Birthright was published in New York on the 25th of January 2010 by the publisher, Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc and was written by Roger Ekirch. Roger Ekirch believes that James Annesley story has one of the best trials of history based on the documents that he has collected and studied over the past years. The Author also wrote the book because he states, “ultimately, this is a story about betrayal and loss—but also about endurance, survival, and redemption. Despite its English origins, it is, at its heart, an Irish tale” (pg. xxiii). I personally agree with his argument and reason to write Birthright because I believe the Annesley family’s story is an important part of American history because it portrait how serious the colonial period was and how the law system was developing. The Annesley family is important in American History because they were newcomers to Ireland who had nothing, who later started to rise with …show more content…
wealth after Elizabeth’s conquest and the creation of the Virginia Company in the late sixteenth century (pg.14) (Class notes). Britain was doing so well because the English monarchy promised to relieve Britain of its impoverishment and subdue the indigenous Catholic population (pg.15). As I also learned in History 1310, after Elizabeth’s death James the first became king and founded Jamestown, which played a huge part in American history because the growth of tobacco became the majority of income for England and was the number one reason why Jamestown survived and the creation of the indentured servants (class notes). The Annesley family started getting power when Robert Annesley an army officer obtained 2,600 acres in county Limerick, which were then passed on to his son Francis who was King James favorite and who became the vice-treasurer of Ireland in 1625 and obtained two Irish titles. After Francis Annesley died his older son Arthur, James granddad inherited the honors and helped choreograph the return of Charles the second in 1660. Because of his loyalty he became one of the most powerful men in Ireland, one of the largest landowners, and the first Earl of Anglesea (pgs. 15 and 16). The Annasley’s wealth and power started going down hill when James was the only left male heir of Arthur and Irelands economy started going down due to the collapse of the South Sea Company in 1720 (pg.49). The story takes place in the eighteenth century during the colonial period 1600-1775. Ireland being predominantly catholic, Dublin the capital is two-thirds protestant and the countries ruling elite. Dublin a flourishing port had a population of ninety-two thousand residents in 1725 (pg.5) by the time James, his father and his father’s mistress move to the capital. James Annesley the protagonist of a true life event story was the son of Arthur Annesley, the fifth earl of Anglesey, a very wealthy man. James Annesley was to heir one of the greatest family fortunes…he stood to receive estates in Ireland, England, and Wales as well as four aristocratic titles, including the treasured earldom of Anglesea, one of two English peerages (pg. 14). At the age of eight he was turned out by his father. He would sleep in a hayloft of a playfellow’s home in Phrapper Lane where he would run errands and work as a shoe boy (pg.7). Three years later James was invited by John Purcell a butcher and his wife names When his father died at the age of thirty-eight, James was accused of being an imposter and a Bastard child by his uncle Richard Annesley who was the next heir in line after James. I personally believe Richard poisoned his own brother and already knew how he was going to get rid of his nephew and inherit his brother’s fortune. I believe so because, in the “prologue” Richard Annesley pays a visit to the Purcell home three weeks before Arthur Annesley death. He asks about James well being and if they are considering keeping him as an apprentice, which Purcell replies no and offers to reunite James with his father. Richard Annesley is the meaning of betrayal because he accused James of steeling a silver spoon and being a bastard child so he could be sent out as an indentured servant to the American colonies. I believe Richard accused James as being a bastard child because during that time period it was really popular and socially okay for married men to have love affairs with prostitutes and servants and also have mistresses. Except if the mistress became pregnant with a boy he could not heir the family fortune and power. Since no one believed James that he was the legitimate son of Arthur Annisley and saw him as an imposter his uncle was able to ship him off. By 1624 Virginia was producing 200,000 pounds of tobacco a year so the landowners wanted indentured servants because they were cheaper than African slaves and the British saw it as an opportunity to better themselves because after their seven years were up they were given land but if they tried to escape seven more years were added to their contract (class notes). James Annesley was aboard the James ship, a much stronger ship than the rest and was headed to the new world to be sold as an indentured servant. Served as a dock for shipmasters to to the Ten years later and on his third attempt of escaping James finally succeeded and was able to return to Great Britain. James mission was now redemption he wanted to recover his identity and reclaim his inheritance from his uncle. when James returned, Ireland’s economy prospects had improved and so had the value of his inheritance (pg.192). James had to also go to trial for accidently shooting a butcher during a hunting trip but was later proven innocent. The trial took more than one year for James to prove his identity. James Annesley was able to sing victory with the help of witnesses, testimonies like Dr. Samuel Jemmat, who testified on Lady Altham’s (James mother) pregnancy, transcripts, a news paper add, and with the help of a new camping that was going to raise legal funds that would reacquaint the public with his plight (pg. 193). The trial became well known with the help of newspapers and how well people were keeping up with the case. On page 166 it reads, “for two weeks, newspapers on both sides of the Irish Sea had struggled to keep readers abreast of the trials progress.” The trial helped give the people hope, if James Annesley was able to win his case in court then they could use the law in their advantage to win their rights. I personally think James Annesley trial is a big deal in history like Roger Ekirch believes because it is amazing how he was able to prove his identity and win the trial without the existence of DNA testing and because it was the start of our legal system. In conclusion, Roger Ekirch wrote Birthright to tell the story of the famous trial of James Annesley because it made an impact in the American history and a great Irish tale.
In my personal opinion I think Birthright is a great way to learn about history from someone’s personal life events because it helps you visualize how it was like to live during the colonial period. I liked the style that Birthright was written in because it is facts but its also a story and I really enjoyed looking at the illustrations as well, they really helped me visualize the historic event. Roger Ekirch did an amazing job in the way that he organized the chapters in the book. I like how he gave an intro to the story then he went back in time and talked about the Annesley family history on the next chapter and I appreciate that he added “Notes to the legal sources” and the “notes” at the end of the book because it is evidence that the story really did happen. Birthright really is an amazing story about a boy who went though betrayal, loss, endurance, survival, and
redemption.
It shows that Negros were able to purchase their freedom and purchase the freedom of their family members. It shows a sense of equality in the way that free blacks could go to court and potentially win cases against white farmers. Free blacks owning slaves and indentured servants, some of which were white, could also be seen as equality. It also shows how free blacks had a thought of a future in the way that they drew up wills in which their family members were granted land and livestock. Knowing that white farming landowners and free blacks lived together in a sense of harmony goes back to the main theme of Myne Owne Ground. It shows that slavery is indeed an embarrassment to our nation. Knowing that blacks and whites were able to live together, trade, and be civil towards each other shows that slavery was unfounded and not
I was able to better understand how easy it was for English laws to change on a case-by-case basis and see how Virginia changed so many of the English laws not long after the first settlers arrived. Also, reading this book helped me understand the reasons behind the changes. Life in Virginia differed than life in England, giving them a need for different laws in certain situations. Not everything in Virginia could be the same as it was in England. Another thing this book helped me to see was how different things were then, than they are now. Laws have changed so much and we have an organized system of keeping the laws. Also, it seems as if a lot of the laws and court cases back then were corresponding to labor and economy. Lastly, each section helped me understand how men and women were treated differently. Initially, men and women were punished just as much for having sex out of wedlock, but later in the book, women were held responsible and men got away with
I enjoyed that the book challenged some of the biggest problems in our legal system, or even society as a whole. There is still a lot of racism going on, and this book was not afraid to exploit that. I enjoy those kinds of readings. They are the things that will eventually spark a change and shed some light on the problems that are happening right now.
It also shows some more common ideas, like how all families have secrets, and in just a short time, someone’s life can be turned upside down and they have to find the best way to stay strong for themselves and their families. The most important thing I learned from this book, is how some people in other cultures find life to be very difficult when they are trying to do what is best for their family. Anita kept saying America is the ‘free country’ and I couldn’t agree more. So many people want to come here for so many different reasons, and it makes you realize that if our country is so great that people from all over the world want to move here, we are very lucky to be so highly thought
Analysis of “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”: Written by Aaron Wright and Nichole Smith
This book was a very enjoyable book to read. I would highly recommend all people to read Up From Slavery to see the impact Booker T. Washington had on the African American civil rights that are present in the United States today. I believe that Up From Slavery showed how blacks improved their economic situation through gaining education.
Immigration to America from Europe was at an all time high in the mid-1800s. After the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, a large group of Irish immigrated to the United States. Since then, increasing numbers of Irish people have been moving to the United States, especially in Chicago. The Irish had come to realize that the United States really is the land of opportunity. With jobs being available to the immigrants, many more shipped in to start new lives for their families. However, for quite a while they did not live in the nicest of areas in Chicago. Many of the Irish resided in low-class areas such as overcrowded parts around the Loop, and out in the West Side. Not only did the West Side shelter the Irish, but many Germans and Jews lived in that area.
Wills did a great job in this book by showing the importance of equality, the unity, and freedom that Lincoln had created among the people. "This is the belief of Lincoln--- that the Declaration is a pledge "to all people of all colors everywhere."'2 Slavery is wrong. We cannot own human beings and have them as slaves, and should not be kings over them. If you own certain things, how can you free it? You can't free property; you can't free your clothes. Those are just items, people are not meant to be owned. It is point out to the entire nation and he even pointed it out even further towards both the North and the South.
Narrating these stories informs readers not familiar with slavery a clear idea on how slaves lived and were treated. The novel brings a strong political message to our society. If Douglass explains to people what slavery was about, they would be influenced to make a change. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the story of Frederick Douglass from the time he was born a slave to the time of his escape to freedom. Through years of physical abuse and assault, Douglass overcame these obstacles to become an advocate against
Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the inhumane effects of slavery and Douglass's own triumph over it. His use of vivid language depicts violence against slaves, his personal insights into the dynamics between slaves and slaveholders, and his naming of specific persons and places made his book an indictment against a society that continued to accept slavery as a social and economic institution. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1853 she published Letter from a Fugitive Slave, now recognized as one of the most comprehensive antebellum slave narratives written by an African-American woman. Jacobs's account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves.
...y. He touched parts of the slaves' lives and what they really went through, but I don't think we even have a true idea of what it would have been in their shoes. The author presented the information in a very solid way and sectioned out very well. I understood what he was trying to explain easily. It was somewhat a long book but very much full of knowledge and history that in spirit is still alive today. We may not have slavery like it was then, but we still deal with racism and prejudices daily. The world changed because of slavery and is the way it is because of the history of America. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. Thank God the world is not the way it was. I cannot imagine what painful lives the slaves had to endure. But we can become knowledgeable about the history of slavery and America and learn from it in many different ways.
Many of the Irish who immigrated to Boston during the years before the American Revolution were part of "a poor, hardworking class." Most could not even afford to pay their way over and came as indentured servants instead. They came from all walks of life and many different backgrounds. There were tailors, cabinet-makers, carpenters, shoemakers, and bricklayers, as well as farmhands and laborers. The one thing...
INTRODUCTION The history of Ireland "that most distressful nation" is full of drama and tragedy, but one of the most interesting stories is about what happened to the Irish during the mid-nineteenth century and how millions of Irish came to live in America (Purcell 31). Although the high point of the story was the years of the devastating potato famine from 1845 to 1848, historians have pointed out that immigrating from Ireland was becoming more popular before the famine and continued until the turn of the twentieth century. In the one hundred years between the first recording of immigrants in
Throughout the history of this nation there are thousands of upon thousands of immigrants coming to this country and achieving the American dream. The Irish immigrated to the United States in 1840 – 1850s in big numbers driven by hunger and by the oppression of the British. Many of them became successful politicians, police officers and businessmen. One of the brightest examples in the history of Irish immigration success is Henry Ford. His grandfather immigrated in the 1840s escaping the potato famine. Henry Ford himself was born in a poor family in Dearborn, Michigan went on to become the most successful car builder in the country (Hennigan). Between 1880 and 1920 the first wave of Italians mainly from South Italy immigrated in the United States (Hendin 13). Many escaped from the poor countryside in Southern Italy to seek better life in America. Shining ex...
Parts three and four made me sad because they detail the revolt and its aftermath. Many people died during this brief period, which were only a few of the tragic consequences brought about through the institution of slavery. Nat Turner is a tragic figure in this and he should be remembered as a victim at the hands of persecutors and oppressors. I do recommend this book.