Long vignette: Trying something new...
Vignettes: Jonson
The date was January 5th, 1864.
Elroy Jonson rode his brown horse “Bullock” down a dirt path in the “British Columbian” countryside. He was on a countryside trip, supposed to catalog the “British Columbian” wildlife for study at the University of Georgia. He was also supposed to collect mineral samples for chemical analysis should he find any. He reflected on the partly cloudy sky, the grass, and the magnolia trees near that path. His horse whinnied as it stopped galloping and they came to a stop. Elroy Jonson dismounted. The University of Georgia was one of the most prominent Universities in “British Columbia”, with only the University of North Carolina being more prestigious, and the University of South Carolina not far behind. A few other less prestigious universities and colleges existed in other areas of “British Columbia”, as well as the colleges and universities in the United States of America.
The University of Georgia wanted Elroy Jonson to write his findings about the workings of the local ecosystems, and how they worked. There was also the feared topic of the “educational gap”. The British Empire needed to be the first in the world in not just territorial gain but science. It would not be replaced by some upstart in either Germany or in the United States of America. Already, German and American scientists were threatening the British Empire’s scientific dominance with groundbreaking developments of their own. This scientific expertise could lead to greater productivity of Germany and America as well as more effective engineering and weapons of war that could threaten the British Empire’s place atop the world. The Empire must be smart as well as strong, the and its dominions and holdings would help there. Already the Indian and Australian scientists had made great strides in the cataloguing of their fauna and flora. It seemed like “British Columbia” was the laggard of the dominions and holdings in terms of science, and this could not stand.
He was very curious at the state of affairs, and he regularly purchased a newspaper in his town whenever he could. The newspaper reported local news, but it also had a section about happenings in other places; other parts of “British Columbia”, back home in Great Britain, and in the other sections of the British Empire. Occasionally there was news from the United States of America, which seemed to be changing every time he found news about it. Most memorably, all the “Gray Knights”, “Storm Riders”, and other “gentlemen’s clubs” down in “British Columbia” had received an influx of new members. (In truth, those were the ones in the United States that had fled to “British Columbia”. To avoid causing an international incident, they were not pursued further so long as they did not cause problems for U.S. citizens). Elroy Jonson had tried to join one of these “gentlemen’s clubs” to gain more connections—who you knew was often as important as what you knew. This helped Jonson, as he was trying to gain more social connections; he did not know what those clubs did exactly, though.
He found another person, and he greeted that person.
“What’s your name?”
“Douglass Wilde. I am here visiting family.”
“Elroy Jonson, pleased to meet you.”
I’m here recently, and I was wondering how things are in “British Columbia”. My family lives close to here. Much has happened where I come from. It seems like the whirlwind of history is unfolding before us. A swirl of events, how everything is unfolding
Jonson thought about all the quick turns of events that happened to the north, in the United States of America. He had known of them through a newspaper, the Atlanta Phoenix. The authorization of the Transcontinental Railroad; a law banning workplace segregation; the railway strikes; the “Dream” speech of Frederick Douglass; the passage of the 13th Amendment. It seemed awfully quick for him. He wondered what kinds of people would be accustomed to such rapid developments. Contrast this to the rather slow-paced “British Columbia”, where the only big news seemed to be the assassination of a royal governor in Alabama (may he rest in peace—his name was Robert Cobb) in 1860. This was a big scandal, with a dominion-wide manhunt for the killer. The killer was eventually found but shot himself to avoid arrest. Since then, the lack of big news almost seemed welcome. At least nothing catastrophic was happening…
“Well, not much is happening here. It’s almost… quiet. Not much happening in “British Columbia” so far.”
One reason why progress was so slow in “British Columbia” was due to its dominion status. It had only limited autonomy, and its dominion status was similar to Australia. India would one day be like this, but there was still rebuilding from the disastrous Anglo-Indian War. The black heart of imperialism, that “heart of darkness” that lay underneath the veneer of respectability in the British Empire. It started supposedly when the Sepoys (native Indian troops who followed Indian princes who supported the British) thought the British Empire was trampling their religious practices. Missionaries and the introduction of a European education system were two factors that assisted the process of westernization. British officials also caused problems for the Indian people in the colonization process where many of their native industries were supplanted. As a result, many people lost their jobs. The put many people out of jobs. The British dominance of India, present since the 1820s and 1830s, became far more prevalent by the outbreak of war in the 1858. Much of the Indian aristocracy ended up replaced, often by British officials. The war began when many of the Sepoys started to rebel against their British overlords. The British Empire sent armies ashore to deal with the problem. Much of the fighting had dire consequences for the population due to the British armies foraging for food in the countryside and in some places, causing an “artificial famine” especially due to a worse monsoon season. The burning of many Indian villages and towns did not help either. Several of these massacres had their origins in the “Butcher of Delhi” (real name: Sir Colin Campbell. Butcher of Delhi is an allusion to how meat is served in a deli, and a butcher carves it up. The Americans derisively called him this after Delhi went up in smoke—Campbell accepted it, citing “War is always hell; shortening it is the best course of action”.) An entire city ended up desolated when an invading British army attempted to clear it of rebels. This seemed awfully like the “Sack of Charleston” in the British Columbian War—once again, British technology, military discipline, and ferocity in combat won the day.