Saint Bridget

Saint Bridget or Bridgid of Sweden (1303 – July 23, 1373), born as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena, was a Christian mystic and the founder of the Bridgettine Order.

From a young age she kept records of what came to be known as her Celestial revelations, which were translated into Latin and became popular throughout Europe. She was also known for her Fifteen Oes, prayers she said she received from Christ in revelation, which also spread to many countries and were featured in many illuminated liturgical texts.

Bridget lived in the time of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) with much religious and political struggle. She was married for over 20 years to Ulf Gudmarson, the prince of Närke, and had eight children. After her husband’s death, she devoted her life solely to religion. She established the Brigettine order at Vadstena, Sweden in 1350. In August 1370, Pope Urban V confirmed the Rule of her congregation, at which time Bridget urged the pope to return the Holy See from Avignon back to Rome.

Unique among saints of the second millennium, she was also the mother of a saint—Catherine of Vadstena. Bridget was a contemporary of Julian of Norwich (1342 – c. 1416) and Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380), all of whom wrote a books describing their revelations.

Bridget spent the latter part of her life in Rome where she died at 70. Her sanctuary lies in the Cathedral of Vadstena, the site of the order’s establishment.

Life

Bridget was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and lawspeaker of Uppland and one of the richest landowners of the country, and his wife, a member of a prominent branch of the Folkunga family. Through her mother, young Bridget related to the contemporary Swedish kings of her time. Saint Ingrid, whose death had occurred about 20 years before Bridget’s birth, was a relative of the family, and Bridget’s paternal forefathers had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for four generations to “walk in the path of James,” the brother of Jesus. She received a careful religious training. Her mother died when Bridget was still a teenager and she was taken in by her devout maternal aunt. She began having visions soon after her mother’s death (c. 1315), but her aunt advised her to keep her revelations quiet.

In 1316, at 18, Bridget was married to Ulf Gudmarson, prince of Närke, to whom she bore eight children, one of whom was afterward honored as Saint Catherine of Sweden. After their children had grown, Bridget influenced her husband to go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (1341–1343). After their return they decided to live in a monastery in a spiritual marriage without sex and to let go of their worldly possessions.

In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra in Östergötland. Bridget, at 41, now devoted herself wholly to religion.

It was about this time that she founded the Order of St. Saviour, or the Bridgettines, of which the principal house at Vadstena was richly endowed by King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden and his queen. In Sweden she created a poor house and when possible went to serve them herself. According to her hagiography, “She washed their feet and clothed them and visited them when they were infirm and handled their wounds and bodies with tender compassion and the greatest of maternal charity.”

The original Bridgettine order was open to both men and women. It was a “double order,” each convent having attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the government of the abbess. The nuns were strictly enclosed, emphasizing scholarship and study, but the monks served additionally as preachers and itinerant missionaries. The individual monasteries were each subject to the local bishop.

About 1350, she went to Rome, partly to obtain the authorization of her new order, and partly in pursuance of her mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. It was not until 1370, however, that Pope Urban V finally confirmed the Rule of her order. Around this time, Bridget made an earnest request to Pope Urban to return the Holy See back to Rome from Avignon. Meanwhile Bridget had made herself known in Rome by her kindness and good works.

Save for occasional pilgrimages, including one to Jerusalem in 1373, she remained in Rome until her death on July 23, 1373, aged 70. She was originally buried at San Lorenzo in Panisperna before being moved to Sweden. She was canonized in the year 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, and confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415. Her final resting place is at the Vadstena Abbey, the site where the Bridgettine Order was first established.

Visions

As a child, Bridget already believed herself to have had visions; as she grew older they became more frequent. In 1345, a year after her husband’s death, a series of visions came to Bridget while she was awake and in prayer. She recorded these Celestial revelations, which were translated into Latin by Matthias, the canon of Linköping, and by her confessor, Peter, the prior of Alvastra. They obtained a great popularity during the lateMiddle Ages.

Shortly before her death, she described a vision of the birth of Jesus which had a great influence on depictions of the Nativity of Jesus in art.

The Virgin knelt down with great veneration in an attitude of prayer, and her back was turned to the manger…. And while she was standing thus in prayer, I saw the child in her womb move and suddenly in a moment she gave birth to her son, from whom radiated such an ineffable light and splendor, that the sun was not comparable to it, nor did the candle that Saint Joseph had put there give any light at all, the divine light totally annihilating the material light of the candle…. I saw the glorious infant lying on the ground naked and shining. His body was pure from any kind of soil and impurity. Then I heard also the singing of the angels, which was of miraculous sweetness and great beauty…

After this, the Virgin kneels to pray to her child, to be joined by Joseph. Technically known as the Adoration of the Child, the scene as she described it became one of the most common depictions in the fifteenth century, largely replacing the reclining Virgin in the western art. However, Franciscan versions of this depiction were known as early as 1300, well before Bridget’s vision, and she may have been influenced by them. Her visions of purgatory and of the passion of Christ were also well known.

The 15 ‘Our Father and Hail Mary prayers’

Bridget prayed for a long time to know how many blows Christ suffered during his passion. She reported that he appeared to her in a vision and said: “I received 5475 blows upon My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way, recite 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following prayers, which I myself shall teach you, for an entire year. When the year is finished, you will have honored each of My Wounds.”

The prayers became known as the Fifteen Oes, because in the original Latin, each prayer began with the words O Jesu, O Rex, or O Domine Jesu Christe (“O Jesus; O King; O Lord Jesus Christ”). However, some have questioned whether Bridget is in fact their author; contemporary religious historian, Eamon Duffy, professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge and former president of Magdalene College, claims that the prayers probably originated in England in the devotional circles that surrounded Richard Rolle, an English religious writer, Bible translator (1290-1349) or from the English Bridgettines.

Whatever their origin, the prayers were widely circulated in the late Middle Ages and became regular features in Books of Hours and other devotional literature. They were translated into various languages; an early English language version of them was printed in a primer by William Caxton, the first printer in England. The prayers themselves reflect the late medieval tradition of meditation on the passion of Christ, and are structured around the seven last words of Christ. They borrow from patristic and scriptural sources as well as the tradition of devotion to the wounds of Christ.

The prayers began to circulate with various promises of indulgences and other assurances of supernatural graces supposed to attend from their regular recitation over the course of a year. These indulgences were added to the manuscript tradition of several editions of the Books of Hours, and may constitute one major source of the prayers’ popularity. They promise, among other things, the release from Purgatory of 15 of the devotee’s family members, and that they would keep 15 living family members in a state of grace.

Legacy

Bridget of Sweden, was a devout Christian woman who inspired her own nation and its rulers to live a more religious and moral lifestyle especially through the widely circulated Celestial revelations and her prayers, the Fifteen Oes. In her travels to other nations and cities she would encourage others toward the religious and pious life, even scolding those rulers who she found wanting. She defended the papacy and encouraged Pope Urban I to return the Holy See to Rome from Avignon, Rome being the rightful seat of Saint Peter. Through her revelatory writings and prayers she influenced much of Europe, as her works were added to a number of liturgical texts including the Books of Hours. Her mystical visions inspired others to devotion to Christ and some miracles were reported through veneration of her as a saint.

Her church and convent at Vadstena became a place of sanctuary for other religious women and men including her own daughter, Saint Catherine of Vadstena. Her order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia until is suppression in 1595 during the Protestant Reformation. In England, the Bridgittine convent of Syon Abbey at Isleworth, Middlesex, was royally endowed by Henry V of England in 1415, and became one of the richest, most fashionable, and influential nunneries in the country. By 1515 it expanded to 27 houses, 13 of them in Scandinavia and spread to other lands reached an eventual total of 80. The English convent was abandoned during the reign of Elizabeth I but was reestablished in 1861. It remains until today at Syon House now at Chudleigh in Devon. Work is currently done by the order in India through the Cochin institution and others.

Bridget lived during the time of the Hundred Years War in Europe and was a contemporary of Catherine of Siena, and Julian of Norwich. All three women wrote books of their Revelations. These women are linked by the Norwich Benedictine, Cardinal Adam Easton who wrote the Defensorium Sanctae Birgitta in Norwich, 1389-1391, defending the women’s visionary and at times prophetic writings.

In 1999, Pope John Paul II named Bridget as a patron saint of Europe. Her feast is celebrated on July 23, the day of her death. Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of “Saint Bridget, Widow” on October 8. Her shrine is at Vadstena convent, the main site of the Brigettine Order that she founded in Sweden.

 

Goliad Massacre

The Goliad Massacre was an execution of Republic of Texas soldiers and their commander, James Fannin, by Mexico, reluctantly carried out by General Jose de Urrea.

Background

The Mexican Army was led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had sent General José Urrea marching into Texas from Matamoros, making his way north by following the coast of Texas. On March 19, he had quickly advanced and surrounded the 300 men in the Texian Army on the open prairie, near La Bahia (Goliad). A two day Battle of Coleto ensued with the Texians holding their own on the first day. However, the Mexicans would receive overwhelming reinforcements and heavy artillery. Due to their critical predicament, Colonel James Fannin and his staff had voted to surrender the Texian forces on the 20th. Led to believe that they would be released into the United States, they returned to their former fort in Goliad, now being their prison.

Albert Clinton Horton and company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannins company. Surprised by an overwhelming Mexican force, they were chased off and escaped, however 18 of the group were captured and marched back to Goliad.

On February 27, 1836, Urrea’s advance patrol surprised Frank W. Johnson and about 34 men initiating the Battle of San Patricio, killing about 10 and taking 18 prisoners. Johnson and five Texians were captured but managed to escape and rejoin James Fannin’s command at Goliad.

March 2, at the Battle of Agua Dulce, James Grant was killed, as were 11 other men under his command. Six Texians were taken prisoners and were marched to prison in Matamoros. Six Texians escaped, five were recaptued and marched to Goliad

Amon B. King and a group of men had been executed on March 16 in Refugio, but about 15-18 prisoners were marched to Goliad, to serve as blacksmiths or mechanics.

75 soldiers of William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion had been captured on the 20th and marched in on the 23rd. Being detained separately from the other prisoners, since they had surrendered without weaponry.

On March 22, William Ward and the Georgia Battalion (80 men plus Ward), surrendered after escaping from the Battle of Refugio. About 26 men were retained at Victoria as laborers, but 55 prisoners were marched into Goliad, on March 25th.

Massacre

The Mexicans took the Texians back to Goliad, where they were held as prisoners at Fort Defiance (Presidio La Bahia). The Texians thought they would likely be set free in a few weeks. General Urrea departed Goliad, leaving command to Colonel José Nicolás de la Portilla. Urrea wrote to Santa Anna to ask for clemency for the Texians. Under a decree passed by the Mexican Congress on December 30 of the previous year, armed foreigners taken in combat were to be treated as pirates and executed. Urrea wrote in his diary that he “…wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility.” Santa Anna responded to this entreaty by repeatedly ordering Urrea to comply with the law and execute the prisoners. He also had a similar order sent directly to the “Officer Commanding the Post of Goliad”. This order was received by Portilla on March 26, who decided it was his duty to comply despite receiving a countermanding order from Urrea later that same day.

The next day, Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, Colonel Portilla had the 303 Texians marched out of Fort Defiance into three columns on the Bexar Road, San Patricio Road, and the Victoria Road, between two rows of Mexican soldiers; they were shot point-blank, and any survivors were clubbed and knifed to death.

Forty Texians were unable to walk. Thirty nine were killed inside the fort, under the direction of Captain Carolino Huerta of the Tres Villas battalion, with Colonel Garay saving one. Colonel Fannin was the last to be executed, after seeing his men executed. Age 32, he was taken by Mexican soldiers to the courtyard in front of the chapel, blindfolded, and seated in a chair (due to his leg wound from the battle). He made three requests: he asked for his personal possessions to be sent to his family, to be shot in his heart and not his face, and to be given a Christian burial. The soldiers took his belongings, shot his face, and burned Fannin’s body along with the other Texians who died that day.

The entire Texian force was killed except for twenty-eight men who feigned death and escaped. Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre.

Fortunately, due to the intervention of the “Angel of Goliad”, (Francita Alavez), and the courageous effort of Colonel Francisco Garay, twenty more men were held and spared as doctors, interpreters, or workers .

Also spared were the 75 soldiers of William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion, who had been captured and had surrendered without weapons. The men were later marched to Matamoros.

Spared men were given white arm bands, while wearing them, they could walk about freely. They were advised not to take off the arm band or they might be shot, since the Mexican troops were hunting for those that had escaped from Coleto, Victoria and the massacre itself.

Aftermath

After the executions the Texian’s bodies were piled and burned. Their charred remains were left in the open, unburied and exposed to vultures, and coyotes. About a month later, word reached La Bahia(Goliad) that General Santa Anna had been defeated and surrendered. The Mexican soldiers at La Bahia returned to the funeral pyres and gathered up any visible remains of the Texians and then re-burned any evidence of the bodies.

The massive number of Texian casualties throughout the Goliad Campaign and the “take-no-prisoners” attitude of the Mexican army led to Goliad being called a “Massacre” by Texas-American forces and fueled the frenzy of the Runaway Scrape.

 

B.B. King

B.B. King, born Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – ), is an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, widely considered one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time.

King had a a large number of hits in the R&B market in the 1950s and early 60s, including such blues classics as “Sweet Little Angel,” “Everyday I Have the Blues,” and “Sweet Sixteen.” In 1968 he broke into the mainstream with “Thrill Is Gone,” which reached number three on the pop charts and won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

King’s virtuoso guitar style strongly influenced the new generation of rock and blues guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and many others. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Heritage Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts.

A vegetarian and abstainer from alcohol, King is also a prominent spokesman for diabetes awareness and treatment. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, one of the first artists to be honored by the museum. As of late 2008, he continued to perform regularly, having performed more than 15,000 dates in a career spanning more than 50 years.

Career

Formative years

King was born on a cotton plantation in rural Mississippi in 1925. One of five children, he moved with his mother to the town of Kilmichael after his parents separated and lived with his grandmother after his mother’s death in 1935. He sang gospel music in church learned and the rudiments of the guitar from a preacher. As a teenager, King sang in a gospel group called the Elkhorn Jubilee Singers but also listened to blues music by singers such as Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. King reports that he intended on a career in gospel music.

After being inducted into the army at age 18, King served locally and was able to hear live performances in Indianola, Mississippi by such diverse performers as Robert Nighthawk, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Jr. Lockwood. Meanwhile, he started a new gospel group, the Famous St. John Gospel Singers, and played his guitar for tips in Indianola.

After World War II ended and King was released from the army, he traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, where his cousin, Delta bluesman Bukka White, lived. King and White played amateur performances, but King went back to Indianola after ten months. There he worked to develop his skills, and returned to Memphis two years later.

In addition to Delta bluesmen like White, King was also influenced by the recordings of a range of more citified guitarists, from bluesman T-Bone Walker to jazz players like Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. As a singer, besides his gospel and traditional blues roots, he cites Frank Sinatra as a major influence, who helped him add a sophisticated touch to his timing and delivery of the blues forms.

When he returned to Memphis, King initially worked at the local R&B radio channel WDIA as a singer. He also gained a reputation as an impressive young guitarist, playing in Beale Street blues clubs and collaborating with such singers as Bobby “Blue” Bland. King also worked as a disc jockey, where he gained the nickname “Beale Street Blues Boy,” later shortened to “B.B.”

Early recording years

King debuted as a recording artist on Bullet Records, issuing the single “Miss Martha King” (1949), which received a bad review in Billboard magazine and did not chart well. Later that year, he began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records, also recording for its Kent and Crown affiliates.

In the 1950s, King became one of the most important names in R&B music. His first hit was his slow 12-bar blues classic “Three O’Clock Blues,” which reached the top of rhythm & blues chart in 1951, for five weeks. It remains today one of the great examples of perfectly combined blues singing and lead guitar playing. King amassed an impressive list of other hits including the R & B chart-toppers “You Upset Me Baby,” “You Know I Love You,” and “Please Love Me.” Other blues classics recorded by King during this period included “When My Heart Beats like a Hammer,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Sweet Little Angel,” and others.

In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records. Enjoying his new contract’s guarantee of larger royalties, he scored major R&B hits, including his signature “Sweet Sixteen,” and “Don’t Answer the Door,” both of which reached number two on the R&B chart. His 1965 Live at the Regal LP is considered a classic concert album, which captures the dynamic interplay between the masterful King and his enthusiastic black audience.

Mainstream success

In the later 1960s, King began to attract the attention of white blues fans, who particularly appreciated his guitar work. Top rock and blues guitarists like Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and others credited him has a major influence, expanding his album sales to a wider audience.

King’s first major success outside the blues market was his 1969 remake of Roy Hawkins’ tune “The Thrill Is Gone.” King’s version became a hit on both pop and R&B charts, which was rare at the time for a blues artist. The record won a Grammy and later gained the number 193 spot in Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Songs Of All Time. King won further rock visibility as an opening act on The Rolling Stones 1969 American Tour. His mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s, with songs like “To Know You Is to Love You” and “I Like to Live the Love.”

A legend in his time

By the 1980s, King had become a blues legend and was much in demand as a concert artist. The 80s, 90s, and 2000s saw him recording less, but throughout this time he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on various television shows and performing live concerts 300 nights a year. He also received numerous prestigious awards, from Grammy Awards, to honorary doctorates, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single “When Love Comes To Town,” a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In the same year, he appeared in feature film The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, and Bo Diddley. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 2003, he shared the stage with the rock band Phish in New Jersey, performing three of his classics and jamming with the band for over 45 minutes.

He also made an appearance at the Crossroads Guitar Festival organized by Eric Clapton. On the DVD version of the event, he plays “Paying The Cost To Be The Boss” and “Rock Me Baby” with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, and Hubert Sumlin.

“Farewell tour” and beyond

On March 29, 2006, King played at England’s Sheffield’s Hallam Arena, the first date of his UK and European farewell tour. The British leg of the tour ended on April 4 with a final UK concert at Wembley Arena. He returned to Europe in July, playing twice in the fortieth edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival. He also appeared in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset on July 14. In November and December, King played six times in Brazil.

During a press conference on November 29, in São Paulo, a journalist asked King if that would be the “actual” farewell tour. He answered: “One of my favorite actors is a man from Scotland named Sean Connery. Most of you know him as James Bond, 007. He made a movie called “Never Say Never Again.”

On July 28, 2007, B.B. King Played again at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival with 20 other guitarists to raise money for the Crossroads Center, Antigua, for addictive disorders. As of late 2008, King was still touring energetically in the United Sates.

His album One Kind Favor, released in August 2008, was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as “B.B. King’s best album in years… [and] one of the strongest studio sets of his career.”

Personal life

A licensed pilot, B. B. King is also a vegetarian, non-drinker, and non-smoker, but admits to gambling. Delta blues artist Bukka White was King’s first cousin, and former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston was his uncle.

His favorite singer is Frank Sinatra, whom he has cited as a significant influence in this timing and delivery. King has also credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in “white dominated” venues, including helping King get into main Las Vegas venues during the 1960s.

King has lived with Type II Diabetes for over 20 years and is a prominent spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products.

King is associated with three B.B. King Blues Clubs in Memphis, Orlando, and Nashville, and the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Lucille Cafe in New York City.

One of King’s trademarks is “Lucille,” the name he has given to his guitars since the 1950s. He gave his guitar this name after escaping from a club fire which was started during a fight over a woman named Lucille. When King escaped the club, he realized that he had left his guitar in the building and ran back inside to get it. He named his guitar “Lucille” to remind himself never to behave so recklessly again.

Legacy

In a career lasting well over 50 years, B. B. King played at least 15,000 performances. His virtuoso guitar stylings have influenced subsequent generations of blues and rock guitarists probably more than any other single player. Often underestimated as a singer because of his prodigious talent on the guitar, King left a corpus of powerful, yet sensitively nuanced blues vocal performances that is perhaps unequaled.

He also reached millions through his appearances on television, making guest appearances in numerous popular shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street, Married With Children, and Sanford and Son. He is the subject of several biographies, including B.B. King: There is Always One More Time, by the noted New York-based music writer David McGee.

In June 2006, King was present to memorialize his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. In the same year, a groundbreaking was held for a new B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi, which was scheduled to open in 2008.

Honors and awards

• As of 2006, he had won 14 Grammy Awards, of which nine have been the award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 1971, he won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for “The Thrill is Gone”), which also garnered a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998.
• King was officially inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, becoming one of the first artists to be honored by the museum.
• He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1990.
• In 1991, he was presented the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• King was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 for “the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our Nation’s most prestigious artists.”
• In 2004, he was presented an honorary Ph.D from the University of Mississippi, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize for his “significant contributions to the blues.”
• On December 15, 2006, President George W. Bush awarded King the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• On May 27, 2007, King was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Brown University.

 

Geronimo

Geronimo (Chiricahua, Goyaałé; “One Who Yawns”; often spelled Goyathlay in English) (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who long warred against the encroachment of the United States on tribal lands.

Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values—aggressiveness and courage in the face of difficulty. He was reportedly given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers. They were so impressed by his adventurous stunts they nicknamed him Geronimo (Spanish for “Jerome”). At the same time, Geronimo credited his abilities—particularly his impunity to enemies’ weapons—to the intervention of supernatural beings. To this day, his name is synonymous with bravery.

Early Life

Geronimo was born near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in what is now the state of New Mexico, then part of Mexico, but which his family considered Bedonkohe Apache hell (tori) land. Geronimo was a Bedonkohe Apache. His father, Tablishim, died when his son was a child, leaving Geromino’s mother, Juana, to educate him and raise him in Apache traditions. He grew up to become a respected medicine man and, later in life, an accomplished warrior who fought frequently and bravely against Mexican troops. He married a woman from the Chiricauhua band of Apache; they had three children.

On March 5, 1851, a company of four hundred Sonoran soldiers led by Colonel Jose Maria Carrasco attacked Geronimo’s camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. Among those dead were Geronimo’s wife, children and mother. His chief, Mangas Coloradas, sent him to Cochise’s band for help in revenge against the Mexicans. While Geronimo said he was never a chief, he was a military leader. As a Chiricahua Apache, this meant he was also a spiritual leader. He consistently urged raids and war upon many Mexican and later American groups.

Warrior

While outnumbered, Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from capture from 1858 to 1886. At the end of his military career, he led a small band of 38 men, women and children. They evaded five thousand American troops and many units of the Mexican army for a year. His band was one of the last major forces of independent Indian warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States government in the American West. This came to an end on September 4, 1886, when Geronimo surrendered to United States Army General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona. Geronimo was sent as a prisoner to Fort Pickens, Florida. In 1894 he was moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He died of pneumonia at Fort Sill in 1909 and was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery there.

In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S. M. Barrett, superintendent of education in Lawton, Oklahoma. Barrett had to appeal to President Roosevelt to gain permission to publish the book. Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He refused to answer questions or alter his narrative. Barrett did not seem to take many liberties with Geronimo’s story as translated by Asa Daklugie. Frederick Turner re-edited this autobiography by removing some of Barrett’s footnotes and writing an introduction for the non-Apache readers. Turner notes the book is in the style of an Apache reciting part of their rich oral history

Religion

Geronimo was raised with the traditional religious views of the Bedonkohe. When questioned about his views on life after death, he wrote in his 1903 autobiography:

As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. We believed that there is a life after this one, but no one ever told me as to what part of man lived after death…We held that the discharge of one’s duty would make his future life more pleasant, but whether that future life was worse than this life or better, we did not know, and no one was able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life family and tribal relations would be resumed. In a way we believed this, but we did not know it.

Later in life Geronimo embraced Christianity, and stated:

Since my life as a prisoner has begun I have heard the teachings of the white man’s religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers…Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been a member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right.

In his final days he renounced his belief in Christianity, returning to the teachings of his childhood.

Alleged theft of remains

In 1918, certain remains of Geronimo were apparently stolen in a grave robbery. Three members of the Yale University secret society Skull and Bones, including Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush respectively, were serving as Army volunteers at Fort Sill during World War I. They reportedly stole Geronimo’s skull, some bones, and other items, including Geronimo’s prized silver bridle, from the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery. The stolen items were alleged to have been taken to the society’s tomb-like headquarters on the Yale University campus, and are supposedly used in rituals practiced by the group, one of which is said to be kissing the skull of Geronimo as an initiation. The story was known for many years but widely considered unlikely or apocryphal, and while the society itself remained silent, former members have said that they believed the bones were fake or non-human.

In a letter from that time period discovered by the Yale historian Marc Wortman and published in the Yale Alumni Magazine in 2006, society member Winter Mead wrote to F. Trubee Davison:

The skull of the worthy Geronimo the Terrible, exhumed from its tomb at Fort Sill by your club… is now safe inside the tomb together with his well worn femurs, bit and saddle horn.

This prompted the Indian chief’s great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo of Mescalero, New Mexico, to write to President George W. Bush in 2006 requesting his help in returning the remains:

According to our traditions the remains of this sort, especially in this state when the grave was desecrated … need to be reburied with the proper rituals … to return the dignity and let his spirit rest in peace.

There was apparently, no response to his letter.

 

Moses Hardy

Moses Hardy (January 6, 1893/1894 – December 7, 2006) was, at age 112 or 113, the last black veteran of World War I and one of the last surviving American veterans of that war. The son of former slaves, Hardy was born in either 1893 or 1894 and lived a religious and farming life until he signed up to serve overseas in World War I in July 1918. He served in the segregated 805th infantry, which was assigned a variety of manual labor and support tasks. Hardy himself served as a scout, supplying the front line troops when necessary. Though Hardy did experience combat, he was never seriously injured and rarely discussed his experiences concerning the fighting. Instead, he preferred to recount stories about the food, the bravery of the soldiers and the weather in France.

After the war, he took on a variety of jobs including school bus driver, farmer, deacon and cosmetics salesman, the latter of which he performed well past his 100th birthday. He received the Victory Medal, a special medal from the Mississippi National Guard and the French Légion d’honneur. In 1999, the Mississippi Legislature adopted a resolution recognizing him as an outstanding citizen of Mississippi. At the time of his death, at the age of either 112 or 113, he was recognized as the oldest combat veteran ever, the oldest male ever recorded in Mississippi and the second-oldest man and World War I veteran in the world.

Early life

Hardy was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi in either 1893 or 1894. Hardy’s parents, Morris Hardy—born in the 1840s—and Nancy Hardy, were former slaves who after the Civil War had purchased 265 acres (1.07 km²) of land in Mississippi from a Chickasaw Native American for a dollar. The Hardy family was a deeply religious one, and Moses would later recount that Exodus 20:12, which instructed one to honor their parents, was his favorite Bible passage and one which he lived by. Hardy was married once, to a woman by the name of Fannie Marshall, with whom he would end up having eight children.

Military career

Hardy’s service in France lasted from July 1918 to July 1919, and included thirty-nine combat days. As an African American, he served in a segregated army unit, the 805th Pioneer Infantry, which was commanded by white officers. Although the unit’s purpose was to provide support for engineer regiments, it was also an infantry unit that was equipped to fight if necessary. The unit focused mainly of the tasks of stevedores, such as unloading cargo from ships, but also performed other manual labor tasks, such as cooking and organizing burials. Hardy’s outfit was armed solely with rifles, instead of standard-issue machine guns. After the war, Hardy’s division was responsible for cleaning up the battlefields and removing the dead.

Hardy himself admitted to his family that he was “scared to death” when he first arrived overseas, but believed that the soldiers were fed something to make them brave, which he referred to as “brave pills”. After a short time in the military, he claimed that he was not afraid of anything that he experienced from then on. Even in the heat of battle, Hardy professed that he would get “wound up” at times, but never frightened. He recalled many strange experiences with food and drink, such as getting used to drinking green water from canteens and eating hardtacks, which he found to be surprisingly filling. To go with this, there was often little more than small tins of ham or chicken and occasionally coffee to drink and pudding or pie for dessert. Hardy also witnessed many of his friends get killed in action, and relied on his faith in God to get him through the toughest times.

Hardy often acted as a scout who would help bring supplies to troops on the front line. On September 25, 1918, he was present at the Meuse River during a mustard gas attack and, at some point during the war, he received an injury to his knee. Hardy rarely spoke about the fighting itself, and preferred to talk about France’s weather when asked about his experiences overseas.

Post-World War I

Throughout the years, he received the Victory Medal, the Occupational Medal from the Mississippi Army National Guard, an honourable discharge (which he had not received upon leaving the army) and the French Légion d’honneur. In 1999, when he was 106 years old, the Mississippi Legislature adopted a resolution recognizing him as an outstanding citizen of Mississippi. At the time, he was known as the oldest living World War I veteran, as Emiliano Mercado del Toro had not yet been discovered. He was interviewed by Treehouse Productions in 2006 as part of their Living History Project, a radio tribute to the last surviving World War I veterans that was hosted by Walter Cronkite. Though he could not speak coherently, his son Haywood Hardy, himself 80 years old at the time, recalled some of the stories that his father had told him.

Hardy did not serve in World War II and instead drove a school bus, farmed and sold linaments and wigs for “Lucky Heart” cosmetics until his retirement. He reportedly continued to go door-to-door for several years past his centenary, even resorting to phone sales when his children hid the keys of his 1972 Chevrolet Caprice. The youngest of his eight children, Jean Dukes, was born in the late 1940s. He also served as a deacon and superintendent of a Sunday School class at Mount Olive Church for over 75 years. His son claimed that, until about four years before he died, his father was healthy enough to drive his car into town every day. Hardy’s longevity was also credited to a daily meal that consisted of cabbage, corn bread, butter milk, potatoes and Dr Pepper, and the fact that he never drank alcohol or smoked in his life. Until a few years before his death, it was claimed that Hardy had never had a seriously ill day in his life and that he never took medicine, as it only made him sick. Hardy lived on his own until 2004 when his legs weakened and he found it almost impossible to walk. He was placed in a rest home, but was still able to feed himself and pass the days watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Price Is Right.

At the time of his death, he was the oldest United States combat veteran ever, the oldest male ever recorded in Mississippi and had outlived at least three of his eight children. It was reported that he had several dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was also ranked as the sixth-oldest living verified person in the world, the second-oldest man and World War I veteran behind only del Toro and the last African American one. Although he suffered from mild dementia in his later years, he was reported to have been completely lucid through his final days and his death was attributed to natural causes.

 

Sir William Marshal

Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the “greatest knight that ever lived” by Stephen Langton. He served four kings —Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III — and rose from obscurity to become a regent of England for the last of the four, and so one of the most powerful men in Europe. Before him, the hereditary title of “Marshal” designated head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, people throughout Europe (not just England) referred to him simply as “the Marshal”.

Early life

William’s father, John Marshal, supported King Stephen when he took the throne in 1135, but in about 1139 he changed sides to back the Empress Matilda in the civil war of succession between her and Stephen which led to the collapse of England into “the Anarchy”.

When King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle in 1152, according to William’s biographer, he used the young William as a hostage to ensure that John kept his promise to surrender the castle. John, however, used the time allotted to reinforce the castle and alert Matilda’s forces. When Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or watch as he hanged William in front of the castle John replied that he should go ahead saying, “I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!” Fortunately for the child, Stephen could not bring himself to hang young William.

Knight-Errant

As a younger son of a minor nobleman, William had no lands or fortune to inherit, and had to make his own way in life. Around the age of twelve, when his father’s career was faltering, he was sent to Normandy to be brought up in the household of William de Tancarville, a great magnate and cousin of young William’s mother. Here he began his training as a knight. He was knighted in 1166 on campaign in Upper Normandy, then being invaded from Flanders. His first experience of warfare was not a great success. He failed to take advantage of the knights he had managed to overcome in the street skirmish at Neufchâtel-en-Bray. In 1167 he was taken by William de Tancarville to his first tournament where he found his true métier. Quitting the Tancarville household he then served in the household of his mother’s brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. In 1168 his uncle was killed in an ambush by Guy de Lusignan. William was injured and captured in the same skirmish. It is known that William received a wound to his thigh and that someone in his captor’s household took pity on the young knight. He received a loaf of bread in which were concealed several lengths of clean linen bandages with which he could dress his wounds. This act of kindness by an unknown person perhaps saved Marshal’s life as infection setting into the wound could surely have killed him. After a period of time, he was ransomed by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was apparently impressed by tales of his bravery. Thereafter he found he could make a good living out of winning tournaments. At that time tournaments were dangerous, often deadly, staged battles, not the jousting contests that would come later, and money and valuable prizes could be won by capturing and ransoming opponents, their horses and armour. His record is legendary: on his deathbed he recalled besting 500 knights during his tourneying career.

William Marshal and the Young King Henry

The Marshal’s career entered a new phase in 1170 when he was appointed to the household of Henry the Young King, eldest surviving son of Eleanor and her second husband Henry II of England, crowned that year as associate king to his father. William was intended to be the boy’s tutor-in-arms, but became his mentor and idol. He infected the boy with his passion for the tournament, and for the next twelve years he was the Young King’s constant companion and tournament team manager. He followed the Young King in his abortive rebellion against his father in 1173–74, and William makes his first appearance in the historical record in a list of rebels compiled by the clerks of Henry II. William is alleged by his biographer to have knighted his young master during the course of the rebellion, but we know from other sources that Young Henry had in fact been knighted by his father before his coronation in 1170.

Between 1174, when Henry was reconciled to his father, and 1182, William led his master’s Anglo-Norman team in all the major tournaments of the day, especially frequenting the huge international meetings in Picardy. His job was to devise tactics and during the course of the tournament to act as minder to the Young King, to make sure he avoided the embarrassment of capture. By the time of the French state tournament of 1179 at Lagny-sur-Marne, held to celebrate the coronation of Philip II of France, William Marshal was sufficiently wealthy to raise his own banner over his own company of knights. He was also by then subject to the envy and conspiracy of rivals at the Young King’s court. In 1182 they engineered his downfall, by claiming that Marshal was more interested in profiting from tournaments than protecting his lord. There were also accusations of disrespect to the king in his choice of war cry for his company (‘God aids the Marshal’) and the way his men trumpeted his fame above the king’s. His biographer attempts to deflect these serious charges by his enemies, by adding to them the preposterous charge that William Marshal had seduced the king’s wife. He was treated coldly by the king, until fed up by the insults, Marshal left to join the tournament team of the Young King’s rival and cousin Philip of Flanders. He was however recalled to the Young King’s household following the king’s second rebellion against his father, and was at his side when Henry died of dysentery near Limoges on 11 June 1183. The Marshal undertook to complete the crusade vow his dead master had made, and took his cloak stitched with the cross to Jerusalem, with the approval of the bereaved father, Henry II.

Royal favour

Upon his return during the course of 1185 William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served the father as a loyal captain through the many difficulties of his final years. The returns of royal favour were almost immediate. The king gave William the large royal estate of Cartmelin Cumbria, and the keeping of Heloise, the heiress of the northern barony of Lancaster. It may be that the king expected him to take the opportunity to marry her and become a northern baron, but William seems to have had grander ambitions for his marriage. In 1188 faced with an attempt by Philip II to seize the disputed region of Berry, Henry II summoned the Marshal to his side. The letter by which he did this survives, and makes some sarcastic comments about William’s complaints that he had not been properly rewarded to date for his service to the king. Henry therefore promised him the marriage and lands of Dionisia, lady of Châteauroux in Berry. In the resulting campaign, the king fell out with his heir Richard, count of Poitou, who consequently allied with Philip II against his father. In 1189, while covering the flight of Henry II from Le Mans to Chinon, William unhorsed the undutiful Richard in a skirmish. William could have killed the prince but killed his horse instead, to make that point clear. He is said to have been the only man ever to unhorse Richard. Nonetheless after Henry’s death, Marshal was welcomed at court by his former adversary, now King Richard I, who was not foolish enough to exclude a man whose legendary loyalty and military accomplishments were too useful to ignore, especially in a king who was intending to go on Crusade.

During the old king’s last days he had promised the Marshal the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare (c.1172–1220), but had not completed the arrangements. King Richard however, confirmed the offer and so in August 1189, at the age of 43, the Marshal married the 17-year-old daughter of Richard de Clare (Strongbow). Her father had been Earl of Pembroke, and Marshal acquired large estates and claims in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland. Some estates however were excluded from the deal. Marshal did not obtain Pembroke and the title of earl, which his father-in-law had enjoyed, until 1199, as it had been taken into the king’s hand in 1154. However, the marriage transformed the landless knight from a minor family into one of the richest men in the kingdom, a sign of his power and prestige at court. They had five sons and five daughters, and have numerous descendants (see below). William made numerous improvements to his wife’s lands, including extensive additions to Pembroke Castle and Chepstow Castle.

William was included in the council of regency which the King appointed on his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190. He took the side of John, the king’s brother, when the latter expelled the justiciar, William Longchamp, from the kingdom, but he soon discovered that the interests of John were different from those of Richard. Hence in 1193 he joined with the loyalists in making war upon him. In spring 1194, during the course of the hostilities in England, before King Richard’s return, William Marshal’s elder brother John Marshal was killed defending Marlborough for John, whose seneschal he was. Richard allowed Marshal to succeed his brother in the hereditary marshalship, and his paternal honour of Hamstead Marshall. The Marshal served the king in his wars in Normandy against Philip II. On Richard’s death-bed the king designated Marshal as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.

King John and Magna Carta

William supported King John when he became king in 1199, arguing against those who maintained the claims of Arthur of Brittany, the teenage son of John’s elder brother Geoffrey Plantagenet. William was heavily engaged with the defence of Normandy against the growing pressure of the Capetian armies between 1200 and 1203. He sailed with King John when he abandoned the duchy in December 1203. He and the king had a falling out in the aftermath of the loss of the duchy, when he was sent with the earl of Leicester as ambassadors to negotiate a truce with KingPhilip II of France in 1204. The Marshal took the opportunity to negotiate the continued possession of his Norman lands. When William paid homage to King Philip, John took offence and there was a major row at court which led to cool relations between the two men. This became outright hostility in 1207 when John began to move against several major Irish magnates, including William. Though he left for Leinster in 1207 William was recalled and humiliated at court in the autumn of 1208, while John’s justiciar in Ireland Meilyr fitz Henry invaded his lands, burning the town of New Ross. Meilyr’s defeat by Countess Isabel led to her husband’s return to Leinster. He was once again in conflict with King John in his war with the Braose and Lacy families in 1210, but managed to survive. He stayed in Ireland until 1213, during which time he had Carlow Castle erected^[1] and restructured his honour of Leinster. Taken back into favour in 1212, he was summoned in 1213 to return to the English court. Despite their differences, William remained loyal throughout the hostilities between John and his barons which culminated on 15 June 1215 atRunnymede with the sealing of Magna Carta. William was one of the few English earls to remain loyal to the king through the First Barons’ War. It was William whom King John trusted on his deathbed to make sure John’s nine-year-old son Henry would get the throne. It was William who took responsibility for the king’s funeral and burial at Worcester Cathedral.

On 11 November 1216 at Gloucester, upon the death of King John, William Marshal was named by the king’s council (the chief barons who had remained loyal to King John in the First Barons’ War) to serve as protector of the nine year old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom. In spite of his advanced age (around 70) he prosecuted the war against Prince Louis and the rebel barons with remarkable energy. In the battle of Lincoln he charged and fought at the head of the young King’s army, leading them to victory. He was preparing to besiege Louis in London when the war was terminated by the naval victory of Hubert de Burgh in the straits of Dover. William was criticized for the generosity of the terms he accorded to Louis and the rebels in September 1217; but his desire for an expeditious settlement was dictated by sound statesmanship. Self-restraint and compromise were the keynote of Marshal’s policy, hoping to secure peace and stability for his young liege. Both before and after the peace of 1217 he reissued Magna Carta, in which he is a signatory as one of the witnessing barons. Without his prestige the Angevin dynasty might not have survived the disastrous reign of John; where the French and the rebels would not trust the English king’s word, they would trust William.

Death and legacy

 

Marshal’s health finally failed him early in 1219. In March 1219 he realized that he was dying, so he summoned his eldest son, also William, and his household knights, and left the Tower of London for his estate at Caversham in Berkshire, near Reading, where he called a meeting of the barons, Henry III, the papal legate Pandulf Masca, the royal justiciar (Hubert de Burgh), and Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester and the young King’s guardian). William rejected the Bishop’s claim to the regency and entrusted the regency to the care of the papal legate; he apparently did not trust the Bishop or any of the other magnates that he had gathered to this meeting. Fulfilling the vow he had made while on crusade, he was invested into the order of the Knights Templar on his deathbed. He died on 14 May 1219 at Caversham, and was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his effigy can still be seen.

After his death, his eldest son, also named William, commissioned a biography of his father to be written called L’Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal. This book, written so soon after his death, has preserved (and probably enhanced) the legend of William Marshal for posterity. While his knightly achievements may be debatable, there is no doubt of his impact on the history and politics of England, from his stalwart defence of the realm to his support of the Magna Carta.

 

Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez

Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a nineteenth century visionary and liberal thinker along with Francisco del Rosario Sanchez and Ramón Matías Mella, and is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844. His aspiration for the Spanish-speaking portion of the Hispaniola Island was to help create a self-sufficient nation established on the liberal ideals of a democratic government. The highest mountain in the Caribbean (Pico Duarte), a park in New York City, and many other noteworthy landmarks carry his name suggesting the historical importance Dominicans have given to this man.

His vision for the country, formerly Spain’s oldest colony, was quickly undermined by the conservative elites, who sought to align the new nation with colonial powers and turn back to traditional regionalism. Nevertheless, his democratic ideals, although never fully fleshed-out and somewhat imprecise, have served as guiding principles, albeit mostly in theory, for most Dominican governments. His failures made him a political martyr in the eyes of subsequent generations. The subsequent turbulent history of the Republic, which has seen tyrants and dictators and United States intervention to restore order suggests that there was lack, despite Juan Pablo Duarte’s best efforts and heroic struggle, a shared vision of a the new government should be structured. Without such a vision, too many revolutions shed blood and sacrifice lives without actually achieving their goal of freedom, justice, and equality.

Early years

In 1801, Duarte’s future parents, Juan José Duarte and Manuela Díez Jiménez, emigrated from the Spanish colony on Hispaniola to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. They were evading the imposition of French rule over the eastern side of the island. This transformation of the island’s colonial experience became apparent when Toussaint Louverture, governor of the French colony of Saint Domingue (which occupied the western side) took control of the Spanish side as well. At the time, France and Saint Domingue were going through exhaustive social movements, namely, the French and the Haitian revolutions (French Revolution and Haitian Revolution). In occupying the Spanish side the legendary Black governor was following the indications accorded by the governments of France and Spain in the Peace of Basel signed in 1795. Upon arrival in Santo Domingo, Louverture immediately restricted slavery (complete abolition of slavery on the eastern Hispaniola will come in 1822), and in addition began converting the old Spanish colonial institutions into French Revolutionary venues of liberal government. Although expected and legally proper since 1795, this change of colonial masters prompted many Whites, like the Duartes, to take flight toward neighboring Spanish colonies. Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony, and Mayagüez, being so close to Hispaniola, just across the Mona Passage, had become a refuge for the like of the Duartes and those Spanish colonists who did not accept the new French rule. Most scholars assume that the Duartes’ first son, Vicente Celestino, was born here at this time on the eastern side of the Mona Passage. The family returned to Santo Domingo in 1809, however, after the success of the War of Reconquista (Santo Domingo) when the eastern side of Hispaniola was, once again, a Spanish colony, albeit, one with little attention from the metropolis, and thus the name “España Boba.” They took up residence on the western bank of the Ozama River, in the La Atarazana zone, which today is within the municipal limits of the Dominican Capital, Santo Domingo, where Juan Pablo was born in January 26, 1813.

The struggle for independence

In 1821, when Duarte was eight years-old, the Creole elite of Santo Domingo, proclaimed its independence from Spanish rule, and renamed the former Spanish colony on Hispaniola, Spanish Haiti. The most prominent leader of the coup against the colonial government was one of its former supporters, José Núñez de Cáceres. The select and privileged group of individuals he represented were tired of being ignored by the Crown, and some were also concerned with the new liberal turn in Madrid. Their deed was not an isolated event. The 1820s was a time of profound political changes throughout the entire Spanish Atlantic World, which affected directly the lives of petite bourgeoisie like the Duartes. It began with a demoralizing conflict between Spanish royalists and liberals in the Iberian Peninsula, which is known today as the Spanish Civil War, 1820–1823. American patriots in arms, like Simón Bolivar in South America, immediately reaped the fruits of the metropolis’ destabilization, and began pushing back colonial troops, like what happened in the Battle of Carabobo, and then in the consequential Battle of Ayacucho. Even conservative elites in New Spain (like Agustín de Iturbide in Mexico), who had no intention of being ruled by Spanish anticlericals, moved to break ties with the crown in Spain. However, the 1821 emancipatory events in Santo Domingo were to be different from those in the continent because they will not last. Historians today call this elite’s brief courtship with sovereignty, the Ephemeral Independence. Although he was not much aware of what was going on at this time because of his young age, Juan Pablo Duarte was to look back at this affair with nostalgia, wishing that it would have lasted.

The Cáceres’ provisional government requested support from Simón Bolivar’s new republican government, but it was ignored. Neighboring Haiti, a former French colony that was already independent, decided to invade the Spanish side of the island. This tactic was not new. It was meant to keep the island out of the hands of European imperial powers and, thus, a way to safeguard the Haitian Revolution. Haiti’s president Jean-Pierre Boyer sent an invasion army that took over the eastern (Spanish) portion of Hispaniola (La Española). Haiti then abolished slavery once and for all, and occupied and absorbed Santo Domingo into the Republic of Haiti. Struggles between Boyer and the old colonial elite, helped produce a mass migration of planters and resources. It also led to the closing of the university, and eventually, to the elimination of the colonial elite and the establishment of a new bourgeoisie dominant class in alignment with the liberal Haitian government. Following the bourgeoisie custom of sending promising sons abroad for education, the Duartes’ sent Juan Pablo to the United States and Europe in 1828.

On July 16, 1838, Duarte and others established a secret patriotic society called La Trinitaria, which helped undermine Haitian occupation. Some of its first members included Juan Pablo Duarte, Juan Isidro Pérez, Pedro Alejandro Pina, Jacinto de la Concha, Félix María Ruiz, José María Serra, Benito González, Felipe Alfau, and Juan Nepomuceno Ravelo. Later, he and others founded another society, called La Filantrópica, which had a more public presence, seeking to spread veiled ideas of liberation through theatrical stages. All of this, along with the help of many who wanted to be rid of the Haitians who ruled over Dominicans led to the proclamation of independence on February 27, 1844 (Dominican War of Independence). However, Duarte had already been exiled to Caracas the previous year for his insurgent conduct. He continued to correspond with members of his family and members of the independence movement. Independence could not be denied and after many struggles, the Dominican Republic was born. A republican form of government was established where a free people would hold ultimate power and, through the voting process, would give rise to a democracy where every citizen would, in theory, be equal and free. Therefore, with its flag and beautiful coat of arms, declaring “God, Fatherland, and Freedom,” all of these inspired, evoked, and expressed by Duarte came into being a country that would soon owe this one man its existence, who gave his fortune and the very best of his life to the cause he fervently believed in.

Duarte was supported by many as a candidate for the presidency of the new born Republic. Mella, wanted Duarte to simply declare himself president. Duarte never giving up on the principles of democracy and fairness he lived by would only accept if voted in by a majority of the Dominican people. However the forces of those favoring Spanish sovereignty as protection from continued Haitian threats and invasions, led by general Pedro Santana a large landowner from the eastern lowlands, took over and exiled Duarte. In 1845, Santana exiled the entire Duarte family. Santana was awarded the hereditary title of Marqués de las Carreras by the Spanish Queen Isabel II and died soon after.

Juan Pablo Duarte, then living in Venezuela was made the Dominican Consul and provided with a pension to honor him for his sacrifice. But even this after some time was not honored and he lost commission and pension. He, Juan Pablo Duarte, the poet, philosopher, writer, actor, soldier, general, dreamer and hero died nobly in Caracas, Venezuela, at the age of 63. His remains were transferred to Dominican soil in 1884, ironically by president (dictator) Ulises Heureaux a man of Haitian descent, and were given a proper burial with full honors. He is entombed in a beautiful mausoleum at the Count’s gate alongside Sanchez and Mella, who at that spot fired the rifle shot that propelled them into legend. His birth is commemorated by Dominicans every January 26.

Legacy

Juan Pablo Duarte struggled for Dominican independence twice, once from imperial Spain and later from the rule of Haiti. Duarte is remembered for commencing the fight for Independence in the Dominican Republic. His efforts are memorialized in the names of various national landmark’s, including the country’s tallest peak. Duarte’s fierce stand for independence ironically led to his minimization after the country won its eventual freedom from outside rule, as he found him self inadequately prepared for the political dealings that were to follow. Despite this fact, Duarte’s push for Dominican independence is important and should be remembered for its impact. Duarte took a stand against the tyrannical and oppressive rule of foreign nations over his native land and forged ahead for a more democratic world. His efforts are, thus, memorialized as an example of the need to strive for freedom even when realizing such cannot always be fully realized.

For much of the twentieth century, the government of the Dominican Republic was unsettled and very often non-representative, falling short of Juan Pablo Duarte’s vision for the governance of his country. In 1965, U.S. Marines landed in the Dominican Republic to restore order, where they were later joined by troops under the Organization of American States. After supervising an election, the soldiers left. The problem with the independence movement in the former Santo Domingo colony was, despite Juan Pablo Duarte’s best efforts and heroic struggle, lack of a shared vision of a how just and fair government should be structured. Without such a vision, too many revolutions shed blood and sacrificed lives without actually achieving the goal of freedom, justice, and equality.

 

Horagalles

In Sami shamanism, Horagalles, also written Hora Galles and Thora Galles and often equated with Tiermes or Aijeke (i.e. “grandfather or great grandfather”), is the thunder god. He is depicted as a wooden figure with a nail in the head, and with a hammer or occasionally on shaman drums, two hammers. His name is derived from that of the Norse god Thor.

Characteristics and functions

Idols of Horagalles are made of wood and have a nail or spike and a piece of flint in the head. He has a hammer called Wetschera, Aijeke Wetschera, or Ajeke veċċera, “grandfather’s hammer.”

Horagalles is the god of the sky, thunder and lightning, the rainbow, weather, oceans, and lakes and rules over human life, health and wellbeing. He punishes “hurtful demons” or “evil spirits” (i.e., trolls) who frequent the rocks and mountains; he destroys them with his lightning, shoots them with his bow, or dashes their brains out with his hammer. The rainbow is his bow, “Aijeke dauge”.

Horagalles depicted on Sami shaman drums

On Sami shaman drums Horagalles was occasionally depicted with a sledgehammer in one hand and a cross-hammer in the other, or symbolized by two crossed hammers. He made thunder and lightning with one hammer and withdrew them with the other to prevent damage.

Name and relationship to other gods

The name Horagalles does not occur in older dictionaries of Sami languages, for instance in the mid-19th century. He is often equated with Tiermes; in 1673 Johannes Scheffer, who did not use the name Horagalles, wrote that when Aijeke thundered, he was called Tiermes. There is considerable regional variation in the names; Horagalles (with its various spellings, including Thoragalles) is characteristically southern Sami, and the rainbow is referred to by a variety of names referring to thunder.

Early scholars noted the similarities between Horagalles and the Norse thunder-god Thor and that some Sami called him Thoron or simply Thor, and were unsure which had influenced which. But the name Horagalles is now interpreted as a loanword from the Old Norse Þórr Karl, “the Old Man Thor,” “Thor, the Elder,” or “Thor fellow,” “Thor Karl” (possibly from Norwegian Torrekall), or SwedishTorsmannen, “the thunder man.”

Horagalles’ consort is called Ravdna, and the red berries of the rowan tree are sacred to her. The name Ravdna resembles North Germanic names for the tree, such as Old Norse reynir, and according to the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, the rowan is called “the salvation of Thor” because Thor once saved himself by clinging to it. It has therefore been theorized that the Norse goddess Sif, Thor’s wife, was once conceived of in the form of a rowan to which Thor clung.

 

Morning Glory

The Morning Glory cloud is a rare meteorological phenomenon occasionally observed in different locations around the world. The southern part of Northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria is the only known location where it can be predicted and observed on a more or less regular basis. The settlement of Burketown attracts glider pilots intent on riding this phenomenon.

Description

Morning Glory clouds can most often be observed in Burketown in September to mid-November, when the chance to see it early in the morning is approximately 40%.

A Morning Glory cloud is a roll cloud that can be up to 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long, 1 to 2 kilometres (0.62 to 1.2 mi) high, often only 100 to 200 metres (330 to 660 ft) above the ground and can move at speeds up to 60 kilometres (37 mi) per hour. Sometimes there is only one cloud, sometimes there are up to eight consecutive roll clouds.

The Morning Glory is often accompanied by sudden wind squalls, intense low-level wind shear, a rapid increase in the vertical displacement of air parcels, and a sharp pressure jump at the surface. In the front of the cloud, there is strong vertical motion that transports air up through the cloud and creates the rolling appearance, while the air in the middle and rear of the cloud becomes turbulent and sinks.

The cloud can also be described as a solitary wave or a soliton, which is a wave that has a single crest and moves without changing speed or shape.

History of exploration

Unusual cloud formations have been noticed here since ancient times. The local Garrawa Aboriginal people called it kangólgi. Royal Australian Air Force pilots first reported this phenomenon in 1942.

The Morning Glory cloud of the Gulf of Carpentaria has been studied by multiple teams of scientists since the early 1970s. The first studies were published by Reg H.Clarke (University of Melbourne). Multiple studies have followed since then, proposing diverse mathematical models explaining the complex movements of air masses in region.

Causes

Despite being studied extensively, the Morning Glory cloud is not clearly understood.

Regardless of the complexity behind the nature of this atmospheric phenomenon, some conclusions have been made about its causes. Through research, one of the main causes of most Morning Glory occurrences is the mesoscale circulations associated with sea breezes that develop over the peninsula and the gulf. On the large scale, Morning Glories are usually associated with frontal systems crossing central Australia and high pressure in northern Australia. Locals have noted that the Morning Glory is likely to occur when the humidity in the area is high, which provides moisture for the cloud to form, and when strong sea breezes have blown the preceding day.

Scenario for formation

The following is a summary of the conditions that cause the Morning Glory cloud to form in the Gulf of Carpentaria (after hypothesis of R.H.Clarke, as described in 1981). First, Cape York which is the peninsula that lies to the east of the gulf is large enough that sea breezes develop on both sides. The breeze from the Coral Sea coast blows in from the east and the breeze from the gulf blows in from the west. The two breezes meet in the middle of the peninsula, forcing the air to rise there and form a line of clouds over the spine of the peninsula. When night comes, the air cools and descends and at the same time a surface inversion forms over the gulf (where air temperature increases with height). The densities in this stable layer are different above and below the inversion. The air descending from the peninsula to the east goes underneath the inversion layer and this generates a series of waves or rolling cylinders which travel across the gulf. These cylinders of air roll along the underside of the inversion layer, so that the air rises at the front of the wave and sinks at the rear. In the early morning, the air is saturated enough so that the rising air in the front produces a cloud, which forms the leading edge of the cylinder, and evaporates in the back, hence forming the Morning Glory cloud. The cloud lasts until the surface inversion disappears with the heating of the day.

This is one scenario that explains the formation of the Morning Glory Cloud over the Gulf of Carpentaria, but other explanations have also been proposed.

There are other ways in which Morning Glory clouds form, especially in rarer cases in other parts of the world, but these are far less understood.

Local weather lore in the area suggests that when the fridges frost over and the café tables’ corners curl upwards at the Burketown Pub, there is enough moisture in the air for the clouds to form. Reportedly, all winds cease at ground level as the cloud passes over.

One vantage point to see Australia’s Morning Glory is from Burketown in the remote Far North Queensland around September and October. Towns in this part of the world are small and far apart, and Burketown has an influx of glider and hang-glider pilots at this time of year.

Other reported occurrences

Although the Morning Glory clouds over the southern part of Carpentaria Gulf are the most frequent and predictable, similar phenomena have occasionally been observed elsewhere, e.g., over central United States, the English Channel, Berlin, Germany, Eastern Russia, and other maritime regions of Australia.

Morning Glory clouds have occasionally been reported in the Sea of Cortez off the Mexican coast. The phenomenon has also been observed from Sable Island, 180 km southeast of Nova Scotia. A Morning Glory also passed through Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in April 2009. In contrast to the Gulf of Carpentaria where the Morning Glory is visible in the morning, those in Nova Scotia have all occurred during the evening. Rare examples have been observed via satellite observation over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Eastern Kimberley region of Australia as well as over the Arabian Sea. A Morning Glory cloud was observed in 2007 over the Campos dos Goytacazes bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In August 2011, it happened again over Peregrino Field in South Campos Basin in Brazil. The phenomenon was also recorded on Batroun’s shore (Lebanon — Middle East) in September 2004.

Misha’al bint Fahd al Saud

Misha’al bint Fahd al Saud (1958 – 1977) was a Saudi Arabian Princess, who was executed for alleged adultery, although it is said that she was illegally killed, in 1977, at the age of 19. She was a granddaughter of Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz, who was an older brother of the then-King of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Abdul Aziz.

Biography

Education

Her family sent her, at her own request, to Lebanon to attend school. While there, she fell in love with a man, Khaled Mulhallal al-Sha’er, the nephew of the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon and they began an affair. When, upon their return to Saudi Arabia, it emerged that they had conspired to meet alone on several occasions, a charge of adultery was brought against them. After attempting to fake her own drowning and being caught trying to escape from Saudi Arabia with Khalid, disguised as a man but being recognized by the passport examiner at Jeddah airport, she was returned to her family. Under Sharia law, a person can only be convicted of adultery by the testimony of four adult male witnesses to the actual sexual penetration, or by their own admission of guilt, stating three times in court “I have committed adultery.” There were no witnesses. Her family urged her not to confess, but instead to merely promise never to see her lover again. On her return to the courtroom, she allegedly repeated her confession: “I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery.”

Execution

On 15 July 1977, both were publicly executed in Jeddah by the side of the Queen’s Building in the park. Despite her royal status, she was blindfolded, made to kneel, and executed on the explicit instructions of her grandfather, a senior member of the royal family, for the alleged dishonour she brought on her clan and defying a royal order calling for her to marry a man selected by the family. Khaled, after being forced to watch her execution, was beheaded with a sword by, it is believed, one of the princess’ male relatives. It took 5 blows to sever his head, which was not the work of a professional executioner. Both executions were conducted near the palace in Jeddah, not in the public execution square in Jeddah.

Following the execution segregation of women became more severe and the religious police also began patrolling bazaars, shopping malls, and any other place where men and women might happen to meet. When Prince Muhammad was later asked if the two deaths were necessary, he said, “It was enough for me that they were in the same room together”.

Controversy

South-African born, independent film producer Antony Thomas came to Saudi Arabia, interviewed numerous people about the princess’ story, and was met by conflicting stories, which later became the subject matter of the British documentary, Death of a Princess. The movie was scheduled to show on 9 April 1980 on the ITV television network and then a month later on the public television network PBS in the United States. Both broadcasts caused livid protests and strong diplomatic, economic and political pressure from the Saudis. Failing to get the British broadcast canceled, King Khalid expelled the British ambassador from Saudi Arabia.

In May 1980, attention then shifted to PBS, where PBS officials endured a month of mounting pressure from corporations and politicians. A major PBS sponsor, The Mobil Oil Corporation, took out a full-page ad in the New York Times op-ed page opposing the film and declaring it jeopardized U.S.-Saudi relations. Finally the PBS officials and local affiliates chose to not continue with the broadcast, instead running two other programs, one was a pro-Saudi discussion of the film, the second shown in early June, presented a flattering portrait of the role of women in Saudi culture.

King Khalid, Saudi Arabia’s ruler at the time, was said to have offered $11 million to the network to suppress the film.

According to Antony Thomas, there was no trial nor was there an official execution.

It wasn’t a trial. She wasn’t even executed in the Square of Justice. She was just executed in a car park. I’ve witnessed executions in Saudi Arabia, I’m afraid. They’re always done in a special square. This wasn’t even done there. It wasn’t done with an official executioner, not that that would make it any worse or any better. But this was not following the process of any law.

Her death and events that led up to it are believed to have been the inspiration for the fictionalized docu-drama Death of a Princess (1980):

The difference between the official version, which was the girl was killed because she was found guilty of adultery, and the truth of it, which turns out that she was, in fact, executed by the king’s elder brother in an act of tribal vengeance in a parking lot in Jeddah, was, in fact, the heart of the controversy because that was the part that, of course, the royal family could not countenance. And that was the great outrage.

—David Fanning, Cowriter and Executive Producer of Death of a Princess