Chapter 17: 175-182
Page 175
Jenkins Ear Museum
War of 39
War of Jenkins' Ear
1739-1743, see WIKI.
Robert Jenkins (fl. 1730s-40s) was an British master mariner, famous as the protagonist of the "Jenkins's ear" incident, which became a contributory cause of the War of Jenkins' Ear between Britain and Spain in 1739.
Returning home from the West Indies in command of the brig Rebecca in 1731, Jenkins' ship was stopped and boarded by the Spanish guarda-costa La Isabela (Jenkins was involved in contraband and piracy). Her commander, Captain Julio León Fandiño, had Jenkins bound to a mast and then sliced off one of his ears with his sword then told him to say to his King "same will happen to him (the king) if cought doing the same". On arriving in England, Jenkins addressed his grievances to the king, and a report was furnished by the Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies confirming Jenkins' account. At the time the incident received little attention, but in 1738 Jenkins repeated his story with dramatic details before a committee of the House of Commons, producing what he claimed to be his ear that had been cut off. As a result of this incident England declared war to Spain. From WIKI
Pistole
pis·tole (pĭ-stōl')N.Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a double escudo, the gold unit. The name was also given to the Louis d'Or of Louis XIII of France, and to other European gold coins of about the value of the Spanish coin. One pistole was worth approximately ten livres. Wikipedia
Cross-Ruff
A crossruff is a play where tricks are made by taking alternate ruffs in each hand. In order to use a crossruff, each player in the partnership must have shortness in a non-trump suit, accompanied with appropriate length in the opposite hand. Also, each partner must be short in the suit that his partner is long in. It is preferable that both players have an equal number of cards in the trump suit, otherwise a regular ruff is usually more effective, as it has the added benefit of establishing the trump suit. Wikipedia
Page 177
Spaniard's Blade
’Tis the sword of Cordova, won in bloodiest fray off Saint Vincent’s promontory, and presented by Nelson to the old capital of the much-loved land of his birth. Yes, the proud Spaniard’s sword is to be seen in yonder guildhouse, in the glass case affixed to the wall: many other relics has the good old town, but none prouder than the Spaniard’s sword.
? From Lavengo.
Chronoscope
chronoscope
n. instrument measuring very small intervals of time; chronometer in which figures are seen through apertures in dial. chronoscopy, n.
© From the Hutchinson Encyclopaedia.
Helicon Publishing LTD 2007.
Page 178
The Ghastly Fop
a title that sounds like an Edward Gorey homage but is a seemingly made up serial pornographic tale of the time.
Rix-Dollar
The Nederlandse Rijksdaalder, known in the colonies as the "rix dollar," was actually a variety of different coins each averaging about 448 grains in weight of .885 fine silver. These coins were independently minted by individual cities or provinces in the United Netherlands and passed at a value of two and a half guilders (50 stuivers). Although not as widespread as Spanish silver or the lion dollar, the silver rider ducatoon and various rix dollars were certainly familiar in the colonies throughout the Seventeenth and into the early Eighteenth century. http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Rix-Dollar.intro.html
Page 179
Guarda-Costa
Coast Guard. Commission of a Spanish Guarda Costa 16 April 1729
By Don Dionysio Martines de la Vega, Brigadier in His Majesty's army, His Governor and Captain General of this city of the Havanna, and island of cuba &c.
reclaiming of light
ATD motif.
mutatis mutandis
A direct translation from Latin of mutatis mutandis would read, 'with those things having been changed which need to be changed'. More colloquially, it can be interpreted as 'the necessary changes having been made,' where "the necessary changes" are usually implied by a prior statement assumed to be understood by the reader. Wikipedia
Page 180
brighter indeed than the Day allows
The day, again, Cf. Against the Day.
uncoah
Unco is Scots for unknown, strange or unusual
http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/u.html
Wearside
Sunderland (pronounced: /'sundələnd/, /'sʌndələnd/ or /'sun(d)lən/) is a former county borough now part of the City of Sunderland, in the county of Tyne and Wear in North East England.
The name "Sunderland" is reputed to come from Soender-land: "jacob-ariola"(soender/sunder being the Anglo-Saxon infinitive, meaning "to part"),[1] likely to be reference to the valley carved by the river Wear that runs through the heart of the city. Sunderland was also known as 'Sunderland-near-the-Sea'.[2]
A small fishing village called Sunderland, located toward the mouth of the river (modern day Hendon) was granted a charter in 1179. Over the centuries, Sunderland grew as a port, trading coal and salt. Ships began to be built on the river in the fourteenth century.
A person born in Sunderland is sometimes called a Mackem or a Wearsider.
Page 181
Frome
The River Frome is a river in Somerset. It is not to be confused with other rivers in the south west of England with the same name.
