Thank you, Linda, for this very cogent response.You should write for the NYTimes Book Review!
MaryAnn On Mon, Sep 14, 2015 at 8:23 PM, linda <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Lillian, > > > I'm sorry I wrote that Ashe "never visited the islands." That was a > knee-jerk reaction and probably wrong. > > > I should have said that Ashe is a very unreliable source. He was a fairly > prolific writer, and some of his books are easily available now through > google books and the internet archive. I've downloaded a few and skimmed > them a bit. They look like fairly typical examples of what was a popular > new literary genre in the late 17th and early 18th centuries: travel > writing. > > > From a modern perspective, interpreting the accuracy of these early travel > accounts has its own set of issues, but add on top of that, that Ashe was a > noted scoundrel. In his lifetime, he was notorious for penning scandalous > "memoirs" of living people and then blackmailing the subjects to keep the > books from being published. He was also accused of theft, of plagiarizing > much of his account of America, and of fabricating parts of his own > autobiography. His book on the Azores has to be considered in that light. > > > Taking into account Ashe's reputation and behaviour, the information > contained in Ashe's book might or might not be correct. He might have seen > something he describes with his own eyes, he might have copied the > description from another book, or he might have made it up entirely. > > > I have a copy of an article published in 1814 in *The Quarterly Review* > (author > not credited). It summarizes the state of knowlege about the Azores at the > time and then proceeds to review the book by "T.A." * History of the > Azores, or Western Islands*. The reviewer conjectured that the book was > partly compiled in a library, was partly made up, and was so badly written > in places that it might have been partialy written by a foreigner--though, > I'm not sure if this was meant to be a 19th century English insult or > if the reviewer was serious. > > > The reviewer states that he knows the places described by T.A., and he > points out several instances where the reality of the locations do not > correspond to the descriptions in the book. T.A. describes a monastery in > the valley of Furnas, it's gardens, and it's dozen or thirteen priests. > According to the reviewer, these "have no substantial existence". In > another instance, T.A. spends four pages in an "scurrilous invective" of a > religious institution at "Porto Fermosa." The reviewer states that " At the > little village of Formosa there neither is, nor ever was a convent, a > chapel, or a church." > > > Further, > > > "...[T.A.] goes to Santa Cruz in St. George's where no such place exists; > finds that wine is the staple produce of Fayal, which never exported a > single pipe [barrel] of its own growth; and swells the population of the > islands to half a million, which is about three times the actual > number...", > > > and finally, > > > "The manners and customs of the inhabitants of St. Michael's [as described > by T.A.] are so unlike the [actual] manners and customs of the Portugueze > [sic], that we shall not notice them. > > > Given Ashe's reputation, I can easily imagine that the review could have > been intended as a personal rebuke of the man himself. I haven't fact > checked either Ashe's book, or the statements in the review, so I can't > weigh the truth of either, but I'm inclined to believe the review to be the > more accurate piece. YMMV. > > > Have you read the Bullars' description of the Azores? It was written a bit > later, in about 1840, and is in my opinion a very good book. I think it's > mostly objective and always interesting, and I believe it provides an > accurate picture of life in the islands in the mid 19th century. If you > google "bullar azores" you should find links to the free downloads > available from google books and the internet archive.org. > > > > best wishes, > > > Linda > > p.s. please forgive the spelling errors-- spell check isn't working, and > though I can't see them, I'm sure they're there. > > On Monday, September 14, 2015 at 12:30:40 PM UTC-7, Lillian Palko wrote: > >> I googled Thomas Ashe and he was a scroundal of sorts, but for the life >> of me I believe he must have been on San Miguel based upon the detail of >> his writing.....especially describing the ports, plant life, volcanic >> activity etc. Is anyone else sort of a half believer for part of his work? >> >> On Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 10:27:41 AM UTC-7, Cheri Mello wrote: >>> >>> Lillian P found this old book about the Azores online: >>> http://purl.pt/17103/1/index.html#/6/html >>> >>> I didn't read the whole thing. Lillian said that the writer was >>> describing the islands for Britain for possible purchase or something. >>> >>> Beginning on image 292, is a chapter on Sao Miguel and some manners and >>> customs. This is written in the language of the early 1800s, so it's kinda >>> different. I don't understand what "veil" the writer is talking about. He >>> makes it sound as if all the women there are dressed like widows. In one >>> part, I wonder if he is describing the capote?? And what's all this stuff >>> about the woman only stay home or go to Mass? How in the world did they >>> ever get married? >>> >>> Can someone else shed more light on this? It does say that the writer >>> (British) is observing a woman (Spanish) who lives on Sao Miguel. So I'm >>> thinking his perception may not be that of the typical Azorean peasant. >>> >>> Cheri Mello >>> Listowner, Azores-Gen >>> Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das >>> Tainhas, Achada >>> >> -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the > right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my > membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. > -- *MaryAnn Santos* Senior Advisement and Student Affairs Administrator Department of Art and Art Professions NYU/Steinhardt 212.998.5702 [email protected] Follow us at *Twitter / @NYUart <https://twitter.com/NYUart>Instagram / @nyuart <http://instagram.com/nyuart>* *Facebook / NYU Art Department <https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYU-Art-Department/53833145389>* -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
