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The village Green has always been at the heart of life in Historical England, serving the needs of the village inhabitants a various guises. It is such a shame that so many of these marvelous green spaces are now neglected or abused.

Originally developed in Anglo Saxon settlements as places where livestock could be protected or the green used as common grazing ground the village green has developed over the centuries into a center of village life, equally as important as the village church or manor house, it served the common peoples needs. Some of the uses are outlined here as examples of how important they were to the whole community.

The Village Pond
Among the livestock kept by villagers were ducks and geese and the pond was their sanctuary with the green itself providing grazing. Horses, sheep and cattle used it as a watering hole but since the introduction of more modern methods when livestock was moved from the green to adjacent farm land the ponds life went into decline. The invention of the tractor saw the end of the need for horses, and no need for a watering hole the ponds became overgrown an polluted with waste.

Most modern day village ponds are man made, lined with clay or even polythene and are more a place for relaxation and children to pond dip in than a village utility. Whatever their use they enhance England’s countryside, long may they live.

The Village Stocks
Punishment was a public display of law and order and a deterrent to would be law breakers and the village stocks were at the forefront of this humiliation. There were other punishment held on the greens such as ducking stools and whipping posts but the stocks are the most common of these still in evidence today.

Up until the 19th century the behavior of the villagers was controlled by the local Squire and sometimes the church Rector and some of the crimes you could be punished for were, drunkenness, rowdiness, swearing and of course stealing. Perhaps something the Government of the day ought to consider bring back.

The Village Water Supply
As well as having the pond to serve as a water supply for livestock many villages had a village pump situated on the green. Before the advent of piped water this was the only means for locals to obtain clean, fresh water. The collecting of water from the pump was therefore a daily chore, usually carried out by the women and children of the community.

The Village Playground
One of the most charming sites when touring the countryside is to come across a village green with a cricket match being played, Englishness personified. But well before cricket was introduced the village green was used as a practice ground for the local archers before marching off to the battlefields of Agincourt. Aristocracy used the green for jousts and tilting contests which often included a fair for the less well to do enjoy.

Various festivals were celebrated on the village green, some of which are still performed today. Spring time was welcomed in by Morris dancing and the Maypole was dressed and danced around and on Midsummer day fires were lit and celebrations held.

So you can see that the village green was central to the life of the community and in many ways still is today. But with the closing of local shops and pubs the village green is under threat which is such a pity for residents and visitors alike. I may be getting old and cynical but I feel that some things really were better years ago.

Steve has a passion for English history and he has set up his web site to share his passion with you. He gives a simple introduction and some personal views on historical England from which you can enjoy and learn about the history of England, London and much, much more at www.historicalengland.org

The attack was a direct response to suppression aid by the people of Kansas to the Missouri raiders, which were led by Quantrill, a member of the pro-slavery Confederate forces. Lawrence is also where Union and Jayhawker forces get a headstart when they enter into Missouri.

Before the Raid

The raid was partly caused by the issuance of General Thomas Ewing Jr.’s General Order No. 10. The order commanded authorities to arrest anyone who is found sympathetic to Quantrill’s cause. Anyone who is caught is then detained automatically in Kansas City.

Unfortunately, the makeshift prison collapsed on August 13, 1863, which caused the deaths of five women who were detained in the prison. There were rumors that the building was intentionally sabotaged to collapse, as one of the inmates there were the 14-year old sister of Bloody Bill Anderson.

The Quantrill raid is also thought to be a response to the Union Jayhawker sacking of the Osceola, Missouri. The sacking was carried out by James H. Lane’s forces, who were originally organized to resist an invasion by Sterling Price into Kansas in September 1861. The town of Osceola was pillaged, looted and burned by the Kansans who carried off spoils of the attack.

The Attack

Quantrill had given much thought about the conduct of the attack in order to ensure its success. He enlisted the help of many Bushwhackers, eventually coming up with a large force of over 300 men. Quantrill also carefully selected and set up every detail of the attack, from the day and the time of the day itself.

The groups came east individually for a rendezvous a few miles from Lawrence, which was intended to be in the pre-dawn hours to catch everyone by surprise. The guerilla force converged on Mount Oread. Their objective: to loot and pillage Lawrence like what happened to Osceola, and to kill the now-senator James H. Lane. It is said that the men rode hard to make the rendezvous that they even secured themselves to the saddles so they could sleep while riding.

When all of his forces were assembled, Quantrill gave the order to ride into Lawrence. In the early hours of day, Lawrence’s townsfolk were caught in surprise as hundreds of Quantrill’s guerilla forces thundered into the town and massacred the town’s males. Echoing what happened to Osceola, Quantrilll’s men pillaged the town for four hours.

Aftermath

The guerillas concentrated their killing on the town’s male population. When the raiders left, over 180 males had been killed. Quantrill was indiscriminate between boys and men, killing both the former and the latter without mercy. They also killed 17 out 23 Army recruits that were living in Lawrence.

Quantrill’s men also burned all the business buildings in Lawrence, leaving only two standing. The stores and banks were also rid of their money before the raiders rode out of town.

Successful as they were in their objectives, Quantrill failed to kill Senator Lane. The jayhawker was said to have escaped by running through a cornfield still wearing his nightclothes.

The response was quick and brutal. Barely a day after the raid, a member of Quantrill’s Raiders wandered and was caught in Lawrence by the surviving citizens. This raider was then killed through a lynch mob in angry retaliation to the raid.

Following General Order No. 10, General Ewing issued General Order No. 11 which resulted in the eviction of thousands of Missourians who were living by the border of the state of Kansas. Ewing also sent incursions led by Charles “Doc” Jennison into the four countries inhabited by the Missourian evictees, and burned them to the ground.

Quantrill and his men headed south after the raid into Texas. The Quantrill’s Raiders eventually disbanded barely one year following the raid. There were no other successful raids for William Clark Quantrill after Lawrence, as he was left with only few supporters. Frank James and Jesse James were said to be part of this. Two years later, Quantrill died in Kentucky.

Senator Lane survived the raid, but in 1866, he shot himself because of depression. He had been accused of discrepancies in his financial statements, and was also said to be deranged. He survived for 10 more days before dying near Leavenworth, Kansas.

Attila Z Jancsina is a freelance copy writer. He occasionally writes for Kansas Real Estate FSBO. Website offers Free FSBO advertisement.

Oscar Arias is the current president of the country of Costa Rica. He first assumed office on May 8, 2006 and is currently serving his second term. He had first been elected president on May 8, 1986 and served until May 8, 1990. For more information on Costa Rica, check out ToucanEstate.

President Arias is best known as one of the driving figures behind the end of the Central American civil wars during the 1980s. For his efforts, Oscar Arias Sanchez received the Nobel Peace Price in 1987.

Aside from that, President Arias was also awarded the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism. The Economists for Peace and Security also accepted him as a trustee. President Arias is a member of the Board of Directors of International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims.

Personal History

President Arias was born on September 13, 1940 in Heredia, Costa Rica. He was born to an upper class family, a status which made it possible for him to undergo secondary schooling at the Colegio Saint Francis in San Jose, Costa Rica.

After finishing his secondary schooling, Oscar Arias Sanchez flew to the United States in order to study medicine in Boston University. However, he changed his mind after a while and returned to Costa Rica. He finished law and economics instead at the University of Costa Rica. To continue educating himself, Arias flew to the United Kingdom in 1967, where he went to school in the London School of Economics. Eight years later in 1974, he received a political science doctorate degree from the University of Essex.

The Costa Rican president is also the holder of over 50 honorary degrees from different universities.

The National Liberation Party and his First Presidency

Arias joined the Partido Liberacion Nacional and ran under its banner for president in 1986. The PLN is known for being the party under which several popular Costa Rican presidents belong to, like its founder Jose Figueres. Under the same banner, Arias achieved victory.

He then went on to shift Costa Rican economy to focus on non-traditional agriculture and tourism, which some of his own party mates critized as shifting to a neoliberal economic model. The PLN, after all, focuses on social democrat teachings, which they claimed Arias abandoned during his administration.

President Arias also reinstated the standard academic tests that students have to take upon finishing primary and secondary schooling. He also pushed for the creation of the Central American Parliament, although currently he announced Costa Rica’s non-participation in the Parliament.

Esquipulas Accord

By the time Arias became the president of Costa Rica, the Central American countries were engaged in violent and long-running civil wars. In May 1986, President Arias was one of the five Central American presidents that attended the first Esquipulas Summit in Esquipulas, Guatemala.

The summit resulted into a Peace Plan which was submitted on February 15, 1987. From this peace plan, the Esquipulas Peace Process was drafted. The Process was a framework for resolving conflict and for economic cooperation between the beleaguered Central American states.

Another summit was then held by the five Central American presidents including Arias, which resulted to the “Esquipulas II” accord that was signed on August 7, 1987 in Guatemala City.

Despite rejection by the United States due to its recognition of the Nicaraguan Sandinista regime, the accoes was successful as it paved the way for the 1990 reconciliation and ending of the 30-year Guatemalan Civil War, and the peace agreement in El Salvador.

Arias’ efforts led to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize, although there are criticisms that he has plagiarized propositions made by Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala as his own.

Second Presidency

The Costa Rican judiciary formerly forbade former presidents from running for a second term. However, in 2004, the Constitutional Court made a very controversial decision removing that restriction. Following that, Arias announced his intention to run for a second presidency opposite Otton Solis, Otto Guevara, Ricardo Toledo and Antonio Alvarez.

Solis and Arias were the foremost among the five presidential candidates. Competition was stiff, with only a 0.4% or 3,200-vote difference after the first count. Voters who abstained from voting for the other candidates even voted for Solis at the last minute, resulting in the thin margin of votes. It was seen as an effort to prevent Arias from winning.

One of the first decisions he made on his second Presidency was to end Costa Rica’s recognition of Taiwan as the Republic of China, and instead recognized the mainland People’s Republic of China.

Tendinitis

Just recently, on May 20, 2008, President Arias was diagnosed as having a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords by the Philadelphia Ears, Nose and Throat Associates. Doctors then advised him not to talk for a month, after which surgery may be performed if his condition did not improve.

Attila Z Jancsina is a freelance copy writer. He occasionally writes for Costa Rica Real Estate. Website offers Free FSBO advertisement.

Greek Fire, also known as Byzantine Fire, Greek Byzantine Fire, and Sea Fire, was a terrifying naval weapon mastered by the Greeks and the Byzantines during early Medieval times.

This may be the earliest form of naval napalm, and allowed their ships to fight with fire, with some claims that there was so much fire that it seemed like they could light the water itself.

The Byzantines usually used it in naval battles to great effect, and their opponents’ ships generally couldn’t escape it since the Greek fire would continue to burn, even on water. As the fire spread, more and more ships would be consumed by the fire.

By what few surviving historical accounts we have left, Greek fire could continue burning even on water and was largely responsible for many Byzantine military victories, extending the life of the empire several centuries.

During many early battles with Islamic nations over Constantinople, victory was assured only because Greek fire could not be countered, and was used to devastating effect.

What is really interesting is that accounts have the fire being transmitted in streams of fire from enemy ships, almost like a flame thrower. The exact formula for this naval medieval weapon was a secret, and actually remains a mystery to this day.

Scientists can only guess as to what it was, and how it was shot in a flame thrower form. The funny thing is, they really have no clue, showing that in some ways, our ancestors were certainly had technologies we don’t have today!

There are varying accounts of where Greek fire came from, though many believe that it was invented in Constantinople by chemists who studied the early sciences. Accounts say putting water on the fire only spread it more widely, leading many historians to believe it was some form of oil.

While Greek fire gave the Byzantines a frightening weapon, they fell because they were surrounded on all sides, and eventually just ran out of population. This Greek fire was used against barbarians, Muslim invaders, and the Rus–not to mention the Venetians when the Fourth Crusade decided to sack Constantinople instead of continuing on.

Everyone knew to fear Greek fire, and it probably had the same effect that a well hidden sniper has on enemy forces in modern times.

The major down side was that Greek fire was very hard to control, and it would often accidentally set Byzantine ships ablaze, and an occasional accident could result in huge casualties in their own armies.

The effectiveness of Greek fire was obvious, but even so it had its own limitations. For example, because of its short range it was far more effective as a weapon in narrow straights or canals than in the open seas where there was room to maneuver.

From what we know, whatever the ingredients were, they were heated in a cauldron, and then pumped out of the ship in a fiery stream. Some degree of this was adapted for city use, and used in early “grenade” like form: terrifying cavalry and soldiers alike.

If you liked this article, please feel free to visit my Medieval Weapons.

There were no Catholics in our town before JFK. If there were, none of the kids in my gang knew about them. It was rumored that they had a church in town somewhere behind the local A & P, but I never found it. I was already in my teens before I saw my first real life Catholic. He didn’t look much different than me, but my mother acted like I had spoken to the anti-Christ himself!

As a kid growing up in the south in the early ’60s, our church was the spiritual center of our universe. My family was all Southern Baptists, as were most of my friends. A few acquaintances of mine went to the Methodist Church and one to a Church of God. We just didn’t know any Catholics and probably would’ve been afraid of them if one had showed up on our door step.

I don’t think they were really hiding; it’s just that no one paid them any attention. That all changed when John F. Kennedy became President of the United States of America! My Sunday School teacher at that time, speaking for many in the south, declared in a fearful voice that the 1960 presidential race could mean the end to Christianity as we knew it! There was a catholic running for that high office and as far as she was concerned, he was the devil himself and she knew without a doubt that we would all go to hell if he were elected!

The Bible belt at that time was against anyone or anything that promised change. John Kennedy wasn’t a Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ or even Pentecostal! He was an outsider and not to be trusted with the leadership of our country!

These sentiments belonged to many in the south during that decade and they weren’t confined to Sunday school teachers. Social changes are often served on the same platter with fear of the unknown. A different wind was definitely blowing through our southern cotton fields.

With President Kennedy in the White House, attitudes in the south slowly began to change; not over night. There was civil unrest in many parts of the country, a war in Viet Nam and we began to find Catholics everywhere in our little town! In fact, folks we’d known for years were now proudly admitting to being Catholic! This was part of the change that was taking place throughout the country.

Most of the crowd I ran with, having been sheltered from anything that might have been considered social or spiritual advancement, soon found that our newly discovered Catholic friends were still the good folks they were before JFK! One of my pals at the time went to Mass every Sunday but I never knew that until after the John Kennedy was elected president.

Sadly in the south, President John F. Kennedy was blamed for every perceived difficulty that anyone faced at that time. While not through his first term as president, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas one bright November afternoon in 1963.

Everyone who was living at that time knows exactly where and what they were doing when they heard news of the shooting. I was working for a residential construction company at the time, carrying unused concrete blocks to the back of the house we were building, where they would be hauled to the next job.

We had a radio setting on a stack of brick and George Jones was singing when the music was interrupted by a somber voice telling us that President Kennedy had been shot an hour before in Texas.

I recall as vividly as if it were yesterday that there was a dozen laborers and brick masons working, including me, when the announcement was made. There was a moment of shocked silence and then a loud and raucous cheer went up from the laborers and brick masons working on the house.

“I hope the S.O.B. dies!” yelled one of them.
“They ought to give the guy who shot him a medal!” screamed another.
“It’s about time someone had the guts to kill that S.O.B.” shouted a guy with a shovel in his hands.

Those were a few of the nicer comments from a blue collar working crew in the south at the time. I’ve often wondered if President Kennedy had announced that he was a Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian, would he have sparked such outrage in the south. Maybe, maybe not. I guess I’ll never know.

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.redfishbob.com
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com

Chinese antiques civilization evolved very separately from influences from the west until modern times, and those were more of warships and gunboat diplomacy by the west to intrude itself into commerce of the Orient. The west has much to feel shame about in it’s treatment of China, as does Japan, and for which China never ceases to remind all guilty parties. This has become such an ingrained self defence mechanism that China continues to use it to this day, whether it holds the high moral ground or not.

To China, any statement in criticism of any policy of modern China is to invite near assault, as television cameras from London to Paris to San Francisco to elsewhere have shown us, until now the Olympic torch, this democratic symbol of athletes showing their best is becoming more a Roman Circus parade, in which the army surround the prisoner in his cage on his way to the stadium. There, he would be ritually strangled to cheering thousands, or offered as a combatant with a small sword against a lion.

This could be modern China’s solution to so much world dissatisfaction with their moral rights to yet be worthy of holding the icon of democracy, the Olympic torch: the world seems to say loudly that they are not. In sympathy with the feelings of the ancient Greek governing council of Thirty, as those who ruled Socrates imbibe the life releasing chalice of hemlock, so that for China: to distribute to each Tibetan monk who dares speak from his heart, or his mind. Alexander the Great knew those Thirty were all driven from power soon after such cruel folly.

Greece would honor those who spoke their minds in honest protest of a wrong. However, in 2008 Beijing, as in Rome at any time or Greece in 469 B C E, the Socratic group of monks from Tibet could be paraded in chains through the smoggy air of Beijing without masks. Hell on earth itself would be to parade them around Beijing without masks until they cough or drop, an updated Bataan march. Then China, the world’s most glorious civilization, as they keep telling us, could take these terrorist monks into the stadium to the Chinese only crowd, all will like Confucious do as the emperor says, and will show thumbs down as the Manchurian tigers enter through the other gate.

All is quiet with drama, for a short while. But, soon, what Han batons could not quite complete, nor could the reeducation camps, but quickly could the mighty tiger. Dragon tiger, did he who make thee, make me? So, if we care, and we are there, why not bypass these Roman circus fakes of the true spirit of Athens and democratic speech andfree athletes, bypass made in China if modern. Buy Chinese antiques before they reah that curve in their progress from dollar an hour to who has great grandmother’s Ming vases?

You do, which you are buying now. So clear your mantle, Mickey. Buy low, enjoy, and a decade from now, when the guys are having a yard block sales of their modern Chinese junk, say you are busy. Someone on the net has just bid two extra zeros onto that Ming vase I love. Well, Mings and Chinese antique things I do love, but I sense my love being overwhelmed by the sound of dollars, a million callers. Makes you wish you had bought more back then. You still can. But as China becomes more rich, so will those at the top.

And it will be they who will eventually, as in Japan decades earlier, stop just thrilling about their modern gadgets and cellphone photos. What about our Chinese antiques heritage? Have we got a Ming mantle for you, new rich Sam Ming Kew. Yes, Mickey, you rebuilt your mantle. Smart investing. Serves you good, Lady Marion, and Sir Robin Hood.

Derek Dashwood enjoys noticing positive ways we progress, the combining of science into the humanities to measure politics, wise use and mis use of power and protective love at
Chinese Antiques