|
Sukarman Sukamto was a history minor when he was an undergraduate at the University of California Berkeley. Of particular interest to Sukarman Sukamto are the aspects of history that are typically overlooked. There is the history you learn in school, and the history you have to learn on your own, and it is the latter that Sukarman Sukamto is enthusiastic about. One of Sukarman Sukamto’s favorite historical figures is Stede Bonnet. Stede Bonnet was a a pirate in the 1700s, but he was unlike any other pirate, Sukarman Sukamto explains. What was different about Stede Bonnet is that he had been a member of the British army and was a major landowner. When Stede Bonnet decided to become a pirate, he purchased a boat, outfitted it with canons, and set out on the seas, naming the ship “Revenge.” Stede Bonnet did not really have a pirate’s temperament, however, and was known as the “Gentleman Pirate.” According to Sukarman Sukamto, Stede Bonnet was well educated and generally in alignment with the establishment. He knew virtually nothing about ships or seafaring, and he wasn’t suited to the violence of plundering. Stede Bonnet wasn’t a good pirate, but he remains a historical curiosity. When it comes to interesting historical figures, Margery Kempe comes to the fore. Kempe was a 15th century mystic who is also credited with writing the first autobiography in English. Margery Kempe was not particularly educated, notes Sukarman Sukamto, and her autobiography appears to be transcribed for her. Kempe held an assortment of unusual spiritual beliefs that lead her to act out hysterically, says Sukarman Sukamto, but she was still a Christian, even in her unusual beliefs. She believed that she could talk with Jesus, Mary, and the saints and she became increasingly religious, eventually engaging in chastity, after bearing 14 children. The third historical figure who has drawn Sukarman Sukamto’s fascination is Roger Mortimer, a man known as the greatest traitor in history. Roger Mortimer lived during the 13th and 14th centuries and was very close to the King of England during that time. Mortimer was a soldier, Sukarman Sukamto explains, but he was also a master of acquiring lands and had quite the holding to his name. When Edward the second came to the throne, things began to break down between the crown and the barons. When Edward takes as his favorite a man who Mortimer disliked, Sukarman Sukamto says, Mortimer withdrew his loyalty from the throne and joins a group of rebels called the Contrariants who force King Edward to banish several of his favorites. In a turn of events, Mortimer was eventually forced to surrender to King Edward after Mortimer was abandoned by his allies, but the end result is certainly a far cry from Roger Mortimer’s loyalty to Edward the first, observes Sukarman Sukamto, making for one of history’s better stories.
Related Articles -
Sukarman Sukamto, School, History,
|
