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Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild.
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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 the Cabinet of Curiosities.
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From the time that he was a young boy, Ramon Artavetia knew that the ocean would play a role in his future. After all, he was born in a coastal city in Uruguay in 1840 and came from a long line of seafarers. According to family lore, on his deathbed, Ramon's grandfather gifted his father an old wooden oar. Ramon would often read the inscription his grandfather had etched on its side, knowing how to use it. It said, you will never be hungry. Your ancestors have always survived thanks to the sea. This is your destiny. Follow it. And follow it he did. Ramon became a businessman, often traveling by boat to Buenos Aires and other cities for work. When he was 31 years old, he was heading home for Christmas on board the SS America, a large paddle steamer. In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the ship was rocked by a deafening explosion. Ramon rushed to the deck to find black smoke billowing from the hull. The America had been racing another ship, and the crew had pushed her too hard, causing a steam pipe to burst. As flames spread, the ship descended into pandemonium. Passengers fought for space on the lifeboats, not yet touched by fire. Ramon watched the chaos in terror, and the America groaned as it sank. They were only a few miles from the coast, and he could see the lights of his hometown beckoning. But it was just too far to swim, caught between flames and the sea. Ramon remembered his grandfather's words, and he made a choice. He leapt overboard into the frigid water. He was fished out soon afterwards, soaked and freezing, but still alive. Of the Americas, 164 passengers. He was one of only 65 survivors. Many of the others sustained horrific burns. But while Ramon escaped these physical scars, the experience marked him in a less visible way. He was traumatized, forced to relive the experience over and over in vivid nightmares. He described them in a letter that he wrote to a cousin. I wake up in the middle of the night, he said, with terrible nightmares and always hearing the same fateful word. Fire, Fire. Fire. And so, for years after the sinking of the SS America, Ramon avoided setting foot on a ship. He moved to Argentina, trading the shores for a landlocked farm. While his PTSD never completely faded, he maintained a peaceful life, safe from the waves that Tormented his dreams. Still, the seafarer in his blood would not go quietly. As time passed, Ramon felt a growing desire to travel, to see Europe and North America. And when he was 71 years old, he decided that fear had gotten the better of him for far too long. In 1912, he booked a transatlantic passage to Europe, A trip that would force him to face his trauma head on. It was not an easy voyage, and he spent most of it on deck, flotation belt already fastened in case there was any trouble. His sleep was haunted by nightmares. But after a week at sea, he arrived safe and sound in Europe. After visiting a nephew in Berlin, he prepared for a second transatlantic crossing, this time to America. As he boarded the massive modern vessel, he couldn't help but feel buoyed by his success. 41 years had passed since the sinking of the SS America. It had taken most of his life to overcome the trauma from that experience, but he had done it. He'd followed his grandfather's advice and embraced his destiny at sea. Unfortunately, the words etched on his family oar were more prescient than Ramon could have guessed. He would never set foot on dry land again. Four days after embarking, his ship struck an iceberg and capsized. This time, Ramon was not among the lucky few who were rescued. He went to meet his destiny beneath the waves of the North Atlantic Ocean. He drowned on April 15th of 1912, along with 1500 other tragic passengers of the RMS Titanic. It's a familiar feeling that most of us have gone through. We order something online, and then for days we're checking and rechecking to see if it's on its way. Whether it's a diamond ring or just deodorant, the urgency is the same. And the second that purchase goes through, you better believe that I'm tracking that package, and some things never change. Back in 1773, Phyllis was also worried about her packages getting safely across the Atlantic. You see, these were part of a historic delivery, the very first book of poetry by an enslaved black woman published in America. But Phyllis had heard rumors swirling that another historic event just might deliver her pristine poetry to the bottom of the sea. Phyllis had a hard journey to get to this moment. She was just 7 or 8 years old when she was kidnapped from the west coast of Africa in 1761. Forced aboard a ship by human traffickers, she and 94 other captured Africans endured months of sailing across the stormy Atlantic in cramped, squalid conditions. By the time the boat arrived In Boston, nearly 25 of her shipmates had died In Boston, Phyllis was unceremoniously thrust into a new life of enslavement. A merchant took a liking to her and bought the little girl as a gift for his wife, Susanna. Phyllis began working in the household, but it soon became clear that she was destined for different things. Not only had she learned English quickly, but she soon also mastered reading and writing the language as well. Recognizing Phyllis's talent, the family encouraged her to pursue an education. At the time, very few young women went to school, let alone enslave women. Many enslaved people were purposely denied education for fear that if they were able to read and write, they may discover a way to escape their enslavers. And this family were in some ways progressive for the time, encouraging her to study Latin, Greek, history, theology, and poetry. But they did not believe in abolishing slavery and in fact, kept Phyllis separate from the other enslaved people who worked as laborers and servants in their house. Phyllis quickly fell in love with Homer, Virgil, and John Milton and began writing her own stanzas. By age 14, she published her first poem, called to the University of Cambridge in New England. Phyllis was a prolific poet and often wrote about the topical issues of the day. Living in Boston, she saw and heard the angry rumblings of revolution echoing among the colonists. In 1770, she wrote a poem in honor of the Boston Massacre, one of the first salvos in the war against the British. In her letters and other poems from the time, it's clear that the irony was not lost on her. Here in Boston, colonists were calling for freedom from an oppressive master in England, while condoning the slavery of Phyllis and her countrymen. The prejudice against her even kept her from publishing her book of poetry. While she had been praised and celebrated by many notable New Englanders, America's printers refused to publish a black woman's writings. English publishers, however, felt differently. So in 1773, Phyllis traveled to London accompanied by her son. She was met with acclaim and was even invited to meet King George iii, although she was forced to return before that could happen. While in England, a countess who had been impressed by her work agreed to fund the publication of Phyllis's poems. And all of this led up to November 28th of 1773, the day that Phyllis's freshly printed books were scheduled to arrive in Boston Harbor. But with the rumors that Phyllis had been hearing lately, she was worried that they would never get to shore. A group of prominent Bostonians had gathered in Phyllis's church, the Old south meeting house. Frustrated by the harsh taxes that England was levying on the colonies, they were supposedly plotting something so Big K George wouldn't be able to ignore their demands. And rumor had it that they had their eye on the Dartmouth, a ship arriving that night from England, the same ship carrying Phyllis books. Thankfully, Phyllis Wheatley was able to retrieve her manuscripts, saving three years of work because just a few days later, the Sons of Liberty descended on the Dartmouth and tossed all of the tea and other goods still on board into Boston harbor, throwing King George and the rest of the world a party they would never forget. Luckily for Phyllis and for the rest of us, her poetry was not their cup of tea.
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I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or learn more about the show by visiting curiositiespodcast.com the show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with How Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series and television show and you can learn all about it over@theworldoflore.com and until next time, stay curious.