“History doesn’t lie!” a friend said to me the other day in a futile attempt to win an argument. He was wrong, of course. History is a very strange thing that is frequently mistaken for the truth. Even if facts are readily available, popular myth can outweigh them in determining what people believe. After a while, the lie gets repeated enough for the public to forget there was ever any other story, and what started as a lie becomes cultural history.
People believe in the end what they want to believe, and it is impossible to challenge either their knowledge or interpretation. There are a few I’ve given up ranting about.
For example, there was the case of Miss Elizabeth Borden of Fall River, Massachusetts. On August 4, 1892, her father and stepmother were found murdered. A hatchet was thought to be the weapon used, but that was never proven. Elizabeth Borden was thought to be the killer and was charged, but found not guilty. You would have thought the facts would have meant something, but when she died in 1927, the public still did not know her as Elizabeth Borden. She was Lizzy Borden who chopped up her parents with an axe.
The facts about the case have meant nothing. Even today, the name Lizzy Borden means The Fall River Axe Murderer, thanks partly to massive press coverage that tied her name permanently to the lurid events. Even more damaging was a new skipping rhyme that came out of nowhere and spread through the English speaking world, even before the trial was finished:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.
Try living down words chanted in play by millions of children for more than 100 years.
Next is Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra VII, first woman pharaoh of Egypt, also the last pharaoh of any kind. She was Macedonian Greek, descended from Alexander the Great’s general Ptolemy whose family ruled Egypt 305-31 BC. The Ptolemy family was xenophobic and incestuous, and as a female member Cleopatra had a mate choice of her brother or son.
According to the image many hold of her today, she was one of the most beautiful women ever, and she was Black. I’m very tired (have given up, actually) arguing both those supposed “facts”.
Let’s start with her beauty. The best images likenesses from ancient history usually come from coins. Just like with money and stamps today for the Queen of England, Cleopatra would have had to approve of a likeliness used of her. Those few we have show a heavy woman with a hooked nose.
She was Hellenistic, Macedonian Greek by family origin with descendents who kept inbreeding for 300 years. There is a lot of “perhaps” and “maybe” thinking going on about her race. The fact that she came from an African nation did not make her Black. The fact that Egypt was an empire of many cultural groups, including Nubians, did not make her Black.
There are those who claim that Europeans created their own white version of Cleopatra and destroyed all the real evidence.
"As an African-American female, I tend to view her as a woman of color, but if you look at the images of Cleopatra that predominate, it's clear that that's not how Europeans have tended to view her," says Julia Perkins, an associate director of the Art Institute of Chicago.
No matter which side has got it right, a large portion of humanity has bought into a history that is a lie.
Finally, there is the matter of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. According to American mythology, he was one of the nation’s great soldiers, a man who bravely fought against overwhelming odds at The Battle of the Little Big Horn.
In fact, Custer was a vain, glory-seeking, racist. He showed a daring disregard of risk and won several honours in the American Civil War, reaching the rank of brevet Brigadier General even though he had finished last in his class at West Point. He was a fancy dresser and media hound. After the war, he went back to the rank of Captain. He turned down a chance to be a full Colonel because it meant taking over the all-Black US 10th Cavalry, the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Instead, he accepted the rank of Lt. Colonel with the US 7th Michigan Cavalry.
Custer began wearing fancy shirts and buckskin jackets, and let his yellow hair grow long and flowing. He created elite cavalry units, all riding the same coloured horses. Custer became part of the U.S. forces moving against native tribes in The Black Hills campaign.
On June 26, 1876 he was in charge of a force of 12 companies of the US 7th Cavalry, about 650 men, when he suddenly found himself overlooking a huge encampment of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho next to a fork in the Little Big Horn river. His guides knew he was going to attack and told him they had never seen a native village this large. Estimates afterwards stated there were anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 warriors present. His native guides immediately chucked their uniforms and changed into their natural warrior dress, knowing they were about to die and not wanting to do it as soldiers under this man.
Custer thought ebveryone in the huge encampment would run away when they saw who was attacking them. He gave seven companies to his sub-commanders, Banteen and Reno, then ordered an attack surrounding the village. Banteen and Reno were repulsed immediately and dug in on a hill top. Custer, who could have waited for reinforcements, decided he didn’t want all these potential prisoners to get away and charged. Women and children were slaughtered, but the enraged Sioux and Cheyenne soon drove Custer off and pursued him. There is no evidence that he made a heroic “Last Stand” as told in books, movies, and songs, as well as in many paintings, yet “Custer’s Last Stand” is one of the greatest American legends.
Custer had audaciously attacked a village of thousands with about 270 men. Once they had him cornered and dismounted, the warriors came at him with a wave and simply rode over his force. Many dropped their guns and ran, allowing young warriors to “count coupe” by riding by them unarmed to touch them before someone else killed them. His command was wiped out.
The “great battle” of courage had been a stupid attempt by a man who was hated by his own men and killed native women and children without a thought. Once again, however, people believed the myth of a brave warrior, praised by newspapers and politicians across the continent. The army blamed Reno and Banteen for not coming to his aid, even though to do so would have been suicidal. Before long, America believed the entire 7th Cavalry had been wiped out, and “Avenge Custer” was the cry that sent several armies into the Black Hills, crushing the native peoples and massacring them at places like Wounded Knee, all so miners could get at the gold found on reservation land, which was what the whole thing was about.
A 20th century author once said “Custer had it coming”. He probably did, but history sees him as one of America’s great heroes. And as we are often told, history does not lie.
People believe in the end what they want to believe, and it is impossible to challenge either their knowledge or interpretation. There are a few I’ve given up ranting about.
For example, there was the case of Miss Elizabeth Borden of Fall River, Massachusetts. On August 4, 1892, her father and stepmother were found murdered. A hatchet was thought to be the weapon used, but that was never proven. Elizabeth Borden was thought to be the killer and was charged, but found not guilty. You would have thought the facts would have meant something, but when she died in 1927, the public still did not know her as Elizabeth Borden. She was Lizzy Borden who chopped up her parents with an axe.
The facts about the case have meant nothing. Even today, the name Lizzy Borden means The Fall River Axe Murderer, thanks partly to massive press coverage that tied her name permanently to the lurid events. Even more damaging was a new skipping rhyme that came out of nowhere and spread through the English speaking world, even before the trial was finished:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.
Try living down words chanted in play by millions of children for more than 100 years.
Next is Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra VII, first woman pharaoh of Egypt, also the last pharaoh of any kind. She was Macedonian Greek, descended from Alexander the Great’s general Ptolemy whose family ruled Egypt 305-31 BC. The Ptolemy family was xenophobic and incestuous, and as a female member Cleopatra had a mate choice of her brother or son.
According to the image many hold of her today, she was one of the most beautiful women ever, and she was Black. I’m very tired (have given up, actually) arguing both those supposed “facts”.
Let’s start with her beauty. The best images likenesses from ancient history usually come from coins. Just like with money and stamps today for the Queen of England, Cleopatra would have had to approve of a likeliness used of her. Those few we have show a heavy woman with a hooked nose.
She was Hellenistic, Macedonian Greek by family origin with descendents who kept inbreeding for 300 years. There is a lot of “perhaps” and “maybe” thinking going on about her race. The fact that she came from an African nation did not make her Black. The fact that Egypt was an empire of many cultural groups, including Nubians, did not make her Black.
There are those who claim that Europeans created their own white version of Cleopatra and destroyed all the real evidence.
"As an African-American female, I tend to view her as a woman of color, but if you look at the images of Cleopatra that predominate, it's clear that that's not how Europeans have tended to view her," says Julia Perkins, an associate director of the Art Institute of Chicago.
No matter which side has got it right, a large portion of humanity has bought into a history that is a lie.
Finally, there is the matter of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. According to American mythology, he was one of the nation’s great soldiers, a man who bravely fought against overwhelming odds at The Battle of the Little Big Horn.
In fact, Custer was a vain, glory-seeking, racist. He showed a daring disregard of risk and won several honours in the American Civil War, reaching the rank of brevet Brigadier General even though he had finished last in his class at West Point. He was a fancy dresser and media hound. After the war, he went back to the rank of Captain. He turned down a chance to be a full Colonel because it meant taking over the all-Black US 10th Cavalry, the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Instead, he accepted the rank of Lt. Colonel with the US 7th Michigan Cavalry.
Custer began wearing fancy shirts and buckskin jackets, and let his yellow hair grow long and flowing. He created elite cavalry units, all riding the same coloured horses. Custer became part of the U.S. forces moving against native tribes in The Black Hills campaign.
On June 26, 1876 he was in charge of a force of 12 companies of the US 7th Cavalry, about 650 men, when he suddenly found himself overlooking a huge encampment of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho next to a fork in the Little Big Horn river. His guides knew he was going to attack and told him they had never seen a native village this large. Estimates afterwards stated there were anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 warriors present. His native guides immediately chucked their uniforms and changed into their natural warrior dress, knowing they were about to die and not wanting to do it as soldiers under this man.
Custer thought ebveryone in the huge encampment would run away when they saw who was attacking them. He gave seven companies to his sub-commanders, Banteen and Reno, then ordered an attack surrounding the village. Banteen and Reno were repulsed immediately and dug in on a hill top. Custer, who could have waited for reinforcements, decided he didn’t want all these potential prisoners to get away and charged. Women and children were slaughtered, but the enraged Sioux and Cheyenne soon drove Custer off and pursued him. There is no evidence that he made a heroic “Last Stand” as told in books, movies, and songs, as well as in many paintings, yet “Custer’s Last Stand” is one of the greatest American legends.
Custer had audaciously attacked a village of thousands with about 270 men. Once they had him cornered and dismounted, the warriors came at him with a wave and simply rode over his force. Many dropped their guns and ran, allowing young warriors to “count coupe” by riding by them unarmed to touch them before someone else killed them. His command was wiped out.
The “great battle” of courage had been a stupid attempt by a man who was hated by his own men and killed native women and children without a thought. Once again, however, people believed the myth of a brave warrior, praised by newspapers and politicians across the continent. The army blamed Reno and Banteen for not coming to his aid, even though to do so would have been suicidal. Before long, America believed the entire 7th Cavalry had been wiped out, and “Avenge Custer” was the cry that sent several armies into the Black Hills, crushing the native peoples and massacring them at places like Wounded Knee, all so miners could get at the gold found on reservation land, which was what the whole thing was about.
A 20th century author once said “Custer had it coming”. He probably did, but history sees him as one of America’s great heroes. And as we are often told, history does not lie.