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The history books have much to reveal about the last 400 years. |
ESPECIALLY FOR Virgini-
Four hundred years, to be exact, since the founding of Jamestown.
I thought it might be fun to see some chronicle of events in 100-year increments, so I went to the library the other day and checked out a few history books.
It's been said that our past is destined to repeat itself, if we don't study and learn from it. That may be true, or perhaps not. Still, I don't have a real good feeling after looking through some of those texts to see how our human race has fared over the years.
It seems to me, we sometimes just can't get along.
OK, let's start with 1607. A group of craftsmen and gentlemen lands in the New World to establish the first permanent English colony. The place they finally settle on is called "Jamestown" in honor of the ruling English monarch, King James. These people quickly build a fort, for the previous indigenous folks of the area, Algonquian tribe American Indians, aren't exactly keen on the idea of sharing their land and resources with the newly arrived English. Times are tough for our European ancestors, and these English settlers are seriously thinking about abandoning their New World toehold, when a supply ship from the motherland finally arrives, in just the nick of time, to bolster their spirits and reinforce the provisions.
Up to the north, another group of English sail into the Kennebec River in Maine to form a different settlement. They fail, and later return to England. Back in Europe, Protestants and Catholics are hardly sharing their toys and playing nice together. The aristocracy in Ireland flee, for they don't like the overall political climate. As for war news, the Dutch destroy the Spanish in the Battle of Gibraltar. In science, a gentleman named Johannes Kepler plots the path of a visible comet. About 100 years later, Edmond Halley predicts its exact return, and that bright comet seen in 1607 is permanently named Halley.
1707--Here in America, Delaware has just separated from Pennsylvania, and North and South Carolina are about to become full-fledged colonies. Anne is Queen of England but the big political news of the day is the kingdoms of England and Scotland joining together to form the single Kingdom of Great Britain.
For some reason I don't understand, here in the New World that act leads to easier colonization around the Caribbean. In fact, some areas down there are already pretty famous. A place called Port Royal on the island of Jamaica had just suffered a terrible earthquake, and lost more than half its land territory to the sea.
But, in the early 1700s, there are plenty of pirates, buccaneers and prostitutes still hanging around. These people were actually proud of having one drinking house for every 10 permanent residents.
In religious gossip, bribery was fast converting Jews to Christianity when persecution didn't work anymore. As for musical notes, Johann Sebastian Bach was hitting his prime and his famous "Prelude and Fugue" was penned in 1707. Mount Fuji in Japan erupted.
1807--Thomas Jefferson is the third president of these 17 United States--after Ohio joins the union in 1803 while George III is ruling Great Britain. Napoleon attacks Russia, and he actually wins a few battles. Aaron Burr is tried for treason and acquitted.
You might remember Mr. Burr. He is the only vice president of these United States, besides Dick Cheney, to shoot another man while in office. In fact, Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
To our credit, the importation of slaves is ruled illegal by Congress. To our condemnation, slavery still exists in the United States and children of slaves may be sold as nothing more than common property. The British attack Buenos Aires and firebomb Copenhagen with phosphorus rockets, killing 2,000 citizens.
Beethoven is at the top of the classical music charts. Up in New England, young girls often became "spinsters" or day workers in the horrible textile factories where children may labor 12 to 14 hours almost every day.
1907--Edward VII is the Brit in charge across the big pond, and Theodore Roosevelt is the 26th president of these 46 United States, with Oklahoma joining the union. We still await the arrival of New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii to properly place those 50 stars on our current flag. Maria Montessori opens her first day care center for working mothers. There is another earthquake in Jamaica that kills over 1,000 people. Luckily, many of the bars in Port Royal are spared. Taxi cabs in London now sport meters to gauge fares.
In April, the magazine Good Housekeeping is published with the words, "One Dollar a Year" under the title for subscription services. Baden-Powell takes the Boy Scouts on their first campout. The French warship Jean Bart is sunk off the coast of Morocco and somebody steals the Irish crown jewels.
2007--Who knows what's going to happen? For sure, America is at war with terrorism, and already over 3,000 of our men and women have been killed in Iraq. "Global warming" is the catch phrase of the day, with many scientists warning that Mother Earth is about to heat up and drastically alter the world's weather patterns. We are still dependent on oil, and Paris Hilton continues to get ink in our nation's newspapers.
Let's now look ahead:
2107--Canada declares war on everyone trying to tap into its natural resources. Because of progressive global warming, the rich soils of Ontario and Saskatchewan have become the world's true breadbasket--much like the Midwest of the United States once was before cactus and desert grass took over that landscape.
In political news, U.S. President Juan Ortiz says that English can still be spoken by some minorities, but Spanish will be maintained as the official American language. Dick Clark and Bob Barker are named to co-host the 2108 New Year's Eve celebration.
JIM KUNDRESKAS of Louisa County near Lake Anna has been an outdoors writer for more than 20 years. Contact him at
Email: Zbasser@aol.com.
