On my flight from Russia I watched an interesting movie: "How Tzar Peter Married His Negro".
It relates part of a story of Ibrahim Petrovitch Gannibal, a Ethiopian Prince, captured by Arabs, and given as a gift to Peter the Great. Peter becomes his Godfather, raises him as a son.
The young man has many adventures, and helps his God-father remake Russia.
The movie, despite some racist elements, such as the hero being portrayed by a Russian actor in blackfase, was well done, and interesting. The story was very good.
Scanning the web to get more information about it, and any sequels that tell more of this story, I discover that its part of a bigger, but unfinished work, by Alexander Pushkin--the great 19th century poet and playwright.
Further, it is based on the life of Pushkins great grandfather. The story is true.
Then to go even further, not only is there a strong African lineage in this Russian Noble family, that family intermarries into the great noble houses of Europe.
Even the Royal family of England is connected to Pushkin, and by him, to this African child.
Pushkin's daughter's line marries into the Mountbatten family in England, though I get lost in the details.
That, my friends, is your surprising lesson for the day.
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Queen Charlotte, wife of George III and grandmother of Queen Victoria was descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family. Because Victoria's children intermarried throughout the royalty of Europe, almost every royal family in Europe have some black heritage.
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Well, shucks, then W. outta feel right at home serving the Queen some cornbread with her vittles when she comes to visit him in the white house. He might even challenge her to a watermelon seed spittin'c contest. I wonder if Colin Powell would bring his mammy?
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My grandfather's parents were born in Spain, in Andalusia. During a heated argument with my beloved, though openly racist grandmother, I shot back at her that I had African blood. I thought for sure she was going to have a coronary, but I went through the whole Spain being ruled by the Moors for centuries bit. She did not buy it.
Thanks, Dan, I think that was very interesting.
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First, I've been to The Hermitage several times in St. Petersberg and seen all the portrats of Russian royalty. For the most part they look pretty Russian/Scandinavian/German -- the countries of origin for most of the Russian royals.
Also, the Moors who invaded Spain were of two types, Arabic and Berber. The former has the appearance of the typical Saudi Arabian of today, the later is often as light as a northern European. I don't believe many of the Moors were of sub-Saharan African descent.
Just a thought.
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When I think that this information might bother some people, I snicker like a little schoolgirl.
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quote:First, I've been to The Hermitage several times in St. Petersberg and seen all the portrats of Russian royalty. For the most part they look pretty Russian/Scandinavian/German -- the countries of origin for most of the Russian royals.
If you read carefully, you'll notice that Dan_raven didn't say that Pushkin's descendants married into the Russian imperial family (although one of them, Pushkin's granddaughter, I believe, married a grandson of Nikolai I). Rather, he said that Pushkin's descendants married into other noble houses of Europe. Link on the connection between Pushkin and the British royal family.
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I also agree with Dan and Beverly, and do feel retroactively bad for using this against my grandmother, but she is SO difficult to talk to about ethnicity issues.
I read somewhere that the farthest apart any humans are related is fiftieth cousins. I know that is far, but I like to think that we are all cousins.
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