Month: December 2022

US Bans Trade with All Foreign Nations (1807)

In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, US Congress passed legislation banning trade between its ports and foreign nations. The Embargo Act was meant to pressure England and France to remove restrictions on commercial trading with neutral nations that they imposed in their war with each other. Napoleon had earlier decreed that no French ally or neutral nation could trade with Britain, and Britain had retaliated by blockading the northern European coastline. Did the embargo have the desired effect? Discuss

Soyaluna (Hopi Soyal Ceremony)

The Hopi traditionally believed that at the time of the Winter Solstice, the Sun had traveled as far from the Earth as he ever did. The purpose of Soyaluna is to prevent the disappearance of the Sun at the time of year when the days are at their shortest. The main ceremony takes place in the kiva, a large, circular underground room. Hopi priests prepare the kiva by scattering cornmeal around the floor. A stack of corn serves as an altar, surrounded by stalks and husks. At the solstice, everyone assembles in the kiva for rituals designed to bring the sun back for another agricultural year. Discuss

Jean Racine (1639)

Though Racine bore substantial criticism from his contemporaries, he is now considered one of France’s “big three” 17th-century dramatists, along with Corneille and Molière. Racine’s tragedies are a prime example of French classicism, and his Alexandrine verse is considered exceptional in its harmony, simplicity, and elegance. His Andromaque, about the tragic folly of passionate love, earned him recognition as France’s leading tragic dramatist. What created a rift between him and Molière? Discuss

Flamingos

Flamingos are large pink or red wading birds with long necks and webbed feet. They live in large flocks throughout the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Flamingos have several quirky traits, such as an oddly-shaped bill specially adapted to strain food—aquatic plants, shellfish, and frogs—from muddy water in marshes and lagoons. Flamingos also have the unusual ability to stand on one leg with the head laid on the back for hours. What typically dictates the vibrancy of a flamingo’s color? Discuss

Pan Am Flight 103 Is Bombed (1988)

The terrorist bomb that brought down New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed all 259 people on board and 11 others on the ground. After a three-year investigation, US and UK authorities announced indictments against two Libyan officials in connection with the bombing. Libya finally turned over the suspects in 1999. After a nine-month trial, one of them, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Why was he released in 2009? Discuss

Benjamin Disraeli (1804)

Disraeli, a Conservative politician and novelist, succeeded the earl of Derby as prime minister of Great Britain in 1868 but lost the office to political rival William Gladstone that same year. During his second term as prime minister, from 1874 to 1880, Disraeli’s ministry enacted a number of domestic reforms. He was a staunch imperialist and, under his leadership, Britain gained a controlling interest in the Suez Canal. Why was Disraeli’s first book, Vivian Grey, strongly criticized? Discuss