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HOW THESE PIRATES WENT LEGIT

Friday, March 1, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we ask who the Pirates of the Atlantic really were, meet the real Shōgun … and begin Women’s History Month by profiling history’s fiercest medieval queens.—and the latest women on U.S. quarters.

An engraving of Queen Elizabeth I knighting Sir Francis Drake

PHOTOGRAPH BY HULTON ARCHIVE, GETTY IMAGES

Ahoy, matey! How did some of the bloody Pirates of the Atlantic go legit?

Many came from from English high society and prowled the high seas for Spanish booty. The piracy was OK with Queen Elizabeth I—as long as they weakened England’s enemies and split their loot with the Crown. Some buccaneers went from outlawed to honored (above, Sir Francis Drake being knighted by Elizabeth I).

PIRATES OF THE ATLANTIC

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Nagoya Castle, first erected in the 16th century and birthplace of the first great unifier of Japan, Oda Nobunaga, stands above trees with a field in front.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JUI-CHI CHAN/ ALAMY

The wise Japenese shōgun who founded his own dynasty (pictured above, his birthplace)
See: The trailer for FX’s ‘Shōgun’

Celia Cruz, Pauli Murray and more: Meet the latest women on U.S. quarters.

Do your joints actually respond to the weather?

How everything we know about the ancient Maya is changing

What is ‘Jerusalem’ syndrome?

A first: this image shows two whales doing what you think they are doing

Do different ailments have different smells?

Who wore this 9,000 year old necklace?

Can Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs help other afflictions?

What is cortisol—and should you actually be worried about it?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Queen Isabella of Castille and King Ferdinand II of Aragon receive Christopher Columbus in April 1492 at the Spanish royal court. Isabella was one of a group of medieval queens who took active roles in their kingdoms and changed their worlds.

IMAGE VIA PVDE / BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Fierce queens: These women were among the few to rule in the ultra-sexist medieval times. They ran the shop for absent or mentally challenged spouses. One was immortalized by Shakespeare. Several battled rebel factions and the heavy gravity of misogyny. The consequences often were brutal. (Above, Queen Isabella, who oversaw the Spanish Inquisition with her husband.)

BUCKING THE CURRENT

Watch the trailer now and stream on March 5 on Hulu and Disney+.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The golden effigy of King Tutankhamun in a black and white photograph

PHOTOGRAPH BY BALAZS GARDI

Today is National Horse Protection Day … and we visit the Bowie Texas Livestock auction, which draws ranchers and road stars looking for high-dollar performance animals—and also sells off animals at the bottom rung of the livestock business. What happens to these animals? (Pictured above on the left, Whitney Monroe, a former rodeo queen, prepares to rope the heels of a bull.)

Today’s soundtrack: Pirates, Rickie Lee Jones

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Nishita Naga, David Beard, and Jen Tse. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup.

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