the ghost of history lies down beside me, rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm
I like how the epigraph frames the content of the poem so well, showing that this is not a one-person problem but an issue that whole communities experience. The mention of history also reminds me of the "historical self," sort of alluding to the fact that history inherently haunts a person like a "ghost."
I-40 bisected the black community like a tourniquet of concrete.
This reminds me a lot of borders and border conflicts. in some writings rivers and such indicated stoping points for Englishmen who couldn't cross the river to pursue the Indigenous people. Here we see a similar situation occurring with the highway in which the imagery "tourniquet of concrete" invokes a similar violence and containment of people of color's bodies and territory.
is hot chicken on sopping white bread with green pickle chips
The focus on food resurfaces! This theme is reminiscent of Sloane's writings.
thrones, princedoms, powers, dominating one above another in senatorial array
Milton allusion to Paradise Lost - hellish imagery
penguin
i wonder what he means by the penguin? isnt this a tropical island? or is he describing a penguin-like species? After a quick search yes there are indeed penguins in the galapagos, i wonder how that came to be
And yet, though Rodondo be terra firma, no land bird ever lighted on it. Fancy a red robin or a canary there
why won't any birds land on rodondo?
unnumbered seafowl.
lots of birds, specifically those that are "sea" birds
whereon tormented Job himself might have well sat down and scraped himself with potsherds.
Allusion to the biblical story of Job
What a falling into the hands of the Philistines when the poor warbler should be surrounded by such locust-flights of strong bandit birds, with long bills cruel as daggers.
Another biblical allusion!
But next evening, strange to say, I sat down with my shipmates and made a merry repast from tortoise steaks and tortoise stews; and, supper over, out knife, and helped convert the three mighty concave shells into three fanciful soup tureens, and polished the three flat yellowish calipees into three gorgeous salvers.
Although he admires the turtles and is fascinated by them, in the end, he ends up killing them, eating their meat, and making their shells into usable objects. I think this relationship is, in a way, paradoxical but also revelatory of human's relationship with nature overall. Nature has long been a source of inspiration for poets and a source of fear and reverence when it shows its catastrophic powers, but nature has also been subdued in by humans in many ways such as through industrialization and capitalism that exploit natural resources.
Lasting sorrow and penal hopelessness are in no animal form so suppliantly expressed as in theirs;
The "lasting sorrow" and "penal hopelessness" is a bit reminiscent of the stories of captivity we read in earlier weeks in particular stories like Mary Prince and how she would describe the punishments other slaves received and how it was torture everyday
tortoises
this reminds me of sloane's descriptions of food and how people would eat turtles
Apples of Sodom, after touching, seem these isles.
Another biblical allusion! This one has two in one: the apple as the forbidden fruit and Sodom from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I wonder if these two allusions, which both deal with temptation and sin, suggest that the islands are a sort of out-of-reach place that people still feel attracted to due to their "magic" and despite its dangers.
iguana
why an iguana!? the mention of the iguana is so anticlimactic that its funny. from the spiders and snakes to the iguana theres a big gap in perceived danger.
“and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.”
I wonder how the biblical reference to Lazarus plays into the Encantadas?
still the magic of their changeable tides and seasons mitigates their terror, because, though unvisited by men, those forests are visited by the May
I like how poetic the writing is at times. This one sentence conveys such childhood "magic" and ties it together with the natural world. Moreover, the personification of "May" 'visiting' the island furthers the magical aspects of nature being able to subdue the "terrors".
Ques. Do you not find yourself mistaken now? Ans. Was not Christ crucified.
His answer!!!! It has such a mixture of audacity and truthfulness that the parallel is uncanny.
Mr. D― wrote in reply, “that I should not be sold to any one that would treat me ill.” It was strange he should say this, when he had treated me so ill himself.
such irony and myopia here
They were not all bad, I dare say, but slavery hardens white people’s hearts towards the blacks;
It seems like Mary Prince continuously excuses the atrocities perpetuated by white people during slavery. In the beginning preface she calls them the "good people of England" while here she makes it seem like white people's role in slavery actually causes them emotional discomfort. When she gives them these emotions and speaks of their "hardened hearts" it seems to me that she is excusing the behavior of white people.
to reside in other female society,
I wonder what "other female society" means? Is it a literal group of women supporting each other or is it a sort of informal congregation that happens as a part of female-gender solidarity?
there was a division of the slaves and other property among the family. I was bought along with my mother by old Captain Darrel, and given to his grandchild, little Miss Betsey Williams.
It is saddening the family divisions slavery's loss of autonomy caused for many Black families. Mary Prince here recounts mater-of-factly how she was forced to relocate with the mother and separated from her father as if it was (and it is) a decision out of her control.
The idea of writing Mary Prince’s history was first suggested by herself. She wished it to be done, she said, that good people in England might hear from a slave what a slave had felt and suffered;
This idea of "writing Mary Prince's history" and her being the one that *chooses * to tell it reminds me of Hartman's questions of representation in the Archive. Mary Prince's story is a first hand account with an explicit purpose regarding slavery: that the "good people might hear from a slave what a slave had felt and suffered." In Contrast, Hartman characterizes the Archive as lacking of first point of views and first hand accounts. I wonder what Hartman thinks of stories such as Mary Prince's and similar stories that never got told.
rude species of warfare
The description Cooper uses to describe their attack style, "rude species of warfare," has some condescending tone. Does Copper mean that their warfare was subpar to that of Westerner's? If so, does the word "species" further emphasizes the racial divide?
like his royal namesake
The "royal namesake" is another reference to King David, the same one from the biblical story of David and Goliath. It is interesting how Copper subtly extends these biblical metaphors and allusions thorough out the text.
Philip treated his prisoners with a great deal more Christian like spirit than the Pilgrims did; even Mrs. Rowlandson, although speaking with bitterness sometimes of the Indians, yet in her journal she speaks not a word against him. Philip even hires her to work for him, and pays her for her work, and then invites her to dine with him and to smoke with him.
reference to Rowlandson's text, uses it to favor his argument
How they could go to work to enslave a free people and call it religion is beyond the power of my imagination and outstrips the revelation of God’s word. O thou pretended hypocritical Christian, whoever thou art, to say it was the design of God that we should murder and slay one another because we have the power. Power was not given us to abuse each other, but a mere power delegated to us by the King of heaven, a weapon of defense against error and evil; and when abused, it will turn to our destruction.
his perception of Christianity + religion in relation to colonization
Now, if we have common sense and ability to allow the difference between the civilized and the uncivilized, we cannot but see that one mode of warfare is as just as the other; for while one is sanctioned by authority of the enlightened and cultivated men, the other is an agreement according to the pure laws of nature, growing out of natural consequences
Why does Apess not dispel the notion of civilized vs uncivilized and instead plays into it as "common sense"?
But those few remaining descendants who now remain as the monument of the cruelty of those who came to improve our race and correct our errors- and as the immortal Washington lives endeared and engraven on the hearts of every white in America, never to be forgotten in time- even such is the immortal Philip honored, as held in memory by the degraded but yet grateful descendants who appreciate his character; so will every patriot, especially in this enlightened age, respect the rude yet all accomplished son of the forest, that died a martyr to his cause, though unsuccessful, yet as glorious as the American Revolution.
Why does Apess sound like he has internalized some of the prejudices? Or is it perhaps to garner sympathy for the current status of native people.? He calls people of Indigenous descent "degraded" "rude" and "unsuccessful" while Europeans and their ways are "glorious" and "enlightened" also "improved our race." However, he also recognizes the "cruelty" of the white people and the martyrdom of King Philip, which suggests his favor of the Indigenous people over white people.
he Indian answered, he knew better, and that the little wicked instrument was a liar; and he would not acquiesce in its decisions, since it would wrong the Indians out of their land. This mistake (the surveyor proving to be in the wrong) displeased the Indian
The argument between the surveyor and the natives over traveling the land is somewhat ridiculous. The surveyor discredits the Indigenous people's knowledge, appealing instead to more advanced technologies like the compass to aid him. The argument sounds a bit like "mansplaining" the land/travel to someone whose expertise is higher in both experience and knowledge.
rowed by a Creek Indian, who was married to a white woman; he seemed an active, civil, and sensible man.
What does Bartram mean by Creek Indian? how did his relationship with a white woman come about and does his proximity/embodiment of "civilized" culture make him a more "sensible man" compared to the rest of the natives?
joined with me the caravan, consisting of surveyors, astronomers, artisans, chain-carriers, markers, guides, and hunters, besides a very respectable number of gentlemen, who joined us, in order to speculate in the lands, together with ten or twelve Indians
It is interesting how the European people accompanying Bartram are multifaceted, taking on their professional roles like astronomers, artisans, and "respectable gentlemen," while the Indigenous people are just "Indians" of which Bartram doesn't even remember the amount just "ten or twelve." This subtle detail reveals the priority white people take in Bartram's perspective which reduces Indigenous peoples to background characters.
the merchants of Georgia demanding at least two millions of acres of land from the Indians, as a discharge of their debts, due, and of long standing: the Creeks, on the other hand, being a powerful and proud spirited people, their young warriors were unwilling to submit to so large a demand, and their conduct evidently betrayed a disposition to dispute the ground by force of arms, and they could not at first be brought to listen to reason and amicable terms; however, at length, the cool and deliberate counsels of the ancient venerable chiefs, enforced by liberal presents of suitable goods, were too powerful inducements for them any longer to resist, and finally prevailed.
This passage describes the taking of the indigenous people's land. The merchants of Georgia "demand" two million acres of land, a substantial amount that the young natives refuse. Bartram portrays the indigenous sentiments as a part of the passions of youth and praises the "counsels of the ancient venerable chiefs" who willingly hand over the land. In a way, Bartram is mystifying the tribal chiefs as sage figures and using them to justify the taking of the land, making it appear as if the Indigenous people willingly handed over their lands as a repayment for their "debts." The narrative here is an example of how historical violence is covered up and events are twisted.
Creek nation
For my previous annotation: Creek is a native tribe
that which animates the inimitable machines, which gives them motion, impowers them to act, speak, and perform, this must be divine and immortal?
Bartram jumps from not knowing what "animates the inimitable machines," that is, produces life in animals, to pointing to a responsible who "must be divine and immortal." This is a big jump in logic and highlights the tendency to ascribe the unknown to the doings of God.
for although I am not of the opinion that vegetables receive their nourishment only through the ascending part of the plant, as the stem, branches, leaves, &c.; and that their descending parts, as the roots and fibres, only serve to hold and retain them in their places:
The negations of "Although I am not of the opinion" indicate that some scientists at the time were of the opinion that leaves took in water. These sentences highlight how science at the time still had ways to go. Now we know that the roots' main function is to take in water and the leaves to take in sunlight, not water.
In every order of nature we perceive a variety of qualities distributed amongst individuals, designed for different purposes and uses; yet it appears evident, that the great Author has impartially distributed his favours to his creatures, so that the attributes of each one seem to be of sufficient importance to manifest the divine and inimitable workmanship.
It is eerie how this notion of vegetation/things each having their own purpose given by a divine being can easily be twisted and applied to humans to justify racism, slavery, and stereotypes against minorities.
Men and manners undoubtedly hold the first rank
The mention of "manners" to qualify what is of utmost importance in a foreign society already introduces the notions of civilized vs uncivilized that further perpetuates misconceptions against 'otherness.'
He answered me that such a time his master roasted him, and that himself did eat a piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and that he was very good meat.
This Cannibalism reference aids in the portrayal of the Indians as barbarous.
Friend Indian
The term "Friend Indian" reminds me of the 'reformations' and 'reeducation' Indigenous people were forced to undergo. The term implies that once the Indian conforms to western standards he can become a friend like the typical man "walking down Boston."
o I took the Bible, and in that melancholy time, it came into my mind to read first the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy, which I did, and when I had read it, my dark heart wrought on this manner: that there was no mercy for me, that the blessings were gone, and the curses come in their room, and that I had lost my opportunity. But the Lord helped me still to go on reading till I came to Chap. 30, the seven first verses, where I found, there was mercy promised again,
The explanation for the biblical quote in the introductory paragraph. It now brings a hopeful tone despite the maladies shes endured.
they knocked on the head
What is up with this recurring euphemism for being killed? The author is already recounting the perils of war and its bloody consequences yet feels the need to sugarcoat death itself.
Deut. 32.39. See now that I, even I am he, and there is no god with me, I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal, neither is there any can deliver out of my hand.
The exegesis employed here quotes quite a morbid biblical passage. Its contrasts heavily with the first sentence of the paragraph that invokes God's "sovereignty and goodness." The biblical excerpt, however, upends the reverential tone with an audacious comparison of a human to God, "even I am he," and even denying his existence, "there is no god with me." I wonder why this specific quote was chosen? Does anyone know the context of it?
No matter how brutally Native Americans were treated in New England, we have no evidence that any Englishman ever considered forcibly breeding an Indian woman.
Personally, I find these lines a bit odd and dismissive of the pains Indigenous women went through during the colonial period. Even if there is no evidence of "breeding" an Indigenous women, I am certain rape of Indigenous women was still prevalent in the colonies. There is space for every racial group to reconstruct their narratives, but positing one group's grief above the other is counterproductive.
The impetus to “recover” knowledge about how enslaved women made meaning from their lives is an important aspect of the historiography of Caribbean slavery. A significant amount of historical scholarship now exists showing how these women enacted their personhood despite their experiences of dehumanization and commodification.
"Venus in Two Acts" seems to suggest that "recovering" something from an archive that truly illuminates something direct and new about the lives of enslaved woman is almost impossible considering the nature of the archive itself being legal accounts of transactions and other similar documents. Here however, the author suggests that there is a way to get these unfiltered experiences through "historical scholarship" and that moreover they can add to it, "build up," something new.
enhances our understanding of how race, gender, and sexuality were formed in British Atlantic slave societies and how these constructions of identity directed and influenced the life experiences of urban enslaved women
This reminds me of the discourse surrounding intersectionality.
it explores the significance of an urban slave society that was numerically dominated by women, white and black
Why are there more women in the urban sector? Is it because gender roles dictate they are to be confined to domestic affairs?
“last night I laid with Dido on the ground”
An allusion to the Aeneid. Dido was an African warrior queen who was trapped by Venus' enchantments and forced to fall in love with Aeneas. Later when Aeneas leaves her she commits suicide.
to “develop,” to become literate, to write poetry, to become “the first Black human being to be published in America”
I'd like to note that Wheatley has come under lots of criticism for falling into the white-washed and westernization/christianization that Black people were forced into in order to fit in/be humanized/deemed valuable.
See Cornelius Eady's poem "Diabolic" as a response to Phillis Wheatley's poem "On being brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" where she makes a remark on black peoples skin color being "diabolic." Wheatley's remark is as follows:
Some view our sable race with scornful eye, "Their colour is a diabolic die.” Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.
I seems to some, including Cornelius Eady, that Wheatley is suggesting that Black people are inherently evil because of their skin color and that the only way to be redeemed/saved is to be converted into the white people's religion, ie Christianity. Wheatley was deeply religious since her white owners brought her up as such, and perhaps this influenced her and her poetry a lot.
For a more analytical perspective see James Edward Ford III's “The Difficult Miracle: Reading Phillis Wheatley against the Master’s Discourse."
The sea was like slake gray of what was left of my body and the white waves … I memember. —Kamau Brathwaite, Dream Haiti
Kamau Brathwaite is a Black poet from Barbados. His writings focus on the Afro/Latino experiences present in the Caribbean. Dream Haiti in particular is one of his most famous works of poetry in which he expresses the desire for a better life wether though overcoming racial injustice, immigrating and pursuing the American Dream or overcoming the effects of the Caribbean's colonization.
“this is what Zong! is attempting: to find a form to bear this story which can’t be told, which must be told, but through not telling”
Zong! is a book-long abstract poetry book that recounts the travails of Africans brought as slaves through the Trans atlantic slave trade. It focuses a lot on the movement of people across water and the perils they faced in the journey. Zong!'s abstracts poetry methods fit well into Sharpe's theme of uncovering what is not spoken through new "language"/symbolisms like Trans*.
I’m over here in the dirt, getting darker and darker and darker.
The association of dirt and darkness could be an allusion to the way black people are badly treated. As a Black woman she already holds a low position in society and by later becoming homeless, "in the dirt," her status in society is further decreased. Perhaps she associates her low status to blackness, as it is often associated, so by amassing more marginalized identities she thinks she's becoming "darker" or less than everyone else.
“modernity,” the very modernity that is the subject of this film, “is sutured by this hold.” The hold is the slave ship hold; is the hold of the so-called migrant ship; is the prison; is the womb that produces blackness.
The metaphor here of the hold being "the womb that produces blackness" is interesting. I am no sure what she means by this. Perhaps she means that the history of slavery has had such intense effects in today's world that it has become an integral part of the modern black identity, that is, "blackness." Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding or if there are other more accurate interpretations.
Wargo distinguishes himself from the other men in the tent city, whom he calls “reprobates,”
I wonder what leads him to exceptionalize himself when him a and the other men he degrades are in the same situation?
“La Galatea, by Miguel de Cervantes,”24 said the barber.“This Cervantes has been a good friend of mine for many years, and I know that he is better versed in misfortunes than in verses. His book has a certain creativity; it proposes something and concludes nothing. We have to wait for the second part he has promised; perhaps with that addition it will achieve the mercy denied to it now; in the meantime, keep itlocked away in your house, my friend
In this chapter Cervantes provides various judgements on romantic chivalry books through the Priest. This part however, is an unexpected meta moment since he judges his own book. From the prologue and the parody/sarcastic overall tone of the book, I would've guessed he'd burn his book as another jest towards chivalry books, however he decides to preserve his book and keep his literary merit. He keeps the possibilities for his great authorship open, choosing to focus on the future and look forward to a part 2 to redeem himself for part 1. He does not totally absolve his book though, and does make somewhat of an expected jest at himself saying his book is not perfection, "it proposes something and concludes nothing" and that he is "better versed in misfortunes than in verses." Overall, I think this meta moment shows Cervantes' self-awareness as an author figure and his writing abilities which must've received criticism in the real word.
These masters could instruct even Frier BACON; and frighten Thomas AQUINAS.
This is so funny. The random reference to a "frightened Thomas Aquinas" really ties in the white fragility.
(I picture that reaction image of an offended gasping Geoffrey from Game of Thrones)
Now taking the population of England at 8,000,000, the proportion of sugar to each individual, if each individual had his share, would be about twenty pounds per annum.
This statistic is so misguiding because in reality not everyone has a fair share since he recognizes a couple of paragraphs before that the poor were not able to afford as much sugar as the rich.
The Governor and his party, losing this intended victim, revenged themselves on the dog; had him arrested, and put to death, as an accomplice with his master.
While the implications and violence of these witch hunts on marginalized groups are of great importance and must be recognized and rectified, it is moments like this that make me question what was going on through these peoples heads that they truly believed a DOG was capable of witchcraft.
(Imagine a group of grown men coming up to the dog and just "You're under arrest" and placing a little pair of handcuffs on it.)
the benefit of mankind
This makes it seem like the exploitation of slaves was a noble endeavor that helped the whole of mankind. Its a very twisted way of spinning history.
Thus we find 185,389,792 pounds of sugar are annually consumed in England and Scotland.
The amount of slave labor producing this much sugar would've required…
In the West Indies, the negro children, from crude vegetable diet, are much afflicted with worms. In crop-time, when the canes are ripe, these children are always sucking them. Give a negro infant a piece of sugar cane to suck, and the impoverished milk of his mother is tasteless to him. This salubrious luxury soon changes his appearance. Worms are discharged; his enlarged belly, and joints diminish; his emaciated limbs increase; and, if canes were always ripe, he would never be diseased.
There are so many misconceptions in this part alone. First, a diet high in vegetables would be most ideal for children and adults alike since they contain many nutrients necessary for our body. Second, these kid's "enlarged belly" and supposed "worms" are most likely to be from starvation and poor diets due to poverty and the poor living conditions they are subject to. Moseley's use of the word "impoverished" to describe the mother's milk hints directly to the situation African slaves are in. I find Moseley's logic here so baffling since he knows these people are impoverished yet doesnt connect that to the consequences it has on health, and instead chooses to misframe the situation to further his argument.
Sugar does not create worms in children, as has been often said: on the contrary, it destroys worms. Some writers have mentioned this; but my authority is my own observation
Him citing himself as the "authority" is so funny to me. This man would stand no chance in today's peer reviewed scientific journals.
SALA enumerates many evils which may arise in weak habits and bad constitutions from the excessive, and what he terms the abuse of sugar; such as, debility of digestion; loss of appetite; blackness and loosening of the teeth; offensive breath; colic; lax bowels; bilious, scorbutic, and hysterical complaints
Sala's view on sugar is the closest to modern views on sugar.
It is incredible that WILLIS and RAY, two well-informed men, should not know that the description of people most afflicted with the scurvy, at all times, and in every country, is that, which seldom taste any sugar.
Its funny that he judges these men from decades earlier for their lack of scientific knowledge when I'm doing the same to him 200 years later.
AVICENNA says, in his chapter on honey,— Mel cannarum lenit ventrem, et mel tabazet non lenit. Lib. II. tract. 2. cap. 496
Why does Latin carry more authority than any other language? Why are rome and greece looked to as epicenters of knowledge?
Here Moseley could've given the original arabic-- either way the regular reader (me) wouldn't understand the meaning. It would make no difference in my understanding, which leads me to conclude he purposefully chooses Latin to look smarter.
AVICENNA, and give the Latin version of this author.
Once again Moseley is on with his erasure of non-western peoples. He positions them below Europeans, choosing to give the "Latin version" rather than the original.
We must now take a survey of the confused accounts of the Arabians, being the next authorities in succession, respecting their different species of sugar.
The author's point of view is very eurocentric. He makes many Greek and Roman figures the main authorities over sugar and its uses, while other people like the "Arabians" posses "confused accounts" are "the next authorities," that is their knowledge is subpar to that of the Europeans'.
innocent
The use of "innocent" as a descriptor for sugar is very ironic to me. The evils, exploitation and death that resulted from sugar's mass production in plantations are too great for me to think of sugar as "innocent." Perhaps the usage here can be indicative of the author's point of view regarding the situation with plantations.
AVICENNA
I recently saw a post that remarked on the west's constant erasure of foreign names, and this specific person was cited as an example. Their name is Ibn Sina.
exquisite Torments.
The connotation of "exquisite" is usually positive and brings in feelings of pleasure and enjoyment. When paired with "Torment," is sloan suggesting that the Masters enjoy tormenting their slaves?
In some small time the Indian Inhabitants, to the number of sixty thousand were all destroyed by the Severities of the Spaniards, sending to Mines, &c. I have seen in the Woods, many of their Bones in Caves, which some people thought were of such as had voluntarily inclos’d or immured themselves, in order to be starved to death, to avoid the Severities of their Masters.
These lines specifically strike me as gruesome and vile. In parallel with the theme of Extinction, these lines show the beginnings of the native inhabitant's extinction where their exploitation was so severe that some chose to take their own lives. Sloan states matter of factly that even he himself "have seen the bones," without a hint of empathy. To me his words lack empathy or reverence for the dead. He shifts the blame of the native inhabitants death towards themselves saying they "voluntarily" committed suicide without going further into the physical, mental, and emotional toil that forced them to take such drastic actions.
mortal Discords had arisen about Gold and Women, each of the Spaniards pretending to barter for Gold for himself; and to take as many, and what Women he pleas’d, without being satisfied with what was thought reasonable,
This part showcases the greed of man, which I think was a major motivation for the Spaniards that arrived to the islands. It was very evident in Columbus' voyage journals that the men were desperate to find gold.
Another Use of this History may be, to teach the Inhabitants of the Parts where these Plants grow, their several Uses, which I have endeavour’d to do, by the best Informations I could get from Books, and the Inhabitants, either Europeans, Indians or Blacks.
One of the purposes for his book is to "teach the inhabitants" about their own flora. It is ironic because the inhabitants who have been living there for generations most likely know the uses of their plants better than Sloan who has just arrived. I think this somewhat parallels a mansplaining situation.