Why I’m glad to be a native speaker of English

“… all Pleas which shall be pleaded in [any] Courts whatsoever, before any of his Justices whatsoever, or in his other Places, or before any of His other Ministers whatsoever, or in the Courts and Places of any other Lords whatsoever within the Realm, shall be pleaded, shewed, defended, answered, debated, and judged in the English language [formerly French], and that they be entered and inrolled in Latin … ”

– “Pleading in English Act” (1362), as passed by the relatively-new Parliament of England in the Middle Ages

When including second-language speakers, English is the world’s most spoken language

I love learning non-native languages as much as the next person (and maybe more so). I’ve learned some Spanish and French, as well as some Biblical Hebrew and Greek. Perhaps partially because of this, I would love to have multiple native languages. More specifically, given that I live in the American Southwest, I would love to be a native speaker of both English and Spanish. To be clear, it’s hard for people with one native language to raise their kids bilingually, when that language is not dominant in the culture where they live. Thus, I should clarify that this is not intended as a “criticism” of my parents, for somehow “failing” to teach me any significant Spanish as a kid. Given that they were not native speakers of Spanish, such expectations would seem entirely unwarranted, not to mention inapplicable. And, as mentioned above, I was still able to learn Spanish as a second language later on, making up somewhat for this minor disadvantage in my situation. Nonetheless, if I’ve got to have only one native language, I’m glad in many ways that it was English. Speakers of nearly every language tend to consider their own language to be the most “beautiful.” I get this. I’m actually less that way myself, since I find all of my languages to be comparable in their charm and beauty – maybe even more beautiful. But English likewise has its own charm. Obviously, it’s the most useful language here in the United States, which remains one of the largest economies in the world. But, with apologies to Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, it’s also the most practical language in the entire world. Spanish and Mandarin Chinese may have more native speakers than English, but English has a significant number of second-language speakers. Thus, when you include these second-language speakers in the total, English is currently the most spoken language in the world. In part, this is because English remains one of the major languages of India today. India has more than a billion people, as you may know. Owing in part to the prior British colonization there, a significant portion of modern India speaks English. Small wonder, then, that the business value of English is so strong today.

An official of the British East India Company, circa 1760

Trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, 1963

Why I’m glad that I learned Spanish

“Se habla español.” (“We speak Spanish.”)

– A phrase used by businesses in parts of the United States (including here in the Southwest)

Anecdote about immersing myself in Hispanic culture (which I can’t do with ancient cultures)

This might seem a strange way to begin a blog post about Spanish – but I’ve been learning Biblical Hebrew and Greek for some years now. Because of this, I’ve actually been able to read some parts of the Bible in the original Hebrew. I’ve sometimes wished that I could get off the plane, and step into the cultures of both Biblical Hebrew and Greek. For example, I’ve sometimes wished that I could have a conversation in one (or even both) of these two dead languages. Of course, I’ve never actually been able to do so, because I live in the twenty-first century. There are such languages as modern Hebrew and Greek, but the ancient forms of these languages died out many centuries ago. However, I do have some modern languages alongside of the ancient ones. And one of these modern languages, as it turns out, is Spanish. I live in the Southwestern United States, so Hispanic culture is all around me here. It can be found in things from the local Spanish place names, to the remarkable Mexican food that so many of us eat here. Indeed, this is one of the few cultures that I can actually step into while staying here in my Arizona hometown. This is one of the reasons that I’ve long been glad that I learned some Spanish. I wouldn’t even need to purchase a plane ticket, to be able to put this language into practice. I can do so right here at home, without even having to leave town. With Spanish, I got my wish, and was actually able to get some firsthand experience of the culture for myself.

Great image of a carne asada burrito from Wikipedia

How the Seven Years’ War spilled over into Latin America

The Seven Years’ War was fought on five different continents. Thus, it was a massive worldwide conflict (as I argue elsewhere). It started out in the frontier of North America, but soon drew in many of the mother countries from back in Europe. From there, the conflict would then spread to West Africa, to the Indian subcontinent, and to the Philippine Islands. But it would also be fought in a couple of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of South America. Specifically, it would be expressed there, as part of a forgotten conflict called the “Fantastic War.” This part is sometimes called the “First Cevallos expedition.” This is basically the Latin American theater of the Seven Years’ War. You could even regard it as the Seven Years’ War spilling over into Latin America. The “Fantastic War” (and this portion thereof) are mostly forgotten to history, but the conflict may have set the stage for the later Latin American wars of independence. Thus, it may behoove us to look for a moment at this forgotten (and important) conflict in this post. This will tell us much about the great European colonies in Latin America.

The captured Spanish fleet at Havana (Cuba, 1762) – during the Anglo-Spanish War

Some medieval pros and cons: Striking a “middle” course with the Middle Ages

Two possible extremes of the Middle Ages: romanticizing them, and demonizing them

The Middle Ages remain a source of enduring interest today, but they are also the center of a great international debate. One side seems to romanticize the Middle Ages, based on things like the chivalry and the various kinds of art. The other side seeks to demonize and dismiss the Middle Ages, based on things like the superstition and the great brutality. Few periods in European history are as hard for people in the modern West to understand as the thousand-year Middle Ages. In some ways, the Middle Ages may (in fact) be the most alien period of such length in all of Western history. But it would be a mistake to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The Middle Ages also produced some fantastic art, architecture, music, and literature – inspired by the fervent faith of the era. It also produced some great religious philosophers – such as St. Augustine, Duns Scotus, and St. Thomas Aquinas in the Christian world. Elsewhere, it also produced Maimonides in Judaism, and Avicenna and Averroes in the Islamic world. And the Middle Ages even produced some great science (more about that here) – more science than most people today might realize. Much of this was centered around the Islamic world, but some of it also came from Catholic Europe. Thus, we continue to try to come to terms with the complex history of the Middle Ages, and the relative degree of good and evil therein. Thus, this post will try to examine some of the pros and cons of the Middle Ages, and how some of them continue to affect how people today see this period.

Byzantine Church mosaics, Monreale, Sicily, late 12th century

Why does the Declaration of Independence list so many grievances?

“Whereas many of our subjects in divers parts of our colonies and plantations in North America … have at length proceeded to open and avowed rebellion, by arraying themselves in a hostile manner, to withstand the execution of the law, and traitorously preparing, ordering and levying war against us: And whereas, there is reason to apprehend that such rebellion hath been much promoted and encouraged by the traitorous correspondence, counsels and comfort of divers wicked and desperate persons within this realm: To the end therefore, that none of our subjects may neglect or violate their duty through ignorance thereof, or through any doubt of the protection which the law will afford to their loyalty and zeal, we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue our Royal Proclamation …”

– The “Proclamation of Rebellion” by King George the Third (23 August 1775)

In the eighteenth century, Americans had strong disagreements about colonial grievances

We today remember the Declaration of Independence for its ideas, and it is right that we do so. But, surprisingly, it was most famous in its own time … for the list of colonial grievances. To the people of that time, the list of grievances was the most important part, and certainly the most interesting. The grievances addressed the fiery controversies of the day, about whether the king had broken his end of a social contract with the people. Some American Loyalists actually agreed with the idea that the king had done some terrible things to the American colonies. Many of them even agreed that, if these provocations were indeed bad enough, rebellion would indeed be justified. But they needed to be convinced that the provocations were indeed bad enough to justify this radical course of action.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence

Jainism and Sikhism: Two of the minority religions of India

“The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.”

– Part III, Article 15 of the current Constitution of India – which came into force in the year 1950

India has one billion people. Thus, even the country’s minority religions can be big ones …

India has more than one billion people. Some even believe that it may have overtaken China as the most populous nation in the world. If not, it is easily still the second most populous. Thus, even the country’s minority religions can be big ones today. Hinduism, as you may know, is the largest religion in India today. Nearly 80% of the country are Hindus, according to an Indian census in 2011. The second largest religion in India today, as it turns out, is Islam. Nearly 15% of the country are Muslims. It would probably be even more, if you were to include nearby Pakistan and Bangladesh – both of which were once parts of British India, along with what is today “India.” If you do the math, these two religions alone would thus account for more than 90% of the current population of India. But what about the rest of the country? The third largest religion there is Christianity, with roughly 2% of the country. The influence of prior British colonization may help to explain this Christian segment somewhat. But here, I will be focusing on two lesser-known religions, whose very names are often unknown to many of my fellow Americans. Thus, in the interest of education, I would like to focus on Jainism and Sikhism, two of the important minority religions of India. I will start here by talking about Jainism.

Guru Nanak explaining Sikh teachings to Sadhus

How the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars changed Europe

“His majesty the king of Prussia cedes … all the territories and domains, and all territorial property of whatever kind, or by whatever title possessed, by his majesty the king of Prussia, between the Rhine and the Elbe, at the commencement of the present war … The kingdom of Westphalia shall consist of the provinces ceded by his majesty the king of Prussia, and of other states which are at present in possession of his majesty the emperor Napoleon … His majesty the king of Prussia cedes the circle of Kotbus, in Lower Lusatia, to his majesty the king of Saxony, with full right of proprietorship and sovereignty.”

– “Treaty of Tilsit, 9 July 1807” (specifically, Articles VII, VIII, and XII), between Napoleon Bonaparte of France and King Frederick William the Third of Prussia

During the French Revolution, at least 40,000 of the French people were executed by the guillotine. These eventually included King Louis the Sixteenth, and his wife Marie Antoinette. They even include a few of the Revolution’s leaders, such as Maximilien Robespierre. Eventually, the French Revolution was sucking much of the rest of Europe into the French Revolutionary Wars. At least half a million people died in this earlier conflict, which lasted for a decade. It was soon followed by the Napoleonic Wars, whose death toll proved even higher. (More about that later.) Like its predecessor, this conflict also lasted for a decade. These conflicts would be fought in Egypt, the Middle East, India, the East Indies, North America, South America, the Caribbean islands, and many of the world’s oceans and seas. But it would also involve countless battles on the European continent. The legacy of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars … has always been somewhat complicated. But it’s also extremely interesting, with many dramatic moments. Many of them shaped the course of history. Thus, this might be a good time to examine the general legacy of this period. I will try to show how these wars helped to shape Europe. But, through Europe, this conflict also affected many of Europe’s former colonies, in many different parts of the world.

Entry of Napoleon into Berlin – Prussia, 1806