Publisher: Exotic Reads
Page Length: 111 eBook / 170 paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis
Living in the city of Mechelen, just south of once-prosperous Antwerp, in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War, Anke Verhaegen, an ambitious nineteen-year-old, is determined to make the most of her life.
When her brother Johan suggests crossing the Atlantic to New Netherland, Anke knows this is her destiny. Together, the two set about attempting to secure passage across the sea. Before long, their plans are in motion, and hopes are high. Yet, with vengeful enemies, secrecy, and danger on the high sea waiting to be faced, will Anke really be able to secure a better life for herself?
The Inspiration Behind Anke: The Beginning
by Anas Hamshari & Caroline Snodgress
The story of Anke: The Beginning was inspired by three things: women’s freedom to pursue their commercial ambitions with minimal hindrance; the boundless commercial opportunities that lie in the New World; the positive influence of cross-cultural interactions in regards to Anke’s progressive outcome from befriending (and acquainting) foreign persons.
While many civilizations around the world at the time (circa 17th century) expected women to perform their traditional duties in society, Dutch women had a little more freedom and flexibility in terms of what they wanted to do in life. Many merchants’ wives were authorized to talk on their behalf, in addition to conducting their husband’s commercial affairs while they weren’t present. Furthermore, independent businesswomen, or she-merchants (a.k.a. lady merchants) as they were called back then, were quite common in the Netherlands (and in Dutch colonies around the world).
In today’s world, some countries and societies prohibit millions of women from working outside the house. While some of these prohibitions are enforced by the husbands, other restrictions are legally bound, and challenging these restrictions can cause severe legal repercussions. According to an article on the World Economic Forum by Stephanie Thomson, in India, husbands can rape their wives with no consequences; in Russia, domestic violence doesn’t necessarily count as a crime; in the United States, rapists can claim parental rights on babies that were born as a result of the mother having been raped by that person; in Sudan, girls as young as 10 can be forced to get married, so long as their parent(s) or guardian (and judge) permit it; and so on.
As the authors of this storyline, we hoped that all the oppressed (and ambitious) women around the world could get inspired by Anke’s ambitious self and keep holding onto their hopes and dreams no matter what, for they can easily be fulfilled if there is enough determination, perseverance, and most important of all, persistence. While it may be a bit harder for women to accomplish their goals, it is nevertheless doable.
Second of all, Anke’s story was greatly inspired by the fact that the New World was unspoiled in regards to the business foundations and establishments that existed at the time. Residents of the Old World could have easily found a passage to one of the colonies of the New World. The chances are is that they had to work several years as an indentured servant before they paid their dues in full to the Company that indentured them to pay for the cost of the voyage. Some migrants saved enough money to be able to afford that semi-perilous voyage across the Atlantic; for most migrants, it was well worth sacrificing their lives just to get out of the Old World and open new doors in the New one.
The reason why this inspired us is that the world today is highly overpopulated, and all the commercial institutions have been established for quite some time now, leaving not a single thread that needs knotting. It is extremely tough nowadays to compete in almost any field without being bombarded with stiff competition from major firms. Even more so, if a business idea comes to mind, the chances are is that someone else had already thought of it and has already been doing business with this very idea long before you thought of it. While some might argue otherwise, back then, in Anke’s times, an entrepreneur had to suffer less before they succeeded in their commercial endeavors compared to an entrepreneur's journey in today’s world.
Lastly, our main protagonist, Anke, has an open mind and an optimistic self. She acquainted with all sorts of people, regardless of their ethnic background. She had a strong relation with a Novgorodian (Russian) merchant for quite some time. While at the time, narrow-mindedness was a common issue across the entire world; the very same problem exists today in our modern world. Let’s take a look at schools and universities for instance; the chances are that you will find each ethnic group attached to one another rather than see different ethnic groups socially interact with each other. The oranges prefer to hang around with other oranges, and the apples with other apples. In other words, xenophobia is a dark cloud that clogs the minds of today’s and yesterday’s generations.
Anke broke that barrier when she sought to expand her knowledge on trade by interacting with French, Spanish, English, and several Dutch merchants, not to mention her long-time acquaintance, Demyan, the Novgorodian merchant. If she hadn’t been on good terms with Demyan, he would have never offered her what he did before they took part in the voyage to the New World. Furthermore, there is a tiny message that we unconsciously tried to show to the world: there is absolutely no harm to oneself if they interact with people from other ethnicities. Moreover, one can benefit greatly by interacting with people from around the world – there is never a shortage of knowledge, and that’s for sure.
Anke: The Beginning is available from Amazon
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Such an interesting post! Thank you, Yvonne, for hosting today's blog tour stop!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting too. A pleasure to be involved.
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