In the Beginning




     In the beginning when the white man first came to this land, the many colonies were each quickly inhabited by different cultures of these strange new people. (Some were more strange than others!)
Most came because they were not wanted in their native lands. They were considered either anti-social deviants or criminals. No matter why they came though, they each sought out their own kind. Some managed to obtain charters from the British crown to create colonies, each to their own fashion, so long as they remained loyal, but conviently distant, to Great Britain. This time period  was the birth of "Manifest Destiny"; a destiny self evident only to the arrogant, the greedy, or the foolish, which the white man used to justify all manner of inhumanity towards his fellow man. It proved so useful that it has been used many times since those colonial days when it was either expedient, or when no other justification could be found. And the practice is growing as the arrogance of the Radicals grows ever bolder. These early colonies developed along the coast and then slowly expanded inland as the coast was pacified and filled.
     The people who settled in the north found agriculture too hard and fruitless in the barren soil and harsh winters. They were barely able to feed themselves, so many of them packed themselves into claustrophobic towns and cities and made their living by trade, fishing and whaling. The merchants of the north plied the seas to and from Europe and the various colonies. They brought goods from Britain, Europe, Asia and from Africa. Anything that would turn a profit found its way here in the holds of Yankee ships.
     The Southern colonies found the land and climate more suitable to agriculture so the great plantations were born along with countless smaller family farms. The land was fertile and productive and the People grew to love the land, and the land rewarded their love with its bounty. Although mostly self sufficient, there were some items imported from abroad, and of course, the abundance of the farms and plantations had to be exported. Although the South had many beautiful port cities, most of this trade was with the North or through the North. These farms were creating wealth and the People were eager to display it. The commerce was creating wealth in the North also, and they were insatiably hungry for it. (Ego and Greed, two of the worse motivators. Contempt, Hate and Spite usually follow close behind, as we will soon see.)
     The Southern People noted this appetite of the North but, even with the constant barrage of taxes and duties attempted by them, the intensity of their avarice was grossly underestimated. The gentle and sociable but proud Southerners could not know the poison in the souls of the tightly packed and ill tempered "sardines" of the North. The South could not realize what lengths the folks of the North would go to in their jealousy of the bounty of the Southland. They would soon learn the terrible value of the Yankee dollar and the price of Yankee spite.
     When the northern colonies saw that the taxes paid to Britain was cutting too deeply into their profits they chose to throw off their British rulers. The Southern colonies desired the autonomy that independence would bring. To be strong enough to win freedom they had to cast their lot with the Yankee rebellion. They traded a harsh master for an uncertain future.
     Their dependence on the French Navy in the rebellion and the problems with the Barbary Pirates later caused the Yankees to build a strong navy to protect their merchant fleet. The War of 1812 was this navys' trial by fire and, the navy at least came out of these trials strong and feared by the nations of the world.
     The South, being farmers and not seafarers, left the seas to the Yankee merchants and Navy.
With such great expanses of land the natural militay tendencies of the South were to develop soldiers and cavalry instead of sailors, until it was obvious that the North was determined to war with them over their exercising the right of secession, and by then of course, it was too late to catch up. Although there were a few exceptionally dedicated and adept Southern sailors, they were too few, too late. With a proper Navy, the South would have won their independence, instead of being starved and battered into submission.