Have you ever wondered what a Swiss-German immigrant and a handful of Hawaiians were doing in central California in the early 19th century? If you have, join us this week as we take a look at the up and down history of Johan August Sutter, founder of present-day Sacramento and the fort that still bears his name.
Show notes and links:

* Texas Declaration of Independence (1836)
* Emancipation reform of 1861, Russia
* Nikola Tesla’s public radio demonstration (teslauniverse.com)
* Kohl Tutorial (youtube.com)
* The Iliad – what is it really about? (youtube.com)
* History Hit: 2016 Oscars historical films (historyh.it)
* The Year of Decision 1846, Bernard DeVoto, Mark DeVoto, Stephen E. Ambrose (amazon.com)
A book about the California trail that we failed to mention.
* John Sutter
* Fort Vancouver
* Sutter’s Fort
* Californios
* Bartleson–Bidwell Party
* Fort Ross, California
* John C. Frémont 
* California Republic – Bear Flag Revolt (1846)
* Battle of Monterey – a.k.a. Sloate’s Landing (1846)
* Donner Party
* Mormon Battalion
* Jean Baptiste “Pomp” Charbonneau

The History Files #46: Sutter’s Fort

A weekly podcast hosted featuring Gordon Frye and various guests discussing history in the news, media, literature, politics, and everywhere else.

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We’re back… and we brought pirates! Actually, that’s probably not such a great idea, what with all the stealing and pillaging and slow-matches in the beard and buckets of burning sulphur. Of course that’s only if we brought Edward Teach, but you get the idea. This episode was recorded live in front of a very groggy audience on a Sunday morning at the Brass Screw Confederacy Steampunk festival in Pt. Townsend, Washington on June 11, 2017. We had a great time revelling in all the pirate stuff and hope you enjoy our little presentation.
Show notes and links:

* On Stranger Tides , by Tim Powers (amazon.com)
* A General History of the Pyrates (wikipedia.org)
* The Seafarers, Time-Life: The Pirates (amazon.com)
* Movieing On #233: Yellowbeard (csicon.fm)
* The Sea Dogs (infogalactic.com)
* Barbarossa Brothers, Barbary Pirates: Pirate’s Realm (thepiratesrealm.com)
* Old Ironsides (1926) (amazon.com)
* Jean Lafitte (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #90: Pirates

In part 2 of our series on World War 1, we take some time to talk about how the various Allied Countries armed up in the first months of the conflict, and how the United States basically became the “Arsenal of Democracy” long before WW2.
Show notes and links:

* “The Son” (2017) (imdb.com)
* The Persuaders! (TV Series 1971–1972) (imdb.com) The odd little action TV show with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis that we couldn’t remember the name of.
* Arsenal of Democracy (infogalactic.com)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #1: Colt New Service (csicon.fm)
* M1911 pistol (infogalactic.com)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #3: M1911 (csicon.fm)
* Lewis gun (infogalactic.com)
* M1895 Colt (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #89: World War 1 – Part 2

Not all of our topics are hopeful or uplifting. Discussions of wars and man’s inhumanity to man are part of the study of history. In this episode we talk about a controversial chapter in world history, the Armenian Genocide, that overlaps WW1, but that we felt should be discussed separately.
Show notes and links:

* Movieing On #236: The Thing From Another World (csicon.fm)
* House of Rejoicing: Part 1 of The Book of Coming Forth by Day (amazon.com)
* Armenian Genocide (infogalactic.com)
* Fresno (TV Mini-Series 1986– ) (imdb.com)
* The Promise (2016) – IMDb (imdb.com)
* The Promise (reelviews.net)


The History Files #87: The Armenian Genocide

As we continue into the 100 year anniversary of the Great War, eventually known as World War 1, we thought it appropriate to begin a series discussing this turning point in history. In this episode we talk about the events leading up to the war.
 
Show notes and links:

* Bleak House (TV Mini-Series 2005– ) (imdb.com)
* 124-Year-Old Never-Worn Levi’s Found in Arizona Cedar Chest (foxbusiness.com)
* The Influence of Sea Power on History, Alfred Thayer Mahan (gutenberg.org)
* RMS Lusitania (infogalactic.com)
* The History Files #17: U.S. in Mexico, 1914 (csicon.fm)
* The History Files #47: Pancho Villa (csicon.fm)
* National Guard of the United States (infogalactic.com)
* Zimmermann Telegram  (infogalactic.com)
* William Jennings Bryan (infogalactic.com)
* John J. Pershing (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #86: World War 1 – Part 1

While there are no records of large-scale wars or even battles in the Puget Sound area, there have been a few skirmishes over the years. Many people have heard of the Pig War (see HF ep. 53) , but fewer know of the Battle of… Port Gamble. It’s a case of truth being stranger than fiction, with the US Navy coming to the defense of the S’Klallam Indians of present day Little Boston, and we’re here to tell you all about it.
Show notes and links:

* Norwood Cove Object (mdihistory.org)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #18: Indiana Jones (csicon.fm)
* Battle of Port Gamble  (infogalactic.com)
* Battle of Port Gamble (youtube.com)
* In the Land of the Headhunter (vimeo.com)


The History Files #46: Sutter’s Fort

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