The Old World with Will Tanner

Will Tanner

Life Before Liberalism

  1. hace 18 h

    The Lee Family of Virginia: Descended from a Norman Knight?

    This episode examines the Lee family of Virginia and their claim to descend from a Norman named Reynard de Lega through the landed gentry of Shropshire, namely the Lees of Coton Hall and Nordley Regis, the arms of whom they long claimed, and to whom they insisted they were related. It traces the evidence that supported the pedigree, including a silver cup, a Latin inscription, a tombstone, heraldic writing, and a family Bible, all of which helped persuade the College of Heralds to confirm the Lee arms in 1930. The episode then turns to doubts raised by historians, including repeated place-name errors, such as "Morton Regis", and a genealogy based on an English letter that guessed at the family's earlier history. It then discussed a later investigation that used wills, baptismal records, probate files, and parish registers to argue that Richard Lee I was the son of a Worcester cloth merchant named John Lee and Jane Hancock rather than the Shropshire gentry. Finally, it discusses the generally merchant family origins of many of the First Families of Virginia, including the Carters, and how both those mercantile roots and the old Norman, gentry legend can be true because of how primogeniture operated in 17th century Britain and drove younger sons into trade and to America.   0:00 The Lee Family of Virginia's Norman Legend 2:42 The Lees of Coton Hall 8:33 The Evidence: A Cup and the College of Heralds 15:51 Tombstone Doubts 22:04 Thorndale's Genealogical Breakthrough 25:42 The Merchant Ancestry of the Lees Revealed 28:24 A Mixed Heritage Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/4xs9gRt Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR Fischer, David Hackett: Albion's Seed,  https://amzn.to/4gayayG Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z  Image credits: Lee Family Coat of Arms based on Glasshouse using elements by Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    32 min

  2. hace 5 días

    Richard Lee I, the Emigrant: Founder of the Lees of Virginia

    This is the story of the dynast who founded the Lee Family of Virginia: Richard Lee I, also known as Richard Lee the Emigrant. In it we tell the story of his rise in Virginia, from his start as a Clerk of the Quarter Court and Indian trader to his time as great landed proprietor and Secretary of State of Virginia. We discuss his marriage to Anne Constable, how he accumulated landed wealth on a massive scale, and how he survived the Commonwealth and the Restoration. It's an exciting tale of frontier adventure, family triumph, and a great man whose bravery shaped America more than perhaps any other, through his descendants. 0:00 Arrival in Jamestown 3:23 The Lee Family: Cavaliers, Merchants, or Both? 8:13 Richard Lee Becomes a Merchant, and Heads to Virginia 11:53 How Richard Lee Got Ahead: Governor Francis Wyatt 15:31 Richard Marries Anne Constable 17:51 Lee Becomes a Leader of Virginia 25:33 Tobacco, Trade, and Indentures: How Richard Lee Built the Lee Family Fortune, Despite Indian Attacks 35:27 Richard Lee's Royal Mission to Breda 40:16 How Lee the Cavalier Survived the Commonwealth and Quietly Built a Fortune 45:00 The Stuart Restoration, and Lee Returns to Virginia 48:36 How Richard Lee I Ensured the Lees Would Become Famous Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/4xs9gRt Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR Fischer, David Hackett: Albion's Seed,  https://amzn.to/4gayayG Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z  Image credits: Coton Hall north of Birdsgreen in Shropshire by Roger  D Kidd, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Glasshouse using elements by Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    52 min

  3. 10 jun

    Who Were the First Families of Virginia?

    This episode introduces the First Families of Virginia, explaining how a small group of younger sons of the gentry and merchant families became a class of elite colonial families came to dominate first the Tidewater, and then Virginia. It begins by describing how younger sons hoped to rebuild themselves as landed gentlemen in the New World, and then discusses the debate over whether these First Families of Virginia were truly "Cavaliers" or whether that label stems from a later legend meant to shroud their humble origins.  The episode then explains how these families used capital, trade, and officeholding to acquire huge riverfront estates, expand tobacco production, and eventually shift from indentured labor to enslaved African labor after Bacon's Rebellion and the Navigation Acts made the old system less profitable. It then profiles several of the most famous First Families of Virginia, including the Randolphs, Byrds, Harrisons, Ludwells, Burwells, Pages, Nelsons, Carters, Beverleys, Wormleys, Lees, Fitzhughs, and Custises, describing their marriage alliance, massive estates, political offices, commercial activity, and in some cases, their role in the Revolution. The conclusion of this episode covers the social peak and decline of the Virginia gentry. It describes how their intermarriages and grand brick plantation homes turned into lifestyles of debt that were wrecked by the effects of the American Revolution that the Virginia gentry did so much to lead, along with describing how soil exhaustion played a role in ending the reign of the old Virginia gentry. 0:00 Who Were The First Families of Virginia? 5:05 The History of the Virginia Cavaliers 8:35 The Younger Sons Form a Virginia Gentry 12:52 Land, Trade, and Slavery: The Basis of Financial Power for the FFVs 18:03 How the Virginia Gentry Dominated Local and State Politics 21:46 The Randolph Family of Virginia: The Adam and Eve of Virginia 22:47 The Byrd Family of Virginia: Fortune and Ruin 24:32 The Harrison Family 25:19 The Ludwell Family and Green Spring 26:26 The Burwell Family of Virginia 27:27 The Pages and Nelsons 29:03 The Carter Family of Virginia 31:32 The Beverlys and Wormeleys at Rosegill, 32:07 The Lees of Stratford Hall, and 34:08 the Fitzhughs 35:10 The Custis and Washington Families 37:03 Intermarriage Amongst the FFVs 39:07 Luxury and Debt End the Golden Age 43:26 Revolution and Collapse 46:46 Twilight of the Old Dominion 49:06 Virginia's Lasting Legacy Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790. Sydnor, Charles S.: Gentlemen Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington's Virginia, https://amzn.to/3QxjEXq  Isaac, Rhys: The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790, https://amzn.to/4ee2INl Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR Fischer, David Hackett: Albion's Seed,  https://amzn.to/4gayayG Breen, T.H.: Tobacco Culture, https://amzn.to/4uuwvYy  Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z

    51 min

  4. 7 jun

    What Was Life Like Growing Up in Rhodesia During the Bush War? with Alice Henningway

    Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/what-was-life-like-growing-up-in  If you are interested in what life was like in Rhodesia in the 1970s, during the height of the Bush War, from the perspective of a woman who grew up on a frontline farm often attacked, this is the interview for you! In this show, Alice Henningway tells Will what life was like in Rhodesia, where she grew up during the Bush War in the 1970s. Alice and Will discuss the dangerous reality of life on a farm during the Bush War, life after Rhodesia in Zimbabwe, and the unique culture of Rhodesia through the lens of her memoir "Nyika, I Love You". Alice also describes her family's relationship with the Shona people who worked on and lived near their farm on tribal trust land, the Shona traditions she learned there, her family's background, and how she experienced the sharp contrasts of Rhodesian society, which combined formal colonial life with the rigors and dangers of the Bush War, and the excitement of living on the frontier.  Alice also describes her father's Save Valley Conservancy project, describing how it was transformed from cattle ranch land into conservation land. She describes the species reintroduced, how elephants were moved there, the reality of protecting rhinos from poachers, and how local communities are involved in the work. Toward the end, she reflects on leaving Zimbabwe and explains that her memoir is a record of her life and a tribute to the country, Nyika, and her family, while also mentioning her next books. Get "Nyika, I Love You" here: ⁠https://amzn.to/4uppLuF⁠ Get "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight": ⁠https://amzn.to/4xdFEqJ⁠ (I am an Amazon Associate and will receive a small commission if you use the above links to order these great books). Chapters 0:00 Alice's Rhodesian Childhood: What It Was Like to Grow Up on a Rhodesian Farm 3:57 Living on Tribal Trust Land 5:49 Crazy Encounters with Crocodiles and Hippos 8:15 The Roots of a Rhodesian Farming Family 10:05 The Incredible Reality of Rhodesian Culture 14:21 Life at a Rhodesian Country Club 17:24 Drinking, Horses, Polo, and More: Another Side of the Rhodesian Experience 21:14 What Life Was Like after Mugabe Took Power 23:45 The Save Valley Conservancy 32:19 Fun and Wild Animal Encounters: Drunk Elephants and Protected Rhinos 36:49 Building Relationships with Zimbabwean Villagers 41:53 What Is It Like to Lose One's Home? 46:18 Exile and Homesickness: The Rhodesian Expat Experience 49:19 "Nyika, I Love You", and Alice's Other Works 57:14 Closing Thoughts

    58 min

  5. 3 jun

    The Virginia Series Sources: What Books about Colonial and Early Republic Virginia You Ought Read!

    These are the works I read to study and learn about the history of Virginia, from the earliest days of colonization into the modern, postbellum era. Collectively, these are a good way of learning about practically every aspect of the Old Dominion over that time period, from managing a plantation and Cavalier culture, to the mechanics of politics in the state and Westward expansion.  In this video, I discuss which ones are best for getting a general history of the state, learning about the development of the Virginia Gentry, understanding plantation life and the economics of the plantations, understanding what set Virginia apart from the rest of the South, and getting into learning about the great men of the state's history. I'll also cover which ones are terrible, and should be avoided.  Note: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you would like to help support the show at no cost to yourself, you can do so by using the link I have attached for each book, if that book is one you would like to read. A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War By Thomas Fleming, https://amzn.to/4oeeRqs  A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790 By Emory G. Evans, https://amzn.to/4o7ILN0  Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America By David Hackett Fischer, https://amzn.to/4fHA89R  Behold Virginia: The Fifth Crown By George F. Willison, https://amzn.to/3RZUalS  Colonial Virginia: Its People and Customs By Mary Newton Stanard, https://amzn.to/4e2nT4W  Colonial Virginia, Volume I: The Tidewater Period, 1607-1710 By Richard L. Morton, https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8  Colonial Virginia, Volume II: Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763 By Richard L. Morton, https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8  Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century, Volume I and II By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4vsQ4RP  Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/4xcNUaO  First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy By Nathaniel Burt, https://amzn.to/4dWhGaJ  Gentlemen Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington's Virginia By Charles S. Sydnor, https://amzn.to/4dZsPaZ  George Washington, Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father's Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World By John Berlau, https://amzn.to/4ui7PCq  Lee By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4o7H7Lk  Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees of Virginia By Cazenove Gardner Lee, Jr., https://amzn.to/43dYssh  Myths & Realities: Societies of the Colonial South By Carl Bridenbaugh, https://amzn.to/4dMbKlV  Old Virginia: The Pursuit of a Pastoral Ideal by Robert S. Tilton and William M. S. Rasmussen, https://amzn.to/4e2mueG  Patrician and Plebeian in Virginia: Or the Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion By Thomas J. Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/43efFll  Robert Carter of Nomini Hall: A Virginia Tobacco Planter of the Eighteenth Century By Louis Morton, https://amzn.to/4xmlX0e  Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America By Benjamin Woolley, https://amzn.to/43ccJWA  Seat of Empire: The Political Role of Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg By Carl Bridenbaugh, https://amzn.to/4ellGmz  Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia By Warren M. Billings, https://amzn.to/49FDqqd  Social Life in Old Virginia Before the War By Thomas Nelson Page, https://amzn.to/4fXkhUn  Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4x2jkk5  The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800 By Stanley M. Elkins and Eric L. McKitrick, https://amzn.to/3QfnQuR  The Birth of Virginia's Aristocracy By James C. Thompson II, https://amzn.to/4dZDoun  The British Gentry, the Southern Planter, and the. Northern Family Farmer: Agriculture and Sectional Antagonism in North by James L. Huston, https://amzn.to/4uhZOgx  The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/4uVFwLi  The First Gentlemen of Virginia: Intellectual Qualities of the Early Colonial Ruling Class By Louis B. Wright, https://amzn.to/43dW3Oh  The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 By Robert Middlekauff, https://amzn.to/4uIXcJH  The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, Virginia 1732-1775 By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4obCIXQ  The Great Plantation: A Profile of Berkeley Hundred and Plantation Virginia from Jamestown to Appomattox by Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4vkxLy2  The Landed Gentry By Sophy Burnham, https://amzn.to/4vq7Vss  The Lees of Virginia: Biography of a Family By Burton J. Hendrick, https://amzn.to/3RL7nip  The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family By Paul C. Nagel, https://amzn.to/4opLnWN  The Old Dominion: Her Making and Her Manners By Thomas Nelson Page, https://amzn.to/4uNU0wn   The Planters of Colonial Virginia By Thomas J. Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/4dNhls9  The Radicalism of the American Revolution By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/43xdklT  The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783 By John E. Selby, https://amzn.to/4uer7sa  The Sociology of Colonial Virginia By Morris Talpalar, https://amzn.to/4o8Ny0v  The Soul of a Nation: The Founding of Virginia and the Projection of New England By Matthew Page Andrews, https://amzn.to/4dMwUjV  The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 By Rhys Isaac, https://amzn.to/4e4YZSs  The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of "King" Carter and the Golden Age By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4o8o2Zm  The Virginia Plutarch, Volumes I and II By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4uTuAxy  Tobacco Coast: A Maritime History of Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era By Arthur Pierce Middleton, https://amzn.to/4dRzKmg  Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution By T. H. Breen,https://amzn.to/43N4FLY  Virginia, 1705-1786: Democracy or Aristocracy? By Robert E. and B. Katherine Brown, https://amzn.to/3S3TLil  Virginia Baron: The Story of Thomas 6th Lord Fairfax By Stuart E. Brown Jr, https://amzn.to/4uVBIK0  Virginia: The English Heritage in America By Parke Rouse, Jr., https://amzn.to/4x4dcrg  Virginia: The New Dominion By Virginius Dabney, https://amzn.to/4vjjSQO  Virginia, The Old Dominion By Matthew Page Andrews, https://amzn.to/4dZmjB3  Virginia Under the Stuarts, 1607-1688 By Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/4o8LPIz  Washington By Douglas Southall Freeman, https://amzn.to/4fY4rJe

    2 h y 11 min

  6. 31 may

    The Knights of the Golden Circle: A Secret Filibustering Order Almost Built an Empire of Slavery

    This is the tale of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-slavery, semi-secret, and paramilitary society in the 1850s and early 1860s that aimed to conquer a vast territorial sphere comprising much of the Caribbean world, centered on Havana, and used filibustering in an attempt to realize that immense dream of a tropical empire built on slavery.  In it, Will and Clossington explore the history, foundation, and structure of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. We discuss its roots in earlier filibustering expeditions in Florida, Texas, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Cuba, including the famous campaigns of Narciso López and William Walker. Further, we discuss the life and career of George Bickley, the lifelong huckster and founder of the KGC, who built the organization through lodges called "castles", secretive rituals, and surprisingly serious political connections in the highest levels of the American government. We then discuss how his foibles caused disaster when the Knights of the Golden Circle tried to invade Mexico.  Finally, we discuss the history of the Knights of the Golden Circle in the American Civil War period, during which KGC members supported secession, challenged Republican policy as Northern Copperheads, and helped form the local Confederate units that served as the foundation for much of the early Confederate Army. Recommended further reading: Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War by David Keehn. You can support this show at no cost to yourself by using my Amazon associates link to get it here: https://amzn.to/4dQfLo3 Chapters: 0:00 Who Were the Knights of the Golden Circle? 3:45 The Organization and Goals of the Knights of the Golden Circle 11:40 Filibustering in American History, from Taking the Floridas to William Walker 19:01 George Bickley and Narciso López: The Cuban and Mexican Schemes 29:35 George Bickley: The Man Who Built the Knights of the Golden Circle 35:33 The Grand Strategy of Bickley's KGC 43:36 Why the Filibusters Failed 46:17 President Bucanan, Jefferson Davis, and Why American Elites Took It Seriously 49:54 The Role of the Knights of the Golden Circle in the Civil War 58:26 The KGC Falls Apart 1:01:40 The Legacy Of the KGC, and Further Reading

    1 h 5 min

  7. 27 may

    Building Christian Heroes with Chase Davis

    In this episode, Will and J. Chase Davis discuss his new book, Offensive Christianity, through the lens of where the modern church went wrong, and how to reclaim the Christian spirit of days past. They discuss the egalitarian drift of the church and where it began, how the Enlightenment and rise of democracy played into that drift, and what we can do about it. They comment on steady state Christian society versus a fervent Christian society that burns itself out, the Puritans, monarchy, and the evangelical movement before discussing finding a church that fits with your heritage and culture, what Nietzsche got wrong, and what sort of men we can look up to. Overall, they go back and forth over what it will take to return to the days when the church and Christian society create Christian heroes rather than the sort of gelded church we generally have today. Get Chase's book here: Offensive Christianity Follow Chase on X here: https://x.com/jchasedavis

    1 h 7 min

  8. 24 may

    The Real Story of Pocahontas: Betrayed by Her People, Adopted by the English

    This is the true story of Pocahontas, not the Disney one. This is the tale of a beloved little princess in the Powhatan Confederacy named Matoaka known for her curiosity, hence the nickname "Pocahontas" that became invariably associated with the tale of Virginia's earliest days. She was used in a game of high-stakes frontier diplomacy with John Smith that turned into a legend of lovestruck sacrifice, she was sold to Samuel Argall by her own people for a copper kettle during the Anglo-Powhatan War, and then she was Westernized and christened Lady Rebecca by the English. Abandoned and betrayed by her father and her people when the Powhatan betrayed her yet again to keep a few rusty swords, she then married John Rolfe and became the feted belle of the ball in England, where she met the king and queen, reunited with John Smith, and caught the illness that laid her low. But, it turns out, not just her memory, but her original name lives on in the name of one of America's most famous battlefields… 0:00 Pocahontas Saves John Smith 3:20 Why Is Pocahontas Important? 3:54: How Maoaka Got the Nickname, "Pocahontas" 5:27 Growing Up in the Powhatan Confederacy 7:18 Did Pocahontas Really Save John Smith 10:22 The First Anglo-Powhatan War 12:36 Pocahontas Is Captured by Samuel Argall 15:03 Pocahonas Is Westernized at Henrico 17:01 Pocahontas Meets John Rolfe, and They Fall In Love 21:15 The Powhatan People Refuse to Fight or Negotiate for Pocahontas 23:28 Pocahontas Marries Rolfe 23:33 Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe 26:11 Lady Rebecca and John Rolfe Travel to London 28:14 Pocahontas and John Smith Meet Again 29:00 Pocahontas Takes London Society by Storm 30:20 Pocahontas Grows Sick in Polluted London 31:10 Pocahontas dies Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Smith, Captain John: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles., https://amzn.to/49H3hxR Willison, George F.: Behold Virginia: The Fifth Crown, https://amzn.to/4do9YG4  Dabney, Virginius: Virginia: The New Dominion, https://amzn.to/4dtAE8l  Andrews, Matthew Page: Virginia: The Old Dominion, Vol. I, https://amzn.to/4uZBW2h  Bruce, Philip Alexander: The Virginia Plutarch, Vol I, https://amzn.to/437cAU0  Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ua3bqY  Andrews, Matthew Page: The Soul of a Nation: The Founding Of Virginia and the Projection of New England, https://amzn.to/4d9Ut60

    34 min
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