A Spartan Quickie

(I promised something more on Texas, and I posted it last Friday, but after re-reading it I thought the *Struggle for Texas* deserved more than a one-blog posting. Perhaps even more than ten postings -- so with apologies to my man Santa Anna, I retracted my Friday post)

We can always talk about the Greeks – they’re a bunch of fun. We remember them from early World Civ class, don’t we ? And the Greek-Fest ? (Amy, where’s the Loukoumades?) So, take a moment to consider Sparta in 650 BC. If you were unlucky, you were one of the thousands of unfree laborers taken forcefully from Messenia. These were the “Helots” with whom Sparta warred constantly. These poor people (the Helots, that is) were forced into a harsh slavery that provided them with only a threadbare, minimum quality of life. If you were lucky, you were born Greek *AND* you survived a quick inspection at birth. This was an overall Greek practice, but was particularly employed by the Spartans. If a newborn was deemed unfit (no hair on the head, extra toes, extra fingers, or even a birthmark) it would be abandoned to the hillsides. This, effectively, meant that an infant would be sacrificed to the wolves. (Good luck to me, I was born a “blue” baby in ’71 sometime) But – Sparta. Here was a militaristic state, rugged and disciplined, and given to the ideals of harsh training, harsh loyalty, extreme toughness, and a grit-determined strength. Children were given only a glimpse of their childhood – at age 7, boys were taken from their families and sent to live with a “herd” of other boys ranging through age 18. This would be their new life (for the rest of their life) in a professional military state.
Spartan training was intense, and young boys were expected to develop a tolerance to extreme pain. Broken bones were mended, swords were wielded, military drills continued, and soon these children were being sent into the forests of Messenia to make their own way… indeed, they were abandoned, in small groups, and left for months at a time. Here they made their way by hunting, foraging, raiding, stealing, and sometimes murdering any of the “Helots” they might come into contact with. (Yeah, this was even before the “Lord of the Flies” !!)
Spartan boys were also given to older men who “sponsored” them – homosexuality was not an uncommon reality for the Greeks. It is not surpsising that Spartan society was so open with this; it seemed to be a part of their outlook on the state, itself. Spartans, after all, viewed themselves as “true Greeks” and it is not surprising that a theme of “die for Sparta!” would allow for a group of herded young men to seek solace in one another. (I’m being careful here, you know I am)
Anway, these young Spartan soldiers were permitted to become full members of the military at age 20. They could marry at age 30, and were expected to serve Sparta (ahem) from the ages of 20 through 60. There was an intensive two-year training period from age 18-20, but little is known of this. If a young man was lucky enough to survive, he could expect to be pressed into the military immediately.
I'll post later about Athens, the home of art, literature, drama, and philosophy, but for now I want to sit back and think of the movie *300* and the scantily-clad Spartan warriors in those leather skirts. Oh, yeah. And, of course, I will remember their historical importance. It's not just the skin, you know!! Spartans were the rockstars in Ancient Greece.

The Pastry War

(Note: artist is Diego Rivera)
The "Pastry War" is one of my favorites from Mexican History -- and, no, this is not because I enjoy "pastry" shops so much (be nice).
In 1836 the ever-good, ever-bad "Santa Anna" was returning to Mexico from Wash, DC. He had concluded talks with Andrew Jackson and had ceded the Mexican territory of "Texas" to the Americans. (You know what? I will write more in my next post on the battle for Texas. I tend to side with the Mexicans, but I'll report, you decide.) Anyway -- Santa Anna returned to Mexico a worn, ragged, tired old man; he was discredited, disgraced, and taking his last breaths as a leader for the Mexican nation. Indeed, he was replaced by Anastasio Bustamante.
During this time Mexico was a place of civil disorder, political strife, and social discontent. You had the Spanish Elite, those Spaniards who had first "settled" in Mexico under the strong-armed protection of Spain. They mixed with the local Indians and formed a "Mestizo" population. The vast majority of people, however, were the Indian peasants who subsisted, just barely, in densely-packed urban areas or on their own dust-laden farms.
So, too, European and American "foreigners" lived inside Mexico. They were indiv with money, power and prestige, and they were used to having any trivial complaints resolved quickly by the Mexican government. They were resented deeply by the native population, and even by the Spanish settlers, themselves.
So it was that a pastry-chef made a claim that his shop had been vandalized, looted, robbed, and destroyed by Mexican soldiers. His complaint fell on deaf ears. The pastry-chef, appalled at this lack of regard, appealed to his own government for reparations. The appeal actually made it to the court of the French King, Louis-Philippe, who sensed an opportunity for the French government to intervene inside Mexico. The French King demanded 600,000 pesos for the pastry-chef (and other) claims.
By 1838, the French were actually moving large fleets of ships toward Mexico. They were blockading ports from the Yucatan to the Rio Grande, and the French actually seized the very important port of Veracruz. Santa Anna, sensing a chance to regain his national composure, mustered an army of perhaps 3000 men; France, however, gravely outnumbered him with nearly 30,000 men. I mean – really. Take a step back for a second. A pastry chef was this pissed off? His pastry shop was this important??
No. The French wanted to be able to have their cake… and to eat it, too. (Sorry)
Santa Anna, outnumbered 10 to 1, would nevertheless march foolishly against the French; he was wounded in battle and would actually lose his leg. This is another story, too – Santa Anna kept the bloody boot from his amputated leg and claimed he had rightly sacrificed himself for his nation. (Um, yes. That’s very nice, man) -- yikes.
The French were able to force Anastasio Bustamante to pay them 600,000 pesos, and talks were agreed upon whereby the French would remove themselves from Mexico. Had they not agreed… Mexico could have very well found itself in a war for it’s survival.
So next time you hit the pastry shop, you think of the “Pastry War” and the French Intervention in Mexico. I know you think you won’t… but trust me. You will.