REPORT FOR HISTORY MEETING ON 17.9.2012

At this meeting we talked about Explorers and their journeys..when you look back in history for thousands of years people have explored by land or boats hugging the coasts, however it was not until about the middle of the 15th century were ships big enough to venture across the big oceans of the world, mind you big at that time was about 85 tons.
By about the fifth century B.C. the Pythagorean school had evolved the theory of a spherical earth,a theory which although deduced on philosophical rather than empirical grounds ,has been followed by liberal minded students ever since. Only in the early Christian times of the dark ages was this globular hypothesis ruled out, and even then there were a few daring souls, who, by defying the Church, kept alive this geographical truth, which was to be of such epoch-making importance in the 15th century,
In 325BC Pytheas of Greece had heard of these Islands on the edge of the known world inhabited by one eyed men and griffins, but whom supplied tin to the continent which when smelted and alloyed with copper- produced bronze. So he travelled around the European coast to the white cliffs of Dover.
The inspiration according to one theory for the country's earliest recorded name of Albion which comes from the Celtic word for white.
He travelled across around Albion and described the shape as a wonkey triangle-rival geographers scorned Pytheas but his findings still survive to this day.
We also talked about Cortes in Mexico, the famous explorers who in 1803-after France had sold Louisiana to the new USA- travelled and explored its breath and depth.
Lesley talked about Yuri Gargarin the famous Russian astronaut who circled the earth once in 1961 but was killed in a plane crash in Siberia area in 1968.
Various other famous explorers were talked about and all enjoyed the meeting.

The next meeting will be the combined History meeting at Copythorne Parish Hall with Totton Souths History Group where will enjoyed a digital slide show on Queen Victoria on Wednesday 17/10/12