Rambuchan
Apr 20, 2005, 08:29 AM
Let's face it, as Civ addicts we all love the little gems of historical fact that surprise people. The more obscure the better, the more subtle and far reaching the more we relish dropping them on our fellow history buffs and Civ addicts.
A now classic and well known example would be "You may be surprised to know that Erik the Red landed on the North American continent some 500 years before Christopher Columbus" or "You may be surprised to know that the much loved hymn 'Amazing Grace' was in fact written by one of England's most prolific and successful slave traders, John Newton." These are well known now because they've been distributed with regularity but what about all the other bits of so called trivia which haven't been heard so much and actually change our perspective on the world, if only a little?
Well these forums are littered with them. So I'd like to create a place for us to drop these gems, impress each other and inform each other. Let it be here. I'd also like the posts to be based on fact wherever possible and each one fairly brief. The rumours and conspiracy theories are all great but the hard facts are better, and yes, I accept it's all been doctored by some loving historian's hand at some point.
I'm going to begin with two surprising facts. Both are taken from the same, EXCELLENT book which I read a few months ago "Empire - How Britain Created the Modern World" by Niall Ferguson. Much of what is said is directly quoted from his own words.
So without further ado "You may be surprised to know that..."
At the time of the American War of Independence Britain was far more interested in preserving its Caribbean holdings than it was in the 'low yeild' North American regions. At the end of the Seven Years War (Britain vs. France) William Pitt the Younger, the British Foreign Minister and later to become Prime Minister, had to weigh up what Britain's priorities were across the Atlantic. In conclusion he said: "The state of the existing trade in the conquests in North America, is extremely low; the speculations of their future are precarious, and the prospect, at the very best, remote." His opinion was shaped by the following facts: At the time, 69% of British emigrants went to the Caribbean, not to North America. That was where the money was. In 1773 the value of British imports from Jamaica were five times those of all the American colonies. Sugar, not tobacco, was big business in the 18th century. In 1775 total sugar imports accounted for nearly a fifth of of all British imports. In conclusion the American colonies of the north were viewed as 'little more than economic subsidiaries of the sugar islands', supplying them with the basic foodstuffs they needed to churn out the real cash. This is a secret reason behind why the war of independence was lost so quickly.
"You may be surprised to know that..."
The British were the first to systematically use the concentration camp as a means of killing its enemy non-combatants. During the Boer War (1899-1902) the British faced stiff competition from the well armed descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa, the Boers. These farmers knew their home terrain far too well for the British to ever outdo them in open combat and, as mentioned, they were far better equipped than the Zulus who had previously clashed with British interests in the region - these 'farmers' had stocked up with the deadly MAXIM GUNS, which Britain had recently used to slaughter thousands of Islamic jihadis at the Battle of Obdurman near Cairo. The Brits were embarassed at Spion Kop when they were allowed to take a hill only for the mist to clear in the morning to find that they were exposed and surrounded on all sides by the Boer guerilles (that's what they were in effect) whose way of life had turned them into hardy, crack shots. Slip ups like these were proving costly with public opinion and the press at the time was awash with headlines such as "Greater Britain beaten hollow by 30,000 farmers." It is not for no reason that the Boer War is often referred to as the British Vietnam.
It was deemed prudent therefore to destroy the Boer's means of existence - his farmlands - in order to assure victory quickly. A proactive campaign to destroy the lands and farmhouses of the Boers was successful (total of 30,000 razed) but also left British soldiers with many homeless women and children on their hands. What was to be done with them? Well put them to work was the answer for the Chamberlain govt of the time. And a good deal of malnourishment and poor sanitation was added to the mix to get rid of them quick, it was far too costly to keep them alive. All told, 27,927 Boers (the majority of them children) died in these British camps. 14.5% of the entire Boer population. In fact more adult Boers died by these means than in combat. It's also worth noting that a further 14,000 of 115,000 black internees (again 81% children) were killed in separate camps.
To highlight all this: Sir Neville Henderson, British Ambassador to Berlin in the 30s, remonstrated to Goering about the brutal Nazi camps. In response the later reached for his German Encyclopedia and turned to Konzentrationslager and read out "First used by the British in the South African War."
Note: Although the Spanish had used hard labour camps in Cuba in 1896 there is not much evidence that they did so on such a grand scale and not in the same systematic fashion that the British implemented them as a policy from government.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. So what gems are you not sharing?
A now classic and well known example would be "You may be surprised to know that Erik the Red landed on the North American continent some 500 years before Christopher Columbus" or "You may be surprised to know that the much loved hymn 'Amazing Grace' was in fact written by one of England's most prolific and successful slave traders, John Newton." These are well known now because they've been distributed with regularity but what about all the other bits of so called trivia which haven't been heard so much and actually change our perspective on the world, if only a little?
Well these forums are littered with them. So I'd like to create a place for us to drop these gems, impress each other and inform each other. Let it be here. I'd also like the posts to be based on fact wherever possible and each one fairly brief. The rumours and conspiracy theories are all great but the hard facts are better, and yes, I accept it's all been doctored by some loving historian's hand at some point.
I'm going to begin with two surprising facts. Both are taken from the same, EXCELLENT book which I read a few months ago "Empire - How Britain Created the Modern World" by Niall Ferguson. Much of what is said is directly quoted from his own words.
So without further ado "You may be surprised to know that..."
At the time of the American War of Independence Britain was far more interested in preserving its Caribbean holdings than it was in the 'low yeild' North American regions. At the end of the Seven Years War (Britain vs. France) William Pitt the Younger, the British Foreign Minister and later to become Prime Minister, had to weigh up what Britain's priorities were across the Atlantic. In conclusion he said: "The state of the existing trade in the conquests in North America, is extremely low; the speculations of their future are precarious, and the prospect, at the very best, remote." His opinion was shaped by the following facts: At the time, 69% of British emigrants went to the Caribbean, not to North America. That was where the money was. In 1773 the value of British imports from Jamaica were five times those of all the American colonies. Sugar, not tobacco, was big business in the 18th century. In 1775 total sugar imports accounted for nearly a fifth of of all British imports. In conclusion the American colonies of the north were viewed as 'little more than economic subsidiaries of the sugar islands', supplying them with the basic foodstuffs they needed to churn out the real cash. This is a secret reason behind why the war of independence was lost so quickly.
"You may be surprised to know that..."
The British were the first to systematically use the concentration camp as a means of killing its enemy non-combatants. During the Boer War (1899-1902) the British faced stiff competition from the well armed descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa, the Boers. These farmers knew their home terrain far too well for the British to ever outdo them in open combat and, as mentioned, they were far better equipped than the Zulus who had previously clashed with British interests in the region - these 'farmers' had stocked up with the deadly MAXIM GUNS, which Britain had recently used to slaughter thousands of Islamic jihadis at the Battle of Obdurman near Cairo. The Brits were embarassed at Spion Kop when they were allowed to take a hill only for the mist to clear in the morning to find that they were exposed and surrounded on all sides by the Boer guerilles (that's what they were in effect) whose way of life had turned them into hardy, crack shots. Slip ups like these were proving costly with public opinion and the press at the time was awash with headlines such as "Greater Britain beaten hollow by 30,000 farmers." It is not for no reason that the Boer War is often referred to as the British Vietnam.
It was deemed prudent therefore to destroy the Boer's means of existence - his farmlands - in order to assure victory quickly. A proactive campaign to destroy the lands and farmhouses of the Boers was successful (total of 30,000 razed) but also left British soldiers with many homeless women and children on their hands. What was to be done with them? Well put them to work was the answer for the Chamberlain govt of the time. And a good deal of malnourishment and poor sanitation was added to the mix to get rid of them quick, it was far too costly to keep them alive. All told, 27,927 Boers (the majority of them children) died in these British camps. 14.5% of the entire Boer population. In fact more adult Boers died by these means than in combat. It's also worth noting that a further 14,000 of 115,000 black internees (again 81% children) were killed in separate camps.
To highlight all this: Sir Neville Henderson, British Ambassador to Berlin in the 30s, remonstrated to Goering about the brutal Nazi camps. In response the later reached for his German Encyclopedia and turned to Konzentrationslager and read out "First used by the British in the South African War."
Note: Although the Spanish had used hard labour camps in Cuba in 1896 there is not much evidence that they did so on such a grand scale and not in the same systematic fashion that the British implemented them as a policy from government.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. So what gems are you not sharing?