History: The Year is 1774

I've uploaded year 1774 to the TSP Wiki...

http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1774

Here are some one liners...


The Minutemen and the Rape of Boston -- The Intolerable Acts, a tax collector is tared and feather and another Tea Party.

Johnny Appleseed is Born -- He is going to set up a business... not just throw out random seeds.

The Minutemen and the Rape of Boston

OK. This year has a lot of moving parts.

• A Boston mob tars and feathers a customs agent, and pours hot tea down his throat. They wrap a rope around his neck and threaten to hang him from the Liberty Tree. Make no mistake... this customs agent is a total ass. He definitely deserves a beating, but he does not merit a hanging. He finally apologizes and resigns his post after they threaten to cut off his ears. ^[1]

• Americans call it the Rape of Boston as the British Parliament passes the "Intolerable Acts". Boston Harbor is closed as a punishment for the Tea Party. A political cartoon shows the Earl of Sandwich lifting the skirt of "Boston" while Mother Britannia weeps. Parliament also suspends Massachusetts' royal charter, strengthens the Quartering Act and authorizes criminal trials of British officials to be held in England rather than the colonies. George Washington calls it "The Murder Act" since it lets British officials get away with murder. Washington is contemplating war. ^{[2] [3]}

• The First Continental Congress meets to petition the King but what they get are the Minutemen, and a successful boycott of British goods. They recognize the Committees of Safety as legitimate authorities to raise militias. Even though the colonies already have militias, the Congress sees the need for a private militia that can be gathered quickly. Thus the Minutemen are formed. ^[4]

• General Gage arrives in the Colonies to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and to cow the colonists. The number of Minutemen increases dramatically. ^{[5] [6]}

• The women of Edenton throw a Tea Party. They join Boston in boycotting English tea. They say, "It is a duty that we owe, not only to our near and dear connections... but to ourselves." It is one of the first women's political protests in America. The English press mocks them as old biddies. ^[7]

My Take by Alex Shrugged
Remember that communication between the colonies often took weeks. Also, violent agitation was a necessary part of the success of the American Revolution, but Benjamin Franklin and John Adams opposed violent agitation. They felt that it delegitimatized the cause for independence... which it did. On the other hand, if John Adam's plan for a legitimate, principled and legal transition to independence had been followed, we would still be arguing about it. FYI, the British originally called the colonists "Americans" as an insult, but the colonists grew to like it so the label stuck.

Johnny Appleseed is Born

Johnny Appleseed

He is born John Chapman but he will best be known as Johnny Appleseed. Born in the midst of the American Revolution, his mother will die while his father is away fighting. Years later Johnny will apprentice to an orchard-grower where he will learn about tending apples. In these days, apples are used mostly for making applejack... an alcoholic beverage made from apple cider. "Jacking" is a method of freezing or evaporating in order to "jack up" the concentration of alcohol. It is safer than drinking water, especially in areas where water purity is questionable. People don't know about germs yet, but the alcohol kills off most of the germs that make people sick. (FYI, Puritans drink it and kids too. It is considered right and proper.) Johnny Appleseed will wander through Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley in the early 1800s setting up apple tree nurseries. He will use grafting as a method of propagating good apples... not planting random apple seeds. He will sell shares in the nurseries on a per-tree basis to colonists coming across the Allegheny Mountains. The colonists will tend them and he will return yearly to collect his share. Yes. It will be a business... a growing business with benefits for all. That is how he will gain such a good reputation. He will also do a bit of preaching. He will make a little money at this business and by the time he passes away, it will be a going concern, worth millions to his sister who will inherit it. Many of his established orchards will survive into the modern day. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

My Take by Alex Shrugged
Applejack today is not always a concentrated hard cider. It is sometimes an apple brandy, so pay attention to what you are drinking. In Texas, it is legal for a parent to serve his children alcohol such as wine or (I assume) applejack, but it is illegal for anyone else to do so even with the parent's written permission. Assume nothing. Check with your local authorities on the laws concerning minors using alcohol. They usually allow the small amounts used for ritual purposes, but I've caught kids in the kitchen chugging what was left in those little cups after the ceremony so keep an eye on those rascals if it bothers you.

This Year in

Wikipedia

Year 1774, Wikipedia.