the-history-apprentice

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Happy New Year!

Hi all!

It has been a while since I posted in this space. It has been a tumultuous 2 years as all of us have gone through unprecedented events in our lives - the COVID19 pandemic.

We have read about pandemics and plagues in history books. We all thought that it's a thing of the past - most famous among them is the Bubonic Plague which ravaged through the Medieval times (and most likely have been ravaging the planet since the first millennium BCE) and brought about massive changes to the lives and societies across the planet.

Now we are entering the 3rd year of the COVID19 pandemic and we are seeing massive changes - from the way our economy runs to the Great Resignation (some people coin it as the Pandemic Epiphany because the lockdowns gave us the opportunity to rethink our lives and the way we have spent it in the years before).

I know that the times have been difficult for us. We have our own share of grief, helplessness, anxiety, battles for our mental well-being etc. I do hope that all of you are doing your best to look after yourselves. I consider pandemics as some sort of marathon (pessimistically) because it will take years to settle things down and some of the things that we used to know might never go back to what we considered as "normal".

Anyway, I still do wish all the best for all of you. I am looking forward to be more active in this space - writing, reading, and learning. Please do check me out on Twitter as well.

Thank you for reading and happy new year!

Cheers,

The History Apprentice

[the-history-apprentice]

How to introduce yourself in Sumerian - a video on Sumerian language.

Sumerian language is considered dead by some people but it is still being studied and spoken a handful of scholars and enthusiasts. The video might be old but it contains helpful basic Sumerian greetings and introductions.

Enjoy!

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An interesting and interactive article about the Fayyum mummies.

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Guns, Gold, God  

There is nothing to celebrate about a profiteer who sailed halfway across the globe to find a place they could gain profits (in this case, spices) under the guise of Christianity. Circumnavigation happened to be a result but not planned. Discovery of the islands is not really discovery but scouting for potential land grabbing opportunities which is typical of the European colonialists of those times. 

Colonization is not for the emancipation of the natives but rather to stamp out their cultural identities. Colonization meant slavery - economic, historically and psychologically. Sure, the Philippines was put on the map because of circumnavigation but it was made vulnerable to the colonial interests of the Europeans. This even meant carving the world in half, thanks to Rodrigo Borgia's (Pope Alexander VI) precursor ideas that led to Treaty of Zaragoza and Tordesillas. Slavery went deep into the native's consciousness. 

Yes, with the addition of another colony for empire building comes gold and glory but at the expense of innocent lives of people living peacefully in the islands. The effects of this event is still felt up until now - with racial discrimination, colonial mentality and imperial / national exceptionalism. So there is nothing to celebrate really about the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation. Only painful lessons to be learned and colonial habits to be unlearned. 

Photo credits here.

[the-history-apprentice]

10 years ago, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

Zen Buddhist monk Munekan Ohara chanting sutras of requiescats in the tsunami stricken area of Motoyoshi-cho, Kesennuma city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, April 2011.

Photo by Munesuke Yamamoto

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A group of Samurai led by Ikeda Nagaoki during their pit stop in Egypt, 1864. 

Photo by Antonio Beato.

For more context on this photo:

Interesting AF Reddit

Double Yolk’s YT video about this photo

[the-history-apprentice]

Something to admire on International Women's Day:

"Mestiza de Sangley (Chinese-Filipino woman)" - photograph by Francisco Van Camp ,1875

Colorized by Lone Sky

Source link: https://loneskyimages.blogspot.com/2017/11/colorization.html

Filipinas are not only known as fantastic home makers but they are also known as leaders, pioneers, poets, story-tellers, guerrillas etc. They have participated in different tumultuous times in our history - from the local uprisings, establishment of Katipunan as a national movement, defending our country during WW2 and building our country in the modern times. Women are one of the catalysts for social change, not only in the history of the Philippines but of the whole world.

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A great and light intro to Egyptian history. I blame Assassin’s Creed Origins for rekindling my fondness for Egypt. 

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#TodayInHistory

In 1607, San Agustin Church was completed. It's former name was Church of St. Paul of Manila (Iglesia de San Pablo de Manila). It is one of the Baroque churches in the Philippines. It has seen major events in our country's history ranging from earthquakes, fires (the first versions of the church were made from bamboo and nipa, hence, prone to fires), looting (the British forces who came to Manila during the Seven Years War with Spain looted the church in 1762) and eventually, the preparation of the terms of surrender of Manila to the United States of America, conducted by Gov. General Fermin Jaudenes on August 18, 1898.

Historical figures that were buried in the church were: Miguel Lopez de Legazpi - first Governor General of the Philippines 

Juan de Salcedo - Spanish conquistador and grandson of Legazpi

Guido de Lavezaris - 2nd Governor General of the Philippines and defeated Limahong, the Chinese pirate

Juan Luna - the world renowned Filipino painter who numerous paintings - Spoliarium, being his most famous masterpiece

The photo was from 1880, after the earthquake that damaged the church's bell tower.

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The folding process of origami Samurai Warrior

This is an absolutely magnificent skill. Wow.

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Otto von Bismarck, 1871 - colorized by Marina Amaral.

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Very interesting set of videos. 

Disclaimer: Colors and faces are not totally historically accurate (on some of them). Treat this videos as a mere representation of what life has been back then.

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Democracy is a precarious pendulum of some sort. Swing it on either sides, you will get the darkest sides of humanity. This is why, a system of balance and checks aid the growth of democracy in its best form.

The History Apprentice

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Enya's Orinoco Flow, but it's a Bardcore sea shanty

Here’s one to save our drowning souls today.

[the-history-apprentice]

In the know:

Younger Joe Biden in the 1960s.

Joe Biden is set to be the 46th president of the United States. He started his political career in 1970 as a member of the New Castle County Council (4th district).

Described as a moderate Democrat, he has notable political positions in favor of same sex marriage, reproductive rights, action on global warming, Police Officers' Bill of Rights, and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

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In the know:

The US elections 2020 has broken so many ceilings especially with Kamala Harris.

She is the first female, Asian-American and African-American vice president of the United States. Kamala comes from a diverse background - both Indian Tamil and Afro-Carribean ancestry. 

She is the second VP of non-European ancestry (Charles Curtis was the first - a native American of the Kaw nation in Kansas)

Her political career spans 16 years, starting as the District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004. She was also the Attorney General of California in 2011 and Senator in 2017.

She advocated for the following: healthcare reform, federal descheduling of cannabis, citizenship path for undocumented immigrants, DREAM act, assault weapons ban, and a progressive tax reform.

[the-history-apprentice]

Today in history:

On this day in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President of the United States. He was the only president to have served more than 2 terms; 12 years to be exact, from 1932 until his untimely death in 1945, a few years before the end of World War 2.

FDR gathered 472 electoral votes (22,821,277 popular votes) compared to the incumbent Herbert Hoover's 59 electoral vote (15, 761, 254 popular votes.