although it is a fantastic film it is not entirely true, or at least cannot be confirmed. With 242 confirmed kills Zaytsev became a Russian hero and sign of hope during the Battle of Stalingrad. In his memoir, Zaytsev claimed to have spent 3 days hunting, and being hunted by German sniper Erwin Konig (also thought to be Heinz Thorvald). There is no official record of either existing or being present during the Battle of Stalingrad. The book "War of the Rats" by David L. Robbins portrays the battle between Zaytsev and Thorvald, while the film chooses Konig. It is most likely that the event was Zaytsev hunting multiple snipers, not one elite sniper. However, Zaytsev remained firm that he was it was Konig he fought with. Zaytsev was responsible for training numerous other Soviet snipers, who where responsible for more than 3,000 kills. Zaytsev's kills came between October 1942 and January 1943. As many as 250 kills went unconfirmed, making him one of the deadliest snipers in history.
Simo Hayha
Hayha was nicknamed "White Dead" as he was responsible for 705 confirmed kills, 505 of which came from his sniper riffle. He was armed with an Iron Sighted Bolt Action Riffle...no fancy scope like all the others on this list. Hayha was active during the Winter War 1939-1940 between Finland and Russia, where Hayha lived outdoors with temperatures dropping to -40 degrees Celsius. In less than 100 days, he had 505 confirmed kills, and another 542 unconfirmed kills. He was later credited with 200 kills using a Suomi KP/31 Sub-machine gun. Hayha was a master of winter camouflage, doing various things to hide his location, including keeping snow in his mouth so that his breath would not reveal his position. He was shot in the face in March of 1940 but survived, and was in hospital when peace was declared.
Remembering History - The Best Snipers
Robert Furlong
Currently a Police Officer, Furlong, a former Canadian Forces sniper, as a member of the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry. Furlong is known for his record breaking sniper kill in 2002 during Operation Anaconda, during the War in Afghanistan. Furlong, armed with a .50 Caliber McMillan Brothers Tac-50 Sniper Riffle. He killed a Taliban fighter at a distance of 2,430 meters. Furlong held the record for the longest confirmed kill, from 2002 to 2009.
Craig Harrison
Harrison, a Corporal of Horse (CoH) for the Blues and Royals of the British Army holds the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat history. In November 2009, Harrison killed 2 Taliban fighters in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan at a distance of 2,475 meters. Harrison was armed with a L115A# Long Range Riffle.
Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney
 |
| Mawhinney in action during the Vietnam War |
Adelbert F. Waldron
Waldron is on this list as he held the highest number of conformed kills for any American Sniper in history until the deployment of Chris Kyle. With a 109 Confirmed Kills, Waldron is also one of the most accurate Snipers ever deployed. Waldron served during the Vietnam War in and around the Mekong River. His most impressive kill came while aboard a Tango Boat where he killed a Vietcong Soldier hiding in a coconut tree with one shot over 900 meters away while in motion.
Carlos Norman Hathcock II ("White Feather")
With 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War, Hathcock was hated by the Vietnamese. The Vietnam Army put out a $30,000 bounty on his life for killing so many of their men, and officers. Compared to other bounty's for other U.S. snipers offered by the Vietnamese, were typically around $8. Hathcock was known for his extremal accurate shot, known for rarely missing and requiring a second shot. He is most famously known for his kill where he killed an enemy sniper, where his bullet went through the scope of the enemy sniper. Hathcock also spent 4 days crawling through a meadow to kill a Vietnamese General who was commanding officer of the Vietnamese Army.
Francis Pegahmagabow
Although virtually forgotten once he returned to Canada after World War I, Pegahmagabow had 378 confirmed kills and lead to the capture of at least 300 Germany soldiers. He was an Ojibwa Warrior fighting for Canada during various battles including the Second Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Second Battle of Passchendaele, and the Battle of Scarpe. Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal three times and seriously wounded twice during the war. He also volunteered to run through enemy fire to get more ammunition when his unit was running low. After the war Pegahmagabow served a political life.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Pavlichenko was 24 years old when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. She was one of the first volunteers when Russia asked for women to join the infantry. She was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. With her shooting accuracy, she became one of 2000 female snipers in the Soviet Union. With 309 confirmed kills, she is the most successful female sniper in combat history. Her first deployment was during the conflict in Odessa, and after 2 months in combat, she had killed 187 Germans. She spent another 8 months in the Crimean Peninsula, where she recorded another 257 kills. Of her 309 kills, 36 were enemy snipers.
Chris Kyle
Kyle was a U.S Navy SEAL and was the most lethal sniper in American Military history. He had 160 confirmed kills, with another 95 unconfirmed. Kyle was deployed during the Iraq War, specifically the Second Battle of Fullujah. He was awarded 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, 2 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, A Purple Heart, and other operational medals. After leaving the military Kyle was helping former soldiers who were struggling with PTSD, and was killed in a Shooting Range shoot-out in February 2013.
Vasily Zaytsev
Probably one of the best known snipers in history thanks to Hollywood and the film, "Enemy At the Gates." Although it is a fantastic film it is not entirely true, or at least cannot be confirmed. With 242 confirmed kills Zaytsev became a Russian hero and sign of hope during the Battle of Stalingrad. In his memoir, Zaytsev claimed to have spent 3 days hunting, and being hunted by German sniper Erwin Konig (also thought to be Heinz Thorvald). There is no official record of either existing or being present during the Battle of Stalingrad. The book "War of the Rats" by David L. Robbins portrays the battle between Zaytsev and Thorvald, while the film chooses Konig. It is most likely that the event was Zaytsev hunting multiple snipers, not one elite sniper. However, Zaytsev remained firm that he was it was Konig he fought with. Zaytsev was responsible for training numerous other Soviet snipers, who where responsible for more than 3,000 kills. Zaytsev's kills came between October 1942 and January 1943. As many as 250 kills went unconfirmed, making him one of the deadliest snipers in history.
Simo Hayha
Hayha was nicknamed "White Dead" as he was responsible for 705 confirmed kills, 505 of which came from his sniper riffle. He was armed with an Iron Sighted Bolt Action Riffle...no fancy scope like all the others on this list. Hayha was active during the Winter War 1939-1940 between Finland and Russia, where Hayha lived outdoors with temperatures dropping to -40 degrees Celsius. In less than 100 days, he had 505 confirmed kills, and another 542 unconfirmed kills. He was later credited with 200 kills using a Suomi KP/31 Sub-machine gun. Hayha was a master of winter camouflage, doing various things to hide his location, including keeping snow in his mouth so that his breath would not reveal his position. He was shot in the face in March of 1940 but survived, and was in hospital when peace was declared.
Remembering History - The Best Snipers
Saturday 9 February 2013
The Pig War - 1859 to 1874
 |
| The Blue line follows the Haro Straight, followed by the Americas. The Red Line follows the Rosario Straight, followed by the British. The Green Line was the San Juan Channel, was a compromise proposal. In the end, the Americans won, and the Haro Straight became the official boarder. |
In today's post, we will explore the explosive Pig War of 1859, also known as the Pig Episode, Pig and Potato War, San Juan Boundary Dispute, and finally, Northwestern Boundary Dispute.
The British and United States where not the best of friends during the late nineteenth century, and have had their fare share of clashes. The West Coast of North America has always been a touchy issue. Despite the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War, which established the boarders of the United States, and British North America at the 49th Parallel. This did not settle Vancouver and the islands in-between the mainland of what is modern Washington State and British Columbia.
In 1859, The U.S. and the British Empire began to fight over the San Juan Island. After the Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846, which ended the Oregon Boundary Dispute, which divided Oregon Country and the Columbia District along the 49th parallel, further cementing the Treaty of Paris. However, it caused uncertainty about the geographic location of the San Juan Islands. Most people believed the border was through the Haro Strait, whole others believed it was on the Rosario Strait.
To help solve the problem, the British established a Boundary Commission, despite the commission, progress was extremely slow in finding a solution. On June 15th, thirteen years after the Oregon Treaty, the confusion left to a conflict. Lyman Cutlar, an American Farmer moved onto one of the islands claiming the right to live there under the Donation Land Claim Act. On the 15th, he found a pig eating in his garden, and Cutlar, upset at the destruction caused by the pig, he shot it, killing it.
The pig in question was owned by Irishman Charles Griffin who was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, running a sheep ranch on the islands. To solve the problem, Cutler offered to pay $10 for the pig, an offer Griffin took as an insult and demanded $100. As the conflict continued into a War of Words, the British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar, the American settlers on the island called for military protection.
Immediatly Brigadier General William S. Henry was dispatched with 66 American soldiers, with Captain George Pickett. Their intention was to prevent the British authorities from landing on the island. To counter the American deployment, the British sent three Warships under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby. Captain Pickett viewed the British Warships as a direct threat to American sovereignty and threatened to fortify the island, putting the small issue on centre stage for the entire nation. By August more than 400 Americans and 14 cannons were stationed on the island under the command of Colonel Silas Casey, who were opposed by 5 British Warships, housing 70 guns, and more than 2000 troops. During the coming weeks, no shots were fired.
At the end of August, the governor of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, demanded that the British land its marines on the island and engage the American soldiers. Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes of the British Navy decided that the two great nations starting a war over a dead pig was foolish, and called for a resolution.
While negotiations were ongoing, both the British and Americans agreed to jointly occupy the islands. Both sides agreed to leave no more than 100 troops. The British took the north end, while the Americans took the south end. For the next 12 years, joint military occupation occurred. In 1871, Britain and the U.S signed the Treaty of Washington, which dealt with a number of differences between the two countries, but not specifically with the Islands of San Juan. As the Americans we busy with their Civil War, the issue was sent to international arbitration. Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany was to act as the arbitrator. Wilhelm referred the case to Geneva, and a year later on October 21, 1872 favoured the U.S. claim on the islands. The boundary was set at the Haro Straight.
On November 25, 1872 the British withdrew their Royal Marines from the camp. The Americans removed their military presence in July of 1874. Canadians were offended by the British lack of interest in Canada's best interest and sought more international autonomy.
Today the Union Jack still flies where the British Camp was located. It is raised and lowered daily by park rangers. It is one of few places in the U.S. without diplomatic status where the U.S. employees regularly hoist the flag of another country.
The Pig War ended with the only casualty being a pig.
Remembering History - The Pig War - 1859 to 1874.
Monday 4 February 2013
History of the French Language
While this longer than some other posts, I was required to assembled this Language Profile for a course I was completing. If the development of language interests you, take some time to read this...it will surprise you how long it took for Modern French to develop.
French Language Profile
History and Geography
As a language goes, the evolution
of French is not a simple or direct one. Starting in the 5th Century
B.C.E. the Celts populated Spain, Northern Italy and Western Europe (what is
now modern France). In Western Europe the Celts became known as the Gauls, who
had no central authority and were a mixture of hundreds of city states. The
Gauls spoke a vast variety of Celtics languages. There would continue to be no
centralized language until the Romans began occupying of mainland Europe
between 58 and 50 B.C.E. Julius Caesar conquered all of the Gaul territory and
ignored all the “barbaric” (as the Romans saw them) Celtics languages and made
it so that Latin was essential.
To enjoy a simpler life under the
Roman occupation, Gauls began to seek Roman citizenship, which meant adopting
Latin as their main language. Like the Romans with their continuous marching
armies, the Gauls, a militaristic people, used their armies to continue the
spread of Latin throughout Europe. With the implementation of schools with
Latin traditions have a boost to the Roman alphabet, and created a written
tradition in Europe, where there previously had been none. This resulted in the
oral Gaulish tradition as obsolete.
The Latin that spread throughout
Europe was not that of Caesar, but the broke Latin of servants, soldiers and
Roman settlers. This spoken Latin was very distinct from the classical Latin.
This Latin has become known as “Vulgar Latin.”
By 375 C.E., the Germanic
invasion had begun in Europe, and the fall of the Roman Empire was in its final
stage. The Germanic Franks took control of the Gaul territory and what is modern
northern Germany. By the end of the 5th Century C.E. Europe was
divided into hundreds of Germanic Kingdoms with still no centralized language.
The Franks began to centralize
under Charles I (known as Charlemagne) who imposed Catholicism, but “Vulgar Latin”
was still used and was being fragmented constantly. As “Vulgar Latin” became
too complex, a central Germanic language of Romanic began to form around those
in political office and the various monarchs. The Franks who choose to undergo
their own transition, began speaking Frankish, but it was only used by the
aristocracy.
During the time of Charlemagne,
the Franks went through a period of bilingualism with Romanic. This continued
for several centuries before the Franks were forced to adopt the Romanic language
due to the surrounding nations acceptance of Romanic. Even today, only 544
Frankish words have survived to modern French, according to French linguist Henriette
Walter.
The transition from Frankish to
Romanic resulted in massive changes to phonetics, morphology and syntax. The
Germanic [w] was treated like the Latin [v]. Latin words that began with [h]
owned their new pronunciation to the new Germanic traditions. Syntax, such as
placing the subject after the verb when an object or adverb proceeded it was
developed during this transition. However, despite these changes to the Romanic
language, Latin continued to dominate as a written language. This would remain
the case until the 10th Century C.E.
Over time, what would become the
French language, divided into three Romanic groups that are still largely
visible today in France:
·
In the north – Langues D’Oil
·
In the south – Langues D’Oc
·
French Switzerland – Franche-Comtmé
Modern French is most often
associated with Langues D’Oil, as it included the highest echelons of society
in Paris. Yet oddly enough the Kings of Franks still continued to speak
Frankish.
In 987 C.E., Hugues Capet was
elected and crowned King of the Franks, and was the first sovereign to speak
the Romanic vernacular that would later become known as French. It was not
however, until 1119 C.E. when Louis VI proclaimed in a letter to Pope Calistuss
II that he was the new King of France (not the King of the Franks). This was
the first written reference made to France, from which the word Français is
derived.
The word at the time was François
(pronounced Franswè). The aristocracy, clerks, jurist and middle class began to
use this form of French, however unification would not occur until Louis IX
ascended to the throne in 1226 C.E.
Louis IX achieved a first stage of French centralization, but only
enough to secure the survival of French through centuries of turmoil. This was
accomplished through Louis IX’s numerous Royal Military victories, where French
made headway in all major cities, and the language became associated with
France.
In terms of phonetics, the French
of this period was very complex. This was expecially true with its vowels. 13th
Century C.E. French included some 33 vowels (9 oral, 5 nasal, 11 oral
diphthongs, 5 nasal diphthongs, and 3 triphthongs). Consonants had three strict
modifiers making French a very difficult to understand and learn.
For anyone who speaks French
today, they would have a great deal of difficulty with 13th Century
French, as all the letters were pronounced, including those that we understand
as silent today.
In terms of grammar, 13th
Century French, it remained very backwards, as word order was free in
sentences. This form of French became known as “Old French.” This form of
French was a mix of Romanic, Occitan, Germanic, and Arabic words, and used
Latin for its phonetics.
Despite its far reaching roots,
French was still not recognized as an official language. It was grounded as a
vehicular language. This was because it was in use throughout the upper levels
of society and was used by the Royal Army which carried French to Italy, Spain,
Cyprus, Syria and Jerusalem through the Crusades. As the language expanded
around the world, the written form began to catch up. The only problem was the
coming centuries would not be easy for the French language.
Between the 14th-16th
century French underwent a number of changes from the globally spread “Old
French” to “Middle French” to “Modern French” as we know it today.
When Philip IV was King of
France, he began using French for all official documents and was required it to
be used in all regional parliaments. By 1300 C.E. French was rivaling Latin,
and Roman and Greek philosophers were being translated into French to allow for
a wider audience. As a result, written
French went through a Latinization.
In 1328 C.E. Charles IV died
without an heir to his throne, and the English asserted its claim to the French
throne. Edward III of England was French and Philippe VI ( a French Prince)
began the long fight, known as the 100 Years’ War.
The conflict not only created a
rift among the French monarchy, it also divided the French provinces. It would
not be until 1453 C.E., under Charles VII that France would prevail, and regain
control of all its former provinces.
The French victory cost the
French language dearly. England replaced French in the Parliament of London
earlier in 1363 C.E., and Henry V of England began to use English in his
official documents.
It was argued by linguist Walter,
that, if it were not for the intervention of Joan of Arc, the English would
have fully adopted the French language. Forever altering the world as we know
it today. Canada, the U.S. and all of the former British Empire might have been
French.
Following the 100 Years’ War,
France remained very unstable. This instability, led to a simplification of the
entire “Old French” system. The numerous diphthongs and triphthongs were
eliminated, turning to simple vowels in spoken French. In a reaction to this
change, scholars looked to preserve the complex written rules. This resulted in
the remaining pronunciation rules, on various words, like “oiseau” (pronounced
wazo).
Due to the Latinization of the
French written system, scholarly Latin continued to invade France and began to
appear in the French vocabulary. This is very similar to the Anglicisation of
French seem today. This caused doublets
to appear in the French language, the words like hötel and
hôpital are examples of these doublets. They are both derived from the Latin
word hospitalis, which evolved as a short form (hötel) and a long form (hôpital) into different meanings. The first, means hotel,
while the second, hospital.
Other examples of
these doublets are:
·
acer > aigre/âcre
·
masticare > mâcher/mastiquer
·
senior > sieur/seigneur
·
capsa > châsse/caisse
·
ministerium > métier/ministère
·
scala > échelle/escale
·
causa > chose/cause
·
porticus > porche/portique
·
simulare > sembler/simuler
·
operare > oeuvrer/opérer
·
strictum > étroit/strict
·
potionem > poison/potion
·
frictionem > frisson/friction
·
tractatum > traité/tract
·
pedestrem > piètre, pitre/ pédestre
|
·
rigidus > raide/rigide
·
parabola > parole/parabole
·
fragilis > frêle/fragile
·
pendere > peser/penser
·
integer > entier/intègre
·
legalis > loyal/légal
·
liberare > livrer/libérer
·
fabrica > forge/fabrique
·
auscultare > écouter/ausculter
·
absolutum > absous/absolu
·
capitalem > cheptel/capitale
·
captivum > chétif/captif
·
claviculum > cheville/clavicule
·
advocatum > avoué/avocat
·
singularis > sanglier/singulier
Source: UOttawa Language Management Canada http://www.slmc.uottawa.ca/
|
The Renaissance also had a
dramatic impact on the French language. During this period 99% of the French
population did not speak French, they continued to speak a number of regional
dialects. French was only spoken in and around Paris, where the upper members
of society lived. Just as Frances 13th Century military helped
spread French around the world, the Italian domination during the Renaissance
(the 16th Century) lead to more Latin entering France. The Italian
Wars, which took place between 1494-1559 C.E. led to a strong relationship
between France and Italy. This relationship, and the influx of Latin, brought
more refinement to the French language.
By 1510 C.E., Louis XII decreed
that all judicial proceeding conducted in France, so that the official language
in France would become more centralized. In 1539 C.E., the Royal degree of the
Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts required every Paris in the Kingdom to keep all
birth and marriage records in French instead of Latin. This made French the
official state language. Although Rome did not agree, by 1520 C.E. the Bible
and Gospel were being translated into French, and Calvinists in both France and
Switzerland, continued to spread French throughout Europe.
The French written language
became overly complicated again during the 16th century. This was
because printers were paid by the length of a document. Scholars and leading
minds were unsure about the rules and complications of the language, so they
left it up to the typographers to decide what was right and wrong. As a result
they added the cedillia, the apostrophes, and the numerous accents that appear
on all vowels in the French language, each that change the vowels
pronunciation. Written French became as complicated as was spoken French in the
13th Century. The upper echelons of society could ignore these
changes, but specialists were now obligated to follow the obscure rules. This resulted in the same difficult rules
with modern French writing.
Louis XIII tasked Cardinal
Richelieu to keep watch over the French language and its development. Richelieu
created the Acadèmie Françias in 1635 C.E. which would later create the French
dictionary, grammar rules, rhetoric, and poetics.
This centralization resulted in
French becoming an international legal language. It would be used for the first
time internationally in the Treaty of Rastdatt in 1714 C.E. (which ended the Wars of the Spanish
Succession) and would remain the official diplomatic language on treaties until
World War One.
Despite its international status,
the Enlightenment and the French Revolution would weaken the French language
development. Even with the numerous centralization efforts, by the late 17th
and early 18th Century C.E. only 3 million of the 25 million living
in France could speak and understand French. A high number still spoke varied
forms of Patois, which had existed since the Romanic times. The French language
also lost ground internationally after it lost Canada to Britain in 1760 C.E.
and the American War of Independence, which isolated Louisiana.
By the mid-18th
century C.E. the language began to make headway in France itself. As factories
became more centralized as a result of the Industrial Revolution, workers were
required to travel into Paris and other major city centres and required French
to work. However, workers would be one of the main culprits of the French
Revolution, which would cause more turmoil in the evolution of the French
language.
The French Revolution saw a
simplification of the language. During
the outbreak, 80% of the population still did not speak French. This
simplification was as a result of revolutionaries looking for more national
sentiment, including language. For the first time there was a direct
correlation between language and nation. The motto of the revolution was
“Fraternité, Liberté, Egalité” (Fraternity, Freedom, Equality) For this to be
possible, everyone needed the same language. If the language was made easier,
more people could learn it. However, with the end result of the revolution
resulting in the execution of Louis XVI in July of 1789 C.E., this left France
open to new political ideologies.
Three major political periods
remained before modern French would appear. The first was under the rule of
Charles-Maurice Talleyrand, who imposed language laws, requiring French to be
taught in schools and spoken in Church. This period has become known as the
“Linguistic Terror,” and the laws remained until the execution of Robespierre
in July of 1794 C.E.
The next period of political
change was under Napoleon Bonaparte. He kept France in an eternal state of war
throughout his reign, which required as much financing as possible. As a result
of this, Napoleon allowed schools to return to teaching Latin, as it was
cheaper and easier, meaning it required less resources. Unlike every French
leader before him, he was from the lower nobility, and spoke Corsican (an
Italian dialect) and put an end to all French promotion efforts.
Napoleon’s opinion of the French
language came at the turn of the 19th century. The world began to
look to science more closely, and Napoleon wanted France at the centre of the
stage. Napoleon reopened the Acadèmie Françias, and it returned to its work on
preserving the French language.
Despite new French research, the
world still revered the French and its language because of Napoleon’s
continuous expansion on Europe. Europe developed a very anti-French sentiment.
Napoleon also decided to sell Louisiana to the U.S. in 1803 C.E., ending the
last France French outpost in North America.
After Napoleon’s death, the new
government made major strides in establishing the French language. In 1830 C.E.
they created the national elementary education system, while at the same time
had the intention of simplifying the French language. As a result of this
effort, Parisian middle class pronunciation spread through France, resulting in
what is modern French today.
With continued political
division, the rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (commonly known as Napoleon III)
promoted himself as the protector of the lower class, who were still struggling
with the adaptation of the French language. Napoleon III returned France to a
short period of Latin domination. For the benefit of France, this period lasted
between 1851-1871 C.E. when Napoleon III was forced to surrender in his war
with Prussia, resulting in the end of his rule.
By the 19th Century
C.E. French was basically as it is today. They biggest change would continually
be the increasing number of English words entering the language. The bloodiest
war in history (World War One) would combine men from all over France. This
destructive war solidified the survival of French, as it was the last stage of
centralization. Men from the various regions were forced to modify their
understanding of French to understand their comrades. Up until this period in
history, French had never borrowed from the English language. In the 17th
Century, only 8 English words were in the French vocabulary. By the 20th
Century, more than 2,500 English words were present. As a result of this
borrowing, French one again became an international language, borrowing words
from more than 120 languages, including more than 1,000 from Italian and
hundreds from Spanish. This allowed French to reach all levels of society.
In Canada, the ESL learners we
will most likely encounter will be students from Quebec. This causes its own
issues as Quebec French and French French are extremely different. The same can
be said for African and Asian French.
There are similarities, such as
the grammar rules, but there are vernacular changes. This is as a result of
Frances rocky history. The French that we know in Canada is closer to 17th-18th
Century French. This is because when New France was established from people
from various French regions (which all spoke a different level and type of
French). After the British conquest, Quebec was sheltered form the continued
modifications to the French language in France. There is also a reason for the
varied French in Quebec, from the French in New Brunswick. Those who settled in
Quebec where predominantly from northern France, while those who settled in
Acadia (NB) where from Southern France. The French spoken in Canada, has been subject
to the English spoken surrounding it for nearly 5 centuries. The most common
pronunciation differences in Quebec are “moé” (supposed to be moi) and “toé” (supposed
to be toi). With the development of social media and the internet the gap
between Quebec French and France French, the same can be said for many of the
former French colonies.
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