#31 March 1761

[rabbitcruiser]

The 1761 Lisbon earthquake stroke off the Iberian Peninsula with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 on March 31, 1761.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

10 best royal exhibitions to continue the Coronation celebrations, from Buckingham Palace to Blenheim

The day of the Coronation is over but these remarkable royal exhibitions across the UK means the excitement doesn’t need to be

By Natasha Leake

18 May 2023

The glow from King Charles III’s Coronation is starting to fade, but there is plenty more pomp and ceremony to be discovered at these extraordinary royal exhibitions currently being staged across the country.

Stately homes and royal palaces have transformed their sumptuous rooms into backdrops for stunning showcases of royal regalia, period costumes and mementos of past Coronations.

From Blair Castle to Castle Howard; Blenheim to Buckingham Palace, book a date at one of these must-see royal exhibitions to keep the celebrations going.

Through a carefully curated selection of more than 200 pieces, the Kensington Palace fashion exhibition draws parallels between the pomp, ceremony and performance of the contemporary red carpet and the pressure to ‘see and be seen’ at Georgian court.

One-of-a-kind creations worn by Lizzo, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga et al. are juxtaposed with outfits worn by 18th century movers and shakers in the State Apartments, which, handily, is where the showcase is staged.

Pictured: A row of magnificent outfits in the King’s Gallery at the Crown to Couture

5 April - 31 October 2023

Blenheim Palace is using the occasion of the Coronation to celebrate its historic connection with the Royal Family.

With a collection of previously unseen artefacts, crowns, coronets, robes, and photo albums, take a trip into the world of royal fashion with an impeccably restored Norman Hartnell silk gown, worn by the then Rosemary Spencer-Churchill to the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.

Also on display are costumes from Bridgerton and The Crown, and a page from a Blenheim visitor’s book, which includes the elegant inked signatures of Wallis Simpson (the future Duchess of Windsor) and her second husband, Ernest A. Simpson.

Pictured: The restored Maid of Honour Coronation dress worn by Rosemary Spencer-Churchill to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

19 March - 30 July 2023

Originally launched in 2022, the award-winning Castle Couture exhibition returns this summer to Blair Castle, the ancestral home of the Atholl family, with an extended edition that showcases statement designs, intricate embroidery, innovative textiles, and style influences from the 18th century through to the 20th century.

Among the highlights are delightfully delicate ostrich feather and Brussels lace fans by the renowned Parisienne craftsman Duvelleroy, the appointed supplier to Queen Victoria.

There are also pieces from the personal collection of the late Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, Scotland’s first Scottish female Member of Parliament.

Pictured: This ballgown would have been worn by Lady Glenlyon (later Anne, Duchess of Atholl) during the visit as they dined with the royal couple.

1st April – 28th October 2023

In a homage to the Regency period, visitors are invited to take a step back into the world of the Georgians with an exhibition that looks at how fashion trends reflected the significant trade, travel and technological advances of the period.

A highlight of the exhibition is a rarely displayed, full-length portrait of Queen Charlotte (of Bridgerton fame) by Thomas Gainsborough, dated from around 1781, which usually hangs in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

The showcase also features one of the earliest surviving British royal wedding dresses: a stunning gown worn by Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1816.

Pictured: A painting of King George III by Allan Ramsay, c.1761–2.

21 April – 8 October 2023

The late Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis captured the hearts of the nation the late monarch’s funeral.

Now they are being celebrated as part of a free exhibition at the Wallace Collection, in central London.

The one-room display features touching imagery of the Queen with her corgis.

It coincides with the museum’s exhibition, ‘Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney,’ which celebrates human devotion to dogs over the centuries through a carefully curated selection of 50 paintings, sculptures, drawings and taxidermy.

Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II sitting on rocks on the Garbh-allt Burn with two corgis on the Estate at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, September 1971

8 March – 25 June 2023

Situated in a pair of beautifully restored early Georgian townhouses, the exhibition showcases centuries of royal fans from across the globe, including a special, printed, English fan marking the restoration of Charles II and the contemporary fans made by The Fan Museum in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.

The exhibition promises to be ‘not merely a look back on what has been but a rally of hope for what is to come.’

King Charles III has also taken an avid interest in the Fan Museum’s work.

Pictured: A Belgian folding fan dating from 1881

1 February - 24 June 2023

The Long Gallery at Castle Howard, home to the Howard family for more than 300 years, is hosting an incredible exhibition featuring an exact replica of the Crown Jewels and peers’ robes worn to coronations gone by.

Set in 10,000 glorious acres on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, Castle Howard was commissioned in 1699 by the 3rd Earl of Carlisle from Sir John Vanbrugh, who later conceived Blenheim Palace.

The 1st Earl of Carlisle was descended from Lord William Howard, the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (the current Duke of Norfolk organised the King and Queen’s Coronation).

Pictured: Castle Howard’s replica of the Crown Jewels

From April 1

During the last Coronation, the hotel had to secure extra flagpoles in order to fly banners for the many different royals and dignitaries staying there.

The archive overflows with Coronation material, which is why Claridge’s unveiled a space showcasing the hotel’s status as ‘the Royal Hostelry.’

Mementos on display include pages from Queen Victoria’s diary, fans created for the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, and Claridge’s menus and cocktail cards created for the coronations of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Pictured: A collection of royal mementos including featuring a book of 53 photographs of the then Prince of Wales, and an order of service from the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

Until May 31

The world watched in awe as the newly crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla processed from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.

This extraordinary regal treasure is available to view at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, alongside the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which transported Their Majesties to the Abbey ahead of the service.

Also housed in the mews? The famous Windsor Grey horses, which drew the magnificent carriages on the day.

Pictured: The Gold State Coach

2 March - 30 October 2023

At the epicentre of the Coronation was Westminster Abbey. So where better to delve into the gilded history of the captivating service?

A new exhibition in the Chapter House reveals the key elements of the royal ceremony, which has taken place at the Abbey for nearly a thousand years.

Featuring historic illustrations and archive photography, it promises to unpack and explain the Coronation’s magnificent ceremonial regalia and objects.

8 April - 30 September 2023

[revolutionarywarhistory]

Benjamin Murdoch's life after the war [Part 6]

Continued from part 5

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog.

© 2016-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1779-1780, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 43, 234; Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1781-1784, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 48, 144, 385, 387, 388, 494; Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, April 1, 1778 through October 26, 1779, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 21, 321; Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, January 1-March 20, 1777, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 16, 308.

[2] Genealogies of Virginia Families: From Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 1 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007 reprint), 596, 599; Roberta Julia (Magruder) Bukey, "The Magruder Family In Its Religious Affiliations" within Yearbook of the American Clan Society (ed. Egbert Watson Magruder, Richmond, VA: Appeals Press, Inc., 1916), 50-51; George Brick Smith, "Some Descendants of George Fraser Magruder" within Year Book of the American Clan Society (ed. John Bowie Ferneyhough, Richmond, VA, 1937), 60, 65. Mary may have been another daughter.

[3] One 89-acre tract patented by Thomas Beall in 1796 (Patent Record IC G, p. 707; Patent Record IC O, p. 85), a 119 acre tract patented by John Bradford in 1724 (Patent Record PL 5, p. 632; Patent Record IL A, p. 324), a 100 acre tract patented by James Halmeard, Jr. in 1748 (Patent Record PT 2, p. 293; Patent Record LG E, p. 564), a 100 acre tract patented by John Eason in 1752 (Patent Record Y and S 6, p. 244; Patent Record GS 1, p. 99), a 173 1/4 acre tract patented by Elizabeth Lashley in 1836 and similar by Arnold Lashley (Patent Record GGB 1, p. 616; Patent Record GGB 2, p. 630). There's also a tract called "A Discovery" (36 1/4 acres which was patented by David Mitchell in 1784 (Patent Record IC A, p. 364; Patent Record IC B, p. 303) and this of which I'm not sure of the relevance to the land. There's also a tract called Addition to Discovery but clearly Murdoch is not related to it.

[4] Deed between William Murdoch and Moses Orme, Montgomery County Court, Land Records,July 13, 1778, Liber A, p. 195, 196 [MSA CE 148-1]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net. Not sure how pages of Liber D, 166 and 167 [MSA CE 148-4] relate to this topic as one source suggests.

[5] Deed between Benjamin Murdoch, Henry Baggerty and Charles Philips, Oct. 19, 1786, Montgomery County Court, Land Records, Liber C, p. 407, 408, 409 [MSA CE 148-3]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[6] This has been double checked, but NO person with the name of Benjamin Murdoch/Murdock, of any kind, is listed on the page with William Murdock and the same is the case for George Murdock, Esq. A look through the 61 pages of the census still turned up no results, even with the listing of two Magruders on one page (Samuel and William). The same was done for the 1800.

[7] Folger McKinsey, History of Frederick County, Maryland: From the Earliest Settlements to the Beginning of the War Between the States, Vol.  2 (L.R. Titsworth & Co., 1910), 1278; Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, 1758-1761, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 56, 74; Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, 1757-1758, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 55, 219; Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, 1764-1765, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 59, 180.

[8] Thomas Settles, John Bankhead Magruder: A Military Reappraisal (Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2009), 450; George Brick Smith, "Some Descendants of George Fraser Magruder," 65.

[9] Agreement between Benjamin Murdoch, Thomas Taylor of Pennsylvania, and Benjamin Huff Canby, July 4, 1800, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber WR 20, p. 52, 53, 54 [MSA CE 108-40]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[10] Benjamin Murdoch purchases land from Abraham Plummer, Aug. 31, 1803, , Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber WR 24, p. 702, 703, 704 [MSA CE 108-44]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[11] Deed between Benjamin Murdock, Allen and Sarah Farguhar, June 11, 1811, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber WR 40, p. 77, 78, 79 [MSA CE 108-60]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[12] Journal of A Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Held in St. Paul's Baltimore (Baltimore: J. Robinson, 1821), 103, 112, 114.

[13] Benjamin Murdoch purchases land from Levi Phillips, Nov. 2, 1825, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 23, p. 401, 402, 403, 404 [MSA CE 108-91]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[14] Agreement between William Pott, William Ballinger, Joseph Sweauinger, James Murphy, and Jesse Hughes concerning "The Hope" land tract and more, Nov. 27, 1797, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber WR 16, p. 40, 41, 42, 43, 43a, 43b, [MSA CE 108-36]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net. Considering it was originally in Prince George's County, this (and this) is NOT the same land. There is a land in Prince George's County named Hope, but no details can be provided.

[15] Benjamin Murdoch purchases land from Charles Fenton Mercer, Nov. 11, 1825, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 23, p. 447, 448, 449, 450, 451 [MSA CE 108-91]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[16] Benjamin Murdoch purchases land from Robert Darnell, Nov. 28, 1825, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 23, p. 555, 556, 557, 558 [MSA CE 108-91]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[17] Fifth Census of the United States, District 1, Frederick, Maryland, 1830, National Archives, NARA M19, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 57, Page 15. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest. He is called "Benjamin Murdock" in this census.

[18] Pension of Benjamin Murdoch, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, NARA M804, S.9046. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest.

[19] Agreement between Benjamin Murdock, Charles Johnson (executor), John H. Simmons, John Montgomery, Sebastian Sraff, Congo Doddoner, Elisha Beall, Plummer Simmes, and Charles Johnson, May 15, 1832, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 40, p. 114, 115 [MSA CE 108-108]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[20] Agreement between Benjamin Murdock, et al, Dec. 1, 1832, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 41, p. 3, 4 [MSA CE 108-109]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[21] Agreement between Benjamin Murdoch, et al, and Lloyd Keith, Dec. 1, 1832, Frederick County Court, Land Records, Liber JS 42, p. 263, 264, 265 [MSA CE 108-110]. Courtesy of mdlandrec.net.

[22] Sixth Census of the United States, Buckeye, Frederick, Maryland, 1840, National Archives, NARA M704, . Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 166, Page 159. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest.

[23] Sixth Census of the United States, Buckeystown, Frederick, Maryland, USA, 1850, National Archives, NARA M432, . Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll M432_293, Page 461-462. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest.

[24] See here, here, and here for others who have tried to explore his story.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Tue., Oct. 26, 2021

October 26_October 13

TRANSLATION OF THE IVÉRON ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO MOSCOW

The Ivḗron Icon of the Mother of God, located on Mount Athos, has been glorified by many miracles. Accounts of the wonderworking image were spread throughout Russia by pilgrims. His Holiness Patriarch Nikon (then still Abbot of the Novospasky monastery) asked Abbot Pachomius of the Ivḗron Monastery on Mt Athos, (who was in Moscow collecting alms for the Athonite monasteries) to supply a copy of the wonderworking Ivḗron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Athonite monk Lamblichos painted the copy of the Ivḗron Icon, and after a year the icon was taken to Moscow, accompanied by monks of Athos. On October 13, 1648 it was solemnly greeted by a multitude of the people. The Ivḗron Icon of the Russian Orthodox Church was also glorified by the Lord with many miracles (February 12).

The Ivḗron Icon is also commemorated on February 12, March 31, and Bright Tuesday.

ST. ANTHONY METROPOLITAN OF CHKONDIDI AND HIS DISCIPLE HIEROMONK JACOB THE ELDER (18-19th c.)

Saint Anthony of Chqondidi was born to the family of Otia Dadiani, the prince of Egrisi (now Samegrelo). Anthony’s mother, Gulkan, was the daughter of the prince Shoshita III of Racha. There were six children in the family: five boys and one girl. Anthony’s sister, Mariam, later married King Solomon the Great of Imereti.       The children received their primary education from their mother, who was raised in the Christian Faith and transmitted the Faith to her children. Her vibrant faith and valorous labors were an example for all who surrounded her. After his father’s death, young Anthony was raised by his older brother Katsia. His family was preparing Anthony for a diplomatic career, and therefore they devoted special attention to his study of philosophy, literature, the fundamentals of poetry and art, and foreign languages (particularly Turkish and Persian).       From the beginning of the 17th century, the rulers of Egrisi appointed only their own relatives to the Chqondidi diocese. Nicholas, one of Anthony’s older brothers, was prepared for the bishopric, but he was too attached to the world to commit to the heavy yoke of asceticism. The young Anthony, however, was zealous for the monastic life, and soon he was tonsured.

The new monk Anthony sensed the imperfection of his spiritual education and asked the monks of Martvili Monastery in Egrisi to help him make up for his insufficient knowledge. A group of French missionaries arrived to instruct him in the foundations of Scholastic philosophy, which was very fashionable in Europe at that time. Anthony, however, recognized that his foreign tutors had tainted Orthodox doctrine with the poison of heresy. Once, during a meal, Anthony turned to a certain Frenchman and asked, “Can you pour wine into this water-filled cup and keep it from mixing with the water?”       The Catholic priest answered that it was impossible, and Anthony replied, “As it is impossible to pour water and wine into a single vessel and keep them from mixing, so it is impossible to accommodate both Orthodox doctrine and heresy!” From that day Anthony parted with the French missionaries.       The thirst for learning would not give the young monk any rest. To deepen his knowledge, St. Anthony traveled to Tbilisi, to the court of King Erekle II. The king’s wife, Queen Darejan, was Anthony’s cousin—a child of his uncle, Katsia Dadiani.       In 1761 St. Anthony was consecrated bishop of Tsageri (in lower Svaneti). He soon became famous for his eloquent sermons, which inspired even the Catholicos of Georgia himself.       Grown weary from fasting, St. Anthony’s face began to resemble that of an angel. In accordance with his orders, a daily meal was prepared for the poor at the Chqondidi residence. Every subsequent bishop of Chqondidi has continued this practice.       In the 18th century many feudal lords in western Georgia (in Egrisi especially) began to trade slaves for profit. Bishop Anthony boldly opposed this immoral activity, and in the years 1792 to 1794 he convened a series of Church councils to publicly condemn the slave traders.       In 1788 Anthony approved vast land grants to the monasteries of Martvili, Nakharebou, and Sairme. He persuaded the Dadianis to exempt these lands from taxation.       In 1789 Anthony, now a metropolitan, left Chqondidi for Nakharebou Monastery, which he had built. He enriched the monastery with sacred objects, ancient icons and lands. There he spent the remainder of his days.       St. Anthony of Chqondidi reposed in 1815 at a very old age and was buried at Nakharebou Monastery.       St. Anthony’s spiritual son, devoted friend, and helper, Hieromonk Jacob, also dwelt as a saint in this world and was received into the Heavenly Kingdom.

© 2006 St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

LUKE 8:1-3

1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

PHILIPPIANS 1:8-14

8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

[46ten]

AH and Peter Lavien connections, part 1

Engrossed by our own immediate concerns, I omitted telling you of a disagreeable piece of intelligence I have received from a gentleman of Georgia. He tells me of the death of my brother Levine. You know the circumstances that abate my distress, yet my heart acknowledges the rights of a brother. He dies rich, but has disposed of the bulk of his fortune to strangers. I am told he has left me a legacy. I did not inquire how much.  AH to EH, [1782]

From Allan McLane Hamilton’s Intimate Life, and as far as I know, the letter itself (and the rest of the text) has not been found/copied.

As most know, Peter Lavien was AH’s half-brother, the son of Rachel Faucette and her first (and only) husband, John Michael Lavien. Thanks to the 1759 divorce decree (making AH and full-brother James illegitimate forevermore), Peter inherited her entire estate upon her death. Peter had moved to South Carolina in the 1760s, but briefly returned to St. Croix in 1769 to settle his mother’s estate. According to Peter Lavien’s 1778 last Will and Testament: “I give and bequeath to Alexander Hamilton and his brother Robert Hamilton (as the Testator believes)  [?! - Peter clearly knew of one brother more than the other!] each one hundred and fifty pounds sterling” (cited by Michael E. Newton in AH: The Formative Years from the Papers of John Kean.)

We know the date of the above letter is prior to Oct 1782 based on a letter to Nathanael Greene (below), but 1782 doesn’t quite make sense to me - AH was in Albany with EH from Nov 1781-Nov 1782. It seems far more likely to me that this letter dates from the July-Oct 1781 period, especially with mention of “immediate concerns” (wartime). Most interesting to me is that people knew AH’s half-brother was Peter Lavien and AH should be informed of his death. This also implies that AH’s background and family situation was fairly common knowledge (as I feel I have argued constantly).

Let’s go to the 12Oct1782, AH to Nathanael Greene letter:

I take the liberty to inclose you a letter to Mr. Kane Executor to the estate of Mr. Lavine, a half brother of mine who died some time since in South Carolina. Capt Roberts, if you should not be acquainted with him, can inform you who he is. I shall be much obliged to you to have my letter carefully forwarded.

(AH is writing from Albany, we presume - the letter that LOC has and Founders features is a copy of the original letter, and I’ve talked enough about the letter transcription issue so I’m not going to repeat it here. And BTW, the Kean family name is pronounced Kane with a long a, not Keen with a long e, so AH isn’t entirely wrong to spell it Kane, how he had likely heard it pronounced.) 

It’s unclear when Peter Lavien died. One source cites both 1780 and 1781 (The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: 1514-1861 by Lawrence Sanders Rowland, Alexander Moore, George C. Rogers, Stephen R. Wise, Gerhard Spieler), although it’s consistent that he died in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. According to Newton, he died prior to March 1781, based on a newspaper record (pg 534 of Formative Years.) Although a wife is referenced in his will, I can find no further mention of that, but I can find a daughter, Joanna Lavien, whom he lived with in Savannah. She was married to João Carlos Lucena...

...a Portuguese born marrano, a new Christian, born into a family that may have continued being secretly Jewish since the 16th century.  If so their religion did not survive the family move from Portugal in 1761 to the then British colonies in North America, initially at Rhode Island where his father was granted a patent for the production of Castile soap.  The family eventually settled in Savanah where he married Joanna Lavien, the daughter of a prominent Jewish West India merchant [46ten notes: Newton has done tons of research on this point and can find no evidence that the Laviens were ever Jewish. Peter was christened in St. Croix as an adult.]. Joanna’s father left her extensive estates in South Carolina and Georgia in his will but these were confiscated when John Charles, as he was now known, remained loyal to the British crown in the American revolution. By the 1790’s John Charles was in London where he became the Portuguese Consul. In 1791 he married again, in Hampstead, to Mary Ann Lancaster (he had become a practising Anglican whilst in America) with whom he had four children.  He died in 1813 was buried at St Pancras Old Church.  He died a wealthy man, leaving an estate worth over £100,000.  https://thelondondead.blogspot.com/2016/11/how-to-rise-in-society-housemaids-tale.html

John Charles (anglicized) and Joanna went to Europe following her father’s death.  

From The History of Beaufort..., above: 

[Peter] Lavien and [Captain Samuel] Grove were considered the largest indigo shippers in the Beaufort District (SC). Lavien became prominent in Beaufort and was selected for the vestry of St. Helena Parish despite the fact that his father, John Lavien, was one of the prominent Jewish [NO!] merchants and planters in the Danish West Indies. The Revolution disrupted the firm’s trade and Lavien’s partner died at sea in 1775. Lavien then became Beaufort’s most prominent smuggler early in the Revolutionary War. Family and business connections, and political hostility, forced Lavien to move to Savannah in 1777....Lavien had left his property in the hands of [Grove’s] stepson, John Kean, who was a consistent patriot [and also served as executor of Grove’s sizable estate]...Lavien’s will divided his large estate between the Lucenas of Savannah and John Kean of Beaufort. The Lucenas remained loyal to the crown, and most of their Georgia property was confiscated....

John Kean (1756-1795) had apprenticed as a bookkeeper for Lavien, rising to the position of “copartner.” He auctioned off Lavien’s remaining property, including “fifty-five valuable slaves, chiefly country born, some plantation tools, horses, etc.” (Newton, Formative Years, pg 535, sourcing several newspaper articles). An inheritor of both his step-father’s and former boss’s estates, Kean became SC delegate to the Continental Congress. In 1786, he moved to NYC and began working with the the mercantile firm of LeRoy, Bayard, and Company - yes, the firm of William Bayard Jr, whose home AH would die in. In August 1789, GW appointed Kean as a commissioner for settling accounts between the United States and the individual states. See Commissioners for Settling Accounts to GW, 21 July 1790, n.1. Founders notes: “Oliver Wolcott, Jr., hoped that Kean would be named auditor (see Lear to GW, 23 June), and Peter Van Brugh Livingston [Kean’s father-in-law] wrote GW from Elizabethtown, N.J., on 1 June “in behalf of my Friend Mr John Kean, whose losses by three recent Insolvencies have been very considerable, as the office he now enjoys by your favor is like to be of no long Duration, that your Excellency would be pleased to confer on him one more permanent,” specifically, the comptrollership (DLC:GW). GW appointed Kean to neither office, and Kean resigned from the board of commissioners in October to become Cashier of the Bank of the United States (see Kean to GW, 31 October).”

Thus, the former apprentice, executor, and inheritor to Peter Lavien’s estate (and may have gotten a portion of Rachel’s estate too) winds up in a position where he is in constant communication with Lavien’s half-brother AH. Strange, huh? It gets better! Part 2 to come. 

[irenethehistorynerd]

Taken from her home and family, thrust into a strange land, surrounded by strangers, Phillis Wheatley had an inauspicious start to life, yet became one of the most august women of her time. She was the first poet of African descent, and the second woman to be published in the United States. She was a genius, speaking three languages, and well versed in classical studies, science, and literature. Yet, she spent most of her life a slave, and died poor and alone at the young age of 31.

Phillis' exact date of birth is unknown, but it is generally accepted that she was seven years old when she was taken to America in 1761. She was captured by slavers somewhere on the west coast of Africa, likely in Senegal, Gambia, or Ghana, and boarded onto a schooner named The Phillis. 

The Phillis was captained by Peter Gwinn, who had been charged with bringing back a large human cargo of African males to be sold in the new world. Gwinn wasn't as successful as the ship's owner, Timothy Finch, had hoped, instead bringing back a small cargo of women and children, many of whom were very ill.

Phillis was one of those who were very ill. She was a refuse slave--or a slave who wouldn't fetch a very good price. She has been described as being 'slender, frail, having shed her two front teeth', and the slave seller wasn't confident that she was going to live long, let alone that he was going to get much money for her. When Mrs. Susanna Wheatley¹ offered ten pounds, the slave seller gratefully let Phillis go, happy to have gotten some return on his investment.

Susanna took Phillis home, and named her after the ship that had stolen her from her homeland. Despite the fact that the Wheatley's had several other slaves, Phillis was not placed among them. Out of some maternal whim, or twist of sympathy, Susanna gave Phillis her own room. When Phillis showed signs of perhaps being able to read and write, Susanna set her daughter Mary to tutoring the young Phillis, and within sixteen months Phillis was completely fluent and literate in English, able to 'read any, most difficult Parts of Sacred Writing to the great Astonishment of all who heard her'.²

Teaching a slave to read was completely unheard of at the time, and a master who gave their slaves education was something of a loose cannon, as educating slaves endangered the whole practice of slavery. Not content to be volatile rebels, the Wheatley's also had Phillis tutored in Greek, Latin, history, literature, astronomy, classics, and, of course, religion.

America at the time was in the middle of what is called the First Great Awakening. Religious revival was in the air, and being pious and well versed in the bible was in vogue. The Wheatley's, much like the rest of the people in the colonies, were swept up in the excitement. They were avid church goers, and they took Phillis to church with them. Because of this, Phillis grew up, and remained, a devout Protestant her entire life.

The Wheatley's treated Phillis like one of the family. She was, essentially, a second daughter. She wasn't expected to do housework or manual labor like the other slaves, she was taken to church with her masters, and allowed to eat and spend time with the family. When the Wheatley's went on social calls, they often took Phillis with them, including her in the conversation. She was treated with respect not only by the Wheatley's, but by their associates as well, and she impressed many of the most eminent men and women of Boston with her learning and precociousness.

However, don't be fooled. The Wheatley's still sucked butt. Despite treating Phillis as one of the family, they still owned her. She was still a slave, even if she wasn't forced to do menial labor. She wasn't free, but she didn't fit with the other slaves either. The Wheatley's forbade Phillis from socializing with the other slaves, isolating her, and stranding her in between worlds.

In 1767, when Phillis was thirteen, her first poem was published. Phillis had shown a great talent for writing, a talent the Wheatley's encouraged. When Phillis wrote a poem "On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin" in honor of two men drowned at sea, Susanna saw that it was published in the newspaper, The Newport Mercury. Several other poems followed, and Phillis' work began to gain recognition in the colonies and across the Atlantic.

Phillis' first really successful poem, “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield” was published in 1770, and it was about this time that Phillis, with Susanna's help, started putting together a collection of poetry for publication. It was titled Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, and contained 28 poems. It would be published in 1773 when Phillis was eighteen.

Getting a book published in the late eighteenth century was no small feat. Publishers required a guarantee that people would buy the book, and some required that authors assume some of the costs of printing themselves. In Phillis' case, a list of 300 people who would buy the book was required by the publisher. Susanna lobbied heavily, and while she was able to collect some signatures, some of them being of the most eminent and learned men in Boston, she was not able to collect the required 300. This was because there were not 300 people in Boston who believed that poetry could be written by a slave. Discouraged by the American market, Phillis and Susanna decided to take Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, across the pond, where the public had already been proven to be more receptive to African authors.

Publishing the book in England required jumping through several hoops. Firstly, the publisher, Archibald Bell, was skeptical of the books authorship, and wanted proof that the book was, in fact, written by a slave. To provide evidence, Susanna assembled a group of eighteen men willing to sign affidavits certifying Phillis' authorship. These were some of the most educated and important men in Boston³, many of whom were prominent political and religious figures. The quizzed Phillis on her work, and all signed a paper saying that Phillis was the author of the book.

Once the publisher had the affidavits, he required that Phillis have someone to dedicate her work to. The dedication, and dedicatee was very important. A book had to be dedicated to a public figure, who was, essentially, vouching to the public that the book was quality work. For Poems on Various Subjects, Phillis and the Wheatley's chose Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon.

The countess was chosen because Phillis had a tenuous connection to her. One of Phillis' first important poems, 'An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield' had been about George Whitefield, who had been the personal chaplain to the countess. The Wheatley's used this connection to forward Phillis' book to the countess, going as far as to have one of their ship captains read the entire work to the countess.

The countess was charmed, and she write to the publisher, allowing the work to be dedicated to her. With the dedication and affidavits in order, Phillis' book was cleared for publication, and came out in the summer of 1773.

Phillis' book was well received, circulating among the upper class, attracting astonishment that a slave could write so well. England, at the time, had a much more lax approach to racism, and while slavery wasn't yet illegal in the British isles, society was sympathetic to the plight of the enslaved. Phillis was received as an equal everywhere, and became a social star.

Unfortunately, Susanna Wheatley fell ill, and Phillis had to quickly leave London in September of 1773, depriving her of the chance to meet both the King and the Countess of Huntingdon. She returned to Boston, and was freed in October of that year. On March 3, 1774, Susanna Wheatley died.

With the death of Susanna, the Wheatley family disintegrated. The eldest son, Nathaniel, was living across the Atlantic with his English wife, and John Wheatley had fled Boston because of the British troops occupying the city after the events of the Boston Tea Party. Phillis, while she did have some money of her own, was in no position to live independently, so she moved in with Mary Lathrop nee Wheatley, the daughter who had taught her to read, and the pair relocated to Newport, Rhode Island along with Mary's husband.

Phillis lived fairly uneventfully in Providence, continuing to write and participate in religious activities. The most notable thing to happen in this period was her correspondence with George Washington in early 1776.

Though the Wheatley family at large were loyal to the British crown, Phillis seemed to have some enthusiasm for independence. She hoped that with independence from Britain would come independence for all the enslaved Africans. On October 26, 1775 she sent a poem to General George Washington which enthusiastically proclaimed that the Americans would defeat the British, and that it would usher in a new era of freedom and prosperity. In this poem she created the goddess Columbia--the goddess who would come to represent America, and would be memorialized in the Statue of Liberty⁴

George Washington was very impressed with her poem, and responded to her in a letter praising her talents. He invited her to come visit him at his headquarters in Cambridge, however it is highly unlikely that they ever met, given that Phillis would have had to cross British lines to reach him.

Phillis and the Lathrops returned to Boston in 1776, and Phillis married John Peters, a freed African, on November 26, 1778. Peters was a shopkeeper with a bad reputation. Contemporary accounts paint him as a villain who abused Phillis, and squandered their money. They stopped living together about a year after their marriage. Nevertheless, they had two children, neither of whom lived more than a day.

In 1779 Phillis started lobbying to publish a second book of poetry. Due to the Revolutionary War she was unable to get in touch with her contacts back in England, and there wasn't much of a market for poetry in America at the time. Phillis had to take a series of janitorial jobs in boarding houses, and died in childbirth on December 5, 1784. No one attended her funeral.

Phillis faded into relative obscurity for about 50 years after her death. Her second book of poetry was finally released in 1834, and another was printed in 1864. She was often held up as an example of the humanity and capability of enslaved Africans by abolitionists of her age, and her work has strong, but subtle abolitionist themes. She is remembered today as being one of the best writers of early America, and as being the first published African American writer.

¹Or possibly Susanna's husband, John. Sources disagree.

²From a letter by her master John Wheatley. (sic) throughout.

³For those, said men were:

Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Virginia

Andrew Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Reverend Mather Byles

Joseph Green, a poet and satirist

Reverend Samuel Cooper, known as 'the silver tongued preacher'

James Bowdoin, scientist and poet

John Hancock

Reverend Samuel Mather

Thomas Hubbard

Reverend Charles Chauncy

John Moorhead

John Erving

James Pitts

Harrison Gray

Richard Carey

Reverend Edward Pemberton

Reverend Andrew Elliot

John Wheatley, Phillis' master

⁴ She also compared George Washington to a god, and equated him with the concept of freedom.

[ricmlm]

João de Sousa Carvalho was born in the village of Estremoz on February 22, 1745 and entered at the age of 8, on October 23, 1743, the Colégio dos Santos Reis Magos in Vila Viçosa. Sent to Naples by the Crown, he joined Jerónimo Francisco de Lima (1741-1822) at the Conservatory of Sant'Onofrio a Capuana, on 15 January 1761. His first opera, La Nitteti, based on a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, was performed in Rome at the Teatro Delle Dame at the Carnival of 1766. Also the oratory Isacco figura del Redentore, which dates from the same period, must have been sung in Italy. Presumably, he returned to Portugal in 1767, as he signed the Livro das Entries of the Irmandade de Santa Cecília on 22 November of the same year. He was appointed Professor of Counterpoint at least in 1769 and later, perhaps in 1773, First Chapel Master of the Patriarchal Seminary. L'Amore industrioso, dramma giocoso over an anonymous libretto, his most modern opera, was performed at the Teatro da Ajuda on March 31, 1769, with 10 performances until December 28 of the same year. It was followed by L'Eumene, a serious dramma on a libretto by Apostolo Zeno, on 6 June 1773, with 7 performances until 14 November. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSyezAjKQF/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thephantomofthelibrary]

what’s your Favorite fact/event/person in welsh history?

(Oooohhhh thank you for the ask!! So many interesting things to pick though, haha. I feel like I have to answer each little bit because then I can choose three things instead of struggling to pick one.

My favourite Welsh history fact:

Here’s a little linguistic history for you. When the Anglo Saxons invaded the British Isles they named the locals Wealisc (Welsh) and the land Wealas (Wales) from an Anglo-Saxon word which meant ‘foreigner’. However, the Welsh called themselves Cymraeg (Welsh) or Cymro (Welshman) Cymraes (Welsh woman) and Cymru (Wales) which comes from the old welsh Combrogi which translates as compatriot or comrade. I just find it to be quite poetic.

My favourite Welsh history event:

But which one to choose. So many great things happened. I think I will have to settle for the Merthyr Rising of 1831. It happened in a place called Merthyr Tydfil and was caused by a combination of factors including the poor economic conditions, the laying off of workers in the area and the constant calling for parliamentary reform. The spark was lit 31 May 1831 when bailiffs went to the home of Lewis Lewis to demand goods as payment for his debt. He refused. The magistrate had to be called to deal with the situation and eventually Lewis agreed to part with a trunk. Then events spiral from here. 

June 1st: While a crowd of workers march to the ironworks demanding bread, Lewis and a crowd march to the shopkeeper’s house, for the shopkeeper had purchased Lewis’ trunk from the bailiffs. He was going to reclaim it. The rest of the crowd then went to reclaim the things which had been taken from them, ransacking homes as they marched into Merthyr. 

June 2nd: The crowd assembles outside the Castle Inn hotel and the crowd continued to swell as more and more workers join the protest. The ironmasters are trapped inside and fear for their lives and troops are requested to help. The crowd burn all bailiffs records. 

June 3rd: the troops arrive and are stationed in and around the Castle Inn. The crowd by this point had swelled to 10,000. They demanded cheaper prices, higher wages, the suppression of the bailiffs and immediate parliamentary reform, none of which the ironmaster would even be able to grant them. Instead the ironmasters offered them bread to which the crowd responded, “with cheese, bread with cheese!” signifying that the efforts of the ironmasters were not announced. The local magistrate came to read the Riot Act which stated that if they did not remove themselves within the hour then the whole crowd would be guilty of a capital crime. The crowd begins to surge forward demanding the soldiers be disarmed. They throw stones at the soldiers which provokes the soldiers to open fire. The fighting continued for 15 minutes. About 16 soldiers were wounded. It is unknown how many of the crowd were killed as they were secretly buried in the night but it is suspected to be somewhere between 20-30. It was clear more military help would be necessary especially with the next action. The workers killed a calf and bathed some cloth in the blood. They then flew the red flag of revolution. 

June 4th: More soldiers arrive. The Swansea Yeomanry were ambushed by the crowd, the crowd seizing their weapons. The crowd now had muskets and sabres and not just stones as ammunition. 

June 6th: another attack is planned by the crowd but insiders tell the authorities about it. They send the various military units to meet them. The Riot Act is read once more but they refuse to leave. The commanders call for their soldiers to drawn their sabres and ready their muskets. It was enough to disperse the crowd who had lost the upper hand. Many flee to the woods, wanting to wait for the authorities searches to subside. Of course they can’t kill all of them but the authorities will certainly want to make an example of those they catch. The main ringleader Lewis Lewis is caught. He was originally sentence to death but his sentence was commuted to transportation after the intervention of his employer. However, the authorities had to make an example of someone. Dic Penderyn was hung on 13 August 1831. Its most likely that he was a scapegoat for the ringleaders. He was accused of stabbing one of the soldiers and injuring him. 

My favourite Welsh history person:

GRIFFITH JONES!!! I love this man so much. He created something called the circulating schools which aimed at teaching children and adults to read and write. When he started his enterprise Wales was one of the least literate countries in Europe. Between 1731 and 1761 his circulating schools operated, moving from town to town, village to village, until he had covered most of Wales. By 1761, Griffith Jones had transformed Wales from one of the least literate nations in Europe to one of the most literate nations in Europe. This man is a personal hero of mine. He taught men, women and children regardless or their age and religion. Previously educating enterprises in Wales had been initiated by Anglican clergymen who would only accept Anglicans into their schools despite that fact that most of Wales was Nonconformist. Griffith Jones, despite being Anglican himself, accepted everyone. 

Sorry for the length of this, I can’t help myself when it comes to Welsh history. 

Thank you for the ask! 

[andrewtheconqueror-blog]

Blog No. 6

Group Performance of the Kings of Classical Music (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)

Group Mates: Eva Cuenza, Mareal tumanda, joshua Gramaje, Ruzzel Santos, and Trixie Dayrit

Franz Joseph Haydn, (Born March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria—died May 31, 1809, Vienna); Austrian Composer

Over the course of his 106 symphonies, Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn became the principal architect of the classical style of music.

Synopsis

Franz Joseph Haydn was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. Haydn’s most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Early Life

Franz Joseph Haydn was recruited at age 8 to the sing in the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he went on to learn to play violin and keyboard. After he left the choir, he supported himself by teaching and playing violin, while studying counterpoint and harmony.

Haydn soon became an assistant to composer Nicola Porpora in exchange for lessons, and in 1761 he was named Kapellmeister, or "court musician," at the palace of the influential Esterházy family, a position that would financially support him for nearly 30 years. Isolated at the palace from other composers and musical trends, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original."

The Mature Artist

While Haydn rose in the Esterházy family's esteem, his popularity outside the palace walls also increased, and he eventually wrote as much music for publication as for the family. Several important works of this period were commissions from abroad, such as the Paris symphonies (1785-1786) and the original orchestral version of "The Seven Last Words of Christ" (1786). Haydn came to feel sequestered and lonely, however, missing friends back in Vienna, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, so in 1791, when a new Esterházy prince let Haydn go, he quickly accepted an invitation to go to England to conduct new symphonies with German violinist and impresario Johan Peter Salomon. He would return to London again in 1794 for another successful and lucrative season.

Already well known and appreciated in England, Haydn's concerts drew huge crowds, and during his time in England the composer created some of his most popular works, including the "Rider" quartet and the Surprise, Military, Drumroll and London symphonies.

Later Years

Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795 and took up his former position with the Esterházys, although only part-time. At this point, he was a public figure in Vienna, and when he wasn't at home composing, he was making frequent public appearances. With his health failing, his creative spirit outlasted his ability to harness it, and he died at age 77.

Haydn is remembered as the first great symphonist and the composer who essentially invented the string quartet. The principal engineer of the classical style, Haydn exerted influence on the likes of Mozart, his student Ludwig van Beethoven and scores of others.

Works

Haydn is credited as the 'father' of the classical symphony and string quartet, and also wrote many piano sonatas, piano trios, divertmenti and masses, which became the foundation for the Classical style in these compositional types. He also wrote other types of chamber music, as well as operas and concerti, although such compositions are now less known. Although other composers were prominent in the earlier Classical period, notably C.P.E. Bach in the field of the keyboard sonata (the harpsichord and clavichord were equally popular with the piano in this era) and J.C. Bach and Leopold Mozart in the symphony, Haydn was undoubtedly the strongest overall influence on musical style in this era.

The development of sonata form into a subtle and flexible mode of musical expression, which became the dominant force in Classical musical thought, was based foremost on Haydn and those who followed his ideas. His sense of formal inventiveness also lead him to integrate the fugue into the classical style, and to enrich the rondo form with more cohesive tonal logic, (see sonata rondo form). Another example of Haydn's inventiveness was his creation of the double variation form, that is variations on two alternating themes.

Structure and character of the music

A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs, usually devised from standard accompanying figures. The music is often quite formally concentrated, and the important musical events of a movement can unfold rather quickly. Haydn's musical practice formed the basis of much of what was to follow in the development of tonality and musical form. He took genres such as the symphony, which were, at that time, shorter and subsidiary to more important vocal music, and slowly expanded their length, weight and complexity.

Haydn's compositional practice was rooted in a study of the modal counterpoint of Fux, and the tonal homophonic styles which had become more and more popular, particularly the work of Gluck and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, of the later Haydn wrote 'without him, we know nothing'. He believed that the search for an appropriate melody was essential to the creation of good music, and carefully constructed his around countrapunctal devices, so that it could be overlayed with itself in a variety of ways, and the fragments could be worked with individually, and still retain some degree of unique character.

Haydn's work became central to what was later described as the sonata form, and his work was central to taking the binary schematic of what was then called a 'melodie'. It was a form divided into sections, joined by important moments in the harmony which signalled the change. One of Haydn's important innovations, one which was adopted by Mozart and Beethoven, was to make the moment of transition the focus of tremendous creativity, instead of using stock devices to make the transition, Haydn would often find inventive ways to make the move between two expected keys.

Later musical theorists would codify the formal organization in the following way:

Introduction: If present in an extended form, a slower section in the dominant, often with material not directly related to the main themes, which would then rapidly transition to the

Exposition: Presentation of thematic material, including a progression of tonality away from the home key. Unlike Mozart and Beethoven, Haydn often wrote expositions where the music that establishes the new key is similar or identical to the opening theme: this is called monothematic sonata form.

Development: The thematic material is led through a rapidly-shifting sequence of keys, transformed, fragmented, or combined with new material. If not present, the work is termed a 'sonatina'. Haydn's developments tend to be longer and more elaborate than those of Mozart, for example.

Recapitulation: Return to the home key, where the material of the exposition is re-presented. Haydn, unlike Mozart and Beethoven, often rearranges the order of themes compared to the exposition: he also frequently omits passages that appeared in the exposition (particularly in the monothematic case) and adds codas.

Coda: After the close of the recapitulation on the tonic, there may be an additional section which works through more of the possibilities of the thematic material.

During this period the written music was structured by tonality, and the sections of a work of the Classical era were marked by tonal cadences. The most important transitions between sections were from the exposition to the development, and from the development to the recapitulation. Haydn focused on creating witty and often dramatic ways to make these transitions, by delaying them, or by having the occur so subtly that it takes some time before it is established that the transition has, in fact happened. Perhaps paradoxically one of the ways in which Haydn did this was by reducing the number of different devices for harmonic transitions between, so that he could explore and develop the possibilities he found in the ones he regarded as most interesting. This is perhaps why more than any other composer, Haydn is known for the jokes that he put into his music. The most famous example is the sudden loud chord in his 'Surprise symphony|Surprise' symphony, No. 94, but others are perhaps funnier: the fake endings in the quartets Op. 33 No. 2 and Op. 50 No. 3, or the remarkable rhythmic illusion placed in the trio section of Op. 50 No. 1.

Haydn's compositional practice influenced both Mozart and Beethoven. Beethoven began his career writing rather discursive, loosely organized sonata expositions; but with the onset of his 'Middle period', he revived and intensified Haydn's practice, joining the musical structure to tight small motifs, often by gradually reshaping both the work and the motifs so that they fit quite carefully.

The emotional content of Haydn's music cannot accurately be summarized in words, but one may attempt an approximate description. Much of the music was written to please and delight a prince, and its emotional tone is correspondingly upbeat; this tone also reflects, perhaps, Haydn's fundamentally healthy and well-balanced personality. Occasional minor-key works, often deadly serious in character, form striking exceptions to the general rule. Haydn's fast movements tend to be rhythmically propulsive, and often impart a great sense of energy, especially so in the finales. Some characteristic examples of Haydn's 'rollicking' finale type are found in the 'London' symphony No. 104, the string quartet Op. 50 No. 1, and the piano trio Hob XV: 27. Haydn's slow movements, early in his career, are usually not too slow in tempo, relaxed, and reflective. Later on, the emotional range of the slow movements increases, notably in the deeply felt slow movements of the quartets Op. 76 Nos. 3 and 5, the Symphony No. 102, and the piano trio Hob XV: 23. The minuets tend to have a strong downbeat (and upbeat!) and a clearly popular character. Late in his career, perhaps inspired by the young Beethoven (who was briefly his student), Haydn began to write scherzi instead of minuets, with a much faster tempo, felt as one beat to the measure.

Symphony No. 94 in G Major, 2nd Movement (”Surprise”)

Symphony No. 94

The story of the Surprise Symphony starts with the death of Haydn's great patron, the Austrian prince Nikolaus Esterházy, in 1790. While Haydn's music had been spread across Europe (and even to the Americas in the hands of music aficionado Thomas Jefferson), Haydn himself hadn't left Austria in decades. His music was already popular in England, so a new patron appeared after the death of Esterházy and asked Haydn to come to London for two seasons. An agreement was stuck where Haydn would live in London and compose a total of six symphonies to be performed there.

Symphony No. 94 in G Major was one of these symphonies, which debuted in London on March 23rd of 1791. As the crowd quickly found out, it was full of surprises, showcasing Haydn's wit and ability to play with audiences' expectations.

Haydn knew how to play with audience expectations during a concert

The total work is broken into four movements, a symphonic structure of Haydn's that was still relatively new at the time. The first movement was written in the wrong key, according to the traditions associated with the 4-movement symphony, thus setting up one surprise from the beginning. The first and third movements have a lively feel that was more associated with outdoor concerts than with concert halls. This was especially true of the third movement, a minuet, which was basically the predecessor of the waltz. The second movement contrasts these with a gentler and softer tone, while the fourth escalates it, racing toward its conclusion with a march-like beat.

Overall, Symphony No. 94 in G Major is about 23 minutes of expectation subversion, interplay between tempos and sections of the orchestra, and some very demanding technical sections that reveal Haydn's confidence in the London orchestra. It was one of the works that helped Haydn's 4-movement symphony become the standard that would define orchestral music for generations.

The Surprise

Symphony No. 94 is lively, fun, and full of quirks, but not much more so than any other of Haydn's works. So, why was this one nicknamed the Surprise Symphony? That name actually refers to a single moment in the second movement. In this movement, the pace is gradual, peaceful, and tranquil. The melodies are passive and unencumbered, listing lazily along when out of nowhere BAM! The audience is hit with a jarring and loud chord that crescendos without warning. Surprise!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756–5 December 1791) 

Mozart was one of the most influential, popular and prolific composers of the classical period. He composed over 600 works, including some of the most famous and loved pieces of symphonic, chamber, operatic, and choral music.

“Music is my life and my life is music. Anyone who does not understand this is not worthy of God.”

– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Short Biography of Mozart

Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, the young Mozart showed all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of five he could read and write music, and he would entertain people with his talents on the keyboard. By the age of six he was writing his first compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a rare musical genius, although he was also diligent in studying other great composers such as Haydn and Bach.

During his childhood, he would frequently tour various palaces around Europe playing for distinguished guests. Aged 17, he accepted a post as a court musician in Salzburg; although this did not suit him very well, the next few years were a time of prolific composition. In 1781, he moved permanently to Vienna where he stayed for the remainder of his life. In Vienna, he became well known and was often in demand as a composer and performer.

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.”

– Mozart

However, despite his relative fame he struggled to manage his finances and moved between periods of poverty and prosperity. This difficulty was enhanced when, in 1786, Austria was involved in a war which led to lower demand for musicians. In 1782, he married against the wishes of his family; he had six children but only two survived infancy.

The work of Mozart is epic in scope and proportion. There were few branches of music Mozart did not touch. He composed operas, symphonies, concertos, and solo pieces for the piano. His work spanned from joyful light-hearted pieces to powerful, challenging compositions which touched the emotions. In the beginning of his career, Mozart had a powerful ability to learn and remember from the music he heard from others. He was able to incorporate the style and music of people such as Haydn and J.S. Bach. As he matured he developed his very own style and interpretations. In turn, the music of Mozart very much influenced the early Beethoven.

Mozart was brought up a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the church throughout his life.

“I know myself, and I have such a sense of religion that I shall never do anything which I would not do before the whole world.”

Some of his greatest works are religious in nature such as Ave Verum Corpus and the final Requiem.

Mozart was very productive until his untimely death in 1791, aged 35.

“I never lie down at night without reflecting that young as I am —I may not live to see another day.”

In the last year of his life, he composed the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat), the Clarinet Concerto K. 622, a string quintet (K. 614 in E-flat), the famous motet Ave verum corpus K. 618, and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Mozart”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net, 28th May 2008 Updated 3rd October 2017

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major ("Alla Turca") K. 331 (K. 300i) 

Musical Analysis

Apart from its foreign influences, the last movement has two other interesting features. The first of these concerns its structure; the movement is a rondo but, unusually, the first theme occurs only twice (traditionally, in rondo form the first theme is presented most frequently in the piece). Therefore, the A major idea from bar 25 becomes the more important as the movement progresses, occurring three times and forming the basis of the coda. Also, Mozart extensively repeats melodic ideas within sections. For example, in bars 8-16 the same melodic idea occurs four times (the second two times transposed down a minor third), and the A major passage at bars 25-32 consists of a repeated motif, with the ending modified on the repeat to allow a perfect cadence to close the phrase. This is a recurrent feature, especially in the coda.

The form of the rondo is A-B-C-D-E-C-A-B-C-coda, with each section (except the coda) being repeated twice.

A: This section, in A minor, consists of a rising sixteenth note melody followed by a falling eighth note melody over a staccato eighth note accompaniment. It is nine measures long.

B: This section introduces new material in a melody in thirds and eighth notes before varying the A section with a cresendo before falling back to piano.

C: A forte march in octaves over an arpeggiated chord accompaniment. The key changes to A major.

D: A piano continuous sixteenth note melody over a broken chord accompaniment.

E: A forte scale-like theme followed by a modification of section D.

Coda: A forte theme consisting mostly of chords (arpeggiated and not) and octaves. There is a brief piano restatement of the theme in the middle of the coda. The movement ends with alternating A and C-sharp octaves followed by two A major chords.

It is worth noting that each movement of the sonata is based around the tonality of A. This is unusual as there is typically a change of key for the second movement to provide a necessary tonal contrast. One can only presume that Mozart considered the huge diversity of material presented in the piece to be sufficient to dispense with this need.

Bar 1-24 The opening theme consists of rising turn-figures which outline an a minor arpeggio. The use of ornamentation continues in bar 5 with grace notes helping to accent the first beat of the bar. A brief diversion to C major in bars 9-12 is short-lived, since it is followed by a return to the tonic. The repeat of the opening idea in bars 17-20 leads to a tonic cadence in a minor, following the reharmonisation of the top C in bar 20 with an Italian 6th chord. This opening section (A) is in itself a miniature ternary form. A surprising number of keys are used at this early stage; a minor, e minor (bar 5) and C major (bar 9) before a return to a minor (bar13). Bars 1-8 have a natural rhythmic accent on the first beat of the bar.

Bar 25-32 A sudden change to the tonic major starts a brash, loud passage which provides an immediate contrast to the preceding passage. The LH uses arpeggiated grace notes for percussive effect. See the background notes for the influence of Turkish music evident here.

Bar 32-56 Once again, a sudden contrast is created through a change of key (f-sharp minor), sudden reduction in dynamics, thinning of texture and bubbling semiquaver passages in the RH. The LH reverts to the texture found at the movement’s opening. In bar 38 the key changes to c-sharp minor to bring the phrase to a close; however, the music then leaps into A major for some scalic RH features that carry on the stream of semiquavers. The f-sharp minor passage returns in bars 48-56, although the second half of this is modified to keep the music in that key and closes with a perfect cadence. This is the ‘C’ section of the structure. The RH melodic cells that open this section contrast well with the a minor theme at the beginning of the movement, since their general shape is an inversion of the turns in the a minor theme. They also start in a descending series, whereas the a minor theme consists of ascending motivic cells.

Bar 56-64 Repeat of bars 24.2-32.1 (the ‘B’ section)

Bar 64-88 Repeat of bars 1-24 (the ‘A’ section)

Bar 88-96 Repeat of the ‘B’ section again, but with the RH octaves broken into pairs of octave-leaping semiquavers. This RH change adds to the percussive, brash nature of the original.

Bar 96.2-127 The coda consists of four presentations of the same A major phrase (bars 96.2-102), with subtle changes, variations in ornamentation and, in bars 109-115, a different texture in the LH accompaniment (an Alberti bass). Other than this , the LH utilises the percussive figure from the previous A major theme. The chord progression in this repeated figure is a very strong I – IV – I – V (resolving onto the tonic to start the next version of the phrase). The last six bars of the piece consist of an affirmation of the tonic A major harmony, bringing the work to a rousing and boisterous close.

"Queen of the Night" aria from "The Magic Flute" by Mozart

The Queen of the Night sings this aria to express her fury and longing for revenge (‘rache’). Mozart chose the key of D minor for this aria. It is a key often associated with tragedy, and prevalent in the Requiem that Mozart was writing, that would dominate his thoughts in the weeks following the premiere of Die Zauberflöte.

The aria contains marked dynamic contrasts, accents land on and off the beat and the vocal line is often highly chromatic. Rather unexpectedly, after the opening bars the music suddenly moves to F major, the relative key of D minor. Gaining in confidence, the Queen scales the vocal heights. The Queen tells Pamina that if she does not kill Sarastro as the mother has asked then she will no longer be her daughter, and sings a series of repeated notes on a high C before climbing even further to several dizzying top Fs. Nothing, it seems, can stop her.

After Sarastro’s thoughtful hymnic aria ‘O Isis und Osiris’, the Queen’s virtuosity is all the more staggering. And however hollow her threats will prove – she clearly does not know her daughter’s moral strength – the aria could not make its point any clearer. The recurrent gestures, manic twists and turns and final ferocious D minor cadence place a thrillingly thunderous cloud of wrath over the proceedings.

Sources:

“Franz Joseph Haydn.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 Jan. 2017, www.biography.com/people/franz-joseph-haydn-9332156.

“Franz Josef Haydn.” Prince Biography, www.8notes.com/biographies/haydn.asp.

Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/haydns-surprise-symphony-analysis.html.

https://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html

https://sensq.com/blog/story-of-rondo-alla-turca-turkish-march

[rabbitcruiser]

The 1761 Lisbon earthquake stroke off the Iberian Peninsula with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 on March 31, 1761.

[is-kingdom-hearts-3-out-yet]

no

today is 4/5/2018

kh3 announced: june 10, 2013 (1761 days ago)

last main series release: kh2 released in europe, september 29, 2006 (4207 days ago)

last original release: dream drop distance in north america, july 31, 2012 (2075 days ago)

last release overall: 1.5+2.5 remix for ps4 in europe, march 31, 2017 (371 days ago)

release date: ??/??/2018

[noctambulatebooks]

Reading 2021

3-January-2021: Zola, Émile, A Love Story (1878, France)

9-January-2021: Stapledon, Olaf, Odd John (1935, England)

16-January-2021: Chesnutt, Charles W., The Marrow of Tradition (1901, USA)

19-January-2021: Johnson, Joyce, Minor Characters (1983, USA)

24-January-2021: Herrndorf, Wolfgang, Sand (2011, Germany)

31-January-2021: Gibson, William, Pattern Recognition (2003, USA)

31-January-2021: Schwob, Marcel, Imaginary Lives (1896, France)

7-February-2021: James, Henry, The Aspern Papers (1888, USA)

15-February-2021: Shaw, Nate (Ned Cobb), All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw, edited by Theodore Rosengarten (1974, USA)

19-February-2021: Dukes, Hunter, Signature (Object Lessons) (2020, USA)

20-February-2021: James, Henry, Daisy Miller (1879, USA)

21-February-2021: Reve, Gerard, Childhood: Two Novellas (“Werther Nieland” and “The Fall of the Boslowits Family”) (1949/1950, Holland)

24-February-2021: Shapland, Jenn, My Autobiography of Carson McCullers (2020, USA)

26-February-2021: Gissing, George, Will Warburton (1905, England)

1-March-2021: Gibson, William, Spook Country (2007, USA)

5-March-2021: Lowe, Scott, Hair (Object Lessons) (2016, USA)

7-March-2021: Rampo, Edogawa, Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1956, Japan)

13-March-2021: Sledge, E.B., With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (1981, USA)

26-March-2021: Balzac, Honore, Lost Souls (1847, France) (reread)

29-March-2021: Banks, Russell, Foregone (2021, USA)

4-April-2021: Gibson, William, Zero History (2010, USA)

8-April-2021: Orwell, George, Homage to Catalonia (1938, England)

11-April-2021: Kelley, William Melvin, A Different Drummer (1959, USA)

13-April-2021: Simenon, Georges, The Grandmother (1959, France)

15-April-2021: Allain, Marcel and Pierre Souvestre, The Silent Executioner (Juve contre Fantômas) (1911, France)

16-April-2021: Didion, Joan, Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021, USA)

18-April-2021: O’Brien, Tim, The Things They Carried (1990, USA)

26-April-2021: McGilligan, Patrick, Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane (2015, USA)

4-May-2021: Bunch, David R., Moderan (1971, USA)

6-May-2021: Mech, L. David, Wolf Island: Discovering the Secrets of a Mythic Animal (2020, USA)

11-May-2021: Maupassant, Guy, Alien Hearts (1890, France)

17-May-2021: Blakeslee, Nate, American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West (2017, USA)

25-May-2021: Laxness, Halldør, The Fish Can Sing (1957, Iceland)

31-May-2021: Greenlee, Sam, The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969, USA)

5-June-2021: Jansson, Tove, The Summer Book (1972, Finland)

8-June-2021: Ishiguro, Kazuo, Klara and the Sun (2021, England)

9-June-2021: Jansson, Tove, Fair Play (1982, Finland)

13-June-2021: Cronon, William, Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (1991, USA)

17-June-2021: Plante, David, Difficult Women: A Memoir of Three (1983, USA)

21-June-2021: MacDonald, Ross, The Underground Man (1971, USA)

30-June-2021: Howells, William Dean, The Landlord at Lion’s Head (1897, USA)

4-July-2021: Himes, Chester, Yesterday Will Make You Cry (1953, USA)

7-July-2021: MacDonald, Ross, The Goodbye Look (1969, USA)

11-July-2021: Slaght, Jonathan C., Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl (2020, USA)

18-July-2021: MacDonald, Ross, The Instant Enemy (1968, USA)

25-July-2021: Hansen, Thorkild, Arabia Felix: The Danish Expedition of 1761-1767 (1962, Denmark)

31-July-2021: Xenophon, The Expedition of Cyrus, or The March Up Country (Anabasis) (370 BC, Greece)

8-August-2021: Bell, Matt, Appleseed (2021, USA)

11-August-2021: Lem, Stanisław, Highcastle: A Remembrance (1966, Poland)

14-August-2021: Manchette, Jean-Patrick, Nada (1972, France)

20-August-2021: Moravia, Alberto, The Conformist (1951, Italy)

24-August-2021: Duras, Marguerite, The Ravishing of Lol Stein (1964, France)

28-August-2021: Bernhard, Thomas, The Cheap-Eaters (1980, Austria)

3-September-2021: Nathan, Patrick, Image Control: Art, Fascism, and the Right to Resist (2021, USA)

10-September-2021: Conrad, Joseph, Nostromo (1904, England)

15-September-2021: Bailey, Blake, The Splendid Things We Planned (2014, USA)

22-September-2021: Kono, Taeko, Toddler Hunting, and other stories (1961, Japan)

29-September-2021: Whitehead, Colson, Harlem Shuffle (2021, USA)

4-October-2021: Morand, Paul, Venices (1971, France)

10-October-2021: Friedrich, Otto, Olympia: Paris in the Age of Manet (1992, USA)

23-October-2021: Mezzrow, Mezz and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues (1946, USA)

25-October-2021: Manchette, Jean-Patrick, Ivy Pearl (1996, France)

31-October-2021: Millet, Lydia, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart (2005, USA)

7-November-2021: LeCarré, John, Silverview (2021, England)

21-November-2021: Scott, Walter, The Fair Maid of Perth (1828, Scotland)

25-November-2021: Mulisch, Harry, The Assault (1982, Holland)

26-November-2021: James, M.R., Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904, England) (reread)

4-December-2021: Hamilton, Patrick, The Slaves of Solutude (1947, England)

25-December-2021: Eliot, George, Middlemarch (1872, England)

28-December-2021: Friedman, Sanford, Conversations with Beethoven (2014, USA)

31-December-2021: Undset, Sigrid, Olav Audunssøn, Vol 2: Providence (1925, Norway)

[ciceroprofacto]

Baron von Steuben Timeline

(Prussian military service)

From “The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army” ~ by Paul Lockhart

Born September 17, 1730 to a typical Prussian military family of the Junker class. His grandfather was a reformed preacher and grandmother a countess. Not a wealthy family despite noble claim.

1731, before Steuben 1-yr old, the King sent his father to Russia with a small group of officers to help tsarina Anna rebuild her army. The family accompanied the Russian army on a campaign against the Turks- his father earned a citation for bravery in the War of the Polish Succession 1733-1738

During time in Russia, Steuben lost both grandparents, moved from Cronstadt to St Petersburg to the Livonian port of Riga, lived in harsh climates, and lost five siblings.

1739 Father recalled to Prussia, a year later, Frederick the Great succeeded to the throne after his father’s death.

1740-1742, the First Silesian War opened the war of Austrian Succession (1740-48). Steuben’s father was awarded the Pour le merite or “Blue Max” for his role in the Siege of Neisse in 1741 and promoted to the rank of major at age 43- pretty young

Steuben studied with Jesuit priests during this time- very little schooling in the basics.

1744 Frederick the Great renewed the struggle with Maria Theresa and barged through Saxony into Habsburg Bohemia- starting the Second Silesian War.

Steuben came with his father to shadow his military career- watched him work as an engineer. But, such a thing required high education and could only allow someone to rise so far in a ‘technical’ field such as engineering and artillery- the real glory was in the infantry.

1746 Steuben 16 yrs old when he joins the Infantry Regiment von Lestwitz Regiment 31, in the Breslau garrison. He had to serve in the ranks before he could earn a commission- serve as an officer cadet. Eventually gained commission as an ensign.

Steuben sees Fredrick the Great leading a daily drill, wearing his plain black hat and unadorned regimental coat. Officers could not shirk the duty of training soldiers under their command. High-ranking officers would conduct drills themselves, even at the battalion level. The Prussian army came the closest to teaching officers leadership of any army of the era.

Steuben spends his free time as a junior teaching himself French and arithmetic, the language of the Prussian king and his court. Though his own french always remained workmanlike and inelegant. He spends his time reading and going to plays rather than joining in comical misadventures with prostitutes and tavern keepers. His favorite book was Don Quixote.

1754 Steuben’s company was detailed to dig trenches through an actively used cemetary outside the city walls of Breslau- oppressive heat and disease.

The Seven Years’ War (1756-63) Maria Theresa of Austria, fearful that Frederick the Great had become a loose cannon whose existence threatened the delicate balance of power in Europe, aimed at defeat, humiliation, and dismemberment of Prussia.

Frederick hoped to knock Austria out of the war before France and Russia could come to its aide, pushed more than a hundred thousand troops from Saxony into Austrian-held Bohemia. Austria fell back on Prague where Steuben was part of the initial assault on the Austrian center- the same fields where he’d coincidentally seen his father at work nearly thirteen years before. The prussians lost more than 20 percent of their troop strength. Steuben’s company lost 50 percent. Steuben was injured.

1757, at the battle of Leuthen (Steuben wasn’t there), the King’s army of thirty-five thousand men outmaneuvered, outflanked, and crushed a well-fortified Austrian army three times its size.

After Prague, Steuben volunteered to command a Free Battalion (Freibataillone) which was a light infantry unit used for scouting, reconnaissance, and raiding, notorious for riotous behavior and difficulty to command.

November 5, 1757, Steuben and his Freibataillone marched with Frederick almost two-hundred miles in less than two weeks to confront an allied force of French troops and Imperial levies (Reichsarmee), with a numerical advantage two to one. They met at Rossbach, and Frederick conducted a quick line of battle and caught the allied force in a crossfire which Frederick’s rear guard- including Steuben’s battalion mopped up. The Prussians suffered fewer than five-hundred casualties altogether while the Franco-Imperial army lost five-thousand killed or wounded- and nearly as many taken prisoner.

1759, General J.D. von Hülsen selected lieutenant Steuben to serve on his staff as a Brigade-Offizier in the army of Frederick’s brother, Prince Henry, a sign Steuben had attracted the attention of Senior commanders.

July 23, 1759 Battle of Kay, and August 12, 1759 Battle of Kunersdorf, Prussians severely weakened from heavy losses of fighting three major armies and three years of constant campaigning, Austro-Russian armies mauled them. Kunersdorf nearly resulted in the destruction of the main Prussian army and the capture of King Frederick, and the loss of Berlin. Steuben and Frederick were both wounded.

November 1759, Steuben promoted to first lieutenant

Two more battles with von Hülsen, Liegnitz, on August 15, 1760, and Torgau on November 3, 1760

May 1761, Steuben’s been noticed by Frederick’s brother, Prince Henry who was “always on the lookout for new talent- especially, it was rumored, if that talent came in the form of a handsome young officer”. Steuben transferred off the Lestwitz regiment to the “Royal Suite”, the king’s personal headquarters, and given temporary duty as Quartiermeister-Lieutenant where he would assist King Frederick and his staff with intelligence and strategic planning.

Summer of 1761, losses in the rank and file could be made from intensive recruiting but Frederick needed officers to make up for losses over the last three years. Steuben quickly reassigned to the staff of General J. von Platen, commanding the Prussian forces fighting against the Russians in the northeastern theater where Platen’s army surrendered to superior Russian forces at Treptow in October 1761.

Winter 1761, as a Prisoner of War, Steuben befriends Karl Peter Ulrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, heir to the throne of Russia. Not a likable man, but with an affinity for all things Prussian

January 1762, when the duke’s aunt, Tsarina Elisabeth died without an heir, Steuben wrote to Frederick’s foreign minister that Ulrich, now Tsar Peter III was eager to discuss peace terms with his personal idol, the Prussian king.

May 1762, Frederick had signed a peace treaty with Russia, and Peter pulled his troops out of Prussia, so Frederick’s most dangerous enemy was out of the war for good, and Austria and France could not keep up their war without Russia for much longer. Prussia was saved.

With peace made, King Frederick needed to make up for the loss of so many talented generals, and created a rudimentary staff school the “Special Class on the Art of War” (Spezialklasse der Kreigskunst)- an intensive course in generalship for thirteen students that he would teach himself. At thirty-one, Steuben had recently been promoted to Captain, and was the youngest of the students.

Sometime in 1762, Steuben ran afoul of a classmate and earned the rancor of an implacable enemy- likely General Wilhelmi von Anhalt, a jealous, brutal, and vindictive misanthrope who stood high in the king’s favor. He had earned a reputation for wrecking careers of officers he disliked, and Steuben’s fall from grace was immediate.

By February 1763, Steuben had finished the staff school and was immediately demote to a company command in the Infantry Regiment von Salmuth No. 48, stationed at Wesel, on the far western edge of the kingdom, a humble post at a mediocre regiment.

A couple months later he was dismissed from service entirely, resided for awhile in Berlin then left Prussia sometime before the end of 1763.

Autumn of 1764, he took the post of court chamberlain to the sovereign prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen

[historybehindassassinscreed]

In Game:

Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie was the Governor of Louisiana prior to the Louisiana Rebellion. Living in a luxurious estate in New Orleans, he served in this position from 1763 until his death in 1765.

Captured by the British forces in 1746 and held as a prisoner of war, he was freed in 1748, following the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, with the help of the Templar Charles Gabriel Sivert. Sivert arranged for d'Abbadie to attain a position in the naval bureaucracy, as he needed eyes and ears there. D'Abbadie was not informed about the cause he was serving, as Sivert believed him to be "deeply stupid", but obeyed, with his position and prominence increasing as a result.

D'Abbadie was made Governor of Louisiana in 1763, following the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau, in which France ceded the territory of Louisiana to Spain, and the Treaty of Paris. He was then sent to New Orleans to systematically dismantle the French garrison and prepare the territory for handover to Templar plants within the Spanish government.

In actuality, d'Abbadie desired to keep the colony French, leading him to make a deal with Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer. They agreed that d'Abbadie would remain in power as governor of New Orleans, provided he supervised the handover of the colony to the Templars and supplied de Ferrer with slaves and vagrants for an operation in Mexico. The two men worked out the details of their arrangement at a social soirée, held at d'Abbadie's mansion in 1765.

However, this meeting was eavesdropped upon by the Assassin, Aveline de Grandpré, who had found out about de Ferrer's activities in New Orleans. With the conversation finished and de Ferrer having gone to enjoy the party, d'Abbadie was left alone in his office, where he was attacked by Aveline. Despite calling on his guards, the governor proved to be no match for the Assassin, who fatally wounded him with a musket. Fellow Templar Antonio de Ulloa would replace d'Abbadie as governor in 1766.

In Real Life:

Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie was born in Château d'Audaux near Navarrenx, France in 1726. d'Abbadie was educated at College d'Harcourt in Paris, from which he graduated in 1742 at age sixteen.

He entered the royal service as a clerk in the lumber-receiving department of the Rochefort naval yard. During the next two years he worked as a scribe in the comptroller's office and clerk in the naval repair shop. In 1745-46 Jean-Jacques served aboard a French man-of-war in the Antilles and in Canadian waters. 

Captured by English forces in 1746, he was held as a prisoner of war until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle set him free, whereupon he returned to working in the French naval bureaucracy. He was promoted to chief clerk of the artillery department in 1751 and to commissary-general in 1757 (at approximately 31 years of age).

Commissioned ordonnateur (administrative chief and first judge of the colonial tribunal) of Louisiana on December 29th, 1761, d'Abbadie was ordered by the French crown to improve relations between the colony's feuding religious orders, the Capuchins and Jesuits, and to efficiently administer the colony's financial, police and judicial affairs. Shortly after departing Bordeaux, his ship was captured by English warships. He was again held as a prisoner of war, this time for three months. Following his release in Barbados, d'Abbadie returned to France.

(Image source)

In February 1763, Jean-Jacques d'Abbadie was commissioned director-general of Louisiana (New France), a position formed by consolidating the former governor and ordonnateur roles. He was charged with the responsibility of dismantling the French garrison and preparing the colony for occupation by English and Spanish forces, pursuant to the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Departing Rochefort in March 1763, d'Abbadie arrived at the Mississippi River's mouth on June 21st. In July, he prepared for the transfer of the Angoumois Regiment to Saint-Domingue. He traveled to Mobile to assist British forces in assuming control in West Florida and to supervise the transfer of the region's French soldiers to French-held territory.

His remaining tenure in office was devoted to reconciling English colonists and hostile Indians, preventing France from being drawn into Pontiac's uprising, and in maintaining a skeleton force in Louisiana long after Spanish forces were expected to arrive, despite a lack of support from France. D'Abbadie was criticized by New Orleans merchants for favoring the Laclède-Chouteau interests with exclusive Indian trading privileges in Upper Louisiana.

Jean-Jacques d'Abbadie died in New Orleans on February 4th, 1765 from a panic attack. He was buried in the St. Louis Cathedral, in New Orleans' French Quarter. He was the only French colonial governor to die in the colony. There is a street in the city named for him, although it's a slight misspelling: D'Abadie Street.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Blaise_d%27Abbadie

http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/jean-jacques-blaise-dabbadie

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101803569

[asfaltics]

broken, disjoint d, and mix’d

  keepe not ilence, and give him no rest       1 ilence can afford.       2 ilence des autres       3

entered upon, ilence and allay       4 Ilence it is that :he broken, disjoint d, and mix’d       5 hints ilence, and seems to rebuke Nature       6

on both sides of the road, and waited with profound ilence.       7 In ilence listen’d to the rival strains,       8 always the same... ilence. A lively emblem this       9

ilence diffire, Dis’silence, dissilire, L. a leaping down from off a Place, or from one Place to another; a leaping asunder.       10 ilence, you winds       11 No rest, nor ilence, charm the lover’s mind.       12

quality. ilence quality, and a subsistence in conjunction with it, and both these. ilence matter. ilence things. ilence This therefore is the apparent self-moved. ilence the other. ilence he will know every thing which the universe contained, and of which he is the cause.       13 in ilence the worst       14 and the designs of Provi- dence, ilence,       15

by the agitation of the wind, or other causes. ilence it happens than of any other whatever. ilence of a common. ilence they are their effects upon the soil. ilence it is       16 young animals. ilence it is obviously       17 ilence the poet adds ilence to skynk, to pour out liquor of any kind for drinking ilence, to stack, sow, anything in a state of disorder, as, a ravelled sow, something that cannot be easily extricated...       18

those now practiced. ilence we find       19 in time, ilence       20 ilence it appears, that such as have their meridian ilence wergeld was used for the value of a man slain, and orsgeld, of a beast.       21

ilence, struck this anxious unlucky wight a blow on the head       22 ilence it may be known, that the spirits and genii attendant on man are nothing else but lead. ilence again from truths. ilence it may be manifest       23 and so on. ilence were introduced the several trades       24

taken down. ilence erenced. ilence       25 ilence, it is easy,       26 ilence, it must be       27

ilence many of them, when thrown into its solution ilence to heal the sore the matter must be destroyed       28 ilence it is a principle innate       29 she broke «ilence, to speak of religion alone       30

ilence we feel but little       31 ilence the proper measure, or distance, of two places       32 of sensible harmony. ilence numbers the fingers. ilence is alone mortal. ilence that of daemons. ilence too For difference is more abundant in partial souls. ilence in these, one of the horses is good, but the other bad; and consists of contraries, ilence it follows ilence night and the fabrication of things. ilence according to the uninclining, and the uneffeminate       33

ilence. But, upon the whole       34 ilence the commendable deserts       35 ilence. Perhaps the question       36

was opened in ilence for their admission. This room was equally enveloped in darkness;       37 ilence, I have never expressed a wish       38 ’mid the starry solitudes of night, Where ilence       39

to repeat what he had said. ilence being       40 any idea of ilence more       41 and so of other instances. ilence the       42

nerve. ilence, motion of the iris is not an infallible criterion       43 ilence, the safety of the first is usually       44 devoted to them. ilence from the axis. ilence the impressions. ilence the eye ilence, by       45

ilence is known to keep ilence before ilence that therein       46 ilence they demand a thousand . fortuitous events. ilence their existence is very precarious       47 ilence, Where? ilence.—Read       48

ilence. for some time, while the drawing upon       49 seven. ilence dare. ilence utensil. ilence moon. ilence 想 siang. To Think; to consider. To hope; to plan. To call to mind. From 相 siang, mutual. ilence 箱 siang, a box. a few. ilence billions. ilence easy. ilence       50 ilence. many       51

ilence, the total excess       52 cyclical. ilence again symbols unchanged. ilence, in any case       53 labour. ilence the magic of ilence their relations ilence the riddle       54

ilence the given half-line ilence for 0 ilence θ       55 ilence there raigning ilence, continued among ilence, being       56 ilence the necessity of methods and results. ilence don’t neglect ilence he cannot afford to waste anything that he produces.       57  

sources being OCR misreads of hence, silence, prudence, existence, dissilience, providence, &c.

1 ex “The Protestation of the Noblemen, Barons, Gentlemen, Borrowes, Ministers, and Commons, the 22. of September 1638” in Walter Balcanquhall, A Large Declaration Concerning the Late Tumults in Scotland, from their first originals : together with a particular deduction of the seditious practices of the prime Leaders of the Covenanters: Collected out of their owne foule Acts and Writings: By which it doth plainly appeare, that Religion was onely pretended by those Leaders, but nothing less intended by them. By the King. (1639) : 160 2 ex John Mennes (1599-1671 *), his Witt’s Recreations refined Augmented with ingenious conceites, for the wittie, and merrie medicines for the melancholie. [See the next Page.] Recreation for Ingenious Head-peeces. Or, A pleasant grove for their wits to walk in, of Epigrams, 700. Epitaphs, 200. Fancies, a number. Fantasticks, abundance. With their addition, multiplication, and division. (London, 1650) : here 3 ex “Clarinde a Tancrede” in Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701 *), La Gloire du Sexe, Les Femmes Illustres, ou les harangues heroïques (1654) : 196 4 ex A Brief Account of the life of the Reverend Mr. Jown Rawlet, Author of the Christian Monitor. Together, with a valuable remain of his, never before printed, viz. his Consolatory Letter to his Mother, written on occasion of his apprehension of dying by the Great Plague, 1665. (1728) : 23 5 “The broken disjointed metaphor is a fault in writing,” from (Alexander Pope’s (?) note #7, to Love’s Labour’s Lost, act [5] scene 7 [in this edition, anyway]), in The Works of Shakespear (1747) : 235 6 ex “Figures on the Plate, in honour of Homer, explained” in The Gentleman’s Magazine Vol. 19 (March 1749) : 121 7 ex Sale et al, An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time. Compiled from Original Writers. By the Authors of the Antient Part Vol. 6 (1759) : 161 8 ex Daphnis and Menalcas: A Pastoral. 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Comprehending an interesting and valuable assemblage of entertaining articles in every branch of human knowledge, viz. historical and biographical sketches, curious anecdotes; scarce and valuable pieces of antiquity; descriptions of remarkable public buildings; singular customs and manners of the inhabitants of various places and nations of the globe, &c. &c. / Containing the essence of long, curious, and expensive works of the best modern authors and writers of the present age. Forming an elegant Common-Place Book of useful knowledge. (London, 1810) : 42 23 all on The Book of Genesis, ex Arcana Coelestia; or Heavenly Mysteries contained in The Sacred Scriptures, or Word of the Lord, manifested and laid open; beginning with The Book of Genesis. Interspersed with relations of wonderful things seen in the world of spirits and the heaven of angels. Now first translated from the original Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. By a society of gentlemen. Vol. 8, Second edition. 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