Independence Lost:
Those of you who've been hanging out in the Margins for a while now know there are some types of history books that can be counted on to make me say "I want to read this":
- Books that tell a story we think we know from a radically different persepctive
- Books that deal with people outside the mainstream of history
- Books that tell a story I didn't even know existed
- Books--oh, well, you get the idea.
In Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution, historian Kathleen DuVal, author of The Native Ground, reminds us that the American Revolution was part of a larger global conflict involving France and Spain, and that Britain had 13 other colonies in North America and the Caribbean that were also affected by the war.
West Florida, which included much of what is now Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, had only recently become a British colony--part of the redistribution of imperial territories at the end of the Seven Years War-- when the Continental Congress declared war on Britain. Located on the border between the British and Spanish empires, and a distant frontier for both, it was home to former French and Spanish citizens, British loyalists fleeing the disruptions of the revolution and well-organized Indian nations with their own agendas. The possibility of a Spanish invasion was real, and at least some of the colonists thought Spain was a better choice than Britain or France if push came to colonial shove.
DuVal considers how eight very different colonists--a second-generation African slave, a young Cajun with a deep-seated hatred of the British, leaders of the Creek and Chickasaw tribes and two British couples who chose different sides in the conflict--responded to the dangers and opportunities that the revolution brought to their doorsteps and the impact of those choices. While each of these characters stands in for a larger population, the complicated calculus of self-identity, self-interest and personal history that they use to make decisions about the world around them makes it clear that revolution and politics were always personal.
A big part of this review appeared previously in Shelf Awareness for Readers.
In which I give away a copy of Song of the Vikings
Over the last few weeks, the topic of Nancy Marie Brown's Song of the Vikings has come up once or twice here on the Margins. (Okay, more than once or twice.)
Some of you may have broken down and bought a copy. For those of you who haven't, I am pleased to announce that I have a copy to give away.
To throw your name in the middle-sized mixing bowl, just leave a comment here on the blog or send me an email and tell me:
1. Why you want to go to Iceland,*
2. What you liked best when you went to Iceland, OR
3. What fascinates you about the Vikings, or sagas
My Own True Love will draw a name on September 1. Not coincidentally, that's the day Brown's new book, Ivory Vikings, will be released. Vikings, chess, trade routes, luxury goods, and a tough broad or two. I can't wait to read it.
* If you want to be contrary, I suppose you could also tell me why you have no interest on going to Iceland or speculate on why Iceland is currently a hot destination
Road Trip Through History: 871 +/-2
In 2001, an Icelandic construction crew was excavating a basement for a new hotel in the historic district of Reykjavik when they made a major archaeological discovery which included not only the oldest relics of human habitation in the area, which date from before the "official" settlement day of 871CE, plus or minus a year or two*, but a complete tenth century long house. Today the site is displayed in its original location** as part of a small but spectacular multimedia museum. Ghostly videos of everyday scenes from Viking life play out across a panoramic display of the modern Icelandic landscape--not only a cool effect, but illuminating as well. Interactive exhibits show how a long house was built and used.
My takeaways?
- Long houses were a lot smaller than the sagas would lead you to believe. Roistering must have been done shoulder to shoulder. No wonder fights broke out so often. ***
- Tephro chronology: a form of archaeological dating that uses the relationship of finds to layers of volcanic ash. The layers of ash that are part of Iceland's soil have been tied to written accounts of historical eruptions and layers of ash recovered from the Greenland ice cap.**** One layer in particular is important for dating early sites in Iceland: a two-colored layer of ash dating from around 871 CE, known as the "settlement layer". Artifacts found below the settlement layer (like the bit of wall found in 2001) date from before the first known settlement of Iceland.
- Icelanders have mad museum building skills.
If you can only visit one museum in Iceland, the Settlement Exhibit at 871 +/-2 is the one to see.
* Hence the name of the museum
**Literally under the hotel.
*** I had a similar revelation at the much less interesting National Museum of Iceland, where the outline of a Viking ship on the floor made it clear just how small the dreaded dragon boats must have been. Not a ship I'd want to go to sea in.
****Evidently layers of ice can be dated like tree rings. Archaeology gets more fascinating all the time.