Pidgins and creoles are two distinct types of languages that have emerged and developed in contexts of intense linguistic (and cultural and economic) contact. A pidgin is a simplified language with a limited vocabulary that has originated to bridge the communication gap between two groups without a common language. In contrast, a creole is a pidgin that has been gradually refined and enriched by a new generation of speakers who now consider it their first language. Understanding the differences in pidgin and creole formation (and development), as well as the similarities and differences among pidgins worldwidefrom the Chinook Jargon in Canada to Naij in Nigeriawill help us shed light on the adaptability of languages and the resilience of their speakers.What Is a Pidgin?African Slave Trafic, by William O. Blake, 1861. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAs Ronald Wardhaugh, author of An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, reminds us, most languages, including English, French, Italian, Latin, and Arabic, have developed in what he calls contexts of language contact. Pidgin and creole languages are no different. A pidgin is a grammatically simplified language that emerges to facilitate communication between two (or more) groups that do not share a common languageessentially when speakers of entirely different languages need to communicate.Pidgins are essentially contact languages; to put it with Wardhaugh, they are the product of a multilingual situation in which those who wish to communicate must find or improvise a simple language system that will enable them to do so. Pidgin formation scenarios may be extremely varied, but the starting point is always the coming together (or clashing) of different linguistic groups that require a mutual means of communication.Roper River Kriol originated as an English-based pidgin and continues to be spoken in the far north of Western Australia and the Northern Territory (picture here is Larapinta Drive in the Northern Territory), photograph by Christian Bass. Source: UnsplashThis is what has consistently occurred in colonial countries around the world, from the United States and Canada to Africa, India, and the Pacific. Pidgins are colonial products par excellence. They are also trade products, closely tied to long-standing trade patterns between Europe and the rest of the world, including the slave trade. Pidgins have traditionally emerged in locations close to (or easily accessible from) the sea or the ocean, on islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as along the coastlines of Africa and the Americas.It should not come as a surprise, then, that linguistic studies have historically assigned a marginal position to pidgins (and their speakers). They have too often been considered, as Wardhaugh notes, as an uninteresting linguistic phenomena, being notable mainly for linguistic features they have been said to lack (e.g., articles, the copula, and grammatical inflections) rather than those they possess.A traditional Russian ensemble from the collection of Russian noblewoman Natalie De Shabelsky (1841-1905), 17th-19th century. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtSimilarly, non-European speakers of pidgin languages have frequently been treated with disdain. In colonial contexts, there was an expectation that Indigenous people would learn the languages of their colonizers, such as English, French, Portuguese, as well as Italian and German, rather than the other way around. In this context, European languages represented the so-called superstrate languages, that is, the (socially, politically, and economically) dominant languages.Interestingly, Wardhaugh points out that the European colonists who often provided the superstrate varieties for pidgins and creole languages were rarely speakers of prestige varieties of their language. In other words, the English (or French) spoken by trappers, fur traders, settlers, or convicts in British colonies, like Canada or Australia, was not the same as that spoken by the wealthiest members of society. It is also noteworthy that not all pidgins have a European superstrate; for example, Russenorsk, now extinct, borrowed terms from Russian and Norwegian.From Pidgin to CreoleIndigenous children at Fort Yukon, Alaska, ca. 1899. Source: Wikimedia CommonsPidgins essentially originate and develop to fill communication gaps between groups. Some pidgins eventually die out, that is, they become obsolete, particularly when economically disadvantaged groups adopt the dominant languagesuch as English or Frenchas their first language, either voluntarily or under duress. This phenomenon happened consistently in residential schools and missions across North America and Australia, where Indigenous children were forced to speak English, the superstrate language.In other contexts, however, a pidgin may stabilize and evolve. While a pidgin can never be a native language, it can become the mother tongue of a specific community, serving as the first language for future generations. When this occurs, that is, when a pidgin expands and develops becoming the first language spoken by a specific group, linguists tend to call it a creole languagealthough creoles and pidgins remain overlapping categories with overlapping characteristics. In some regions, a creole might still be informally called a pidgin.Tok Pisin, spoken in Papua New Guinea (pictured here), is described as both a pidgin and a creole language, 2021, photograph by Ganda Lukman. Source: UnsplashIn cases like that of the Tok Pisin (literally, bird talk), spoken in Papua New Guinea, the terms pidgin, creole, and expanded pidgin are often used interchangeably. Unlike pidgins, creole languages tend to be more elaborate, fully-fledged, and, most importantly, native to a specific group. While pidgin formation requires a (paradoxically complex) simplification and reduction of the languages use, syntax, and morphology, the process that leads to the creation of a creole language is one of expansion. A creole originates when its speakers broaden the languages vocabulary when particular words and phrases are used across various contexts. Typically, novels are written in creole languages, not pidgins.In a way, creole languages arise from the contributions of both adults and children. While adults are responsible for expanding the languages use, children who grow up in multilingual (and possibly multicultural) environments regularize the language, shaping it as they learn.In CanadaA Mikmaq family in what is now Nova Scotia. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAs European traders and settlers flooded into North America, various English-based pidgins developed as contact languages across present-day Canada from as early as the 16th century. One notable example is the so-called Algonquian-Basque Pidgin, which originated in the late 16th century around the Gulf of St Lawrence and spread across the Atlantic Provinces, from present-day Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec.As Basque whalers, cod fishermen, and merchants began to establish fishing settlements along the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland, they came into contact with the local Algonquian-speaking populations. The language these groups spoke to communicate up until at least 1710 was the Algonquian-Basque Pidgin, a simplified mixture of Basque, Gascon (the Romance Occitan dialect spoken in the French region of Gascony), Innu-aimun (the language of the Innu, or Montagnais-Naskapi), and Mikmawisimk, the language of the Mikmaq.Arctic Bay, Nunavut, photograph by Isaac Demeester, 2021. Source: UnsplashIn the regions now known as Nunavut, Nunavik (northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (northern Labrador), as well as in the neighboring areas of the eastern Arctic, an English-based Inuit pidgin emerged as the main communication tool between Inuktitut-speaking Inuit communities and English and Dutch-speaking traders, whalers, and settlers. This contact language, a simplified blend of English and Inuktitut terms, is known as Inuktitut-English Pidgin. Its use has gradually declined over time.In the Western Arctic region, particularly along the Mackenzie River and the Mackenzie River Delta, another Inuit pidgin, the so-called Eskimo Trade Jargon, emerged in the 19th century. The Inuit population in this area, historically referred to as Eskimo, Western Canadian Inuit, or Mackenzie Inuit, now prefers the name Inuvialuit, which means the real people.Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), a village on northern Baffin Island, in the Canadian Arctic, photograph by Isaac Demeester. Source: UnsplashWhen European whalers and traders first encountered them in the 19th century, they represented the largest Inuit population in the Canadian Arctic. The Eskimo Trade Jargon likely emerged around this time. It was so widely used not only among Inuit and Europeans but also among Inuit and their Athabaskan-speaking neighbors to the south, particularly the Gwichin (Dinjii Zhuu) Nation, that it quickly developed (at least) four different dialects.Chinook JargonHudsons Bay Company outpost in Lake Harbour, now Kimmirut, on Baffin Island, 1920. Source: Wikimedia CommonsSimilar to how English serves as a lingua franca in many countries and Kiswahili (Swahili) is East Africas lingua franca, Chinook Jargon was used as a lingua franca among First Nations in the Pacific Northwest. Although some linguists and historians suggest that it may have existed prior to European contact, it is generally recognized as a product of the interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and, by extension, as a product of British colonialism.Chinook Jargon originated as a trade language in the early 19th century along the lower Columbia River, where European traders, trappers, and Catholic missionaries were in desperate need of a common means of communication with the Kwakwakawakw (pronounced kwok-wok-ya-wokw), Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Coast Salish, Nuxalk (or Bella Coola), and Tsimshian tribes.Tsimshian performer during a potlatch. Source: American Museum of Natural HistoryOver time, Chinook Jargon (also known as Chinuk Wawa) spread as far south as northern California, covering Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, and as far north as the southern regions of Alaska, reaching its peak usage in the 1870s. Essentially a trade language, it was extensively employed by Indigenous tribes, maritime traders, miners, trappers, pioneers, and employees of the Hudsons Bay Company (HBC), which earned it nicknames like the Hudson Bay language, or the old trade language. It borrows words and grammatical forms from both English and the Indigenous Wakashan languages spoken throughout the Pacific Northwest, particularly the Chinook language.Over the years, Chinook Jargon has influenced the English language as well, with Chinook Jargon words now found in the speech of non-Indigenous English speakers and as placenames along the West Coast of North America.Mark Twain, 1907. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWords from the Chinook Jargon also appear in historical texts, such as the History of the Expedition under the Command of Lewis and Clarke, which chronicles the expedition led by Lewis and Clarke between 1803 and 1806, as well as in Mark Twains Sketches New and Old (1875), and in the writings of the Mohawk Canadian writer Pauline Johnson (1861-1913), also known as Tekahionwake, notably in The Legends of Vancouver. Washington is even referred to as the Chinook State. Today, however, virtually no one in North America speaks Chinook Jargon, and it is considered nearly extinct.Nigerian PidginOkene, Nigeria, photograph by Francis Tokede. Source: UnsplashThe various names by which Nigerian Pidgin is known reflect its origins, dating back to the Atlantic slave trade in the 17th century. Sometimes referred to as Naij, or simply Pijin or Vernacular, for decades it has been known as Broken (or Broken English). Nigeria has a long-standing history of contact with Europeans, beginning with the Portuguese who arrived on the Nigerian coastsparticularly in the Niger Deltaas early as 1472.Naij was originally a Portuguese-based pidgin that originated when the Portuguese, after exploring and mapping the coastline, began to interact with the diverse local communities of the Niger Delta and trade palm oil, weapons, bronzes, and bronze manillas with the Kingdom of Benin, which governed the forested region now known as southern Nigeria since the 1200s CE.Cast brass cylindrical altar to the hand (ikegobo) created by an (unknown) artist at the court of the Royal Kingdom of Benin, late 18th century. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe fact that coastal communities lacked a well-established lingua franca facilitated the establishment of Naij in the region. However, it was not until the early 1900s that it began to spread across Nigeria, effectively breaking down communication barriers between ethnic and social groups.After the Portuguese left the region, it was the turn of Dutch traders, followed by the French and the British. By this time, Naij had already become a well-established (Portuguese-based) pidgin language in the area. From 1553 onward, British merchants regularly anchored their ships along what is now Nigerias West African coast, and by the 1800s, as the British began to promote English as the dominant language, Naij evolved further.Saltcellar created by an unknown Benin carver depicting four wealthy Portuguese male figures, ca. 1525-1600. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe English language quickly superseded Portuguese as its principal lexifier, transforming Naij into an English-based pidgin. Today, while English serves as the major lexifier, much of Naijs vocabulary comes from the various local African languages spoken by the communities first encountered by the Portuguese in the Niger Delta. These include several Edoid-based languages, as well as Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Some words, like pikin and sabi, come from the Portuguese.Despite being spoken by millions across Nigeria and West Africa, and being featured in popular music, television programs, and commercial advertising, Naij has not yet been granted official status.In AustraliaKings Canyon Access, Petermann, Northern Territory, photograph by Christian Bass. Source: UnsplashAs we have seen, over the years, as a variant of pidgin English often gains importance among its speakers, it tends to expand socially and linguistically, eventually becoming the primary language for Indigenous groups. In these cases, it may replace ancestral Indigenous languages among younger generations.In Australia, the most widely spoken creole languages are Torres Strait Creole (also known as Yumplatok), used by Aboriginal communities in the Torres Strait Islands and parts of northern Queensland, and Roper River Kriol (or Fitzroy Valley Kriol), prevalent among Aboriginal groups in the far north of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Both creoles not only incorporate grammatical and phonological rules from English and local Aboriginal languages but also some terminology derived from Bislama.South Sea Islander women laborers on a sugarcane plantation near Cairns, Queensland, 1895. Source: National Museum of AustraliaBislama, also known as Beach-La-Mar or by its earlier French name, bichelamar, is a Melanesian English-based creole language spoken in the Pacific, particularly in Vanuatu, where it serves the national language. In its pidgin phase, it was used by Sea Islander sugar cane workers who had been blackbirded, that is, kidnapped and taken to Queensland to work on plantations.The localized pidgin that originated on plantations became the base for not only Bislama but also a range of creole languages across the Pacific, including Pijin in the Solomon Islands and Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea.Pidgins are contact languages, photograph by Anton Tony Faymann, an Austrian migrant who migrated to Alice Springs, 1957-58. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn their unique ways, Australian Creoles, Nigerian Pidgin, and the many English-based pidgins in what is now Canada, such as the Chinook Jargon and the Eskimo Trade Jargon, are more than mere communication tools. They provide a window into the colonial history of the countries they originated in, where they emerged as contact languages facilitating communication between Indigenous people and European newcomers. Their evolution from pidgins to creoles is a testimony to the power of languages and the resilience of the communities that speak them.

Akin to a TikTok phenomenon by todays standards, throughout the 19th century, the Victorians grew utterly obsessed with Spiritualism. Ghost stories, sances, and fortune-telling ascended in popularity, while key figures of the era furthered the widespread spike in public interest, with everyone from Charles Dickens to Queen Victoria herself seemingly in touch with the spirit world. But why, in an era of realism, did the surreal become such a public curiosity? And was any of it real? Read on to find outThe Rise of a Mystical MovementThe Fox Sisters, lithograph after a daguerreotype, by Rochester Appleby, 1852. Source: US Library of CongressIn 1848, three sisters named Kate, Leah, and Margaretta Fox reported a supernatural experience. The two girls lived in New York, in a home previously inhabited by a murdered man whose ghost the sisters claimed to be communicating with. They communicated through a simple code made up of knocks on a table. Local press, such as the New York Tribune, published the story, which quickly spread to national newspapers through excitable word of mouth. Before long, mediums appeared across America, claiming to be endowed with a gift for sances, able to traverse the veil between the living and the dead. Thus, Spiritualism took root, and the scene was set.Four years later, Maria B. Hayden, a practicing medium, brought her services to London. Her sances cost a guinea per head (about 50 dollars in todays money). The sance services quickly attracted public and private audiences, with sittings for both high society and the everyman customer. But soon enough, Hayden had healthy competition from plenty of local mediums, with new businesses offering similar spiritual services. The services were a huge social success.Hypnotic Seance, by Richard Bergh, 1887. Source: National Museum SwedenThe Spiritualism movement was a perfect storm. Victorian England was rife with grief. In the 19th century, child mortality levels were exceptionally high, with one out of every five children dead before the age of five. This landscape of grief led many to believe willingly, so desperate were they to connect with the dead, to retain relationships lost to death.Victorian morality offered a perfect backdrop for the rise of Spiritualism. The movement was no threat in the eyes of the church or the state. Good for God and good for business, it was both a religious and a secular movement, at once faith-affirming in its assertion of life after death, but also a deeply interesting curiosity from an intellectual perspective. At its height, Spiritualism captivated audiences so widely that it is estimated that one book on the subject was published every week.Communicating With the Spirit WorldMary Todd Lincoln, 1860-65. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThough a time of realism, industry, and scientific progress, the Victorian Era also laid the ground for a growing belief in the occult. Victorian culture was permeated with a sense of repression and rigidity, owing to the strict morality of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. And yet, interest in the occult allowed for an exploration of the unknownsubverting the regular order.The charm of Spiritualism was in its lack of discrimination. The breadth of society could involve themselves. The industrial revolution pushed people to towns, mines, and factoriescreating laboring inner-city communities poised to welcome escapism from the daily demands of working life. Meanwhile, affluent families had the means to afford private meetings with mediums, who would facilitate a connection with a lost loved one. Those grieving were more vulnerable to the lure of Spiritualism, such as Mary Todd Lincoln, President Abraham Lincolns widow. Mary frequented mediums who offered the chance to reconnect with the dead. In Marys case, this included three of her four children, and her famously assassinated husband.Touring mediums brought tangible proof of Spiritualism closer to the masses. Curious customers did not need to travel far to seek out spiritual experiences. The lecture circuit offered ticketed access to sance events, where mediums would share their skills for communicating with the dead.Tools of the TradeMary Todd with Lincolns ghost, by William H. Mumler, 1872. Source: Lincoln Financial Foundation CollectionWith the spirit world now alive in the minds of the living, it was not long before spiritualism was monetized by clever, and savvy, businesspeople.Ouija boards, crystal balls, and moving tables were popular tools of the trade. Ouija boards gave power to the dead, who could spell out messages from the afterlife. Fortune-telling mediums drew narratives from images that appeared in the clouds within a crystal ball. During a sance, the table at which customers were sat could move unannounced. But was seeing really believing?Spirit photography began in America in 1861. Where mediums before had only produced spectacle, knocking, smells, and coded communicationsspirit photography offered something more tangible, empirically capturing an otherwise elusive appearance. Photographers claimed they could capture images of portrait subjects and their deceased loved ones in a single frame. When their photographic plates were developed, ghostly apparitions appeared. Many believed these apparitions were otherworldly spirits.John J. Glover, by William H Mumler, between 1862 and 1875. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAmateur photographer William Mumler was the first person to capture an apparition in photographic form. In the early 1860s, Mumler took a self-portrait. But after developing the picture, Mumler found he was not the only figure in the image. Instead, the ghostly silhouette of his cousin, long dead, hovered behind him. Mumler was enterprising, and his services as a spirit photographer became both popular and lucrative. However, it is likely that Mumler created these spirit snaps by placing a glass plate with an image of the dead in front of his camera.Suspicions at the time were spurned by a sense of injustice, with well-known voices throwing weight behind accusations of fraud. PT Barnum, the famous showman, declared Mumlers work as a devilish act, preying upon the vulnerable and grieving. So much so that Mumlers case went to court, with Barnum testifying against him. Though Mumler was acquitted, his business was over.Material proof of spiritualism was inconsistent at best. Fraudsters and con artists persisted, yet people still believed.Famous FansElizabeth Barrett Browning, by Karoly Brocky, 1839-44. Source: Wikimedia CommonsMany notable figures of the Victorian Era were also keen spiritualists. Those in the arts were ready-made believers, already deeply invested in the potency of the human psyche. Poets and authors such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Charles Dickens were all known to have engaged in spiritualist activities.Conan Doyles interest in the movement endured throughout his life, and he considered himself a student of these matters, often prioritizing his writing on spiritualism over his Sherlock Holmes chronicles. He called it the most important phenomenon since the Christ episode. In 1926, Conan Doyle published the influential two-volume, the History of Spiritualism, which became the first major historical work on the study of Spiritualism.Arthur Conan Doyle with a spirit, photo by Occult World. Source: FlickrLikewise, Elizabeth Barrett Browning regularly wrote of her interest in spiritualism. She and her husband, Robert Browning, attended a sance in the 1850s which involved table tilting, levitation, and rapping. Elizabeth believed it all. Her husband deemed it fake. Elizabeth wrote to her sister, Arabella, in raptures about what she had seen:It is true enough that you may move tables muscularly by cheating, & perhaps even unconsciously when in a state of excitement. But this doesnt account for actual phenomena the least in the world. It does not account for tables being moved, when touched gently by the tips of the little fingersraised up on two feet and one foot and then, toppled over. Such things have been done in Florence even. Still less does it account for tables being moved without touch of finger or foot. Does it, do you think? Elizabeth seemingly acknowledged the skepticism shared by her husband and sister. Though logic prevailed, it did not offer Elizabeth the answers. For all her sane sense and thoughtfulness, she was adamant in her belief in the unexplainable: For the explanation of these table phenomena, as ordinarily observed, seems to be simply that you mesmerize the wood, which, when saturated with the magnetic fluid from you, partakes of your vitality as if it were a living thing itself.Feminine SpiritualismFlorence Cook, photo by Occult World. Source: FlickrThrough Spiritualism, Victorian women shed the restraints of the era. It was believed that a womans femininity and intuition made her more receptive to spirits. Rarely in the Victorian working world, were women more respected in a profession than men. Esteemed spiritualists such as Florence Cook became notorious for their powers of manifestation, calling flirtatious spirits that would touch, and even kiss, the sitters.Being a space where women could thrive, Spiritualism naturally attracted female fanatics. In fact, Spiritualisms most famous fan, and the namesake of the era, was Queen Victoria herself.Along with her husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria participated in many sances. After Alberts death at the age of 42 in 1861, Victoria was increasingly eager to communicate with the dead. In Birmingham, a family sance was reported to have resulted in the appearance of the ghost of Albert, with a message for Victoria, using a nickname only Albert would have known. A newspaper editor was a serendipitous sitter at the sance and thus, the story spread to London with haste. The queen caught wind of this and had two of her courtiers attend the next sanceUnder strict orders not to reveal their identities, the courtiers visited the Lee familys next spiritual gathering. At this sance, the Lees 13-year-old son began to speak with the voice of Prince Albert. He addressed the two courtiers, discussing details only Albert would have known. They reported back to the queen, who asked the Lees to hold a sance at Windsor Castle, where Albert was once more called, and indeed appeared before his widow. Queen Victoria went on to hire a resident medium, who, for 30 years, assisted her spiritualist endeavors.From a boy in Birmingham to the queen of England, Victorian spiritualism was a movement for all, connecting people across every social boundary.BibliographyClment Chroux and others,The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult, 2005Nesbit, Kate. Revising Respiration: Mesmerism, Spiritualism, and the Shared Breath of Poetic Voice in Elizabeth Barrett BrowningsAurora Leigh.Victorian Poetry56, no. 3 (2018): 213-232.https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/vp.2018.0014.Doyle, Arthur Conan.The History of Spiritualism. ofCambridge Library Collection Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.Hildebrand, Jayne. Spirituality.Victorian Literature and Culture51, no. 3 (2023): 50913. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1060150323000256.Pamela Neville-Sington, The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning to her Sister Arabella,Essays in Criticism, Volume 54, Issue 3, July 2004.

Hayrettin Barbarossa (Redbeard) established Ottoman supremacy in the 16th-century Mediterranean. From his humble beginnings working in the pottery trade, Barbarossa rose to become one of the most feared and respected admirals of Ottoman history. His growing successes in the Mediterranean Sea brought him face-to-face with European naval powers, like the Hapsburgs.Ottoman Naval Power in the 15th CenturyMiniature of the Ottoman Fleet in the Indian Ocean, painted by Matrakci Nasuh, ca.16th century. Source: Wikimedia CommonsUntil the mid-15th century, the Turks were known for their overland conquests. They had steamrolled through Western Anatolia and the Balkans, with their eyes perpetually on Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. However, in the meantime, they were slowly developing their naval power. Coastal principalities around the Aegean Sea were captured under Sultan Bayezid I (d.1402). They also took over much of the Peloponnese peninsula, which was ruled by Venice, a great rival state.The Black Sea, bordering the Caucasus, Balkans, and Anatolia, was another incentive for the expansion of the Ottoman navy. Controlling territory in the Black Sea also meant controlling maritime trade routes, especially those through which important resources like slaves, fabrics, and furs were transported. By 1424, seafaring was still in its early stages, although this did not stop the Ottomans from conquering Sinop, the only natural port on the Southern coast of the Black Sea.The Ottoman Navys big break came with the coronation of Mehmed I, the sultan who conquered Constantinople in 1453. Mehmed improved the navy so that he could attack the Byzantines through the sea route. However, massive chains in the Bosphorus stopped Mehmets ships from passing, leading to the transportation of his fleet across land. His conquest of Trebizond, a Black Sea city and seat of the last Byzantine ruler, in 1461, firmly cemented the Ottomans as a maritime power to be reckoned with.Barbarossas Humble BeginningsThe coast of the island Lesbos. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn the 1470s, a Turkish man and Greek woman living on the Mediterranean island of Lesbos welcomed the birth of another son, whom they named Hizir. Along with his two sisters and three brothers, Hizir grew up helping his father, who was a potter, and traded his wares with nearby island folk.The family lived in a volatile area; Lesbos had, until the Ottoman takeover in 1462, been ruled by the Genoese. It was also the site of frequent skirmishes and sieges, including an unsuccessful Venetian one in 1464. Like the other islanders, Hizir and his family adapted to a life where the balance of power could change at any moment.The island prospered from the trade of items such as oil, olives, and wine. Hizir and his brothers naturally continued their fathers work, expanding to international trade networks and eventually becoming sailors. However, maritime trade was plagued by pirate attacks and privateering during this time. To counter the raids of the Knights Hospitallers, a Catholic military order stationed in Rhodes, Hizir became a privateer himself.Disaster soon struck when his brothers Ilyas and Oru were attacked by the Knights Hospitallers on their return from a trading expedition in Lebanon. During the skirmish, Ilyas was killed and Oru enslaved. Hizirs father was able to collect ransom money after four years, and Oru was finally freed. However, the familys lives were forever changed by these events.Brothers in ArmsDepiction of the capture of a galley by Oru Reis, illustration by Charles Farine, 1869. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAfter his release, Oru, who by now had a reputation, was lent 18 galleys by Prince Korkut, son of Sultan Bayezid II. With these galleys, Oru was expected to fight the Knights Hospitallers and capture territory and goods for the Ottomans. Hizir joined his brother in this new endeavor, and together, they sailed through the Mediterranean, capturing Spanish and Italian warships and raiding coastal towns like Malaga (Spain).Their other surviving brother, Ishak, soon left Lesbos, where he was running the family business, and joined his siblings. In 1516, they captured Algiers from the Spanish and declared that they were the new rulers of the city. Oru gained the title of sultan of Algiers, although he gave it up one year later to the Ottomans. This political move showed the brothers loyalty to the Ottoman Dynasty, and they were duly rewarded with arms and janissary soldiers.The brothers luck was soon to run out, however. With the help of the Hapsburg king Charles V, local Bedouins and the Spanish governor attacked the city of Tlemcen which was the base of the Barbarossa brothers. Oru and Ishak were fatally wounded and succumbed to their injuries in 1518.Barbarossas BattlesPortrait of Hayreddin (Hizir) Barbarossa, painted by Veneziano, ca. 16th century. Source: Herzog Anton Ulrich-MuseumHizir was now the only surviving brother. Helpless, he sought the assistance of Sultan Selim the Grim. Selim granted Hizir the necessary artillery, such as cannons and a fleet of galleys. From that moment on, Hizir inherited his brother Orus moniker, Barbarossa.The nickname is believed to stem from the Italian Barba Rossa, meaning red beard. It may also have been a distortion of the nickname Baba Oru, or father Oru, which was what Oru was called due to his transportation of Muslims out of Spain during the Reconquista. This was a policy that Hizir, the new Barbarossa, continued well into the 1530s.Now in his late 50s to early 60s, Barbarossa desired to solidify, once and for all, Turkish supremacy on the seas. His conquests and raids on Spanish and Italian-controlled territories throughout the Mediterranean were incessant. He also removed the threat of the Knights Hospitallers, who left Rhodes after the Ottoman conquest in 1522.By capturing castles throughout the Spanish coast, Hizir ensured that the Ottomans had military bases where they could station their artillery and galleys in preparation for new conquests and raids. No town on the coast was safe from the Corsairs assaults. From 1520-1530, Barbarossa raided scores of castles, towns, and ports in the Mediterranean, including Toulon, Sardinia, Castignano, Tuscany, Sicily, and Marseilles.Captain of the SeasBarbarossas fleet wintering in the French port city of Toulon, 1543. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent ushered in a golden age of the Ottoman Empire. Under Suleyman, the empire stretched from Algiers, North Africa, to the European Balkans, and to the Western Asian Arabian Peninsula. Suleyman understood that naval power was important to control such a great empire, especially in the threat of his great rival Charles V, who sent Hapsburg fleets to recapture the Algerian coast from the Ottomans.Suleyman summoned Barbarossa to Istanbul in 1532 and appointed him the title of grand admiral of the navy, or Kapudan-I Derya, (literally captain of the seas). Also, as the new governor of North African provinces, Barbarossas power and prestige increased.But Barbarossas assistance was not only sought out by the Ottomans. Francis I, King of France, felt threatened by the Hapsburgs, who had encircled his country. He controversially formed an alliance with Sultan Suleyman. Francis sent an ambassador to Barbarossa, requesting that he force the Mediterranean island of Corsica into recognizing Francis as king.Barbarossas fleet was instrumental in curbing the conquests of the Spanish Hapsburgs in the Western Mediterranean. His heavy bombardment of ports on both Spanish islands like Majorca and mainland cities was so effective that, in 1540, Charles V offered Barbarossa a position as admiral-in-chief and ruler of Spanish North Africa. The staunchly loyal Barbarossa refused this offer.The End of an EraSultan Suleyman receiving a white-bearded Barbarossa, ca. 16th century. Source: Bilkent UniversityHis epic life on the seas came to an end around 1545 when Barbarossa retired to his seaside palace on the shores of the Bosphorus in Constantinople. Barbarossas son, Hasan Pasha, whose mother was most likely a Moorish or Kabyle (Native Berber) woman, inherited his position as ruler of Algiers.Aged around 66, Hayrettin Barbarossa dictated his memoirs to his former second-in-command, Sinan Reis. According to some sources, it was Sultan Suleyman who ordered Barbarossa to record this ghazavatnames (a genre of Ottoman literature that solely focussed on military history and exploits). Regardless, the five-volume memoirs of Hayreddin Barbarossa are an important source for 16th century maritime history.Barbarossa died a year later in the comfort of his palace, rather than on the seas, as may have been expected for such a weathered corsair. He was buried in a mausoleum built by the famous Ottoman architect Sinan. It was constructed in Besiktas, a vital ferry port neighborhood in Istanbul, and the place where Barbarossas fleet was first gathered.Barbarossas LegacyThe Ottoman battleship, Barbaros Hayreddin, around 1915. Source: Wikimedia CommonsBarbarossa has an enduring legacy in both Turkish and European history. He is mainly viewed as a heroic, inspirational figure in Turkish culture. During World War I, an Ottoman battleship that defended the Dardanelles during the Battle of Gallipolionly to be torpedoed by a British submarinewas named the Barbaros Hayreddin.Even in modern times, his name graces important cultural and political structures. A seismographic research vessel, and a mosque constructed in Istanbul in 2023, were both named after the Corsair.He has also been the subject of the artistic world. Centuries after his death, Henry Jones wrote the play Barbarossa (1788), a tale about a woman captured and sold into slavery. Most of the visual depictions of Barbarossa were also painted by European artists. Hayrettins famous portraits were painted mainly in the 16th century, with one engraving being attributed to the Renaissance artist Agostino Veneziano.Barbarossa has had some negative press throughout history. He was an active part of the Mediterranean slave trade. During his conquest of Aegina, a Greek Island, he had many of the local women and children enslaved. A similar scenario occurred in the Maltese island of Gozo, where thousands were enslaved. For these early-modern pirates, slavery was an acceptable and lucrative trade.The fear or admiration that Barbarossa and his fleet inspired continued for decades, until the devastation of the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto (1571), when the image of invincibility that the Ottoman naval forces had constructed was shattered.

The US occupation of Haiti is a clear example of how history is composed of multiple interconnected layers. While no single reason can be identified for the US decision to occupy the island nation, overlapping political, strategic, and economic interests, as well as a rooted belief in colonialism, ultimately led US troops to control the Caribbean country between 1915 and 1934.Haitis Troubled IndependenceBattle of San Domingo, January Suchodolski, 1845. Source: Wikimedia CommonsSaint-Domingue, the western part of the island of Hispaniola, was colonized by the French in the 17th century and soon became the jewel of the empire as one of the most important producers of sugar, coffee, and other agricultural products. In reality, this productivity was based on exploitation within a system of segregation in which political and economic power were concentrated among white colonists while slaves, the majority of the population, were subjected to intense and brutal working conditions. By the end of the 19th century, the ideals of the French Revolution deeply permeated the island territorynot even Napoleon could prevent it.In 1904, independence was proclaimed, renaming the territory Haiti, a Tano indigenous name that means mountainous land. Haiti became the second nation in the Americas to achieve independence, only after the United States. It was also the first country in Hispanic America and the Caribbean to separate from its colonial masters, provoking a domino effect on the rest of the continent and, given that most of its inhabitants, formerly slaves, were of African descent, it can also be considered the first republic of people of African descent.This was a cause for concern for the United States, particularly for southern plantation owners, as Haiti was the first modern nation to rise from an enslaved past and challenge colonialism. Despite its independence, the country would remain in the sights of colonial powers, particularly the United States, due to its proximity.Frances Imposed DebtNational Bank of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. Source: Wikimedia CommonsFrance imposed a ransom of 150 million francs as a condition for recognizing Haitis independence; even after paying for its freedom with blood, the French demanded this exorbitant amount of money, which forced Haiti to take out multiple international loans with enormous interest rates that would take 122 years to finish paying off.Every franc sent across the Atlantic could have been used to create institutions and infrastructure or circulate among the inhabitantsin other words, to rebuild the country. Instead, the new nations resources served to benefit foreign interests, plunging the country into a spiral of debt and crisis as well as perpetuating its economic dependence.In theory, Haiti was an independent nation, but in practice, colonial dynamics were maintained. This system of economic exploitation disguised as financial agreements is a form of renewed colonialism known as financial neocolonialism. The French bank Crdit Industriel et Commercial was the greatest beneficiary of the debt; they received so much in commissions, interest, and charges that in a few years the profits of the French shareholders exceeded the Haitian governments budget for public works throughout the country.The United States was very aware of the great economic advantages of maintaining the debt and how it allowed for economic domination over Haiti, providing great interests and privileged access to income. So vital was it that, months before the planned US invasion, a small group of Marines entered the countrys national bank and left with 500,000 dollars in gold; days later, this money was in a Wall Street vault. Controlling the debt meant being able to use Haiti as a cash register.US Strategic InterestsCompletion of the Panama Canal construction, 1914. Source: Canal de PanamAt the beginning of the 20th century, the United States was positioning itself as a world power by pursuing an expansionist policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by positions such as the Monroe Doctrine and its extension, the Roosevelt Corollary. These doctrines were based on the idea that the Western Hemisphere should be free from European influence, and therefore, the United States had the right to intervene in the internal affairs of countries in the region to maintain stability and protect its interests. The control of Haiti was fundamental to consolidating its regional influence by protecting strategic maritime routes and securing its economic interests.The occupation was part of a broader strategy to safeguard the Panama Canal, a key point of international commerce and the movement of military troops. The construction of the canal, by shortening distances and reducing travel times, boosted commerce with Europe and Asia, strengthening the American economy. Moreover, it was a symbolic way of projecting US power to the rest of the Western Hemisphere.The US, with its expansionist policy, maintained an eye on all relevant Caribbean matters in order to maintain stability and minimize risks to its new commercial routes. For example, wresting control of Puerto Rico after the SpanishAmerican War provided it with a military and strategic base in the Caribbean. The large sums invested in Cuban sugar plantations provided an economic benefit but also demonstrated the political and commercial influence of the island. The US also exerted control over the Dominican Republics import taxes, which limited the influence of other actors and ensured that it alone enjoyed the benefits of commerce.Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders at the top of the hill they captured, Battle of San Juan, by William Dinwiddie, 1898. Source: Library of CongressDue to its strategic importance as a potential naval base, the US feared that some European imperialist power might decide to take Haiti. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson suggested the annexation of the island of Hispaniola, made up of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to secure a US defensive and economic stake in the West Indies. From 1889 to 1891, Secretary of State James Blaine unsuccessfully sought to lease Mole-Saint Nicolas, a city on Haitis northern coast that could provide a strategic location for a naval base. In 1910, President William Howard Taft granted Haiti a large loan in the hopes that Haiti could pay off its international debt, thus lessening foreign influence. The attempt proved futile due to the enormity of the debt and the internal instability of the country.France, due to the debt, held a certain level of power over Haitis trade and finances, but what was most concerning for policymakers in the United States was the growing presence of Germans in Haiti since the beginning of the 20th century. German merchants began establishing trading branches in Haiti, quickly dominating commercial business in the area. In addition, they married Haitian women from the most important mulatto families of the nation, defying the Haitian laws that prohibited foreigners from owning land; this, in addition to the acquisition and control of properties within the country, allowed them to integrate into society, strengthening their economic and social position.The Formal InvasionUS Marines search for Haitian rebels in 1919. Source: The Black Alliance for PeaceSince its independence, Haiti has been marked by chronic political instability, factional struggles, institutional weakness, and economic crises. However, the final straw was a cycle of coups, fragmentation of power, and caudillismo. Between 1911 and 1915, Haiti had six presidents. Following the brutal lynching death of President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, the country plunged into a power vacuum that further aggravated the chaos.The US Department of State had already made the decision to occupy Haiti and simply waited for this moment, the perfect pretext for the invasion. According to its justification, the country was so poor and unstable that it could not fend for itself; if not the US, some other power would intervene. Secretary of State Robert Lansing also described the occupation as a civilizing mission to end anarchy, savagery and oppression in Haiti, convinced that, as he once wrote, the African race lacks all capacity for political organization.In July of 1815, troops disembarked and occupied the capital, expanding the countrys military presence and establishing martial law that suspended civil guarantees, established absolute military control, and disarmed the population. With the occupation, a new and dark chapter opened in Haitian history: one of military repression and neocolonial exploitation, lasting nearly two decades.The Legacy of Haitian InterventionAmerican Marines defending the entrance gate in Cap-Hatien, 1915. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn Haiti, the wounds of colonialism have been reopened with each intervention, deepening a scar that dates all the way back to Christopher Columbuss arrival in America, when its population was enslaved to work on plantations and in mines and verged on extinction. Independence was ultimately merely the illusion of freedom; it did not bring an end to the plundering, with the enormous fine imposed by France taking more than one hundred years to recover from.Chronic political instability served as evidence of the lack of institutions and the disarticulation of the country, one hundred years after its independence. The US did nothing but take advantage of the situation under the pretext of providing stability. The US takeover was nothing more than another link in a long chain of interventions designed to secure its strategic and economic control of the region. The intervention only reinforced the neocolonial model of institutions that have continued compounding poverty and corruption throughout the twentieth century.Colonialism was perpetuated through debts, military interventions, and economic manipulation. Many historians have wondered how things would be if Haiti had not been plundered by foreign powers, international banks, and its own leaders since independence. Today, classified as one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Haiti invites reflection on the extent to which such misery and instability have been the direct result of external interference disguised as aid, reopening old wounds that endure to the present day.

Carrot juice, as well as carrots themselves, have a reputation for being a nutritional powerhouse. Here's what happens if you drink carrot juice every day.

Four kittens went from huddling in a corner to joyfully bouncing around when they experienced life as indoor cats for the first time. AshleyFour tiny kittens were found outside and brought to the county shelter. At around five weeks old, they required the dedicated care of a volunteer to help them thrive."There aren't staff at the shelter overnight, so they look for fosters. Kittens also have weaker immune systems and are more susceptible to illness in the shelter environment," Ashley, director of Liberation Cat House, an all-volunteer rescue, told Love Meow.When the shelter reached out for help, Ashley and her team didn't hesitate to step in. Jalapeo, Cinnamon, Pepe, and RosemaryAshleyConfused and frightened, the kittens huddled together in a corner, clinging to each other for comfort. "I just wanted to scoop them all up and cuddle them, but I knew I had to go slowly and earn their trust."Jalapeo, a timid little tabby, hid behind his siblings, shying away from human touch. But that fear began to fade when he experienced his first blanket cuddle. AshleyOne by one, Ashley wrapped each kitten in a cozy blanket, gently petting and reassuring them that they were safe. Gradually, their tiny bodies relaxed, and their little purr engines started to rumble."Cinnamon (one of the tabbies) was the first to warm up to me. She's the smallest but the bravest. She purred after only a couple of days. Jalapeo was a little reluctant, but even he came around after a little while." JalapeoAshley"Pepe (the tuxedo with a mustache) also warmed up pretty quickly because he's very food motivated. The moment he saw treats, he was all in. Rosemary (the other tuxedo) was my holdout. She's very skeptical and still a bit wary."Even Rosemary's walls began to crumble. What started as squirming away from being picked up turned into melting into snuggles in Ashley's arms. AshleyWithin two weeks, the once-timid kittens began to blossom. Though they still startled at unfamiliar sounds, their curiosity soon overtook their fear. "I have been playing them videos on my phone to get them used to different sounds."Now, when Ashley entered the room, the kittens no longer scattered. Instead, they watched her curiously with wide eyes. Ashley"Every evening I take each kitten out for one-on-one time to help them get used to me and learn to be comfortable being held and petted."Cinnamon, the boldest of the bunch, quickly became a lap snuggler, purring the moment she was picked up. The hisses had vanished, replaced by a room filled with soft purrs and squeaky meows. CinnamonAshley"Pepe is a character, always rolling on his back and trying to get his siblings to play with him. Jalapeo is starting to show his curious side now that he's come out of his shell. Rosemary is still the shy one, but she'll probably really bond with her person once she knows she can trust them."Pepe can light up any room with his big personality and goofy antics. PepeAshleyNo longer huddled in a corner, the kittens race across the room like a whirlwind. They chase and tumble over one another as the pitter-patter of their tiny paws fills the air. When playtime is over, they curl up in a pile, recharging for the next round of kitten chaos."Once they realized they were safe, they blossomed into the sweetest, most playful bunch." AshleyThanks to the compassionate volunteers, these four kittens are thriving as happy, confident indoor cats with adorable personalities and an abundance of love to give.They're ready for their next chapter: finding their forever families who will cherish and spoil them endlessly. AshleyShare this story with your friends. More on the kittens and Liberation Cat House (in FL) on Instagram@liberationcathouse and Facebook. Thanks to Ashley @foster.love.repeat.Related story: Kitten Stepped Indoors for the First Time, and the Moment She was Held, Her Walls Came Tumbling Down

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One thing about Scott Jennings is he will always tell the truth. He broke this simple rule of politics and getting folks to vote for you down so perfectly.NEW:@ScottJenningsKY:"If I cant

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At 80 years old, it seems President Trump is starting to think about life, the afterlife and his mortality a bit more. And I dont know why he keeps saying this, but sadly he keeps saying he doesnt