Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

    I was astounded by the actions taken by slave owners in the South. Never before have I been so disgusted by the fact that such barbaric people would be allowed to continue their evil practices by the laws of the United States. 

    Out of the many descriptions written of a slave's punishments, the one concerning a house-slave known as Mary being beaten by her owner Mrs. Hamilton was gruesome enough to make me shed tears for the girl. I am disturbed by the injuries she had sustained from her mistress and can not imagine the pain that she would have to suffer through. I was ashamed to see how privileged white families would treat their slave so brutally. They treated Frederick Douglass worse than you would treat a dog.  It was sad to read the story and see the Auld’s family slowly get meaner and meaner towards the slave, till by the end of it, the mistress who started out the nicest was the meanest of all. Through all of this Frederick Douglass persevered and continued to teach himself and not give up. Frederick’s will to learn and push on was inspirational. I do not think it is morally acceptable to continue to treat and let others treat people in such a horrible fashion. The slave owner could be so kind and loving, and in a word from her husband, became so rude and cruel. Douglass says that “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear . . . Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities . . . She finally became even more violent than her husband himself” (Excerpt 10). I found this incredibly powerful, because many of us do not think of the potential harm to everyone involved in this horrible subject, and it connects to many of us on many levels. 

    We can not stand by and watch our fellow man be treated so horribly, it is our duty under the lord to stop this injustice. I am calling upon all abolitionists to join me in the fight to end slavery. If you do nothing you are just as bad as the slaver owners engaging in these unspeakable actions. 

Your Friendly Abolitionist,

     Thomas Anderson.

Historical Fiction: 1 - settlers of the Americas

It is currently May 16, 1655: Brent Donaldson 

          It has been hard to find a book, but I found myself wanting to write about current events regarding my coming to the New World. Sentimental, I know. 

          Ever sense I was taken from Bristol England as, what my sorry mates called me, a quite worthless individual of no talent whatsoever, I served for five years as a tobacco harvester in the New World. They worked us to death they did. By us I'm referring to myself alongside the other indentured servants on the farm. Me and this other Englander, John Sanders, got along very well, always telling each other to run off into the woods as to get away from the work. A year into our stay John and I made friends with one of the new Africans, Nouko. He added to our banter of escape. 

          It's funny. I distinctly remember one afternoon on that farm more than any other with ol' Nouko and John. We were all out in the fields, plucking tobacco in this dreadful heat, when we see two of our guys streaking off into the woods behind the farm shed followed our owner, Mr. River, trailing behind them with his two bloodhounds barking away. It was the most enjoyable sight I've ever witnessed, seeing Mr. River work for a change, sweating the fat off him as he chased his two prized laborers off between the trees. They were back later that evening, the two runaways. The punishments weren't as serious as I'd thought, for runaways, but the odd thing was that the two were given different punishments. The white guy got a few more years added onto his time at the farm while the African got to stay for life. I told them at least they weren't killed or something, however much that helped. 

          Looking back on it, it was a good thing that we never tried to run from the farm. In the end me, Nouko, and John had paid our debts and went free as the birds from that place. Now, I was surprised that they didn't give us necessities as promised, like clothing and provisions, but I was fine with it. I was soon looking for a place to live, not that it was really a great place to start a family. The stagnant river nearby was quite a dirty thing leading to poor sanitation in the colony, and the food shortages were scary. I actually almost died from the river water once, and got sick from it on many other occasions. After a few years in Jamestown I started a family, which I thought I would most never be able to do. Susan Donaldson is my wife to this day, and is, as I can say, very pretty. We had our first child in the summer of 1647 and our second late in the year of 1652. It's now summer again three years from then, and I am amazed at how fast little boys grow. 

          Ed, now being eight and the eldest, is always asking of the founding of Jamestown and why we are living so far from England. This is mainly why I'm writing this journal. But it's more probable that I'm doing so because Susan won't stop talking about the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and why Captain John Smith is so great a dictator. He is the man who helped us establish good native relations with the Powhatan and practically rescued the whole colony from starvation. However, Susan, when you're reading this, I hope you understand that I truly don't want to hear any more about recent history.  

"Get a PEACE of Georgia, today"

     The Georgia Colony, Savannah, was founded in 1733, by the group of English Trustees including James Oglethorpe. The charter for the colony was issued by King George II, for the purpose of benefiting the poor and protecting the northern colonies from the advance of the Spanish. Like many other colonies, the Georgia Colony had a distinct form of government. The Trustees created laws concerning land restrictions to 500 acres, prohibiting the importation and creation of rum, and refusing black slaves to encourage other English settlers to come. Because this was a later developed colony, the settlers had more knowledge on what to expect when they were founding their colony, resulting in  less famine, strife, and plague. The people of the Georgia Colony were also predominantly Protestant, however, also allowed other religious groups to find refuge within their colony, such as Jews. They traded with the Yamacraws and other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. This ability to peacefully trade was thanks to James Oglethorpe, who headed Native diplomacy, and saw to those who violated fair trade with the Natives. 

https://vimeo.com/140850668 

Resorces: 

http://www.landofthebrave.info/georgia-colony.htm

http://www.sip.armstrong.edu/Indians/Essay.html

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/georgia-history-overview

Columbus Day: Should it be Claimed as a Holiday?

Columbus day, the federal holiday in the US. celebrates the accomplishment of Christofer Columbus reaching the New World. Opening a new continent to trade with and rule by the Spanish Government. 

This was not necessarily a good thing however. For the native American Indians of the Americas the encroachment of their lands by the arriving foreigners was the first step to being taken over. These native indians were used as slaves, forced to labor for the Spanish. Bringing not only men over from the Old World, the Spanish brought plagues like smallpox and the flu, domesticated animals like the cow, and un-native plants. Back to the Old World they took gold, slaves, and goods. 

As plunderers of highly priced merchandise and destroyers of ancient native peoples, the Spanish did many bad deeds after finding the continent. In this way, Columbus' discovery of America is not a joyful historic moment. However, it is still a historic moment marking the day a great leap was made in globalization. I believe that Columbus day should be a historic holiday because it immensely changed world dynamics bringing new trade, wealth, and power.    

Website for The History of Science Fiction book by Adam Roberts

What is Science Fiction History:
http://whatissciencefictionhistory.weebly.com/

Chapter 9 - Empires of Tea: presentation

Empires of Tea Speech - Notes & Overview:

          Tea was available in Europe a few years before coffee and was used as a luxury and medical drink. There was much controversy on whether tea is good for a person and should be drunk. The Dutch doctor, Cornelius Bontekoe believed that the average person should consume tea every day or every hour. More specifically, a person should drink 10 cups a day, 50 cups if they were sick, and 200 cups at the most. A German doctor to the King of Denmark, Simon Pauli, thought that tea was poisonous from transporting it from China & quickens death. 

          Britain soon became the most tea-loving nation in Europe. At the beginning of 1700, almost no one in Britain drank tea, but by 1800, almost every one was drinking tea. At this time, prices of a pound of tea fell to 1/20 their original cost. This is because of the newly adopted practice of adulteration. Adulteration is the addition of ash, flowers, sawdust, & willow leaves or other items to a bag of tea. This allowed for more tea to be consumed than what imported. So much tea was produced in Europe at the time that everyone in every class could at least have 1-2 cups a day. 

          Out of the different flavors of tea during this era, black tea became more popular because it was more suited to survive longer voyages and was safer to drink because its adulterations were not poisonous like those of green tea. 

Oil in the Middle East: Map As History - history presentation