Wampum escape pods? Thoughts on an interesting anecdote.
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- Опубликовано: 4 мар 2024
- Octopus ink cloud but with wampum beads.
Sagard is usually semi reliable, but I haven't seen anything else from other sources to back him up on this one.
Link to patreon if you are so inclined.
www.patreon.com/user?u=3998481
if somebody is chasing you, throwing a bunch of banknotes behind you might be an effective strategy.
I must say your comment surprised me for a moment.
STREET SMARTS
I have know several people who kept a money clip separate from their wallet exactly for that reason. Throw the money, run the other way.
That makes senses. The only people chasing you at the end are the ones who missed out on the loot and want you for payment, or the ones who really *really* have a bone to pick with you.
Now i imagine the warriors basically like Mr. T with wooden armor
I was gonna write a comment but you noted everything; ransom vs counterattack, reward/risk ratio, winnowing the opposition numbers.
Good insight.
I think the other thing to consider is why no group stopped this practice. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to adopt a set of rules of engagement that declared any wampum beads collected on the ground to be shared out and not to become the private property of whoever grabs them? Or to prohibit breaking off a pursuit except by the mutual agreement of all pursuers or superior orders? I'd guess part of that is the "preemptive ransom" idea at the group level: it is better for us to take the free payment than to risk warriors getting hurt/killed/lost in the pursuit. Additionally, if dropping wampum beads stops working as a tactic our enemies will stop doing it.
Given all the self preservation mentioned in Kaianerekowa, I really have to agree with this line of thinking. I know we're looking at two different eras here, likely by 3-500 years, but look at how other smaller things are seemingly retained from Peace Maker's era to this day.
Throw in the complications of the Brants allegedly acting out of order with the Iakoiane wishes, I can only imagine the faction split that would have caused between the sympathizers and families that wanted to stay within our agreements and protocols of not getting involved. Going further, if forced into duty, like is seemingly implied by the white history books, its not hard to imagine they would have held true to those morals when forced into combat. Much like today. It would have been a battle of new way vs old leading to that flash point, with youngers trying to hold on to the old, I would think
...another point that just popped into my head after typing that, where would the handsome lakers fall into the spectrum? Being more or less Quakers, one would think they would fall to the try maintain no violence side when push comes to shove. But then again, look at who they were allied with during the formation of that sect... who knows, but it's fascinating to mull over
And now I will go re-watch your video about wampum.
Incredible video it makes so much sense. You have a very interesting storytelling style
I agree. In the 1st minute of the video I thought "maybe it was sort of a way to pay ransom".
Very cool, I'm so glad I've found this channel
I guess its heighten the opportunity cost. Some people will see more value in the wampum.
Advance ransom sounds like a great way to put it.
This is genius. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.
That’s really clever. I can’t imagine that would work for someone who was wanted for something by the people who are chasing them, as the person may now be more valuable than the beads. I’m not entirely sure what would constitute a situation like this other than an “oh you killed so and so, I need to kill you” scenario, as I can’t imagine bounties on warriors were commonplace. Just a thought.
Fascinating
I love this idea. It sort of like a bribe to let the fleeing warrior go.
All the thought processes you mention are valid, but unlikely to occur in the split second it takes to decide whether to pick up the beads or continue the chase. Which means this practice would probably only work if it was already a known thing. "Ah, the old bead-dropping trick. Might as well pick them up then." I imagine the chasers would be shouting at the chasee to just hand over the wampum intact if they know what's good for them.
One other consideration: the guy who shows up to battle with the equivalent of a bunch of $100 bills stapled to his clothes is going to be immediately eyed by everyone on the opposing side as The Guy to take prisoner should the opportunity arise. So either they're all going to do it so that nobody stands out, or that one guy is really confident in running away and the beads are just insurance.
I mean, think also of the bragging rights.
a. If you're a certain type of guy, you'll take any opportunity to show off. Both that you're rich, and that you're brave and bad-ass.
b. If you're not that type of guy, you still don't want others to think you're a coward. "He's rich as fuck, but before battle he pretends to be poor so that the enemy doesn't notice him and focuses on us instead! Pathetic."
Espectacular explicación, realmente me gustan mucho tus vídeos
Very interesting.
thats why knights wore their crest on them
Smart is what your researching called expirimental archeology
I also wonder whether this works because it provides a great way to save face if you actually don't want to risk taking a prisoner.
Say I'm tired after the battle, relieved I wasn't killed, and I just want you to run away. I don't want to push my luck and get stabbed, we've already won anyway.
If I just let you go, that might look bad, like I'm a coward.
However, if I come home with a valuable trophy, it changes things. It proves that I gave chase; it shows that I got my share of the spoils; and it just generally frames the whole thing as a win for me. "Oh, sure I gave chase! But the other guy was so scared of me, he ran like the wind! He even dropped all his shit, hahah. Well, more money for me, amirite, fellas?". If that girl you like asks, you've got stuff to show off and hopefully impress her. Etc., etc.
This isn't quite the same situation as for Baggage Trains & Camps in European battles, but it does line up.
The lack of corroborating discussion, does really make it less impactful than I'd hope for.
I wonder if this tactic would be used if horses existed in combat between natives pre-contact.