And you thought the movie was sensationalist

[torquill]

From my history book, on the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now known as Haiti):

In November 1723 a crowd of a hundred women attacked the Maison de l'Afrique, the island seat of the powerful Company of the Indies. Led by a onetime actress named Sagona, owner of a bar in the town, they smashed the windows of the building, broke in, and threw furniture, books, and papers into the street. They tracked some of the company's officials down to a nearby house, where Sagona placed a gun against the throat of one of them and said, "Drink, traitor, it'll be your last." Reportedly he was saved just in time by the intervention of an officer. The next night the rioting continued as a larger crowd again attacked the Maison de l'Afrique and then set fire to a plantation owned by the company at La Fossette. In the crowd were 60 men, armed and dressed like women, and more than 300 women, some covered in flour and wearing fake moustaches.

Disney left out the crossdressing -- so much for historical accuracy. :)

Comments

[shadowwalkyr.livejournal.com]

Wait, movie? Which movie? And since when is Disney known for historical accuracy? Or even fictional accuracy?

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

Pirates of the Caribbean. That island, along with Jamaica and a few others (remember Tortuga?) were right in the thick of the piracy and bootlegging trade.

(As for "historical accuracy", apparently I forgot to include the <sarcasm> tags again... :) )

[shadowwalkyr.livejournal.com]

Oh, I saw the tags. I was just playing along.