Reading "When the Dutch colony of St. Eustatius saluted the Grand Union flag on November 16, 1776, it had an outsized impact on perceptions of American independence." instantly reminded me I need to finish reading Barbara Tuchman's "The First Salute" which I started after reading "The Guns of August" but dropped for some reason. Thanks!
Nicely framed essay—historians do have a privilege in knowing results, which everyone wishes we possess. But that professional knowledge can also let us sometimes see a salient point amidst all the other ideas on display.
On privateering, the Revolutionary War has a (Canadian) song which sums up the practice. The late Stan Rogers did it well in “The Last of Barrett’s Privateers,” set in 1778 and later.
Reading "When the Dutch colony of St. Eustatius saluted the Grand Union flag on November 16, 1776, it had an outsized impact on perceptions of American independence." instantly reminded me I need to finish reading Barbara Tuchman's "The First Salute" which I started after reading "The Guns of August" but dropped for some reason. Thanks!
Nicely framed essay—historians do have a privilege in knowing results, which everyone wishes we possess. But that professional knowledge can also let us sometimes see a salient point amidst all the other ideas on display.
On privateering, the Revolutionary War has a (Canadian) song which sums up the practice. The late Stan Rogers did it well in “The Last of Barrett’s Privateers,” set in 1778 and later.
Excellent lecture! I did enjoy the refresher in temporal blindness, along with the “whisper it” real birthday of the Navy comment. Thank you!