http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1595
Here are some one liners...
In Search of the Man of Gold... El Dorado -- The mythical city of gold actually refers to a man painted with gold dust, but Sir Walter Raleigh goes on a search and finds Guiana.
The New Sultan Has 19 Fewer Brothers -- By tradition the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire kills off all potential usurpers... meaning all of his brothers. For good measure he murders his mother and his son.
Romeo! Oh Romeo! It's the Prequel to Westside Story! -- William Shakespeare debuts his play "Romeo and Juliet". I discuss its similarity to the musical, Westside Story."
In Search of the Man of Gold... El Dorado
The term "El Dorado" usually refers to a mythical city of gold located somewhere in South America but it originally referred to a single person, a man of gold. The new chief of a certain South American tribe would cover himself in gold dust and dive into the lake in order to appease the gods. When the Spaniards heard of this practice, the story grew in the telling until the chief was leader of an entire city of gold. If the chief and tribe had ever existed, it has long since been lost to memory when Sir Walter Raleigh arrives in the New World. He begins his search for El Dorado in the region called Guiana. He finds a lake but not much gold. He will mount a second expedition several years later. [1] [2] [3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Many have spent their lives and fortunes in the search for El Dorado. When Sir Walter Raleigh returned years later he sent his son into the jungle to continue the search but the young man was killed while attacking a Spanish outpost. Sir Walter returned to England a broken man. Fearing another war with Spain, King James had Raleigh beheaded for the attack on their outpost. Was there ever an El Dorado? Maybe the man painted in gold dust once existed, but very few explorers found the amounts of gold that the first Spanish expeditions took from the Aztecs and the Incas. Nevertheless, future expeditions benefited because a lot of South America was explored and mapped in this way.
Many have spent their lives and fortunes in the search for El Dorado. When Sir Walter Raleigh returned years later he sent his son into the jungle to continue the search but the young man was killed while attacking a Spanish outpost. Sir Walter returned to England a broken man. Fearing another war with Spain, King James had Raleigh beheaded for the attack on their outpost. Was there ever an El Dorado? Maybe the man painted in gold dust once existed, but very few explorers found the amounts of gold that the first Spanish expeditions took from the Aztecs and the Incas. Nevertheless, future expeditions benefited because a lot of South America was explored and mapped in this way.
The New Sultan Has 19 Fewer Brothers
The transition of power in the Ottoman Empire has always been a shaky one. Once the Sultan dies it is a race to power and the winner cannot reliably buy off his competitors who are his brothers from multiple mothers. With so many potential usurpers, a new Sultan has traditionally murdered his male siblings, but with 19 murdered brothers, it is a blood bath as Mehmed the 3rd comes to power. The decline of the Ottoman Empire continues. [5] [6]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Well... I was going to say something snide about tradition, but there is a reason why they do this. In a previous succession, the wrong brother made it to the throne first, and the latecomer was bought off at a considerable cost. He remained an embarrassment for a long time, even joining forces with the Pope. Then the brother organized an army and attacked the Sultan. If one can't buy off a competitor, all one can do is to destroy him or be destroyed. That is why all the brothers were destroyed but it created a lot of resentful mothers. Those mothers could throw a lot of sand into the gears so Mehmet the 3rd had his mother murdered as well as his own son.
Well... I was going to say something snide about tradition, but there is a reason why they do this. In a previous succession, the wrong brother made it to the throne first, and the latecomer was bought off at a considerable cost. He remained an embarrassment for a long time, even joining forces with the Pope. Then the brother organized an army and attacked the Sultan. If one can't buy off a competitor, all one can do is to destroy him or be destroyed. That is why all the brothers were destroyed but it created a lot of resentful mothers. Those mothers could throw a lot of sand into the gears so Mehmet the 3rd had his mother murdered as well as his own son.
Romeo! Oh Romeo! It's the Prequel to Westside Story!
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet makes its debut. It is a retelling of an Arthur Brooke poem, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliette. The young Romeo of the Montague family falls in love with the fair Juliet of the Capulet family after he sneaks into a dance put on by her father. With both families at war with each other, what can young lovers do? Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, challenges Romeo to a duel but he refuses. Romeo's friend, Mercutio (mur-KYEW-shee-oh), takes the challenge and in the midst of the duel, Romeo watches his friend slump to the ground, dead. Romeo kills Tybalt in turn. Juliet sees the impossibility of openly marrying Romeo so she fakes her own death and sends a message to Romeo that he should run away with her but he never gets the memo. Romeo, thinking that Juliet is really dead, drinks poison. Juliet awakens from her drug-induced coma to find Romeo dead and stabs herself in the heart. The surviving families feel like total creeps and stop their feuding. The End. Author! Author! Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a great improvement on the original poem and it remains one of his most popular plays. [7] [8] [9]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to a musical called, Westside Story. It's the Jets against the Sharks and this time Maria and Tony fall in love. Spoiler alert! Tony's friend, Riff, is killed in a duel with Maria's brother, Bernardo. Tony kills Bernardo in turn. Maria sends a message to Tony to run away with her but he doesn't get the message. He is told that Maria has been killed by Chino so Tony hunts him down and is shot by Chino. Tony dies in Maria's arms. Maria grabs Chino's gun. It's a close thing but she drops to her knees. A shawl is draped over her, giving the impression of a nun in prayer. The question left unanswered is the same: "Was all the anger and intolerance worth the price?" [10] [11] [12]
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to a musical called, Westside Story. It's the Jets against the Sharks and this time Maria and Tony fall in love. Spoiler alert! Tony's friend, Riff, is killed in a duel with Maria's brother, Bernardo. Tony kills Bernardo in turn. Maria sends a message to Tony to run away with her but he doesn't get the message. He is told that Maria has been killed by Chino so Tony hunts him down and is shot by Chino. Tony dies in Maria's arms. Maria grabs Chino's gun. It's a close thing but she drops to her knees. A shawl is draped over her, giving the impression of a nun in prayer. The question left unanswered is the same: "Was all the anger and intolerance worth the price?" [10] [11] [12]
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