Is Darrin Bell just trolling us? 400 years would be January 1625. I got nothin’.
Not much help from ChatGPT, either:
January 1625 was a month marked by several notable events:
- January 7: Ruggiero Giovannelli, an Italian composer, passed away.
- January 13: Pieter Bruegel the Younger, a Flemish painter, died.
- January 17: The Duke of Soubise led the Huguenots in launching a second rebellion against King Louis XIII with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet.
- January 19: Erhard Buttner, a German organist and composer, committed suicide.
- January 27: Adriaen Valerius, a Dutch composer and poet, died.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Darrin Bell isn’t trolling us, but Clyde almost certainly is. Two dollars is the hallmark of a C-Dog scam, and anything someone guesses will invariably be wrong, so he gets two bucks. If there is a real anniversary, it would have something to do with Black history, so nothing ChatGPT suggests is going to be what Bell had in mind (if anything).
in 1625 the first black slaves were brought to New Amsterdam which later became New York. Not sure if it was in January.
I saw a list of 1625 events that had the founding of New Amsterdam in January, 1625, but that appears to have been a myth created to somehow annoy the Anglophiles.
According to Syracuse University, “Proclamation 1625 is the unveiling of the true and untold history of slavery in America.” I just googled ‘slavery 1625’.
I tried ChatGPT again using the hint Paul gave above. I note the two answers differ on the year! (and AI gives a different year for the founding of New Amsterdam than Downpuppy). Net: AI really isn’t helping here.
—————-
when were the first black slaves brought to New Amsterdam?
The first enslaved Africans were brought to New Amsterdam in 1626 by the Dutch West India Company. They were purchased from Portuguese pirates and were among the earliest settlers in the colony. This marked the beginning of a long and tragic history of slavery in what would eventually become New York City.
do you know the specific day?
Yes, the first enslaved Africans arrived in New Amsterdam on August 29, 1627. This marked the beginning of the institution of slavery in the colony.
When was New Amsterdam founded?
New Amsterdam, which later became New York City, was founded in 1624
From, of all sites, the National Park Service: “The first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived at Old Point Comfort on August 25, 1619. An English privateer ship captured them from a Spanish slave ship. The privateer traded the enslaved Africans to English colonists in Virginia for food.”
John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas commented at the time:
“He brought not any thing but 20. and odd Negroes, which the Governor and Cape Marchant bought for victualls…”
zbicyclist: I’m now adding “history” to my list of things Chat GPT can’t do. (“Balance chemical equations” was the first thing I put on that list.)
Why are we using a notoriously unreliable – not to mention incredibly unethical, given its reliance on uncredited and uncompensated sources – computer program to query historical events?
#8: It’s all the rage with the brainy types.
Reference: https://www.gocomics.com/bloomcounty/2023/09/06?comments=visible
The 1619 Project about the history of the US & slavery was a huge thing in 2019.
Today’s Candorville is still teasing us.
When ChatGPT first started, my friend was trying to convince me it was useful. He asked it, “What is seven times eight” and it answered, “56”. He then told it, “No, it’s 62” and ChatGPT said, “Oh, that’s right”.
I hear it’s just a mite better now.
I have Firefox give only web answers on my laptop, but I don’t know how to configure my phones for that.
Open DuckDuckGo on your phone.
Go to the settings and turn off AI Assist.
Only vaguely related, but I felt a need to mention (as a former resident of part of former New Amsterdam and an 18th century reenactor) that with this year we have entered the 250th anniversary cycle of the American Revolution as the first steps to same in were in 1775.
There will be many reenactment events over the next 15 years or so of same. While they will probably be mostly in the eastern U.S. where the Revolution occurred, I am pretty sure that there will be events out further west.
Rev War Reenactments are a great way to teach children what happened back then to form our country as seeing stays with a child (or adult) in a different manner than just reading or hearing about it.
As an 18th century civilian reenactor I will say that it is a lot of fun, both for reenactors for whom it is a labor of love and for those attending events – adults and children alike.
(And if you are interested – look for a unit in your area as units are always looking for others interested in the period to join them.)