What is a Cossack?

Cossack, Ukrainian, and Free

 

                Cossacks have been free men and democratic. They have only been known to history since about 650 AD. They have been mostly an active in self-governing communities for well over a thousand years. They have been open, inclusive, with a Slavic bent. They knew a world from Siberia to Lithuania and up and down for many years, but were drawn to a certain land.

                The Ukrainian Cossack State was formed in about 1650 in what is now central Ukraine. Their leaders were elected.

                Through the years they have been few. Democracy is not easy. They experienced much, and stayed free among strong neighbors such as Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. Among such neighbors they continued to show a strong will for self-governance.

                They formed the Ukrainian Peoples Republic in 1917 to 1921, the western Ukrainian Peoples Republic 1918 to 1919, and the Ukrainian Peoples Republic in exile  from 1920 to 1992.

                They were among the very first members of the Soviet Union with its promise of self-governing citizens. They may have been the first to leave that Union when it showed little will to self-governing citizenship.

                They were among the charter members of the United Nations with its promise of a chance for peace and freedom. They have not given up on their fellow members yet. 

                Ah, yes, I believe that at the breakup of the Soviet Union the were left with one of the greatest stock of atomic weapons on Earth and gave up that stock to the U.N.

                 They are still a mixture of races, nationalities, and religions. They are a free independent people self selected from that mixture.

                We might mention that with the substantial help of viking Norsemen they created Russia. Oh, and they had a modern republic type written constitution in 1710.

                I believe that a history of the cultures most effecting these people could be traced back another 4,000 years. However, before about 650 AD they were little recognized in history as a discrete people. Throughout perhaps a thousand years of their history they stayed freer, more democratic, and inclusive than most. They have had to defend themselves and they have. They have also kept the hope and faith that they could live a free people among free people. They have  seen inclusiveness, freedom, and democracy disappear like smoke again and again. Still they hold a vision of that freedom and self governance closer and dearer than do most.

               Please feel free to correct this work or add to it in the "comments" section below or just to click on a social media button just below.

                A Ukraine. 

                Thank you for reading.

 

                                                                                    rcs 

 

 

Baltic Sea: People, Geography, and Prehistory

    The People, The Land, and the Sea

 Toward an Exploration of Baltic pre-History

 A bit of geography. 

                    The Baltic Sea has been a tremendously important feature on the face of the Earth and on the course of our history. It has been called a brackish  inland sea the geological history of which is unclear. The surrounding territory has been said to have been populated Scythian and Slave and an indefinite people called Celts. Their cultures are said to have been influenced by their geography a lot of human migration, and by Amber. I am about to write just a bit about the geography of the area. I haven't chosen a map, but you may find any map of the Sea which includes some of the surroundings land could be useful and even interesting to you as we begin to explore the area.

                    This inland sea is marginal to the Atlantic Ocean at its northeast margin. It might be said to face west. This Baltic Sea drains into the Atlantic  through the Danish Straights by way of the Kattegat, Great belt and the Little Belt. The Sea includes geographic features such as the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdansk.

                    Kattegat is a area of shallow sea bounded by the the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish straights and the Baltic sea to the south, and the shore of Sweden to the east. Bothnia seems to have begun as an adjective referring to lowland shores. Even so, the Gulf of Bothnia is not shallow, but the land beneath it is rising from the release of its Ice Age burden of ice. It can still freeze over in the winter.

                    If you are dizzy from all the geographic references, take a look at the maps above. No need to worry as we go on our geographic orientation will improve. Take a breath there are more such references to come, but now with admixture of history and pre-history.

                    I still have more to learn geography to learn of the Bothnia Gulf, the gulf of Finland. If you know anything relating to the gulf of Bothnia, please tell us about it. I am fairly sure that it is important in the stories and histories of both Finland and Sweden.  A 15th century navigator may have referred to it as he Mare Gotticus. Ottar, a Viking age adventurer, in the 9th century may have referred to it as the Kven Sea.

 

                    Bothnia Bay may be though of as a northern extension of the gulf of Bothnia. Both Bay and Gulf still freeze over in the winter. 

Finland

                    The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost branch of the the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland on the north, Estonia on the south, and to Saint Petersburg, Russia in the east where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities on the present day gulf are Helsinki and Tallinn.

                    I am checking facts in Wikipedia here, but you can be fairly sure that errors are mine. Please note and/or correct them in the "comments" app below. You can make comments about content there too. 

                    In the post Ice Age of Finland the Gulf was preceded by the Littorina Sea. the level, of that sea was about 30 feet above present sea level. By some 4,000 years ago the Littorina sea had receded. 

Prehistory People                    

                    Archaeologist have found the lands along the Gulf of Finland began to be settled by about 9,000 BC, just after the last Ice Age. Coming back toward our days, as early as 1905, eleven Neolithic settlements had been found along the this gulf. Those settler have been referred to as survivors. Early culture on the lands around this gulf include: Finnic, Eesti, Votes/Chud, Izorians, and Korela.

                    We have begun to consider people! prehistoric people!

                    We have a lot to learn about people and little time to do it. There is considerable evidence that between about 700 AD to about 900 AD, East Slavs, Ilman Slavs, and Krivichs lived along the Neva river and the Gulf of Finland. The people of these cultures practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Between about 700 Ad and 1,200 AD the river Neva and the Gulf of Finland were an import part of the inland water way between Scandinavia and the Byzantine empire. From early times Norsemen practiced viking on these waterways.

                    From 850 AD when the Gulf was held by Russians and to 1229 when the Danes took control we begin to have much historic information available. during this period the city of Reval was established on what has become the area of Tallinn. There is a lot to find about this Baltic area.  Historic finds of the times after about 750 become more abundant. 

                    Tell me of your interests in the area and I will try to publish about them. Search History With RCS and it is possible you will find that I have already published something of interest.

Gulf of Riga

                    The gulf of Riga lies between Latvia and Estonia. We can learn more of this Gulf through a study of the histories and pre-histories of these two countries. A look at the histories of the cities of Riga, Parnu, Jumala, and Kuressaare could help too. If you would like me to publish a work of yours on these cities or counties tell me so and maybe we can work something out. I could live long enough to learn enough about their earliest days to write something, but probably won't.

            

Bay of Gdansk

                    Just now the Bay of Gdansk is taking my interest. It's history may include some of the histories of my Prussian , Polish and German ancestors. The  Vistula river flows into it. Some consider the Bay as widening to include Russia Kaliningrad and the coast of Lithuania. 

                    There be Kursenieki on this bay. They have been there long.. They call their language Curonian. Some see the language as related to Latvian. They have been called Prussian Latvians. They are a mystery to which their language may be a clue. They are certainly not a geographically isolated people. They are on a well visited sea coast and near the mouth of a long navigated river and so have seen much trade and commerce.

Geography

                    I am including a lot of geography in this little essay. As geography does affect culture, I am introducing the Baltic Sea ant its surroundings as a backdrop and the grounding for the people who have lived there. I also want you to know a local for the people and places I speak of.

Denmark and Jutes

                    Let me take you back to where Baltic waters meet the Atlantic waters near Denmark. Kattegat, the name of the little sea area near the Baltic entrance to the Atlantic, may be of Swedish origin, so we are near Sweden too. I seem to remember a queen Kattegat, This sea is certainly a place to be Scandinavian. The Jutlandic Peninsula juts out here. It is part of Jutland. Long ago this same peninsula was called the Cimbric or Cimbrian peninsula. Now it is part of Denmark; Jutes a and Cimbri used to live there.

                    Jutes have been named among powerful Germanic invaders of England. I might call them Scandinavians, or something else, but I have a lot to learn. It does seem that others have some confusion about the area, but there is a reason the peninsula is called Jute. There was much trade and commerce in the area before and after the Roman Empire. Anyway there that peninsula is, at the Kattegat Sea not very far from Denmark.

Cimbrian, Cimbri

                    Wait a minute, the Cimbri, an ancient people were also said to have lived on this peninsula. We humans do get around and it has been said that which  gets around goes around. What we have called the Jute peninsula has been called the Cimbrian peninsula. The Cimbri have been thought to be Gaulish or Celtic. Celtic to me has come to be much like German was to the Romans. Romans called everyone to the far west of them German. I of have yet to see good archaeological evidence or historical documentation of who the earlier inhabitants of the peninsula were.

                    It does seem that there is evidence of there being a long period of annual migrations from the Baltic area and England and Ireland to the Iberian peninsula and back with the seasons. That stirs the pot. It sounds right and amazing at the same time. There was even a  Cimbrian military expedition against 1st century Rome. Who were those Cimbrians? Could they have been some early Norsemen doing some large scale viking?

                    Some say that there were Belgians of Cimbrian origin, but I see no evidence for them being called Germans other than the Romans calling almost every one in the area German.

                    Did Cimbrians reach Ireland? How can we recognize or identify Cimbrians? I am not certain  what Celts were, but people whom seem a bit like Cimbrians, but were called Irish Celts, Joined Phoenicians to resist Rome.

                    Scythian has been called Cimerian. Are Cimerians, Cimbrians? I believe that Cimbrian were trading people and Scythians were great traders from before their Hellenization. Who can help me to get any of this straightened out?

                   The End. The end of this essay. I hope to learn more and to write more on these topics before I die. Please use the "comments'' section below to participate in the learning or writing. Blogs are useful for their interactivity.

                    On this same blog site check these posts:

                               

           

                   Thank you for reading.

                                                                                 rcs

                                                  

               

 

                 

Baltic Sea Orientation

History With RCS: Many have known the Baltic Sea including: Dane, Swede, Finn, Viking, Russian, Slav, Krivichs, Latvian, Estonian, Prussian, Pole, Jute, Cimbri, Celt, Irish, German, and more.

                The Baltic Sea opens on the Atlantic Ocean and is in the northwestern part of Europe. It has had a complex geographic history. It seems best to begin with some of its most recent geographic history.

                The Baltic has been called a brackish inland sea with a geological history which has prove difficult to clarify. We know that it is a marginal sea of the Atlantic and that it drains into the Atlantic through the Danish straights by way of the little Kattagat sea. Some of its major surface features include thee Gulf of Bothnia and the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, and the Bay of Gdansk.

                It is brackish because of the following major rivers flowing into it: the Oder, Vistula, Neman, Daugava, and the Neva. Brackishness is aided by the fall of rain and snow and by the flow of smaller rivers and streams.

                Not far from the the Baltic Sea entrance to the Atlantic Ocean, one may encounter the Kattagat, and area of somewhat shallow sea. This small sea is bounded by the Jutland Peninsula in the West, the Danish Straights and the rest of the Baltic Sea, and to the east by the shores of Sweden.

The Gulf of Bothnia:

                The word "bothnia" seems to have referred to lowland shores or to lowlands in general. The Gulf of Bothnia is bordered by lowland shores. The Gulf is not shallow, but the land beneath it continues to rise since its release from its Ice Age burden of ice. The Gulf still freezes over in winter. 

                I hope to research the history of Sweden and Finland to learn more of the people who have lived along the Gulf of Bothnia. Please share with us any info you may have about this Gulf. You can use the "comments" section below to do so. I can say now that it seems that in the 9th century, Ottar, a viking adventurer, referred to the Gulf as the Kven Sea. In the 15th century a Danish navigator may have referred to it as the Mare Gotticus. Bothnia Bay is a northern extension of the Gulf.

 

The Gulf of Finland:

                The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost branch of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland on the north and Estonia on the south; then on to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where the Neva River drains into it. Other major cities on the Gulf are Helsinki and Tallinn. 

                In the early post Ice Age, the Gulf of Finland was preceded by the Littoriana Sea. That sea stood as high as 30 feet above the present sea level. A lot of ice had melted. By some 4,000 years ago the sea had receded to near present levels.

Archaeology:

                Archaeologists have found the lands along the Gulf of Finland began to be settled(again?) about 9,000 BC by people physically very like us. To me Archaeology is a continuance of history. some would call it prehistory. So, we do seem to be moving from geography to history; history is about the doings, learnings and happenings of those who preceded us. So, onward. As early as 1905 AD eleven neolithic settlements had been found along the Gulf of coast. The early cultures found there include the Finnic, Eesti/Chud, Votes. and Korela. Neolithic means new stone age. Don't fee to smug about Stone Age people. We are finding that some of them were able to do things with stone that we are unable to do.

                    Later, into more historic times, about between 700 AD and 900 AD, East Slavs, Ilman Slavs, and Krivichs settled along the Neva River and pars of the Gulf of Finland. They practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Between about 700 AD and 1,200 AD the river Neva and the Gulf were part of the waterway from Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire!

                Historic information  for this area becomes more abundant from about 850 AD. About that time they may held in Russian hands until 1219 AD when the Danes took control. In this same period the city of Reva was established in the area of the present city of Tallinn. There is a lot to learn about this whole Baltic area and I intend to write more about it in a future post.

The Gulf of Riga:                

                The Gulf of Riga lies between Latvian and Estonia on the Baltic Sea. I will find out more about this area and write of it in a future post after a review of the early histories of Latvia and Estonia. A look at the histories of the the cities: Riga, Parnu, and Jumala will help me to give you fuller details.

The Bay of Gdansk: 

                The Bay of Gdansk has history which may include my Prussian, Polish, and German ancestors. The Vistula River flows into this bay. Some consider the bay as extending to the Russian city of Kaliningrad and to the coast of Lithuania.

There be Kursenieki: 

                There are Kursenieki on the Bay of Gdansk. They have been there long, They call their language Curonian. Some linguists see it as related to Latvian so Latvian could be related to it. Kursenieki have also been called Prussian  Latvians. Who are these people? They live on a well visited sea coast and near to the outlet of a navigable river. So, they are, and have been, subject to much social and cultural exchange.

                Let's travel back to where the Baltic Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Near there is the little Kattagat Sea. The name Kattagat may be of Swedish origin. I have a vague memory of a queen Kattagat who may have been a Swede. This little sea is certainly a Scandinavian area.

Jutlandic Peninsula: 

                The Jutlandic Peninsula juts into the Kattagat Sea and is part of was once Jutland. The peninsula was once called the Cimbric or the Cimbrian Peninsula. It is now part of Denmark. Jutes and Cimbri have lived there.

                Jutes are named among powerful Germanic invaders of England. I might not have called them Germanic, but rather have called them Vikings, Norse. Scandinavian, or even Celtic, but I have a lot to learn. Still, it dose seem that a few others feel some confusion too. There is a reason the peninsula has been called Jute. Maybe we can find out who the Jutes are. That peninsula was an area of a lot of trade and activity before during and after the Roman Empire. Any there it is at the Kattagat Sea.

The Cimbri:

                Let's not pass by the Cimbri too Quickly. I just learned of them recently.  It seems that they were on the Jutland Peninsula before the Jutes. Some authorities have thought the Cimbri were what we have called Gaulish or Celtic. I have seen that the Jutland Peninsula was called the Cimbrian Peninsula earlier. There is something interesting to be discovered/learned here. Perhaps we can learn more about things Cimbrian. So far I have found little documentary evidence of their nature or doings. I have yet to see any archaeological evidence.

                I do find that there is evidence that for a very long time there was a seasonal migration from the Baltic area to the Iberian Peninsula. The migration may have somehow included England and Ireland and may have ext+ended to the Balearic Islands! So, there was probably travel from this Peninsula to that one; Cimbric to Iberian and back. It sounds right, but I am surprised; even pleasantly amazed.

                This is getting good. There was a Cimbrian military expedition against 1st century Rome! Who are these Cimbri? Who were they. Ah, history! If you know anything about the Cimbri or find out anything, please feel free to tell us about it in "comments" below.

                I see it written that there were Belgians of Cimbrian origin. The Romans might have called them Germans, but they called everyone in the area German. I am not really sure who the Celts or Gauls were other than they almost certainly had Indo-European origins. I do have a faint memory of reading of a people who could have been Cimbrians, but who some called Celts, joined Carthaginians to resist Rome.

                Okay, I had best stop here until I get some more information, or until I hear from you. Remember blogs are supposed to have some interactivity.

                Please feel free to correct my spelling or other errors, or to add pertinent information to the content of this essay.

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                                   rcs

 

Free, Democratic, and Inclusive

 History With RCS: Cossack, Ukrainian, and Free

 

                Cossacks have been free men and democratic. They have only been known to history since about 650 AD. They have been active in self-governing communities for well over a thousand years. They have been open, inclusive, with a Slavic bent. They knew a world from Siberia to Lithuania and up and down for many years, but were drawn to a certain land.

                The Ukrainian Cossack State was formed in about 1650 in what is now central Ukraine. Their leaders were elected.

                Through the years they have been few. Democracy is not easy. They experienced much, and stayed free among strong neighbors such as Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. Among such neighbors they continued to show a strong will for self-governance.

                They formed the Ukrainian Peoples Republic in 1917 to 1921, the western Ukrainian Peoples Republic 1918 to 1919, and the Ukrainian Peoples Republic in exile  from 1920 to 1992.

                They were among the very first members of the Soviet Union with its promise of self-governing citizens. They may have been the first to leave that Union when it showed little will to self-governing citizenship.

                They were among the charter members of the United Nations with its promise of a chance for peace and freedom. They have not given up on their fellow members yet. 

                Ah, yes, I believe that at the breakup of the Soviet Union the were left with one of the greatest stock of atomic weapons on Earth and gave up that stock to the U.N.

                They have been few and still are. They are still a mixture of races, nationalities, and religions. They are a free democratic people self selected from that mixture.

                We might mention that while all this was going on they, with the help of a few viking Norsemen, created Russia. Oh, and they had a modern republic type written constitution in 1710.

                I believe that a history of the cultures most effecting these people could be traced back another 4,000 years. However, before about 650 AD they were little recognized in history as a discrete people. Throughout perhaps a thousand years of their history they stayed freer, more democratic, and inclusive than most. They have had to defend themselves and they have. They have also kept the hope and faith that they could live a free people among free people. They have  seen inclusiveness, freedom, and democracy disappear like smoke again and again. Still they hold a vision of that freedom and self governance closer and dearer than do most.

               Please feel free to correct this work or add to it in the "comments" section below or just to click on a social media button just below.

                Ukraine. Ukraine. Ukraine.

                Thank you for reading.

 

                                                                                    rcs