WEBVTT NOTE Aunt Jemima: The Redcoats Are Coming 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Edmund Burke, renowned for his support of the American cause in the British Parliament, once said, 2 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:14.000 All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. 3 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:22.000 Five hundred years from now, when historians and philosophers have the opportunity of viewing the twentieth century in perspective, 4 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:29.400 They may decide that the outstanding characteristic of our time was a willingness to pass responsibility 5 00:00:29.400 --> 00:00:36.580 to others. In a sense, this has become the age of pass the buck. 6 00:00:36.580 --> 00:00:43.060 In the British Isles until the 20th century, the cry, Stop Thief! echoing down the street 7 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:49.200 caused good citizens to cease their daily endeavors and rush in hot pursuit of the fleeing 8 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:55.200 are miscreant. Each man felt a concern when the property rights of others were violated. 9 00:00:55.200 --> 00:01:01.040 But in the twentieth century, we have learned dependence upon government. Wherever possible, 10 00:01:01.040 --> 00:01:07.400 we shirk responsibility and thrust it away. Not too long ago, in New York City, on Broadway, 11 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.640 a young man seized a brick and hurled it through a plate-glass window of a men's clothing 12 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:17.680 shop. At least a hundred people waiting for transportation, or passing by, observed the 13 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.840 The action and what ensued. 14 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:25.440 The young man calmly climbed through the broken window, helped himself to clothing, and then 15 00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:27.720 walked on down the street. 16 00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:30.160 Not a voice was raised in protest. 17 00:01:30.160 --> 00:01:32.000 No one called the police. 18 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.960 No one wanted to become involved. 19 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:38.180 It wasn't the duty of the citizens to arrest a criminal. 20 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:40.120 It was the duty of the police. 21 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:42.480 Besides, why worry about it? 22 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:45.860 The owner of the store was probably rich and deserved the loss. 23 00:01:45.860 --> 00:02:11.540 With these ideas in mind, now let me tell you the story of Aunt Jemima. 24 00:02:11.540 --> 00:02:17.060 Most of us may think of Aunt Jemima as a round-faced black with red bandana, smiling invitingly 25 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:23.800 behind a stack of hotcakes. But the original Aunt Jemima was a Welshwoman. Her unwillingness 26 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:29.400 to be indifferent to the threat of danger, and her courage in organising private defences 27 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:35.180 for the Welsh coast when government proved to be incapable, may have prevented the expansion 28 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:40.500 of the French Empire when Bonaparte was on the march in the latter years of the 18th 29 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:41.500 century. 30 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:47.060 The Welsh people who inhabit the county of Pembrokeshire are noted for their independence. 31 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:52.880 They are suspicious of all tidings, good or evil, until they've checked the source. 32 00:02:52.880 --> 00:02:58.660 They are dubious of government and question what it does for them that is of any value. 33 00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:03.300 They have an inherent love of liberty and observers who know the people best say that 34 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:06.300 The Theory of Money and Credit 35 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:09.300 The Theory of Money and Credit 36 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:42.300 At two o'clock in the afternoon, the ships sailed up the coast of southwest Wales, past the Strumblehead Lighthouse, and hoved to, within sight of the town of Fishguard. 37 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:46.300 The Irish loved freedom and were angry with government generally. 38 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:52.300 Napoleon was eager to ensure that Irish anger would be directed against the British king. 39 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:58.180 At two o'clock in the afternoon the ships sailed up the coast of southwest Wales, past 40 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:04.400 the Strumblehead lighthouse, and hoved to, within sight of the town of Fishguard. 41 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:08.460 Apparently no one on shore was unduly alarmed at the sight of the French vessels. 42 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:13.600 Three months earlier, Spain had declared war against George III, and evidently the British 43 00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:17.440 had had many problems of larger concern. 44 00:04:17.440 --> 00:04:22.140 With his glass, the French Commodore could detect no unusual activity in the streets 45 00:04:22.140 --> 00:04:28.260 of Fishguard. There were no milling crowds, no British redcoats. There was no reason why 46 00:04:28.260 --> 00:04:33.740 the French ships, all carrying troops to assist in the Irish rebellion, couldn't assist 47 00:04:33.740 --> 00:04:39.740 that rebellion right here at Fishguard. And by staging a quick raid upon the Welsh coast, 48 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:45.580 they could seize stores and munitions, and possibly even a few prisoners. The Commodore 49 00:04:45.580 --> 00:05:03.500 The French had correctly analyzed the military situation. The Welsh were, militarily, unprepared. 50 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:08.780 But the invaders had made a monstrous miscalculation. They had failed to consider the Welshman's 51 00:05:08.780 --> 00:05:14.500 love of liberty and his refusal to be too dependent on his government. And then, too, 52 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:22.700 Thomas Williams of Treleden, St. David's, a county magistrate who had been a sailor, 53 00:05:22.700 --> 00:05:28.260 noticed the French as they hove too. Although the ships were flying English colors, he recognized 54 00:05:28.260 --> 00:05:32.900 them for what they were and immediately sent runners to warn the people of St. David's 55 00:05:32.900 --> 00:05:38.860 and Fishguard to be on the lookout for enemy movements along the coast. In a few hours 56 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:44.660 The entire countryside was aroused. A message was sent to Lord Cawdor for a troop of Castle 57 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:50.020 Martin Yeomanry to drive the foreign invader from Welsh soil. But their leader, Colonel 58 00:05:50.020 --> 00:05:55.460 Davies, was nowhere to be found. Rumour was that the Colonel had been tippling, and it 59 00:05:55.460 --> 00:06:00.620 appeared that the Welsh were at the mercy of Napoleon's troops. And so they might have 60 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:05.980 been, had they depended upon their government for protection. If the Welshmen had believed 61 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:10.380 that the French arrival was none of their business, and that government has an exclusive 62 00:06:10.380 --> 00:06:17.100 monopoly in the field of protection, the history of the Napoleonic Wars might have had a different 63 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:22.860 ending. The French, in fact, were so confident of success that they made no attempts to exploit 64 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:28.420 their original advantage of surprise, putting off until the following day the landing of 65 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:33.920 their main forces and the raids upon farms and nearby communities. They left only a token 66 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:43.280 When Aunt Jemima Nicholas heard the news of the landing of the Frenchmen, she was not 67 00:06:43.280 --> 00:06:48.080 surprised. She knew of the trouble between the French and the British, and any stranger 68 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:54.000 in Wales, be he French, Spanish or English, was not to be trusted. And she was concerned 69 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:59.200 about the protection of her home and her country. Late that day, when word came to the worried 70 00:06:59.200 --> 00:07:04.560 and excited townspeople that the troops of Castle Martin could not find their leader, 71 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:10.640 Aunt Jemima decided to take events into her own hands. Picking up a pitchfork, she soldered 72 00:07:10.640 --> 00:07:17.080 to Goodwick Sands where the French had established a temporary beach camp. History gives no details 73 00:07:17.080 --> 00:07:23.200 of how she completed her daring exploit, but armed with nothing but that pitchfork, Jemima 74 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:29.620 Anna single-handedly captured twelve Frenchmen and marched them back to her shoemaker shop. 75 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:35.300 She extracted from her captives the full story of the intended raid. Then, leaving her victims 76 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:41.500 trust up like fowl, she went about the town of Fishguard, and with the help of a Mr. Whitesides, 77 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:48.160 the builder of the lighthouse at Strumblehead, she aroused the people. A great military strategist 78 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:53.200 was born in Aunt Jemima Nicholas that night. Of course she had no authority to do these 79 00:07:53.200 --> 00:07:58.720 things. She was acting quite unofficially, and without precedent. But she refused to 80 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:04.640 let the initiative go over to the enemy. She organized and worked until dawn flooded the 81 00:08:04.640 --> 00:08:10.720 rocky coast with light, and then she acted. Just above a spot on the beach, where the 82 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:15.360 landing was being made in force, and within clear view of the French warships anchored 83 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:21.880 in the Channel, Jemima and the women of Fishguard circled proudly about the hill. Over the 84 00:08:21.880 --> 00:08:28.440 shoulders of each flamed the bright red shawl characteristic of Welsh women. As they passed 85 00:08:28.440 --> 00:08:33.240 round a little ridge, they would quickly run back, hidden from sight in a little valley, 86 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:39.680 and then once more march across the face of the hill. Jemima Nicholas and her fellow citizens 87 00:08:39.680 --> 00:08:44.960 from Fishguard, continued this action all morning. And to the eyes of the watching 88 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:50.760 Admiral Hoche, it appeared that the hills were crowded with innumerable British soldiers, 89 00:08:50.760 --> 00:08:56.560 all marching to intercept his troops. At a distance, the bright red shawl, the scarlet 90 00:08:56.560 --> 00:09:01.080 mantle wrapped round the shoulders of the women, appeared like the red coats of the 91 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:06.360 British regulars. The French Admiral cursed under his breath. He had been led to believe 92 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:10.400 He believed that the Welsh people would not be aided by King George. 93 00:09:10.400 --> 00:09:15.260 He also had understood that the Welsh were a discontented lot, and would be ready and 94 00:09:15.260 --> 00:09:19.280 eager to join with Napoleon as the Irish had done. 95 00:09:19.280 --> 00:09:22.400 Too late he realized that he had been trapped. 96 00:09:22.400 --> 00:09:25.480 The Welsh hills were swarming with British regulars. 97 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:30.000 If only he had been better informed, he would not have sent his troops ashore. 98 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:36.200 He realized now that all was lost, and without so much as a parting au revoir to his compatriots 99 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:41.480 who had recently landed, he upped anchor, and the three men-a-war, with their lugger, 100 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:47.320 headed out for the open sea, abandoning Napoleon's troops upon the Welsh coast. 101 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:52.400 Now the women-a-fishguard, together with what menfolk were available, stripped the lead 102 00:09:52.400 --> 00:09:58.760 from the roof of the cathedral, mounted scythes on long poles, took pitchforks, pistols, guns 103 00:09:58.760 --> 00:10:04.820 or pole axes, anything that came to hand, and descended upon the beach, not as a troop 104 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:34.820 The French took one look at the motley horde descending upon their camp and ran up the white flag. A truce was quickly arranged. A meeting took place, next day, at the Royal Oak Inn in Fishguard. The French formally surrendered without having fired a shot. And finally, after all was over, Colonel Davis and Lord Cawder's troop of 105 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:50.820 And there you have the story of how men and women, who knew they were free, and who didn't depend on the government to save them, defended their liberty against an invading army. 106 00:10:50.820 --> 00:11:03.820 Today, if you go to County Pembrokeshire in Wales, and make your way to the town of Fishguard, there, in the Royal Oak Inn, you will see a plaque which bears an inscription telling of the surrender and treaty that occurred on that fair day. 107 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:26.820 All wars are created by government, and the principal reason why the Welsh populace felt a necessity to protect their homes was because of the politically inspired war which their king had helped to cause. 108 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:56.820 Had there been no King George, had there been no war between the British Government and the Irish or the French, a French expedition off the Strumbled Head lighthouse could have negotiated peacefully with the private merchants of Fishguard in order to re-provision their ships. Trade is a far less costly practice than war, with few of the attendant risks. Certainly the French people would not have thought to invade the Welsh coast, nor would the Irish. Governments invade. Governments 109 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:07.820 and make war. Given a condition in which the rules of liberty pertain, there would be scant reason either for invasion or the necessity of defense of a coastal village. 110 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:17.820 But we can surely admire this Welsh Aunt Jemima for recognizing that the government can do nothing useful that private persons cannot do. 111 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:24.820 And her initiative and resolute action contain the elements of which freedom and independence are formed. 112 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:29.900 Often we are led to believe that government protects us from danger, or that government 113 00:12:29.900 --> 00:12:36.500 solves our problems and permits us to lead happier, freer and more secure lives. 114 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:42.300 But in fact, government never does anything for us that we cannot do for ourselves, for 115 00:12:42.300 --> 00:12:46.380 the very best government of all is self-government. 116 00:12:46.380 --> 00:12:52.220 Those of us who would be free must always remember that liberty and self-government 117 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:52.740 are one.