NATIVE
GARDENS by Karen Zacarías Directed by Julia Rosa Sosa Chaparro
FAMOUS FEUDS IN WORLD HISTORY The Wars of the Roses
Fought between the houses of Lancaster and York from 1455-1485, the wars were a battle for the throne of England. Both houses claimed this through their descent from Edward III. The series of civil wars lasted several decades but ended when Henry VII (House of Lancaster), defeated Richard III (House of York) and shortly after married Elizabeth of York, joining the two houses. The name of the wars refers to the badges associated with the two houses: the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.
The Forty-Seven Ronin Incident (or the Ako Vendetta)
In the early 1700s when Japan was ruled by the Tokugaw Shoguns, Asano Naganori (lord of Ako) was tasked with carrying out formal duties at the shogun’s court. He was continually disrespected by a pompous official named Kira Yoshinaka
18 your theatre, always
The Butleys and the Del Valles battle it out for two feet of land in their backyards, but disputes like these have been happening as long as people have had opinions. Here’s a list of some of the most well-known, bloody, and downright ridiculous. to the point that Asano lost his temper, drew his sword, and attacked Kira. He was sentenced to death immediately. Upon learning of Asano’s death, his fortyseven loyal samurai bodyguards (now reduced to ronin: a masterless samurai) took revenge. In order to catch Kira and the authorities off guard, the ronin waited nearly two years and then killed him in an outhouse in 1703.
The Hatfields & The McCoys
Perhaps the most famous of any known family feud in the western world, an argument between two Appalachian families over a hog started a decades long battle. Though drama and tension between the families had been bubbling since the Civil War, in 1878 Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing his pig. This set into motion years of lawsuits, murder, and death lasting until 1891. Images in order: Choosing the Red and White Roses in the Temple Garden by Henry Payne (1908), Ukiyo-e print depicting the attack on Kira by Utagawa Kuniteru, The Hatfields, Joan and Bette in happier times.
Joan Crawford & Bette Davis
Rounding out our list of famous feuds is one not quite so bloody, but no less vicious. Joan Crawford was already a star when Bette Davis arrived on the scene in 1930. Though there are many theories as to the start of their mutual dislike, one is that Davis’ first headlining feature film, Ex-Lady, was premiering in 1933. Crawford managed to overshadow Davis’ premiere by announcing her divorce from husband Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Ex-Lady’s robust publicity was reduced to a small paragraph in The New York Times review section, while Crawford’s divorce was front-page news. So began decades of petty comments, insults, pranks, and the upstaging of Davis by Crawford (and vice versa). They eventually worked together in 1962 on Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? where art imitated life and ultimately led Davis to quip, “The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”.
