With the Galveston landing of U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger in 1865, slavery in Texas ended. African bondsmen became freedmen, and women and children likewise became African Americans. Many left the plantations to join freedom colonies; others sought out opportunities in cities and towns. Today, the consequences of gentrification and rising property values challenge new generations.
January, 1547. The King of England's fetid, 400-pound frame lies on his deathbed, his nation left as rotten and broken as his body. Once Europe's most promising and enlightened prince, he squandered Britain's riches on futile wars, tore apart the centuries-old religious certainties of his people, and threw off the shackles of papal authority.