Today, we visited villages upstream from Avignon... Orange... and Vaison la Romaine... that showed histories that replicated each other. You know the pattern... Caesar sorts out trouble makers... Caesar conquers opposing tribes and establishes acceptable political solutions... Caesar's soldiers start building colonies... everyone is so happy with the increase in prosperity... local Romans get lazy... maintenance efforts are compromised... climate changes... prosperity reduces... locals become unhappy... locals kick out Romans... locals fail to govern well... pestilence and poverty reign for 100 years. Today, again showed that Romans at their best... were marvellous. But you can tell that story just so many times.
Today's story looks at how one family turned their name into an international brand... still has a reigning monarch family member... a word known the whole world over... not just for one reason but for two... as a fruit... and as a colour... of course, it is the family of Orange. Turning your name into a brand is not easy... just ask Miss Sharapova... her tennis career will suffer because she tried to do a 'deed pole' change of name to 'Sugarpova' to promote her line of the chewing gum... she would have done better to change it to 'Doneova' to reflect the loss suffered when she paid for her marketing advice. However, the story of Orange could not be more different.
Up to1515, the Orange family were well respected bergers of the community around Avignon... moved in the right circles... went to the right parties... but not sufficiently notable to occupy the European stage. One major stroke of luck was when the lovely Claudia married into the Nassau-Breda family... a true 'blue blood' family of European significance. Uncles and aunties started dictating what names could be used for the offspring... resulting in the name Orange getting head billing... just to show a few uncles and aunties that they should pull their heads in. 'Orange-Nassau' became the family name... and one of the boys (William the Silent) turned out quite good at army games... played a leading hand in showing Spain the exit door from the Netherlands. William the Silent became known as William of Orange... because of his family name. The town in Provence... the traditional hold of the Orange family... changed its name from honouring some goddess of water to honour the Orange family.
The next leg in the story is difficult to verify... some historians believe that William of Orange had a crest designed that featured the colour officially called 'yellowy red'. But with William being such a good fellow, the colour gradually became known as Orange. When the citrus fruit made its way from northern Africa to Holland, it had a name that sounded a bit like 'orange' and it had the colour of orange... so the fruit became known as Orange. William had lasting value... the current royal family of the Netherlands belongs to the Orange-Nassau family.
William continued his links with Orange (Provence) by way of investments. One member of the Orange-Nassau family was visiting a dye factory that worked on Indian linen. At the time, Provence had laws prohibiting anyone wearing dyed cloth other than special families... how could you look special if everyone wore this year's colours? The visiting family member found that all the ladies working in the factory wore dyed linen skirts. Alarmed, the visiting family member ran to the manager to report violations of the law. "We have also heard these rumours... but have seen nothing", said the manager. "And I expect you will do likewise." Wilful blindness goes back a long way.
So, what are the takeouts from the story of the Orange family? Those of you planning to make a brand of your family name... to bring lasting celebrity value to you and your family... the process seems quite clear. If your name is Davis, Toser, Crew, etc... don't despair... you can add meaning and resonance to the name as part of this process.
Step 1: Marry your daughter into the richest family in the nation. This step is unavoidable... because the alternatives take too long.
Step 2: Have your grandson save the nation from a foreign enemy... bringing glory and power to the family.
Step 3: Design a new coat of arms and employ a new colour. Something bright... appealing to the young kids... avoid greys and blacks... that's already been done.
Step 4: Find a new fruit that will prove most popular... and associate the new fruit with the new colour.
Step 5: Step back and let history take its course.
You think these steps sound improbable? Well, the Orange family seemed to manage it OK. Come on... don't be negative... get going... now!
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