King Henry VIII- His life, his wives, and his legacy

One of the most influential and interesting characters in history died today back in 1547. This man was King Henry VIII. 

I find this man extremely fascinating not only for his marital career but also for his political and economic policies, his public image, his legacy, and his children- including his son Edward VI and two daughters (Mary- known as Bloody Mary and Elizabeth- neither of which had any children of their own). 

Henry VIII is well-known for his relationship difficulties and his martial career. He was king for 38 years and between 1509-1547 he married 6 wives.

His 6 wives all held the title Queen Consort:1. Catherine of Aragon (was married to his brother who died * a common practice) marriage was annulled and died under guard at Kimbolton Castle **Queen Mary I 2. Anne Boleyn (executed) **Queen Elizabeth I3. Jane Seymour (died days after giving birth- widely believed she died following birth complications) **Edward VI4. Anne of Cleves (marriage annulled)5. Catherine Howard (executed)6. Catherine Parr (widowed) 

**Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn were cousins

***Henry was related through a distant relative to all his wives,

Henry was the second Tudor monarch. He broke with the Papacy in Rome and established the Church of England, initiating the English Reformation. Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

A quote:

If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for
any man to hold him.
- Sir Thomas More of Henry VIII

Another important area to consider when studying such an important figure in history is how his image changed over the years. How did Henry start his career as king as an educated, attractive and one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne but end up being seen as lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king? Where did this decline start and why? Was there a turning point in his career?

I think his declining health really impacted his ability to rule and changed his lifestyle which definitely changed his image.

Another area to consider was his struggle for a male heir- I think this weighed heavily on his heart, mind, and soul on a daily basis. Having an heir was required for a King- this was a constant struggle and battle.

I think Henry understood that there was a fragile peace that existed after the Wars of the Roses. There was constant fears over invasions and uprisings  (political unrest).


Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England#Biographicalhttp://tudorhistory.org/henry8/http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/kingsandqueensofengland/thetudors/henryviii.aspxhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_viii_king.shtmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/henry_viii/http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon41.htmlhttp://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudor.htmhttp://www.raucousroyals.com/lookandlearn/familytrees/tudors.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wives_of_Henry_VIII

Another interesting space discovery

An artist's interpretation which shows the free-floating planet CFBDSIR2149, at 100 light years away 

A team of astronomers have published a study stating that they have discovered what they believe is a huge rogue planet (which is several times larger than Jupiter) that is the closest of it's kind- located approx. 100 light years away.

This planet was observed at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope located in Mauna Kea in Hawaii. They were searching for 'brown dwarfs' but this was unsuccessful.

This planet is approx 4-7 times the size of Jupiter. It was discovered by the infrared glow that is emitted from its core.

Based on their research, the astronomers believe with a high probability that this is a young, free-roaming planet rather than a brown dwarf. It is moving with a group of stars.

Required background information:
1. Size of Jupiter- Equatorial diameter is 143,000 km. Jupiter's mass is 318 times that of Earth's.

2. Rogue planet- Free-floating, nomad planet, orphan planet (not gravitationally bound to any stars or brown dwarf.

3. Brown dwarf- Brown dwarfs are objects which have a size between that of a giant planet like Jupiter and that of a small star. 

****This discovery definitely gives scientists and astronomers world wide another angle to discover and further study is essential.

There is real potential in further astronomy study.


Source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/not-lost-space-astronomers-spot-potential-rogue-planet-174447512.html
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question62.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/11/14/sci-rogue-planet.html
http://www.universetoday.com/15149/size-of-jupiter/

Guy Fawkes Plot (1605)

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes

In 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes and a group of plotters attempted to blow up the Parliament building in London using barrels of gunpowder which were placed in the basement. Their goal was to kill King James and his leaders.

Why blow up the parliament?
This is the building where the laws that govern England are made.

The Parliament building in London England

Why assassinate the King?
The King was an unfortunate player in this game. He did not recall laws against Roman Catholics that Queen Elizabeth 1st had started. She died in 1603. A small group of Roman Catholics including Guy Fawkes believed that Roman Catholics were being treated unfairly. Catholics had to practice their religion in secret. There was even laws and fines for people who didn't attend the Protestant church on Sunday or on holy days. James 1st even passed more laws against Catholics when he became King (many had hoped he would be more tolerant).

King James 1

What was the plan?
The next time King James opened the Parliament the plotters would blow up the building using gunpowder. The group bought a house next door to the Parliament. The house had a cellar that went underneath the Parliament giving them unusual access. The plan involved putting gunpowder under their house. They got a hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder.

Guy Fawkes was given the job of keeping watch over the barrels of gunpowder and to light the fuse. On the morning of Nov. 5th, 1605 soldiers had searched and discovered Guy hidden in the cellar and arrested him. The plotters need more and more support.  One of the plotters had reached out and alerted his brother-in-law who was a lord not to attend Parliament on November 5th.

How did the soldiers know of the plot? 
One possibility is this was part of a sting operation using an undercover to gain access to the group. Another possibility surrounds gathering the necessary supplies (36 barrels of gunpowder) may have gotten the group on the radar of authorities. Another possibility is the rumour of a letter alerting one of the members of the government to stay away is now thought of being fabricated by king's officials. A suspected turncoat is Francis Tresham. One issue with the letter is that it was unsigned. Any of the plotters could have claimed ownership and could of saved themselves from torture and possibly death. No one did. Nor did any of them seem to know about it. The letter was also very vague in nature (it said nothing about the details of the planned attack) but yet the King and his men  knew exactly when and where to catch the plotters and to stop the explosion mere hours before it was set to take place. So the question becomes How did they know?

Tower of London

Guy was taken to the Tower of London. He was held and tortured and questioned about the identity of the other plotters. Eventually, he gave in and started talking.

Who were the co-conspirators?
Zealous Catholics that believed in by beheading the government, they could usher in a new era of Catholicism in Protestant England. There were 13 in total. They had their first meeting on May 20th, 1604.

• Robert Catesby -leader. After James's death, he had plans to make the king's young daughter, Elizabeth, queen and than later would arrange for her to marry a Catholic nobleman. He was well educated at Oxford University but left without his degree in order to avoid taking the Oath of Supremacy. In 1601, he tried to remove Elizabeth 1 from power with the Earl of Essex. Since he only had a minor role in this plan he was not executed but instead was heavily fined. In order to pay this fine, he needed to sell his manor house.
• Thomas Wintour
• Thomas Percy
• John Wright
• Christopher Wright
• Robert Wintour
• Thomas Bates
• Everard Digby- his role was to kidnap Princess Elizabeth from Coombe Abbey.
• Francis Tresham

Some of them were killed while resisting arrest. While others including Fawkes plead not guilty and went to trial. They were convicted of high treason. In January 1606, they were hung, drawn, and quartered.  Fawkes was executed with Thomas Wintour on January 31st, 1606.

Who was Guy Fawkes?
He was born in York in 1570.
His father Edward was a proctor of the ecclesiastical courts (religious courts).
He attended school at St. Peter's school with John and Christopher Wright.
Guy was brought up Protestant but was converted to Roman Catholic.
In 1592, he married Maria Pulleyn.
In 1593, he was enlisted in the Spanish army. He had munitions experience in the Netherlands.


The After Effects
King James celebrated his survival of this assassination plot against him by ordering the people of England to have a bonfire on the night of November 5th. This event is still remembered in England and is celebrated annually by both fireworks and the burning of effigies on November 5th. November 5th is called Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night and is marked by celebrations throughout the United Kingdom.

73 years later in 1678, they began to search the cellars of the Parliament before opening each new session as a precaution.

An important thing to remember is the book V for Vendetta written by David Lloyd and Sir Alan Moore (a recent movie as well) transformed the character of Guy Fawkes from villain to hero. The character in the book wore a famous Guy Fawkes mask.

Guy Fawkes Mask

Sources:
   http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/guy/history.htm
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1856603,00.html
http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php
http://www.bonfirenight.net/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/STUfawkes.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml

Geronimo's Cadillac (Short biography)

Geronimo was seen as the last great defender of the Native American way of Life but by others he was seen as a stubborn holdout who was violently driven by revenge and was putting the lives of others in danger. Is one opinion right or are they both right depending on how you look at the situation? Balancing current views of right and wrong with the historical context.

Geronimo and his associates at the 101 Ranch taking a drive in a  Locomobile Model C. (Geronimo is wearing the top hat). 

There is a description of this picture from a letter (artifacts/sources).
This photograph was taken on June 11, 1905, at the Miller brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. The Indian in the full head dress to the left of Geronimo is Edward Le Clair Sr. (a Ponca Indian). Geronimo greatly admired his beaded vest that later on that day it was given to him. When Geronimo died 4 years later he was buried in this vest. There are three other photographs of Geronimo from that day that are very misleading.

One of these photographs shows Geronimo with several mounted Army soldiers. At this time, he was still imprisoned at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and guards had to accompany him.

Another photograph shows him standing beside a dead buffalo, which he had supposedly just killed.  The picture shows a number of arrows sticking out of the dead animal. They advertised this event as the last buffalo Geronimo killed. This is extremely ironic since buffalo were not found in the region that Geronimo lived and he had not killed this animal. Range hands had put the buffalo in a bow and arrow range and since the arrows were not fatal, one of the cowboys finally shot the animal in the head.

The third photograph shows Geronimo skinning the dead buffalo.


This photograph served as the inspiration for the noteworthy song by Michael Martin Murphey as the title track of his debut album, Geronimo's Cadillac in 1972. This song has become an unofficial anthem for the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. This song has been redone multiple times.

The life and times of Geronimo:
He was born in June of 1829.
He was a naturally-gifted hunter.
By the time he was 17 years old, he lead four successful raiding operations.
He continued the tradition of the Apaches who resisted the white colonization of their territory in the Southwest. Mexico put a bounty on Apache scalps- up to 25$ for a child's scalp.
He met and married a woman named Alope. They had 3 children together.
During a trading trip, tragedy stuck their camp. When Geronimo returned, he found his mother, wife, and children were all dead. To honour tradition, he burned the belongings of his family and headed out into the wilderness to grieve.
He and 200 other men, hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family. This went on for 10 years as he tried to have revenge on the Mexican government.
He was caught in 1877 and was sent to live on a reservation.
For four long years he struggled with life on the reservation and escaped in September 1881.
Over the next five years, he and a small band of followers engaged in what was the last Indian wars with the U.S.
At one time he had almost 1/4 of the Army's forces (almost 5,000 troops) trying to hunt him down.
After years of war, he surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886.
While he became a celebrity, he spent the last 2 decades of his life as a prisoner of war.
He published his biography in 1905.
He died in February of 1909, when thrown from a horse on his way home. He spent one night in the cold and was found by a friend the next day. Unfortunately, his health was declining and he passed away 6 days later with his nephew by his side.

On his death bed he said" I should never have surrendered" and "I should have fought until I was the last man alive". 

Was this man wrong to want revenge for his family's death?
Does it matter what his motives were for all the fighting?
Was he mad with revenge or was he fighting for the all First Nations in the United States?
Should he have had others fight with him or was this a fight he should of done alone?
Should he have surrendered when he did or sooner or not at all?
Can we judge this event based on current believes about right and wrong?
What about historical context? What else was happening within the U.S?



Source:
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/05/05/geronimos-cadillac%E2%80%94er-locomobile-32429
http://www.biography.com/people/geronimo-9309607

Hurricane Sandy- Regardless of your location we all have a weather fascinationThe

The sheer size of Hurricane Sandy shows how far-reaching her effects will be felt. 

Much like the common fascination people have with outer space, we also have a fascination with weather. Unlike, space where we see the infinite space/wondering about what else might be out there-- weather has an element of practicality surrounding it. We must know what is going on with the weather to prepare in advance for it. Weather also affects so many aspects of our lives. We build houses close to water (building on the beach) so terms like storm surge and flooding are real concerns. We also need to know where/when to drive (police advisories). We also need to look at how weather affects even our clothing choices. We need to dress appropriately for the weather conditions. We can also look at preparations for emergencies.

We can also look at hurricanes from a historical approach- I find the idea of naming storms interesting. It gives people a way to identify (location, time period, and intensity).

Unfortunately, in any storm situation there can be a loss of human life and also damage to property.

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/why-hurricanes-have-names_n_936928.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/us/sandy-bounty-ship/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Military History- In the wake of Hurricane Sandy

The Sentinels (guards) at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia maintain their vigil even as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the Eastern Seaboard. The Old Guard has guarded the tomb every minute of every day since April 6, 1948. This is a great honour in the United States. 
Today, there will be no exception. 

Follow-up on bridging the gaps and making history appealing to the masses

A comment on my blog yesterday got me thinking about how many television shows incorporate and use history and historical elements. We are surrounded by history but yet not everyone notices the historical elements- you can train your mind to be on the outlook for aspects of it. I seem to use/take many events and find the historical implications/context as an important aspect.

Television channels include Spike, Discovery, The History Channel, and National Geographic are prime examples **showcasing some interesting shows, documentaries, movies, and they have extremely useful websites as well.

Media has really opened our eyes to the importance of history and how we deal with history on a daily basis. For example, the internet has allowed us to search and find old editions of magazines or magazine articles and newspapers.

The comment on my blog also brought up the idea of making history hands-on. Being able to feel, hear, see, smell, and even taste history make's history come alive. History is more than dates and historical figures but is also about experiences. Becoming a tourist in your community- getting out and walking an old cemetery or church or even a museum allows history to become more concrete and allows you to be a detective/explorer using all your senses to explore history.