It has been quite awhile since my last posting! Well, life happens. As the year wraps up, I am reminded of some of the goals I'd set for myself. One was that I would put down narrations from readings. I did not read a lot this year and most of what I did 'read' was audiobooks. My total was 29 books. Only a couple of those were simply to 'check off a box,' and even those were not ones that I wish I hadn't read. So the year didn't quite go the way I planned but here we are at the end and gearing up for the coming year.
I got books for Christmas! Not gift cards to buy books, but actual books that were on my wishlist. That is the best, I think. One of those will have a narration post today. The other books I will read next year so there will be postings from those then.
The first book is one that I came across from the Wildwood Curriculum (a secular Charlotte Mason curriculum that you can easily find by a search). I believe they have it listed in Form IV for American History. As I am an historian I immediately looked up Lepore's book These Truths. It is available from Hoopla as an audio so I started there while I waited for the hardcover to arrive at my local library. I am just finishing up chapter 3 in this narration, pages 100-108.
The second book is The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth by Rachel Ignotofsky. I happened across this book while at one of Charlotte Mason events I'd attended last year I believe. There are others formatted the same but this one caught my eye. It is a nice introduction to ecosystems and habitats, while being visually appealing. I would definitely include this in a library and schoolroom, at home or elsewhere. My narration is over pages 51-53.
But before I get going with those (or rather before you read those), would you be interested in the Substack account that I've set up? It's not quite narrations of readings, as it's got plenty of my own thinking penned down, but it might have other areas of interest. Right now I am writing through Huxley's Brave New World Re-visited. Perhaps I will see you there.
And now, let's see what I have learned.
One in five slaves left in search of freedom. One man renamed himself "British Freedom" and Yankee Doodle was rewritten in London.
Not many made it to the British lines. Many were returned and punished. One girl received 80 lashings and hot embers in the gashes. The British were thought to have the advantage and would win. They began with 30-some thousand troops compared to the 19,000 colonists, of which were untrained, a motley crew. Even though it seemed absurd that the colonists would win there were factors in their favor. Howe (British) focused on NY but as the colonies had no capital city to capture that would necessitate a surrender, it didn't really seem to matter. Also, Howe continually declined to follow through with successful campaigns which would have strained his own forces.
Added to this, the British were fighting on many fronts of its Empire. The colonies was just one of many and some felt the colonies were insignificant. The French-Indian War, which had also been fought in North America, spilled over elsewhere. In 1777 Howe captured Philly, but Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. This enabled Franklin (and other delegates) to secure a treaty with France. France joined as an ally with the colonists (and declared war on Britain?). Holland, as a supplier to the colonists, was seen as an enemy, so Britain declared war on Holland. At some point Spain joined in the fray. France's involvement meant a cessation of trade from the West Indies and Britain. This was devastating to the islands. One fifth of the slaves of the islands died.
To the Americans, the war was a civil one, not a world war, between those who fought for independence and loyalists. It was estimated about 1/3 of the population was loyal to the Crown, another 1/3 undecided. But the writer supposes no one took into account the "loyalists" in the "whole" slave population and "nearly all" of the natives. The Brits seemed to always be waiting for that large loyalist group to materialize in each place instead of pressing their advantage of military numbers. They were trying to win the hearts and subdue the minds of America, but in this they failed. When they lost, it was more like they abandoned the colonies.
When a peace commission convened at first the Crown was willing to compromise--until the colonists demanded recognition of their independence. At this time there were other factors the Crown thought to be of more importance: bolster the sugar islands. In order to do this the plan was to forget the north and middle colonies, focusing on keeping the southern colonies to resupply the islands. Clinton (British) captured Savannah, GA, in '78, with plans for Charleston, SC, next. At this Congress (America) suggested enlisting slaves to fight. But the South was having none of that! Clinton took Charleston in May '80.
In 1781, Cornwallis (British) stationed his troops at Yorktown. They were immediately besieged. He surrendered the same day the Brits sent reinforcements from New York to assist him. While the Brits lost in America, they defeated a French and Spanish fleet in the West Indies. Lepore says this suggests more about Britain's priorities than their weaknesses.
After the peace, loyalists were presented with the decision to go or stay. A mass exodus commenced. It was estimated that 1 in 40 people left with the British. The largest number was of ex-slaves: 15,000-20,000. Harry Washington, who had left George Washington seven years before, was one who boarded a ship for Nova Scotia. His name and over 2,000 others was written down in the "Book of Negroes."
60,000 Loyalists rushed to the British when Cornwallis surrendered. A vast number of people went to the places where the British were in hopes of catching a ride out of the colonies. More than 1/2 who sailed from Charleston were slaves. The black soldiers who's served under Cornwallis made their way to the harbor to catch a British warship waiting for evacuees. Of the many died before reaching their destination. Many were also recaptured.
Once in New York, Charleston, or Savannah, those hoping to escape--talking primarily of slaves or blacks now--there was still the possibility of capture. One man wrote in his memoirs that blacks were afraid to sleep because they'd heard others had been pulled from their beds. The Book of Negroes, mentioned previously, had been ordered by Washington so slave owners could sue for compensation of lost property later. Even though there were guards and patrols to stop the people, some jumped from the docks and swam to the longboats. Some Brits tried to hack off the fingers of those who wouldn't let go of the sides.
The Revolution was both radical and conservative regarding the institution of slavery. Unfortunately it failed miserably to meet the challenge of ending it. Lafayette suggested to Washington that they join together to end slavery. Washington was receptive to the idea.
In 1783 James Madison was faced with a conundrum. What to do with Billey? Billey was born in 1759 and had been Madison's property since. However, in '77 there was a PA law that stated a child born to a slave woman after March 1, 1780, would be free after 28-years of slavery. But then in '82, VA passed an abolition law allowing owners to free their slaves. Not many did.
Because of the PA '80 abolition law, Madison couldn't sell Billey. He couldn't force him to go with him anywhere else either because it wasn't clear if legally he had the right. Madison felt that Billey was exposed to much that would have made him unfit company for other slaves. (He was thought to have a "mind thoroughly tainted.") Madison could have been sneaky and smuggled Billey for selling further south. But Madison's conscience wouldn't allow this either. He did sell Billey, into indentured servitude, after which Billey changed his name, married, and worked as a merchant's agent.
Others were not so fortunate. Harry Washington had gone to Nova Scotia with a large group of other free blacks. But there was strife in the community of slaves, whites, and free blacks. Soon the whites were attacking the free blacks, stealing their land and many free blacks were forced to part with belongings, down to their last blankets to buy the most meagre of rations. Some dropped dead in the streets of hunger. Some ate their cats and dogs.
The peace treaty of '83 granted independence and sovereignty to the United States. The US agreed to make good on all debts to British creditors. France and Spain were largely ignored in the treaty. Britain was left with an empire very different than at the start of the revolution.
The terms of peace cut the number of slaves in the British empire in half, so that the anti-slavery movement gained more traction there. The opposite was true in America. Slave owners in the South began to gain more political power in the US, while those in the West Indies lost theirs. The islands were forbidden to trade with the US causing riots. The freed slaves from the colonies had gone to other places and were now demanding rights, such as the vote and representation. So while America's revolution challenged empire, it also brought to light a political and moral critique of slavery. It was felt more deeply in Britain than in the US.
George Washington rode into New York to see the Stars & Stripes flying where just hours before it had been the British flag. Later that night Washington gave 13 toasts. Some of there were:
"To the memory of the heroes who have fallen for our freedom."
"May America be an asylum to the persecuted of the world."
"May the remembrances of the day be a lesson to princes."
England would have no slaves; America, no king.
Asia
Asia is the largest continent on earth with a diversity of ecosystems. It holds deserts and wetlands. In the south are the monsoons with extreme rainfall and in the north is Siberia--a frozen tundra. Many mountains are found in Asia, the Himalayas being the world's highest. The mountains block wind currents and cause varied climates across Central and Southeast Asia. The mountains are also a barrier or wall for animal migration.
Asia was the home of the Cradle of Civilization such as the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley in India and the Yangtze River Valley in China. As people increased farming, they changed the landscape around them. With the population increase there was also an increase in inventions, creativity, and people were able to spend less time farming and more time thinking and creating. This led to inventions such as the wheel, irrigation, mathematics, record keeping, and domestication of animals. Asia is the most populated continent.
Ecosystem of the Northeast Siberian Taiga
The Land of Little Sticks or The Sleeping Land were the first names for the cold, dry and seemingly endless forest of Siberia in northern Russia. It is one of the oldest unaltered forests of its kind in the world. The temperatures are extreme--down to -70F--with very little snowfall. Summers are warm but brief--highs of 60F. The cold temperatures mean the animals are some of the world's furriest! The lynx and brown bear, along with hares, make up some of the animals.
Siberia butts up to the Arctic Circle and the ground has been frozen for millennia. This permafrost makes it almost impossible to farm! But with global warming, the permafrost has been melting--for the first time. Melting permafrost means released carbon and methane gases that had been trapped in the ice for millennia. These gases contribute even more to global warming.
The forests have remained largely untouched and they have been able to do what they do best: release oxygen into the atmosphere.
Many of the rocks in Siberia are volcanic and very very old.
Worldwide, taiga biomes make up about 17% of the earth's surface.
There are over 300 different species of birds that visit Siberia in the summer; only about 30 species stick around!
There is a crater caused by the melting permafrost that locals say is a gateway to the underworld because of the strange noises from it. Batagaika Crater.
Melting permafrost is exposing fossil remains of wooly mammoths as well as ancient bacteria.
The forest is a year-round carbon sink, ridding the atmosphere of excessive CO2. It is also rich in mineral resources such as coal, iron, fossil fuels, and gold.
Greatest threat: Global warming is melting the permafrost; releasing excess gases that add to the problem. Over logging, without replanting, threatens the benefits of this ecosystem. Coal mining and fur trapping also threatens the animals and ecosystem.
