tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698703170181541645.post5421269040342812885..comments2024-01-11T07:39:08.718-05:00Comments on Differencing the Engine: The Angel of Goliad.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698703170181541645.post-64238856672487099152015-03-20T11:16:37.471-04:002015-03-20T11:16:37.471-04:00when was she born thoo ?????when was she born thoo ?????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698703170181541645.post-68656039042196723922010-04-03T15:58:50.579-04:002010-04-03T15:58:50.579-04:00Nice call on the map. Apparently the citizens of T...Nice call on the map. Apparently the citizens of Texas voted to join the American union in 1845 - with a few stipulations, like favouring slavery and the U.S. government assuming the massive debt the Texan government had incurred, and a larger offshore oil claim than other shoreline states have. <br />One of the reviews I read mentioned that the alternative history in the book seemed contingent on the fact that Texans would have voted against joining the union, for Texas to still be a republic in 1855. And if Texas had voted against, they would've been immediately faced with much stronger diplomatic relations with France, Britain, and Mexico (sez Wikipedia). I wonder what sort of (fictional) impetus it would've taken for Texas to work with their enemies rather than the Americans. Wait and see, I guess.Allanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09413817196488282688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698703170181541645.post-54252512769294234532010-04-03T05:03:08.734-04:002010-04-03T05:03:08.734-04:00I was going to make another post before we started...I was going to make another post before we started reading, but this one is just a perfect setup, so now I think I'll defer and just comment on yours!<br /><br />Texas has always been a big-assed thorn in the bottom of the US, as far as relations to Mexico go. I believe it is the only state of the Union to have, all alone, been it's own whole separate country, though only for about 10 years (1835 to 1845). <br /><br />I see that the map in the front of our book shows The Republic of Texas, somewhat larger than it historically was, I think, and in 1855 still an independent country. <br /><br />Bruce Sterling is also an actual, real, genuine Texan. He sometimes even uses Texan phrases such as the gem at the end of this:<br /><br />"Terrorists could blow Indians up at this rate for the next 300 years and do nothing but wreck their own state sponsors. I wonder what comes next. This terror campaign has lost its gloss. <a href="http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2010/04/indian-social-media-and-political-violence/" rel="nofollow">It’s all hat and no cattle</a>." <br /><br />I'll bet Texas has some sort of prominence, at least in the beginning of the novel, based on that name.<br /><br />I didn't know a thing about the history you just described, but that is fascinating!Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17538834011773567990noreply@blogger.com