Stuff You Missed in History Class
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This Week in History Podcasts: A Vanished City and an American Princess
by Katie Lambert | November 20, 2009
Pocahontas, circa 1612 (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Sorry for the lack of posts this week, guys – our office has been attacked by a nasty cold virus, myself included.
In Monday’s podcast, Sarah and I debated whether or not there was ever an Atlantis.
The Atlantis story comes from Plato, but was he telling the story of a historical event, or simply teaching a moral lesson? In Plato’s unfinished trilogy of dialogues, he recounts the destruction of Atlantis due to the greed of its people. Throughout the years, the idea of a sunken city has captured the imagination of the most unlikely bedfellows. Heinrich Himmler, for example, used his position within the SS to send expeditions to such far-flung locales as Tibet to look for Atlantis. Not that he was the only one to search for the city; it’s been said to be located in the Canary Islands, Sweden, Santorini and Bimini – and that’s just a sampling.
Some have gone so far as to suggest the Atlanteans were a super-race, undone by their own technological sophistication. Want to dig deeper into the mystery of Atlantis? Listen to the podcast on iTunes.
Pocahontas was the subject of Wednesday’s podcast. “Pocahontas” is no one’s favorite Disney movie, but the woman herself has an interesting story.
When the Virginia Company sent settlers to Jamestown in search of gold, they were sadly disappointed. The land there wasn’t even good – it was marshy, and the James River was only potable for part of the year.
Pocahontas became acquainted with the settlers when she was 10 or 11, but the story of her rescuing John Smith may have been completely made up. Smith’s accounts were notoriously unreliable, and he didn’t publish this sensationalized account until after she’d become famous.
What other Pocahontas stories you’ve heard are simply stories? And how did she become such an important part of American mythology? Listen to the podcast and find out.
More cool stuff:
5 Lost Cities
Did the Egyptians really build the Sphinx?
10 Historically Inaccurate Movies
What happened to the lost colony at Roanoke?
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John F. Heenehan says:
To build on your terrific podcast on Pocahontas, Virginia showed its reverence for her in another way – the Pocahontas Exception to its antimiscegenation laws.
Most states had these abominable laws, which banned marriage between whites and blacks. In addition, many states also banned marriage between whites and a range of nonwhites, including Indians.
In 1924, Virginians with Indian blood were classified as “colored” by the ruling nincompoops of the day — except for those who could trace their ancestry to Pocahontas.
Understandably, this exception covered many older and influential Virginia families. Imagine how awkward they would have felt to suddenly find they were no longer considered “white.”
Here’s a good source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_Integrity_Act_of_1924
Interestingly, the U.S. Supreme Court only banned the last of the antimiscegentation laws – still on the books in 17 states – in 1967. You might consider a podcast on this case, Loving vs. Virginia, a name filled with poetic justice.
Regards,
John F. Heenehan
Madison, NJ -
N Parker says:
Thank you Katie for your always fun and interesting podcasts.
I would love to hear your research/excavated history of all American inventions – particularly the tools and objects that we used everyday with little thought or knowledge of their creation. Examples being the grocery cart, ziplock bag, or clothes hanger.
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Kristen says:
This is totally random but as I was poking around the site I saw the picture of Katie and was taken by how stunningly beautiful she is…
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Joe says:
Wow Katie is beautiful!
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Whoah. That babe is hot.
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Katie Lambert says:
John, what a great postscript to the podcast! Thank you
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