Quantcast
Channel: World Digital Library
Viewing all 9410 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 3

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 3
Flora of Aden is a botanical catalog of plants found in Aden and vicinity at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The work appeared in three issues in 1914‒16. Despite never having traveled to the region, Father Ethelbert Blatter was able to add 250 plants to the literature of the region’s known species. He relied on various herbaria and travel accounts, beginning with those by Henry Salt (1780‒1827). Each plant is described in detail with its physical description, Latin and local names, location, growing season, and other available information. It is interesting to note that the descriptions rarely cite medicinal or culinary uses. There are colorful comments on the circumstance of reported finds, such as “Marchesetti is the only botanist who reported this species from Aden, and we have included it on his authority…we are perhaps allowed to doubt the actual occurrence of Cl. droserifolia at Aden.” Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora of Aden comprises volume VII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧
Search

Fragment of a Prayer Book from Yemen

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Fragment of a Prayer Book from Yemen
Shown here is a German edition of a fragment from a Yemeni Jewish prayer book. It comprises seven prayers in verse written in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, with translation and extensive commentary in German. The fragment originated in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. The scope of the work reflects the unique history of the Yemeni Jewish communities, who for centuries developed their own ways of religious and secular life, independent from outside influences. The translation and commentary on the liturgical poems are by Pinkas Heinrich, a scholar and rabbi who was born in 1861 in Jassy (present-day Romania). Following the wishes of his father, David, Pinkas dedicated his young life almost entirely to the study of rabbinic disciplines in order to succeed his grandfather, Chanoch, who was the chief rabbi in the city. Pinkas Heinrich later went on to study at the universities of Bucharest, Vienna, and Zurich. The fragment was part of the larger Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic manuscript collection of Moses Gaster (1856–1939), a scholarly British Jew of Romanian descent and a prominent figure in the Zionist Movement. It is unclear if the fragment was also part of the collection he obtained from the Genizah of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. Heinrich dedicated the work to “the commendable and distinguished language researcher, the famed folklorist Rev. Dr. Moses Gaster” and wrote in the preamble that Gaster “entrusted” him to “edit” the fragment. Judeo-Arabic is a version of Arabic with some Hebrew, Aramaic, and other vocabulary. It is in use among Jews living in Arabic regions and is written in Hebrew script.
↧
↧

Flora Arabica, Part II. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 2

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora Arabica, Part II. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 2
Flora Arabica is a botanical catalog of the plants of the Arabia. The work is in six volumes covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: the extra-tropical west, the tropical west, the tropical east, and the extra-tropical east including the Persian Gulf region. The catalog is by Father Ethelbert Blatter, and is largely based on the herbaria of the British Museum, which itself contained the records of other collections. The author asserts that Flora Arabica contains “all the plant material ever collected in Arabia.” The work is noteworthy for the inclusion of the native names for plants in Arabic and Persian, including regional dialect variants. Blatter’s Flora Arabica held pride of place among reference books on Arabian plants until the late 20th century. Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora Arabica comprises volume VIII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧

Dhows of the Indian Ocean: Disputes over Zanzibar and Muscat

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Dhows of the Indian Ocean: Disputes over Zanzibar and Muscat
Les boutriers de la Mer des Indes, affaires de Zanzibar et Mascate (The dhows of the Indian Ocean: Disputes over Zanzibar and Muscat) is a diplomatic history of the confrontation in the 19th century between France and Britain involving these territories. Britain’s goal was to preserve maritime security in the Indian Ocean, while France was attempting to retain its few trading outposts and its diplomatic influence in Muscat, Zanzibar, and on the East African coast. The author, Charles Brunet, takes the view that the French position was doomed because of the “pusillanimity and folly” of the French government in the face of British bullying. Brunet was a man of letters and political figure in the French overseas province of Réunion. This work is his doctoral dissertation. Brunet begins with an historical introduction and romantic depiction of the traditional commerce of the two-masted dhows and a discussion of the expertise of their Omani shipmasters. He then proceeds to the heart of his research, which traces in minute detail using the body of available texts the progress of British territorial acquisition at the expense of the French and their Omani and African allies. French authorities in the region attempted to hold the line against the expansion of British influence through a series of measures regulating the dhow trade. The British challenged these acts, using the curbing of slavery as the pretext for extending their control of the seas. The author argues that a judgement at the Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 1905 went largely against the French because warnings by French officials in the region went unheeded and as a consequence of the lack of knowledge and often stupidity shown by French ministers, the ignorance of the negotiators, the silence of the press, and the indifference of the French parliament. Brunet concludes that “under these conditions the result of Anglo-French rivalry was never in doubt.”
↧

Flora Arabica, Part III. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 3

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora Arabica, Part III. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 3
Flora Arabica is a botanical catalog of the plants of the Arabia. The work is in six volumes covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: the extra-tropical west, the tropical west, the tropical east, and the extra-tropical east including the Persian Gulf region. The catalog is by Father Ethelbert Blatter, and is largely based on the herbaria of the British Museum, which itself contained the records of other collections. The author asserts that Flora Arabica contains “all the plant material ever collected in Arabia.” The work is noteworthy for the inclusion of the native names for plants in Arabic and Persian, including regional dialect variants. Blatter’s Flora Arabica held pride of place among reference books on Arabian plants until the late 20th century. Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora Arabica comprises volume VIII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧
↧

Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 2

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 2
Flora of Aden is a botanical catalog of plants found in Aden and vicinity at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The work appeared in three issues in 1914‒16. Despite never having traveled to the region, Father Ethelbert Blatter was able to add 250 plants to the literature of the region’s known species. He relied on various herbaria and travel accounts, beginning with those by Henry Salt (1780‒1827). Each plant is described in detail with its physical description, Latin and local names, location, growing season, and other available information. It is interesting to note that the descriptions rarely cite medicinal or culinary uses. There are colorful comments on the circumstance of reported finds, such as “Marchesetti is the only botanist who reported this species from Aden, and we have included it on his authority…we are perhaps allowed to doubt the actual occurrence of Cl. droserifolia at Aden.” Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora of Aden comprises volume VII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧

Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 1

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora of Aden. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VII, Number 1
Flora of Aden is a botanical catalog of plants found in Aden and vicinity at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The work appeared in three issues in 1914‒16. Despite never having traveled to the region, Father Ethelbert Blatter was able to add 250 plants to the literature of the region’s known species. He relied on various herbaria and travel accounts, beginning with those by Henry Salt (1780‒1827). Each plant is described in detail with its physical description, Latin and local names, location, growing season, and other available information. It is interesting to note that the descriptions rarely cite medicinal or culinary uses. There are colorful comments on the circumstance of reported finds, such as “Marchesetti is the only botanist who reported this species from Aden, and we have included it on his authority…we are perhaps allowed to doubt the actual occurrence of Cl. droserifolia at Aden.” Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora of Aden comprises volume VII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧

Arabia Infelix, or the Turks in Yamen

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Arabia Infelix, or the Turks in Yamen
Arabia infelix; or the Turks in Yamen is a history of Yemen and the southern Arabian Peninsula from earliest times to the eve of World War I. George Wyman Bury (1874‒1920) was an adventurer and sometime soldier who spent 16 years exploring the mountainous regions of Yemen. Arabia infelix covers all aspects of Yemen, which, until the end of the war, formed part of the Ottoman Empire. Chapters treat biblical and ancient history, flora and fauna, the manners and customs of its rural and urban population, as well as economic life, trade, and politics. In ancient times, the arid region stretching from Anatolia to Aden was divided roughly into three parts, Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), Arabia Petra (the frontier of the Roman Empire), and Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia, or Yemen), so named because there was sufficient rainfall to support an agricultural economy. By entitling his book Arabia infelix (Unhappy Arabia), Bury signals his view that Turkish rule was an impediment to the prosperity and well-being of the country. G.W. Bury spent most of his life outside his native Britain, living in parts of Africa, in Yemen, and then in Egypt, where he served in the British army as a junior officer and military analyst. Chronic poor health harmed his career and shortened his life. He died in convalescence in Helwan, a health resort near Cairo.  His other works include TheLand of Uz, a travel narrative written under the pen name Abdullah Mansur, and Pan-Islam, a post-war study of Turkish and German attempts to rally the Muslim world against the Allied powers in World War I. Bury’s writing was not always well reviewed, perhaps because it lacked the heft and gravitas of writings by other travelers. His style is almost conversational, as in this quip about insect life in Yemen: “The prevalent creepy-crawly in Yamen is certainly the millipede.” The book contains three maps and numerous photographs of landscapes, city views, and Yemeni people.
↧
Search

Flora Arabica, Part V. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 6

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora Arabica, Part V. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 6
Flora Arabica is a botanical catalog of the plants of the Arabia. The work is in six volumes covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: the extra-tropical west, the tropical west, the tropical east, and the extra-tropical east including the Persian Gulf region. The catalog is by Father Ethelbert Blatter, and is largely based on the herbaria of the British Museum, which itself contained the records of other collections. The author asserts that Flora Arabica contains “all the plant material ever collected in Arabia.” The work is noteworthy for the inclusion of the native names for plants in Arabic and Persian, including regional dialect variants. Blatter’s Flora Arabica held pride of place among reference books on Arabian plants until the late 20th century. Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora Arabica comprises volume VIII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧
↧

Flora Arabica: The Botanical Exploration of Arabia. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 5

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora Arabica: The Botanical Exploration of Arabia. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 5
Flora Arabica is a botanical catalog of the plants of the Arabia. The work is in six volumes covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: the extra-tropical west, the tropical west, the tropical east, and the extra-tropical east including the Persian Gulf region. The catalog is by Father Ethelbert Blatter, and is largely based on the herbaria of the British Museum, which itself contained the records of other collections. The author asserts that Flora Arabica contains “all the plant material ever collected in Arabia.” The work is noteworthy for the inclusion of the native names for plants in Arabic and Persian, including regional dialect variants. Blatter’s Flora Arabica held pride of place among reference books on Arabian plants until the late 20th century. Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora Arabica comprises volume VIII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧

Flora Arabica, Part IV. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 4

December 29, 2015, 6:24 am
$
0
0
Flora Arabica, Part IV. Records of the Botanical Survey of India, Volume VIII, Number 4
Flora Arabica is a botanical catalog of the plants of the Arabia. The work is in six volumes covering the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: the extra-tropical west, the tropical west, the tropical east, and the extra-tropical east including the Persian Gulf region. The catalog is by Father Ethelbert Blatter, and is largely based on the herbaria of the British Museum, which itself contained the records of other collections. The author asserts that Flora Arabica contains “all the plant material ever collected in Arabia.” The work is noteworthy for the inclusion of the native names for plants in Arabic and Persian, including regional dialect variants. Blatter’s Flora Arabica held pride of place among reference books on Arabian plants until the late 20th century. Ethelbert Blatter (1877‒1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in India. He left his native land to study in Germany and the Netherlands, and later for theological studies in England. In 1903, he moved to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to teach at Saint Xavier College and engage in the botanical research and publishing that occupied him for the remainder of his life. Although his main contributions were in British India, his books on the plants of Aden and Arabia are also important contributions to botanical literature. Flora Arabica comprises volume VIII of the Records of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI or the Survey). The BSI was established in 1890 for the purpose of identifying the plants of India and their economic value. European interest in the flora of India dates to the earliest days of exploration and colonial expansion. Beginning in the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British collected and studied native plants. As the lands under control of the British East India Company grew in extent, so too did the study of plant life in the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Economic and imperial expansion extended the surveys beyond the borders of British India to Myanmar (Burma) and the Arabian Peninsula.
↧

Laws of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Laws of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue
Toussaint Louverture (circa 1743−1803) was the leader of the slave revolt and independence movement in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) during the French Revolution. He won military victories over the French colonial forces and then negotiated an arrangement under which the colony became self-governing as a French protectorate. Lois de la Colonie française de Saint-Domingue (Laws of the French colony of Saint-Domingue) is a compilation of 19 laws promulgated by Louverture in July and August 1801 in accordance with the constitution of July 7, 1801, also promulgated by Louverture. The laws concern the territorial division of Saint-Domingue into departments, arrondissements, and parishes; religion and the establishment of Roman Catholicism as the state religion; the status and rights of children born outside of marriage; civil and criminal courts and the justice system; the maintenance of public health and safety; municipal administration; the colonial guard or militia; debts; financial administration; and several other topics. Louverture was forced to relinquish power in May 1802 after defeats inflicted by an invading French army led by General Charles Emmanuel Leclerc, brother-in-law of Napoleon. He was arrested and deported to France, where in died in prison on April 7, 1803. The book is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Dominigue), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧

Essay on Paper, Read in the Public Meeting held by Cercle des Philadelphes, August 15, 1788

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Essay on Paper, Read in the Public Meeting held by Cercle des Philadelphes, August 15, 1788
In the second half of the 18th century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue emerged as one of the wealthiest territories in the Western hemisphere. Its economy was heavily based on slave labor and the production of sugar. Cap-Français (present-day Cap-Haïten) was the cultural capital of the colony and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Americas. In August 1785 a group of white residents of the city founded the Cercle des Philadelphes, a society whose aim was to elevate the intellectual and cultural level of their colony. In its brief seven-year existence, the society became one of the most prestigious of the colonial learned societies. Its members applied themselves to the study of the physical conditions, natural history, and medicine of the colony, with the goal of promoting improvements in agriculture, manufactures, and the arts and sciences. Presented here is the published version of an essay that was read to the society on August 15, 1788, on the topic of the preservation of paper. The author, Charles Arthaud, was royal physician and head of the society. The essay contains a review of the methods used by different civilizations, including the Egyptian, Roman, Chinese, and pre-Columbian Mexican and Peruvian, to create and preserve a written documentary record, and it offers observations on the types of paper that seemed best able to resist damage and destruction by insects in the tropical climate. The essay concludes by noting the decision of the society to sponsor a competition and to offer a prize to anyone who could succeed in manufacturing in the colony an insect-resistant paper. The book is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Domingue), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧
↧

Almanac of Saint-Domingue for the Year 1765, with the Names of the Public Officials in the Colony

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Almanac of Saint-Domingue for the Year 1765, with the Names of the Public Officials in the Colony
This almanac of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) for the year 1765 was published by the firm of Antoine Marie, official printers for the colony, in Cap-Français (present-day Cap-Haïtien). The book begins with a listing of the major Catholic religious holidays, predicted eclipses, and other general information, followed by entries for the twelve months of the year. The listing for each month shows the days of the month, the saint or religious feast associated with each day, and the four phases of the moon (full, last quarter, new, and first quarter) for the month. The calendar of months is followed by a list of the princes and princesses of France and their dates of birth, beginning with King Louis XV and his wife, Queen Marie. Most of the remainder of the book is taken up by a comprehensive listing of the government and religious officials in the colony, such as the members of the royal council and other governing officials, the apostolic prefect and the curés of all parishes, naval and military officers, judges and lawyers, notaries, and many others. The last pages are taken up by a schedule of the courier services on the island linking the towns and cities of Fort-Dauphin (present-day Fort-Liberté), Port-de-Paix, Port-au-Prince, Saint-Marc, Léogane, and several other locations. Almanach de Saint Domingue pour l'année 1765 is one of the earliest books printed in the colony. The book is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Domingue), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧

Proclamation. In the Name of the Republic. We, Etienne Polverel and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, Civil Officers of the Republic, Whom the French Nation Sent to this Country to Establish Law and Order

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Proclamation. In the Name of the Republic. We, Etienne Polverel and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, Civil Officers of the Republic, Whom the French Nation Sent to this Country to Establish Law and Order
The broadside presented here is a rare copy of the official Creole text, translated from the French, of a proclamation issued in the colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) granting freedom to enslaved women and to the children of newly emancipated slaves. The articles describe the procedures by which slaves could be married and the laws that governed the status of women and children after marriage. The document also specifies the value of women and of children of both sexes by age and thereby the amount of indemnity to be paid to their masters. The translation into Creole was a radical step, taken so that the slaves might know exactly what rights they had under the proclamation. In August 1791, slaves in Saint-Domingue staged a massive revolt, setting in train the chain of events that ultimately led to the founding of independent Haiti in 1804. In 1792, the de facto government of revolutionary France sent Etienne Polverel and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax as civil commissioners to the colony for the purpose of enforcing a decree by the National Assembly enfranchising free blacks and mulattoes, but that did not yet free the colony’s slaves. Under growing pressure from the revolt and threatened by invading British forces, on August 29, 1793, Sonthonax issued a decree freeing the slaves in the northern part of the colony, for which he was responsible. Polverel followed two weeks later with a proclamation freeing all slaves in the west. The proclamation presented here was issued by both Polverel and Sonthonax— in the name of the French Republic. The document is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Dominique), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧
Search

Proclamation. In the Name of the Republic. We, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, Civil Officer of the Republic, Delegate in the Islands of the French West Indies to Re-establish Law and Public Order

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Proclamation. In the Name of the Republic. We, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, Civil Officer of the Republic, Delegate in the Islands of the French West Indies to Re-establish Law and Public Order
In August 1791, slaves in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) staged a massive revolt, setting in train the chain of events that ultimately led to the founding of independent Haiti in 1804. In 1792, the de facto government of revolutionary France sent Etienne Polverel and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax as civil commissioners to the colony for the purpose of enforcing a decree by the National Assembly, which enfranchised free blacks and mulattoes but did not yet free the colony’s slaves. Presented here is a broadside with the text of a proclamation issued by Sonthonax on August 21, 1793, concerning the marriage rights between a free man and an enslaved woman, whose master would receive compensation paid by the Republic. Under growing pressure from the revolt and threatened by invading British forces, on August 29, 1793, Sonthonax issued a decree freeing the slaves in the northern part of the colony, for which he was responsible. Polverel followed two weeks later with a proclamation freeing all slaves in the west. The document is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Domingue), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧

Account of a Conspiracy Organized by the Negroes in the Island of Saint-Domingue

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
Account of a Conspiracy Organized by the Negroes in the Island of Saint-Domingue
This short work consists of two letters relating to a planned slave uprising in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) in 1758. The context and importance of the letter are explained in an introductory paragraph by an anonymous editor: “Two letters were delivered to us. One is from Cap-Français, Island of Saint-Domingue, and one from the person to whom this letter was addressed. As this person knows perfectly well per se the current state of this island, we will give his letter first, to serve as an introduction to the next. The content of these letters is too important, in the present circumstances, not to give them to the public. As we shall see, the Negroes are seeking to take control of the country by causing death to the masters, only Jesuits are spared, and the latter openly protect the Negroes, by prohibiting those who are tortured unto death from revealing their perpetrators and accomplices. Does one not declare oneself an accomplice by denying the only way to eradicate this dreadful conspiracy?” The document is from Les imprimés à Saint-Domingue (Imprints from Saint-Domingue), a collection held by the Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit that includes approximately 150 texts printed in Saint-Domingue before independence in 1804. The books were produced between 1764 and 1804 at presses in Cap-Français, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes and were digitized in 2006 with the support of the L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
↧
↧

B. D. Stewart, Morocco Leather Manufactory. Southeast Corner of Willow Street and Old York Road, Philadelphia

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
B. D. Stewart, Morocco Leather Manufactory. Southeast Corner of Willow Street and Old York Road, Philadelphia
This advertising print from 1847 shows the multi-storied manufactory of Benedict D. Stewart, located at Willow Street and Old York Road (i.e., 435-437 York Avenue) in Philadelphia. Signs bearing street names, the name of the proprietor, and the name of the business (“Morocco Leather Manufactory”) adorn the building. Windows on the lower level have shutters, while the upper two floors of windows have slats. To the left of the building, broadsides adorn the small fence that surrounds the courtyard located between the main building and the partially visible rear building of the factory. A man can be seen entering the doorway of the main building, while another gentleman walks on the sidewalk outside the factory. In the right foreground, laborers transport, pile, and load sacks and crates (some marked) onto a horse-drawn dray. Stewart opened his factory at this address in 1839.
↧

West Philadelphia Institute

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
West Philadelphia Institute
This lithograph from 1853 shows a view of the proposed building of the West Philadelphia Institute, a mechanics’ institute. The building was erected in 1853 on Williams (i.e., North 39th) Street, north of Market Street in Philadelphia. Two men are pictured here in a bucolic setting; they walk up a path leading to the small Georgian- and Florentine-style two-story building, which has several windows. The building contained a library, a lecture hall, and classrooms intended to help young men to educate themselves and to avoid vice during their free time. The building was purchased in 1871 by the Board of the Presbyterian Hospital and the institute was relocated to 40th and Ludlow streets. The print was produced by Thomas S. Sinclair (circa 1805–81). Sinclair was born in the Orkney Islands of Scotland and was active in Philadelphia by 1833, where he soon had his own business and was one of the first local printmakers to experiment with color lithography. A practical lithographer throughout his career, Sinclair produced all genres of lithographs, including maps, advertisements, city and landscape views, sheet music covers, portraiture, political cartoons, certificates, and book illustrations.
↧

St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia

December 29, 2015, 6:25 am
$
0
0
St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia
This lithograph from circa 1850 shows an exterior view of the Gothic-style Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, located at 1607-1627 Locust Street in Philadelphia. Saint Mark’s Church was built between 1848 and 1851 after the designs of the Scottish-born architect and landscape designer John Notman (1810–65). Below the image is the church seal with a motto reading, “Sigillum Ecclesiae S. Marci Philada. 1848.” Saint Mark’s was founded in 1847 by a group of Philadelphians intent on following the spiritual principles of the Oxford Movement, a current within the Anglican Church that downplayed the Protestant character of the English church and emphasized the continued relevance of the Catholic tradition. Services were conducted using the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, for example, and the rectors of the parish always wore beautifully designed and decorated vestments. Notman’s neo-Gothic style was in keeping with the spiritual aspirations and traditions of the church. The maker of the print, originally part of a scrapbook and heavily damaged in the upper left hand corner, is unknown.
↧
Viewing all 9410 articles
Browse latest View live
Search