1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: in history in this episode, one from me and one 4 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: from Tracy V. Wilson. They're both good, if I do 5 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: say so myself. On with the show. Welcome to This 6 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: Day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com 7 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. 8 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past one day 9 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened 10 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: today in history. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm 11 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson and it's November fourteen. The BBC began 12 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: daily radio broadcasts on this day in ninety two, making 13 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: it the world's oldest national broadcasting organization. Radio at this 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: point was still relatively new. It was developed through the 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: work of multiple inventors and engineers and businessmen at the 16 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: end of the nineteenth century, and once people worked out 17 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: how to communicate wirelessly using radio waves, it became super 18 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: easy to build the receiver needed to do that. A 19 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: lot of people got really interested in amateur radio. But 20 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: all of this amateur use of radio quickly started to 21 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: crowd out the increasingly important radio transmissions that were being 22 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: used in an official capacity. For example, during World War One, 23 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: civilian radio signals could overwhelm military communications, so governments started 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: regulating amateur use of radio and passing laws about who 25 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: could use radio and how, and regulating exactly what frequencies 26 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: could be used for what purpose. By the nineteen twenties, 27 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: the British public was lobbying for some kind of national 28 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: broadcasting service. It was inspired in part by broadcasting services 29 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: that had sprung up in the United States and had 30 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: already started to be developed. The amateur broadcasters in the 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: UK had already been shut down, and regulated alternatives had 32 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: been slow to develop because of the fears that the 33 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: signals would interfere with more critical radio communications. In May, though, 34 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: the Postmaster General announced that a national broadcaster would be authorized, 35 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: and then, after a series of meetings and committee discussions, 36 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: the British Broadcasting Company was formed on October nineteenth. It 37 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: would be the following January though before it was formally licensed, 38 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: and at that point it was already sending broadcasts. Six 39 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: leading wireless manufacturers were involved in creating the original British 40 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: Broadcasting Company. One of them was the Marconi Company and 41 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: the first broadcasts on this new radio service came from 42 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: Marconi's studio called two l O. This was a daily service, 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: but it wasn't all day. The first broadcast was a 44 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: news report that was provided by news agencies, and then 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: the weather. It was foggy and a lot of England 46 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: that day and London was seeing some smog. At first, 47 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: a typical broadcast day was just a few hours of music, 48 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: news and weather, which eventually expanded to also include things 49 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: like audio, drama and receiving. The broadcast required a person 50 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: to have a broadcast receiving license. More than a million 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: of these licenses were issued before that very first day 52 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 1: of broadcasting even happened. The British Broadcasting Company was, as 53 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: his name suggests, a company, but it reorganized in seven 54 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: to be more like the public corporation that it is today. 55 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: We don't know very much about how listeners really responded 56 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: to the first few years of daily broadcasting from the 57 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: BBC because audience research didn't start until nineteen thirty six. 58 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: BBC television service also began in nineteen thirty six. On 59 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: August twenty six, the BBC actually adopted television a lot 60 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: quicker than it had adopted radio. And now, of course 61 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: it's known as just the BBC, although in a lot 62 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: of minds, including mine, still stands for British Broadcasting Company 63 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: or maybe British Broadcasting Corporation, at least in people's heads. 64 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: Thanks very much to Eve's Jeff Coke for her research 65 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: work on today's podcast, and thanks to Casey P. Graham 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: and Chandler May's for their audio work on this show. 67 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: You can subscribe to This Day in History Class and 68 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and We're Real to podcasts, and 69 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: you can tune in tomorrow for an incredibly destructive March. 70 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I'm Eve's and you're 71 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: listening to This Day in History Class, a show that 72 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: uncovers a little bit more about history every day. The 73 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: day was November four, eighteen seventeen. Seamstress inspired Polycarpa salavari 74 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: Ata was executed for high treason. Salavata was born somewhere 75 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,239 Speaker 1: in the Vice Royalty of New Granada, which included President 76 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: Day Columbia, sometime in the early to mid seventeen nineties. 77 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,359 Speaker 1: Because her birth certificate has never been found, exactly when 78 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: she was born and what her legal given name was 79 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: is unclear. Apollonia, Apollinaria, and La Pola are all names 80 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: that have been used to refer to her, but Polycarpa 81 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: is the name she used later in life and that 82 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: she's best remembered by today. When she was young, her 83 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: family lived in Guaduas and Bogota. Little is known about 84 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: her early life, but it's likely that the family was 85 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: well off, considering the appearance of her childhood home in Guaduas. 86 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: In eighteen o two, while the family was living in Bogota, 87 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: a smallpox epidemic caused the death of her parents and 88 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: two of her siblings. The tragedy caused the family to 89 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: break apart. As the oldest child, Katarina went back to 90 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: Guaduas with Polycarpa and their brother. They lived with relatives 91 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: there until Katarina got married and took Polycarpa and their 92 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: brother with her. Polycarpa lived in the Vice Royalty of 93 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: New Granada during a time known as La patri a Boba, 94 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: which means the Foolish Fatherland. The period from eighteen ten 95 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: to eighteen sixteen was marked by conflict over government and instability. 96 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: Though many details of this time in her life remained unconfirmed, 97 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: it's known that she was a seamstress and also may 98 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: have been a teacher. When the family she worked for 99 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: moved to Bogota, she went along with them. But the 100 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: time she got to Bogota in eighteen seventeen, Polycarpa was 101 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: taking part in revolutionary activities. Bogota was a stronghold in 102 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: the Spanish reconquest of New Granada, and Royalist agents and 103 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: soldiers abounded in the city. Polycarpa was daring, and she 104 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: began spying for the revolutionary forces. She stayed with Andrea 105 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: Ricuarte de Losano, who provided her home as a base 106 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: of intelligence gathering and resistance. She and other women in 107 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: her circle would gather information in drawing rooms and taverns. 108 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: They would urge patriots forced into joining the Royalist army 109 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: to dessert. They sold uniforms and collected money, and they 110 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: organized wagon transportation. Bibiano, Polycarpa's brother, also assisted her in 111 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: revolutionary activities. They recruited more people to join the revolutionary cause, 112 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: but Polycarpa was under suspicion by the royal bureaucracy, and 113 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: she was soon captured and questioned. Authorities found documents that 114 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: incriminated Polycarpa, including letters that she had signed and given 115 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: to soldiers urging them to join the patriots. One man 116 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: reportedly her lover, was arrested with a list of royalists 117 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: and patriots that she had given him. After a court 118 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: martial was held in Bogota in November, Polycarpa and several 119 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: other defendants were sentenced to be executed by firing squad. 120 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: Her execution was set for the morning of November eighteen seventeen. 121 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: She has since been honored as a heroine in Colombia's 122 00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: fight for independence. In nineteen sixty seven, Colombia declared November 123 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: four the Day of the Colombian Woman, in honor of 124 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: Polikarpa Salavarieta. I'm eve Chef Coote and hopefully you know 125 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 126 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: You can find us on social media at t D 127 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: I h C podcast, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Email 128 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: still works. Send us a note at this day at 129 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: I heeart media dot com. Thanks for listening and I 130 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: hope you'll be back tomorrow.