- description
- # THE 'GEES
## Overview
"THE 'GEES" is a section from the text file "the_apple_tree_table_and_other_sketches.txt". It is part of the larger "Melville" collection. This section appears to be a narrative or descriptive piece, likely from a literary work.
## Context
This section is extracted from "the_apple_tree_table_and_other_sketches.txt", a file within the "Melville" collection, which contains the complete works of Herman Melville. It follows the section titled "The Uncle's Invention" and precedes another section not detailed here. The text discusses the origin and characteristics of a group referred to as the "'Gees," which the author explains is a derogatory term used by seamen for Portuguese sailors. The term is derived from "Portugee," a corruption of "Portuguese." The narrative elaborates on the historical context, suggesting the "'Gees" are descendants of Portuguese convicts sent to Fogo, one of the Cape Verde islands, where they intermingled with an indigenous population. The author highlights the disdain seamen held for this group, noting the term "'Gee" was a particularly contemptuous abbreviation.
## Contents
The section "THE 'GEES" explains the etymology and social context of the term "'Gee," used by sailors to refer to Portuguese individuals. It details their supposed origins on the island of Fogo, stemming from a mix of Portuguese convicts and an aboriginal population. The text emphasizes the derogatory nature of the term within the maritime community and provides anecdotal examples of its use. The section also briefly mentions the island of Fogo's name origin, relating it to its volcano.
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- THE 'GEES
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- THE 'GEES
In relating to my friends various passages of my sea-goings I have
at times had occasion to allude to that singular people the 'Gees,
sometimes as casual acquaintances, sometimes as shipmates. Such
allusions have been quite natural and easy. For instance, I have said
_The two 'Gees_, just as another would say _The two Dutchmen_, or _The
two Indians_. In fact, being myself so familiar with 'Gees, it seemed
as if all the rest of the world must be. But not so. My auditors have
opened their eyes as much as to say, "What under the sun is a 'Gee?"
To enlighten them I have repeatedly had to interrupt myself and not
without detriment to my stories. To remedy which inconvenience, a
friend hinted the advisability of writing out some account of the
'Gees, and having it published. Such as they are, the following
memoranda spring from that happy suggestion:
The word _'Gee_ (_g_ hard) is an abbreviation, by seamen, of
_Portugee_, the corrupt form of _Portuguese_. As the name is a
curtailment, so the race is a residuum. Some three centuries ago
certain Portuguese convicts were sent as a colony to Fogo, one of the
Cape de Verdes, off the northwest coast of Africa, an island previously
stocked with an aboriginal race of negroes, ranking pretty high in
civility, but rather low in stature and morals. In course of time, from
the amalgamated generation all the likelier sort were drafted off as
food for powder, and the ancestors of the since-called 'Gees were left
as the _caput mortum_, or melancholy remainder.
Of all men seamen have strong prejudices, particularly in the matter of
race. They are bigots here. But when a creature of inferior race lives
among them, an inferior tar, there seems no bound to their disdain.
Now, as ere long will be hinted, the 'Gee, though of an aquatic
nature, does not, as regards higher qualifications, make the best of
sailors. In short, by seamen the abbreviation 'Gee was hit upon in pure
contumely; the degree of which may be partially inferred from this,
that with them the primitive word Portugee itself is a reproach; so
that 'Gee, being a subtle distillation from that word, stands, in point
of relative intensity to it, as attar of roses does to rose-water. At
times, when some crusty old sea-dog has his spleen more than unusually
excited against some luckless blunderer of Fogo his shipmate, it is
marvelous the prolongation of taunt into which he will spin out the one
little exclamatory monosyllable Ge-e-e-e-e!
The Isle of Fogo, that is, "Fire Isle," was so called from its volcano,
- title
- THE 'GEES