History thread

[chicoazul]

@Ashtonian takes an interest in history too. Good thread this.

 

[chrismpw]

Britain invented the concept of slavery? Well every days a school day.

No, not slavery. I painted a misleading picture. I imagine that that's been around since the first tribe V tribe battles. We perfected global raiding and trade of humans from where they existed as free people to where others, across the planet, wanted free labour. This wasn't as the result of long standing inter tribal conflict, this was purely so that wealthy wig wearers in London, could trade and collect themselves some money.

Also, the Romans, who had slaves, treated them respectfully and relatively kindly. We British chained them in cramped ships and took them on long voyages, that simply relied on the vast numbers of collected humans to negate any losses caused by disease, bad sanitation, lack of food, water etc. They were nothing other than meat and silver to us.

Utterly shamefull.

 

[tsubaki]

Also, the Romans, who had slaves, treated them respectfully and relatively kindly. We British chained them in cramped ships and took them on long voyages, that simply relied on the vast numbers of collected humans to negate any losses caused by disease, bad sanitation, lack of food, water etc. They were nothing other than meat and silver to us.

The Romans treated some slaves respectfully and kindly. They treated others so badly that there were a whole series of exceedingly bloody slave rebellions, especially in Sicily where the biggest plantations (to use a modern term for latifundia) were. Lets not also forget that they forced large numbers of them to kill each other for entertainment.

Also it should be pointed out that the death rate on the slave route was horrific, but then the death rate on contemporary naval expeditions (before the discovery of the reasons behind scurvy) could be as bad - on Anson's 1740-1744 circumnavigation for instance, of the more than 1800 who set out only 188 came back alive.

What Britain did in terms of the slave trade was so bad that no one word really describes it sufficiently, though it should not be forgotten that we are one of the very few nations (and the only one who was the most powerful state in the world at the time) to recognize its vileness - thanks largely to the abolitionist movement - and put a stop to it.

 

[GBH73]

Sounds like Philip was afraid he might like it

Philip did like it - was ultimately killed by his ex-lover (and bodyguard) Pausanias.

 

[degsy]

Britain invented the concept of slavery? Well every days a school day.

I seem to remember from my school days that the Brits had to kick out the Portuguese before they could take the business over.
Mind you, having done that they set about 'Industrialising' the process with a near Teutonic Efficiency, with much help from the locals, who knew a good thing from a profit/settling old new or imagined scores point, when they saw one
The Brits didn't enslave them themselves - their own people did that and then on-sold them to the Brits.

all in all nobody came out of it with much credit...producers, wholesalers or end users

But credit were credit ( however small ) is due, the Brits were one of, if not The first, to try to put a stop to it.

Slavery didn't end with Wilberforce, or Lincoln...ask your Russian or Chinese peasants in the early 20th century.

 

[Philw]

And here, dan shows the wonderful concept of irony!

In fact, Native Africans had been enslaving other Africans for generations, almost certainly longer than before whites landed on the continent. It was just that we saw the concept, and decided we could use it for our own ends. The native African slavers then supplied slaves for us to transport across the Atlantic, with Liverpool being one corner of the 'triangle'.

was slavery not around at the time of the romans and earlier when the brits ran around with woad and square wheels. the british government will be defending law suits going back to 966 bc at this rate. noah suffered flood damage. his family are still upset the poor chap

hi?

 

[Seathestars]

A few years ago I was in Alexandria, Egypt, when I first heard of the Pharos lighthouse, it was destroyed by an earthquake in BC.
So I Googled it and it looks magnificent, I read they've been given the planning permission to rebuild a replica, would be something else I imagine.

 

[Sapie88]

A few years ago I was in Alexandria, Egypt, when I first heard of the Pharos lighthouse, it was destroyed by an earthquake in BC.
So I Googled it and it looks magnificent, I read they've been given the planning permission to rebuild a replica, would be something else I imagine.

Pharos of Alexandra, named after the son of Philip II of Macedonia, the very man who had the Sacred Band of Thebes destroyed, then cried about it. He also had one eye.

 

[Seathestars]

Pharos of Alexandra, named after the son of Philip II of Macedonia, the very man who had the Sacred Band of Thebes destroyed, then cried about it. He also had one eye.

WOW, I'm impressed. I'd honestly never heard of it before until I saw people in the bay there doing what looked like a survey. The driver told me about the lighthouse and the plans to build a replica.

 

[jaspercabbage]

A few years ago I was in Alexandria, Egypt, when I first heard of the Pharos lighthouse, it was destroyed by an earthquake in BC.
So I Googled it and it looks magnificent, I read they've been given the planning permission to rebuild a replica, would be something else I imagine.

That contradicts the whole idea of a replica.

 

[Seathestars]

That contradicts the whole idea of a replica.

Not sure what you mean

 

[jaspercabbage]

Not sure what you mean

A replica wouldn't be something else, it would be the same thing as the original.

 

[Seathestars]

A replica wouldn't be something else, it would be the same thing as the original.

Very observant of you, I contradicted myself on purpose accidently to see who would notice.

 

[jaspercabbage]

Very observant of you, I contradicted myself on purpose accidently to see who would notice.

And you reeled me in, I feel such a fool.