XXV
Lost, found, hidden for so long,
Will be Pastor and demigod honored:
When the moon ends its great century,
By other winds he will be dishonored.
Original
Perdu trouv, cach de si long siecle,
Sera Pasteur demi Dieu honor:
Ains que la lune acheve son grand siecle,
Par autres vents sera deshonor.
The first verse contains the concept "siecle", which translates as “century”. The term "trouv" derives in "trouver" which translates to “found”. The concept "long" is translated as long. The concept “o” acts in this context as a preposition of cause. The term "si" acts as a conditional conjunction. We should also note that the comma that appears in the Spanish translation after “lost” does not appear in the original quatrain; therefore, the “lost and found” is only one concept.
We see Nostradamus repeating the term "century"; therefore the Spanish translation allows the license of changing it for the concept "time." However, the reiteration of the concept "siecle" is because Nostradamus tries to force the rhyme in this quatrain. The specific meaning of the term "siecle" in the first verse infers that the twentieth century is considered as the longest century by the events that have transpired along it, and the great historical moments or phases lived by humanity. Therefore, he will incorporate the concept in parenthesis "in". Then, the first verse says:
"Lost, found, hidden from himself (in) long century"
The second verse says, "will be pastor demigod (with) honor”
We can change the concept "honor" for “dignity”, “distinction”.
We note that the first two verses form the so-called main clause or main image, because at the end of the second verse Nostradamus puts the colon. Then, the third and fourth verses form a detached image or paraclause or secondary image.
The paraclause begins with the verse:
"When the moon ends its great century"
We see a transcription error from the translator into Spanish, since the original quartet from the master says "lune" i. e. "moon." The term "end" can be changed to "finished."
Finally, the last verse says: "By other winds will be dishonored." We can change the term "wind" to air, atmosphere. We can change the concept "dishonored" to stained, abused, injured, raped.
We know that the symbol "Moon" is directly related to the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the flag of this historic empire is based on a crescent moon and a star. Knowing this is important, many Nostradamus "scholars" tend to associate it to Islam in order to then structure an apocalyptic interpretation. In this idea we can replace the term "moon" by the Ottoman Empire.
Now let's change everything we know to observe this quatrain better:
Lost found, hidden from himself (in) a long century,
Will be pastor and demigod honored:
When the Ottoman Empire ends its great century,
By other environments he will be violated
Nostradamus is referring to the Ottoman Empire, whose moon was its symbol together with a star. Then, we are near 1922. Nostradamus inserts us at the beginning of the nineteenth century. And we are facing the Ottoman Empire. Nostradamus refers no less than to Thomas Edward, or rather, Lawrence of Arabia.
But let's see why, and if my statements are well founded. Lawrence traveled to Syria in 1909 to work in the Karkemish Hittite deposits, on the banks of the Euphrates River; and there he traveled a total of 1,400 kilometers on foot for 4 years and began to familiarize himself with the area, language and customs of its people. Basically, no one knew anything about him during of 4 years. ("Lost found, hidden from himself (in) long century")
Apparently during that time he was lost in his own quest for knowledge of the area, language and customs of its people. He traveled Syria alone and on foot, "living as an Arab among Arabs," and fell in love with the region and its peoples. His main hobby at that time was to draw the military buildings with crossed origin. This knowledge of the region attracted the attention of the Secret Service, for which Lawrence began to work in January 1914. He won the affection of the Arab princes and other Arab tribes.
He was a shepherd because many times he delved into Arab customs and disguised himself as an Arab to penetrate enemy lines, which incidentally, were the Turks of the Ottoman Empire which was coming to an end ("When the Ottoman Empire ends its great century ") in the year 1923, and was honored. By adopting Arab customs, he gradually won the confidence of the suspicious native tribes, who greeted him when he arrived in the camps, shouting "Orens! Orens!", which was how they could pronounce his name, so foreign to their language. He was almost like a demigod for the Arabs because of his tremendous loyalty to the cause of the Arab independence. ("He will be pastor and demigod honored”).
However, "By other environments he will be dishonored". This verse takes on an accurate interpretation of the facts, since Lawrence, when he was captured by Ottoman troops, disguised while spying, was raped by an Ottoman chief and cruelly tortured. Later he managed to escape, but never could overcome this infamous experience. The quatrain has been clarified.
XXVI
The great lightning strikes at daytime,
Bad and predicted by posit carrier:
Next omen falls at nighttime,
Conflict in Reims, London: Pestiferous Etrusca.
Original
Le grand du fouldre tumbe d'heure diurne,
Mal & predict par porteur postulaire:
Suivant presage tumbe d'heure nocturne,
Conflict Reims, Londres, Etrusque pestifere.
Let’s go slowly. Here are many concepts: "Fouldre" derives in "Foudre", which translates as “lightning”. The original quatrain says "tumbe;" that is, it derives from knock down, precipitate, or simply drop. If we change the first verse, we would say:
"The great lightning precipitates at daytime"
In the second verse we see the concept "predict" that derives to the current predit(é), which is an adjective translated as “predicted”. A transcription error again placed the concept “or” in the quatrain translated into Spanish, although the original says "par", meaning "by" instead of "or". We also see that Nostradamus again tries to force the rhyme with the word "Postulaire" making it coincide with pestiferous. It is a word that derives in "postuler", which translates to “postulate”, and "postulaire" would come to mean a set of postulates. And a group of Postulates grouped in a postulate can semantically be defined as a kind of doctrine. The term "postulate" refers to a proposition that is accepted without proof. In short, the term "postulate" refers to “doctrine”.
The term "predicted" can be replaced by foreseen, warned, announced. Likewise, the term "carrier" means one who carries or transports in this case, and given the context it is the one who carries that Postulate. Also, the concept "&” infers two things: Bad - Predicted. Therefore, it can be replaced by adding the concept “ly". Remember that when you add the ending “ly” to a word, you change the class to which it belongs and its function. Let’s change the remaining verse:
"Badly advised by (the) doctrine carrier”
Let’s also remember that the preposition "par" is one of causation. Let’s join the two verses we already have and which form, in view of the usual colon at the end of the second verse, our main image or main clause.
"The great lightning falls at daytime
Badly advised by (the) doctrine carrier"
Now, the term "daytime" points to or is related to the day. It opposes the idea of night.
The third verse tells us: "Suivant presage tumbe d'heure nocturne". That is, "the next omen falls at night time”. Again, Nostradamus uses the term "tumbe", that is “precipitate”.
Let’s know something: lightning can not be foretold. So, he does not speak of “lightning” as a natural phenomenon. We can replace the concept "foretold" by predicted, forecast, and even by the word “predicted” (again). And what is “lightning”, ultimately?
Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. The abrupt, precipitated electric discharge of lightning is accompanied by the emission of light (lightning), caused by the passage of an electrical current that ionizes the air molecules, and by the sound of thunder, developed by the shock wave. In short, first light and then sound. That is, at first, lightning is silent.
We can say that it is not lightning, but something that apparently falls from the sky because in the end, lightning is fast, instantaneous. If Nostradamus assigns it in singular, he is not referring – although the concept “conflict” is in the middle – to a bomb dropped from an airplane, a missile or a rocket, as everyone has thought in advance. In short, Nostradamus infers, in singular, that it is something that falls, that plunges swiftly.
We also see a replacement in the third verse. Nostradamus tells us, "the next omen falls ...". I.e., he is synomymizing “lightning” with “omen”. Therefore, we can improve the syntax including the concept "lightning" and saying:
The next (lightning) announced falls at night time
Now let’s form the first three verses:
"The great lightning falls at daytime
Badly predicted by (the) doctrine carrier:
The next predicted (lightning) will fall at night time”
The fourth verse says: "Conflict in Reims. London: Pestiferous Etrusca"
Strange. "Reims" is the largest city located in the region of Champagne-Ardennes in France. On the other side, London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. We note that there is no full stop at the end of the concept “Reims”, and that the original quatrain has a coma. This is important because basically it refers to two different locations, and where both are related to having that “next (lighning) that falls at nigh time” precipitating over them. The colon from the quatrain translated to Spanish does not appear either, and is only replaced by another comma.
Let’s know that the term "pestiferous Etruscan" combines two words: On one hand Etrusca, which leads us unequivocally to Italy and within Italy, to Lazio, settled mainly by Etruscans; and within Lazio, undoubtedly, Rome is the basis of Lazio.
Rome, because it is the center of historic Roman political power. And if it is Rome, it is Italy. Many will ask why he put Etrusca instead of Rome. Obviously, this word could offend religious sensitivities because in Nostradamus’ times, Rome is the seat of the Pope’s Catholic power. And the term "Etruscan" can relate more to paganism without hurting feelings that could compromise him for heresy or sacrilege.
On the other hand, the concept "pestiferous" obviously derives from plague, or related with plague. Within the concert of his quatrains, Nostradamus mostly relates it to War, and this is widely supported by the concept "conflict" that appears within this same fourth verse. And we can also replace this concept by “war”. Now we can change the contextual idea knowing “Etruscan” is “Italian”, and “pestiferous” is “war”.
"War in France (Champagne-Ardennes), England and Italy (at) war"
Now let’s add the previous verses:
The great lightning precipitates at daytime
Badly predicted by (the) doctrine carrier:
The next predicted (lightning) falls at night time,
War in France (Champagne-Ardennes), England and Italy (at) War"
Now looking and reviewing the quartet, do you find the teacher’s words familiar?
Now, the great lightning is nothing less than the famous German lightning war or the aptly named German Blitzkrieg, which literally translates in German as "lightning war". In any case, it is a strange name. And Nostradamus is accurate, as always ("The great lightning").
It is a popular name for a German attack military doctrine which involves an initial bombardment followed by the use of mobile forces attacking swiftly and surreptitiously to prevent an enemy from conducting a coherent defense. The Wehrmacht incorporated it in modern weapons and vehicles as a method for preventing trench warfare and linear warfare in future conflicts ("The great lightning")
Let’s go to history:
The invasion of Poland was the first of the military aggressions that Hitler's Germany would undertake. The Polish army was easily defeated, unable to cope with the superior Germanic troops who were using their famous technique called Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War'), based on the swift movement of armored vehicles and maximum firepower, brutally applied. Precisely at dawn on September 1, 1939 (The great lightning falls at daytime)
We must remember that by the evening of August 31st, negotiations were still taking place. Hitler had agreed to receive a Polish plenipotentiary envoy, while Mussolini was initiating an understanding to hold an international conference aimed at sorting out all European issues in dispute. That night Europe slept better than the previous nights, convinced that she had breached the critical point of the crisis and that, once again, peace would be the salvation of the world. ("Badly predicted by the posit carrier:")
However, before sunrise on 1 September 1939, German armored units crossed the border and hundreds of bombs fell on Polish cities. Within hours, airfields, bridges, roads, railways and any opposing forces were destroyed ("The great lightning falls at daytime”)
The impact was enormous in all of Europe. Nazi radios broadcasted news to the minute, saying that their territory had been violated and that Germanic minorities in Poland suffered massacres, a situation that had forced the military to intervene. It was also said that Germany did not intend to declare war, and that this was a punitive expedition.
Until then, it was assumed that Germany was still under the regime of the Treaty of Versailles, which had restricted their troops to a maximum of one hundred thousand professional soldiers, distributed in 10 small infantry and cavalry divisions, and had been forbidden to have armored weapons, heavy artillery, aviation, and Staff.
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (Birmingham, March 18, 1869 - Heckfield, November 9, 1940) was a British Conservative politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between May 28, 1937 and May 10, 1940. His name will be historically linked to his foreign policy, in what was called Appeasement, ("postulate"), which sought to contemporize with the expansionist policy of Adolf Hitler by conceding the bulk of his demands. Thereby, Chamberlain sought to safeguard world peace. The culmination of this policy was the Munich Conference of 1938 that allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland. Also, it maintained the neutrality of the United Kingdom in the Spanish Civil War and recognized the government of General Franco on February 26, 1939, receiving strong criticism from Labor deputy Clement Attlee. ("Badly advised by (the) doctrine carrier")
However, the German invasion of Czechoslovakia forced Chamberlain to modify his policy, favoring thereafter the British arms industry and preparing for a possible war.
Then we know what this quatrain is all about. Now, the third and fourth verses refer us to the following German blitzkrieg, in the Netherlands.
After the invasion of Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany but nothing happened on the Western Front during that period. For that reason, it was called the Jest War. Netherlands, meanwhile, had ignored the German rearmament and had not taken any steps to prepare for a possible war.
Due to the absence of major defensive lines in Holland, both the Allies and the Axis looked at Holland and Belgium as the best route to attack their opponent. Despite the continuing allied insistence for Netherlands and Belgium to join the Allied side, these two countries maintained their neutrality even after the Belgian obtained the plans for the German attack, which clearly showed Germany’s intention of invading France, by first invading Belgium.
At dawn on May 10, 1940, German planes crossed the Dutch skies but flied on towards the Channel. The Dutch believed that the planes were bound for Britain, but the squads turned around over the Channel and returned to the Dutch bases, destroying most of the Netherlands Air Force on the ground. ("The next announced (lightning) falls at night time")
Obviously, England ("England ..(at) War") had made an agreement with France ("France") on March 31, 1939, to ensure the integrity of Poland; so on September 3, 1939 they declared war on Germany when it invaded Poland. And let’s also remember that the French situation worsened when on June 10th, Italy declared war. However, the Italian attack could not advance more than a few kilometers in a country already that was already defeated; this weakness characterized Italy throughout the war. ("Pestiferous Etruscan or Italy (at) War"). Finally, let’s remember that France was attacked by the Germans.
France was attacked by surprise by Germany precisely in the region of Champagne – Ardennes, because the Allies did not believe that the invading forces would penetrate through this area, by the Maginot Line.
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Army moved to northern Belgium and planned to carry out a mobile war in the north, while maintaining a static continuous front along the Maginot Line further south. The Allied plans were thwarted immediately by the most classic and important example in Blitzkrieg history. In the first phase of the invasion, Fall Gelb, the Panzergruppe von Kleist of the Wehrmacht, swept through the Ardennes, a region of dense forests that the Allies had deemed impenetrable for a modern mechanized army ("War in France. Champagne - Ardennes "). The Germans breached the French line at Sedan, held by reservists rather than frontline troops, then turned west across northern France towards the English Channel, dividing the Allies in two. The BEF and the French forces, surrounded in the north, were evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo, but as I always say, that's another story and another quatrain. The quatrain has been clarified.
XXVII
Under the Guyenne Sierra from heaven beaten,
Not far from there the treasure lies hidden:
That for many centuries has been closed,
He who finds it will die, the eye pierced by the spring:
Original
Dessouz de chaine Guien du ciel frapp,
Non loing de l est cach le tresor:
Qui par longs siecles avoit est grapp,
Trouve mourra, l'oeil crev de ressort:
Let’s know that "dessouz" means below or underneath, and that literally, "Chaine" means chain. Within the context of the translated quatrain, the term “sierra” refers to mountains, hills, ranges. Despite the dissimilarities when reading them, both concepts point to the same thing: a mountain range.
The term "Guien" is strange. The translation refers to "Guyana"; however, the original concept refers to "Guien", which comes from a popular evolution of the word “Aquitaine”: "Aguiaina” in Gascony in the XII and XIII centuries; the initial "a” slowly disappeared; Aguidaina, Aguienne de la Guienne. The spelling “Guyenne” appears after the union with the kingdom of France. On the other hand, the term may refer to certain territories in America that were taken by Europeans who called it Guyana in Spanish. Such is the case of French Guyana and British Guyana. The current French name is Guyane, and in Occitan it is Guiane.
The word "Guyana", used in the Spanish translation, has the same origin.
The word Guyana is of indigenous origin. It derives from the Guanao dialect, that is, from the indigenous people of the Orinoco Delta; “guai” means "man”, and “Yana” is a negative. Therefore, “Guyana” is like saying "no" name ", or “it can not be identified." Then, Guyana is the country, therefore "that which we dare not name" the "holy land", the house of the Supreme Being. For this god, the legend of El Dorado ("gold") is not a European invention, but a native superstition. Paradoxically, the expression would be a good name for this long, mysterious paradise imagined by some, because to others who suffered it, this was a green hell. And let’s know that the French variant of the name is spelled with two “n”.
We know that the ancient French region called Guyenne was adjacent to the Pyrenees, which are a mountain range. But Guyana also has a mountain range. Apparently we have a dilemma.
The first verse includes a phrase: "from heaven beaten." The preposition "from" is indicative of origin and with it Nostradamus gives us a differentiator. In other words, the Guyana or Guyenne we seek is the one "from heaven beaten."
Now, the concept "heaven" ("ciel") can be replaced or synonymized by paradise, glory, Eden, as the natives called "the house of the supreme being." In short, it refers to Guyana in the Americas.
Again, Nostradamus surprises me. I conclude:
First: This territory was not colonized until 1604, by the French, and by that time Nostradamus was already dead. That is why he identifies this territory based on the similarity with Guyenne in France, (“Guien”), but differentiates it with “beaten heaven” ("du ciel frapp")
Second: The word Guyana has an indigenous origin, referring to its divinity, and this divinity would be linked to the legend of El Dorado: That is why it is masterful that Nostradamus speaks about a hidden treasure.
We should add that there are two regions currently known as Guyana, French Guyana, and the one that is called simply Guyana. Nostradamus infers certain characteristics that define what Guyana is referred to: The concept of "... heaven beaten Guyana" refers to the hardships suffered by the early French settlers when they settled there, and then their flight – so to speak - to the nearby islands. Let’s remember that one of these islands was also part of the French prison system, the famous Devil's Island. With this I just want to draw a parallel of why Nostradamus infers the concept “heaven beaten” to it. ". In other words, that it is punished by God. Then he is referring precisely to French Guyana. Then, what Nostradamus infers below is that “not far from there is hidden treasure” (gold), “which for many centuries has been closed.”
Or rather hidden, lost, covered, buried (all the synonyms for “closed”) but, why closed, buried or covered? We already said that the concept "Dessouz" means below or underneath. Therefore, I change the question: under what?
This is clear when you know that only 378 kms. of coastal strip are occupied, and the rest of the country is covered by a dense equatorial forest. Almost 90% of the territory is covered by forest.
The phrase "for many centuries has been ..." is a clear conclusion that it is older than European colonization and much older still than the first inhabitants of that geographical area.
Obviously, he then concludes that whoever discovers it will "die" because a spring will pierce his eye. The concept "spring" or its original "ressort" is strange. It is somehow an artifact or device that protects the opening of that treasure, because it is "closed". This is a future prediction (no one yet has discovered “El dorado"), and furthermore, a warning for those who go there or are in search of the mentioned treasure.
If we eventually associate the concept "closed" with "spring", we realize that basically, he speaks about a door or entrance. This goes without detriment to what I mentioned about the dense jungle of Guyana. However, we can surely tie up some loose ends when he says "under the mountains of Guyana." A mountain or mountain range is part of a ridge. A ridge is composed by a main mountain range that forms the axis of that ridge, and, in some cases, by other ridges which are lower and less important than the main one. If such were the case, and knowing that he begins the quatrain with "under the ridge" and then adds "Not far from there ..." that is indicative because then, he first refers to the main mountain chain ("chaine") and then with the concept "not far from there" would be indicative of some nearby or secondary mountain systems to that main mountain chain ("not far from there"), and not necessarily ranges, but mounts. These are the main ones.
Mont Saint-Marcel (635 m)
Massif du Mitaraka (690 m)
Sommet Tabulaire (830 m)
Bellevue de l'Inini (851 m)
He could also be referring to Guyenne, the former French province, of which capital was Bordeaux and was located northeast of Gascony. However there are several points that do not fit with this parameter: the first has to do with the verse "That for many centuries has been closed" and "beaten by heaven", referring to the bloody battles experienced by that geographic area. However, the idea of El Dorado is stronger in this sense, as well as God's punishment "beaten by heaven" (for having experienced the horrors of the settlers and the future prisons) and even more so "under the mountains of Guyana", also considering that geographically speaking, it is easier to find a treasure in France than in French Guyana. The quatrain has been cleared, even though I would have very much liked to have begun an expedition. Nostradamus surprises and disturbs.
XXVIII
Boucq tower will fear the barbaric whip
One time, long after the Hesperian boat:
Cattle, people, furniture, both will do great damage
Taurus and Libra what mortal stitch?
Original
La tour de Boucq craindra fuste barbare
Un temps, long temps apres barque hesperique:
Bestail, gens, meubles tous deux feront grand tare
Taurus & Libra quelle mortelle picque?
Much attention to the concept "tour" ("tower") because it also means lap, contour, environment. Some studies report that the word is Bouc and derives from the Latin "Bucquia Turis", and would translate as Bouc Tower, a tower built in the XII century in Marseille. However, the concept "Boucq Tower" refers to Fort Bouc at the entrance of Charon channel. It is located in Port-de-Bouc, a commune and town in France, in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Bouches du Rhone department.
The term "whip" can refer to a thin flexible rod or whip to punish the horses; however, given the concept "la tour de Boucq" which is located on the coast, makes me think that the term "whip" was a narrow, lightweight, fast, shallow boat, propelled by oars and sail; in essence, a small galley. Usually it had rowing benches on each side, for between 12 and 18 men, a single mast with a lateen (triangular), and normally two or three guns. The sail was used for crossings and to save the strength of the rowers, while the oars propelled the ship in and out of port and during combats. The whip was the favorite ship of the North African corsairs of Salé and the Berber Coast.
The Barbarossa brothers, Oruç Baba and Khayr al-Din mainly used whips in the Turkish conquest of North Africa and in the rescue of Mudejars and Moors from Spain after the fall of Granada. They and the other North African corsairs sowed terror among the Christian fleets and on the islands and coastal areas of the Mediterranean with this type of ships in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Therefore we can change "barbaric whip" by “pirate navy” (" Cattle, people, furniture will do great damage ")
We note that in the original quatrain Nostradamus moves the comma in a way that allows it to fit the octosyllable and the rhyme. Therefore, the reading verse is:
"The Tower of Boucq will fear the pirate navy for some time
long after the Hesperian boat”
And then it is more than obvious to say that "will fear the barbaric whip" indicates that Marseilles in particular or France in general fear being attacked by Berber pirates (for) some time.
Then, Nostradamus takes us into the future, "a long, long time". Now, in Greek mythology, the Hesperides (in ancient Greek: "daughters of the sunset") were the nymphs who tended a beautiful garden in a far corner of the West, located, according to various sources, in the mountains of Arcadia in Greece, near the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, or in a distant island at the ocean's edge.
The term "boat" is related with ship, vessel; there is no context evidence to associate it with the Catholic Church. Therefore we can change the term "boat" by ship, vessel, etc. And we can change Hesperian for Greek. Let’s see:
"long time from the Greek boat”
Marseille was founded by the Phoceans; according to the chronicles of Thucydides, the Phocean Greeks in the Anatolian peninsula began founding the emporium of Massalia around 600 a. C., although the circumstances and exact date of the founding of this colony remain vague. ("Long time in the Hesperian boat"). Now let's change what we have:
"The Tower of Boucq will fear the pirate navy for some time
long after the Greek foundation ":
The structure of the quatrain again establishes that the first two verses correspond to the main image or main clause, and that the two verses seen in the original French quatrain allow stating that the third and fourth verses correspond to a paraclause or secondary image derived from the main image or clause.
Within this context, Nostradamus opens the paraclause:
Cattle, people, furniture, both will do great damage
Taurus and Libra, what mortal stitch?
We can improve the idea that appears in the third verse of this quatrain: "Cattle, people, furniture"; the term "furniture" derives from Mobile, that moves, that can be moved by utensils. It is used when talking about possessions. The concept "people" can change to persons. "Let's see:
"Cattle, persons, possessions, both will do great harm"
It is interesting to see how Nostradamus accommodates the verse to accommodate it with the rhyme. And it is also interesting to note the parallel posed by Nostradamus, because in simple reading we can relate "both will do great harm" with Taurus and Libra, but it is not directly like that; we’ll see.
Now if what is transported is cattle, people and goods, then we are facing a kind of migratory movement, and if he speaks of "La tour de Boucq", it means that it sails out of Marseilles. And if he speaks about the Berber attacks, it means that this migration is to the north coast of Africa, where Berber pirates were based, mostly.
Nostradamus, my dear Nostranauts, is telling us about the French colonization of North Africa. Algeria.
When he says “both will do great damage" he is referring to the damage caused by the Berber pirates of yesteryear, and to the harm caused by the French migration to North Africa. And more precisely, the damage to Algeria caused by the settlers. A perfect parallel.
In 1834, France annexed Algeria. In 1840, 115,000 French soldiers again invaded Algeri, resuming the war of conquest. There were subsequent riots against the French, which failed. South of the country, however, nomadic tribes remained independent and fought the French presence well into the twentieth century. The new regime also sparked fierce resistance from the Berber tribes who were accustomed to indirect Turkish control. Their leader, Abd al-Qadir, who claimed to be a descendant from Muhammad, used attack and retreat tactics that were very effective until 1847. Abd al-Qadir signed the Tafna treaty in 1837, ending the hostilities which would later intensify, and was finally defeated; Abd al-Qadir surrendered to the French.
With Abd al-Qadir vanquished, France began to colonize Algeria and the European settlers arrived in droves in order to encourage the Europeans to get closer to Algeria. In 1873 the French expropriated or bought land from Algerian owners at very low prices for the installation of settlers. The French pieds-noirs concentrated the ownership of fertile land, and the entire economy was reorganized to serve the interests of France. ("Cattle, people, furniture, will do great damage")
Algeria thus became an overseas department of France controlled entirely by the European minority, who was called colons (colonists). The colons formed a privileged elite. With the aid of large inflows of capital, the colons developed a modern economy with industries, banks, schools, shops and services similar to those of their country. Algerian agriculture was adapted to the French economy; large farms produced wines and citrus fruits for export to France.
Some Europeans made huge fortunes in Algeria, although the majority was small farmers, traders, merchants and factory workers. Everybody, however, shared a passionate belief in their Algérie Française, French Algeria.
Although the Muslim population was majority and benefited from social services and economic development, it remained at a disadvantage and was subject to many restrictions. Under French law, Muslims could not hold public events, carry firearms or leave their homes or towns without permission. Legally, they were French subjects, but to become French citizens with full rights, they had to renounce their beliefs. Few did.
The Muslim population grew rapidly: by 1930 it reached 5 million. A small minority, educated in French schools, adopted French culture, although it was not equally accepted by the colons. From this group, the initial impetus of Algerian nationalism arose.
The last verse
Taurus and Libra, what mortal stitch?
The term "Picque" which derives in "pique" translates into bite, stitch, sting.
And we know that Taurus ranges from 21/04 to 21/05, and Libra, from 24/09 to 23/10. But who or what do these two signs stand for? And why Nostradamus said "what mortal bite or stitch? He probably refers to a historical event in the same period in which the first French emigrants bound for Algeria, via Marseille, appear.
The term "mortal" suggests death.
In the previous verse I said that Nostradamus formed a parallel when he mentioned "both will do great harm." And I mentioned what he meant. Well, Nostradamus uses the same resource, "both will do great damage," to also reference Taurus and Libra. In this case, both signs also relate to "harm."
Let’s know part of what happened in Algeria:
Remember that the French king Charles X, born on October 9, 1757 ("Libra") sent the Algiers expedition in 1830. The excuse for the invasion would have been the "abuse" by "bey" Hussein to the French consul Deval who, following an argument over the price of wheat supplied to the French, hit the consul with a fan. And so began the conquest and colonization of Algeria ("What mortal stitch?")
The military conquest of Algeria was not difficult. The troops from general Bourmont landed on June 14, 1830 in Sidi Ferruch, twenty five miles west of Algiers. On July 5 the bey signed a capitulation and went into exile. Hussein's capitulation () was not the surrender of Algeria. Then, after the revolution of July of 1830 and after the abdication of Charles X, the new interim authorities appointed General Anne Jean Marie René Savary, who received the military command of the French army in Algeria. His brutal way of directing made him responsible for the extermination of the local Al'Ouffia tribe and the death of many Arab leaders in virtue of attracting them through false negotiations, which intensified hostilities. This general was born on April 26, 1774 ("Taurus"). The quatrain has been clarified.