In “The Phoenix” L&C provide two moments that they’d been promising for the entire second season and even as far back as the season premiere, namely the return of Lex Luthor and Clark finally asking Lois out on a date. I’m gonna start with that second one first because I have less to say about it. And here’s what I’m saying: I liked it! I thought Cain and Hatcher brought just the right kind of earnest nervous energy to the whole thing. There was never a will they or won’t they tension to the relationship (I don’t know if any show ever really has that tension because they always get together, except Cheers, and that’s why Cheers is the GOAT), it was always a question of when. The when is apparently an upcoming Pearl Jam concert which, huh. As a Nineties Kid there’s something specifically disconcerting about Superman listening to Pearl Jam. I know they’re solidly Dad Rock now, but this was 1995, Pearl Jam was still pretty cool back then. And I also know that the whole mission of L&C was to make Lois and Clark into Hip Young People but still. Clark should have asked her to, like, Tony Bennett or something. Or Natalie Cole, she was simultaneously cool and classy. Superman and Crowd Surfing are two concepts that should never go together, that’s all I’m saying.

It’d be funnier if he had some pithy amount left, like 71 cents.

It doesn’t really matter though, because they don’t get to go to the concert anyway, because it’s all hands on deck to deal with the return of Lex Luthor, baby! He’s back! And he’s balder than ever! The date becomes hanging out while searching for Lex and Clark gives the tickets to Jimmy who unfortunately doesn’t break his neck when he attempts stage diving and no one catches him. Opportunity missed. Anyway, I was concerned when I saw that Shea was only in one episode of L&C this season because they devoted a significant amount of time and energy into building his return up, but “The Phoenix” is a really solid conclusion to the Luthor plotline. It’s still a bummer because Shea is, by far, the most entertaining performer in the cast, and Lex is the most interesting character. I’d always like to see more of him in that role. Hell, if they managed to fit his seventy-two-year-old ass into Superman & Lois, I’d watch that. And that show fucking sucks. 

Ronnie: I don’t know exactly what day this’ll be published, but I want to declare that day SHEAMAS. I mean, this may just be me, but I’m more apt to devote a day to veneration of John Shea than to celebrate this “Jesus Christ” character pulling a Tom Sawyer on his friends. Right from the cold opening the episode is something special. Tony Jay and Tasha Yar are trying to resurrect Lex. He flatlines, they admit defeat, but then he SMASHES open his coffin. Tony Jay: “I can’t believe it.” John Shea, after 12 episodes in absentia: “Believe it.” SMASH TO CREDITS. It’s wonderful.

The Departed actually ripped this episode off.

So wonderful is the rest of the episode, which may be in the running for BEST LOIS & CLARK SO FAR. I’m aware of how monumental such a declaration is. But this has so many things I enjoy about the show, from John Shea onwards. There’s a commitment to continuity–Tony Jay is back, so is Tasha Yar, and among the topics they discuss when Luthor goes undead is Intergang, whom Jay disregards as thugs without a sense of style. To find Kryptonite, Lex seeks out one of the scientists from “Metallo”. Given how rarely events build upon each other in Lois & Clark, especially in cases when doing so would be advantageous, I do get a dopamine release when the show makes an effort to reference itself in an organic fashion. It adds color, as do one-off scenes with informants such as Billy Bigmouth; the latter gives the sense these people actually are reporters in the business of reporting.

Then there’s John Shea himself, who has to be enjoying himself. If not, he’s an even better actor than I thought. Lex comes back to life without money or power, so he has to lean on undervalued qualities of his to succeed, such as his penchant for disguises. Him going bald means people don’t immediately recognize him, and as such if he puts himself in a wheelchair or throws on a fake mustache he’s incognito for all intents and purposes. I like how he does it even when there’s no real goal in mind; in one case he impersonates an old man just to psychologically screw with Lois. That makes it difficult to believe when he does his “all I have left is you” speech/spiel later, but regardless it’s a real scene, man. For once Lois & Clark doesn’t even end abruptly; there’s a surprise betrayal, a surprise death and by the end of it, Lex is behind bars. The only downside to “The Phoenix” is knowing how few times John Shea reappears in Lois & Clark, so the odds of him as a Hannibal Lecter-esque presence are slim to nil.

It’d be funny if Lane Smith had a heart attack for real.

Chris: Yes to everything you said about how rooted the episode is in the broader continuity of the show. Watching Lex get filled in on what he’s missed was great, but so was watching the “Metallo” scientist lose his shit a little when he realized he was in the room with Lex fucking Luthor. One of the downsides to the current model of serialized television is the constant escalation, when you tell a long story over the course of a season, it has to feel monumental, and the story you tell the following season has to feel even bigger. It’s numbing after a while.  L&C was made before that mindset kicked in, so in the few cases where they actually tap into a larger story and let the characters from various episodes interact it feels fresh and exciting. I also was completely surprised by Tony Jay’s betrayal of Lex, it was the best kind of turn, one that you don’t see coming and makes total sense in retrospect. Of course the loyal number two was just waiting to screw over his boss and run away with the power and money.

I also liked that what ultimately brought Lex down was his love for Lois, which turned out to be genuine, or as genuine as Lex Luthor can be. It’s fitting too, at its core L&C is a romance show, so Lex shouldn’t finally go down because he lost a fight with Superman over Metropolis, he should go down because he loses the fight with Clark for Lois. That’s not to say there isn’t a fight with Superman for Metropolis, but that’s not really what brings Lex down. He’s lost to Superman many times before, it’s when he realizes that he’s truly lost Lois for good that the fight goes out of him. And god bless Shea, he sells the shit out of that realization. One minute he’s a ferocious fighting force, and the next he’s an empty shell of a man. It was like all the air went out of him. And speaking of being a fool for love, let’s pour one out for Denise Crosby, Lex’s mad scientist side piece. Unlike Tony Jay her loyalty to Lex was total, and it led to her death. RIP Doc, I’ll never forget the time you dressed up like Trent Reznor to electrocute Lesley Jordan

Ronnie: Tony Jay’s betrayal was unexpected, and it makes his shit talking of Intergang previously in the episode an interesting instance of foreshadowing. He broaches the subject of Intergang and then brushes them aside as thugs with no sense of showmanship, thereby solidifying his perceived loyalty to Lex. It’s a minor moment I nonetheless appreciated. Another thing I liked was that Lex’s first impulse again was to commit suicide by way of pulling a Frank Grimes and this time Superman was able to stop him. Not often enough do you see villains willing to say “fuck it” and face oblivion rather than going to jail. I hope the next time Luthor pops up he also tries to kill himself and it’s yet another method. Like, he tries to dive into a vat of sharks or he takes up smoking (also known as “the long game”).

On the one hand, I sort of want the show to be of this quality all the time, but on the other I feel like without the valleys the peaks would not be as rewarding. You know? “The Phoenix” would be a decent episode of television when compared against, you know, all of television, but when compared against “Fly Hard” or “The Eyes Have It” and such it’s fucking gold, Jerry. As you said about serialized television’s perpetual escalation, Lois & Clark provides an alternative method that’s just as valid, just as entertaining.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about Clark asking Lois out–it’s what it says on the tin, so to speak–but I do want to share that when I told my roommate that “in this episode Clark asks Lois to go to a Pearl Jam concert” he laughed, furrowed his brow and said “seriously?”. That’s the correct reaction to the Pearl Jam aspect of the plotline, I think. It’s impossible to know what will and won’t date a piece of art, but this will never not be entertaining to me.

Lex rocking the FDR chic look.

Odds & Ends

-The scientist, Dr. Rollie Vale, is a cyborg now because Metallo crushed his arm.
-When faced with hair loss, Lex decides to shave it all off. Lex Luthor is not about half-measures.
-”This will definitely put me over the top with Angela” -Jimmy when Clark gives him Pearl Jam tickets. What does over the top mean to Jimmy? I see him as the kind of guy who tries the yawn as an excuse to put your arm around a girl trick but loses his nerve halfway through and ends up punching the girl in the head when he yanks his arm back.
-”Jimmy, I did not become the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper by being able to yodel.” – Perry is the best, man.

Chris: So moving on, is “Top Copy” as good as “The Phoenix”? No, obviously not, “The Phoenix” is the best hour of television L&C has produced thus far. But it’s a pretty solid episode all on its own that continues the relationship plot from the previous episode in a satisfying way. We’re in the back half of the season now and it’s nice to feel some continuity between installments. This week we’re introduced to tabloid journalist/intergang assassin Diana Stride (played by Scarsdale Surprise’s Raquel Welch) and her quest to discover and reveal Superman’s identity to the world. Diana is a glossy celebrity interviewer in the Barbara Walters mold, respected by hard newsmen like Perry but not above a gossipy scoop. This is basically who Cat Grant should have been. Her fame and prestige also give her the access and cover to travel around the world to execute black ops and gather blackmail on prominent figures for Intergang as well. This makes a lot of sense because Raquel Welch was widely known for her ability to blend into a crowd if necessary. A significant portion of the episode Welch sneaking around places in a ninja costume and karate chopping guys in the neck. Too bad there wasn’t a scene where a witness struggled to pick her out of a police lineup of 55 year old red headed women in leather catsuits.

“Tell me more about your sexual exploits in Korea, grandpa!”
“Stop calling me grandpa, Jimmy.”

But I digress. Stride is hot on Clark’s trail, forcing Clark into working overtime to protect his secret identity precisely when Lois is really starting to take a hard look at him as a prospective boyfriend. She’ll start talking about their relationship and Diana will appear around the corner, causing Clark to bug his eyes out, break into a sweat and make a lame excuse to leave. My favorite was when he had to return a video. It’s never a great idea to think too hard about any of this, but at the same time, it’s fun to watch Lois getting closer to the truth and see Clark struggle with just how honest he can afford to be with her. As we keep saying, Superman is immortal and invulnerable, he doesn’t have any physical weaknesses, so stories about him work best when they have emotional stakes. He’s feeling less comfortable with lying to her all the time. But If he tells Lois he’s Superman he risks infuriating her due to his deception, or drawing her closer due to her infatuation with his alter-ego. Not to mention the possibility of exposure should she write up the story of the century. And now that he’s taken the step of acknowledging his feelings for her, he can’t really go back to the way things were either. It’s a problem with no easy solution.

And while we’re on the subject of Clark’s dilemma, can I say I’m kind of enjoying how Perry and Jimmy provide running commentary on L&C’s evolving relationship?  Jimmy delivers the play-by-play and Perry provides perspective and context. Apparently there was another crack reporter team who fell in love and it was a personal and professional disaster in the same mold as Ray McKigney’s love for his own hand. Perry lays out the grim story to Jimmy over the course of the episode, noting how Lois and Clark’s dynamic threatens to play out in the same fashion.  It’s got a funky charm that a lot of the other Perry mentors Jimmy plots have lacked this season. It’s the first time the show has found a use for the fact that Whalen looks and acts like a guy who has never interacted with a woman in a sexual way. And it also plays up how Perry is simultaneously a wise old man and a pompous wind-bag.

“Next on 60 Minutes: YOUR DEATH, in less than 60 Minutes!”

Ronnie: See, I think this episode is less a Catholic joke and more a Raquel Welch joke. “Those aren’t buoys…” But I digress. While “Top Copy” is a weaker sister in this pair of episodes, that doesn’t mean it’s without its charms. This may be me misrepresenting things based on a flawed memory, but it feels like we haven’t had that many episodes devoted to people trying to figure out Superman’s secret identity, and fewer of those people have been journalists with the associated skills. I feel like Superman is one of the few heroes who requires a secret identity to work as a character (others include Batman and Spider-Man) because there has to be a contrast between his mortal life and Superman. That’s why I think in a lot of stories where he loses the secret identity he abandons “Clark Kent” entirely.

I like that Lois & Clark is continuing with the Intergang thread in a way that makes sense for the series; it’s a happy medium between the show being a series of discrete events and it devolving into “Intergang scheme of the week”. Raquel Welch’s character is likewise a novel concept; I like that Intergang matriculated a famous journalist for the purposes of assassination. Rather than turn an existing journalist, I’m imagining Intergang trained a girl from childhood both in how to kill people and how to vet a source. It’s Red Sparrow only with more space devoted to what “TK” means. If Lois & Clark can create one-offs like this as opposed to the more risible antagonists in the show’s history we’ll be sailing smoothly.

Well this blows the special effects budget into Season 3.

This episode does suffer from one of my least favorite superhero conventions, the story of a character’s identity being revealed and then being unrevealed through a contrivance (in this case a hologram). I dislike it because it’s unrealistic. Yes, yes, this is a world of flying laser shooting men, but still. My problem is that disproving it via subterfuge–hologram, both showing up in the same place at the same time–doesn’t necessarily unring that bell. Look at real life: a not insubstantial portion of the population believes JFK Jr. is both alive and a Trump backer, so you have to think some people would go “yeah, I buy him as Superman” and reject evidence to the contrary. Think about all the people who thought Richard Jewell was responsible for the Olympic bombing even after the media and FBI cleared him. There’d always be some doubt. Perhaps the show will surprise me and have the events of “Top Copy” come up later, but I have a feeling they’ll be swept under the rug.

Chris: I hear you about the we’re gonna reveal the hero and then take it back using some nonsense trope, but I want to make an exception for this one because of just how baller it is. Apparently, Martha Kent’s community college art program has laser technology that makes holograms sophisticated enough to fool people’s eyes and also simple enough to be run by a sixty something farmer with (presumably) a high school diploma using only a laptop. That’s just fantastic. If this is what they were rocking in 1995 imagine how sick the tech over at the Smallville Learning Annex is today. They’ve probably developed clean energy and faster than light travel as a result of achieving the singularity and tapping the almost limitless intellectual potential of artificial intelligence. Also pottery on Tuesdays and Thursdays, be sure to sign up ASAP because spots never last long.

Take a look at other victims of Diana Stride’s machinations.

This is, I think, the platonic ideal of what an average episode of Lois & Clark should be. Silly fun, with a cool guest star and a goofy premise that’s used to gently explore some genuine emotional problem the main characters are having. It reminds me of that episode from the first season about the invisible man. That was a campy story about a guy who develops invisible tech that’s used to rob banks but was also about how Lois was afraid Superman’s growing popularity would mean he’d forget about her, as well as Clark’s fear that Lois’s infatuation with Superman meant she’s never take him seriously as a potential suitor. Diana forces Clark to be even more duplicitous to Lois just when he should be opening up and is also a reminder of how ruthless and unscrupulous journalists can be when they get on the scent of a story. You also throw a few references to broader continuity and maybe a visit from a recurring character and I’m a satisfied customer. Speaking of recurring characters, Mayson Drake makes another welcome appearance, this time she’s simultaneously a rival for Clark and an unwitting source for Lois. I like her character a lot.

Ronnie: To be fair, you’re correct about the delivery of the ID reveal switcheroo. Who would’ve thought Martha offhandedly mentioning her community college course was an instance of Chekov’s Gun? I find the concept of Martha Kent as Superman’s Q DELIGHTFUL. In any event, it continues to amuse me that the show introduces a major complication at the minute 40 mark and by minute 45 it’s neutralized. Such is the case with this secret identity reveal. “Top Copy” reveals it, we see Raquel Welch pawing a Superman costume in Clark’s closet, and then it’s off to the races. Welch is likewise arrested without incident, almost as an afterthought. The strange staccato pacing is beginning to appeal to me; it’s a weird way to do a show, but just as valid as anything else. It reminds me of how on Smallville the show would basically end at 36 minutes and then we’d have the characters spew what they learned at each other, preferably in a barn setting.

Nope. No catfight. [sigh]

I wanna talk for a moment about Mayson Drake and how the show may or may not be using her correctly. While it makes sense to throw in romantic complications for the title characters before they couple, given they’re on the verge of dating as it is it feels too little too late on that front. Farrah Forke does a decent job with the character, but there isn’t a lot to her despite her having a lot of potential. That she’s assistant DA gives her a plot reason for being in episodes and I think “Top Copy” showcases that well; within Raquel Welch trying to kill dudes you have the age old dilemma of whether or not a reporter will give up sources to effect justice. It’s basically the security vs. privacy debate. Add to it that she doesn’t like Superman and you have a characters that can create interesting conflicts, but Lois & Clark never employs her to her full potential. Instead she occasionally shows up to moon over Clark while having any concrete plans of theirs cancelled by happenstance. The character idea is solid, the execution is lacking, and like I said it feels too late in the game to introduce competing love interests for either Lois or Clark.

That wraps things up for this edition. What do we have to look forward to on the horizon? Well, let’s see. There’s “Return of the Prankster”, which is what it says it is, and an episode featuring Intergang once more that is said to be a goodbye to a certain supporting character. You guessed it: JIMMY’S GONNA DIE.

Odds & Ends

-Seinfeld Alum Tracker: 1. Raquel Welch would go on to appear in Seinfeld’s Season 8 finale, “The Summer of George”.
-Speaking of Seinfeld (and when aren’t we, seriously), I appreciated the moment Lois and Mayson expressed their mutual dislike which was followed by relief. It reminded me of when Jerry and Janeane Garofalo blurted out “I hate you!” at the same time and called off their engagement.
-Lois and Clark play chess at work? Sure, whatever.
-Sign of the times: Clark literally pulls a “I have to return some video tapes” to get out of a conversation with Lois.
-Pa Kent wants to fuck Raquel Welch. Who doesn’t?
-When Jimmy suggests there is a resemblance between Clark and Superman, Perry notes people say the same of him and Richard Nixon. This is a reference to the TV movie The Final Days in which Lane Smith indeed played Nixon.
-I didn’t pay the closest attention but I’m pretty sure Raquel Welch did not swing her arms when she walked. Quite an achievement for someone named Diana Stride, huh?
-Robert Culp also makes an appearance as Welch’s Intergang superior. So far Intergang’s membership consists of Peter Boyle, Robert Culp, Raquel Welch, and isn’t Bruce Campbell making an appearance soon? Sounds like a quality organization to me. The eclectic casting has to be a chit in Intergang’s favor as best antagonist now that Lex is more or less shelved, although their competition is scant. Toyman? Prankster? Smart kids?

It’s no secret that I love African history (I have over 30 books specifically on it). I’ve already covered 2 African warrior queens, Amina and Ana Nzinga (you can find them in the Rhymes with Nerdy archives). This time, I’ll highlight a lesser known kingdom from central Africa…

The Kuba Kingdom

Starting sometime in the 16^th century several different peoples from just below of the Sahara, migrated south. They ultimately settled at the bottom edge of the Great Equatorial Forest and the start of the savanna in between the Kasia river – to the east, Sankuru – to the north, and Lulua – to the south, in modern day the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This large group consisted of 18 or 19 different ethnic peoples including – The Ngeende, Kel, Pyaang, Bulang, Bieng, Ilebo, Idiing, Kaam, Ngoombe Kayuweng, Shoowa, Bokila, Maluk, Bushong, Ngongo, and others. Upon their arrival, they came across the Twa. Another people, who were already settled there. Things were civil and the Twa assimilated into the already dense cultural melting pot.

The name, Kuba, originally came from a neighboring kingdom, the Luba. The Kuba referred to themselves as the Bakuba, which translates to, “People of the Throwing Knife.” They spoke Bakuba, a branch of the massive Bantu language tree, consisting of over 200 languages. The other major powers around them were the Kongo and Pende kingdoms, both of whom would prove to be very influential in the formation of the eventual Kuba kingdom.

Initially, they were just a loose confederation of separate villages that shared the same culture. There was no centralized government to speak of. They didn’t become a formally organized kingdom until roughly 1625. Shyaam a-Mbul a Ngoong-Shyaam, turned this cultural composite into a kingdom. It isn’t known where exactly he was from, but he was orphaned early on. A local Kuba queen adopted and raised him as a Bakuba. He left as an adult. Shyaam traveled to the nearby Kongo and Pende kingdoms, studying their cultures and political structures. Upon returning home, he revamped his homeland.

Some of the renovations he brought were: better iron forging techniques, new crops (cassava, maize, tobacco, beans), multi-branch centralized government, professional military and police, annual census, a complex economy, new tax policies, executive councils, trial by jury, merit-based ranking in government jobs, and bureaucracy. All of this was established without a written constitution.

A mesmerizing Kuba design.

The new kingdom was divided into 9 provinces – Kel, Bushong, Ngongo, Coofa, Pyang, Kete, Shoowa, Ngende, and Nsheng. These were in turn divided into smaller counties. The king, Nyim, was always ethnically Bushong and the capital was where the current king had grown up. Each ethnic group was in turn represented in the aristocratic courts. The queen mother was an essential role in the court. She represented the women on a federal level. The line of inheritance was through your mother NOT your father. That included who would be the next king.

The staple of the civilization was weaving, specifically raffia weaving. Raffia was essential for them to survive. Everything was woven from raffia, including the money. That was primarily because of the lack of local metals in the region. The Kuba designs are the most identifiable aspect of the their civilization. Their designs grew more and more complex as time went on. The Kuba design is perfectly symmetrical and asymmetrical at the same time in a beautiful, mesmerizing way. Once you see it, you can always identity it as Kuba in origin. The size and detail of the design on your house was an indicator of your rank in society. These designs were key in the development of Cubism. Picasso was a huge fan and collector of African and specifically Kuba art.

Wood craving and mask making were firmly in second place to weaving. They were equally as intricate and distinctive as the cloth designs. Art in general was highly appreciated and valued. The direction of art was heavily influenced by the Nyim. The most famous case of this was under Nyim Misha mi-Shyaang a-Mbul. He commissioned a new type of sculpture, the ndop. This was a large wooden sculpture of the Nyim. These were made to keep track of the past kings and honor the king. An ibol, personal symbol revealed at a Nyim’s coronation, was always at the forefront. Shyaam the Great’s ndop, prominently featured a mankala board. This represented his cunning, intelligence, and foresight, since mankala requires all 3 qualities. As the kingdom grew stronger, the uniquity of the art grew at a faster pace than rest of society.

Religion was a relatively lesser aspect of society. The creator god, Mfcoom/Bumba the Sky Father, created all and more or less left after that. The main deity worshiped was Woot. He was the first man created by Mfcoom. There were other gods but like Mfcoom, they weren’t that formally worshiped either. The Kuba saw the efforts of humanity more important and relevant than that of the supernatural. Everyone was buried with the items necessary for the afterlife. There was no heaven or hell. If you were good, you became a ghost and reincarnated at some point in the future. If you weren’t, you were stuck in limbo forever. The Nyim was the spiritual leader and head of the sorcerers. In addition, they are the head Ngesh, nature spirit, that bridged the divine with the human. Dogs were seen as messengers of the gods and given special treatment above other animals.

Primarily the regular diet consisted of fish, given the 3 rivers surrounding them. They regulated the fish population with man-made fish farms, that the women would harvest twice a year along with fishing in the rivers. Vegetables made up the other majority. Surrounded by fertile farmland, there was plenty of irrigation from the 3 rivers. Meat was only eaten during the dry season. During the rainy season, both men and women had to maintain the vegetable crops. Farming was much less intensive, the rest of the year.

As with the rest of their contemporaries, they were eventually discovered and colonized. They were one of the last left untouched by Western Europe. In 1892, William Sheppard, an African American Presbyterian missionary, writing about the exploitation of Africans under Belgium’s King Leopold II (That is a story for another day). Sheppard opened the door for the Germans to later colonize the region in 1907. The art regressed and morphed into a more European style but never completely lost its Kuba identity.

Sources

http://www.randafricanart.com/kuba_Ngady_aMwaash.html

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kuba/hd_kuba.htm

https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/Kuba

http://econ.columbia.edu/files/econ/content/kuba_final.pdf

http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/02/kuba-people-most-artistic-and-highly.html

http://kubaafricanart.weebly.com/background.html

http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn08/wn08-1/wn08-102.html

https://museum.gwu.edu/weaving-abstraction-kuba-textiles-and-woven-art-central-africa

http://www.zyama.com/kuba/

Every 4 years, the very best of the very best of the very best in the wide world of sports compete for the gold. Nearly every nation is represented in this titanic tournament. Last time I tackled the Olympics, I focused on the 100M Dash. I ‘m stretching my horizons into gymnastics with…

Olympic Special Vol. 2: Vera Caslavska and Agnes Keleti

VERA CASLAVSKA: 1960 – Rome, 1964 – Tokyo, 1968 – Mexico City

Vera in 1967.

Mid-way through World War II on May 3, 1942, Prague’s Caslavska family introduced a baby girl. They named her Vera. From an early age, it was clear that Vera was a natural athlete. Initially, she started in dance, followed by figure skating. At 15 however, she switched to gymnastics. Like with the previous 2 sports, she dominated. Part of this was her and part was her instructor, Eva Bosakova (1952 – Helsinki, 1956 – Melbourne, and 1960 – Rome). Bosakova was already a multiple medal holder in both the Olympics and World Championships.

After a year or so of training Vera competed alongside Bosakova in 1959 at the European Championship. She won her first (of many) gold medals in the balance beams but slipped up on the uneven bars leaving her in 8^th. The team won the silver medal. This success continued into the Olympics in Rome where she won the silver in the team category again. She continued to compete and exponentially became the top gymnast of her era. In the World and European Championships and the Olympics, she won numerous gold and silver medals. Things changed around the 1968 Olympics however.

January 5, 1968, Antonin Novotny was officially replaced by Alexander Dubcek as 1^st Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Dubcek’s goal was to create, “Communism with a Human Face.” In turn, he introduced more Democratic leaning policies and expanding people’s freedoms like speech. The Soviets were not pleased so they invaded Czechoslovakia with 600,000 soldiers and help from other Warsaw Pact nations. Vera was in support of the new reforms and signed the protest manifesto, “Two Thousand Words,” by Ludvik Vaculik. All this happened a few months before the Mexico City Olympics that fall (seriously, the 1968 summer games were held in October that year).

Vera was in trouble so her fled to the mountains. Similarly to Rocky in Rocky IV, she trained using the natural world, but out of necessity not because of manliness. After 3 weeks, she got word that the Czech allowed her to participate in the Mexico City games again. It was during these games that she became the first and only Olympian to ever win a medal in every gymnastics event. In addition to this, she refused to observe the rising of the Czech and Soviet flags when she tied for the gold in the Floor Exercise with Larisa Petrik. Many took notice, including the Soviets.

Around this time, she married Josef Odlozil, a fellow Czech Olympian. Back home in Prague, things changed. The government was suspicious of Caslavska and barred her from federal jobs for her protests and politics.

She divorced Josef in 1987. 3 years later the Communists lost power and she finally publicly regarded as a hero of the people. Also wasn’t barred from federal jobs. They had several children. One of them, Martin, stabbed his father in a dance club in 1993. Josef died. Martin was sent to prison. Vera focused on keeping her family together after this tragic event. She still resides in Prague today and lives a private life.

AGNES KELTEI: 1948 – London, 1952 – Helsinki, 1956 – Melbourne

Hungry’s Agnes Keleti came from humble beginnings, she was born to a Jewish family on January 9, 1921. Like other future Olympians she was attracted to sports early on. A natural gymnast, she excelled at the VAC Jewish Sports Club quickly. Her father, Ferencs, wanted both his daughters involved in sports. He was a lifelong athlete. Her mother complimented their father’s push for athletics with academics. Thanks to her, Agnes was a great student, cellist, and singer.

At 16, she won her first national championship. By the end of her professional career, there were 9 more national championships. She was on her way to the Olympics but World War II broke out. Hunngry was left out of it for awhile until Germany invaded. Agnes managed to get papers under the guise of a Christian woman named Piroshka. She worked for a Nazi-sympathizing family as a maid for the rest of the war. Her father was taken to Auschwitz. Her mother and sister luckily escaped thanks to the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg (he was responsible for saving thousands of Hungarian Jews). By the end of the war the only family left was her mother and sister.

Agnes doing a split at 91.

Reunited with her family, Agnes resumed where her career left off. She won more national titles over the next few years and nearly made it to the London Olympic. 2 days before they began, she injured herself but recovered in time to compete in European and World Championships. In the Helsinki games, she became the oldest female gymnast to win an Olympian medal at 31. She won 4 medals in total. That record was broken again at the Melbourne games with 6 more medals. At 35, she set the record (again) for oldest female gymnast to win an Olympic medal.

The Soviet Union invaded Hungry during the Melbourne games. Instead of return home, she and the other Hungarians remained down under. She received political asylum to reside in Israel, where she still lives. In 1959, she married Robert Biro, a fellow Hungarian Jew that escaped the Soviets. They have 2 sons, Rafael and Daniel. In Israel, she become a corner stone in the establishment of Israeli Gymnastics. She ended up teaching at Tel Aviv University for years.

Agnes is the second most accomplished Jewish Olympic athlete with 10 medals, right behind Mark Spitz’ 11.

Not only did these women set world records, they managed to thwart both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from destroying them mentally and physically. They are extraordinary women that need to be remembered and celebrated.

Sources

http://www.ighof.com/honorees/1998_Vera_Caslavska.php

https://www.olympic.org/vera-caslavska

http://brooklynquarterly.org/personal-protest-at-the-olympics/

http://thebiography.us/en/caslavska-vera

http://www.drmirkin.com/histories-and-mysteries/vera-caslavska-marriage-of-two-great-olympic-athletes.html

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/czechoslovak-sports-legend-vera-caslavska-celebrates-60th-birthday

http://web.archive.org/web/20040508164234/http://www.intlgymnast.com/events/2004/europeans/champions/caslavska.html

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/sports/sp-900_1_prague-spring

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/prague-spring-begins-in-czechoslovakia

http://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/modules/eu/mod05_1968/evidence_detail_13.html 2,000 Words

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dykBBhaoczg

http://www.lib.umich.edu/soviet-invasion-czechoslovakia/pg1.html

http://www.gymn.ca/gymnasticgreats/wag/keleti.htm

http://esra-magazine.com/blog/post/agnes-keleti

http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/jewess-press/impact-women-history/agnes-keleti-the-foundation-stone-of-gymnastics-in-israel/2012/07/22/

http://www.ighof.com/honorees/2002_Agnes_Keleti.php

http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/keleti-agnes

http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/AgnesKeleti(Klein).htm

When it comes to Greek history most people know about Aristotle, Homer, Alexander the Great (I know he was Macedonian but that’s a story for another day), and the Olympics. Arguably the most fascinating aspect of Greek history is the War of Independence. One of the integral figures in the fight was…

LASKARINA BOUBOULINA: Greek Goddess of the Sea, Revolution, and Spetses

Laskarina was born to Stavrianos and Paraskevo Pinotsis on May 11, 1771 on the Greek island of Hydra. The Greece she knew wasn’t the center of intelligentsia from the Classical period. It was a Greece under the boot of the Ottoman Empire since the 15^th century CE. By this point, things were changing. There were several attempts at revolt but they failed. The latest around Laskarina’s birth, the Orlof Revolution, involved her father Stavrianos.

He was arrested and thrown in prison for his part. Paraskevo visited him frequently. His health was failing but they had Laskarina towards the end of his life. Her father died in prison when she was still a baby. When Laskarina was 4, her mother remarried a Navy man, Capt. Dimitrios Lazarou-Orlof. This took them from their home island of Hydra to Spetses nearby.

She loved hearing stories about the sea and majestic tales of bravery on the mighty ocean. Not much is known about her childhood. At 17, she married Dimitrios Yiannouzas. He was a rich sea captain with his own fleet. They had 2 sons, Yiannis and Yeorgo Yiannouzas.

After a few years, Dimitrios was killed fighting pirates. Laskarina inherited his fortune and ships. She remarried in 1801. His name was also Dimitrios, Dimitrios Bouboulina. They had 5 kids together. He was also a rich sea captain with a fleet of ships that died fighting pirates. In 1811, Laskarina was widowed again. She inherited even more money and ships. Laskarina successfully and smartly invested which in turn made her and her family one of the wealthiest on Spetses.

Now, this brought the attention the Ottomans at her door. In 1816, they claimed that they had the right to seize her money, ships, and home because her second husband was fighting under the Russian flag during the Turko-Russo War. He was a traitor and enemy of the empire. This was true but Laskarina had a plan. She sought out the Philhellene Russian Ambassador in Constantinople. He liked her and understood her anger. Czar Alexander, gave her a house in the Crimean Black Sea region of Russia to stay in until the Ottomans gave up. At this time, she joined the Filiki Etaireia, a revolutionary Greek group that was scheming another rebellion. In English, Filiki Etaireia means, “The Friendly Society.”

After 3 months in Russia, she returned to the Spetses. Filled with the spirit of revolt, she bought arms, built warships, and raised a private army. She was an ally to the revolutionaries, and aided them with soldiers, ships, and money. The lead ship of the fleet, The Agamemnon, was built for her specifically. She would lead naval assaults on the Ottomans. Not only was she a beneficiary to the cause but also she trained as a soldier and made it the rank of Admiral.

The Ottomans became suspicious of all this odd behavior of guns, ships, and strange people around her. She paid off the Ottoman officials inquiring about this with a hefty bribe. They left her alone after their payday.

The Greek War of Independence broke out March 13, 1821. Her first major victory was at Nafplion. The Ottoman naval fort was armed with 300 cannons. The Greek naval siege didn’t work so they landed nearby at Mili. Laskarina organized her troops and led a land siege at the powerful fort. After a long and arduous battle, they took the near impenetrable fort. She also fought in the Battles of Monemvassia, Siege of Tripoli, and Haradros. Her son, Yiannis, was killed at Haradros.

As a reward for the victory of Nafplion, she was given a house, the Greek forces took. In 1825, she sold the house. Nafplion was rife with political unrest. The Greek war hero and important leader for the Greeks, General Theodoros Kolokotronis, was sent to prison at the time. She saw the writing on the wall and left for Spetses.

Turkish-Egyptian forces were on the war path to take back what the Ottomans had lost. Laskarina and his officers were working on war plans when they got word of this oncoming attack. The Koutsis, another rich family on Spetses, had a major problem with Laskarina. Her son, Yeorgo had eloped with a Koutsis. One of Koutsis shot Laskarina for what her son did. She died from the gunshot wound.

Laskarina Bouboulina was made an admiral in both the Russian and Greek Navies for service. She has been a national Greek hero since her untimely, petty death. Luckily, the Greeks with help from Russia and others won. Even though she didn’t do it alone, Laskarina Bouboulina was a major player in making the Greeks a freed people and establishing Greece as we know it today. She rose from the ashes into an icon of bravery, courage, and determination.

Sources

http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/revolution.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/5989510/Greek-woman-sets-fire-to-Britons-genitals-Laskarina-Bouboulina-the-heroine.html

http://www.ahepad22.org/articles/bouboulina.pdf

http://www.greeka.com/saronic/spetses/spetses-history/spetses-bouboulina.htm

https://badassladiesofhistory.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/laskarina-bouboulina/

http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/biography/bouboulina.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkWU-XaxLE

http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Laskarina-Bouboulina

HASEKURA TSUNENAGA: The Pope’s Favorite Samurai

The Samurai, legendary warriors that actually did a lot more than fight with katanas. They were more or less government employees that were highly trained in cultural customs as well as warfare. One such job was diplomat.

Statue of Tsunenaga

By the 1500s, The Japanese had some interaction with Europeans but it was minimal, some trade and whatnot. Hasekura Tsunenaga was the first official ambassador to Europe. Tsunenaga embarked on a journey to Europe and North America in 1613.

Tsunenaga was born in 1571. Aside from that not much is actually known about his life. He came from a family of samurai. Like his father, Hasekura Tsunenari, he was trained as a samurai. Eventually, Tsunenaga became a mid-level samurai and retainer under Date Masamune in the Sendai domain. Things both personally and professionally shook up Tsunenaga’s life in 1612.

His father, Tsunenari was indicted for corruption and had his fief seized by Masamune. Not only that but Tsunenaga was supposed to be executed. However, this didn’t happen. Masamune had a plan. He wanted to let Christian missionaries in his domain. The Emperor and other Shoguns were decidedly against having any Western influence. They were trying to outlaw Christians from entering Japan. So, Masamune went rogue and defied them. He wanted to send an ambassador to meet with King Felipe III of Spain and Pope Paul V to organize a massive influx of Christian missionaries to convert Sendai (and possibly Japan), and to establish trade with Europe via the Spanish.

Tsunenaga was seen as a great pick for this mission. He was a veteran of the Korean invasion in 1597 under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a

Tsunenaga Post Baptism

nd had years of experience sailing. Also, he didn’t want to die. Regardless of the outcome, the Hasekura estate would be restored and Tsunenaga would live.

On September 15, 1613 Tsunenaga left aboard the San Juan Bautista or as the Japanese called it the Date Maru, a Spanish Galleon built in Japan. It took 800 shipwrights, 700 smiths, 3000 carpenters, and 45 days to complete. The crew was 180, a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, and mostly Japanese, in total.

First stop, New Spain aka Mexico. They arrived in 1614. Meanwhile in Japan, the shoguns and Emperor were cracking down on Jesuits. They’d been hanging around since 1549. The Japanese leaders had had enough and outlawed any Christian missionaries from entering Japan. Effectively, cutting off their trade relationships with the Portuguese and Dutch. The Jesuits present were forced to leave. This was the start of cutting ties with the West.

The Date Maru landed in Acapulco, New Spain. Shortly after they met with the local Spanish viceroy. It went well though there isn’t much information on what exactly was discussed. They stayed for a bit. The Date Maru left with a fleet of Spanish escorts but a tropical storm forced them to stay hunker down in Cuba until it passed.

On October 5, 1614, the fleet reached Sanlucar de Barra, Spain. Evidently, they loved Spain and stayed there for 8 months. The meeting with King Felipe III went swimmingly. To cement the deal to trade goods with Spain, Tsunenaga was baptized a Catholic by the Archbishop of Toledo. His godfather was the Duke of Lerna. Tsunenaga’s Christian name was Don Filippo Francisco Hasekura-Rokuemon. King Felipe and Tsunenaga bro-ed out for a while then he had to leave to meet the Pope. Before reaching Rome, they stopped in France and Italy shortly. Apparently, it wasn’t as fun Spain.

After taking in the Mediterranean coast, they finally met the pope. Just like with Felipe III, Pope Paul V loved him and agreed to send missionaries to Japan. The Pope loved him so much that Tsunenaga is made an honorary Roman and nobleman. Thus making him, the pope’s and the Vatican’s favorite samurai.

They returned to Spain ASAP. However, Felipe III had bad news. He found out that the emperor and shoguns outlawed Christian missionaries from entering Japan. The deal was off but they stayed in Spain for as long as they wanted. They hung out in Spain for a bit and eventually left.

The Date Maru left in July 1616. Once it landed in New Spain, a few samurai ran away. They didn’t stay quite as long before but still took their time to get back. Next stop, the Philippines for 2 more years. Then they finally return to Sendai with the news in 1620. So, this mission was a giant waste of time and money but Tsunenaga had a great 7-year vacation.

Tsunenaga died in 1622 from illness. His grave is unknown and 3 different graves are allegedly his.

Most of his life unknown except for this brief 7 years, where a local governor sent him on a mission to undermine the national government’s official policies. It failed completely but if you got a free ticket to Europe on “official” business wouldn’t you take your time too. This was almost completely forgotten by for 250 years, until the Japanese opened up their borders again to Westerners.

Sources

http://civitavecchia.co.uk/hasekura.html

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/03/12/arts/hasekura-tsunenagas-portrait-has-a-tale-to-tell/#.Vqd_kiorLIU

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hasekura_Tsunenaga

http://www.urasenke.or.jp/texte/world/e_mexico03/e_mexico03.html

http://www.idtg.org/archive/1164-hasekura-tsunenaga/

http://www.artsales.com/ARTistory/Xavier/Hasekura.html

http://www.city.sendai.jp/kyouiku/museum/syuuzou/hasekura/index.html

Early on the episode introduces a new yet familiar villain.

Right off the bat astute viewers will know the premiere is written by Chris Carter because the episode begins with a long-ass voiceover by David Duchovny, reiterating the premise of the series and filling in the gaps between 2002 and today. It’s followed by the classic series opening with the addition of Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner in the main cast. Everything else is the same, and that’s a relief coming from someone who fucking hated the last two seasons’ openings with that falling David Duchovny stunt double bullshit. When we last left our heroes, Mulder and Scully were living together, he a hermit/bum and she the breadwinner doctor at Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital (“Lady at Sad Time” in my notes). Now they’re apart, Mulder watching Jimmy Kimmel clips on MindQuad (YouTube for bums) and Scully is helping earless children…have ears, I guess. Chris Carter has indeed broken them up and it’s created a tension between the characters. It’s an annoying but understandable change, because I have to imagine Scully would eventually get sick of the chronically unemployed Mulder saying “hey, Scully, did you see this about crisis actors? I’ve seen the same woman at Sandy Hook and Aurora” and “people take too many showers, Scully”. Frankly it’s a miracle Mulder survived the break-up; can you imagine him even shopping for groceries? By week two of post-Scully living he’d be running on Cheerios dust and orange juice pulp. I’ll be optimistic and say Mulder looking like garbage throughout this episode was an acting choice on Duchovny’s part and not a lifestyle choice. Despite the breakup, the two characters’ chemistry is as good as ever. That’s a quarter of the battle right there.

Skinner reunites them by asking the two to meet with Tad O’Malley (Joel McHale, Deliver Us From Evil), an Internet TV host who believes in the second amendment and 9/11 being an inside job. Alex Jones if he didn’t look like a fat piece of shit. Flimsy excuse for a reunion, yes? I like to think that Skinner is a secret shipper and looked for any contrivance possible to bring his favorite couple back together. “Yeah, uh, this guy on the Internet wants to talk to you both…no it’s not a sex thing…” O’Malley believes in UFOs and has a house in the middle of nowhere with a perky Russian girl to show Mulder and no, again, it’s not pornography. Remember, the only actor to reprise their role in The Sex Files was Mitch Pileggi, so. Sveta, played admirably by Nina from The Americans, is a multiple abductee with tons of marks on her belly and the alien-derived ability to determine the cause of the Mulder/Scully relationship deterioration. Oh, and she can sometimes move shit with her mind. She’s Jean Grey before she became the Phoenix, minus the implicit and explicit sexism. With some prodding she admits what did done tooked her babies away was men, not space people, further creating an emotional bond between her and Scully.

“Scully! You haven’t aged a bit.”

“Mulder…you…uh…so how about those Knicks?”

Meanwhile, Mulder falls prey to what now amounts to a recurring theme on The X-Files: overinvestment in a new conspiracy. Upon realizing Sveta was abducted by men, not moon men, he basically gets really high on cough syrup and bewilders his ex-girlfriend and his former boss with phrases like “fiction masquerading as fact” and “we’ve never been in more danger.” Pepper his speech with a couple of “man”s and David Duchovny would be playing my best friend from high school.

See, after hearing Sveta and going to see an ARV with his new buddy Tad, Mulder’s figured out what he figured out in Season 5: this ain’t about fucking aliens, it’s dudes pretending to be aliens. They’re using alien technology against us for…I dunno. A doctor from Roswell who’s now cosplaying as Simpsons writer George Meyer tells Mulder he’s close now that he’s been disabused of that faceless aliens setting people on fire bullshit. At this point I think it’s less that Mulder wants to believe and more he’s gullible as shit. God, if he had Facebook he’d fall for so many hoaxes. “I have to post this notice on my wall, Scully, or else Zuckerberg can use all my photos for commercial gain.” You’ve seen fucking spaceships, shapeshifters, your son can move objects with his baby mind, there’s been nine seasons of that shit and now you’ve gone for a new Alex Jones-tinged bundle of conspiracies because it’s the 21st century and a black man’s in the White House?

Joel McHale isn’t especially good in his role as slick stand-in for any number of tin foil hat wearers, his role in the episode consisting of being the Eddie Haskell to Mulder’s credulous Cleaver boys. “That’s a lovely suit you’re wearing, Ms. Scully! Can Mulder come out and conspiracy?” The introduction of yet another “everything you know is wrong” plot point justifies everyone who says the mytharc of the series is mired under a pile of gaffes and bad puns.

They missed a great opportunity to have Skinner open up the X-Files office, only to find Mulder sleeping on the floor, using the I Want To Believe poster as a blanket.

Also: hey man nice beard Mitch Pileggi

Scully brushes off the Mulder/O’Irish theory that is backed up by a clip montage as borderline treasonous, and the next day Nina from The Americans is admitting to a shitload of reporters that Tad paid her to lie about alien pregnancies and the like. “My Struggle” never establishes how popular Joel McHale is supposed to be, whether he’s Internet popular (Hannibal) or real people popular (The Big Bang Theory). Either way he’s rattled the cages such that THE MAN takes his website offline and the military blows up that alien replica vehicle that was shown off earlier. As for Sveta, an alien craft or humans joy riding on an alien craft blow her car up. She’s probably dead, but you never know, as goddamn explosions didn’t kill a now smokin’ through the throat Cigarette Smoking Man. Although the show makes some timely references to Uber and Billiam O’Reilly, I’m happy that they didn’t revamp CSM as a vaper. He’s unhappy that the X-Files has reopened; Mulder and Scully saw no other option, and someone wrote “DON’T GIVE UP” with the dust on Scully’s rear window. Scully is motivated partially by the fact that she got test results confirming both Sveta and she have some alien DNA all up in the genome, whereas I think Mulder misses being a person who has to shave regularly and know what a W2 is. I like how the episode establishes/restablishes that Skinner is gay for Mulder and would happily restart the X-Files if given the opportunity. This element helps to explain how two former FBI agents can get their old jobs back without a hitch 14 years later. Nepotism is great.

Alien practicing its Maxim pose in its final moments

From what I can tell, the purpose of this miniseries is to tell more stories with these characters and nothing more. Yeah, there’s mythology, but it’s not as though Carter and co. are taking six episodes to conclusively end things or provide answers at a higher rate than the drip feed so associated with the series. They’ve already trotted out the line of “well, if the ratings are good and it’s positively received, we’d love to do more”. Determining a TV show’s purpose and judging it based on that is necessary, and by that metric so far Season 10 is a success. It acquits itself in dealing with the fact that the nature of conspiracy theory has changed in the last decade and a half, becoming much more of the survivalist strain that was a brief patron of the 90s. The means of communicating conspiracy theories has changed too – the Lone Gunmen with their newspaper is as antiquated as newspapers now (I get all my news from Buzzfeed listicles). The script thankfully integrates this aspect without coming across as an old man trying to keep with the times. That does make me kinda want to see a revival that just keeps beefing it on the contemporary culture. Like, an episode about butt chugging that’s also about ghosts, or Scully having to go inside the Internet to stop a cyberbully. Mulder matches wits with an MRA whose hat tipping causes things to set on fire! The good thing about Mulder and Scully is they can star in enjoyably awful fare as opposed to the Doggett/Reyes pairing that’s just awful.

Goddamnit, FOX, you can’t show this! What if impressionable kids see this and get tracheotomies to emulate their favorite character who was last seen before they were born?!

“My Struggle” isn’t a great episode, and in some parts it’s not even a good episode (Chris Carter has not gotten better at info dumps with age). But it was necessary, a dose of medicine to get down so as to facilitate the rest of the miniseries. I have seen worse episodes of the mytharc that try to reposition it or place it in some sort of context – most of Seasons 8 and 9, for example. The important things are present in this premiere, like the chemistry, the mood, the atmosphere, even Mulder’s dry and sardonic sense of humor. I have faith that with the assembled creative team that this will only improve. It’s hard to fuck up a Darin Morgan script, after all. I’m on board to see what happens next and admittedly I’m susceptible to the allure of “your favorite characters, back and older than ever”. It feels like classic X-Files: shot in Vancouver, scored by Smallville‘s Mark Snow, dudes meeting in secret for reasons that don’t involve oral sex. It’s a better use of FOX’s timeslot than Gotham.

AMINA OF ZARIA: African Warrior Queen Extraordinaire

Amina Even Has A Stamp!

Africa has a deep and rich history going from the Pharaohs of Egypt to the golden coast of the Asasnte to the Dahomey Amazons. One of the greatest aspects of this continent’s legacy is the queen, or more specifically, the warrior queen. There were several but most are overlooked. One of those is Amina.

First, there are a few things that need to be addressed. 1) She was a real person but there isn’t that much detailed information on her. 2) Some argue that she never existed but that isn’t true. She was a real person. She really ruled over the Zazzau city-state in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. 3) She ruled over Zazzau, currently that region of Nigeria is called Zaria in the Kaduna state.

Map of Modern Nigeria, Kaduna is in pink.

Before the era of Amina, the Songhai Empire dominated West Africa. They collapsed after 2 centuries. The remains of the Songhai in modern day Nigeria were split up into the 7 city-states – Zazzau, Katsina, Kano, Gobir, Rano, Biram, and Daura. These are now known as the Hausa Kingdoms, after the Hausa people from that region. The kingdoms were active in trade with the Arabs and other African states. If you were trading goods through Africa, you had to trade with one of the kingdoms. Amina was born into the formidable family controlling this city-state. Her exact birthdate is unknown. Her grandfather, Zazzau Nohir, was Sarkin (king) when she was born. Not much is known about her early life. She had a brother and probably other siblings. Just like other powerful royal women everywhere else, she was allowed to be educated. She was even allowed to join the military.

Nohir passed in 1549. Amina was 16. Her mother Bakwa, became queen regent, making Amina Magajiya (heir apparent) after her brother’s reign. She was given formal responsibilities in running Zazzau by her mother. These included, a daily meeting with a council on city activities, and a ward position within the court. In addition, she joined the military. She specialized in the Calvary. While her mom was queen, there weren’t many opportunities for her to excel in the Army. Despite that, Amina became one of the top warriors to contend with. She proved to be a smart tactician, expert equestrian, and mastered every weapon.

Her mother ruled for 17 years. Bakwa died in 1566. Her brother, Karama, took over as Sarkin. Amina was next in line. Karama unlike his mother, liked war. This gave his sister a chance to prove herself as a warrior and leader. Over the 10 years, she expanded territory for her brother and continued her role as ward in Zazzau. In 1576, Karama died. This was Amina’s time to shine. She still led troops in battle and was frequently on campaign. The Zazzau territory reached the Atlantic coast under her reign. Even though, she frequently fought, defense was on high priority. Massive walls that are still around were built her encampments. Many of which are still standing in major cities across Nigeria.

Amina with a Sword.

Her sex life is legendary. She never married nor had any children. After battles though, she’d take a temporary husband from the opposing force. They would spend a night together. The next day, he would be killed. Amina didn’t want rumors and stories of her sexual exploits to be spread. It would ruin her hold on Zazzau. So she made sure that never happened.

While on campaign in 1610, her army was staying in Altagara. She just died suddenly, after 34 years as queen regent. Her life and adventures inspired the series, Xena: Warrior Princess.

I’d like to reiterate; she was an actual person that lived on Earth. The main claim for the opposite is that this society wouldn’t have allowed a woman to be regent in charge. There are plenty of examples from around the world of a woman ruling a country where it was unheard of (read the TSI’s on Czarevna Sophia, Ana Nzinga, Margrete I for examples). It’s just blatant sexism to make that claim. There isn’t much on her but that doesn’t mean she never existed either. The legends and stories about her are a testament to her huge impact on the Hausa and Nigeria.

Amina earned her spot in history but not many seem to care. She defied expectations and took it to another level. The world followed suit.

References:

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2013/07/queen-amina-of-zaira-west-african.html

http://afrolegends.com/2014/01/17/queen-amina-of-zazzau-the-great-hausa-warrior-ruler-born-to-rule/

http://www.historyandwomen.com/2010/08/amina-of-zaria.html

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/medrenqueens/p/amina.htm

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/queen_amina_of_zaria/

http://www.nairaland.com/2382816/great-hausa-queen-amina-zazzau

http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/zazzua.html

http://historyofafricaotherwise.blogspot.com/2014/06/nigeria-amina-of-zaria-mint-religious.html

http://www.blackpast.org/gah/hausa-city-states

OLYMPICS SPECIAL VOL. 1 BETTY ROBINSON AND WYOMIA TYUS: The 100M Special

Ah! The Olympics, the apex of athletics, the gold standard of the gold standard of the gold standard. Every 4 years the very best in the wide, wild, wicked world of sports compete for the gold medal, some of those athletes live on forever like Carl Lewis, Flo Jo, Wilma Rudolf, Jim Thorpe, Mary Lou Retton, the list goes on but there are several others that get lost in the storied and complicated history halls of the Olympics. This edition of TSI will focus on the Women’s 100M Sprint and 4 X 100M Relay. The forgotten stars featured in the first Olympic special are Betty Robinson and Wyomia Tyus.

BETTY ROBINSON: 1928 – Amsterdam, 1936 – Berlin

Betty’s career in track and field was brief but explosive. August 23, 1911 Elizabeth Robinson was born to Harry and Elizabeth Robinson. The Robinsons resided in Riverdale, Illinois. Elizabeth, or Betty as she preferred, wasn’t immediately interested in sports. Betty attended school in Wayne, Illinois. She was accidently discovered by her high school biology teacher, Charles Price. Mr. Price was also the assistant track coach. Betty missed a train home. She sprinted with all she had to catch it (according to legend she actually made it). Price knew there was a track star in her. She ran the 100M and 4 x 100M Relay. According to her, “I had no idea that women even ran that. I grew up a hick.” She was 15 at the time.

Her first official race was at Soldier Field in Chicago. She came in second place…to the current women’s 100M record-holder, Helen Filkey. This was followed by the Olympic qualifying meet for the 1928 games. Any previous Olympics qualifier, she wouldn’t have been invited. This was the first time in Olympic history where women were allowed to participate in track and field against the wishes of Pope Pious XI and Baron de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. Betty came in second and made the cut. By now, she had set a school record for the 100M and turned 16.

Betty was the only American to make it through the trial races and semifinal rounds of the 100M. Canada’s Fanny Rosenfeld was heavily favored to win the gold. Canada’s other sprinter, Myrtle Cook (also so-holder of the current world record time of 12.3 seconds) and Germany’s Helen Schmidt made false starts in the final race. They were disqualified, leaving only 4 runners. Betty narrowly won the gold with the world record time of 12.2 seconds. Second place’s Rosenfeld time was 12.3 seconds. Betty was 16 and the first women to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games. In the 4 x 100M Relay, the American Women team won silver to the Canadian team’s gold. Betty is still the youngest woman to win the gold in this event.

She received a diamond watch from Wayne, Illinois, a silver cup from her high school, and a golden globe necklace from Douglas MacArthur, the president of the Olympic committee. In September of that year she lowered the 100M record to 11.0 seconds. She continued to train and compete. A year later, she started attending Northwestern University where she set more world records for 60 yards, 70 yards, and 200 yards. Betty was an excellent shooter on the rifle team.

In 1931 however things took a downturn, while flying in a biplane with her cousin piloting. They ended up crashing. Her cousin was still alive. She was discovered and declared dead at the scene but the undertaker clarified that she was alive. Betty was in a coma for a time but woke up. She needed several years of recovery. The crash left her with severe cuts, a broken left leg, crushed left arm, and a concussion. Her leg needed a silver rod and pins to keep it intact. She was inactive in sports until 1934.

She resumed training but couldn’t bend her left leg into a starting position anymore, only a standing one. The 100M was out of the question but the 4 x 100M wasn’t. She was on the 1936 4 x 100M team with Harriet Bland, Annette Rogers, and Helen Stephens. Betty was third leg. They managed to win the gold medal even though Betty’s past few years. The German team had the lead until a baton mishap threw them off. No one thought this would have happened. A mere 5 years ago, Betty was dead and she won the gold medal again.

Shortly afterwards, she retired from athletics. Betty never received any endorsement deals and couldn’t play any professional sports. She ended up finding a living elsewhere. She married Richard Schwartz in December 1939. The couple had 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Betty was inducted in the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1977, among others. She represented the Girls’ Athletic Association and Women’s Olympic Athletic Association throughout her life speaking to numerous communities and schools.

She died on May 21, 1999 from Alzheimer’s.

WYOMIA TYUS: 1964 – Tokyo, 1968 – Mexico City

Unlike Betty, Wyomia was a natural athlete from an early age. She was born in Griffin, Georgia on August 29, 1945. Her parents, Willie Tyus, worked on a dairy farm, and, Marie Tyus, was a laundry lady. They had very different ideas on whether or not their only daughter should play sports. Marie deemed it inappropriate for a lady but her father was the opposite. As the youngest of 4, she followed her brothers into sports. They attended segregated schools throughout their early years. There wasn’t much encouragement in her becoming an athlete but she kept at it.

In high school, she found basketball. After a while, she tried out for track and field. Wyomia wanted to be a high jumper but found her real specialty was the 4 x 100M and the 100M. Legendary track coach, Edward Temple, from Tennessee State University saw Wyomia at the Georgia State Championship. She was 15 but he knew she needed to be on his team. Temple invited her to his track and field camp that summer. In 1962, she went to the Amateur Athletic Union championship, won the 100M and set a new American record. The next year’s championship, Wyomia came in second to Edith McGuire.

Wyomia received a scholarship to TSU in 1963. Making her the first person in her family to attend college. She won several AAU titles while there. Narrowly, she made the team for the 1964 Olympic games. For the 100M, Wyomia won the gold. For the 4 x 100M, the American team won the silver. Despite the international success, her mother still didn’t like her only daughter playing sports. This was also the first time Wyomia beat Edith McGuire in the 100M. Regardless of what her mother wanted, she went to the 1968 Olympics. There was talk of a boycott from the African American athletes due to racism and threats but she along with a few others including Tommie Smith and John Carlos went. For the second time, she won the gold in 100M. This was the first time a person won the 100M in two consecutive Olympics. The next person to do this was Carl Lewis, 20 years later. Also the American team won the gold for 4 x 100M. Wyomia did not make the Black Power salute when she won her medals but she did dedicate them to John Carlos and Tommie Smith, who did.

Just like Betty, Wyomia retired after her second Olympics. She had no endorsements and had to find work elsewhere. She served as a goodwill ambassador to Africa working with training clinics and encouraging girls to participate in sports. She was invited to the Professional International Track Association in 1973. After two years as a pro she won 22 out of 36 races. Following this, she became a physical education teacher in the Los Angeles area. After getting married a second time, had 2 children. Billie Jean King, Wyomia, and several other female athletes formed the Women’s Sports Foundation in the mid-70s.

She still resides in the LA area now.

Both of these women deserve to be remembered more than they currently are. Both of them broke boundaries and made history. Betty came back from the dead. Wyomia went from a small farm in Georgia to the world’s fastest woman in her prime. They are some of the greatest athletes to grace the Olympic track and the world.

Sources

http://www.olympic.org/news/betty-robinson-athletics/179776

http://www.anb.org/articles/19/19-00969.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/21/sports/betty-robinson-a-pathfinder-in-women-s-track-dies-at-87.html

http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/April/28/Betty-Robinson-The-Gold-Medalist-Who-Came-Back-From-the-Dead

http://www.usatf.org/halloffame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=137

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/sports-outdoor-recreation/wyomia-tyus-b-1945

http://www.usatf.org/halloffame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=175

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/trackandfield/p/wyomia_tyus.htm

http://www.olympic.org/wyomia-tyus

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/4987/Tyus-Wyomia.html

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121259662999045367

TSAREVNA SOPHIA ALEKSEYEVNA ROMANOVA: Peter the Great’s Lesser Known but Much More Interesting Sister

When most people think of the Russian Tsars the names that pop up are Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas II. Believe it or not, there were multiple female tsars. The first and arguably most influential of them being Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna.

Sophia in royal wear.

September 27, 1657 Tsar Alexis I aka Alexis the Quietest and Tsarina Maria Miloslavskaya introduced a baby girl to the Russian Kingdom. That girl was Sophia Alekseyevna Romanova. She had 12 siblings, most prominently among them were Feodor III, Marfa, and Ivan V. Sophia, like her several sisters were kept in their quarters for most of their childhoods. They were deemed too precious for the public to see. A red silk curtain was even put in place to obscure them from visitors. Both Feodor and Ivan were frequently ill. Ivan was born blind. Among the 13 kids, Sophia was the natural leader.

Sophia swiftly made a strong impression on her father. Like Ana Nzinga, her father allowed her to be educated. She was the only daughter that had any interest in education and was shown all the aspects of ruling a country from the Court to dealing with Nobles to diplomacy. Even though it was taboo, she convinced her father to let her get an education equal to her brothers. Since she was a woman, it was very unlikely that she’d become Tsar. I mean, c’mon that’ll never happen. The children were taught by the top notch teachers in Europe, Simeon Polotsky, Silvestre Medvedev, and Karion Istomin. Intelligent and clever, Sophia was fluent in French, Latin and Polish as well.

Her mother died in March 1669. Sophia was 11. It was expected that Alexis was going to remain unmarried but nope. In 1671, he married Natalya Naryshkina. She only had 3 children. Peter Alekseyevna (the Great), Fyodora Alekseyevna, and Natalya Alekseyevna (grew up to be a prominent playwright). Alexis died in 1676 leaving the throne empty. Next in line was Feodor III. No one was exactly excited about this given his routinely poor health. However, Sophia served as his key advisor. His reign was brief and unimpressive. He passed away on May 7, 1682.

Her brother Feodor III as Tsar

Feodor was married twice but had no children. This created a problem. Ivan was next in line but Peter wasn’t having it. Several Boyars (nobles) supported Peter where the military and specifically the Streltsy (royal guard) wanted Ivan. He was not a strong leader, sickly, and blind. Peter on the other hand was immediately a natural leader and politician. Sophia did not like her step mother or her step mother’s family, especially Peter. Sophia wanted Ivan on the throne. She had a plan but before it could get started, the Streltsy rebelled.

Several rumors were abound regarding the two tsarovichs-in-waiting. The Streltsy commander, Ivan Khavansky, caught word that Tsarovich Ivan was killed by the Naryshkinas. He gathered a mob of his men and marched to the palace where the boys were staying. Along the way ravaging Moscow. They demanded to see Ivan. The Boyars there, presented Ivan and Peter. The Streltsy were happy but still furious. Some of the Boyars at the Palace were calming them but then fellow Boyar, Mikhail Dolgorukiy, spoke up. He undid the cool down from his allies. The Streltsy grabbed Mikhail and lynched him. They stormed the palace killing any Naryshkina in sight. After the raid, Boyars had several military commanders executed. Amid the chaos, Sophia asserted her power. Instead of having one tsar, have two. Both boys were still too young to rule so she’d be the regent in charge. Not many were happy about this but it’ll do for now.

Immediately, she had a problem. The Streltsy that raided the palace went rogue. They were still dangerous. Ivan Khavansky moved his troops to a monastery outside of Moscow. Sophia caught word that he planned to kill the entire royal family. She sent troops after him. He surrendered on September 27, 1682. She ordered his execution. Everyone knew she was serious and in charge.

Khavansky was replaced by Fyodor Shaklovity, who was also one of her key advisers along with Vasili V. Golitsyn (he was also her lover). One of her goals was to modernize Russia on par with the rest of Europe, it was difficult but she made some progress. Some of her major achievements during her reign include shrinking the number of Streltsy in Moscow, reforming Serf law by allowing the capture of fugitive serves, allowing peasants to permanently move of the city (which angered the Boyars), commissioning the first higher learning institution in Russia. It was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. She also established several treaties instead of fighting wars. One of the treaties, the Treaty of Nerchinsk, was used to define the border between Russia and China.

Peter the Great, terrible half brother and person

Towards the end of her regency, she entered in an alliance with several other European nations to fight the Ottomans in the Crimea. This was a massive failure. By this point, Peter was of age to rule. Sophia was not married and had no children. Her only hope was Ivan but that was a lost cause. Peter fled Moscow, seemingly out of nowhere. While his half-sister was busy ruling a country, he was getting in the good graces with the Boyars. Sophia demanded that Peter report back to Moscow. He ignored her. She couldn’t order his execution, he was of royal blood. To make things worse the Boyars were going flocking to him. She lost supporters by the day. Sophia surrendered her title in 1689. She only ruled for 7 years.

Peter co-ruled with Ivan but he was really in charge. He couldn’t execute Sophia so he did the usual practice of sending her to a Convent. She wasn’t a nun but was held as a prisoner there. In 1698, a Streltsy unit tried to free her and restore her to power. This was a failure. Her sister Marfa helped in the rebellion and was sent to the Convent with Sophia. Sophia became a nun after this. She was kept in seclusion and seldom seen by anyone for the next few years.

Vasili, her lover and key adviser

Sophia died at the age of 46 on July 14, 1704. Peter the Great was an asshole. Unfortunately, she was portrayed as a fat, mean, old. stupid, hag. That was Peter’s propaganda but it’s still seen as valid by some. She was an intelligent, strong, clever woman that should have ruled longer than 7 years. She broke tradition, royal Russian women were supposed to just look pretty, stand in the background, and stay virgins unless married. A Russian scholar said, “They were born, lived, and died.” Peter is known for modernizing Russia but he picked up where Sophia left off. Again, Peter the Great was an asshole and shitty brother.

References

http://historyandotherthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/05/sophia-alekseyevna-of-russia.html

http://www.prlib.ru/en-us/History/Pages/Item.aspx?itemid=928

http://madmonarchist.blogspot.com/2012/01/royal-profile-tsarevna-sophia.html

http://russia-ic.com/people/general/r/541

http://www.self.gutenberg.org/articles/sophia_alekseyevna

http://www.prlib.ru/en-us/history/Pages/Item.aspx?itemid=542

Lincoln, W. Bruce. “Chapter 1-2.” The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias. New York: Dial, 1981. N. pag. Print.

QUEEN ANNA NZINGA: The Humiliator of the Portuguese

This has taken far, far, far too long but I am finally tackling African history. I’m sorry and formally apologize for that. Also there are several spellings of her name, so I’ll refer to her as Nzinga to keep it simple.

Now, to the fun part, or not so fun part. The time is the 1500s CE, the slave trade in Europe was booming. Several prominent nations had strong claims in Africa and began colonization worldwide. Portugal had established a strong position in West Central Africa, using the standard method of capturing people against their will for slavery in colonies around the world.

Naturally, not everyone involved was happy about this practice. In 1582, the French and British were making strong moves cutting into Portuguese trade. The Portuguese had begun raiding the Ndongo and Mbundu Kingdoms in modern day Angola as a result. That same year, Nzinga was born to Ngola (king) Ndambi Kiluanji and Kangela, Kiluanji’s 2^nd wife. Nzinga was given her name because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck when she was born. She had a brother, Mbandi, and 2 sisters, Kifunji and Mukambu.

Her father had fought the Portuguese once they started taking his people and stealing his silver mines. The Portuguese called them the Angola because they were too lazy to actually learn anything about the Ndongo or Mbundu peoples. They mistook the word Ngola as Angola.

Nzinga was the favorite child. Kiluanji showed her all aspects of ruling a kingdom from military operations to diplomacy to dealing with other nobles. He even regularly took her on military campaigns and hunting trips. She received military training and knew how to hunt. In addition to this she received a top notch education. She was even fluent in Portuguese, which came in handy down the road.

Her father attempted to work with the Portuguese diplomatically but it never worked out. Mbandi took over in 1617. His father died under mysterious circumstances. He kept on fighting the Portuguese. This went rather poorly. After 5 years, he was desperate. Diplomacy was the only choice but who should he send?

Nzinga left Kabasa, the Ndongo capital, with an entourage for Luanda, the nearest Portuguese port. The resident colonial governor, Joào Corria de Sousa, had only one chair for this meeting. It was for him. He had an Mbundu floor mat for her. This sounds like it shouldn’t matter (but hear me out first). In Mbundu culture this floor mat was reserved for those inferior to you while you had a chair or stool. Nzinga was his equal, and proved it. She had her a servant get on all fours as her seat. The Portuguese were wildly caught off guard and actually took her seriously as a result. A peace treaty was reached. A large part of the success came from her getting baptized as a Christian and taking the name Donna Anna de Sousa after Joào’s wife.

Upon her return to Kabasa, her brother died. It’s murky how this happened. Some speculate that she had her brother killed, some believe that he killed himself, some believe that he was killed by a third party. Either way, it was Nzinga’s time to shine. Her claim to the throne was challenged since the Ndongo Kingdom was still a relatively new centralized kingdom and several nobles didn’t want a woman ruling them. However, she had the support of the military. Also her son, Kaza was too young to rule so he was she ruled in his place. He died under mysterious circumstances shortly after her crowning. Some suspect that she had him killed but there isn’t enough evidence to really support this. This probably isn’t the case. Her sisters served as her key advisers. She was given full regent powers. She was the first female Ngola.

Under her reign, things turned ugly quickly. The Portuguese saw this moment of weakness and attacked Kabasa. They annihilated the city and burned it down. Ngola Nzinga had to move her people out of Kabasa. She moved the capital to Kidonga with the refugees from Kabasa. She lost the Ndongo kingdom but formed a new one, the Matamba Kingdom (centralized at Matamba in 1630). She had worked out more peace treaties with the Portuguese but only she actually honored them. The Portuguese continued to pester Nzinga forcing her to relocate a few more times and form a new army. In order to secure even the slightest buffer from the Portuguese, she allied with the Imbangala state nearby. In addition, she also renovated the military with the Kilombo. These were villages where boys were sent to be trained for the military.

Nzinga is seen smoking in this engraving.

In the meanwhile, a puppet king was put up in Ndongo. Philip, he was related to Nzinga but she didn’t officially recognize him as the Ngola. One of her sisters was captured in the skirmish of various battles. She luckily found a way to still communicate with Nzinga.

During the 1630s, Nzinga herself, led troops in resistance. These campaigns heavily utilized guerillas tactics given the stark differences in weapons technologies. By 1639, the Portuguese were tired of fighting not only was Nzinga stronger than they thought but the neighboring kingdoms and states as well. A Portuguese priest and soldier were sent to discuss a peace treaty but these failed. They made some headway but not enough.

The fighting continued after the attempt at peace. In 1641, the Dutch with the Kongo kingdom seized Luanda. Quickly, they realized the Portuguese were the real enemy. They united. Nzinga moved her capital to Kavanga at this point. A few years later in 1644, with the allied kingdoms crushed the Portuguese at Ngoleme, a major Portuguese settlement, but did not completely defeat them. They regrouped and gave the united force a massive defeat at Kavanga in 1646. At this point, Nzinga’s other sister was captured and they raided her archives. The sister that had been a prisoner, for close to 10 years, was sending Nzinga Portuguese plans. That sister was drowned in the Kwanza River.

The Dutch helped by sending reinforcements and the fight continued. They assaulted the Portuguese capital at Masangano but again the Portuguese took her capital in retaliation. The war went back and forth for almost a decade more. Nzinga resisted until 1657. They signed a peace treaty. Each side honoured it this time. It even had a clause that made the Portuguese help her regain power, she didn’t have a living son to pass the throne onto. They attempted to marry off a noble or two but it never worked out. She still wasn’t safe from attempts by usurpers but none succeeded. She got the Ndongo Kingdom back and still reigned in the Matamba Kingdom. She transformed the kingdoms into economic powers. They became formidable for their businesses as opposed to military like before.

Nzinga’s Funeral.

Ngola Nzinga died on December 17, 1663 peacefully at the age of 82. She fought in battle with her soldiers until her 60s. She offered refuge for former slaves. She was a vocal advocate for women. As much as she used war, she attempted peace. She was widely respected, even by the Portuguese. She should be known by everyone in every history class but she isn’t. She even had a harem of men that would fight to spend a night with her. She was in charge and everyone knew it.

It took a few more centuries before the Portuguese finally conquered the Ndongo and Matamba.

References

https://madamsabi.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/queen-ana-de-sousa-nzinga-mbande/

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002301/230103e.pdf

http://afrolegends.com/2013/03/18/queen-nzingha-great-queen-of-angola/

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/medrenqueens/p/nzinga.htm

http://rainqueensofafrica.com/2011/05/nzinga-of-ndongo-and-matamba/

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2011/03/queen-ana-de-sousa-njinga-mbande-of.html

http://www.blackpast.org/gah/queen-nzinga-1583-1663

http://www.amazingwomeninhistory.com/anna-nzinga-mbande-fearless-africa-queen/

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pwmn_2/hd_pwmn_2.htm

http://africanhistory.about.com/od/biography/fl/Queen-Nzinga-African-Leader.htm

http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/Curriculum-Materials/AngolanConnection.pdf