Storyline

     Sometimes I have to pre-date a story, but the pre-date is not a pre-date.  It is actually picking the story up from an earlier point for myself.

     I think about my age of 22 years old.  I am finishing up with Tennis Camp for the summer and got a job offer in Easton at the Easton Tennis Club to teach tennis there.  For some reason, I'm 36 years old and still haven't made it there.  This in turn created a series of events that I am still trying to unfold. 

     And I think about this.  Say, $400 to $500 a week salary for upkeep of the club.  Plus private lessons, I was getting $40 an hour back when I was 22 for private tennis lessons.  Plus I had my tennis camp which was 6 weeks in July and August which made another $3000 to $5000+ for the summer.  Plus there's also a house here for free room and board.  Plus free use of the tennis courts indoor and outdoor, clay and hardcourt indoor and clay outdoor.  Plus the pool.  Plus in the woods and quiet away from highways and the train going by with the loudness of the train and the horn of the train, not here.  And what was I thinking??? Ugh, I wasn't thinking, and this was and is the problem.  This was much more than tennis.

    Ok, back to my storyline.  For some reason, I like to compare various things I do to Augustus Caesar, born Caius Octavius Thurinus, as I am born Joshua Lee Freeman.  The naming styles have changed, but people are people.  I will compare my age of 22 with Augustus's age of 22.

     I am born on December 27, 1973 AD.  Augustus is born on September 23, 63 BC.  So, he is born a little more than 3 months before I am.  I am guessing that this September 23 is transposed or updated to the Gregorian calendar that we use now, maybe it isn't, but for now, as is all I can do right now, I will take this date as is.  And for Caius Julius Caesar, he is born on July 13, 100 BC.  I will look into this date next, but for now, I will look at Augustus's realme and dateline. :).

Wampum

     Wampum is a word I've known for a while now, at least I think I know it. "White bead" of various seashells, the most common being the quahog shell, which has spelling variants such as quahaug, poquahock, hard clam, mercenaria mercenaria, among others. Various other shells such as the channeled whelk, periwinkle are used to make wampum also. Wompi from the Algonquian language, or the native language to the northeastern part of the United States and lower canada, means White.

     Many have their own version of what wampum is, I think about the Dutch trade of the wampum, which they called Sewant, Seawant, Zeewant, with various spellings used. I think about the stiver, beaver, copper, brass, bronze, orichalcum, sterling silver, silver, and gold valuations of the wampum.

     I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what is a stiver. How does it relate to an English penny. What is the size of the wampum bead. How many equal a stiver. How many equal a penny.

     I figured out the English penny part. There is this thing called a troy pound, or troy ounce. From the city of Troyes in France, to the city of London, England. Basically, Troy is a synonym for Barley, as metals were weighed in the amount of barley grains, or 5760 barley or troy grains in a troy pound.

     Through my studies, I also figured out that there are 3 barley or troy grains in 1 c arob bean. Four wheat grains equals three barley or troy grains. And 5/3 tola seeds equal one carob bean. Also, the standard I put together for how heavy a carob bean is 500/2640 grams. There are of course variants, but this is the standard that I use, or a little under 0.2 grams.

Some of you may know that the word carot or karot, not sure if I am spelling it right, but basiclaly as in Carot Gold, and of Diamond Karots, these words come from the Carob bean. This is a seed from a tree of the Mediterranean sea, which is used as a food and sweatner.

Fort Huys de Goede Hoop

     Now, I skip forward, or backwards, depending on your point of view, to the Fort Huys de Goede Hoop. This means, in Dutch, the Fort House of Good Hope. This is how Hartford, Connecticut got its start, in as early as 1623, and as late as 1633, various conflicting sources I have read give this range of dates. This is the land of Suckiaug, or the place of the black fertile earth next to the river banks of the Connecticut or Konecticott river, also known in Dutch, as Vershe or Fresh River.

     The Dutch had started their version of the West India Company in Amsterdam, in 1621. The English's version we know as the Virginia Company, both of which combined eventually to form the United States of America. Now being the year 2010, this is a while ago now. 389 years ago, so coming up on 400 years. A lot can happen in this amount of time. I don't speak dutch. I don't know if I even know one word in Dutch. I speak English. Obviously the English won out in terms of who speaks what language.

     And the average person on the street in Hartford never even heard the words Fort Huys de Goede Hoop. If I say Huyshope, then some Hartfordians understand, as this is a street name, in the Colt section of Hartford, or just south of the main part of the city, near to where the Colt Factory and homeless shelters are.

     I suppose, the first Dutch, and English, settlers to this area, in some standards, could be considered homeless, or maybe explorers with temporary shelter. Whatever the definition, by the 1620's, there was European activity in this area. The French had been trading in this area as early as the 1500's. And of course, the Indians, also known as American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous, Natives, Salvages, Savages, Algonquians, but in every day language, the Indians ... they are and have been in this area for thousands of years, since the Glaciers retreated, and possibly before the glaciers arrived.

Fort Amsterdam

     And then I think about Fort Amsterdam. In around 1626, or 1624, but around this time, Inigo Jones designed this Fort, as a protective trading post for the West India Company, based in Amsterdam, Dutch chapter. Now known as New York City, this Fort Amsterdam, was the first point of contact for the Dutch from Holland to this part of the world, especially for the fur trade, of which the Beaver was the primary animal of extract. Tomaquag known in Narragansett, and I have no idea what in Dutch, the beaver, oh the beaver. Brown furry creature, with a splatter tail, and those two buck teeth. Cha Cha Cha. Hello beaver. You.

     And how many sewant equal a beaver. There is the fathom length, which is now known as six feet. But the Dutch standard, how does this work, I still don't know.

Fort Orange

     And, up the river to the north, is Fort Orange, with various spellings such as Oranje, named after the House of Orange, in what's now Germany. This being the principal inland port for this same West India Company, which in Dutch the symbols of GWC, I'll call WIC right now or wic, for ease of typing. Well, whatever it is called, It was started as Fort Nassau in this general area in 1614 by the Dutch East India Company. It lasted for 3 years until 1617 until it was abandoned and washed away by the river.

     We know this river by the name of the Hudson River, or Hudson's river now adays. But back then, it was the Mauritius or North, Nort, Nord River.

I have read reports that this Dutch fort is built over the remains of an early 1500's or 16th century French fort, which I tend to believe, my family. And of course, before this is the Indians. Up in this area are the Mohawk and Mohican, which still are here.

Nova Belgii

     In English, New Belgium, this is the name of what is now New York. Nieuw Nederlandt is within this area, and is also a company in the 1610's, which became superceeded by the GWC. And still, the Belgic Dutch still come into this area, and traverse up and down the river, now often via Train.

     There are many towns, villages, cities, counties, boroughs, and homesteads up and down this Hudson River. It is a wide river, sometimes at width of a mile or more wide. It goes way up into canada, and ultimately connects at the Saint Lawrence Seaway in Quebec and Ontario.

     But it empties out by what's now New York City into the Atlantic Ocean.

Rome

Wimbledon

     The All England Championships started in London at Wimbledon in 1877. Queen Victoria is the Queen or Regina of England. Re, Rex, Ruler, Reign, Rayn, Raynham.

Raynham

     There is a Raynham England in Norfolk County, but the Raynham I am talking about here is in Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. Note the USA, this is like Great Britain in some regards. But what of the United Kingdom. This is sort of like the United Nations, at least in terms of levels of government, maybe even beyond, or not quite as far. It depends on the person, and of the law also, whatever that is. I suppose it depends on whose law it is.

Displays

1.  Plimoth Plantation at the house adult gift shop nearest to the Mayflower II of Plymouth Town, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Commonwealth

2.  New Bedford Whaling Museum Gift Shop of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, New Bedford City, Bristol County, Massachusetts Commonwealth

3.  Zero Wampum of Diversified Retailers in Wakefield, South Kingstown Town, Washington County, Rhode Island and Providence Planatations State

The Netherlands

     The Netherlands is a place I want to go again.  The last time I went there was in November 1996.  I was in Amsterdam Airport in either January or February 2004, but I did not get out into Amsterdam the city, this was a connecting flight which I had about a half hour or an hour layover wait.   

James II

     And I was thinking that James II was King of England in 1675, but now that I look it up online, specifically on Wikipedia, I see that Charles II is the King of England in 1675.  This is where my memory picks up here for the most part.  The fort here.  Before the farm from my readings of the history of Raynham.  So, therefore I should study Charles II and see how he does things. 

     And then, I wonder who is King of France in 1675.  Hmm.  Same thing, I will look this up on wikipedia.  I am thinking Louis XIV.  And yes, I am right, is Louis XIV King of France in 1675.  But I am not sure if his reign extended to this area, I am thinking, probably not.  Charles II probabably had a much bigger grip on this area here, with Louis XIV to the north, in what's now Quebec and Ontario along the St. Lawrence Seaway, or Nova Francia, or New France, or Nouvelle France, here being New England, or of the sorts.  And at this time is Plymouth Colony, or the Society of Plymouth, or the Society of New Plymouth, or something along this lines, or with an extension of Massachusetts Bay Colony or Company extending out to here, or something entirely different, but still within the reign of Charles II, with Charles I being at Boston where this started off and James I being at Plymouth, but here, of Charles II. :)., at least I think so. 

Charles II

     From what I read on wikipedia in the article Charles II of England, he was, or you were crowned in 1660 at Westminster Abbey, the day before you made the procession from the Tower of London to the Westminster Abbey.  From looking up Westminster Abbey on Google Maps, this is on the west bank of the Thames River, looking east.  Therefore to watch the sun rise, or the sun come up.  So if on the 29th of May 1630 you are born, and then crowned on 29 May 1660, then you are 30 years old. 

     I turned 30 years old on Singapore Airlines above the Atlantic Ocean, flying to Frankfurt Germany, then to Tallinn Estonia.  But specifically, I was flying above the clouds, and I turned 30. :).

     And from looking at the procession from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey on Google Maps satellite, and then comparing the curve of the Thames River to the curve of the Taunton River, the palace at Whitehall where Charles II lived, is where the center of Taunton, Massachusetts here in the USA is, in Bristol County.  What if this was Tauntonshire, I do wonder about this, or Taunton County, instead of Bristol County.  Bristol seceeded to Rhode Island in 1747, and the name was not changed here.  Bristol County in Rhode Island, where Bristol, RI is, this government doesn't work anymore, there are no more county commissioners in Bristol County, RI.  And Bristol County, MA, here has 3 commissioners, but they get most if not all of their money from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

     I think about the Commonwealth of England, with Oliver Cromwell as the head.  This lasted until about or at 1660, when Oliver's son took over, but this didn't last long before the English Parliament invited Charles II to come back in and take over, which was May 29, 1660.

     I think about Isner and Mahut at Wimbledon, in London, right now.  They are tied at 59-59 in the 5th set, a match that has gone 10 hours already, is the longest tennis match in history.  American and French man.  Elizabeth II is the Queen of England now, is related to Charles II, but not a direct line from him.

     I do wonder who are the people who are descended from Charles II, and if any of them live around here, or if I know any of them.  As per the history recorded or written, he did not have kids with Catherine Braganza of Portugal, his queen consort. 

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Updated June 26, 2010  M