The Black Loyalists of Canada

The first Black man,  Pedro Alonso Nino, arrived in the new world with Columbus in 1492, more than 100 years before the English and Dutch appeared.

Pedro Alonso Nino was a navigator and explorer of African ancestry. He traveled with Christopher Columbus' first expedition to the new world in 1492. He was also known as "El Negro"( the Black). Pedro Nino was the pilot of Columbus ship the Santa Maria.

 

In 1493, he also accompanied Columbus on the explorer's second voyage  which discovered Trinidad and the mouth of the Orinoco River in South America while piloting one of the 17 ships in the fleet. This voyage also brought the first African freeman to Hispaniola.

 

Pedro Nino led his own expedition financed by the Council of Castile that was established under Queen Isabella I in 1480 as the chief body dealing with administrative and judicial matters of the realm), to find gold and pearls in areas that were not discovered by Columbus.

Pedro Nino returned to Spain as a very wealthy man but did not live up to the agreement he had with the King to turn over 20% of his treasures (known as the Royal Fifth). He was arrested and died in prison before his trial began.      

In 1605 the first named Black Canadian was Mathieu Da Costa. In the 1600s, he was a member of the exploring parties of Pierre Dugua de Mons and Sameul de Champlain.. He was a gifted linguist and his translations bridged New France between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and the European explorers.

 

Fourteen years later in 1619, Dutch traders brought African slaves taken from a Spanish ship to Jamestown in North America.

 

In 1628, the first named enslaved African to reside in Canada was a six year  old boy, the property of Sir David Kirke. The child was sold several times, the last time he was sold to Father Paul Le Jeune, where he was baptized  Catholic and given the name Olivier Le Jeune.

 In March 1685, Louis XIV's Code Noir code permitted slavery for economic purposes only, and established strict guidelines for the ownership and treatment of slaves. It was officially limited to the West Indies and, although it was never proclaimed in New France, it was used in customary law.

By May 1, 1689 King Louis XIV of France gave limited permission for the colonists of New France to keep Black and Pawnee First Nations slaves. The colonists had complained about the shortage of available servants and workers. They appealed to the  crown for permission to own slaves and the permission was granted

People of African birth were brought forcibly to the North American colonies to provide slave labor.

This image was taken from a slave memorial in the grounds of the Anglican Cathedral which was built on the site of the former slave market, Charleston, South Carolina. 

Their descendants were caught in the war of American Independence. In the late 1600s and 1700s, the British had established rice, indigo, and tobacco plantations in the southern part of North America. At first the native Indians  were enslaved to work the fields, later, African slaves were brought in to work the fields and perform other various jobs such as domestic workers, or at semi-specialized trades such as lumbering, mining, road making, blacksmithing, shoemaking, weaving and spinning.

When the Royal British Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, lost his colony to the American rebels in the summer of 1775, he issued a proclamation that any slave or indentured person would be given their freedom if they take up arms with the British against the rebels. As a result, over 2000 slaves and other indentured persons joined his forces. Later, other British supporters in the colonies issued similar proclamations.

Many of the enslaved African Americans seized the opportunity to gain their freedom by joining the British side. Some of the Black Loyalists provided military service alongside the British Army, while others served in non-military roles.

Toward the end of the War of Independence most of the Black Loyalists converged  on New York which was home to the British general headquarters. Three thousand of them sailed to Nova Scotia  between April and November 1783, on both navy vessels and private transports chartered by the British.

Black Loyalists and other peoples of African and European decent made up a vibrant part of Nova Scotia's past. They contributed to the fabric and success of today's province. Over 400 years later, many of their ancestors call Nova Scotia home.

When Visiting Nova Scotia, visit the African Nova Scotian Museum and many other historic places in various townships throughout the province.

 

This article was transcribed by Larry Falls who was born in Nova Scotia

THE MYATERY OF MATA HARI'S BODY

In the beginning of 1905, rumors were spreading throughout Paris about a young Oriental girl who danced in a private home. She was wrapped in veils that she gradually removed during her dance. A local journalist who had seen her dancing reported that "a woman from the far east had come to Europe laden with perfume and jewels, to introduce some of richness of the Oriental colour..." Soon, everyone knew the dancers name: Mata Hari.

During that winter, small and select audiences gathered in a salon filled with Indian  and Java relics while an orchestra played music inspired by Hindu and Java melodies. After keeping the audience waiting and wondering, Mata Hari would suddenly appear in a white-cotton costume that covered very little of her body. It was covered with Indian-type jewels, jeweled bands at the waist, and bracelets up her arms. Then she would dance in a style no one had seen in France before, her whole body swaying as if she were in a trance. She told her curious audience that her dances told stories from Indian mythology and Javanese folktales. Soon the cream of the crop from Paris and ambassadors from different countries were competing for invitations to the salon, where it was rumored that Mata Hari was actually performing in the nude. 

The public was curious and wanted to know more about her. She told journalists that she was Dutch in origin and had grown up on the island of Java. She spoke of her time spent in India and how she had learned sacred Hindu dances. By the summer of 1905, everyone 

heard of Mata Hari.

As she gave more interviews, the story of her origins kept changing: She grew up in India, her grandmother was the daughter of a Javanese princess, she had lived on the island of Sumatra where she had spent her time "horseback riding, gun in hand, and risking her life.

Journalists compared her to an Indian goddess.

In August 1905, Mata Hari performed for the first time in public. On opening night, crowds rushing to see her caused a riot. She had become a cult figure. One reviewer wrote, "Mata Hari personifies all the poetry of India, its mysticism, its voluptuousness, its hypnotizing charm." Another noted, "if India possesses such  unexpected treasures, then all Frenchmen will emigrate to the shores of the Ganges."

Soon the fame of Mata Hari and her sacred Indian dance spread beyond Paris. She was invited to Berlin, Vienna and Milan. Over the next few years she performed throughout Europe , mixed with the highest social circles, and earned an income rarely enjoyed by a woman of the period.

Near the end of World War I, she was arrested in France, convicted and executed as a German spy.

Mata Hari's real name was Margaretha  Zelle born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands on August 7, 1876. Her parents were both Dutch. She had a lavish childhood, and at the age of 18 she answered an add in the local paper by a Dutch Army Captain Rudolf MacLeod looking for a wife. They married  in Amsterdam and then moved to Malang on the east side of the Island Java, where he was stationed. They had two children, Norman-John MacLeod and Louise Jeanne MacLeod. MacLeod regularly beat his wife who was twenty years younger, and he openly kept a concubine. She temporarily left him and moved in with another Dutch Officer. 

She studied the Indonesian traditions for several months and joined a local dance company at that time. In correspondence to her relatives in the Netherlands in 1897 she revealed her artistic name of Mata Hari.

At MacLeod's urging Zelle returned to him but his behavior did not change. She escaped her situation by studying the local  culture. In 1999 their children fell seriously ill from complications related to the treatment of syphilis contracted from their parents.  Jeanne survived but Norman died.  At age 21 Jeanne also died possibly  from complications related to syphilis. 

 

In 1903 Zelle moved to Paris where she performed as a circus horse rider using the name Lady MacLeod much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods. In 1905 she began to win fame as a dancer.

On February 13th, 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elyee Palace on the champs Elyees in Paris. She was put on trial on 24 July, accused of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Although the French and British intelligence suspected her of spying for Germany, neither could produce evidence against her. The excuse was secret ink was found in her room. She contended that it was part of her makeup.

After the execution her body went missing and still remains unaccounted for.

                     Eyewitness account to the Execution of Mata Hari

 

                         http://eyewitnesstohistory.com/matahari.htm

 

A Fascinating Look At The Origin Of Easter

The origin of Easter is based on ancient pagan celebrations before the emergence of Christianity. When western religions became recognized  by state laws in the first century CE, Easter celebrations were transferred to Christian holidays and the commercialization by non-Christian traditions like the Easter bunny, Easter parades, and Easter egg  hunting. Although, the ideas of commercial enterprise can be traced back to ancient times along with religious beliefs.

Originally, the celebration of Easter began in the gardens of Adonis, a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite in Greek mythology. Seeds were sown on the grave of Adonis in early spring. The seed symbolized the dead and risen god. In later centuries at the approach of Easter , Christian women would sow wheat, lentils, and canary seed in plates, which they kept in the dark and watered every two days. Once the plants began to grow, the stalks were tied together with red ribbons and the plates containing them were placed on a monument  with the effigies of the dead Christ that were displayed in Catholic and Greek churches on Good Friday, just as the gardens of Adonis were placed on the grave of the dead god.

The Easter rites of Adonis may have been adapted for the sake of winning souls to Christ. The adaptation probably took place in the Greek-speaking rather than in Latin-speaking parts of the ancient world. The worship of Adonis and The Great Mother, while it flourished among the Greeks, appears to have made little impression  on Rome and the West.

Nevertheless, the death and resurrection of Attis (god of vegetation, in his self-mutilation, death and resurrection) were officially celebrated at Rome on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of March. Accordingly, some Christians regularly celebrated the crucifixion on that day without any regard to the state of the moon.

The tradition which placed Easter and the death of Christ on the twenty-fifth of March was ancient and deeply rooted. The inference appears to be inevitable. The passion of Christ must have been arbitrarily referred to planting seeds during the spring, harvest in fall, and death of the sun during winter only to be resurrected again in the following spring. This would have harmonized with an older festival of the spring equinox.