Sean Connery

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

I've sent two films ("The Templar Legacy" and "Beyond Any
Shadow of Doubt") to you
together with an article by James Earl on the "American bias against
pre-Columbian
Discovery" and my own summary of the proofs of Henry's voyage. 
These are simply
for background information and, although some of the material and the
arguments may
be similar, they are essentially different from the film which Bob Hutt
has put together
and for which he'd like Sean Connery as the narrator.  I haven't
seen Bob's film myself
because it is still in the pre-production stage awaiting the choice of a
narrator.  There
will, of course, be a script and perhaps Bob might let you have a copy
for Sean to browse
over to allow him to make up his own mind as to its suitability.

I still think that a personal meeting would be the more successful
approach.  I know
every angle of this story about the Scot who beat Columbus by a hundred
years and
it is this theme which is likely to attract  Sean who belongs to the
Scottish Nationalist.
Party.

The definitive book on Henry's voyage is under preparation by Dr Tim
Wallace-Murphy
who, I am sure, would welcome a brief introduction to the story by Sean
Connery just
as Sean would welcome an opportunity to show how Scotland had its first
foothold in
America in 1398 after its own bold Declaration of Independence in 1320
which was signed
by Henry Sinclair's father and which stated:

        

        

"It
is not for glory, nor riches, nor honor that we fight;
                      
it is for liberty alone, for which no honest man will
                      
give but his life."

In reality, it was the beginning of democracy.  It triggered
the end of rule by a privileged
few.  It brought personal and religious freedom and the separation
of Church and State
from free enterprise.  It set the example for  American
independence.

We must never underestimate the importance of  Scotland's
Declaration of Freedom in 1320 or underestimate the importance of Henry's
voyage to the New World in 1398 which was to
escape the clutches of Rome; the jealousy of England and the machinations
of the Hansa
- that league of German merchants who wanted to dominate the North
Atlantic.

We need to understand the "Hidden Hand of History" as it was
being played out in the
14th Century as well as understanding the character of the Scots* - that
mixture of Celtic,
Nordic and Iberic races who had never been subjugated (even by the
Romans) in their long history.  It is this character which shaped
America in the early days of settlement by the
Scots and Irish.

The finest steel has to go through the fiercest fire just as the finest
people thrive on adversity.


Niven