Initia; New York History

The Romans used the word initium, “beginning”, in various ways. As in all ancient languages, words often held multiple shades of meaning, as they still do today (one must only look to the words “sick”, “ill”, and other terms colloquially ‘sickified” to see what I mean). One of its many shades came in its plural, initia, meaning elements of a study. The initia were any general rules or ideas that were necessary to know before one began to delve into any subject. For mathematics, it’s basic arithmetic, for chemistry, a knowledge of the periodic table, for history…well, perhaps I could suggest that the initia of history is the realization that shit sucked back then. (Don’t click away, guys, keep reading.) No, really, things were awful. Then again, things were amazing too.

My area of interest includes the 18th century, the Century of Enlightenment- a time of fashion, scientific discovery, and also, the century of slavery, war, and sexism en masse. This pluralistic reality is common for much of the past (wanna know a secret? It’s still common!), yet it doesn’t stop me from loving the study of it. Life is complicated and messy, so why should we expect history (or the present) not to be? Annnd, this brings me to the purpose of this blog post.

Here I sit, writing my very first post to what will join, no doubt, a plethora of history blogs, thinking to myself, what can I say that hasn’t yet been said? Nothing. But that’s beside the point. The point is, history is dirty, and lovely. Why then, are humans so intent on cleaning the historic record of any grime? It’s its own context for god’s sake! So realizing this, here are my initia: 1) I plan to analyze DIRTY history, dark and dreary, yet equally enlightening and lovely, 2) I love the 18th century, amid all its faults and 3) I love New York. Which brings me to my next point…

New York, the city of the all cities, the crossroad of the world, the melting pot of peoples. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses!” This is the mantra of NYC, penned by Emma Lazarus in 1883. Yet, amid the roots of modern egalitarianism lies a dark past, a past ripe for the picking.

In 1741, things were brewing in 18th century Manhattan that one contemporary likened to the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century. Fires were sprouting all over Manhattan, and oddly enough, there were patterns to be discerned among them. It seemed highly plausible that they were not mere accidents of nature, but rather a deliberate series of malicious arson. At least, that’s what Governor George Clarke said in John Peter Zenger’s New York Weekly Journal:

“The frequent fires which have happened in this Town, since that at the Fort, giving room from many Circumstances, to believe they have been kindled by Design…”

One question remained- who was setting fire to the City of New York? Here is where New York differed from 17th century New England: they did not find magic in the air, nor did they seek out a supernatural reality hidden in the colonial woods beyond the Collect Pond near modern day Canal St. No, they just blamed the slaves. Go figure.

What happened next is a story that, surprisingly, little know of or have ever heard; no one teaches it in school, and it even triumphs the gore of 17th century New England. The Superior Court of Judicature burned slaves at the stake (only a few decades before the colossal revolution, which allegedly sanctified enlightenment logic), hanged men and women, and accused near 200 persons, mostly slaves, of arson, conspiracy, and treason.

This prompted one contemporary, Josiah Cotton, a Massachusetts native, to write:

“the former horrible executions among you [the Colony of New York] upon this occasion puts me in mind of our New England witchcraft in the year 1692 Which if I don’t mistake New York justly reproached us for, & mockt at our Credulity about: but may it not now be justly reported, mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur…”

Mutato nomine, Latin for, “Having changed your name, the tale told is about you.” In other words, Cotton was saying that in 1741, New York had a witch-hunt on its hands, the trappings had changed, but the essentials remained. This is the initia.

I am neither a historian (can one entirely “master” the subject of so complex a time?), nor a professional (though I am a professional non-professional), I’m but a student who is passionate. Yet I do have perspective, and the belief that long forgotten histories are relevant and interesting, and that these stories are relatable to our current age. Certainly, no one in mid-18th century Manhattan thought that they were capable of things comparable with 17th century Salem, yet then again, they burned people at the stake- how very medieval of them! Certainly, they lived midst the great Enlightenment! Right? How are we to make sense of these contradictions? Perhaps Latin may be useful once more (is it obvious that I love Latin?): dicens contra dictiones alios - they were merely those “speaking against other” interpretations of reality. These contradictions evolved in the colonial press, as we shall explore soon, and likewise they exist today in the ever-evolving analysis of historic papers and events.

So what am I here to offer? I offer the initia of my historiography. I will analyze often unknown historical records and stories (and the famous ones too), with the understanding of an even-present pluralistic reality, yet with a love for that history that is often lacking in a world evermore critical of the past. And I’ll offer it with panache (pretentious much?). Yeah I love history, so those who do too, I welcome you to my blog.

More to follow about that weird mid-18th century witch-hunt thing*.

New York Island shrouded in a winter fog

#introduction #newyork #history #latin #NYC #colonialhistory

*This is the beginning of a series of posts on the #1741slaveconspiracy, read further here: https://www.newyorkhistories.com/blog/spanish-what