September 16, 2021 • 9 mins
Royalty has undoubtedly provided historians with a lot of work over the centuries. But it's also given us quick a lot of items to add to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. When cultures clash, the results can
be pretty alarming. A simple misunderstanding can result in a
bitter feud between two people, or even two countries, or
one culture's customs can become too much for another to bear.
(00:49):
Wars may be sparked, lives may be lost, and nations
may be overthrown. But for one king and queen, the
outcome of their miscommunication was a bit more uh complicated.
It started in the city of Calabar, Nigeria, during the
eighteen hundreds. The Ethic people who lived there had been
quite active in the Transatlantic slave trade of the seventeenth century.
(01:10):
They often acted as facilitators, capturing people from other communities
and selling them to the British. The Ethic also helped
load their kidnap neighbors onto the ships and provided travelers
with food if necessary. It wasn't uncommon for Ethic families
to have European captains teach their children English or the
ins and outs of the slave trade. For their efforts,
(01:31):
the Ethic were given many items from Europe which they enjoyed.
They began adopting various aspects of British culture, including their
clothing and Western sounding names, often as a way to
endear themselves to the foreigners. As missionaries moved throughout the
towns and villages, Christianity became a dominant religion among the
Ethic as well. In eighteen o eight, the trans Atlantic
(01:53):
slave trade officially came to an end, at least on paper.
A British law was enacted prohibiting the practice in many
Bish territories, yet it persisted in others, oftentimes illegally. And
sitting at the top of it all on the English
side was none other than Her Majesty herself, Queen Victoria.
She knew how important trade with Africa was, though she
(02:14):
had no intention of continuing slavery. She did, however, need
the other things Calabar could provide, such as palm oil, ivory,
and rubber to keep the lines of commerce open. Victoria
wrote directly to King Ayamba of Calabar, also known as
Obong of Calabar. She promised him and his people more gifts,
as well as protection in case someone found out about
(02:35):
their deal. Victoria oversaw the British Empire of the time.
It was an era of expansion and conquest, and so
the title Queen of England was nothing to sneeze at.
In factually signed all of her letters to King Ayamba
that way, Queen Victoria the Queen of England. But when
the King's interpreter read her letters aloud, he didn't quite
get her title right. Rather than announced her as the
(02:58):
Queen of England, he instead called her the Queen of
all white Men. To say the King was surprised would
have been an understatement. He believed that it wasn't right
for him to accept such incentives from a woman he
wasn't married too, so he told his scribe to write
back to her with a marriage proposal. Together they would
conquer the world. He signed it King Ayamba, the King
(03:20):
of all Black Men. That was sure to get her
attention well. She received his letter and wrote back, saying
as much she was happy, the king was still interested
in maintaining a business relationship with her. Along with her response,
Victoria also sent over some gifts for him, including a sword,
a royal cape, and a bible. Yet she never said
(03:41):
she would join him on the throne as his queen.
King Ayamba didn't care. He took the gifts as acceptance
of his proposal and had another throne placed beside his,
a seat fit for the Queen of England. Their correspondence
didn't stop after that either. She continued to send more
gifts while he made sure that her county tree got
the palm oil it deserved. And though the queen never
(04:03):
traveled to Calibar to become his wife, a tradition was
started to honor their relationship, a tradition that has continued
to this day today. When a new king is crowned there,
a second throne is placed next to his own, upon
which is placed a bible. The obong's wife, the one
he is actually married to, occupies a seat behind him.
(04:25):
A second coronation ceremony takes place in a Presbyterian church,
where the obong dones the English cape and crown before
sitting upon his throne, waiting for his queen to come
and take her rightful place beside him. Do you ever
(04:52):
feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to
get everything done. Our to do lists get longer, but
the days never seem to keep up. If anything, they're
getting shorter. If only there was some way to add
more time to the clock, to bend it to our wills. Well,
one man figured out how to do just that, and
it was easy to literally make time when you were
(05:13):
the King. Edward, the seventh eldest son of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert, was born at Buckingham Palace on November
nine of eighteen forty one. As a child, Edward was
raised in a way that would prepare him for his
assent to the throne later in life. There was a
strong focus on his education, thanks to his father, who
made sure Edward had the best tutors. Unfortunately, the young
(05:36):
prince didn't have a mind for school work. He did, however,
have a knack for socializing and schmoozing, which he did
while studying abroad when he got older. From the age
of eighteen, Edwards spent much of his time in Rome Edinburgh,
and in eighteen sixty he became the first Prince of
Wales to tour North America. His trip there was a
great success. He visited Niagara Falls and spent several days
(06:00):
at the White House with President James Buchanan. Buchanan then
escorted Edward to Mount Vernon, where both men visited Washington's
tomb to pay their respects. Two years later, after a
lengthy trip to the Middle East, Edward returned to England
and got engaged to Alexandra of Denmark. The couple was
married one year later. They spent most of their time
(06:20):
as newlyweds in London at a mansion known as the
Marlborough House, but when they wanted to get away, they
jettied off to Norfolk along the English coast, to a
twenty thousand acre estate called Sandringham. Edward had purchased Sandringham
for the princely sum of two hundred twenty thousand pounds.
The house underwent so many changes it was practically rebuilt
(06:41):
from the ground up. The main hall was torn down
and a newer, much larger hall was built in its place. However,
Edward often found the size lacking, and he had new
rooms and wings added over the years. Yet, despite his
displeasure with sandering Him's magnitude, it allowed him to indulge
in one of his greatest passions hu teen on his
(07:01):
travels to Nepal when he was younger. For example, he
would mount an elephant and ride into the jungles to
hunt tigers and rhinos. Back in Sandringham, the game was
less intense. Edward hunted mostly birds. His head keeper, Jackson,
was responsible for maintaining the grounds and knowing the hunting
schedule in order to provide his employer with optimal hunting conditions.
(07:24):
Jackson's job was to make sure that groundskeeping staff never
worked the land in the days leading up to a hunt,
so as to avoid upsetting the game. On the day
of the event, Edward would mount a brown cob or
strong short legged horse and traverse the terrain with red
and blue flags in his hand. He instructed his men,
called beaters, to corral the animals towards the route, directly
(07:47):
in the path of his rifle. Edward often hunted at
Sandringham during the late fall and winter months, but there
was just one problem with that. The sun didn't stay
out as long as he liked in the winter, which
meant that there was less to him to shoot. Of course,
he was Edward, the seventh King of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland and the British dominions. If
he wanted the song to hang in the sky a
(08:09):
little longer, he was going to get it. And he did.
You see, Edward had all the clocks at sendering him
moved half an hour ahead of Greenwich. Meantime. The result
was an extra half hour of daylight with which to hunt.
The rest of England measured their days one way, while
at sendering him, the sun set whenever the king decided it.
So the phenomenon even got its own name, sendering him time.
(08:33):
And it was a tradition that carried on until Edward
the Seventh death. In his successor, Edward the Eight hated
the confusion that it caused, and so he refused to
let it continue during his reign. Unusual, you bet, but
that's just the sort of thing that makes this world curious.
(08:55):
I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet
of Curiosities. Subscribe free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more
about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The
show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with
how Stuff Works. I make another Award winning show called
Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television show
(09:18):
and you can learn all about it over at the
world of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious, Yeah,
Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. When cultures clash, the results can
be pretty alarming. A simple misunderstanding can result in a
bitter feud between two people, or even two countries, or
one culture's customs can become too much for another to bear.
(00:49):
Wars may be sparked, lives may be lost, and nations
may be overthrown. But for one king and queen, the
outcome of their miscommunication was a bit more uh complicated.
It started in the city of Calabar, Nigeria, during the
eighteen hundreds. The Ethic people who lived there had been
quite active in the Transatlantic slave trade of the seventeenth century.
(01:10):
They often acted as facilitators, capturing people from other communities
and selling them to the British. The Ethic also helped
load their kidnap neighbors onto the ships and provided travelers
with food if necessary. It wasn't uncommon for Ethic families
to have European captains teach their children English or the
ins and outs of the slave trade. For their efforts,
(01:31):
the Ethic were given many items from Europe which they enjoyed.
They began adopting various aspects of British culture, including their
clothing and Western sounding names, often as a way to
endear themselves to the foreigners. As missionaries moved throughout the
towns and villages, Christianity became a dominant religion among the
Ethic as well. In eighteen o eight, the trans Atlantic
(01:53):
slave trade officially came to an end, at least on paper.
A British law was enacted prohibiting the practice in many
Bish territories, yet it persisted in others, oftentimes illegally. And
sitting at the top of it all on the English
side was none other than Her Majesty herself, Queen Victoria.
She knew how important trade with Africa was, though she
(02:14):
had no intention of continuing slavery. She did, however, need
the other things Calabar could provide, such as palm oil, ivory,
and rubber to keep the lines of commerce open. Victoria
wrote directly to King Ayamba of Calabar, also known as
Obong of Calabar. She promised him and his people more gifts,
as well as protection in case someone found out about
(02:35):
their deal. Victoria oversaw the British Empire of the time.
It was an era of expansion and conquest, and so
the title Queen of England was nothing to sneeze at.
In factually signed all of her letters to King Ayamba
that way, Queen Victoria the Queen of England. But when
the King's interpreter read her letters aloud, he didn't quite
get her title right. Rather than announced her as the
(02:58):
Queen of England, he instead called her the Queen of
all white Men. To say the King was surprised would
have been an understatement. He believed that it wasn't right
for him to accept such incentives from a woman he
wasn't married too, so he told his scribe to write
back to her with a marriage proposal. Together they would
conquer the world. He signed it King Ayamba, the King
(03:20):
of all Black Men. That was sure to get her
attention well. She received his letter and wrote back, saying
as much she was happy, the king was still interested
in maintaining a business relationship with her. Along with her response,
Victoria also sent over some gifts for him, including a sword,
a royal cape, and a bible. Yet she never said
(03:41):
she would join him on the throne as his queen.
King Ayamba didn't care. He took the gifts as acceptance
of his proposal and had another throne placed beside his,
a seat fit for the Queen of England. Their correspondence
didn't stop after that either. She continued to send more
gifts while he made sure that her county tree got
the palm oil it deserved. And though the queen never
(04:03):
traveled to Calibar to become his wife, a tradition was
started to honor their relationship, a tradition that has continued
to this day today. When a new king is crowned there,
a second throne is placed next to his own, upon
which is placed a bible. The obong's wife, the one
he is actually married to, occupies a seat behind him.
(04:25):
A second coronation ceremony takes place in a Presbyterian church,
where the obong dones the English cape and crown before
sitting upon his throne, waiting for his queen to come
and take her rightful place beside him. Do you ever
(04:52):
feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to
get everything done. Our to do lists get longer, but
the days never seem to keep up. If anything, they're
getting shorter. If only there was some way to add
more time to the clock, to bend it to our wills. Well,
one man figured out how to do just that, and
it was easy to literally make time when you were
(05:13):
the King. Edward, the seventh eldest son of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert, was born at Buckingham Palace on November
nine of eighteen forty one. As a child, Edward was
raised in a way that would prepare him for his
assent to the throne later in life. There was a
strong focus on his education, thanks to his father, who
made sure Edward had the best tutors. Unfortunately, the young
(05:36):
prince didn't have a mind for school work. He did, however,
have a knack for socializing and schmoozing, which he did
while studying abroad when he got older. From the age
of eighteen, Edwards spent much of his time in Rome Edinburgh,
and in eighteen sixty he became the first Prince of
Wales to tour North America. His trip there was a
great success. He visited Niagara Falls and spent several days
(06:00):
at the White House with President James Buchanan. Buchanan then
escorted Edward to Mount Vernon, where both men visited Washington's
tomb to pay their respects. Two years later, after a
lengthy trip to the Middle East, Edward returned to England
and got engaged to Alexandra of Denmark. The couple was
married one year later. They spent most of their time
(06:20):
as newlyweds in London at a mansion known as the
Marlborough House, but when they wanted to get away, they
jettied off to Norfolk along the English coast, to a
twenty thousand acre estate called Sandringham. Edward had purchased Sandringham
for the princely sum of two hundred twenty thousand pounds.
The house underwent so many changes it was practically rebuilt
(06:41):
from the ground up. The main hall was torn down
and a newer, much larger hall was built in its place. However,
Edward often found the size lacking, and he had new
rooms and wings added over the years. Yet, despite his
displeasure with sandering Him's magnitude, it allowed him to indulge
in one of his greatest passions hu teen on his
(07:01):
travels to Nepal when he was younger. For example, he
would mount an elephant and ride into the jungles to
hunt tigers and rhinos. Back in Sandringham, the game was
less intense. Edward hunted mostly birds. His head keeper, Jackson,
was responsible for maintaining the grounds and knowing the hunting
schedule in order to provide his employer with optimal hunting conditions.
(07:24):
Jackson's job was to make sure that groundskeeping staff never
worked the land in the days leading up to a hunt,
so as to avoid upsetting the game. On the day
of the event, Edward would mount a brown cob or
strong short legged horse and traverse the terrain with red
and blue flags in his hand. He instructed his men,
called beaters, to corral the animals towards the route, directly
(07:47):
in the path of his rifle. Edward often hunted at
Sandringham during the late fall and winter months, but there
was just one problem with that. The sun didn't stay
out as long as he liked in the winter, which
meant that there was less to him to shoot. Of course,
he was Edward, the seventh King of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland and the British dominions. If
he wanted the song to hang in the sky a
(08:09):
little longer, he was going to get it. And he did.
You see, Edward had all the clocks at sendering him
moved half an hour ahead of Greenwich. Meantime. The result
was an extra half hour of daylight with which to hunt.
The rest of England measured their days one way, while
at sendering him, the sun set whenever the king decided it.
So the phenomenon even got its own name, sendering him time.
(08:33):
And it was a tradition that carried on until Edward
the Seventh death. In his successor, Edward the Eight hated
the confusion that it caused, and so he refused to
let it continue during his reign. Unusual, you bet, but
that's just the sort of thing that makes this world curious.
(08:55):
I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet
of Curiosities. Subscribe free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more
about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The
show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with
how Stuff Works. I make another Award winning show called
Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television show
(09:18):
and you can learn all about it over at the
world of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious, Yeah,
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.