#c: james fitzjames

[i-am-countess-olivia]

"...at which point Dr Stanley quite simply slips in the implant and voila."

[horsemotifs]

[hms-melodrama]

Been out with a migraine today. Started feeling a bit better and wanted something quiet, calming, and familiar on.

What better choice than the audiobook for the Terror, where I can be soothed by the voices of Francis Fucking Rawdon Moira Crozier and Sir John's lisping pet poodle, James Fitzjames?

A Terror au if ever there was one.

[ishmaelsail]

Bridgens: “There will be poems.”

Me:

[deerest-deer]

The Terror S1 Ep. 9 // Yellowjackets S2 Ep. 8 // "Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)" by 1017 ALYX 9SM & Ethel Cain // "Strangers" by Ethel Cain

[furious-heart-collector]

Rip Captain James Fitzjames you would have loved vitamin C tablets

[charonean]

The fact that I've probably overdosed on vitamin C today versus the fact that I really want to make a screwdriver. Fight!

[glorioustidalwavedefendor]

yeah im fine i'll be back to serving cunt in a second *collapses*

[valtsv]

james fitzjames and the vanity of self-loathing

maria heim the conceit of self-loathing // dave kajganich the terror episode 1x01: "go for broke" // charlotte brontë jane eyre // josh parkinson & dave kajganich the terror episode 1x05: "first shot a winner, lads" (transcribed by @nigesakis) // bad books forest whitaker // dave kajganich the terror episode 1x08: "terror camp clear" // susanne rivecca ugly, bitter and true // fyodor dostoevsky crime and punishment // soo hugh & dave kajganich the terror episode 1x09: "the c, the c, the open c" // maria heim the conceit of self-loathing

[goldenzingy46]

my favourite bit is holding anything that contains any vitamin c and going "if james fitzjames had this he would STILL BE ALIVE TODAY"

[hmstartnell]

Some Franklin Expedition things at the Maritime Museum!!

Terror and Erebus emblems (Erebus’ is actually really cool but I have no idea what Terror’s is. My dad says it looks like an angry monkey which is fair tbh)

The cup awarded to Fitzjames after jumping into the River Mersey to save James Dickinson from drowning

Some artifacts discovered by the rescue ships searching for the lost explorers (I managed to get the info boards in bc there was no way I would remember what all of these are)

A bust of Sir John Franklin from c.1898

A spoon, fork, something I can’t remember (no.5) and medicine chest belonging to Alexander McDonald

THE MYSTERY MEAT!!

And finally, my favourite and the one that nearly made me cry when I saw it…

THE VICTORY POINT NOTE 🥹

[horsemotifs]

This scene so sad... could not stop thinking about @pikslasrce 's post and needed to see it in action.

[pomodoriyum]

James Fitzjames and the Island of Bird Shit: historical connections/references in AMC's the Terror, and what that might say about JFJ's character

finally had time to write this up; below the cut is a brief introductory discussion of historical happenings re: guano trade. by no means am i a historian or an expert, but its a topic that's highly important to me especially when trying to understand a character like james fitzjames. Just a head's up-- it's pretty damning, and continues to add layers to his character, especially what his arc has to say about imperialism.

So let's begin-- key here will be the phrase:

First, a few sources that serve as a good introduction to the topic. Below, I've bullet-pointed the most important aspects of the articles (at least, as they relate to this meta).

Key points/areas:

WTF is guano: it is poop. "Guano islands" are small islands that are inhabited by bats & birds, esp. for breeding, and are mostly found off the coast of Peru. they are (or were) giant piles of poop. literally the size of mountains. Andean people harvested guano from these islands for a long time-- at least 1,500 to 5,000 years before colonization.

The guano age (1802-1884): note that the 'discovery' of guano by westerners happened sometime in the 1500s, and that its popularity as a fertilizer (and material for gunpowder) didn't hit until the 1800s (and 1870's for the gunpowder?). this caused a farming boom across the united states and europe, and a massive demand to extract it via mining. this extraction was done in the most evil and foul way possible, of course, because of capitalism, racism, and colonial imperialism.

Guano was such a powerful trading tool and moneymaker that the USA (and other countries too, I think) passed laws that encouraged citizens to claim any guano island they came across (hypothetically, these islands had to be 'unclaimed' by other governments, but, y'know how those things tend to go & who the USA deigns to recognize as a government). I believe that the USA still claims ownership of at least 10 islands (many in dispute), and the Guano Act also ensured that it was 'legal' for the USA to hold lands without declaring them as part of the USA, all while taking resources, enacting &enforcing laws, allowing the US military to operate on these places-- without the benefits of statehood & representation for the people who live there. This was the act that created an excuse for continued colonialism and theft, all in the name of money & literal shit. (no hate to the birds & their poop, though! I <3 ecology). also fuck the supreme court they were the ones that really solidified this into law with the case Jones V United States (1890), which was about a labor revolt where the workers (black) killed their overseers (white). they added bricks to the foundation of USA as Empire

Imperialism & colonialism, displacement & colonialism, Slavery-- all of these were things that happened in lockstep with the guano trade. It was horrible. Details about it can be found in 1493 by Charles C Mann

Working Conditions, slavery, exploitation of chinese immigrants & hawaiians, exploitation of black american immigrants-- almost all of these people were tricked into signing false job contracts, then kidnapped and brought to the islands by force where they would endure unimaginable working conditions until they were worked literally to death. please recall the context of the opium wars, as well (1839-1860), which happened during the same time frame, and which JFJ participated in.

Ecological importance & links to unsustainable farming practices that are causing climate crises / pollution / loss of topsoil (beginnings of over-reliance of fertilizers, which stress soils and cause microbial problems when misused-- which is all the damn time, because massive monoculture capitalistic farms don't care (and frequently the farmers themselves can't afford to care due to bottlenecks in the packing market!) about maintaining their soil. that's a whole other can of worms though and is worthy of another post.) nothing to do with JFJ tho. Important to note that the ecology of these islands has been destroyed for mining, like almost every known mine industry in history. extraction has a really, really high cost, and that cost is foisted onto the people who are being exploited by richer nations. please remember that this pattern still happens today, and that the overconsumption and lavish lifestyles of the global north are directly to blame for the climate crisis that's causing untold misery in the global south. <- this part isnt in the articles, btw, and if you want a more thorough discussion on this i'm happy to recommend some places to start. i fucking hate US empire and the 'conveniences' of consumerism. ouuughhhh mad now. if youre in the global north please stop ordering packages from amazon and fight for public transportation near you. im begging. like obvs theres much to be done but those things are simple and easy places to start. unhook yourself from the 'joy' of 'purchase'. p l e a s e. p l e a s e. OK. back 2 post

Historical connections to the irish potato famine (the andean potato blight hitched a ride to britain in a shipment of guano, kickstarting the famine [which was then intentionally exacerbated by the english])-- how does this impact JFJ's relationship with Francis?

It's important to note that these mines are still active, though the labor conditions have improved since their inception (i havent done much research into the labor conditions currently, so keep in mind that 'improved' might not actually mean that the quality of worklife for miners is acceptable or humane!). I think Peru is the place with the most well known guano industry, and it's still one of their exports.

TLDR: 1. guano became popular as a fertilizer in the USA/europe. 2. this caused massive demand for guano mining and mine expansion, including voracious demand for workers. 3. slaves, prisoners, and immigrants were all forced to work in horrible conditions mostly to death to fill ships with mountains of unprocessed shit. 4. This guano also was a vector for the potato blight which started the Irish Potato Famine. 5. i love birds & bats and im so fucking mad that guano was used to create bad farming practices that destroys our soil

If you'd like to read a more detailed discussion of the guano trade and its impact on people, I strongly recommend checking out 1493 by Charles C. Mann -- very user friendly and good for people who don't enjoy super dry history (like me). i'm sure theres other great resources about this as well.

Okay, so now that's out of the way. You too, reader, have at least some idea of the broad horrors of the guano trade. So what's that to do with Mr. James Fitzjames?

Let's take a look at this picture again. I think it says all we need:

most importantly, this line specifically links James Fitzjames to an island covered in bird shit. this is absolutely a reference to the guano trade, which occurred beforehand and in parallel to the franklin expedition.

the next question is: in what way is JFJ linked to the guano trade? was he an overseer there? was he 'just passing by?' Did he act as part of a military enforcing terrible labor conditions? We don't really know and can't say anything conclusively as far as show!JFJ, but the implications are not great.

obviously crozier bringing this up serves to shut the conversation down. nobody likes that he makes this comment; it's reminding them of something distasteful. jfj never expands on this point about 'birdshit island'-- honestly, i suspect it's something he's got a great deal of negative feelings about. i'd read it as guilt, but im not a great person to ask because i have a really hard time being objective about JFJ (he's one of the people from the show that I'd most like to hit with a car)

Please note that one of the populations of folks being kidnapped and worked to death were Chinese people. taken in the context of the rest of that conversation, where JFJ brags and laughs about setting chinese people on fire , it's uh-- well, it really, really emphasizes just how much harm JFJ does to chinese people specifically. And sure, we don't have confirmation about what exactly he was doing on 'birdshit island'-- but if it's something he's bragged about before / told stories about before, I don;t think it was anything good, considering what he enjoys telling stories about. especially since the Navy is used to enforce authority on people and as a tool of oppression.

Fascinating to note that the trade of guano is intricately linked to the irish potato famines, as the guano both enabled the monoculture farming practice and acted as the vector from which the potato blight spread. Francis is Irish!! this is just such an interesting detail!!!

In conclusion, there's nothing really definitive that we can say about what exactly JFJ was doing at the islands-- except that it probably wasn't a good thing. i do think we can safely read that he was involved in the industry somehow, which is pretty fucking damning in terms of his own ethics (or lack thereof) and how much he embraced english imperialism. it's one of those tiny details that has so much to say when you peel the layers back, and i wanted to bring some attention to it, because i haven't seen anyone talking about this before.

also, i *just* noticed this, but slipping the word capital in there is so so fucking slick. right on the money, we could say. three big cheers for the people who wrote and performed the Terror, because holy shit is it so good

EDIT: there's some additional discussion in the replies section of this post that's critical-- it seems like JFJ was (peripherally?) involved in the guano trade in Africa, *not* Peru, which changes things forsure. bird shit island how you intrigue me....

[moongazeonastarfillednight]

Thinking about James Fitzjames sharing with Elizabeth C. the letters he received from these little girls to show off their penmanships and express how much it touched him to receive them 🥺

And little Fanny be all: "Frostbitten toes be upon thee!"

God, children are magical and that's the most precious thing I've ever read.

[deerest-deer]

nooo there will be poems scene !! oo i'm never recovering from this i fear </3

[jeyneofpoole]

hello ro jeyneofpoole boatgirl. The fitzjames news has rocked my world and rotted my brain because I love a historical mystery solved. As a AMC terror and a real life terror fan, what texts would you recommend to someone who just watched amc terror and now wants to read the research on the real thing

i love love love when i get this question ok. if your first exposure to the franklin expedition was the terror i think your best jumping-off point is michael palin’s erebus: the story of a ship. yes he’s the guy from monty python, no he’s not a professional historian, but it’s entertaining and well-researched and a great way to familiarize yourself with the general concepts that other more elaborate texts will touch on. then you just GOTTA read dr. owen beattie’s frozen in time, it’s one of the most iconic pieces of franklin literature and the descriptions of the beechey exhumations are so near and dear to me. some of the lead stuff is on shaky legs now, but this book was revolutionary for the longest time. then there’s may we be spared to meet on earth edited by russell a. potter et. al., which is a collection of letters to and from members of the franklin expedition. after you’ve read the others listed here you’ll be crazy enough to cry over this one.

a more niche read that i just finished was david murphy’s arctic fox, which is a biography of leopold mcclintock and his arctic career. it’s super compelling and mcclintock lived a very interesting life and seemed like a pretty okay guy especially for the time; murphy does a really good job and i don’t see this one recommended at all but it’s actually good. there are some minor issues with some little details surrounding, like, the peglar papers, for example, but that’s what the other books are for. honorable mentions include (ie they’re on my shelf staring me down) ice ghosts by paul watson, unraveling the franklin mystery: inuit testimony by david c. woodman, the man who ate his boots by anthony brandt, james fitzjames: the mystery man of the franklin expedition by william battersby, and icebound in the arctic by michael smith. but do NOT and i mean do NOT under any circumstances read dan simmons’ absolute drivel that novel isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. just watch the show and read these. ok love you byeeeee