Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Julia, Karl, and a Newer Disturbance. |
Karl is heading north, a little below Bermuda.
The disturbance over by Africa is strengthening and I expect to follow Karl, but we'll have to wait to see.
Nothing but one or two foot surf is predicted for the next several days for the Treasure Coast.
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Lightning can travel many miles from its source. One bolt was recorded as 199 miles long.
I read that 35 people were killed by lightning so far this year.
Here is an interesting article on record-breaking lightning.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/09/15/world-lightning-strike-records/90418046/
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A perspective largely unexamined in past works on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico has been the details of the tactical systems of the respective sides, and how these systems worked on the battlefield to produce the Spanish victory. This article examines the Conquest in terms of tactics, applying a military-historical perspective to ethnohistorical texts and data gleaned from modern works. It is shown that Spanish infantry tactics and horse cavalry were critical factors in the Spanish victory...
Here is the link to that interesting article.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs/aztec-tactics.pdf
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Although race is a concept that I find indefensible, here is an article about a black conquistadors and other blacks in the early days of the Spanish New World.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/colonial/black-conquistadors.pdf
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A few days ago I posted a picture of a dagger made of Toledo steel that was said to be found on the Treasure Coast. I found this article on Toledo steel interesting. Here is the first paragraph.
Although Toledo is a well-known city, few know just how famous and important it used to be a couple of centuries ago. Today Toledo is famous for its art and Damascus gold decoration known as Damascene but before firearms were invented Toledo was the centre of the world for forging metals and more specifically sword making. The fame of the master sword smiths from Toledo lay in their unrivaled skill in tempering steel, a unique art form that no one was able to copy. Steel from Toledo has been considered the most prestigious in the world ever since the V century, mainly due to its characteristic flexibility and strength, which was later employed in fencing. For centuries Toledo lead the world in sword making and for centuries they managed to keep their “trade secrets” within the family. The master sword smiths jealously guarding their “Secret of Temper”, only passing it on to their children, who in turn guarded the secret and passed it on from generation to generation, making Toledo steel the most sought after steel for centuries. It was later discovered that the master sword smiths each had their own very characteristic formula. These formulas were the secrets of their trade and were never written down. Instead each master converted his “secret” into a series of songs or prayers, and the rhythm of the song or the speed of the prayer and its repetitions marked a specific time frame which enabled them to accurately measure how long the sword should be immersed in water to reach an optimum “temper”. The songs, verses and prayers which marked each stage of the process were either hummed or sung in silence so no one would be able to steal their secret. But at the same time they were easy to recite in exactly the same way every time they produced a sword, leaving no margin for error.
Here is the link to that web site.
https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/bestofspain/8968/the-secret-of-toledo.aspx
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You might have noticed that when football season begins I sometimes miss making a post, especially on a Sunday. That happened this week.
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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
