[Amnorix]

January 9.

Another day with a plethora of possibilities. Most appealing, initially, was the January 9, 1861 firing on the Star of the West by cadets at the Citadel. The Star of the West was a federal ship sent to provide provisions to Fort Sumter. These shots are generally regarded as the first shots of the Civil War. I will have many opportunities to discuss Civil War matters, so I'll push on.

Also of note is the British withdrawal, on this date in 1916 from Gallipoli, which ended their tremendous misadventure and cost Churchill his position at the Admiralty. The 1945 invasion of Luzon, in the Phillipines, and 1951 opening of UN Headquarters in New York were also candidates.

But I doubt I'll have a chance to discuss one of the reasons the Middle Ages were the Dark Ages quite so vividly, so I won't pass it up.

On January 9, 1349, the entire Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland was burned alive on accusations of causing or spreading the black plague.

During Roman times, Jews could be citizens. But during the Middle Ages, they were generally considered foreign nationals (regardless of where/when they had been born etc.). As a result, their ability to remain in any given country was subject to the king's pleasure, and their rights were strictly limited. They were unable to give "Christian" oaths, for example, which completely foreclosed them from knighthood or any other participation in the entire feudal/manorial system. Therefore, property ownership was also out of the question.

As a result, only the artisan trades and money lending businesses were open to them. When the guild system developed, they usually lost their ability to serve as artisans.

This left moneylending. So most/all Jews were effectively forced to be bankers. And while they did well with the profession when allowed, invariably the bankers became unpopular from time to time (as we still see today), and their Jewishness and lack of citizenship usually resulted in persecutions, losing all property, and perhaps death.

As the events in Basel showed, they could and would be blamed for nearly anything wrong in the lives of their neighbors, and be required to pay the ultimate price.

Over time, this led to mass migrations to generally more tolerant Eastern Europe, including Russia. Eventually, large Jewish populations were concentrated in Poland and Russia. Eventually, these countries too had their own pogroms in the 18th and 19th centuries and, of course, the rise of the Nazis, in part based on centuries old anti-semitism, led to their wholesale slaughter during the Holocaust.