Category Archives: History

Slavery and the US Constitution 1787-1860

Posted on January 17, 2019 by odeboyz

…all slaves of a particular state are to be counted as three-fifths of a white person.1 the States were divided into different interests not by their…size…but principally from their having or not having slaves.2 Future President Madison Slavery caused mayhem … Continue reading →

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The bombing of Laos: Obama and an American War Crime

Posted on November 15, 2018 by odeboyz

The Ho Chi Minh Trail America became a full partner in the Vietnamese civil war in 1963 and north Vietnam took the strategic decision to supply the south through Laos. The CIA, without congressional approval, unilaterally decided to bomb this … Continue reading →

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Italian peasants in the 1920s

Posted on November 8, 2018 by odeboyz

Iris Origo and her husband bought an estate in Val d’Orcia, which was 3500 of parched eroded acres with 25 poverty-stricken farms: In a dark airless little room they found an old man dying and a woman giving birth in … Continue reading →

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Overland by Stagecoach: Wyoming, circa 1900

Posted on November 1, 2018 by odeboyz

  Nine people squeezed inside the stagecoach. Any additional passengers sometimes travelled on the roof. Passengers remained sandwiched together for about 22 days, with only brief stops for meals and changes of stock or equipment.

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The origin of Fish and Chips in Britain

Posted on November 1, 2018 by odeboyz

The dish of white fish, typically cod or haddock, fried in a thin coat of flour, was a favourite particularly among Sephardic Jews, who fried it on Friday nights to prepare for the Sabbath, as the Mosaic laws prohibited cooking. … Continue reading →

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Tourism in a finite world: London 2018

Posted on November 1, 2018 by odeboyz

The British invented organised tourism in the 18th century. The Grand Tour was tourism for aristocratic young men. They were supposed to expose themselves to European influences and culture before settling down. Many young aristocrats brought European architectural ideas back … Continue reading →

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Book Reviews: Sellar and Yeatman 1066 and All That (1930); O’Farrell An utterly impartial history of Britain

Posted on October 22, 2018 by odeboyz

Sellar and Yeatman invented satire on school-boy history. They mocked history books which were current at the time which mostly created the myth that the British were naturally superior to all other countries. They developed the phrase ‘a good thing’ … Continue reading →

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Film Review: Hostiles (Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike)

Posted on October 15, 2018 by odeboyz

Captain Blocker (Bale) is a hugely conflicted soldier in the Old West. His colonel orders him to return a native Indian chief to Montana. He’s taunted by a journalist about his reputation for brutal treatment. Blocker then uses the Nazi … Continue reading →

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Margaret Thatcher on Ronald Reagan

Posted on October 1, 2018 by odeboyz

Shortly after he was inaugurated, Thatcher and Carrington [Foreign Secretary] were talking over a drink one evening in Downing Street when the conversation turned to the new president, at which Thatcher tapped the side of her skull and said: “Peter … Continue reading →

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Two Peace Treaties: Brest-Litovsk, March 1918 and Versailles, June 1919

Posted on September 20, 2018 by odeboyz

The Brest-Litovsk and Versailles peace treaties were two sides of the same coin for Germany. Germany imposed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on the Soviets and then had onerous conditions imposed on them at Versailles. There are remarkable similarities in the two … Continue reading →

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