Marvel's First Comic

Marvel

Several weeks ago we looked at the origin of DC comics so it is only fitting that we look at the other great comic book company: Marvel. From early beginnings in 1939 Marvel has brought to the world countless of characters and stories which have inspired generations. Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers are just some of the characters and teams to come out of Marvel. Today we'll look at the early origins of Marvel but first we'll look at the world which Marvel came into.

The World in 1939

Marvel first appeared in May 1939. Like with the origins of DC Marvel came into the world in a time of darkness. Despite Roosevelt's New Deal the USA still faced mass unemployment and poverty thanks to the Great Depression. Similarly, most of the world, bar perhaps the USSR which had remained politically isolated, had seen their economies plummet and very few had recovered. The ones that did, (Nazi Germany), were soon plunged back into economic depredation. Europe and Asia faced threats from the far-right and ultra-nationalists. By 1939 Hitler had stripped German Jews of their rights; annexed Austria and what is now Czechia; and started to set his sights on Poland starting the Second World War. In 1939 a non-aggression pact was signed between the USSR and Germany named the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which later allowed the division of Poland in September. In Spain right-wing authoritarian forces under General Francisco Franco won a ferocious civil war spelling the end of Spanish democracy until the late-1970s. Japan, meanwhile, was tearing apart China to create its own empire in Asia. In fear that Hitler was developing nuclear weapons Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt about developing a nuclear weapon, (something that Einstein would later campaign against). Culturally 1939 saw several movies and comics which would be highly influential. Two book adaptations were released in 1939. One was Gone with the Wind, a three and a half hour long epic about a family in the South during the US Civil War which remains one of the most successful movies of all time. The other was The Wizard of Oz the famous technicolor musical which strangely was almost a financial loss for MGM. In regards to comics in 1938 Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 and in 1939 in Detective Comics #27 Batman made his debut.

Marvel's Founder

Marvel's Founder

Marvel was founded by Martin Goodman in 1939. Unlike the founder of DC, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Goodman came from a more humble background. Martin's parents were Jewish immigrants from Vilnius who had met in the United States he was the first of thirteen children to be raised by the pair in New York. When the Depression hit he would travel across the USA occasionally living in hobo camps, called 'Hoovervilles' in a sarcastic homage to then president Herbert Hoover. In late 1929 he would start working for the future co-founder of Archie Comics, Louis Silberkleit, and would take over his role as circulation manager of pulp magazines. Silberkleit would later get Martin to be the editor of his new company called Newsstand Publication Inc. With Newsstand Publication Inc. he would publish principally Western stories. In 1936 he released a new pulp magazine called Ka-Zar. Marvel fans will recognize the name but this one is different to the current Ka-Zar. Replicating Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan it features a white family crash-landing in the Congo. The mother soon dies of disease and the father raises his son with a lion, Zar, and the boy grows up to be basically Tarzan. The boy then calls himself Ka, brother of Zar.

The Ka-Zar Comic

Two years before the arrival of Ka-Zar a title named Famous Funnies pioneered the comic book. Then in 1938 the Man of Steel Superman made his debut from the minds of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. This caused a craze for superheroes which Martin recognized. In 1939 he would begin a new publication to do this.

Marvel Comics #1

Marvel Comics #1

In 1938 Martin had been publishing science-fiction magazines called Marvel Science Stories. In the 1930s a comic book packaging company was founded called Funnies Inc. This company would package and help distribute comic books of different companies. The sales manager of Funnies Inc., Frank Torpey, struck up a friendship with Goodman. Torpey talked to Goodman and tried to convince him to form a publishing company. They struck up an agreement: Goodman would form a company to publish superhero stories and Torpey would package them. Thus Timely Publications was founded and their first publication was Marvel Comics #1.

Marvel Comics #1 featured several stories. One included a Ka-Zar story but it featured several others. Unlike with DC Marvel immediately had superhero stories and several would remain major Marvel characters until this very day. Two were most important: The Human Torch and The Sub-Mariner. Created by Carols Burgos, (The Human Torch), and Bill Everett (Sub-Mariner), these stories would foreshadow Marvel's trend for having heroes who were outsiders in a 'normal' society. They weren't conventional heroes either. The Human Torch wasn't human but instead an android made by Professor Phineas T. Horton which combusted when it came into contact with oxygen. The Sub-Mariner featured Captain Leonard McKenzie who fell in love with Princess Fen of Atlantis. Their son was named Namor and was half-human, half-Atlantean. Namor's grandfather later had Namor attack New York. It was a strange feat by Everett getting readers to understand the character of Namor who was not fully human, (bear in mind many US states prohibited mixed-race relationships), and viewed the USA as a threat. Both the Human Torch and Namor would become major characters in the Marvel Universe. Years later the title Human Torch would be recycled and the two have even met.

Torch vs. Torch

Becoming Marvel

In 1940 Goodman hired writer/artist Joe Simon from Funnies Inc. and with Simon came artist Jack Kirby. Simon and Kirby would revolutionize the Golden Age of Comic Books. With a dynamic style of visual telling they attracted many readers. Even before the USA went to war with Germany Kirby and Simon started their own war with the Nazis. In Marvel Mystery Comics #4 Namor fought Nazis on a U-Boat. At the end of the year Simon and Kirby got an assistant in the 17-year old cousin of Goodman's wife. This kid was called Stanley Lieber and was an avid writer, and in 1941 with Captain America Comics #3 even got to write a comic. He said, 'I felt someday I'd write The Great American Novel and I didn't want to use my real name on these silly little comics'. So he used a pseudonym which eventually became his actual name: Stan Lee. However, after the end of the war love for superheroes died down. With sales dropping Goodman turned Timely into Atlas in 1952. Goodman decided to sacrifice quality for quantity having 400 releases in 1952 alone. These reflected new trends like shock-horror with Journey Into Mystery, (which in my opinion were the better ones), Westerns like Two Gun Western and inspired by Archie Comics teen dramas/romance like Girl Confessions. With the popularity of the radio show Adventures of Superman introducing new people to superheroes there was an attempt to bring back superheroes, (mainly Human Torch, Captain America, and Namor). However, Atlas was going downhill and needed a change.

In the late-1950s superheroes were coming back. The Space Race between the USA and USSR had made science-fiction a very popular genre. DC was returning to power reinventing the Flash and Green Lantern to have sci-fi origins, (they left Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman alone). Throughout the 1950s Stan Lee had been working for Atlus after leaving the army he had been thinking of quitting. That is until Goodman asked him and Jack Kirby to make a superhero team. DC had struck gold with their superheroes and in 1960 had created the Justice League. Changing itself to Marvel with Lee as editor/writer and Kirby as artist they began creating a new team. At the request of Joan Boocock Lee, his wife, Stan made these new characters flawed. Instead of having secret identities everyone would know who they are, one would be a hotheaded teenager, and another would be an ugly, antisocial monster. Together Kirby and Lee in 1961 produced their title which would revolutionize comic books. This was Fantastic Four #1.

Fantastic Four #1

Over the next few years Marvel would release more and more characters inspired by the success of Fantastic Four. In 1962 they created a story of a feeble scientist who would turn into a monster powered by rage during a bomb test gone wrong. The same year Lee and Steve Ditko created a skinny, bullied teenager who gains powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider who then becomes a hero after his own greed let his uncle get shot. Lee and Kirby then created a story of a Norse God who becomes disgraced and banished to Earth. In 1963 Marvel released another story about a hero group hated because they exist in an allegory to the Civil Rights Movement with the X-Men. Thus comic, and cultural, history was made.

Thank you for reading. For future posts please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-The Age of Extremes: 1917-1991 by Eric Hobsbawm

-Marvel Year by Year: A Visual History edited by Cefn Ridout

World History: The Atlantic Slave Trade

The Slave Trade

The Atlantic Slave Trade is one of the darkest parts of human history. Last time on World History when we discussed colonialism we touched very briefly on the slave trade. However, the Atlantic Slave Trade is such a devastating part of world history that it deserves to be spoken about by itself. You may be wondering why we are looking specifically at the Atlantic slave trade instead of other slave trades, most notably the Arab Slave Trade which enslaved more people over a longer period of time compared to the Atlantic counterpart. The reason for this can be perfectly described by Paul E. Lovejoy 'the impact of the European market for slaves was more intense over a much shorter period'. Before we look at the Atlantic Slave Trade we need to look at slavery before the trade, and exactly what a slave is. I must stress that this post will not be pleasant at all and some readers may find it upsetting.

Defining and Origins

An Indentured Servant

Actually defining slavery is difficult as it has been used so much, and often incorrectly, over the years. When Revolutionaries in the Thirteen Colonies shouted that they were becoming slaves to Britain the author of the dictionary Samuel Johnson sarcastically replied 'How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes'. Lovejoy gives us a good definition which we shall use for the rest of this post. He characterizes slaves as being: outsiders denied their heritage through judicial or other sanctions; coercion could be used at will; could be bought or sold; slave status was inherited unless provision ameliorated their status; no right to their own sexuality; and their labor was at complete disposal of a master. Slavery often coincided with other forms of labor ranging from serfdom to wage labor.

In The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870 Hugh Thomas gives a good account on the history of slavery in Europe and the Islamic World centuries before the Atlantic Trade. Most societies which we have looked at so far on World History have used slavery in some form or another. The Greeks and Romans extensively used slavery. Aristotle himself argued that some people are naturally inclined to be slaves, and the Romans pioneered the slave plantation. Centuries later Muslim states would establish a slave trade where they would have sub-Saharan Africans traded across the Islamic world from the Empire of Mali to the Indian Ocean. In the early centuries the zanj were used. These were large gangs of slaves from Africa until 869 when there was a huge revolt in Iraq. Although the Koran made no reference to the color of someone's skin, and encouraged Muslims to free slaves, the most degrading form of labor became associated with black slaves, ('ahd). Eventually Arabic writers started showing contempt towards black Africans. When Europeans encountered the Muslim world during the Crusades they took many ideas with them, including racial prejudice. The origins of the European slave trade emerged during this time as well. During the ill-fated Fourth Crusade the Crusaders took Slavs, Georgians, Armenians and Circassians as slaves to Italy where they were forced to grow sugar. As the Atlantic Slave Trade emerged this combined Ancient, Arabic and European ideas of slavery together. Plantations and racial contempt emerged. Portuguese chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara used the Bible to justify the enslavement of black Africans. He argued that when Noah was naked, drunk and passed out his two sons, Shem and Japheth, looked away while the last son, Ham, looked at him. Noah then cursed Ham and his descendants saying 'a servant to servants shall he be unto his brethren'. Zurara argued that Ham was black so it was therefore 'right' to enslave sub-Saharan Africans.

The Atlantic Slave trade changed greatly over the centuries, in place and numbers. We'll be using W.E.B. Du Bois' data for numbers and looking at them from 1450-1600 409,000 people were shipped across the Atlantic, 3.6% of the people shipped over the centuries. Why then was this number so small? Many historians view colonialism as one of the starting points of modern capitalism and it is easy to see why. For every person seeking a new life there was another there to gain a profit. Slaves from Africa were expensive so Europeans enslaved Native Americans instead. As we saw last time colonialism wiped out 90% of the Native American population through disease, ethnic cleansing and slavery itself. Quickly the population of Native Americans meant enslaving them became difficult and, both Spain and Portugal made it illegal to enslave Native Americans, (unless at war so many abused this loophole), after agitation from figures like Bartolome de Casas. Africans were seen as being more resilient to European diseases and were seen as hardier than Native Americans based on racial ideas. Meanwhile, in the English colonies they had been enslaving poor English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish but calling it 'indentured servitude' (as well as enslaving Native Americans). Many in Britain were too poor to make the crossing to the Americas so richer colonists would pay for their voyage in return for their labor. For around five years an indentured servant would basically be owned with them not even being able to get married or have kids without permission from the planter. If they disobeyed they could be beaten and have years added to their contract. When their contract ended they would receive money and land but appalling conditions meant that many died before this ended. This was cheaper than importing slaves from Africa. However, by the end of the seventeenth-century things had changed. More servants were surviving and many formed a key role in the 1676 Bacon's Rebellion. Slaves from Africa were seen as being more desirable: no option of releasing them, no rights as they were not English, and as they were 'heathen' and 'barbarians' it was not sinful to enslave them. By 1700 African slaves made up 10% of Virginia's population and in 1750 it was nearly 50%.

Who were made slaves?

Portugal and the Slave Trade

Many people have an image taken from the book or TV series Roots where Europeans, or Africans overseen by Europeans, capture Africans and force them into slavery. This is inaccurate as it took until the late nineteenth-century for Europeans to be powerful enough to penetrate further into the African continent. Spain, Portugal, England (later Britain), France and the Netherlands were isolated to the coasts where they would trade with local African kingdoms. Although occasionally these European raids did happen. The Portuguese called these raids 'razzias' and had occurred throughout the Middle Ages by both Christians and Muslims. During the Reconquista Iberian forces had performed razzias against Muslim states in Iberia, and later during invasions of North Africa they had did it again, (sometimes seizing slaves owned by Muslims). On August 8 1444 235 slaves landed at Lagos, Portugal forming the first of many European slave markets from Africa. How then did Europeans obtain slaves then? West Africa had a range of states ranging from empires like Songhai, (which was connected to the Arab slave trade), to stateless clans. Like their European counterparts the African states often went to war and captured prisoners who were taken as slaves. States would also trade slaves in an internal slave trade if they could not obtain them via war, (although the slaves were most likely originally captured via war to start off with). In these states the slaves could have many roles ranging from sacrifices to farmers to bureaucrats. It is inaccurate to claim that Africans 'enslaved their brothers'. Occasionally criminals could be enslaved, or social outcasts, but the vast majority were enemies, (or civilians of a rival state), taken during war. Less than half of those from West Africa were sold their own society. Europe, however, were interested in certain types of people to buy.

African and Muslim states wanted different slaves primarily compared to Europeans. Women and children were more likely to be bought/traded by African and Muslim states as they were often not used for manual labor. Also, it was sometimes believed that women and children were easier to assimilate into society post-slavery, or even during slavery itself. In contrast European colonies were more interested in chattel slavery. This is the type of slavery which we think of. Chattel slavery is when slaves are the personal property of a master and in the Americas they were used on plantations, farms or mines. This is quite evident in where slaves were taken. 48% were taken to the Caribbean and 41% to Brazil where they were often forced to work on plantations growing things including sugar, (in the Caribbean mainly), and coffee, (in Brazil mainly). As a result men were overwhelmingly taken to the Americas. For every one woman two men were taken. 

What was Traded?

Ivory in Zanzibar in the 1800s

Unfortunately enslaved people were seen as property so were traded just like any product. It was once thought that Africa only received useless and cheap items such as liquor, beads, and bangles although starting from the 1960s archival research, (and archaeological evidence), has disproved this. Cowries were imported to the Gold Coast, the Bight of Benin, and the Niger Basin where states like Dahomey, Oyo and Akwamu used them as currency. By the end of eighteenth-century cowries constituted between 20 to 25% of imports. In what is now Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, where kola nuts were grown, iron bars were imported as it was used as currency in the region. Sometimes gold from one part of West Africa were imported to another region, strangely even to Asante in what is now Ghana which produced gold itself. The most important thing to be traded were firearms. From 1750 to 1800 between 283,000 and 394,000 guns a year were sent by Britain to West Africa. Another 50,000 a year were sent to the Loango Coast. As we'll see this will be very important. Luxury goods like Brazilian coffee were also traded. Slaves were not the only exports, (as they were seen), from Africa. Ivory in particular was popular and one reason why African societies were eager for firearms was that it made it easier to hunt for ivory. Gold was another eagerly sought good. Not only for trading with other African states but also to enrich either the colonies or Europe. We often hear of a triangular trade. Firearms, textiles and glass were created in Britain, Spain, France etc. taken to Africa in return for gold and slaves, then to the Americas where they would be swapped for goods like tobacco, coffee and sugar. The city of Liverpool became a major port in Britain thanks to the slave trade. I live in Edinburgh and much of the New Town was built through the profits of slavery in the Caribbean.

Slave Trade and Africa

Walter Rodney

In his landmark work How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Walter Rodney argues that European exploitation of Africa began with the slave trade. Although not perfect his thesis is accurate in many places and should be read. He argues that states, such as Asante, who traded in slaves experienced a one-sided trade. Even though firearms were useful to states it made their economies dependent on acquiring ivory and slaves but to do so they required more firearms. He even cites an example where an asantehene of Asante tried to get Britain to build a firearms factory for them, (which Britain refused to do). This can be seen along the Guinean coast where elephants became rarer through overhunting creating a trade deficit. Rodney argues that as states geared their economies toward slaves and ivory this prevented them from developing as European economies had done. 

The slave trade caused great social and political changes in primarily West Africa. Europeans started fighting over having a monopoly of African trade, even Scandinavia took part in this. This would pave the way for future European domination of Africa. The Portuguese region of the Kingdom of Kongo, Angola, became so linked to Brazil that three governors of Angola came from Brazil. Elsewhere the Atlantic trade created a crisis in some states and prosperity for others. Kings, such as in Asante, emerged who were able to secure tribute from other societies in the form of slaves developed an African feudalism. In some states a 'merchant class' emerged which challenged the traditional aristocracy. However we cannot understate the demographic loss in West Africa. Rodney highlights this in his landmark work but looking at the figures itself shows this as well. Between 1450 and 1900 over 11 million people were shipped across the Atlantic, (half between 1701 and 1800), and this does not include those taken in the Indian Ocean and Arab slave trade. This figure is derived from Du Bois' data but it is in fact inaccurate. The number is actually higher. Du Bois only counted those who arrived in the Americas; between 20-25% died on the voyage. Africa's population rose in spite of the slave trade but this was insignificant compared to European and Asian population increases.

Slave Ships

A Slave Ship

The slave ships are famous and for good reason. As mentioned above up to a quarter of slaves died on the voyage, called the 'middle passage'. The Portuguese accurately called them 'floating tombs'. On average one ship could carry 400 people but the largest could carry 600. In regards to the Portuguese empire the voyage could last up to 120 days from Luanda/Benguela to Brazil. With four square foot per person conditions were terrible with disease spreading rapidly. A big part of slavery was treating the enslaved as being non-human and slaves on the ships were treated less than human. In fact many did not see slaves as being human. Incidentally the game limbo is thought to have originated in these conditions and is shown in Edward Kamau Brathwaite's excellent poem Limbo. Many of the later abolitionists started their activism protesting the slave trade. However, this letter from Jose de Silva Lisboa to Dr. Domingos Vandelli in 1781 shows the attitude concerning the ships

If only a few die in the middle passage, one's profit is certain; if many perish, the investor is lost, as he is then required to pay for the exorbitant risk he took upon himself.

The concern was not conditions but instead profit.

The Slave State

A slave family on a Southern US cotton farm in the 1860s

Slavery differed across the Americas. They do have the same themes of intense repression, hard work and racism. In Brazil with humid weather, intense sun, and aggressive masters mortality for a slave was very high with the average age being 23. Hence, this is why slavery, and the slave trade, lasted until the 1880s/1890s in Brazil. Conditions were better in the British Caribbean but just barely. Sometimes unruly slaves in British North America were sent to the Caribbean. Slaves could hold many different jobs depending on their master ranging from nannies to sailors but generally they went onto plantations. In the Caribbean this was mainly sugar, Brazil coffee and tobacco, and the Southern US tobacco and cotton. If you notice all of these products are luxury goods. In the colonies the slave trade created a 'planter class' which would in many areas inherit leadership when the European powers left. All the Founding Fathers happened to be slave owners. Many in Europe got very wealthy through slavery. The Bertram family in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park famously were wealthy through their plantation in Antigua. Glasgow and Liverpool became wealthy centers, and later key industrial regions, through slavery. Slaves were bought at auction tearing up any families which had not already been torn apart and many would later be marked like they were cattle. 

Early racism started to creep in. The Spanish and Portuguese empires created distinctions, (as seen last time), for people who were white, African, Native American, Native American-African, and white-African. Laws were passed forbidding 'mixing' of races. Virginia in 1670 forbade Native Americans and Africans from owning Christian slaves and in 1691 made it illegal for Native American, African or mixed race men from marrying white women. In Brazil escaped slaves formed communities called quilombos and some ignored racial prejudice by later accepting religious dissenters and Native Americans. However, in Mexico Native Americans did encourage the enslavement of Africans over Native Americans based on racial stereotypes that Africans were stronger. It is important to note that enslavement of Native Americans and indentured servitude did continue in many areas even after African slavery was widespread. Bacon's Rebellion of many indentured servants in Virginia in 1676 happened as the number of slaves in the colony was sharply rising. Also sexual abuse was prevalent in slave society. Particularly young women were sexually abused by their masters and what is even more traumatic is how they had no chance to help themselves. Unlike many West African societies the slave society was patriarchal. Being an African woman made slavery even worse.

There was a demographic shift in the Americas thanks to slavery. It is important to note how the states with the highest African-American population prior to the Second World War were in former slave states. Brazil thanks to the quilombos today has a large black population and many Caribbean islands, such as Jamaica and Barbados, have a large Afro-Caribbean population thanks to slavery. Several religions were born through the African diaspora. Haitian vodou was born through the combination of Taino, French Catholic, Yoruba, Fon, Ewe and Kongo religious beliefs. Centuries later Rastafarianism emerged in the Caribbean creating a link between Africa and the Caribbean, (Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie was seen as a prophet).   

Conclusion

The Atlantic Slave Trade is one of the darkest parts of human history alongside the Holocaust and Wars of Religion. It destroyed families, devastated cultures, caused untold suffering and it was all done in the name of profit. The Atlantic trade saw the beginning of Europe's exploitation of Africa, racism which would plague millions for centuries and laid the seeds for the capitalist world order. Although chattel slavery may be long gone slavery is unfortunately with us. Forced labor in sweatshops, child soldiers in Joseph Kony's army, sex slaves from impoverished regions in wealthy countries, and the enslavement of black Africans in Libya reminds us that yesterday's horrors are still with us. Even more unfortunately the legacy of the Atlantic Slave Trade still affects societies across the world. Next time on World History we shall look at the weather instead of events or trends with the Little Ice Age.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-Virginia laws, 1643-1691

-Philip D. Morgan, 'Origins of American Slavery', OAH Magazine of History, 19:4, 2005, pp.51-56

-Give me Liberty! An American History, Fourth Edition by Eric Foner

-Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa, Second Edition by Paul E. Lovejoy

-A History of Africa by J.D. Fage and William Tordoff

-The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870 by Hugh Thomas

-Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade, 1730-1830 by Joseph C. Miller

-The Penguin History of Latin America by Edwin Williamson
-How Europe Undeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

Thank you for reading. For other World History posts please see here. For other posts and other tidbits please see our Facebook page or follow me on Twitter @LewisTwiby

Comics Explained: Hellboy

Hellboy

Hellboy is perhaps one of the most underrated comic book characters of all time. A big part of this is because he is not from the two big comic books companies, (DC and Marvel), but instead from Dark Horse. From the mind of Mark Mignola Hellboy is a well-meaning, half-demon brought to Earth to destroy reality but is instead the world's greatest paranormal detective. Blending Lovecraftian ideas, pulp fiction, horror and folklore Hellboy is a thrilling read. He has made several appearances outside of print, most famously in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy and Hellboy 2. Recently he has been announced as a downloadable character for the DC fighting game Injustice 2 and in 2019 there will be a reboot which just this week, (as of writing), the new actor playing Hellboy was revealed in costume.

The new Hellboy

There have been many Hellboy stories so we're mainly going over the main ones. First, let's look at his real world origins.

Real World Origins

The first appearance

Hellboy first appeared in a convention program book in 1991 as a huge hulking monster which Mike Mignola added the name 'Hellboy' last minute. The name made him laugh and became the name of the character. Two years later a version of Hellboy resembling the form which we know now appeared on the cover of Italian comic Dime Press #4. Later Mignola wanted to make Hellboy into a comic and he started to resemble his present incarnation more. He originally wanted Hellboy to be in a team and the concept art shows several members of this team resembling future Hellboy characters. Their team logo was the same as the logo for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) which Hellboy is a key agent for. This team idea was abandoned when Mignola couldn't think of a good name to fit them. Then in August 1993 Hellboy got his own comic story in San Diego Comics Con Comics #2. 

Hellboy's First Story

Mignola was less interested in the plot and it is wild, paranormal, and sets up the future of the Hellboy comics. Hellboy goes to a town where all the inhabitants have suddenly vanished. The only thing that is there is a 'mangy little mutt' which turns out to be the Egyptian god Anubis. In a few panels Hellboy defeats the dog/god by slamming a gas station sign into Anubis' shoulder who then falls onto a gas pump which then explodes. 

Birth of the Demon

Hellboy's father

Hellboy's early origins were explained in The Chained Coffin. We have to go all the way back to 1617. Hellboy's mother was a witch in East Bromwich, England called Sarah Hughes. Sarah was married to a Hell lord named Azzael, (pictured above), but on her deathbed wished to repent. To repent this required her children to chain her to a coffin in the church of East Bromwich and keep her protected from Azzael for three nights. Naturally Azzael being a Hell lord he easily slaughtered Sarah's children on the first night, dragged her to Hell and told her that she was carrying 'a son, my favorite son'. Sarah was burnt in the fires of Hell and thanks to this Hellboy was born. He was given the name Anung Un Rama and his father cut off his right hand to replace it with the Right Hand of Doom. The Right Hand of Doom was a relic of the Ogdru Jahad, (which we'll discuss soon). As Azzael had done this the other Hell lords punished him by stripping him of his powers and then freezing him in ice. Those who have read Dante's Divine Comedy will recognize that Lucifer had the same thing done to him.

Ogdru Jahad

The Ogdru Jahad

The Ogdru Jahad perfectly shows the creativity of the Hellboy universe with it blending Christian myths with Lovecraftian themes. At the start of creation God created several great spirits and one named Anum stole some of God's power to create the Ogdru Jahad. Darkness had helped waken the Ogdru Jahad so they set out to destroy reality by creating the 369 Ogdru Hem. A war broke out between the Ogdru Hem and the spirits with the spirits winning. The Ogdru Jahad were sealed away and the spirits destroyed Anum, except for his right hand. Anum's right hand, renamed the 'Right Hand of Doom', is the only thing that can now reawaken the Ogdru Jahad. In punishment for allowing the Ogdru Jahad to be created God cast the spirits to either the pit or Earth. Those on Earth were granted physical forms and became the first people to inhabit the planet, called Hyperboreans. The Ogdru Hem barely survived through the eons and cults emerged serving the Ogdru Jahad which caused the decline of the Hyperboreans. When the Hyperboreans collapsed during the Ice Age their legacy continued through humanity, and with it the cults of the Ogdru Jahad.

Hellboy on Earth

Hellboy first arriving on Earth

Hellboy's arrival on Earth was first shown in Seed of Destruction. When Russian mystic and monk Grigori Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 he was revived by the Ogdru Jahad to act as their agent on Earth. When Hitler came to power he was contacted by the Nazis and started working for them. It is common knowledge that Hitler was fascinated by the paranormal so he wanted Rasputin to use supernatural forces to defeat the Allies. Rasputin agreed but his intention was never to fight the Allies. Instead his goal was to use the resources of the Nazis to trigger the Apocalypse by summoning the Ogdru Jahad. On December 23, 1944 Rasputin and a group of Nazi commandos arrived on a Scottish island to summon Amun's Right Hand in Project Ragna Rok. However, Britain's leading psychic Lady Cynthia Eden-Jones detected Rasputin's actions someday's prior. With a group of American commandos, Professor Malcolm Frost, paranormal expert Trevor Bruttenholm, and the Hellboy universe's version of Captain America Torch of Liberty went instead to the church of East Bromwich. Rasputin summoning went wrong and instead of being summoned to Scotland Anung Un Rama was summoned to East Bromwich. The soldiers nicknamed the summoned demon 'Hellboy' and the name stuck. Trevor Bruttenholm adopted Hellboy and raised him. 

Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense

The BPRD logo

After adopting Hellboy Trevor Bruttenholm had the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) formed. Unlike the movies in the world of Hellboy people are fully aware of the paranormal. The BPRD as a result is funded by several countries, mainly the USA and UK, and keeps good contacts with most governments and institutions, (China and the CIA being exceptions). Thanks to his membership of the BPRD in 1952 the United Nations granted him the status of 'honorary human'. Hellboy isn't the only 'enhanced' being to be a member of the BPRD. Other members have included a firestarter called Liz Sherman (changed to Hellboy's love interest for the movies), Ben Daimio a 'werejaguar', Roger the Homunculus, and an ectoplasmic spirit called Johann Kraus. My personal favorite is Abe Sapien. The best way to describe Abe is that he is a Gill-Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon. Abe was discovered sealed in a tube of water in Washington D.C. in 1978 and, was named 'Abe' as the paper attached to the tube was the same date as Lincoln's assassination and 'Sapien' as the tube read 'Ichtyo sapien'. 

I would highly recommend reading the Hellboy comics. I've avoided talking about the storylines as they are best read first hand with no spoilers. I hope you have enjoyed this post. For future posts please see our Facebook or get me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.

World History: Colonialism

A depiction of Columbus

In 1492 Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. Hardly two years later on June 7 1494 Pope Alexander VI divided this 'New World' along a line 370 leagues west of the Portuguese held Cape Verde islands with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Portugal would hold everything east of this line while Castille-Aragon (Spain) would hold everything to the west. Although the rest of Europe would ignore this treaty it would nevertheless begin around six centuries of European domination and exploitation of the rest of the world. We touched briefly on colonialism when we looked at the Age of Exploration as well as the empires of the Aztec and the Inca. This post will look mainly at the empires of Spain and Portugal but we shall also look at the French, English/British and the Dutch. As a side note slavery will be touched on briefly in this post as I plan to look more closely at slavery in the next World History post. First we shall look at the origins of the European empires.

The Start of Empire

Henry the Navigator

Those who read the post on the Age of Discovery will know that European conquest of the non-European world started long before Columbus. As early as 1415 a Portuguese prince nicknamed Henry the Navigator would capture Ceuta in Morocco and would fund over fifty voyages as well as cartographers, mathematicians and astronomers in order to map the non-European world. Henry and many other Portuguese/Spanish nobles became obsessed with finding the mythical kingdom of Prester John, (and gold). Prester John was a mythical Christian ruler and the rulers of Aragon, Castille and Portugal hoped to find this kingdom and recruit it into a crusade against non-Christians. It is important to remember that the Muslim Emirate of Granada was not conquered by Christian Spanish forces until 1492 so the crusading spirit lasted much longer in the Iberian peninsula compared to the rest of Europe. Both Portugal and Spain had created colonies in the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Sao Tome. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded what is now referred to as the Cape of Good Hope. In 1453 the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople so European powers did not wish to access, or could not access, the lucrative spice market via a Muslim power. As a result the Spanish throne somewhat reluctantly sponsored Columbus' voyage to find an alternate route to the Indies. Instead he arrived in the Americas. Edmundo O'Gorman wrote that when Columbus arrived there was an 'invention of America'. Columbus had expected cannibals, Amazons, and mountains of gold but was repeatedly told by the people he encountered that there were none and if there were they would be on the next island. Many of the sources which we have of the European-American interactions were shaped by European preconceptions. Edward Said's Orientalist theory fits very well here. Said wrote that Europeans arrived in the colonized regions with their own ideas of what culture/civilization was and because it clashed with the local culture they in turn saw it as 'backward' or 'decadent'. 

In Columbus' first letters which were widely distributed upon his return in 1493 we clearly see this. In reference to possibly the Arawak people he wrote: 'They are naturally timid and fearful. As soon as they see they are safe, however, they are very simple and honest, and exceedingly liberal with all they have...' Here we see Columbus portray them as almost childlike in their actions. He goes on to write: 'I did not find, as some of had expected, any cannibals among them...' showing that he still had his preconceptions about the people. In his diary we see the horrific side of what would come in European colonialism. He wrote: 'These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished' and '[that upon his arrival the indigenous people cried] with a loud voice to the other Indians "Come, come and look upon beings of a celestial race"'. Here we see that Columbus clearly wished to conquer and enslave the local peoples, (which he did, by the end of the decade he sold over 1,400 to Spanish slave markets), as well as viewing himself as being superior. This would be a common theme in not only the Spanish empire but also that of Portugal, Britain, the Dutch and French.

The Great Dying

A Depiction of the Great Dying

The Great Dying is a term coined by historians to describe the genocide of Native Americans. When Europeans arrived in the Americas they not only brought with them weapons, animals, and vegetables but also diseases. As we saw when we looked at the Aztecs and Inca these empires were devastated by epidemics which allowed Spanish conquest under Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro to happen far more easily. When Columbus arrived on Santo Domingo, (Espanola), in 1492 there was around a million inhabitants but by the end of the 1520s when the conquistadors were conquering the mainland hardly any were left. Principally measles and smallpox, whom the Native Americans had virtually no immunity against, complicated by respiratory ailments devastated populations. Fourteen major epidemics in Mesoamerica and seventeen in the Andes wiped out whole populations between 1520 and 1600. In Mesoamerica local outbreaks of malaria, possibly introduced by Italian soldiers and Spanish merchants, added to this. It has been estimated that between 50% to 90% of the Native American population was wiped out. The later European states like France and the Netherlands also contributed to this in North America. This is especially prominent prior to and during the American Revolution. During Pontiac's Uprising in the early 1760s the British General Jeffrey Amherst even resorted to handing out blankets from smallpox hospitals to negotiating chiefs. Although this was rare it did happen. Although disease was not only part of the Great Dying. 

The European empires enslaved thousands of Native Americans. Although both the Spanish and Portuguese empires made the enslavement of Native Americans illegal, King Sebastiao of Portugal made it illegal in 1570 except for those taken during war, many thousands were enslaved before then. In what is now Nicaragua between 1500 and 1550 an estimated 200,000 were taken by slave raiders and by the 1560s there were 40,000 were slave labors in north Brazil. Conditions for slaves were awful with many thousands dying in mines looking for gold, silver and mercury. As early as 1515 this was criticized by Bartolome de las Casas. In Protestant countries this gave rise to the 'Black Legend' which then was used to justify their colonialism. In the English, and later British, colonies Native Americans were taken from North America and taken to the Caribbean where they were forced to work on sugar plantations. Brutal conditions, disease, and the climate created an extremely high mortality rate. For the Native Americans regardless of whether the conqueror was Catholic or Protestant colonialism only brought destruction.

Columbian Exchange

Some of what was exchanged

The Columbian Exchange is a term used to describe the movement of plants, animals and diseases from the Americas to Europe, Asia and Africa, and vice versa. As we mentioned above many diseases like measles, smallpox and influenza was spread from the 'Old World' to the 'New World'. It was believed that syphilis originated in the Americas but was spread to Europe via Columbus, (who had syphilis himself), although this is now disputed. Alfred Crosby has presented evidence suggesting that there is little evidence of syphilis before 1492 in the Americas, but equally he presents evidence that cultures across Europe, North Africa and Asia saw it as something new. Italians called it the French disease, the French the Naples disease, English the French, Spanish or Bordeaux disease, Russians the Polish disease, Poles the German disease, Indians the Frankish disease, Middle Easterners the European pustules, Chinese the ulcer of Canton, and Japan the Tang sore. With the exception of llamas in the Andes all large mammals that were able to be domesticated in the Americas had gone extinct during the last Ice Age so Europeans introducing cattle, pigs, sheep etc. changed the American landscape. North American Plains Native Americans domesticated horses from Europe and they became integral to their culture. Although it took generations for the landscape to be shaped by Europeans to let European livestock to live. English colonizers initially complained that they couldn't eat beef as the cows couldn't survive so they had to eat lobster instead. Plants were a key part of the exchange. Bananas, coffee and sugar were taken from Africa and became integral crops in the American economy, (especially sugar in the Caribbean and coffee in Brazil). Likewise potatoes, corn and tomatoes were introduced to Europe. Potatoes soon became a staple crop in the diet of many peoples, the Irish being possibly the most famous one. Cocoa and tobacco were also introduced with tobacco becoming so widespread that King James VI and I of Scotland and England even banned it. Even words were spread. In Brazil the colonizers adopted the local hammock with one arrival saying: 'Would you believe that a man could sleep suspended in a net in the air like a bunch of hanging grapes?...I tried it and I will never again be able to sleep in a bed...' Tobacco, tapioca and manioc are just some of the words whose origins were in the Americas.

This is also a good time to talk about silver. Particularly the Spanish crown were eager to see the profits from silver mines in South America. 80% of the world's silver was produced during the three centuries of Spanish rule in the Americas and two-thirds of it went to Europe via Spain. Soon the Spanish currency became the most powerful currency in perhaps the world, (as the British pound was during the 1800s or the American dollar after 1945). Thanks to American silver Spain managed to fund, or directly fight, wars across Europe. Of course this also made Spanish galleons perfect for raiding by English, Dutch and even at times French licensed pirates, like Sir Francis Drake. Unfortunately for the Spanish such an influx in silver caused skyrocketing inflation and fighting so many wars proved to be a drain on the Spanish treasury. This allowed France, England and the Netherlands to also rise as regional or colonial powers.

Colonial Society in the Americas

The Spanish Colonial System

Society varied over geography, colony and time so we can't talk about every system. In Peru the Spanish Empire continued the old mitmaq system of the Inka having the indigenous peoples upkeep roads, buildings and mines, often through force. In the Spanish Empire the encomienda system was established for the conquerors; Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of the Aztec Empire, had one of the largest encomiendas. The Native Americans, and later Filipinos, in an encomienda were considered vassals of the encomendaro, i.e. slaves. It was this system which Bartolomé de las Casas heavily criticized. When the genocide of Native Americans had devastated the population the encomienda was replaced by the haciendas which were smaller scale ranches and mines. Like Spain, and the Inkan/Mesoamerican empires, the colonies were incredibly hierarchical. At the top were the peninsulares, reinois in Brazil, who were from the mainland of which the highest ranking were the viceroys. Below them were creoles who were Europeans born in the Americas. Below them were the mestizos and mulattos who were descended from the marriage, or rape, of Europeans with Native Americans or slaves. At the bottom were slaves from Africa or Native Americans. As generations passed this system became more complex until there were over thirty different distinctions made by the Spanish. In the colonies slavery was widespread, (which we'll talk about next time), and there were many in Brazil. From the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century 3.5 million slaves were taken from across Africa. In Brazil escapee slaves formed small communities called quilombos, often with Native Americans, which later offered refuge to religious minorities and political dissenters.

The British colonial system in North America differed from this but at the same time was very similar. In the Caribbean it was very similar to Latin America. This is also a perfect time to talk about religion. Colonialism coincided with the Reformation and colonizers brought their religious conviction to the colonies. The English colonies in New England were formed through religious dissenters, often called Puritans but the ones to arrive at Plymouth were Pilgrims, and Massachusetts had a population of 21,000 by 1642. Here there was greater tolerance to the Native Americans as they showed the colonizers how to farm the land. However, as the population expanded this alliance soon came to resemble the Black Legend of their Iberian counterparts. In many areas of the English colonies, especially in Carolina, a social hierarchy was established. Rich colonizers could sponsor poor English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish in something called indentured servitude, (something later replicated in British India). It was expensive to buy African slaves and Native American slaves could easily escape so they resorted to enslaving poor Irish and Brits under the illusion that it was freeing them. For five years an indentured person would be the owner's slave in everything but name. If they got pregnant or married more years were added to their contract. Thanks to poor conditions many died before their contract ended. Only when conditions improved and more lived than died did slavery come into full force in British North America.

Europe and Africa

A Crucifix from the Kongo

European-African relations were far less one sided compared to European-American relations. Most of the relations in this section of the world has been dominated by the slave trade so we shall discuss that more in the next World History post. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria, which Europeans had little resistance to, limited Portuguese presence as well as the strength of the coastal African kingdoms. When the Spanish arrived in Mesoamerica and the Andes the Aztec and Inka were facing major domestic disturbances. For years Iberia had been enraptured by Africa. The wealth of Mali and the existence of one of the oldest Christian kingdoms with Ethiopia convinced many, including Henry the Navigator, wanted gold and the kingdom of Prester John. Instead of conquest trade happened. Benin, Oyo and Kongo would trade gold, ivory, sugar and slaves in return for wool, silk, tools and weapons. The sugar trade, made profitable by slavery, allowed the Caribbean islands to become very lucrative. Today Cuba is still famed for its sugar. In the Kingdom of the Kongo we see a unique amalgamation of Africa and Europe. Prosperous through both trade with Portugal and an internal African trade Kongo was a very powerful state. Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries hoped to make this kingdom Christian. The manikongo, (king), Nzinga Nkuwu accepted the missionaries hoping that this would open more doors for trade with Europe. He converted to Christianity adopting the name Jaoa, and his son adopted the name Afonso. Here African and Christian cultures combined forming an entirely new culture; something fairly easy as many Christian ideas were already present in the local culture. 

Asia- Similarities and Differences

Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi

In Asia the European empires differed greatly in their approach. In specific we shall look at China and Japan, and then India. China under the Ming held considerable sway in East Asia with merchants settling in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, although there was also an illegal trade with Japan as well. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in China and Japan, (1520s and 1540s), and the relationship was based on trade. Later the Spanish formed the city of Manila in 1571. Silver from South America, around a third of all silver, went to East Asia. In 1597 307 tons of silver passed through Manila to China and Japan. The Ming changed their tax system and currency in the late sixteenth-century. Instead of being taxed with goods people were taxed via currency which went from paper to silver coins. Silver from Japan and the Americas became very much in demand in China. Initially, like in India, Europeans remained very respectful of China and Japan. China viewed itself as the center of the world so European homage remained part of their world view. As the picture above shows Matteo Ricci adopted Chinese clothing and Europeans did the same in Japan as well. Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga was in particular eager to get hold of firearms. Christianity spread as both states tolerated missionaries. The worship of Christ became one of many religions and philosophies to exist within the Chinese empire alongside Confucianism, Islam, Taoism and Buddhism. However, things changed. Like in Spain the influx in silver caused issues for both China and Japan. Inflation added to the Ming's many issues and helped their collapse. Meanwhile, missionaries, particularly Jesuit missionaries, in Japan were seen as taking too many liberties with their growing influence. The rising power of Christianity and the addition of inflation caused Japan in the early 1600s to isolate itself from Europe excluding the new colonial power of the Netherlands who had access to Japan via Nagasaki.

India was different. Vasco da Gama had arrived in Calicut in 1488 to bring Portuguese influence to the Indian Ocean. Just over twenty years later in 1510 they captured Goa. Here Portugal formed factories. These were not like modern factories; instead they were trading posts to tap into the lucrative spice trade from the Indies. Here there was a cultural clash. Largely Indian states believed that their sovereignty stopped at the coast, something very different to European views, and piracy often was seen less negatively. Seasonal fishermen would turn pirate, raid coastal towns or ships, and then return home, (giving some of the profit to the local temple). When the Portuguese moved in they introduced the cartaz or licence. This meant one required a licence to trade or engage in piracy. This allowed Portugal to hold a trade monopoly as one had to pay for a cartaz which many Indians couldn't afford. Later the Dutch East India Company, Vereenigte Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), moved in. The VOC was a private company designed to profit from the spice trade through direct political power and to do that they waged war against Portugal and local rulers. This more direct action meant that no profits could be made. All profit was spent on war and defending themselves, and when the VOC finally got a monopoly on the spice trade the appeal of spices soon dissipated. England too tried to muscle into South Asia. While the Portuguese came as religious crusaders and the VOC in search of political power the English East Indian Company just wanted profit. Establishing themselves at Surat and Madras they traded at the bequest of the Mughal emperors. As England became more powerful, and local rulers made alliances with the Mughals, they used this to slowly extend their own political power. Over years this allowed direct English control over India.

Conclusion

Colonialism is one of the darkest parts of world history. Driven by greed and religious zealotry many hundreds of thousands to millions were killed or enslaved. This post has not even touched one of the darkest parts of colonialism, that of slavery. Colonialism would later shape the world that we live in today. It brought Christianity to central Africa via Kongo, caused the demographic makeup of Latin America to be changed, brought plants to Europe which would shape the region, and allowed empires to rise and fall. The position of the viceroyalties in Latin America even shaped what countries would form in the region centuries later. Next time we will look at a major side of colonialism: the Atlantic Slave Trade.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez, 'Born with a "Silver Spoon": The Origin of World Trade in 1571', Journal of World History, 6/2

-Europe and the People Without History by Eric R. Wolf

-Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 by Merry Wiesner-Hanks

-Give Me Liberty! An American History by Eric Foner

-The Columbian Exchange by Alfred Crosby

-A History of Brazil by E. Bradford Burns

-Spain in America by Charles Gibson

-J.D. Fage, 'Upper and Lower Guinea' in The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 3, c.1050-c.1600 edited by Roland Oliver

-A History of Colonial Brazil by Bailey W. Diffle

-Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal edited by Jack P. Greene and Philip D. Morgan

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. For other World History posts please see here. For other blog posts we have a Facebook page or see me on Twitter @LewisTwiby. 

The Future of Game of Thrones

The above, (probably), fan video was released a few days ago it has had me wondering what the future holds for those living in Westeros and Essos when the War of the Five Kings has ended and the Night's King has been vanquished. I found this idea so compelling that I just had to talk about my thoughts about what Planetos (as Reddit has dubbed the world from A Song of Ice and Fire) would be like in a world not too dissimilar to the modern world. Luckily for us George R.R. Martin is a history fan so we can guess a few things through our own history. We do have a bit of a predicament though. Other than neither being finished as of writing the books and show share several plot points and ending but they diverge in several other key areas. Hence this post will merge the two together. However, be warned: this contains spoilers! Let's now look at Planetos in the aftermath of the War of the Five Kings and the Night's King being defeated.

Immediate Aftermath

The Wall where the Dead shall Fight

Mixing the show, the books and my own theories together Aegon Targaryen will be defeated by either Westerosi defenders or Daenerys, after ousting the Boltons Jon Snow becomes King in the North  and later Daenerys' consort, the living form a truce, defeat the Night's King, and Jamie kills Cersei as he tries to destroy King's Landing to prevent it falling into Targaryen hands. When the dust has settled Jon (Aegon) and Daenerys rule on the Iron Throne but over a fractured Seven Kingdoms. Under the leadership of Asha (Yara) Greyjoy a new Kingdom of the Iron Isles emerges, Dorne regains its independence under Arianne Martell and the North has considerable autonomy (if not full independence) under Sansa Stark. The remaining kingdoms under the sway of the Iron Throne, (with the exception of the Vale), would be impoverished through years of murder, war and winter. With Jon and Daenerys ruling the smallfolk would be better taken care of; Jon's treatment of the Free Folk and Dany's emancipation of the slaves in Slaver's Bay is evidence of this. Unlike their ancestor of Aegon V whose attempts to aid the smallfolk resulted in opposition from the lords they should have an easier time helping the smallfolk. Winning a major war would have enforced their rule over the higborn and the war wiped out many major houses. The Tullys, Freys, Tarlys, Tyrells, and Arryns (Sweetrobin's health means he is not long for the world), are just some of the notable houses to be eradicated. This relief program would also be organized by the Hand. I would imagine that Jon and Dany would hold equal sway possibly leading to two Hands, (possibly Tyrion and Davos). 

What of the Dothraki which Dany brought with her to Westeros? I can imagine them diverging into two paths. The first become Westerosized abandoning pillaging and nomadism in favor of permanent lands. The others instead remaining loyal to their queen but not abandoning the Dothraki way; that is until Dany's death. With Dany dead the nomadic Dothraki would revert to their original ways forcing Jon, (and possibly Dany's child), and the non-nomadic Dothraki to be forced to wipe the nomadic ones out, or force them to submit. In the most recent season Tyrion hinted at the possibility of a democracy in Westeros. Unlike today's democracies I would imagine it being like Simon de Montford's parliament, (judging by Martin's interest in English/British history this could be something likely). Instead of everyone voting lords, landed knights and important maesters would sit in the King's Landing parliament. This would not be the first parliament in Westerosi history: in 101 the Great Council was called. This permanent Great Council would be established first in Harrenhal until a new building could be constructed in King's Landing. The monarchy would hold the most power though. Finally, the Free Folk would settle in parts of the North for their role in the war but they would face intense discrimination and would often rebel as they refused to kneel for Winterfell. Under Sansa's and Jon's rule, (as well as the rule of their children), I would imagine that there would be peace between Free Folk and kneelers. 

Slaver's Bay may resort to warfare and autocracy once more. I cannot imagine Daario being a benevolent ruler and as soon as the Harpy's rear their ugly heads again those heads would role. A cult of personality could even surround Daario as he wages continuous wars against recalcitrant Ghiscari cities trying to reimpose slavery. With delusions of grandeur he may even declare himself emperor of the New Ghiscari Empire. The freed slaves, meanwhile, would continue honoring Daenerys as 'Mhysa' and in turn honor Daario as her anointed successor. 

Westerosi Colonization of Planetos

One thing we have yet to mention is magic. Alchemists and maesters mention in the books how certain arts seemed stronger suddenly; the reader knows this to be the work of magic returning. With dragons flying over Westeros' skies and the dead walking the maesters would take more notice of magic. Originally the maesters had even conspired to kill the dragons as they believed magic to be obsolete/backwards under the new Targaryens, and in the light of new events, they would have to accept magic. With that we may see a 'Scientific Revolution' in Westeros and, in my opinion, the absence of magic may have caused the stunting of technological development. After a few generations gunpowder may be discovered and an explorer from the Iron Islands or Oldtown may travel west to find a new route to Qarth and Asshai...and discover a new continent. So far we only know of three continents on Planetos: Westeros, Essos and Sothoryos. Even then we know of northern Sothoryos, and another place named Ulthos could be a fourth continent. Whoever travels west I would imagine discovering a new continent with analogues to the Native American societies which existed before European colonialism and genocide. With the advent of the compass other explorers would travel and map Sothoryos. Then the exploitation of the new regions would begin.

Westerosi would colonize the new continent and take over areas of Sothoryos along the coast. We may even see a version of the Atlantic Slave trade emerge. Due to Daenerys waging a war against slavery Westerosi in the future would likely create a coded language to justify their enslavement of the new continent and Sothoyosi. After Britain abolished slavery 'indentured servitude' was introduced which was slavery by another name. Meanwhile, Westeros would start to conquer areas of Essos, namely the Dothraki Sea and Slaver's Bay. Quite possibly the Free Folk living in Westeros could be forced into indenture as were the poor of the British Isles in the seventeenth-century as Andals push them off of their land. Trading colonies would start which would later need protecting, (in the Dothraki Sea we would see farmers), and Westerosi trading companies would start establishing formal rule over areas. The Summer Isles may even be directly conquered. 

Then the Industrial Revolution would come. The Westerlands are noted for their mining while the Iron Islands for their iron so I would imagine these two could be a center for industrial beginnings. The North is partially based off of northern England, (where I am from), and Scotland which were areas of Britain's industry; the North could also be a center of industry. Thanks to that research into disease could allow Westerosi advancement into Sothoryos as treatment for yellow fever and other diseases allowed European advancement into Africa. If one reads The World of Ice and Fire you get the image that outside Westeros the world is strange, mystical, one-dimensional and mysterious. This is likely intentional. Edward Said wrote Orientalism in 1978 which explains this. Europeans went to colonized regions, (he was writing solely about the Middle East but it can be applied to anywhere where Europeans exploited), applying their own ideas of culture and decided that it was 'backward' or 'uncivilized' as it differed to their view. (This explanation is of course simplified). The novels are from a Westerosi point of view and World is supposed to be written by a Westerosi maester: Martin has cleverly implemented this in his worldbuilding. As Westeros expands out Orientalist texts go from purely mystical to more informed and more insulting to the conquered peoples of Planetos.

Present Day Planetos

From the trailer

Here we come to the trailer which started the post. Let's start off with the rest of the world. In the regions conquered by Westeros like in our world the retreat from empire would leave artificial states in Essos, Sothoryos etc. Slaver's Bay would see only one state as the old city states would be put into one state called Ghis. Areas conquered around the Free Cities would be put into a new state named Valyria. Several modern states are named after pre-colonial states, like Mali, so it would not be unusual to see a Ghis or North and South Valyria. As stated earlier we only have a Westerosi point of view so we know very little outside of Westeros so this part shall be short. What we can guess though is that Sothoryos and beyond the Grey Waste the states would be a mismatch of different groups. One thing from the trailer is Braavos having many wind turbines: whoever thought of that is a genius. Braavos is very much like Venice, rich in trade but not in resources, so it would make sense for Braavos to be a pioneer in green energy.

Then we come to Westeros. I can imagine Westeros being largely made of four states: the North, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and the Dragon Kingdoms. Dorne and the Iron Islands would be republics compared to the others which would be constitutional monarchies. The Free folk in the North and Vale would still face intense discrimination and may even call for their own states. The treatment of the Irish by the British, Highlanders by Lowland Scots and English, and the Ainu in Japan would be the best parallel. These states would be united in a 'Westerosi Union' which Dorne might consider leaving in 'Dorxit'. Unlike the trailer I doubt we would have a prime minister in the Westerosi states. The term prime minister, in the sense we use today, was a pejorative used to lambaste Sir Robert Walpole and it evolved into the official position we know today. Instead 'Hand' would be used. The Dragon Kingdoms would be a federal system with the Crownlands, Westerlands, Reach, Riverlands and Vale having increased autonomy. Some, namely the Riverlands, may even have independence movements. Mentioned earlier were the Dothraki. I would imagine that modern Westerosi would have borrowed much from the Dothraki with many words being borrowed from them, as modern English contains many words from Danish. Thanks to the Night's King I would imagine that cremation would be the primary form of corpse disposal which becomes part of Westerosi culture. The places that we've come to love would be turned into historical sites: daily tours of Winterfell, battlefield tours of the Whispering Woods, and the Red Keep turned into a museum like the Hagia Sophia today. The Iron Throne behind a barricade for visitors to take photos and Drogon's skull occupying the entrance hall of the Westerosi Museum of Natural History. Which comes to the dragons...

The last dragons

By 1300 AC dragons would be exceedingly rare if not extinct. Unless if more dragon eggs could be found to be hatched with Targaryen children I believe that Dany's dragons could be the last. There could be new dragons discovered in Sothoryos or other continents but Valyrian dragons would be represented by only Dany's. Here comes in my theory. Dragons are like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park: they are CGI reptilian monsters and can change their sex in a same-sex environment. This allows more dragon eggs but also could lead to what happened to them originally; the dragons could grow small and deformed through incest. The last ones would be relegated to zoos or to the Targaryens, (if there are any left), if they aren't extinct. The giants I would imagine would be extinct. They were almost gone by the events of Song so I can't imagine them lasting too long after, (along with mammoths). Meanwhile, the Night's Watch would have gone through a shift. As the new millennia approached I can imagine them dropping the no-wife/lands/children policy into a more flexible system, which involves women serving. Across Westeros it'll remain more as a form of military service which negotiates with Freefolk across the Wall. The North instead would have a form a compulsory conscription where everyone would have to serve for up to five years. Although I can also imagine that the Wall and the lands beyond it would come into trouble as global warming starts melting the world around them. That is until a blue-eyed corpse is found...

Thank you for reading. What do you imagine a modern-day Planetos looking like? Do you agree with me or think I've got it entirely wrong? I would love to hear your ideas. For future blog posts we have a Facebook page or you can find me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.