The Lost History Is Here...!!

Çatal Hüyük

2010-11-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Çatalhöyük also Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük, or any of the three without diacritics; çatal is Turkish for "fork", höyük for "mound") was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5700 BC. It is the largest and best preserved Neolithic site found to date. Catal Huyuk was one of the world's first towns. It was built in what is now Turkey about 6,500 BC not long after farming began. Catal Huyuk probably had a population of about 6,000.

In Catal Huyuk the houses were made of mud brick. Houses were built touching against each other. They did not have doors and houses were entered through hatches in roofs. Presumably having entrances in the roofs was safer then having them in the walls. (Catal Huyuk was unusual among early towns as it was not surrounded by walls). Since houses were built touching each other the roofs must have acted as streets! People must have walked across them.

In Catal Huyuk there were no panes of glass in windows and houses did not have chimneys. Instead there were only holes in the roofs to let out smoke. Inside houses were plastered and often had painted murals of people and animals on the walls. People slept on platforms.

In Catal Huyuk the dead were buried inside houses. (Although they may have been exposed outside to be eaten by vultures first).

Although Catal Huyuk was a true town (defined as a community not self-sufficient in food) as least some of its people lived by farming. They grew wheat and barley and they raised flocks of sheep and herds of goats. They also kept dogs.

As well as farming the inhabitants of Catal Huyuk also hunted animals like aurochs (wild cattle), wolves, foxes and leopards.

People in Catal Huyuk wore clothes woven from wool. They also wore jewellery made of stone, bone and shell.

The people of Catal Huyuk wove baskets of reeds. They also made pottery and they used obsidian, a hard volcanic rock to make tools and weapons. Craftsmen made dishes of wood. They also made carved wooden boxes for storage.

We do not know what the people of Catal Huyuk believed but religion was obviously important to them. They made figurines of clay and stone, which may have been gods and goddesses. They also mounted bull's skulls on the walls of some buildings and covered them in plaster to resemble living heads. It is believed these buildings were shrines.

Catal Huyuk was abandoned about 5,000 BC. Nobody knows why but it may have been due to climate change.

Catal Huyuk was then forgotten for thousands of years till it was rediscovered by James Melaart in 1958. He began excavating Catal Huyuk in 1961.

Pharaoh Cheops The Builder of The Great Pyramid of Giza

2010-11-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Khufu (2589-2566 BC) was the 4th Dynasty (2613-2498) pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. Originally, the Great Pyramid stood 481 feet (146.6 m) tall. Although commonly called Cheops (and also Suphis) because of the late Greek influence on Egypt, the name Khufu is the original ancient Egyptian name for this king as demonstrated by his own cartouche. He reigned for approximately 24 years. Not much is known about the Pharaoh’s personal life or his accomplishments. His most known and famous undertaking was the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

There are two theories surrounding the construction of his pyramid. The first theory, suggested by experts, suggests that slaves were forced under daily hard labor to work until the task was completed. The more logical and more supported theory, however, suggests that the Great Pyramid of Egypt was built by hundreds of skilled workers who camped near the pyramids and worked for a salary until the construction of the pyramid was completed.

Although he organized the construction of the pyramid, not much is known about his life due to the fact that his tomb was robbed. No remains of the mummy have ever been found and there is only an empty sarcophagus that lies in the center of the King’s Chamber located inside the pyramid. However, a statue was found in the temple of Abydos and it is thought that maybe this might give a slight insight into the Pharaoh’s world and who he really was.

Although the Great pyramid has such fame, little is actually known about its builder, Khufu. Ironically, only a very small statue of 9 cm has been found depicting this historic ruler. This statue, pictured above and below, was not found in Giza near the pyramid, but was found to the south at the Temple of Osiris at Abydos, the ancient necropolis.
According to various inscriptions, Khufu probably did lead military into the Sinai, and raids into Nubia and Libya.
Khufu was the son of another great pyramid builder, King Sneferu. Khufu’s mother’s name was Hetepheres.

Although King Sneferu was remembered as a benevolent and beneficent ruler, Khufu is believed by some to have been a more ruthless and cruel despot. He was rumored in later times to have been prone to enjoying the fantastic stories of the reigns of his predecessors, as well as tales of magic and the mystical. His fame lasted throughout Egyptian history and he still had a funerary cult as late as the Saite Dynasty (26th Dynasty). Of course, whether or not he was a cruel ruler, he did command a tremendous ability to organize and mobilize worker. There was an extremely large amount of manpower necessary to build the Great pyramid and its surrounding complex and tombs. Certainly Khufu would have had the benefit of witnessing the previous pyramid projects of his father, Sneferu.

The Great Pyramid stands witness to the ability of Khufu to lead and coordinate his people. Current theories espouse that the building of the Great Pyramid was not achieved by slave labor. Instead, the project defrayed taxes, which were paid in the form of goods and services as there was no monetary system. Also, due to the annual inundation of the Nile there was always a yearly segment of the population that had some time that they could not spend in their homes.

Curiously, although his father was probably buried in Dahshur, Khufu chose the Giza plateau to situate his pyramid, temples, and perhaps, his tomb. Also curiously, he did not choose the highest spot on the plateau, which was later used by his son and successor, Khafre. This gave Khafre's pyramid the illusion of being taller, when in fact the Great Pyramid is the actually the taller pyramid.

In addition to the splendor of the Great Pyramid, an exciting ancient wooden boat was found sealed in a pit at the base of the Great pyramid.

Khufu had several sons and his immediate successor was his son Djedefre (Radjedef). Curiously, Djedefre also chose to build his pyramid at a location other than that of his fathers. Instead Djedefre was buried to the north at a site now known as Abu Roash. A remaining son of Khufu - Khafre, was to join his father building his pyramid at the higher spot in on the Giza plateau. Although Khufu's pyramid is actually bigger than Khafre's, the higher ground provides the illusion that Khafre's pyramid is taller. After the death of Khafre, his son Menkaure built his smaller pyramid at Giza, eventually completing the last of the famous pyramids at Giza.

Middle Ages Music & Instruments

2010-05-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

Gregorian Chant
Gregorian chant is also known as plainchant or plainsong, and is a form of monophonic, unaccompanied singing, which was developed in the Catholic church, mainly during the period 800-1000. It takes its name from Pope St. Gregory the Great.

This music was traditionally sung by monks or other male clerics, and was used during religious services. It is the music of the Roman Rite of the Mass, also known as the Gregorian rite or Tridentine rite. Other rites of the mass, such as the Assyrian or Coptic use different melodies but share the unaccompanied and monophonic nature of the Gregorian, which allude to a common source.

Guitars

A guitar is a stringed musical instrument played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).

Instruments like the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years; murals in Egypt show women playing instruments like the guitar from the time of the Pharaohs, but the name "guitar" appears first in Spain in the 13th century. It was probably a deriviation of the Arabic word qitara, the name of an instrument that was brought into Spain by the Moors after the 10th Century.

The Spanish vihuela appears to be an intermediate form, with lute-style tuning and a small guitar-style body, but it is not clear whether this represents a transitional form or simply a design that combined features from the two families of instruments.

Guitars have frets on the fingerboard, to fix the positions of the notes, or scale which gives them equal temperament. Guitars usually have six strings, although there are variations on this, the most common being a twelve-string guitar, the seven string guitar, the ukulele, which has four strings, and the bass guitar, which usually has four strings but also exists in five, six and twelve-string versions. The vihuela was a guitar variation with six double strings made of gut, which emerged in 16th century Spain.

A variety of different tunings are used. The most common by far, known as "standard tuning", is (low to high) E-A-d-g-b-e'. Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise of both simple fingering for many chords, and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement.

The Shawm

The shawm was a Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family, made in Europe from the late 13th century until the 17th century. It was ancestral to the modern oboe.It had a long bore which started straight but widened into a conical end, and had a double reed. It produced a loud shrill tone, and was used by military bands during the Crusades, as well as in ordinary life for dancing.

The oboe developed from the shawm in the mid-17th century when the French musicians Jean Hotteterre and Michel Danican Philidor modified it, producing an instrument with a narrower bore and a reed which is held by the player's lips near the end.

The Cittern

The cittern is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance, having evolved considerably since that time. It is similar to several other instruments, notably the bouzouki, with which it is often confused.

The Renaissance cittern was one of the few metal-strung plectrum-plucked instruments from the period. Generally four courses (pairs) of strings, the cittern uses a range of only a major 6th between its lowest and highest strings, and employs a "re-entrant" tuning. The tuning and narrow range allow the player a number of simple chord shapes useful for both simple song accompaniment and dances, and its bright and cheerful timbre make it a valuable counterpoint to gut-strung instruments. Other variations on the cittern are the bandore (or bandora), a bass instrument. Likewise the Spanish bandurria, is similar, but also having some characterstics of the more standard lute.

Modern citterns, bouzoukis (zouks), octave mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, and mandolins are members of a family of instruments distinguished by being strung in 2 string courses with metal strings, usually in unisons but sometimes in octaves, made of wood, usually with a floating bridge/ tailpiece arrangement, and usually tuned in 5ths or open tunings. The body shape is usually teardrop based, rather than the waisted design of a guitar or violin.

A cittern has come to mean usually a 10-string instrument of this family with a short scale length, ie below 22". The modern use of the term "cittern" is attributed to British luthier Stefan Sobell who devised a pear-shaped, 8-string instrument influenced by designs of English and Portuguese guitars with their flat backs, ovoid bodies, and double-course strings. After seeing pictures of Rennaisance citterns and noting the resemblance to his new design, he chose the name "cittern" to describe his instruments.

The Recorder

The recorder is a flute-like woodwind musical instrument. Contrariwise, the flute is a recorder-like woodwind musical instrument. In German it is called the Blockflöte, in French the flûte à bec, and in Italian the flauto dolce. It is held vertically from the lips (rather than horizontally like the 'transverse' flute). The player's breath is directed by a wooden 'fipple' or 'block' in the mouthpiece of the instrument along a duct called the 'windway', hence its membership in the family of "fipple flutes", which also includes such instruments as the tin whistle. Exiting from the windway, the breath is directed against a hard edge called the labium, which agitates a column of air, the length of which (and the pitch of the note produced) is modified by finger holes in the front and back of the instrument. Because of the fixed position of the windway with respect to the labium, there is no need to form an embouchure with the lips. On the other hand the shape and size of the recorder player's mouth cavity has a discernable effect on the timbre, tone and response of the recorder -- but we could hardly call this an "embouchure". This is similar to the functioning of the ancestors of the recorder, early folk whistles.

Recorders are most often tuned in C and F, though instruments in D, G, Eb were not uncommon historically and are still found today especially the Tenor in D known as a voice flute. The normal, school instrument, recorder is the soprano in C (in Britain also known as the descant) which has a lowest note of c'. Above this are the sopranino in F and the gar klein Flötlein ("really small flute") in C, with a lowest note of c". An experimental 'piccolino' has also been produced in f". Below the soprano are the alto in F (in Britain also known as the treble), tenor in C and basset in F (in Britain known as the bass) . Lower instruments in C and F exist (bass in C - in Britain also known as the Great Bass, contrabass in F, subcontrabass in C, and sub-subcontrabass or octo-contrabass in F) but are more rare. They are also difficult to handle: the contrabass in F is about 2 meters tall. The soprano and the alto are the most common solo instruments in the recorder family.

The range of a recorder is about 2 octaves, chromatically. The instrument can be played chromatically over two octaves and a fifth by a skilled player, except for the augmented prime, two octaves and one semitone above the base note. This note is either absent or can only be played by covering the end of the instrument, typically by using one's upper leg or a special bell key. Basically, a recorder is a diatonic instrument, with one hole for each note of the scale of its lowest note, although the upper half of the second octave requires irregular fingerings. Two versions exist, one using the major scale and an older one using the lydian scale.

The Black Death: Bubonic Plague

2010-05-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

In the early 1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in China. The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black.

Since China was one of the busiest of the world's trading nations, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China spread to western Asia and Europe. In October of 1347, several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China. When the ships docked in Sicily, many of those on board were already dying of plague. Within days the disease spread to the city and the surrounding countryside. An eyewitness tells what happened:

"Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city. But the disease remained, and soon death was everywhere. Fathers abandoned their sick sons. Lawyers refused to come and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too. Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no one to give them a Christian burial."

The disease struck and killed people with terrible speed. The Italian writer Boccaccio said its victims often

"ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise."

By the following August, the plague had spread as far north as England, where people called it "The Black Death" because of the black spots it produced on the skin. A terrible killer was loose across Europe, and Medieval medicine had nothing to combat it.

In winter the disease seemed to disappear, but only because fleas--which were now helping to carry it from person to person--are dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims. After five years 25 million people were dead--one-third of Europe's people.

Even when the worst was over, smaller outbreaks continued, not just for years, but for centuries. The survivors lived in constant fear of the plague's return, and the disease did not disappear until the 1600s.

Medieval society never recovered from the results of the plague. So many people had died that there were serious labor shortages all over Europe. This led workers to demand higher wages, but landlords refused those demands. By the end of the 1300s peasant revolts broke out in England, France, Belgium and Italy.

The disease took its toll on the church as well. People throughout Christendom had prayed devoutly for deliverance from the plague. Why hadn't those prayers been answered? A new period of political turmoil and philosophical questioning lay ahead.

Black Death - Disaster Strikes
25 million people died in just under five years between 1347 and 1352. Estimated population of Europe from 1000 to 1352.

* 1000 38 million
* 1100 48 million
* 1200 59 million
* 1300 70 million
* 1347 75 million
* 1352 50 million

The Canterbury Tales

2010-05-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to Canterbury, England (where a tourist attraction entitled The Canterbury Tales may nowadays be viewed) to visit Saint Thomas à Becket's shrine at the cathedral there (later destroyed by Henry VIII ).

Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484

The themes of the tales vary, and include topics such as courtly love, treachery and avarice. The genres also vary, and include romance, Breton lai, sermon, and fabliau. The characters, introduced in the Prologue of the book, tell tales of extreme cultural relevance.

The Tales include:

* The Knight's Tale
* The Miller's Prologue and Tale
* The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
* The Cook's Prologue and Tale
* The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale
* The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
* The Friar's Prologue and Tale
* The Summoner's Prologue and Tale
* The Clerk's Prologue and Tale
* The Merchant's Prologue and Tale
* The Squire's Prologue and Tale
* The Franklin's Prologue and Tale
* The Physician's Tale
* The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale
* The Shipman's Tale
* The Prioress' Prologue and Tale
* Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topas
* The Tale of Melibee
* The Monk's Tale
* The Nun's Priest's Tale
* The Second Nun's Prologue and Tale
* The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue and Tale
* The Manciple's Prologue and Tale
* The Parson's Prologue and Tale
* Chaucer's Retraction

Some of the tales are serious and others are humorous; however, all are very precise in describing the traits and faults of human nature. Religious malpractice is a major theme. Another important element of the tales is their focus on the division of the three estates. The work is incomplete, as it was originally intended that each character would tell four tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the return journey.

Perhaps the greatest contribution that this work has made to English literature is in its use of vulgar (i.e. 'of the people') English, instead of using French or Latin, which were usually used for literary works. The structure of Canterbury Tales is also easy to find in other contemporary works, such as Boccaccio's Decameron, which may have been one of Chaucer's main sources of inspiration.

The title of the work has become an everyday phrase in the language and has been variously adapted and adopted, eg. in the title of the British film, A Canterbury Tale. Recently an animated version of some of the tales has been produced for British television. As well as a version with Modern English dialogue, there were versions in Middle English and Welsh.

A Brief History of Surgery

2010-05-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

Ancient Surgery

The first evidence of surgery is trepanned skulls from the stone age. Some adults had holes cut in their skulls. At least sometimes people survived the 'operation' because the bone grew back. We do not know the purpose of the 'operation'. Perhaps it was performed on people with head injuries to release pressure on the brain.

The Egyptians did have some knowledge of anatomy from making mummies. To embalm a dead body they first removed the principal organs, which would otherwise rot.

However Egyptian surgery was limited to such things as treating wounds and broken bones and dealing with boils and abscesses. The Egyptians used clamps, sutures and cauterisation. They had surgical instruments like probes, saws, forceps, scalpels and scissors.

They also knew that honey helped to prevent wounds becoming infected. (It is a natural antiseptic). They also dressed wounds with willow bark, which has the same effect.

The Ancient Greeks bathed wounds with wine. (The alcohol helped to prevent infection).

In the Roman Empire techniques of surgery were dominated by the ideas of Galen. He was interested in anatomy. Unfortunately by his time dissecting human bodies was forbidden. So Galen had to dissect animal bodies including apes. However animal bodies are not the same as human bodies and so some of Galen's ideas were quite wrong.

Unfortunately Galen was a very influential writer. For centuries his writings dominated medicine.

After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West surgery, along with other crafts, declined in Western Europe. However ideas about anatomy and techniques of surgery were kept alive by the Arabs and in the 12th and 13th centuries they returned to Europe.

Meanwhile in India surgeons were highly skilled. They were pioneers of plastic surgery. Because people were often punished by having their nose cut off an operation to reconstruct the nose (rhinoplasty) was common.

Surgery in the Middle Ages

In Europe in the 13th century a new type of craftsmen emerged in towns. He (or she because not all were male) was the barber-surgeon. They cut hair, they pulled teeth and they performed simple operations such as amputations and setting broken bones.

However in those days doctors looked down on barber-surgeons because they did manual work. They were therefore regarded as inferior to doctors who did not.

Traditionally barbers have a white and red striped pole outside their shop. In the Middle Ages, when many people were illiterate, barber-surgeons hung out a white and red pole to represent blood and bandages. This shop sign told potential customers what their trade was.

From the mid-14th century the church allowed some dissections of human bodies at medical schools. However Galen's ideas continued to dominate medicine and surgery.

Surgery in the 16th Century

In the 16th century surgery did become a little more advanced. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) dissected some human bodies and made accurate drawings of what he saw.

However the greatest surgeon of the age was Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). He did many dissections and realised that many of Galen's ideas were wrong. In 1543 he published a book called The Fabric of the Human Body. It contained accurate diagrams of a human body.

Vesalius's great contribution was to base anatomy on observation not on the authority of writers like Galen.

Another great surgeon was Ambroise Pare. In 1514 Giovanni de Vigo introduced the practise of pouring boiling water onto wounds. In 1536 during the siege of Turin pare ran out of oil. He made a mixture of egg yolk, rose oil and turpentine and discovered it worked better than oil. Pare also designed artificial limbs.

In the 16th century syringes were used to irrigate wounds with wine.

In the 18th century surgery did make some progress. The famous 18th century surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793) is sometimes called the Father of Modern Surgery. He invented new procedures such as tracheotomy.

In 1792 a Frenchman named Dominique-Jean Larrey created the first ambulance service for wounded men.

Surgery in the 19th Century

In the 19th century surgery was greatly improved by the discovery of Anaesthetics. As early as 1799 the inventor Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) realised that inhaling ether relieved pain. Unfortunately decades passed before it was actually used. An American dentist Henry H. Morgan began using ether in 1846. In the same year ether was used as an anaesthetic by surgeons.

James Simpson (1811-1870), who was Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University, began using chloroform for operations in 1847. Incredibly some people disapproved of using chloroform to relieve pain, especially if it was used to help women giving birth. Some people thought that childbirth ought to be painful! However in 1853 Queen Victoria insisted in having chloroform when she gave birth to her eight child. Afterwards most of the opposition to using chloroform ended. Nobody dared criticise the queen!

In 1884 cocaine was used as a local anaesthetic. From 1905 Novocain was used.

In 1865 Joseph Lister (1828-1912) discovered antiseptic surgery, which enabled surgeons to perform many more complicated operations. Lister prevented infection by spraying carbolic acid over the patient during surgery. German surgeons developed a better method. The surgeons hands and clothes were sterilised before the operation and surgical instruments were sterilised with super heated steam.

Rubber gloves were first used in surgery in 1890.

Anaesthetics and antiseptics made surgery much safer. They allowed far more complicated operations.

In 1883 Robert Lawson Tait removed the fallopian tube of a woman suffering an ectopic pregnancy saving her life.

In 1895 Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays. That brought great benefits to surgery.

Surgery in the 20th Century

In 1900 blood types were discovered. That enabled blood transfusions, which greatly helped surgery.

In the 20th century surgery made great advances. The most difficult surgery was on the brain and the heart. Both of these developed rapidly in the 20th century. The first pacemaker was made in 1958. The first heart transplant was performed in 1967. The first artificial heart was installed in 1982. The first heart and lung transplant was performed in 1987.

The laser was invented in 1960. In 1964 it was used in eye surgery for the first time.

Meanwhile in 1960 the first hip replacement surgery performed. In 1962 a boy had his arm severed but surgeons managed to reattach it. That was the first successful reattachment surgery.

In the late 20th century one of the most exciting developments in surgery was keyhole surgery. In 2008 a laser was used in keyhole surgery to treat brain cancer.

A History of Games and Pastimes

2010-05-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Egyptian Games and Pastimes

For entertainment the Egyptians loved parties. If a rich person invited you to a feast, singers, musicians, dancers, jugglers, wrestlers and jesters would entertain you. Musicians played wooden flutes, harps, lutes, drums and clappers.

At a rich person's banquet guests were given a cone of perfumed fat to put on their heads. It slowly melted leaving the wearer smelling nice.

Egyptians also loved hunting and fishing. (For the rich hunting was for pleasure. For the poor it was for food). Men caught birds with nets or by throwing curved sticks. Fish were caught with hooks or harpoons.

Men and women went swimming. Men also enjoyed boxing, wrestling and archery. They also played a game which involved standing on a boat and trying to knock the opposing team into the water with a stick.

Egyptians also played a board game called senet. The board was divided into squares with counters. You threw sticks rather than a dice.

Egyptian children played similar games to the ones children play today. They also played with dolls, toy soldiers, wooden animals, ball, marbles, spinning tops and knucklebones (which were thrown like dice).

Greek Games and Pastimes

The Olympic Games

Athletic competitions were held during religious festivals in every Greek city. However the Olympic Games began in Olympia in 776 BC in honour of Zeus, the chief god and people came from all over Greece and the Greek colonies to take part in them. Wars stopped to allow everyone to take part.

Athletes competed in boxing, wrestling, running, horseracing, chariot racing and the pentathlon (five athletic events). Winners were not given medals. Instead they were given a crown of leaves.

Women were not allowed to take part in the games. They were not even allowed to watch. (If they were caught watching they were executed by being thrown off a cliff).

Greek Theatre

The Greeks are famous for drama. Theatre probably began with a group of people called a chorus singing and dancing in honour of Dionysus, god of wine. Then about 534 BC a man named Thespis added a single actor to the chorus. A second actor was added then a third. Eventually the three actors stood on a stage while the chorus stood in the foreground and commented on the action.

All actors were male and they wore masks. The audience sat in tiers of seats in a semi-circle. (Our word theatre is derived from the Greek word theatron, which means the place where people listen).

The Greeks invented tragedy in which some great person is destroyed not by wickedness but through error. They also wrote comedies. (Our word comedy comes from the Greek word for merrymaking, Komoidia).

Roman Games and Pastimes

In the towns another important building was the public baths. In Roman times people went to the baths not just to get clean but also to socialise. Roman Baths consisted of a frigidarium or cold room, a Tepidarium or warm room and a caldarium or hot room. You usually finished with a dip in a cold pool.

To clean themselves Romans rubbed their skin with oil and scraped it off with a tool called a strigil.

Larger towns also had an amphitheatre where 'sports' such as cock fighting were held and sometimes gladiators fought to the death. Some Roman towns also had theatres.

In Rome there was a great amphitheatre called the Coliseum. It was built in 80 AD and could hold as many as 55,000 people. A sun shade or velarium could be unfurled over the heads of the spectators.

The people of Rome were also very fond of chariot racing. There were four teams, greens, blues, reds and whites. Their supporters who often gambled on the outcomes of races treated the charioteers as heroes. However being a charioteer was dangerous and often ended in early death.

The Romans gambled with dice. They also played board games. Roman children played games with wooden or clay dolls and hoops. They also played ball games and board games. They also played with toy carts and with animal knucklebones.

Games and Pastimes in the Middle Ages

Life in Anglo-Saxon times was hard and rough. Games for the poor must have been cheap like wrestling, running races and playing dice.

However life was good for rich Saxons. In the evenings they feasted and drank. During the day the main pastime of the rich was hunting. Rich Saxons kept falcons. In the evenings apart from feasting they enjoyed storytelling, riddles and games like chess. After feasts minstrels or gleemen entertained the lord and his men by playing the harp and singing.

In the Middle Ages the main pastime of the upper class was still hunting. Lords hunted deer with packs of dogs and killed them with arrows. They also hunted wild boar with spears. Both men and women went hawking. In the evenings they feasted, danced and played board games such as chess and backgammon. In the mid-15th century playing cards arrived in England.

When he was not hunting the noble or night was fighting. Their wives were also kept busy. They had to organise the servants and generally run the household.

Knights also took part in tournaments. These events drew large crowds of spectators. At them knights fought with wooden lances, swords or maces. This was called jousting. There were also tourneys (fights between teams). Tournaments often lasted four days. Two days were for jousting, one was for tourneys and one was for archery competitions.

In the Middle Ages wealthy people also played board games. We are not certain where or when chess was invented. It was probably invented in India in the 6th or 7th century AD or possibly earlier. At any rate by the 11th century it was being played in parts of Europe.

Games similar to draughts were played by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Arabs played a similar game and by the 11th century a form of draughts was being played in Europe.

Golf is believed to be a corruption of a Dutch word 'kolve', which meant club. The Dutch played games with clubs in the Middle Ages but golf developed in Scotland in the 15th century. Meanwhile the first recorded bowling green was laid out in Southampton in the 13th century.

Even for Medieval peasants life was not all hard work. People were allowed to rest on Holy days (from which we get our word holiday). During them poor people danced and wrestled. They also played a very rough form of football. The men from 2 villages played on a 'pitch', which might include woods and streams! There were no rules so broken limbs and other injuries were common. Furthermore in the Middle Ages people made skates from cow's shoulder blades and went ice skating.

People also enjoyed cruel 'sports' like cockfighting and bear baiting. (A bear was chained to a post and dogs were trained to attack it). Gambling was also common.

16th Century Games and Pastimes

Although the days of armoured knights were over the rich still enjoyed tournaments. The contestants dressed in armour and rode horses. They fought with wooden lances and swords.

The rich also enjoyed hunting. They went hunting deer with bows and arrows. After it was killed the deer was eaten. The rich also went hawking and falcons were trained to kill other birds. However in Tudor times rich people did not hunt foxes.

The Tudors also liked wrestling and 'casting the bar', which was like shot-putting but with an iron bar. They also played billiards (but not snooker, which is a 19th century game).

The rich also played board games like chess and backgammon (a backgammon set was found on the wreck of the Mary Rose. It is the same as a modern one). They also tennis with a leather ball stuffed with hair. They also played bowls and skittles. Playing cards were also popular.

All classes gambled. Poor people gambled with dice. They also played games like shuffleboard (shove ha'penny) and nine men's morris. The Tudors also played draughts and fox and geese.

Music and dancing were also very popular. The printing press made books much cheaper so reading was a popular pastime for the wealthy.

Ordinary people played a rough version of football. There were no rules and the 'pitch' was often a large area including woods and even streams! It was a very rough game. Injuries like broken limbs were common. People also played with knucklebones. In the most common version of this game you balanced knucklebones on the back of your hand then flipped your hand over and tried to catch them. Furthermore cruel 'sports' like cockfighting and bear baiting were still popular.

Another popular entertainment was watching public executions! Criminals were hanged in public and large crowds turned out to watch.

In Tudor times people learned to swim using bundles of bulrushes as floats.

The Theatre

In the Middle Ages plays were religious. They were based on Bible stories or were meant to teach the people Christian values. In the 16th century theatre became separated from religion. Secular plays were written, both comedies and tragedies. However Tudor governments were suspicious of actors. They were regarded as layabouts who did no useful work. From 1572 actors had to hold a licence.

In the early 16th century actors performed in market squares or inn courtyards. However in 1576 a man named James Burbage built the first theatre. Others followed. Those who could afford the best seats were sheltered from the weather. However the poor customers stood in the open air. They were called groundlings.

There were no female actors in Tudor times. Boys played women's parts.

17th Century Games and Sports

In the 17th century traditional pastimes such as cards and bowls continued. So did games like tennis and shuttlecock. People also played board games like chess, draughts, backgammon and fox and geese.

The wealthy also played a game called pale-maille (Pall Mall in London gets its name from an area where the game was played). Furthermore Charles II also made yachting a popular sport.

The theatre remained popular in the 17th century. However the Puritans disapproved of the theatre and in 1642 they banned it completely. Theatre began again in 1660.

In the early 17th century the stage jutted out into the audience. In the late 17th century it took on its modern form. In the early 17th century boys played women's parts. However after 1660 actresses performed.

18th Century Games and Pastimes

Traditional games remained popular in the 18th Century. These included games such as chess, draughts and backgammon. Dominoes were also played. So was tennis and a rough version of football.

Horse racing was carried on for centuries before the 18th century but at this time it became a professional sport. The Jockey Club was formed in 1727. The Derby began in 1780.

For the well off card games and gambling were popular. The theatre was also popular. In the early 18th century most towns did not have a purpose built theatre and plays were staged in buildings like inns. However in the late 18th century theatres were built in most towns. Assembly rooms were also built in most towns. In them people played cards and attended balls. In London pleasure gardens were created.

Moreover a kind of cricket was played long before the 18th century but at that time it took on its modern form. The first cricket club was formed at Hambledon in Hampshire about 1750.

Also in the 18th century rich people visited spas. They believed that bathing in and/or drinking spa water could cure illness. Towns like Buxton, Bath and Tunbridge prospered. At the end of the 18th century wealthy people began to spend time at the seaside. (Again they believed that bathing in seawater was good for your health). Seaside resorts like Brighton, Bognor, Southport and Blackpool boomed.

Reading was also a popular pastime and the first novels were published at this time. Books were still expensive but in many towns you could pay to join a circulating library. The first daily newspaper in England was printed in 1702. The Times began in 1785.

John Spilsbury made the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. He intended to teach geography by cutting maps into pieces but soon people began making jigsaws for entertainment.

In the 18th century many people still watched cruel 'sports' like cockfighting and bull baiting. Rich people liked fox hunting.

Public executions were also popular and they drew large crowds. Boxing without gloves was also popular (although some boxers began to wear leather gloves in the 18th century). Puppet shows like Punch and Judy also drew the crowds. Furthermore in the late 18th century the circus became a popular form of entertainment.

Smoking clay pipes was popular in the 18th century. So was taking snuff.

In the 18th century wealthy young men would go on a 'grand tour' of Europe lasting one or two years.

19th Century Games and Pastimes

In 1871 the Bank Holiday Act gave workers a few paid holidays each year. Also in the 1870s some clerks and skilled workers began to have a weeks paid annual holiday. However even at the end of the 19th century most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays.

In the early 19th century everyone had Sunday off. In the 1870s some skilled workers began to have Saturday afternoon off. In the 1890s most workers gained a half day holiday on Saturday and the weekend was born.

By the early 19th century many people disapproved of cruel 'sports' like bull baiting and cock fighting. Bull baiting was banned in 1835. Cock fighting followed soon afterwards.

During the 19th century sports became organised. The London Football Association devised the rules of football in 1863. The first international match was held between England and Scotland in 1872. Meanwhile Australian rules football was invented in 1858.

In 1867 John Graham Chambers drew up a list of rules for boxing. They were called the Queensberry Rules after the Marquis of Queensberry. The Amateur Athletics Association was founded in 1880.

Several new sports and games were invented during the 19th century. William Webb Ellis is supposed to have invented Rugby at Rugby school in 1823 when he picked up a football and ran with it. Although a form of tennis was played since the Middle Ages lawn tennis was invented in 1873. Snooker was invented in India in 1875. Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith. Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William Morgan. Ludo was originally an Indian game. It came to Britain c. 1880.

Baseball is believed to have evolved from earlier games but it became an organised sport in 1845. The National League was formed in 1876. American football evolved in the late 19th century. The American Professional Football Association was formed in 1920.

Ice hockey became an organised sport in the 1870s. The International Ice Hockey Federation was formed in 1908.

At the end of the 19th century bicycling became a popular sport. The safety bicycle went on sale in 1885 and in 1892 John Boyd Dunlop invented pneumatic tyres (much more comfortable than solid rubber ones!) Bicycling clubs became common.

Archery was considered a suitable sport for women. It was considered 'ladylike'.

Reading was also popular in the 19th century. In 1841 Edgar Allen Poe published the first detective story The Murders In The Rue Morgue. The first Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887 by Arthur Conan Doyle. Furthermore many middle class Victorians enjoyed musical evenings when they gathered around a piano and sang.

Middle class Victorians were also very fond of the theatre. In the late 19th century there were also music halls where a variety of acts were performed.

In the 19th century going to the seaside was very popular with those who could afford it. The first pleasure pier was built at Brighton in 1823 and soon they appeared at seaside resorts across Britain.

The steam driven printing press was invented in 1814 allowing newspapers to become more common. Stamp duty on newspapers was abolished in 1855, which made them cheaper. However newspapers did not become really common until the end of the 19th century. In 1896 the Daily Mail appeared. It was written in a deliberately sensational style to attract readers with little education.

One new hobby in the 19th century was photography. Henry Fox Talbot took the first photograph in 1835. However photography was more than just a pastime. In 1871 a writer said that one of the great comforts for the working class was having a photo of a family member who was working a long way off. They could be reminded what their loved one looked like.

The first cheap camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman. Afterwards photography became a popular hobby.

Meanwhile in the late 19th century town councils laid out public parks for recreation. The first children's playground was built in a park in Manchester in 1859.

The Olympic Games were revived in 1896. The first Olympic Winter Sports were held in 1924.

Lastly, for those who like shopping, the first department store opened in London in 1863.

20th Century Games and Pastimes

During the 20th century people had more and more leisure time. In 1900 the average working week was 54 hours. By the 1980s it was 39 hours. Furthermore in 1900 most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays. In 1939 a new law said that everyone must have one weeks annual paid holiday. By the 1950s two weeks were common and by the 1980s most people had at least 4 weeks annual holiday.

In 1900 Frank Hornby invented a toy called Meccano. In 1907 Robert Baden-Powell formed the boy scouts. In 1910 the girl guides were formed.

Ping Pong was introduced in 1905 and the first crossword was devised in 1913 by Arthur Wynne. Monopoly was introduced in 1934. It was followed by Scrabble in 1948, Cluedo in 1949 and Twister in 1966. Trivial Pursuit was introduced in 1982 and Pictionary followed in 1985.

Meanwhile the first Grand Prix was held in 1906 and the first Le Mans 24 hour race was held in 1923.

In the early 20th century films were often shown in theatres but an increasing number of purpose built cinemas appeared. The great age of cinema going was the 1930s when most people went at least once and sometimes twice a week. At first the films were silent but the first 'talkie', The Jazz Singer, was made in 1927. Early films were also black and white but in the 1930s the first colour films were made. (Although it was decades before all films were made in colour.

Radio broadcasting began in 1922 when the BBC was formed. By 1933 half the households in Britain had a radio.

Television began in Britain in 1936 when the BBC began broadcasting. TV was suspended during World War II but it began again in 1946. TV first became common in the 1950s. A lot of people bought a TV set to watch the coronation of Elizabeth II and a survey at the end of the that year showed that about one quarter of households had one. By 1959 about two thirds of homes had a TV. By 1964 the figure had reached 90% and TV had become the main form of entertainment - at the expense of cinema, which declined in popularity.

At first there was only one TV channel but between 1955 and 1957 the ITV companies began broadcasting. BBC2 began in 1964 and Channel 4 began in 1982.

In Britain BBC 2 began broadcasting in colour in 1967, BBC 1 followed in 1969. Video recorders became common in the early 1980s. Many video hire shops opened at the that time. At the end of the century videos were replaced by DVDs.

Portable TVs became common in the 1980s and satellite broadcasting began in 1989. Satellite or cable TV became common in the 1990s.

Personal computers became common in the 1980s. The internet became common in the 1990s and playing games online like scrabble and nine mens morris became popular. Furthermore in the late 20th century gardening became a very popular pastime. So did DIY.

The Aztecs

2010-05-15T01:44:00.000-07:00

THE AZTEC EMPIRE

The ancestors of the Aztecs settled on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco in either 1325 or 1345. According to legend the Aztecs settled at a place where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. They took this as a sign from their god that they should settle there. The Aztecs called the place Tenochtitlan, which means place of the cactus. At first they were an unimportant people but in the 15th century the Aztecs gradually built up a large empire.

However the Aztec empire was not an 'empire' like the Roman Empire, which was ruled from one city. The Aztecs conquered the surrounding peoples. However the Aztecs did not usually rule other nations. Instead they forced them to pay tribute (goods like gold, feathers, weapons and precious stones). The Aztec 'empire', was more like a collection of states dominated by the Aztecs. Furthermore the conquered people had to send soldiers to serve the Aztec emperor when they were needed.

Meanwhile the Aztecs built up the island in the lake by driving wooden stakes into the bed of the lake then laying earth and rocks. They turned Tenochtitlan into a great city, with a population of over 100,000. The city was laid out in a grid pattern with marketplaces. In the centre was the emperor's palace and the great temple, which was a step pyramid.

Tenochtitlan was intersected with canals for moving goods. The streets of Tenochtitlan were regularly cleaned and their were public lavatories. The sewage was used for fertiliser. Furthermore the great city on an island was joined to the mainland by four causeways. Two aqueducts brought water into the city.

AZTEC DAILY LIFE

Aztec Society

Aztec society was divided into classes. At the very top was the emperor. Below him were the nobles and priests. Below them were merchants, craftsmen, peasants and then slaves.

Merchants formed a class of their own. They lived in their own areas of cities and their children usually married the children of other merchants. Merchants who carried out long distance trade were called pochteca.

There were also many craftsmen in Aztec society. Although the Aztecs did not use iron and bronze some craftsmen made jewellery from gold, silver and copper. Other craftsmen made objects of obsidian, jade and semi-precious stones. There were also feather workers who made things like headdresses from feathers.

Most of the slaves were people who had committed a crime and been sentenced to slavery or very poor people who sold themselves into slavery. However Aztec slaves did have some rights. They could own property and marry. Any children they had were born free. A master had to punish his slave 3 times, in front of witnesses before he could sell him. However if a slave was sold 3 times by 3 different masters he could then be sold for sacrifice.

Aztec Religion

Aztecs were polytheists. That is they worshipped many gods. The Aztecs believed that the gods needed to be 'fed' with human hearts and blood. So prisoners were sacrificed by having their hearts cut out.

Among the most important gods were Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun, Tlaloc the god of rain (if there was a drought the Aztecs sacrificed babies to the rain god, believing their babies tears would bring rain) and Quetzalcoatl (whose name means feathered snake), the god of learning and wind.

The Aztecs believed that warriors who died in battle and people who were sacrificed and women who died in childbirth went to join the sun god in paradise. For everyone else there were 13 Heavens and 9 Hells. After your death you went to the one most suitable for you.

Aztec Warfare

War was very important to the Aztecs - partly because they needed prisoners to sacrifice. Aztecs fought with bows and arrows. They also used wooden spears. The wooden head of the spear was lined with sharp stones. Aztec warriors also used wooden clubs lined with sharp blades of obsidian (a form of hard volcanic glass). Warriors wore costumes made of quilted cotton soaked in salt water to make it stiff. They carried wicker shields for protection.

All Aztec boys were expected to serve in the army when they were old enough. However the aim of war was not to kill the enemy but to take as many captives as possible.

Elite warriors were the jaguar warriors who wore fur costumes and eagle warriors who wore costumes and helmets with feathers.

Aztec Food

Maize was the staple crop of the Aztecs. Aztec women ground the maize into flour on a stone slab with a stone roller. It was then made into flour and baked into a kind of pancake called a tortilla. Aztec women cooked on a clay disc called a comal, which stood on stones above.

Also maize was made into a kind of porridge called atole. The Aztecs ate 'envelopes' of steamed maize called tamales stuffed with vegetables, meat or eggs.

The Aztecs also ate tomatoes, avocados, beans and peppers, as well as pumpkins, squashes, peanuts and amaranth seeds. They also ate fruit such as limes and cactus fruits.

The Aztecs diet also included rabbits, turkeys and armadillos. They also ate dogs. However meat was a luxury for the Aztecs and ordinary people only ate it infrequently.

The Aztec nobles drank an alcoholic drink called octli, from fermented maguey juice. Upper class Aztecs drank chocolate made from cocoa beans. It was flavoured with vanilla and honey.

Poor people drank water or sometimes an alcoholic drink called pulque.

To grow food Aztec farmers did not have ploughs. However they did use tools like a digging stick, clod breaker and hoe. The Aztecs created small islands on marshy lakes. These were called chinampas. First plots of land were staked out with canals between them so they could be reached by canoe. The chinampa was built up in layers made of plants from the lake and mud from its bottom. The Aztecs planted willows around the edges of chinampas to make them more secure. Aztecs also fished in the lakes and caught water birds.

Aztec Houses

Ordinary Aztecs lived in simple huts, often of just one room. The huts were made of adobe and any furniture was very simple such as reed mats to sleep on or sit on and low tables. Wooden chests were used to store clothes.

Aztec nobles lived in much grander houses with many rooms. They were usually shaped like a hollow square with a central courtyard. It often contained gardens and fountains.

By law only upper class Aztecs could build a house with a second storey. If ordinary Aztecs did they could be executed.

Aztecs were clean people. Many homes had steam baths next to them. They were small rooms with a furnace outside. The furnace heated the walls of the steam bath. When an Aztec inside the steam bath threw water on the wall it turned to steam.

Aztec Clothes

Different classes of Aztecs wore different clothes. Upper class Aztecs wore cotton clothes and feather headdresses. Ordinary people wore clothes made from maguey plant fibre. Men wore loin cloths and cloaks tied with a knot at one shoulder. Women wore wrap around skirts and tunics with short sleeves. Married women coiled their hair on top of their heads.

By law only upper class Aztecs could wear cotton. If commoners wore cotton clothes they could be put to death.

Aztec women wove clothes in their own homes.

The Aztecs like bright dyes. A red dye was made from the cochineal beetle. It took about 70,000 beetles to make half a kilo of dye.

Aztec Games

Aztec nobles played a ball game called Tlachtli. It was played with a solid rubber ball. Players were not allowed to use their hands or feet. They could only touch the ball with their hips, knees and elbows. Players tried to knock the ball through a stone hoop.

The Aztecs also played a board game called patolli.

Aztec Children

Aztec children were treated very harshly. If they misbehaved they could have cactus spines pushed into their skin or they were held over a fire containing chillies and were forced to inhale the smoke.

However the Aztecs believed education was important. Boys learned jobs like farming and fishing from their fathers and girls learned skills like cooking and weaving from their mothers. However both boys and girls attended schools. (Although they were taught separately). The ordinary Aztec children went to a school called a telpochalli. They learned about history and religion but also about music and dance. When they were older boys learned to fight.

Noble children went to a school called a calmecac. They learned to read and write. (The Aztecs made paper from the bark of fig trees. Their writing consisted of pictograms or pictures that represented sounds). Upper class children also studied religion, mathematics and astrology.

THE CONQUISTADORS

In 1492 the Spaniards discovered the new world. The end for the Aztec Empire came when the governor of Cuba sent an army under Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) to conquer Mexico.

Cortes only had about 600 men yet he managed to conquer the Aztecs.

The Spaniards had several advantages. They had guns. They also had horses (animals unknown to the Aztecs). The sight of a Spanish cavalry charge was terrifying. Also the Spanish had steel armour and weapons (steel was unknown to the Aztecs). Furthermore the Aztecs were handicapped by their unwillingness to kill the Spaniards. They wanted to capture, their enemies not kill them in battle, so they could be sacrificed later. Worse, the people the Aztecs ruled hated their masters. They were willing to join the Spaniards in order to destroy the Aztecs.

Most of all the Aztecs were handicapped by their beliefs. They believed that their god Quetzalcoatl had once left Mexico by sea and promised to return one day. According to legend Quetzalcoatl would return from the east in the year one reed. (The Aztecs measured time in cycles of 52 years. One year of the cycle was one reed). By an astonishing coincidence one reed fell on 1519 - the year Cortes arrived.

The Aztec emperor Motecuhzoma feared that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl. He dared not attack a god and so took no action against the Aztecs. By the time the Aztecs realised the truth it was too late.

Motecuhzoma sent Cortes presents including gold and warned him not to approach Tenochtitlan. However the rich gifts merely whetted the Spaniards appetite. They made Cortes determined to capture the capital and take its treasures.

When the Spaniards arrived Motecuhzoma welcomed them as friends and housed them in a palace in the city. However after a week Cortes took the emperor hostage. Cortes demanded that Motecuhzoma come with him and stay with the Spaniards - or face death. The emperor gave in and from that moment he was a Spanish puppet.

Although the Spaniards were very impressed by the engineering and architecture of Tenochtitlan they strongly disapproved of the idolatry and human sacrifice. Cortes ordered the Aztecs to stop the sacrifices, which made them very angry.

Then the governor of Cuba sent a force to Mexico to arrest Cortes. So Cortes went to the coast to meet them. Cortes managed to deal with this threat but meanwhile in Tenochtitlan Spanish soldiers provoked a rebellion when they tried to stop an important ceremony.

Cortes rushed back to Tenochtitlan and he found the Spaniards there besieged in their palace. Cortes made Motecuhzoma go out to talk to his people but they stone him. The Conquistadors were forced to retreat from the city at night. So many Spaniards died in the retreat that they called it la noche triste (the night of sadness). However the Spaniards eventually reached the coast.

Cortes gathered reinforcements then marched on Tenochtitlan again. When he reached lake Texcoco Cortes built boats and armed them with cannons. The boats then sailed across the lake to attack the city (which was built on an island). The Spaniards were also helped by smallpox, which broke out among the Aztecs. (The Spaniards brought European diseases to which the Aztecs and had no resistance). Eventually the Spaniards captured Tenochtitlan and burned it.

The Spaniards were now in control of Mexico, which they called New Spain. Cortes was appointed its first governor.

A Brief Biography of Marie Curie

2010-05-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

Marie Curie (1867-1934) was a famous Polish scientist. She was born Marya Skoldowska in Warsaw on 7 November 1867. Her father and mother were both teachers. They had 4 other children, all of them older than Marya. She had a brother named Jozef and 3 sisters, Zofia, Bronia and Helena.

However Zofia died of typhus in 1874 and her mother died of tuberculosis in 1878. (Both were common diseases in the 19th century).

Marya herself proved to be a very bright child and did very well at school. Unfortunately at that time women were not allowed to go to University. That meant Marya would have to study abroad. So in 1885 she made an arrangement with her sister Bronia. Marya would work as a governess (teaching a wealthy family's children in their own home) and she would support Bronia while she studied at University. In turn when Bronia left and got a job she would support Marya while she went to University.

So Marya worked as a governess until 1891 when she began studying at Sorbonne University in Paris. (Since she was living in France Marya started calling herself by the French version of her name, Marie).

Marie did very well at University and in 1893 she gained a degree in Physics. In 1894 she gained a degree in Maths.

In 1894 she met Pierre Curie and she married him in 1895. In 1897 Marie Curie had a daughter called Irene.

Meanwhile in 1895 a German named Wilhelm Rontgen discovered X-rays. Then in 1896 Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium gives off mysterious, invisible rays.

In 1897 Marie Curie started investigating uranium. (In 1898 she coined the term radioactive to describe any substance that gave off the mysterious rays). Marie also examined a substance called pitchblende, which she realized is much more radioactive than pure uranium. Marie Curie realized that pitchblende must contain some elements that are much more radioactive than pure uranium.

In 1898 Marie and her husband Pierre isolated an element they called polonium (after Poland). However they realized there was another element in pitchblende. Finally in 1902 they isolated radium. In 1903 Marie and Pierre Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics along with Henri Becquerel. Winning the prize brought them fame.

Unfortunately the Curies did not realize that exposure to radiation was harming their health. Nevertheless in 1904 Marie Curie had a daughter called Eve.

Unfortunately in 1905 Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn vehicle. However after his death Marie was offered his post as Professor of Physics at Sorbonne University. In 1911 Marie Curie was given the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Marie continued to research radium and in 1921 she visited the USA and met President Harding. Marie visited the USA again in 1929. However her health was failing. Eventually she was diagnosed with leukemia. Marie Curie died on 4 July 1934. She was 66.

Swords In Middle Ages

2010-05-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

A sword is a bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade and a handle. The blade is usually of some metal ground to at least one sharp edge and often has a pointed tip for thrusting. The handle, called the hilt, can be made of many materials, but the material most common is wood covered by leather, fish skin or metal wiring. The parts of a sword are remarkably consistent between cultures. The basic intent and physics of swordsmanship is fairly constant. This kind of weapon has been in use from the Bronze Age when the construction of long metal blades was possible for the first time. Early swords were made of solid bronze or copper; these were hard, but quite brittle. Not until iron could be forged did the sword truly become an important weapon. Soon, smiths learned that with a proper amount of coal (specifically the carbon in coal) in the iron, another metal (alloy really) could be produced: steel.

Several different ways of swordmaking existed in ancient times. One of the most reputed is pattern welding. Over time new methods were developed all over the world. In Pre-Columbian South America and Mesoamerica several cultures made use of types of swords without developing metallurgy; for example swords with obsidian "teeth" mounted along the "edges" of a wooden "blade".
Having seen use for about five millennia, swords began to lose their military uses in the late 18th century because of increasing availability and reliability of gunpowder weapons. Swords were still used although increasingly limited to officers and ceremonial uniforms. Cavalry sabre charges still occurred as late as World War II during which Japanese and Pacific Islanders also occasionally used swords.

Parts of the sword

* Blade - the cutting part of a sword is the blade. In single-edged swords, the non-cutting edit is the back. The blade may also have grooves or fullers. The purpose of these fullers is not to act as gutters for blood (as was once thought), but to lighten the blade while allowing it to retain its strength.
* Hilt - the handle of a sword, and consists of the guard, the grip, and the pommel. It may also have a tassel or sword knot.
* Scabbard - the scabbard is the case that the sword is kept in when not in use.
* Ricasso - the short section of blade between the base of the guard and the grip. The ricasso is not sharpened, which allows a finger to be wrapped around the guard for better control. On some large weapons, such as the German Zweihander, the ricasso was covered with leather and might be gripped in one hand to make the weapon more wieldy in close quarters combat.
* Shoulder - the short section of blade between the hilt and the start of the sharpened portion of the blade. The maker's mark is normally to be found on the shoulder.
* Tang - the part of the blade extending from the top of the blade through the hilt and the grip. The sword is often held together by a nut screwed onto the tang above the pommel.
* The CoP (Center of Percussion), AKA Sweet Spot - the part of the blade that can deliver the strongest blow with the least vibration.

Types of Swords

There are hundreds of types of swords. Here are the most famous:

* Rapier - a longer european dueling sword, optimized more for thrusting than a slashing action
* Small-sword - a very short and light descendant of the rapier.
* Long-sword - a straight, pointed, two edged European sword with a grip long enough for use with two hands.
* Katana and Tachi - Japanese samurai swords (see also Wakizashi)
* Claymore - either of two types of Scottish sword
* Sabre - (saber) a sword with curved edge intended for slashing or chopping
* Jian - a Chinese double-edged thin sword that is straight
* Dao - a Chinese single-edged curved sword, sometimes translated as sabre or broadsword in English.
* Gladius - a Roman legionaire's short swordSeveral modern sports and martial arts have components based upon older principles of swordfighting. Among these are fencing, kendo, kenjutsu, escrima, aikido and some variants of kung fu.
Many swords in mythology, literature and history are named by their wielders or by the person who makes them.
* King Arthur - Excalibur
* Kusanagi (Grasscutter) - The Japanese equivalent to Excalibur
* Sword of Damocles
* El Cid - Tizona
* The Polish kings - Szczerbiec
* Unferth, associate of Beowulf - Hrunting
* Sigurd - Gram (in the Volsung Saga) or Balmung (sometimes in later traditions)
* Tyrfing - a cursed sword from the Elder Edda
* Durandal - the sword belongs to Roland, a hero of the medieval French epic "The Song of Roland"
* Joyeuse - the sword of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), medieval king of Franks
* Grus- the historical sword of Boleslaw Krzywousty (Boleslaus the Wrymouthed), medieval prince of Poland

Barbarian Invaders

2010-05-07T22:02:00.001-07:00

Around the year 200 AD, nomadic tribes on the great grass steppes of Central Asia began migrating toward China, India, Persia, and Europe. The reasons for this migration are not fully understood. The largest group of nomads was the Huns. Their small stature and small ponies belied a fierce and determined ruthlessness. They terrified other tribes they encountered in their migrations, causing something like a domino effect. Moving west, the Huns displaced the Goths living northwest of the Black Sea, for example, who pushed south over the Danube into the Balkans lands ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. More Huns moved toward the German plains, encouraging other Germanic tribes to cross the Rhine.

The Western Roman Empire was already weakened by this time from sporadic raids and invasions across the Rhine and Danube. Germanic tribes with growing populations coveted the sparsely occupied lands in Gaul and the benefits of being within the Roman Empire. By 400 the Roman army was already 30 to 50 percent German mercenaries. In desperation, some barbarian groups were enlisted into the Roman army as entire units to help defend against other groups. This was especially popular during civil wars of the fourth century, when pretenders to the throne in Rome needed to raise armies quickly. These barbarian units did not have the loyalty and discipline of the legions and kept their own leaders. This stopgap measure backfired when whole barbarian armies revolted. The Rhine and Danube frontiers dissolved and Germanic tribes moved into Gaul, the Balkans, and even Italy itself. The fighting was nearly incessant along the shrinking frontier and the number of loyal Roman troops continually diminished.

The last legions in Britain were withdrawn for service in Gaul in 410, abandoning that province forever. Saxon raids increased and became actual invasions. The Jutes, Frisians, and Angles, other Germanic tribes from the north German coast, joined the Saxons. Together they overwhelmed the Romano-British culture and took possession of what is today England (Angle-land).

The Eastern Roman Empire suffered through the loss of most of the Balkans but was able to deflect or bribe the barbarians before they could attack Constantinople. The invaders in this area were the Goths, who had become much more civilized through their contact with the Eastern Empire than had the Germanic tribes along the Rhine. The Goths came as settlers primarily, not conquerors.

During the fifth century Rome was sacked several times and the Western Empire ceased to exist effectively. Italy was repeatedly invaded and ravaged. In 476 the last recognized Roman emperor was killed. Italy and the old Roman Empire were now occupied by Germanic tribes. Despite a general wish by the barbarians to preserve the stability and order of the past Roman civilization, only vestiges of it survived the turmoil and devastation that followed the invasions. Most of Europe fell back into a much more primitive and barbaric period.

Hand Weapon

2010-05-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Foot soldiers armed with hand weapons were the third principal component of medieval armies, along with cavalry and missile troops. Mêlée infantry fought hand to hand and were important both in pitched battles and during sieges. Infantry consisted of peasants, common soldiers, and dismounted knights.

The Franks of the Dark Ages fought with a throwing axe called the francisca, from which their tribe took its name. Their neighbors, the Saxons, fought with a large, one-sided knife called a scramasax, from which they took their name.

With the development of the heavy cavalryman came the heavy sword, which was used in hand-to-hand fighting on foot as well. Variants of the sword included a two-handed version that required a lot of space to wield. Men-at-arms employed a variety of weapons on foot, including axes (both one-handed and two-handed), maces, flails, and hammers. A variant of the mace was a spiked ball fastened to a shaft by a chain. As armor improved to reduce the effect of sword blows, crushing and puncturing weapons became more favored.

Pole Arms

The basic spear was a useful weapon throughout the Middle Ages because it was cheap to make and simple to use. Common foot soldiers and peasants could be armed with it and pressed into battle service. In most cases such an expedient was of little use, but with experience and some training large bodies of spearmen could be effective.

Pole arms evolved through the medieval period and eventually reached a point where formations of foot troops skilled in their use were extremely effective. Advanced pole arms consisted of a spear point with one or more weapon faces below the point. This additional weapon might be a large long blade, an axe, a billhook, a hammer, or a spike.

Long pole arms evolved in response to the mounted knight and resulted in a revival of a formation something like the ancient Greek phalanx. Horses would not charge a disciplined formation of men that bristled with extended pole weapons. A dense formation of pole arms held high also served as some protection from arrows.

Foot soldiers first learned to stand behind wooden stakes set in the ground to ward off cavalry. They then learned to deploy spears, pikes, and other pole arms to ward off cavalry. This allowed the formation to move and take its anti-cavalry stakes with it, in effect. In a mêlée, the various attachments at the end of the pole were used to pull horsemen off their mounts, push them off, or cause wounds to the rider or horse. Although armored men were not helpless when prone on the ground, as some have thought, they were at a disadvantage, at least temporarily, to men wearing little or no armor before they could rise.

As the towns grew in the second half of the Middle Ages, they built up their own militias of troops for defense and for feudal military service. Pole arms were popular weapons with the town militias because they were relatively cheap to provide and effective for the cost. Town militias trained with these weapons and developed useful battlefield tactics. In time, formations of pole-armed men learned to be aggressive, not simply defensive. Massed formations of pikeman could physically attack other infantry and even cavalry. The Swiss lacked the pastureland to support horse armies but became famous as pikemen. They often served as mercenaries in other continental armies. The lowland cities of Flanders and the highlands of Scotland also fielded pike units that were highly regarded.

The Seljuk Turks

2010-05-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

The Seljuk Turks (also known as Seldjuk, Seldjuq or Seljuq) are a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The Seljuks migrated from the north Iranian provinces in Central Asia into mainland Iran formerly known as Persia.

The Seljuks were a group of nomadic Turkish warriors from central Asia who established themselves in the Middle East during the 11th Century as guardians of the declining abbasid caliphate. After 1055 founded the great Seljuk Sultanate; an empire centered in Baghdad and including Iran, Iraq, and Syria. They helped to prevent the Fatimids of Egypt from making Shiite Islam dominant throughout the Middle East. In the 12th century, they blocked inland expansion by the crusader states on the Syrian Coast. Their defeat of the Byzantinesø at the battle of Manzikert (1071) opened the way for the Turkish occupation of Antolia.

Seljuk power was at its zenith during the regions of Sultans Alp Arslan (1063-72) and Malki Shah (1072-92) who, with their Vizier Nizam Al-Mulk, revived Sunnite Islamic administrative and religious institutions. They developed armies of slaves (mamelukes) to replace the Nomad warriors, as well as an elaborate bureaucratic hierarchy that provided the foundation for governmental administration in the Middle East until modern times. The Seljuks revived and reinvigorated the classical Islamic educational system, developing universities (madrasahs) to train Bureaucrats and religious officials. After Malik Shah's death, a decline in the quality of dynastic leadership and division of their rule among military commanders and regents (Atabegs) weakened the power of the great Seljuks. The last of their line died in battle against the Khwakizm-Shahs in 1194. A branch of the Seljuks established its own state in an Tolic (the ultanate of Konya or Rum), which survived until it was conquered by the Mongols in 1243.

The Seljuk Turks are regarded as the ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. The Seljuk played a major role in medieval history by creating a barrier to Europe against the Mongol invaders from the East, defending the Islamic world against Crusaders from the West, and conquering large parts of the Byzantine Empire.

Under Alp Arslan's successor Malik Shah I and his two Persian viziers Nizam al-Mulk and Taj ul-Milk, the Iranian state expanded in various directions to former Iranian border before Arab invasion, so that it bordered China in the East and the Byzantine in the West. When Malik Shah died in 1092 the empire split, as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In 1118, the third son Ahmed Sanjar, unsatisfied by his portion of the inheritance, took over the empire. His brothers did not recognize his claim to the throne and Mahmud II proclaimed himself Sultan and established a capital in Baghdad. Ahmed Sanjar was captured and held captive by Turkish nomads from 1153 to 1156 and died the following year.

Despite several attempts to reunite the Seljuks in the centuries following Malik Shah's death, the Crusades prevented them from regaining their former empire. For a brief period, To?rül III, was the Sultan of all Seljuk except for Anatolia. In 1194 To?rül was defeated by Ala ad-Din Tekish, the Shah of Khwarezm, and the Seljuk finally collapsed. Of the former Seljuk Empire, only the Sultanate of Rüm in Anatolia remained. As the dynasty declined in the middle of the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Anatolia in the 1260s and divided it into small emirates called the Anatolian beyliks, which in turn were later conquered by the Ottomans.

The Boston Tea Party

2010-05-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

"Fellow countrymen, we cannot afford to give a single inch! If we retreat now, everything we have done becomes useless! If Hutchinson will not send tea back to England, perhaps we can brew a pot of it especially for him!" Samuel Adams -- December 16, 1773

In an atmosphere of continuing suspicion and distrust, each side looked for the worst from the other. In 1772 the crown, having earlier declared its right to dismiss colonial judges at its pleasure, stated its intention to pay directly the salaries of governors and judges in Massachusetts. Samuel Adams, for many years a passionate republican, immediately created the intercolonial Committee of Correspondence. Instead of rescinding the remaining Townshend tax and exploring inoffensive methods of aiding the financially troubled British East India Company, Parliament enacted the Tea Act of 1773, designed to allow the company to bypass middlemen and sell directly to American retailers. It was hardly a plot to persuade Americans to drink taxed tea at a low price, but the colonists interpreted it in that fashion.

~ Background ~

In an attempt to transfer part of the cost of colonial administration to the American colonies, the British Parliament had enacted the Stamp Act in 1765 and the Townshend Acts in 1767. Colonial political opposition and economic boycotts eventually forced repeal of these acts, but Parliament left the import duty on tea as a symbol of its authority.

The situation remained comparatively quiet until May 1773, when the faltering East India Company persuaded Parliament that the company's future and the empire's prosperity depended on the disposal of its tea surplus. Because the American tea market had nearly been captured by tea smuggled from Holland, Parliament gave the company a drawback (refund) of the entire shilling-per-pound duty, enabling the company to undersell the smugglers. It was expected that the Americans, faced with a choice between the cheaper company tea and the higher-priced smuggled tea, would buy the cheaper tea, despite the tax. The company would then be saved from bankruptcy, the smugglers would be ruined, and the principle of parliamentary taxation would be upheld.

In September 1773 the company planned to ship 500,000 pounds (227,000 kg) of tea to groups of merchants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. The plan might have succeeded had not the company been given what amounted to a monopoly over tea distribution in the colonies. The threat of other monopolies alarmed the conservative colonial mercantile elements and united them with the more radical patriots. Merchants agreed not to sell the tea, and the designated tea agents in New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston canceled their orders or resigned their commissions.

Revolutionary sentiment mounted . . .

In Boston, however, the tea consignees were friends or relatives of Gov. Thomas Hutchinson, who was determined to uphold the law. The opposition, led by Samuel and John Adams, Josiah Quincy, and John Hancock, was determined to resist Parliamentary supremacy over colonial legislatures.

When the first ship, the Dartmouth, reached Boston with a cargo of tea on Nov. 27, 1773, the Committee of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty prevented owner Francis Rotch from unloading the tea, but they could not force the consignees to reject it. Rotch and the captains of two newly arrived ships, the Eleanor and the Beaver, agreed to leave without unloading the tea, but they were denied clearance by Governor Hutchinson.

According to the law, if the tea was not unloaded within 20 days (by December 17), it was to be seized and sold to pay custom duties. Convinced that this procedure would still be payment of unconstitutional taxes, the radical patriots resolved to break the deadlock. On December 14, Rotch was called before a mass meeting and ordered to seek clearance again to sail from Boston. But neither the customs collector nor the governor would grant it.

Everywhere there was opposition to landing the dutied brew, and on December 16th, a crowd of several thousand persons assembled in the Faneuil Hall-Old South Church area and shouted encouragement to about 60 men disguised as Mohawk Indians, who boarded the three ships at Griffin's wharf. With the aid of the ships' crew, the “Indians” tossed 342 chests of tea, valued at £18,000 into Boston Bay. The furious royal government responded to this "Boston Tea Party" by the so-called Intolerable Acts of 1774, practically eliminating self-government in Massachusetts and closing Boston's port.

The news of the destruction of the tea raised the spirit of resistance in the colonies. On April 22, 1774, the London attempted to land tea at New York. It was boarded by a mob, and the tea was destroyed. Similar incidents occurred at Annapolis, Md., on October 19 and at Greenwich, N.J., on December 22, and the tea was boycotted throughout the colonies.

The Renaissance

2010-05-05T01:47:00.000-07:00

Beginning in fourteenth-century Italy, Europe went through a transition over 400 years from medieval to modern times known today as the Renaissance, meaning a "rebirth" or "revival." The Renaissance is a nebulous concept for which there is no clear beginning or end. It does, however, usefully mark the complete recovery from the barbarism of the Dark Ages to the new advancement in all fields that transcended the achievements of the great ancient civilizations.

Many different factors at work in the Middle Ages contributed to this revival and new advancement. One was the renewed interest in learning. The first college at Oxford University was founded in 1264. By 1400 there were more than 50 universities in Europe. Education and debate were stimulated by access to ancient texts preserved by the Arabs and freshly translated into Latin. Europeans had made contact with the Arabs in the Holy Land, in Sicily, and in Spain. The rediscovered works of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, for example, became the standard for teaching mathematics into the nineteenth century. The Arabs also transmitted a new system for numbers, the concept of the decimal point, and the concept of zero, all invented in India. The spread of learning accelerated rapidly following the invention of the printing press around 1450.

A second factor was the rising standard of living, especially in the great commercial cities of Italy. The Crusades had opened European eyes to the wealth of the East, especially silks, spices, and cotton. The merchants of Venice, Genoa, Florence, and other cities came to dominate the trade between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. With the excess wealth they accumulated in business, these merchants began embellishing their homes and cities with art. Sculpture, painting, architecture, music, poetry, and literature found new expression, exhibiting an interest in subjects beyond the religious themes that dominated previously in the Middle Ages. Popular depictions of everyday life, romance, and adventure revealed that European culture was becoming more humanistic and less focused on religion.

The revival was also due to technological progress that led to more efficient production of goods and services. Manufacturing, farming, and trade all improved past the abilities of the ancients. The drive for profits encouraged inventiveness and exploration. A middle class of merchants and craftsmen began grasping political power commensurate with their economic power, at the expense of a declining nobility.

By roughly 1500 the nations of Europe were leading the world in many important technologies. Energies unleashed by the exploration of the world, the search for trade routes, the Protestant Reformation, and continued political competition in Europe itself would make Europe the dominant region of the world within a few centuries.

Naval Warfare in Middle Age

2010-05-05T01:44:00.001-07:00

The need for warships in the Mediterranean Sea largely faded after the Romans gained complete control of the surrounding lands. There was no other empire with a navy to offer competition, and piracy was all but eliminated. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, new civilizations sprang up from the ruins of the empire and piracy reappeared. Warships were needed again to defend against invasion, project military power, and protect sea trade routes.

Byzantine Ships

The Byzantines were the great Mediterranean naval power of the early Middle Ages. Naval power was critical to their survival and to their extended empire. The land defenses of Constantinople were excellent and made outright assault of the city very difficult, but the city had to keep its sea supply open to prevent a successful siege. So long as the navy could bring in supplies, the city was assured of survival.

The main Byzantine warship of the early Middle Ages was the dromen, an evolution of the ancient oared warships, such as the trireme. A typical dromen was long and narrow for speed. Power was supplied by 50 to 200 rowers and lateen sails. A mast was placed in the middle of the front half and rear half of the ship. The dromen carried a beak at the bow for pinning enemy vessels prior to boarding. Rams were rarely seen. Platforms were built in the center, bow, and stern. From these platforms archers and catapults could fire at enemy ships and crews. A typical battle involved attempts to ram or disable enemy ships, then grappling and boarding by marines.

The Byzantines effectively used a secret weapon called Greek fire. This was a mixture of chemicals that burned fiercely upon contact with air. It was pumped out of hoses against enemy ships or thrown in bombs. It was a devastating weapon against wooden ships and decisive for the Byzantines in their naval battles against the Arabs. The secret of Greek fire was so important and so closely guarded that it was eventually lost and we do not know today exactly what it was.

Mediterranean Ships

Oar-powered warships, called galleys, remained the principal warships of the Mediterranean beyond the end of the Middle Ages because the waters were relatively protected from fierce gales. At the same time, the Italian city-states of Genoa and Venice gradually became naval powers in proportion to the increasing importance of their trade with the Levant. The Arabs also built navies to influence trade and support their conflict with the Byzantines and other Christians for control of the Mediterranean. The beginning of the Crusades in the eleventh century brought ships from Northern Europe that had evolved very different designs.

European Ships

The Germanic tribes that occupied Northern Europe around 500 developed several new ship types. The typical trading ship was wide-bodied and of deep draft. It mounted a single mast at first and later more as it grew in size. The Norse called this type of ship a knarr. We know a lot about this ship today because one was recovered from the bottom of a harbor in Denmark in the 1960s. Much of the trade and exploration of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings was carried on in this type of ship. It evolved into the cog, the principal merchant ship of the later Middle Ages. This deep-draft ship was designed for easy sailing and high cargo capacity.

Ship fighting in northern Europe was mainly an extension of land combat. Towers were built on the bow and stern of the cog for protection and as firing platforms for archers. Crews fired at each other with arrows as they closed, but the intent was only to disable enemy crewmen and soldiers. Ships came together and attempted to capture each other in hand-to-hand combat. Sailing ships in these waters had no ability to ram. There was no weapon with which to do great structural damage to another ship or sink it until cannon appeared in the fourteenth century. Some 400 English and French cog-type warships carrying large contingents of archers and foot soldiers engaged in a naval battle at Sluys in 1340 typical of the later Middle Ages. They simply jammed together for archery fire and close combat.

The first cannon were mounted in the bow or stern of ships. Small cannon mounted on the side rails were used against enemy crews. The English ship Christopher of the Tower of 1406 was the first built purposely to carry guns. Ships began to mount broadsides of cannon with the ability to puncture enemy hulls only at the very end of the Middle Ages.

The Viking longship was more of a transport than a warship. Vikings rarely fought from their longships. When they did, there are reports of boats being lashed together to provide a platform for hand-to-hand fighting. The longship was powered by oars until the eighth or ninth century when sails appear to have been added. Although they looked fragile and unlikely vessels for ocean travel, modern replicas proved to be very seaworthy. The additional range provided by sails explains partially why the Vikings began reaching out to raid in the ninth century.

The Irish curragh was a small boat used mainly for coastal trading and travel but capable of deep ocean sailing also. This boat was built of animal hides stretched over a wooden frame. The hide skin was sealed with pitch for waterproofing. These incredibly light boats were powered with a small sail or could be rowed. In rough weather the hide covering could be closed to make the boat watertight and relatively unsinkable. Irish monks explored the North Atlantic in these boats and reached Iceland long before the Vikings. There are unsubstantiated tales that monks sailed to the New World as well.

The Crusades brought northern ships into the Mediterranean and contact between the sailors and shipbuilders of north and south. The southerners began adopting features of the cog, including its big hull and square sail. The northerners learned about the compass, stern rudder, and lateen sail.

Chinese Ships

The greatest shipbuilders of the Middle Ages were probably the Chinese. The familiar Chinese junk was a better ship than anything available in the West for many centuries. It was an excellent combination of cargo space, sailing ability, and seaworthiness. In 1405, Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho built a huge navy manned by 25,000 men and explored much of the Southwest Pacific and Indian Oceans. The rulers of China disdained this feat and its discoveries. The greatest ships in the world at the time were beached and allowed to rot.

The Saracens

2010-05-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

The name Saracen applied originally to nomadic desert peoples from the area stretching from modern Syria to Saudi Arabia. In broader usage the name applied to all Arabs of the Middle Ages. These desert nomads erupted suddenly in the seventh century and established a far-reaching empire within a century and a half. Their conquest was fueled by faith and high morale. Following the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, their intent was to change the religious and political landscape of the entire planet.

By 613 the prophet Mohammed was preaching a new religion he called Islam. Largely ignored in his home city of Mecca, he withdrew to Medina, built up a strong following there, and returned to attack and capture Mecca. Following his death in 632, his teachings were collected to form the Koran, the Islamic holy book. In 634 his followers began their jihad, or holy war. Within five years they had overrun Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Their tolerance of Jews and Christians eased their conquest because these people had been suffering some persecution under the Byzantines.

In the next 60 years, both North Africa to the west and Persia to the east fell to Islam. In the early eighth century, Saracens from Tangiers invaded the Iberian Peninsula and conquered the Visigoth kingdom established there after the fall of Rome. In Asia they took Asia Minor from the Byzantines and attempted to capture Constantinople with a combined attack from land and sea. The great walls of the city frustrated the land attack and the Saracen fleet was defeated at sea. In the west, Charles Martel of the Franks stopped a Saracen invasion of modern France in 732 at Poitiers.

Frustrated in the west, the forces of Islam turned east. By 750 they had conquered to the Indus River and north over India into Central Asia to the borders of China.

In 656 the Muslim world fell into civil war between two factions, the Sunnites and the Shiites. They differed on several points, including who should be caliph and interpretation of the Koran. The result of the 60-year war was that the Islamic state broke into pieces, some governed by Sunnites (the Iberian Peninsula) and others by Shiites (Egypt and modern Iraq). The new Islamic states acted independently, thereafter.

Muslim Spain developed into one of the great states of Europe during the early Middle Ages. Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in relative harmony, and a rich culture rose out of these multiple influences. There was a flowering of the arts, architecture, and learning. By 1000, however, Muslim Spain had divided into warring factions. This civil war facilitated the slow reconquest of the peninsula (the Reconquista) by the emerging states of Castile and Aragon, completed finally in 1492.

Asia Minor and the Middle East were conquered by Muslim Turks in the early eleventh century. In response to a call for aid from the Byzantines, a series of Crusades was launched from Europe to regain Palestine from the Turks. The independent Muslim states in the area lost Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean coast to the First Crusade. In the last part of the twelfth century, the great Saracen leader Saladin succeeded in uniting Egypt, Syria, and smaller states, and he retook Jerusalem.

The Muslim states remained independent long after the Middle Ages and eventually developed into the modern Arab nations of the Middle East and North Africa. They went into economic decline, however, when the European nations opened trade routes of their own to Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The Bayeaux Tapesty

2010-05-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

The Bayeaux Tapestry is really an embroidery but the word tapestry has stuck. The Bayeaux Tapestry is now on permanent public display in the city of Bayeaux in Normandy, France. It tells the story of the Battle of Hastings; why William felt he had to invade, the preparations made for the crossing and the battle itself. Tapestries were not rare in the time of William but the size of this particular tapestry is an indication that it was important. The story it tells was to have a huge impact on Medieval England.

It is made out of linen (eight bands sewn together) and is 270 feet long and about 20 inches wide. It was once even longer but part of the tapestry at the end - after the Battle of Hastings - has been cut off. The writing on the tapestry is in Latin. The main stitches used are stem stitching and laid-and-couched stitching.

Eight colours can be made out from the tapestry; the five main colours are blue-green, terracotta, light-green, buff and grey-blue. There are also places where very dark blue, yellow and a dark green have been used. The colour of skin has been left as the colour of the linen.

The tapestry tells from the Norman point of view the circumstances that lead up to the Battle of Hastings. There is no English equivalent so it is very difficult to confirm or dispute some of the details on the tapestry.

It is probable that the man who ordered the tapestry to be done was Bishop Odo of Bayeaux. He was William’s half-brother and his cathedral in Bayeaux was consecrated in 1077. It is likely that the tapestry was done to celebrate both William’s victory at Hastings and the completion of Odo’s cathedral.

No-one is completely sure where the tapestry was made but one theory put forward was that it was done by women in Canterbury, Kent, where there was a famous school of tapestry who used a style of work very similar to that found on the tapestry itself.

After William’s victory at Hastings, Odo was made Earl of Kent so it is probable that he would have had full knowledge about this particular school. Another clue is that some of the names spelt in Latin on the tapestry are not spelt in the way a French person would have written them but they are spelt in the English style of the time.

Though the tapestry was almost certainly done by women, the design and plan of it was probably done by a man as the detail of the soldiers who fought at the Battle of Hastings is such that only a soldier or ex-soldier would have known of such detail.

The tapestry contains about 50 different scenes and one researcher has counted that there are 632 human figures in it, 202 horse, 55 dogs, 505 other creatures (some clearly mythical beasts), 37 buildings, 41 ships, 49 trees and nearly 2000 Latin letters.

Though some historians have stated that the tapestry is nothing more than Norman propaganda - somehow excusing William’s right to invade and conquer England - some parts of it are less than pro-Norman as one section shows a mother and child being forced out of the burning home (set alight by Norman soldiers) as William’s army advanced across Kent. The scale of the damage done to the area surrounding Hastings can be seen in the figures contained in the Domesday Book.

Though the tapestry is now a major tourist attraction, it does have a strange history. There was a vague mention made by the Bishop of Dol of a tapestry that was in the possession of Adela, William’s daughter. This was in 1100.

No proper mention is made of it until 1476 when someone writing an inventory of what was found in Bayeaux Cathedral noted that a "very long and very narrow strip of linen, embroidered with figures and inscriptions representing the Conquest of England, which is hung round the nave of the church on the Feast of relics and throughout the Octave."

During the troublesome days of the French Revolution, it was going to be used as a wrap-around for a wagon to save its contents from the weather, but it was saved at the last minute by a member of Bayeaux’s city council - Lambert Leonard-Leforestier.

During World War Two, it was kept in an air-raid shelter. Bayeaux, as a city, remained undamaged in the war even though the Allied beach landings took place just miles from the city. In 1949, the tapestry was given an official exhibition centre.

A History of Waterlooville

2010-05-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

THE BEGINNING OF WATERLOOVILLE

Waterlooville and Cowplain did not exist before the year 1815. Before then it was part of the Forest of Bere, which stretched from the border of Sussex to Winchester. Today Queens Inclosure is one of the last remnants of the forest.

On the southern fringe of the forest was the little village of Purbrook. Its name is a corruption of Pucan brook, which means the brook of the water spirit. North of it was Horndean. That may be a corruption of Saxon words meaning dormouse valley. Also nearby was Denmead. It was originally called Denu mead which means the meadow in the valley.

By the 13th century there was another village called Stakes. It may have got its name because it was surrounded by a stockade of wooden stakes.

A track led through the forest from Horndean to Portsmouth but it was only usable in summer. In winter coaches had to make a detour to Havant. This changed in 1711 when a turnpike company was formed. In those days there were privately owned roads called turnpikes, which you had to pay a toll to use. One was built from London to Portsmouth which went from Horndean to Cosham along what is now London Road.

The first census was held in 1801 and showed these villages still had very small populations. Clanfield had a population of 153 and by 1901 it had risen to only 213. Blendworth had a population of 174 in 1801. It rose to 268 in 1901.

WATERLOOVILLE IN THE 19th CENTURY

The village of Waterlooville began in 1815. After 1810 the forest of Bere was divided into plots and sold for building. By 1815 there were 5 buildings by the side of the road that ran through it. One of these was an inn called the Heroes of Waterloo, after the battle that had just been fought by Wellington. The new settlement was called Waterloo after the inn.

Later it was called Waterlooville to distinguish it from another place called Waterloo. At that time a new road was built from Stakes to Hambledon. It bisected London Road and formed a crossroads.

The other 4 buildings by the roadside were retirement cottages. It was an attractive place to live. In those days most of England was divided into parishes. You had to pay rates to support the poor, to repair certain roads and bridges and to upkeep the county jail. Waterlooville was extra-parochial that is it was outside any parish (until 1858). Therefore the people who lived there did not have to pay rates.

More houses were built and by 1829 a village had grown up. In that year it was decided to build a Church of England church. St George's church was consecrated in 1831. It was rebuilt in 1870.

Waterloo or Waterlooville was still a very small village with less than 200 people but it had a butcher and a baker by the 1830s. In 1854 a Baptist chapel was built in Chapel Road (hence its name). A new church was built in London Road in 1884.

In 1869 Purbrook industrial school opened in Stakes Road. At it vagrant boys learned trades such as shoemaking. St Michael's convent was built in 1885.

After 1858 Waterlooville was divided into 2 parts by the crossroads. The area south of it was part of the parish of Farlington while the area north of it was part of the parish of Catherington. By 1851 Waterlooville had a population of 195. By 1901 it had risen to 609.

In 1820 the Hulbert family bought an estate at Stakes. In 1881 one of the Hulberts had Hulbert Road made up at his own expense. It is, of course, named after him.

The other villages in the area also grew during the 19th century. By the mid 19th century houses were built north of Waterlooville on London Road. The new hamlet first appears on maps in the 1860s. An inn called the Spotted Cow appears on a map dated 1867. Cowplain is believed to get its name from the Spotted Cow. Locals called the stretch of land around it Cow Plain. (In those days 'plain' meant any stretch of open land, not necessarily a large area). More houses were built on Cow Plain and by the late 19th century it had become a thriving little village.

A brewing industry has existed at Horndean since the 1720's. In Horndean Merchistoun Hall was built in the late 18th century. It was originally called The Grove. In 1836 it was bought by Admiral Charles Napier who renamed it after his birthplace Merchiston Hall in Scotland (with a change in spelling). He was an eccentric character who used to walk around the village with a pet monkey on his shoulder.

In 1860 a boys school opened in Horndean. The local workhouse was also built in Horndean. If you were destitute in those days you had to enter a workhouse where life was made as unpleasant as possible to discourage 'idlers'.

Gales Ales was founded in Horndean in 1847. The brewery burned down in 1869 but was quickly rebuilt.

In 1880 All Saints Church was built. The population of Catherington parish, which included Horndean and Lovedean rose from 559 in 1801 to 1,356 in 1901.

Early in the 19th century a windmill was built in Purbrook. Purbrook church (St Johns) was built in 1858. Purbrook Park House was built in 1770. It was rebuilt in 1837. In the 1920s the house became a grammar school and later a primary school.

The village of Denmead also grew. In 1819 a windmill was built there (it was demolished in 1922). In those days Denmead was famous for cockfighting. This cruel sport had been played for centuries but by the early 19th century many people disapproved of it. Sailors from Portsmouth came to the secluded village of Denmead to watch it. By 1871 the population of Denmead parish had reached 587. By 1901 it had reached 881.

WATERLOOVILLE IN THE 20th CENTURY

In the 19th century there was a house called Hart Plain House opposite Queens Inclosure. It had an estate around it. In 1901 the estate was sold for building and houses were built there. (Although Hart Plain Lodge, the estate keepers cottage still stands).

Waterlooville golf course began in 1907. Waterlooville gained gas street lighting in 1904. Slowly modern amenities reached the other villages. Piped water reached Catherington in 1924. The same year gas reached Denmead. A piped water supply reached Denmead in 1931. The same year it gained an electricity supply.

In 1910 Lovedean was still a sleepy little village with a general shop and a blacksmiths. Cowplain was a hamlet with an inn and a general shop. In 1920 a War Memorial Hall was built in Denmead and a Memorial Monument was erected in Horndean.

From the end of the 19th century a horse drawn bus ran between Portsmouth and Waterlooville. In 1903 a tram called the Horndean Light Railway began running between the city and Horndean. The trams were called the green cars because they were emerald green and cream. For many Portsmouth people travelling to Horndean for a day in the summer was a big treat. The Light Railway closed in 1935 and was replaced by buses.

The Wadham brothers began making bicycles in 1905. They began making coaches in 1908. In 1932 they began making ambulances. Butser Turf was founded in 1929.

Havant and Waterlooville Urban District Council was formed in 1932. By the 1930's the population of Waterlooville and Stakes was about 2,000. Denmead had a population of about 1,300. In 1936 Waterlooville gained a cinema, the Curzon.

A fire station was built in Horndean in 1939. Then during World War II many people from Portsmouth came to Waterlooville and Horndean each night to escape the bombing. They slept in sheds and garages and in temporary shacks.

In 1945 Waterlooville was still a fairly small village but it grew very rapidly from the late 1950's. Large numbers of people came to live in Waterlooville from other areas. Some were from Oxford and Reading but others came from as far as the north of England.

In 1951 Waterlooville had a population of 2,881. By 1971 it had risen to over 10,000. The little town was growing at a phenomenal rate. Between 1958 and 1973 about 9,000 private houses were built in the Waterlooville district. Waterlooville grew faster than any other town in Britain.

In the late 1950's a building company called Berg built an estate west of Waterlooville including many bungalows (often jokingly called the iceberg Estate). Highfield Estate was also built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Many houses were also built on Purbrook chase in the late 1950s including 3 bedroom houses, bungalows and 2 bedroom flats. Many new houses and bungalows were built in Cowplain the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1958 a plan was drawn up for 8 shops, a pub and 284 new houses.

Horndean also grew very rapidly. By 1955 it had a population of around 4,000. In 1956 Merchistoun Hall was taken over by Horndean Community Association. Between 1953 and 1963 more than 800 new houses were built at Horndean.

Plessey moved to Waterlooville in 1964. But despite the rapid growth of the little town its cinema, the Curzon closed in 1959. A shopping precinct was built in 1962 on the east side of London Road. Another precinct was built in 1965-66 known as Wellington Arcade. In 1965-66 a new industrial estate was built north of Hambledon Road. Waterlooville Library moved to a new building in 1973.

In the 1970's Portsmouth City Council built 2 'overspill' council house estates at Waterlooville. One of these was built at Crookhorn. Another was built at Wecock Farm. Furthermore Clanfield grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1908s. Between 1971 and 1984 it grew by 50% to over 3,000.

In 1983 Waterlooville inner relief road was built. London Road shopping centre was made a precinct in 1985.

A new estate was built 1985-87 around Tempest Avenue, east of Queens Inclosure. Furthermore in the 1980s new houses were built around Frendstaple Road.

Although the area grew very rapidly a green belt was left between Waterloovile and Denmead but this is now under threat. Denmead is growing rapidly and the land separating it from Waterlooville may disappear. In the late 1980s Park industrial estate was built at Denmead. In Waterloovile Brambles Farm Industrial Estate was also built in the late 1980's. A swimming pool opened in 1991.

WATERLOOVILLE IN THE 21st CENTURY

Dukes Walk opened in 2000. However the year 2006 marked the end of an era for Horndean as the brewery closed.

The Purbrook, Waterlooville-Cowplain-Horndean area now has a population of about 30,000.

Frederick I (Barbarossa)

2010-05-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

Friedrich I, 'Barbarossa' Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire called Barbarossa or Red Beard, succeeded his uncle Conrad III as king of Germany in 1152. He became Holy Roman Emperor in 1155. The German people admired and respected him as a great national hero. In 1180, he defeated his great rival for power in Germany, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. With the help of loyal princes and an able administration, he enforced his authority in Germany and the Slavic borderlands to the east.

He was less successful in a bitter struggle against Pope Alexander III and the Lombard League of North Italian cities. The League defeated Frederick at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. It was in this battle that foot soldiers recorded their first great victory over feudal cavalry. The Lombard cities forced Frederick to grant them self-government in the Peace of Constance in 1183. The Emperor started on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land in 1189, but drowned the next year while crossing a river. A German legend, however, says that Barbarossa never really died but is sleeping beside a huge table in the Kyffhauser Mountains. When his beard grows completely around the table, the legend says, he will arise and conquer Germany's enemies.

Frederick I (Holy Roman Empire), called Frederick Barbarossa (1123?-90), Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany (1152-90), king of Italy (1155-90), and as Frederick III, duke of Swabia (1147-52, 1167-68). He was born in Waiblingen, the son of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, duke of Swabia (1090-1147), and the nephew of Conrad III, king of Germany. Conrad III, favoring Frederick over his own son, on his deathbed recommended to the German princes that Frederick be chosen for the German kingship and the imperial throne. Accordingly, after the death of his uncle in 1152, Frederick Barbarossa was made German king and elected Holy Roman emperor. He conceived of his imperial title as a grant from God, through the German princes, and wished to restore the glory of the Roman Empire. He consequently decided to consolidate the imperial position in Germany and Italy and began by issuing a general order for peace among the princes of Germany, at the same time granting them extensive concessions. In 1154 he proceeded to Italy, where he received the Lombard crown at Pavia. The following year he was crowned Holy Roman emperor by Pope Adrian IV, whose authority Frederick had reinstated before his coronation.

In 1156 Pope Adrian aroused Frederick against the papacy by implying in a letter to him that the emperor held lands only as a fief from the pope. Two years later Frederick incurred the hostility of the Lombards by demanding recognition of all his royal rights, including his power to appoint the imperial podesta, or governor, in every town. Such cities as Milan, Piacenza, Brescia, and Crema considered that demand a denial of their communal liberties and in 1158 began a struggle that lasted until 1183 and required Frederick to lead five expeditions to Italy. Between 1158 and 1162 Frederick warred with Milan and its allies, subduing that city and confirming claims to other Italian cities. Meanwhile Frederick had set up a series of antipopes in opposition to the reigning pope, Alexander III, who espoused the cause of the Milanese and their allies and who, in 1165, excommunicated Frederick. By attacking the Leonine City in Rome in 1167-68, Frederick was able to install one of the antipopes, Paschal III (died 1168), on the papal throne. The Lombard League, consisting of the cities of Milan, Parma, Padua, Verona, Piacenza, Bologna, Cremona, Mantua, Bergamo, and Brescia, was formed in 1167 and eventually acknowledged Pope Alexander as leader. During the next seven years the league acquired military strength, rebuilt Milan, constructed the fortress city of Alessandria, and organized a federal system of administration. The fifth expedition (1174-76) of Frederick to Italy terminated in defeat by the Lombard League at Legnano. The defeat was significant in military history, because it was the first major triumph of infantry over a mounted army of feudal knights. Frederick was forced in 1177 to acknowledge Alexander III as pope and in 1183 to sign the Peace of Constance, acceding to the demands of the Lombards for autonomy but retaining imperial suzerainty over the towns.

Although imperial control in Italy was virtually ended by his defeat at Legnano, Frederick managed to enhance his prestige in central Europe. He made Poland tributary to the empire, raised Bohemia to the rank of a kingdom, and erected the margravate of Austria into an independent hereditary duchy. His own power as emperor in Germany was firmly established in 1180, when he ended his long struggle with the Welfs by putting down a revolt led by the Welf Henry the Lion and depriving him of most of his lands.

Frederick initiated the Third Crusade in 1189, and in the next year, having resigned the government of the empire to his son Henry, later Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, set out for Asia Minor. After gaining two great victories over the Muslims at Philomelion (now Ak3ehir) and Iconium (now Konya), he was drowned in the Calycadnus (now Goksu) River in Cilicia (now in Turkey) on June 10, 1190.

Children
1 Henry VI, Emperor Germany
2 Phillip II, Emperor Germany

Joan of Arc

2010-05-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was born in 1412 Domremy, France. Legend says that she was born to auspicious signs held to be a forecast of national triumph. However, what is more certain is that her family were poor and her region had suffered from the long conflict between England and France.

From an early age Joan of Arc displayed a sensitive and religious temperament. It is said by friends that:

“She was greatly committed to the service of God and the Blessed Mary.” (1)

joan of arcFrom the age of 12 she began to have mystical visions. In these visions she said she felt the voice of God commanding her to renew the French nation. At her later trial Joan of Arc said she felt these visions were as real seeing another person. The visions were often accompanied by light and the presence of saints such as St Michael and St Catherine.

"I was thirteen when I had a Voice from God for my help and guidance. The first time that I heard this Voice, I was very much frightened; it was mid-day, in the summer, in my father's garden. ” - Joan of Arc from her trial transcript.

These visions made Joan of Arc even more religiously inclined. She would frequently go to confession and, it is said that, whenever she heard the bells for Mass she would immediately drop her work and run to church.

Initially Joan did not tell others about her visions and inner commandments but in May 1428 the divine messages urged her to seek an audience with Charles de Ponthieu currently an ineffective and relatively weak leader of the French.

At the time of Joan’s childhood, France was seriously divided with a lack of national unity. In 1415 King Henry V of England had invaded France and defeated the French army at Agincourt. This famous victory over the French nobility left the country weak and divided. The main divisions were between the Dauphins and English supporting Burgundians.

Under Charles de Ponthieu the French were without direction and without a real leader. When Joan of Arc came to the court she overwhelmed Charles with her passion and conviction. It is quite remarkable that this 17 year old peasant girl was, as a consequence, given control over an army and allowed to lead them into battle. Within a year Joan of Arc had led the French army to victories at Orleans, Patay and Troyes. Many other towns were also liberated from English control and it allowed a triumphal entry into Dauphin for the coronation of King Charles VII on 17 July 1429.

For her exploits and leadership Joan of Arc and her family were granted noble status. She has also won the hearts of the French soldiers who looked up to Joan as an almost mythical leader. However a year later Joan was captured by the Burgundian forces at Compiegne and sold to the English. Her trial is well documented and provides a revealing insight into her character and destiny.

The English and members of the French clergy decided to put her on trial for witchcraft. In many ways it was a show trial with the result cleverly orchestrated. The leading clergy member was Pierre Cauchon was a staunch supporter of the British and hated Joan of Arc for her miraculous revival of French national pride. However, another interpretation is that he genuinely felt obliged to save Joan's Immortal soul from damnation for the claims she was making.

The trial was a very testing experience for Joan. Initially the trial was held in public, but, her responses were much sharper than her prosecutors expected. She held her own and produced some strong rebuts, which gained her public sympathy. For example, the prosecution tried very hard to get her to blaspheme. She was asked:

Question at Trial: "Do you know if you are in the grace of God?"

"If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me. I should be the saddest in all the world if I knew that I were not in the grace of God. But if I were in a state of sin, do you think the Voice would come to me? " - Joan of Arc (2)

Eventually, the trial was continued behind closed doors. It appears Joan was threatened with torture, but, she wasn't actully tortured. As expected, Joan was found guilty and condemned to death by burning at the stake. Faced with such an overwhelming ordeal Joan broke down and confessed.

However a week later she regained her strength and recanted her confession. She was able to face her ordeal with dignity. It is said that over 10,000 people came to see her execution by burning. Her ashes were scattered in the Seine. One legend tells how her heart remained unaffected by the fire.

26 years later the English were finally driven from Rouen and in a later inquest she was declared to be officially innocent and was officially designated to be a martyr. She was canonized a saint in 1920 and remains the patron saint of France.

Joan of Arc achieved a remarkable achievement in her short life of 19 years. In particular she embodied religious devotion with great bravery and humility, her life helped change the course of French history.

Richard I (Richard The Lionheart) Biography

2010-05-05T00:36:00.000-07:00

Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. He was often referred to as Richard the Lionheart, Coeur de Lion. He was considered a hero in his day and has often been portrayed as one in works of literature.

Early life

The third of King Henry II's legitimate sons, Richard was never expected to accede to the throne. He was, however, the favourite son of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Although born in Oxford, England, he soon came to know France as his home. When his parents effectively separated, he remained in Eleanor's care, and was invested with her duchy of Aquitaine in 1168, and of Poitiers in 1172. This was his consolation prize for the fact that his eldest brother, Henry the Young King, was simultaneously crowned as his father's successor. Richard and his other brother, Geoffrey, duke of Brittany, thus learned how to defend their property while still teenagers. As well as being an educated man, able to compose poetry in French and Provençal, Richard was also a magnificent physical specimen, his height is estimated at six feet four inches (1.93 m) tall, and gloried in military activity. From an early age he appeared to have significant political and military abilities, became noted for his chivalry and courage, and soon was able to control the unruly nobles of his territory. As with all the true-born sons of Henry II, Richard had limited respect for his father and lacked foresight and a sense of responsibility.

In 1170, his elder brother Henry the Young King was crowned king of England as Henry III. Historians know him as Henry "the Young King" so as not to confuse him with the later king of this name who was his nephew.

In 1173, Richard joined his brothers, Henry and Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, in a revolt against their father. They were planning to dethrone their father and leave the Young King as the only king of England. Henry II invaded Aquitaine twice. At the age of seventeen, Richard was the last of the brothers to hold out against Henry; though, in the end, he refused to fight him face to face and humbly begged his pardon. In 1174, after the end of the failed revolt, Richard gave a new oath of subservience to his father.

After his failure Richard concentrated on putting down internal revolts by the dissatisfied nobles of Aquitaine, especially the territory of Gascony. The increasing cruelty of his reign led to a major revolt of Gascony in 1183. Richard had a terrible reputation, including reports of various rapes and murders. The rebels hoped to dethrone Richard and asked his brothers Henry and Geoffrey to help them succeed. Their father feared that the war between his three sons could lead to the destruction of his kingdom. He led the part of his army that served in his French territories in support of Richard. The Young King's death on June 11, 1183, ended the revolt, and Richard remained on his throne.

Young Henry's death left Richard as the eldest surviving son and the natural heir when the old King died. However, there was some uncertainty over King Henry's intentions. When Geoffrey also died, Richard was the only realistic possibility, his youngest brother, John, being too weak and inexperienced to be considered as an alternative. From the Young King's death Richard was considered -- though not officially proclaimed -- heir to the joint thrones of England, Normandy and Anjou. In 1188 Henry II planned to concede Aquitaine to his youngest son John Lackland, later King John of England. In opposition to his father's plans, Richard allied himself with King Philip II of France, the son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis VII by his third wife, Adela of Blois. In exchange for Philip's help against his father, Richard promised to concede his rights to both Normandy and Anjou to Philip. Richard gave an oath of subservience to Philip in November of the same year. In 1189 Richard attempted to take the throne of England for himself by joining Philip's expedition against his father. They were victorious. Henry, with John's consent, agreed to name Richard his heir. On July 6, 1189 Henry died in Chinon, and Richard succeeded him as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou. He was officially crowned duke on July 20 and king in Westminster on September 3, 1189.

Reign

richard the lionheartedAs a result of an incident during Richard's coronation celebrations, religious and political persecution of the Jews took place throughout the country. Richard has been criticised for doing little for England, siphoning the kingdom's resources by appointing Jewish moneylenders to support his tirades away on Crusade in the Holy Land, indeed, he spent only six months of his ten year reign in England, claiming it was "cold and always raining."

Richard had one major reason for discontent with his father. Henry had appropriated Princess Alice (not the same Alice as Richard's half-sister), the daughter of the French king and Richard's betrothed, as his mistress. This made a marriage between Richard and Alice technically impossible - at least in the eyes of the church, but Henry, not wishing to cause a diplomatic incident, prevaricated and did not confess to his misdeed. As for Richard, he was discouraged from renouncing Alice because she was Philip's sister.

Leaving the country in the hands of various officials he designated (including his mother, at times), Richard spent only a small fraction of his reign in England, being far more concerned with his possessions in what is now France and his battles in Palestine. He had grown up on the Continent, and had never seen any need to learn the English language. Soon after his accession to the throne, he decided to join the Third Crusade, inspired by the loss of Jerusalem to the "infidels" under the command of Saladin. Afraid that, during his absence, the French might usurp his territories, Richard tried to persuade Philip to join the Crusade as well. Philip agreed and both gave their crusader oaths on the same date.

Richard did not concern himself with the future of England. He wanted to engage in an adventure that would cause the troubadours to immortalise his name, as well as guaranteeing him a place in heaven. The evidence suggests that he had deep spiritual needs, and he swore an oath to renounce his past wickedness in order to show himself worthy to take the cross. He started to raise a new English crusader army, though most of his warriors were Normans, and supplied it with weapons. He spent most of his father's treasury (filled with money raised by the Saladin tithe), raised taxes, and even agreed to free King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in exchange for 10,000 marks. To raise even more money he sold official positions, rights, and lands to those interested in them. He finally succeeded in raising a huge army and navy. After repositioning the part of his army he left behind so that it would guard his French possessions, Richard finally started his expedition to the Holy Land in 1190. Richard appointed as regents Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William de Mandeville, who soon died and was replaced by Richard's chancellor William Longchamp. Richard's brother John was not satisfied by this decision and started scheming against William.

The struggle for Sicily

In September 1190 both Richard and Philip arrived in Sicily. In 1189 King William II of Sicily had died. His heir was his aunt Constance, later Queen Constance of Sicily, who was married to Emperor Henry VI. But immediately after William's death, William's cousin, Tancred, rebelled, seized control of the island and was crowned early in 1190 as King Tancred I of Sicily. He was favored by the people and the pope but had problems with the island's nobles. Richard's arrival caused even more problems. Tancred had imprisoned William's widow, Queen Joan Plantagenet, who was Richard's sister, and did not give her the money she had inherited according to William's will. Richard demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance. Meanwhile the presence of two foreign armies caused unrest among the people. In October, the people of Messina revolted, demanding that the foreigners leave the island. Richard attacked Messina and captured it on October 4, 1190. After looting and burning the city Richard established his base in it. He remained there until March 1191 when Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty. The treaty was signed during the same month by Richard, Philip and Tancred. According to the treaty's main terms:

* Joan was to be released, receiving her inheritance along with the dowry her father had given to the deceased William.
* Richard and Philip recognized Tancred as legal King of Sicily and vowed to keep the peace between all three of their kingdoms.
* Richard officially proclaimed his nephew, the son of Geoffrey, Arthur of Brittany, as his heir, and Tancred promised to later marry one of his daughters to Arthur when he came of age (Arthur was only four years old at the time).

After signing the treaty Richard and Philip left Sicily. The treaty undermined England's relationships with the Holy Roman Empire and caused the revolt of Richard's brother John, who hoped to be proclaimed heir instead of their nephew. Although his revolt failed, John continued to scheme against his brother after this point.

Richard on the Third Crusade

During April Richard stopped on the Byzantine island of Rhodes to avoid the stormy weather. He left in May but a new storm drove Richard's fleet to Cyprus. On May 6, 1191, Richard's fleet arrived in the port of Lemesos (now Limassol). Richard captured the city. When the island's despot Isaac Dukas Comnenus arrived to stop the Crusaders he discovered he was too late, and retired to Kolossi. Richard called Isaac to negotiations but Isaac broke his oath of hospitality and started demanding Richard's departure. Richard ordered his cavalry to follow him in a battle against Isaac's army in Tremetusia. The few Roman Catholics of the island joined Richard's army and so did the island's nobles who were dissatisfied with Isaac's seven years of tyrannical rule. Though Isaac and his men fought bravely, Richard's army was bigger and better equipped, assuring his victory. Isaac continued to resist from the castles of Pentadactylos but after the siege of his castle of Kantaras he finally surrendered. Richard became the new ruler of Cyprus.

Richard looted the island and massacred those trying to resist him. Meanwhile, Richard was finally able to marry the woman to whom he was engaged, who had been brought by his mother to join him on the crusade route. His marriage to Princess Berengaria of Navarre, first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre, was held in Limassol on May 12, 1191. It was attended by his sister Joan, whom Richard had brought from Sicily. There were no children from the marriage; opinions vary as to whether it was ever a love match. The unfortunate Berengaria had almost as much difficulty in making the journey home as her husband did, and did not see England until after his death.

Richard and most of his army left Cyprus for the Holy Land early in June. In his absence Cyprus would be governed by Richard Kamvill. King Richard arrived at Acre in June 1191, in time to relieve the siege of the city by Saladin. Deserted by Philip and having fallen out with Duke Leopold V of Austria, he suddenly found himself without allies.

Richard's tactics ensured success at the siege of Acre and on the subsequent march south, Saladin's men being unable to harass the Crusader army into an impulsive action which might not have gone their way. However, the desertion of the French king had been a major blow, from which they could not hope to recover. Realising that he had no hope of holding Jerusalem even if he took it, Richard sadly ordered a retreat. Despite being only a few miles from the city, he refused, thereafter, to set eyes on it, since God had ordained that he should not be the one to conquer it. He had finally realised that his return home could be postponed no longer, since both Philip and John were taking advantage of his absence to make themselves more powerful.

Having planned to leave Conrad of Montferrat as "King" of Jerusalem and Cyprus in the hands of his own protégé, Guy of Lusignan, Richard was dealt another blow when Conrad was assassinated before he could be crowned. His replacement was Richard's own nephew, Henry I of Champagne.

Captivity and return

On his return to Europe in the autumn of 1192, Richard was captured by Duke Leopold — whom he had publicly insulted in the course of the crusade — and was handed over as a prisoner to the Emperor Henry VI after being held captive at Dürnstein. Although the circumstances of his captivity were not severe, he was frustrated by his inability to travel freely. Nevertheless, he spent the remainder of his reign attempting to regain the territory he had lost in France. After his departure in May 1194, he never returned to England.

Overall assessment

There is no doubt that Richard had many admirable qualities, as well as many bad ones. He was a military mastermind, and politically astute in many ways; yet incredibly foolish in others, and unwilling to give way to public opinion. He was capable of great humility as well as great arrogance. He loved his family, but behaved ruthlessly to his enemies. He was revered by his most worthy rival, Saladin, and respected by the Emperor Henry, but hated by many who had been his friends, especially King Philip. He was often careless of his own safety: the wound which killed him need not have been inflicted at all if he had been properly armoured. Almost the same thing had happened, ten years earlier when, while feuding with his father, he had encountered William Marshal while unarmed and had to beg for his life. Richard's existence had been one whole series of contradictions. Although he had neglected his wife and had to be commanded by priests to be faithful to her, she was distraught at the news of his death.

During his absence, his brother John had come close to seizing the throne; Richard forgave him, and even named him as his heir in place of Arthur, who was growing into an unpleasant youth. With his 77 year-old mother at his side, Richard died on 6 April 1199 from the after-effects of an arrow wound received during the siege of Chalus in France and was buried next to his father at Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon and Saumur, France. It is said that he summoned Pierre Basile, the crossbowman who had delivered the fatal wound to his bedside, and was so impressed with the man's refusal to be cowed that he pardoned him.

Richard was succeeded by his brother John as king of England. However, his French territories initially rejected John as a successor, preferring his nephew Arthur of Brittany, the son of their late brother Geoffrey, whose claim was technically better than John's.

Folklore

Over the years the figures of Robin Hood and Richard I have become closely linked. However, the in the earliest Robin Hood ballads the only king mentioned is "Edward our comely king", presumably Edward I, II, or III. It was not until much later that a connection came to be made between the two men. The typical usage of the link is that the major political goal of Robin's war is to restore Richard to the throne after Prince John usurped it.

The Pequot War

2010-05-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

There was a time in history that people from the then civilized world were on a quest to discover new worlds. The people from the civilized countries labeled the indigenous as savages. If these savages did not extend a hand of friendship, these New Settlers would become determined to wipe off the opposition by hook or crook. The way of the New Settlers was; 'our way and no other way.' Similarly, the Native Americans settled near the Connecticut River Valley found it difficult to share their land with the English of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and also the Dutch of New Amsterdam and Hudson River. This gave rise to the Pequot war fought between these New Settlers and the Pequot people. The following Pequot war summary will help you understand the cause and effect of the war.

Pequot War Summary

The Pequot Tribe was an Indian tribe had settled at the southeastern Connecticut from the Nehantic River and to the east border of Rhode Island. It has been found by anthroplogists that the Pequot and Mohegan were originally a single tribe that had migrated to eastern Connecticut from upper Hudson River valley in New York around 1500.

When both the tribes were included, it was estimated that about 6000 people existed in the tribe in 1620. A major small pox epidemic in 1633 - 34 and the separation of the Mohegans brought the population of the Pequot to about 3000.

The name of the Pequot tribe was from an Algonquin word, "pekawatawog or pequttoog" that meant 'destroyers'. They were also called by other names like Pekoath, Pequant, Pequatoo and Sickenames (Dutch), Pequod, Pequin (Sequin), Pyquan, Sagimo. They spoke the Y-dialect that was also spoken by the Mohegan, Narragansett, Niantic, and the Montauk and Shinnecock who were from Metoac that was on the eastern end of Long Island.

The Pequot were not happy to share their land with the European settlers. They worked aggressively to control their land in all directions. The control of fur trade lead to a series of tension between the Pequot and the New Settlers. The Mohican gave their alliance to the English after their split from the Pequot tribe.

The Beginning of the End

The Connecticut river and the land around it was viewed as their territory by the Pequot. They had an agreement with the Dutch that included a promise that they will not interfere with the trade on the river. However, the western Niantics or Pequots took over a boat from a white man and sailed it up the harbor. During this time, another white man John Gallup sailed by the river and fired on the Indians. He rammed his boat into theirs that made many Indians jump out and some were taken as captives.

The news of this encounter spread and the Governor Vane of Massachusetts sent 90 men to teach the Pequots a lesson. But, these white men attacked the Narragansett Indians by mistake. They killed all the people they could find. This made the Pequot tribe more powerful as they were joined by the angered Narragansett Indians to drive out the white man. This alliance did not last long as Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Islands, managed to persuade the Narragansett from taking such a step. Thus, the Pequot were left alone in their fight against the white man.

The Pequot then attacked families in isolated areas and slaughtered them. They waited to see the reaction from the English. But they saw no retaliation whatsoever. However, the New Settlers were panicking and they called Massachusetts for help. They sent over Captain John Mason to get rid of the Pequot uprising. Mason was a hardened soldier who headed a force of 80 white men and roped in over a hundred Mohicans at Saybrook Fort. He even managed to get the Narragansett to join him and fight the Pequot.

They rowed down the Narragansett Bay and soon found the stockade of twelve foot posts that surrounded the Pequot tipis. These tipis were laid over an acre of land in what is now known as Groton, Connecticut. Jason and his men split into two groups and surrounded the Pequot tribe. The men arrived undiscovered and as luck would have it, the Pequot warriors who defended the tribe were absent. The Pequot people were relaxed by their false belief that the English had retreated to the east.

In the dead of the night, when the people that consisted of women, children and old were sleeping, Mason and his men attacked the tribe. They were shot at by Mason and his men and some butchered by the Narragansett and Mohicans. Soon, some of the members assembled to fight the attack, Mason saw defeat. However, he began to burn the tipis and this lead to panic among the tribe. Those not burned by the fire were slaughtered by the men. Most of the dead were women and children. Over 700 to 1000 Pequot people were killed that night.

Soon, Mason made a hasty retreat to the boats. During his rush to the boats, he came face to face with a strong war party of 300 men of Pequot. But, these men were soon distracted by the smoke and burning village. Mason suffered a loss of only two killed and 20 injured and escaped. His native allies were however not so fortunate and could not find their way back home.

The Aftermath

The Pequots were broken after the loss of life and land. They could not cultivate crops and had no help from their native allies. This made the left over tribe to break into small bands and flee for their lives. This made them an easy prey and many of the people especially the women and children were taken as slaves.

The English were not satisfied with their win over the Mystic river and wanted Sassacus, the Pequot grand sachem. At the end of June, Mason was joined by Thomas Staughton who came with 120 men and went on to capture Sassacus. Mason, Staughton, and the Mohegan followed a slow moving band of Saasacus west. If any Pequot captured en route offered any resistance, his head would be smashed and placed on a tree ans a warning at a place, today known as Sachem Head.

Finally, they managed to catch up with Sassacus at Sasqua, a Pequannock village near Fairfeild, Connecticut. The Pequot retreated to a hidden fort and after negotiations, 200 Pequannock men, women and children were allowed to leave. The Pequot refused to surrender and Sassacus along with 80 warriors managed to break free. However, 180 were captured and others killed.

Sassacus and his men fled to west New York and had to turn to their old enemies for help. The Mohawk had not forgotten the past and the minute the Pequot reached their village, they were attacked before even being allowed to speak. The Mohawk cut off Sassacus's head and sent it to Hartford as a gesture of friendship with the English. The remaining Pequots turned to the Mahican at Schaghticoke. However, they were soon hunted down as they had no refuge. The General Court in Hartford had imposed a heavy fine to all those providing refuge to the Pequot. Most of them were killed and the remaining sachems surrendered.

In 1637, only about half of the 3000 Pequots survived the war. The Pequot were dismembered under the peace signed in Hartford in September, 1638. Those 180 captured were distributed as slave. 80 went to the Mohegan, 80 to the Narragansett and 20 to the Eastern Niantic. Of the other 80 captured by the English, 30 were executed and the women and children sent as slaves to Bermuda and West Indies. Others were made 'servant' to the New England households till their death. The remaining 1000 Pequot were added to the Mohegan tribe. This made them the most powerful tribe and they were able to defeat the Narragansett in 1644.

The Aftermath of the Aftermath

The Pequots lived a harsh life under the Mohgans. They had been separated into small groups and were not allowed to call themselves as the Pequot. The English demanded an annual payment of wampum from the Pequots for sparing their lives. This made them a burden over the Mohegan and were made to work like dogs. In 1655, there state was so bad that the English who never interfered were forced to move them to eastern Connecticut. Here they became the Mashantucket or western Pequot and lived at the reserve at Ledyard (1666). The eastern Pequot or Pawcatuck lived at the reservation at Lantern Hill (1683). This separation was a boon for the tribe, but they were obliged to help the Mohegan during times of war. They helped the Mohegan capture the Narragansett sachem Canonchet during the King Philip's War in 1675 - 76.

Pequot War Facts

The Pequot war timeline began in the 1630s with the colonization of English and Dutch over the Pequot territory of Connecticut valley. It lead to many tensions between the groups and finally a war that destroyed the tribe. The Pequot war timeline ended in 1638 with the Treaty of Hartford. Many of the Pequots moved away from their confines and by 1910, only 66 of them remained. It is said that currently their population is about 1000 Pequot. In. 1856, Connecticut sold off their 600 acres of reservation land without permission. They filed a lawsuit against this deal and were given US$ 700,000 as settlement. They received Federal recognition in 1983 and they opened a highly successful gambling cassino in 1992. This has made the Mashantucket Pequot tribe the most wealthiest group of the Native American in United States.

With a struggle of over 350 years, the Pequot have managed to remain the strongest tribe by becoming the wealthiest of all Native American groups. This was all about the Pequot war summary who have now finally settled after a lot of bloodshed.

The History of Housework

2010-05-05T00:31:00.001-07:00

Housework in Pre-Industrial England

In Pre-Industrial England many people simply had hard earth floors, which tended to become dusty and required regular sweeping. Until the 18th century carpets were a luxury and they were often hung over tables rather than put on the floor. Well off people strew reeds or rushes on their floors (sometimes they were woven into mats) and they had to be changed regularly. People used a plant called mares tail as scrubbing brushes.

Before the Industrial Revolution women smoothed linen with glass weights or smooth stones while it was damp. In large houses linen sheets were folded and placed in a screw press. People hung their wet clothes over bushes to dry.

Housework in the 19th Century

Carpets were mass-produced in Britain from the mid-19th century and they became much cheaper. However cleaning carpets was no easy task in the 19th century. You had to hang up the carpet and beat it with a carpet beater (a handle and large flat paddle, usually made of cane). The carpet sweeper was invented in 1876. Which made it far easier to clean rugs and carpets. Also to clean carpets people sprinkled them with dry tea leaves then brushed them up.

Meanwhile in 1860 Fredrick Walton invented linoleum, which was a cheap and easy to clean floor covering. People cleaned their houses with salt and vinegar. Meanwhile in 1876 Susan Hibbard patented the feather duster. Then in 1893 Thomas Stewart invented a mop with a replaceable head that clamped onto the handle. That made it easier to have a clean mop.

In the 19th century most homes also had a scullery. In it was a 'copper', a metal container for washing clothes. The copper was filled with water and soap powder was added. To wash the clothes they were turned with a wooden tool called a dolly. (A dolly looked like a long wooden pole with a stool with several legs on its end). Or you used a metal plunger with holes in it on the end of a pole to push clothes up and down. It was called a posser. Wet clothes were wrung through a mangle to dry them.

During the 19th century towns and cities created a piped water supply, which must have made washing clothes easier. Furthermore in the late 19th century middle class homes began to have gas water heaters, which also helped.

In the 19th century people ironed with flat irons. They were just slabs of metal with handles on top. You heated the iron until it was hot then used it to iron your clothes. (Normally you had 2 irons, one was put on your oven to heat while the other was used). Some irons consisted of a container with a handle on top. The container was filled with hot coals or a hot slab of metal. In the late 19th century there were also gas irons with gas supplied to them through a rubber tube (the gas burned inside the iron) and there were spirit irons, which burned paraffin.

Housework in the 20th Century

Housework became much easier in the 20th Century. The electric iron was invented in 1882. The steam iron was invented in 1926. However in Britain electric irons did not become common until the 1930s.

At the beginning of the 19th century people cooked over an open fire. This was very wasteful as most of the heat went up the chimney. In the 1820s an iron cooker called a grange was introduced. It was a much more efficient way of cooking because most of the heat was contained within. By the mid-19th century granges were common. Most of them had a boiler behind the coal fire where water was heated. However the iron grange did have one disadvantage - it had to be polished with a black polish to stop it rusting.

Gas cookers first became common in the 1890s and the first electric oven went on sale in the USA in 1891. They went on sale in Britain in 1893. By 1939 there were about 1 1/2 million electric ovens in Britain and about 9 million gas ones.

Cooking was also made much easier by the development of convenience foods. The first convenience food in tins and jars went on sale in the late 19th century. Although the principle of canning was invented at the end of the 18th century tinned food first became widely available in the 1880s. The can opener was invented in 1855 and the rotary can opener followed in 1870.

In the late 20th century convenience foods became far more common. That was partly because fridges, freezers became common. (In Britain fish fingers went on sale in 1955). Microwave ovens first became common in the 1980s.

The first electric washing machine was invented in 1906 but at first washing machines were very expensive in the early 20th century. They became more common in the 1930s, though they were still expensive. Washing machines did not really become common until the 1960s. The first synthetic detergent was invented in Germany during the First World War. In the following decades detergents were gradually improved and became more common.

The vacuum cleaner was invented by Hubert Booth in 1901. His earliest model was petrol driven and was so big it had to be pulled through the streets by a horse. It was parked outside your house and hoses were fed through the windows. The first portable electric vacuum cleaner was invented in 1908. Gradually during the 20th century vacuum cleaners became cheaper and more common. By 1959 about two thirds of British homes had a vacuum cleaner. Then in 1979 James Dyson patented the bagless cyclonic vacuum cleaner.
Meanwhile a woman named Josephine Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher in 1886. Hers was worked by hand but an electric dishwasher was made in 1922. However in Britain dishwashers did not become common until the late 20th century.

Meanwhile in the late 20th century the development of synthetic cleaners made housework much easier.

The History Of Baths And Showers

2010-05-05T00:29:00.001-07:00

The Egyptians are known for their cleanliness (they bathed frequently) and they used many cosmetics. Meanwhile in Babylon before 2,000 BC a form of soap was made. The Greeks knew that diet and exercise and keeping clean were important for health. The Greeks even invented a form of shower, which sprayed bathers with water.

Most Greeks washed in a bowl on a pedestal called a louterion though the rich sometimes had bathrooms. People rubbed themselves with olive oil then rubbed it off with a tool called a strigil.

The Romans also knew that dirt encourages disease and they appreciated the importance of cleanliness. They built aqueducts to bring clean water into towns. In Roman towns an important building was the public baths. In Roman times people went to the baths not just to get clean but also to socialise. Roman Baths consisted of a frigidarium or cold room, a Tepidarium or warm room and a caldarium or hot room. You usually finished with a dip in a cold pool. To clean themselves Romans rubbed their skin with oil and scraped it off with a tool called a strigil. (The Romans also made soap).

Roman women also used razors, pumice stone, tweezers and depilatory creams to remove unwanted body hair.

It is a myth that during the Middle Ages people were dirty and smelly. Most people cared about their appearance and tried to keep themselves clean. The Vikings were certainly known for their cleanliness. In the Middle Ages their bathhouses in many towns were people could pay to have a bath. Furthermore in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages people took sweat baths.

In the 14th century Edward III installed a bathroom in the Palace of Westminster. Other people made do with wooden tubs in their bedrooms.

Furthermore in the Middle Ages there was an important soap making industry in England (although many people made their own soap at home). In the Middle Ages people used combs and tweezers. They also used toothpicks and mouthwashes.

In the Middle Ages in monasteries streams provided clean water. Dirty water was used to clear toilets, which were in a separate room. Monks also had a room called a laver where they washed their hands before meals.

The Tudors cared about their appearance. People carried mirrors made of glass or steel. They also carried combs and used tweezers, ear scoops and bone manicure sets. Again it is a myth that the Tudors were dirty and rarely washed. It was difficult for ordinary people to have a bath because it was hard to heat a large amount of water at once. However in the Summer people sometimes had a bath in the local river. Otherwise they heated a cauldron of water and had a strip wash. Or they could have a 'dry wash' by rubbing themselves with clean linen. Many Tudors made their own soap, which they scented with plants like lavender and rose. They also used artichokes for deodorant.

In the 16th century bathrooms were very rare but Henry VIII had a bathroom in Hampton Court Palace. It had a simple boiler for hot water.

In the 17th century people used toothpicks but in the latter part of the century toothbrushes were introduced. (Toothbrushes came from China. They were first mentioned in 1498). People also made scented soaps. In the 18th century an Indian word 'shampoo' was adopted by the British. Then in 1767 Englishman William Feetham invented the first modern shower. However in Britain showers did not become common until the late 20th century.

In the late 19th century middle class homes began to have bathrooms. Having a bath was also made much easier by the development of gas water heaters. Working class houses with bathrooms were first built around 1900 and in the 1920s council houses were built with bathrooms. However at that time bathrooms were still a luxury. As late as the early 1960s many homes in Britain did not have a bathroom.

From about 1800 portable metal bathtubs gradually replaced wooden ones and in the 19th century some people used hand-pumped showers.

In the 19th century toothpaste was sold in jars until 1892 when Washington Sheffield invented the collapsible toothpaste tube. Meanwhile in 1888 the first modern deodorant was invented. It was called Mum.

Women first began to shave under their arms in the 1910s. They first began to shave their legs after the end of the First World War when dresses became shorter. The first modern razor for women was made in 1915. Disposable razors for women followed in 1975.

In the 19th century most homes also had a scullery. In it was a 'copper', a metal container for heating water for washing clothes. The copper was filled with water and soap powder was added. To wash the clothes they were turned with a wooden tool called a dolly. Or you used a metal plunger with holes in it to push clothes up and down. Wet clothes were wrung through a mangle to dry them.

Hand operated washing machines have been around since the 18th century. It is disputed who made the first electric washing machine but it was sometime in the early 1900s. In Britain washing machines first became common in the late 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile a woman named Josephine Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher in 1886. Hers was worked by hand but an electric dishwasher was made in 1922.

People used to wash their clothes with soap flakes. The first synthetic detergent was invented in Germany during the Frist World War. In the following decades detergents were gradually improved and became more common.

A Brief History Of Cosmetics

2010-05-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

Cosmetics in the Ancient World

Women have always tried to enhance their beauty. Even in Prehistoric times people wore necklaces or bracelets made of things like shells. They also wore pendants of bone or ivory. Prehistoric people many have painted or tattooed themselves. Certainly the 'ice man' who lived in Copper-age Italy about 3,300 BC was tattooed. Furthermore some iron age bodies found preserved peat had manicured nails showing the upper class in Northern Europe at that time were particular about their appearance.

Further South all the ancient civilisations used cosmetics. In Iraq in 2,000 BC perfumes were commonly used. So were pigments for the eyes and lips. They were made from various minerals and they were stored in shells.

The Egyptians are known for their cleanliness (they bathed frequently) and they used many cosmetics. They used black eyeliner and green pigment for their eyelids. They also used rouge for their cheeks. The Egyptians also used perfume.

The Greeks too used perfume and they used white lead to give themselves pale complexions. They also used rouge. Roman women also used cosmetics such as eye shadow. Greek and women were also known for their elaborate hairstyles. Women dyed their hair and sometimes used wigs. Roman women also used face packs using ingredients like crocodile dung (if they could afford it!).

Roman women also used razors, pumice stone, tweezers and depilatory creams to remove unwanted body hair.

At that time there were no glass mirrors but women used mirrors made of polished metal. The Romans are also known for their cleanliness. They rubbed themselves with oil and scraped it off with a tool called a strigil.

Cosmetics in the Middle Ages

It is a myth that during the Middle Ages people were dirty and smelly. Most people cared about their appearance and tried to keep themselves clean. The Vikings were certainly known for their cleanliness. In the Middle Ages their bathhouses in many towns were people could pay to have a bath. Furthermore in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages people took sweat baths.

In the Middle Ages people used combs and tweezers. They also used toothpicks and mouthwashes.

In the Middle Ages women curled their hair with hot tongs. They also dyed their hair. They used vegetable dyes to redden their faces and colour their nails. It was fashionable for women to pluck their eyebrows.

Cosmetics 1500-1800

The Tudors cared about their appearance. People carried mirrors made of glass or steel. They also carried combs and used tweezers, ear scoops and bone manicure sets. Again it is a myth that the Tudors were dirty and rarely washed. It was difficult to have a bath because it was hard to heat a large amount of water at once. However in the Summer people sometimes had a bath in the local river. Otherwise they heated a cauldron of water and had a strip wash. Or they could have a 'dry wash' by rubbing themselves with clean linen.

In the later 16th century white lead was revived as a way of getting a pale complexion. (Poor women had to work outdoors so they were suntanned. Pale skin was a sign of wealth so it was desirable). Furthermore at that time blonde hair was also popular and many women died their hair. Women also used red ochre on their cheeks. They also wore face packs and they plucked their eyebrows. In the 17th century fashionable women stuck black patches onto their faces. Sometimes they were in the shape of stars or crescent moons.

In the 17th century people used toothpicks but in the latter part of the century toothbrushes were introduced. (Toothbrushes came from China. They were first mentioned in 1498). People also made scented soaps.

In the 18th century pale skin was still fashionable. So were dark eyebrows. Women also still used rouge abundantly. Perfume was also common. In the early 18th century a new scent was made in Cologne. Later in the century it became known as Eau de Cologne.

In the late 18th century a book called The Toilet of Flora (published in 1784) gave advice about preparing cosmetics. (The word toilet is derived from the French word toilette, which means little cloth. In the 17th century it was a cloth cover for a dressing table, called a toilet table. If a woman was at her toilet it meant she was dressing and preparing her appearance. By the 19th century it was a euphemism for a certain room).

In the 18th century some women wore false eyebrows made of mouse fur. They were glued to the face.

Modern Cosmetics and Make Up

The Industrial Revolution made the mass production of cosmetics possible although many people continued to make cosmetics at home. However in the 19th century some people disapproved of women wearing makeup and it was often sold under the counter. Meanwhile in the 19th century soap became cheaper and towards the end of the century the middle class began to have bathrooms.

In the 19th century women used lampblack as eye shadow. They also used rouge and at the end of the 19th century painting the lips became common. Meanwhile zinc oxide replaced white lead for whitening the face.

Electrolysis hair removal was invented in 1875. (Laser hair removal was developed in the 1990s).

In the 19th century toothpaste was sold in jars until 1892 when Washington Sheffield invented the collapsible toothpaste tube. Meanwhile in 1888 the first modern deodorant was invented. It was called Mum.

In the 20th century the old puritanical attitude to makeup was forgotten and it was sold openly. With rising living standards women could afford more and more cosmetics.

In 1915 lipstick was first sold in push up sticks in tubes. The new lipstick became common in the 1920s. Mascara was invented in 1913.

The film director D.W. Griffith invented false eyelashes in 1916. Women have dyed their nails for centuries but modern nail varnish was invented in 1917. The French manicure was invented in 1975. Meanwhile modern lip gloss was invented in 1930 and went on sale in 1932.

For centuries it was fashionable for women to have pale skin but from the 1920s tans became popular. (The suntan bed was invented in 1978).

Women first began to shave under their arms in the 1910s. They first began to shave their legs after the end of the First World War when dresses became shorter. The first modern razor for women was made in 1915. Disposable razors for women followed in 1975.

The first synthetic hair dye was invented in 1907. For centuries women used hot tongs to curl their hair but in the 1930s permanent waves became common. Hairspray was invented in 1948.

In the late 20th century plastic surgery became common. The first face-lift was performed in 1901. The first silicon breast implants were fitted by a surgeon in 1962. The first liposuction was performed in 1974.

Ancient Technology

2010-05-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

The human race learned to use metals in prehistoric times. Stone age farmers made axes of stone and wood and saws of flint with serrated edges. Metal made it possible to make more efficient axes and saws as well as adzes and chisels.

Great improvements were also made in transport. The Egyptians invented the sailing ship about 3,100 BC. The wheel was invented in Sumeria (Iraq) about 3,400 BC. It may have been invented first as a potters wheel and later used for transport. The first carts and chariots had solid wheels and oxen or asses pulled them. Horses were domesticated about 2,000 BC and about 1,800 BC spoked wheels were invented.

About 3,500 the ard was invented in Sumeria. It was a kind of light plough. It scratched the soil but did not turn a furrow as a modern plough does. Nevertheless the invention of a simple plough greatly improved agriculture.

From about 3,300 BC onwards both Sumerians and Egyptians developed writing.

The first people to commonly use iron were the Hittites who lived in what is now Turkey about 1,600 BC. They heated iron ore then pounded out the impurities. When the Hittite Empire broke up about 1,200 BC techniques to iron working spread. By about 650 BC iron working reached England.

Some ancient civilizations had quite advanced sanitation. Stone age farmers lived in a village at Skara Brae in the Orkney islands. Some of their stone huts had drains built under them and some houses had cubicles over the drains. They may have been inside toilets.

Glass was invented about 3,000 BC. It was first used to make vessels about 1,500 BC. Glass was first blown about 100 BC.

In the Indus Valley civilization (c.2,600-1,900 BC) streets were built on a grid pattern and networks of sewers were dug under them. Toilets were flushed with water.

On the island of Crete the Minoan civilization flourished from 2,000 to 1,600 BC. They too built drainage systems, which also took sewage. Toilets were flushed with water.

Ancient Greece

The Greeks were superb engineers. The most famous Greek inventor was Archimedes (c.287-212 BC). The Archimedes screw, a device for raising water is named after him (although it many have been used before his time). According to legend the king of Syracuse in Sicily wanted to know if his crown was made of pure gold or not! One day Archimedes sat in his bath and the water level rose. He is supposed to have jumped out of his bath and ran naked through the streets shouting 'Eureka!' (I have it!). Archimedes immersed the crown in water and noted the level the water rose to. Then he placed some pure gold weighing the same as the crown in the water. The water did not rise to the same height proving it was not pure gold.

Meanwhile about 400 BC the pulley was invented.

In the first century AD Hero of Alexandria invented mechanical toys. He used steam to make a metal ball spin round.

The Ancient Greeks are believed to have invented the watermill. (It was invented separately in China). The Greeks also invented the torsion catapult about 340 BC.

Greek engineering reached a peak in the first century AD when they built the Antikythera Mechanism. This remarkable device was discovered in 1900. It seems to be a calculating device to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets.

The Romans are famous for their roads and aqueducts. However the Romans were innovators rather than inventors. The Greeks were the true engineering geniuses of the Ancient World.

Ancient China

The Ancient Chinese were also very inventive. About 300 BC the Chinese invented the horse collar. Previously horses were attached to vehicles by straps around their necks. The horse could not pull a heavy load because the strap would constrict its neck! The horse collar allowed horses to pull much heavier loads.

During the Zhou dynasty (1022-221 BC) the Chinese invented kites. The compass was invented in China in the 3rd century BC but at first it was used for divination (a spoon like object made of magnetite was placed on a board and watched to see which way it would turn). It was not used for navigation till much later.

During the Han dynasty (206 BC -220 AD) Chinese civilization was one of the most brilliant in the world. Han inventions include the watermill and the chain pump (this pump was worked by feet and helped to irrigate the rice fields). Another Han invention was the wheelbarrow. The ships rudder was invented in China in the first century AD.

According to tradition about 100 AD a man named Cai Lun invented paper (previously people had written on silk or bamboo). Then in 132 AD a man called Cheng Hang invented the seismometer (a device for measuring the strength of earthquakes and locating their centre).

The umbrella was invented in China in the 4th century AD. Covered in oiled paper it sheltered the user from both sun and rain.

Vladimir The Great

2010-05-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Volodymyr the Great (Valdamar, Volodimer, Vladimir), b ca 956, d 15 July 1015 in Vyshhorod, near Kyiv. Grand prince of Kyiv from 980; son of Sviatoslav I Ihorovych and Malusha; half-brother of Yaropolk I Sviatoslavych and Oleh Sviatoslavych; and father of 11 princes by five wives, including Sviatopolk I, Yaroslav the Wise, Mstyslav Volodymyrovych, and Saints Borys and Hlib. In 969 Grand Prince Sviatoslav I named his son Volodymyr the prince of Novgorod the Great, where the latter ruled under the guidance of his uncle, Dobrynia. In 977 a struggle for power broke out among Sviatoslav's sons. Yaropolk I, who was then the grand prince of Kyiv, seized the Derevlianian land and Novgorod, thereby forcing Volodymyr to flee to Scandinavia. In 980 Volodymyr returned to Rus’ with a Varangian force, expelled Yaropolk's governors from Novgorod, and took Polatsk after a battle in which Prince Rogvolod of Polatsk was slain. Volodymyr took Rogvolod's daughter, Rohnida, as his wife. Later that year he captured Kyiv and had Yaropolk murdered, thereby becoming the grand prince , and married Yaropolk's Greek widow.

Over the next 35 years Volodymyr expanded the borders of Kyivan Rus’ and turned it into one of the most powerful states in Eastern Europe. After taking the Cherven towns and Peremyshl from Poland (981) and waging successful wars against the Viatichians (981–2) and Radimichians (984) he united the remaining East Slavic tribes, divided his realm into lands, and installed his sons or viceroys to govern them, dispense princely justice, and collect tribute. In 983 Volodymyr waged war against the Yatvingians and thereby gained access to the Baltic Sea. In 985 he defeated the Khazars and Volga Bulgars and secured his state's eastern frontier. Volodymyr devoted considerable attention to defending his southern borders against the nomadic Pechenegs and Chorni Klobuky. He had lines of fortifications built along the Irpin River, the Stuhna River, the Trubizh River, and the Sula River and founded fortified towns (eg, Vasylkiv, Voin, and Bilhorod) that were joined by earthen ramparts.

Volodymyr attributed his victory over Yaropolk I Sviatoslavych to the support he received from pagan forces, and had idols of the deities Perun, Khors, Dazhboh, Stryboh, Symarhl, and Mokosh erected on a hill overlooking his palace in Kyiv. Later he became convinced that a monotheistic religion would consolidate his power, as Christianity and Islam had done for neighboring rulers. His choice was determined after the Byzantine emperor Basil II turned to him for help in defeating his rival, Bardas Phocas. Volodymyr offered military aid only if he was allowed to marry Basil's sister, Anna, and Basil agreed to the marriage only after Volodymyr promised to convert himself and his subjects to Christianity. Volodymyr, his family, and his closest associates were baptized in December 987, when he took the Christian name Vasylii (Basil). Soon afterward he ordered the destruction of all pagan idols. The mass baptism of the citizens of Kyiv took place on 1 August 988 (see Christianization of Ukraine), and the remaining population of Rus’ was slowly converted, sometimes by force. In 988 Volodymyr sent several thousand warriors to help Basil regain power and married Anna, and in 989 he besieged Chersonese Taurica, took it from Bardas Phocas, and returned it to Basil.

The Christianization of Rus’ was essentially engineered by Byzantium. Byzantium supplied the first hierarchs and other missionary clergy in Rus’ and introduced Byzantine art, education, and literature there. During Volodymyr's reign the first schools and churches were built, notably the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv. The adoption of Christianity as the official religion facilitated the unification of the Rus’ tribes and the establishment of foreign dynastic, political, cultural, religious, and commercial relations, particularly with the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria, and Germany. Relations with Poland improved after Volodymyr's son Sviatopolk I married the daughter of Prince Bolesław I the Brave in 992. Volodymyr received papal emissaries in 986, 988, 991, 992, and 1000 and sent his own envoys to Rome in 993 and 1001.

After Anna's death in 1011, Volodymyr married the daughter of Count Kuno von Enningen. Toward the end of his life his sons Sviatopolk of Turiv and Yaroslav the Wise of Novgorod challenged his rule. Having defeated Sviatopolk, Volodymyr died while preparing a campaign against Yaroslav and was buried in the Church of the Tithes. He was succeeded briefly by Sviatopolk.

The Rus’ clergy venerated Volodymyr because of his support of the church, but he was canonized only after 1240. Thereafter he was referred to as ‘the holy, equal to the Apostles, grand prince of Kyiv.’ The oldest extant mention of him as Saint Volodymyr is found in the Hypatian Chronicle under the year 1254, and his feast day, 28 July (15 July OS), was first celebrated in 1263.

A Brief History of Denmark

2010-05-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

ANCIENT DENMARK

The first humans in Denmark arrived about 10,000 BC after the end of the last Ice Age. The first Danes were Stone Age hunters and fishermen. However about 4,000 BC farming was introduced into Denmark. The earliest Danish farmers used stone tools and weapons. However about 1,800 BC bronze was introduced into Denmark. Danish craftsmen soon became expert at making goods from bronze. By 500 BC iron was introduced into Denmark. The Iron Age Danes had contact with the Romans. They sold Roman merchants slaves, furs, skins and amber in return for Mediterranean luxuries. Furthermore by about 200 AD the Danes had started to use Runes (a form of writing) for inscriptions.

After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in the 5th century the Danes continued to trade with the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which became known as the Byzantine Empire.

Like the rest of Europe Denmark suffered a terrible outbreak of plague in the 6th century, which killed a large part of the population. Despite this trade flourished and in the 8th century the first trading settlements in Denmark grew up at Hedeby and Ribe.

VIKING DENMARK

In the 9th century Denmark was divided into different kingdoms. However during the 10th century it became one.

In the 9th and 10th centuries the Danes raided other parts of Europe such as England and Ireland. However they were more than just raiders. The Danes created the first towns in Ireland, Limerick, Cork and Dublin.

In the early 19th century the Danes raided English monasteries and took people as slaves. However in the later 9th century they turned from raiding to conquest. In 865 the Danes invaded England (which was then divided into 3 kingdoms). By 874 only the southernmost kingdom remained. However under their leader Alfred the English defeated the Danes in 878. In 879 Alfred and the Danish leader Guthrum made a treaty. England was divided between them, the Danes taking the eastern part. Guthrum also became a Christian.

The Danish part of England was called the Danelaw and over the following decades the English conquered it piece by piece. The English and the Danes settled down and lived together peacefully. However in 1002 Ethelred the Unready, king of England ordered the massacre of Danish settlers. Among the dead were relatives of the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard.

Sweyn became king of Denmark about 985 and in 1000 he conquered Norway. Enraged by the murder of his relatives he attacked England and demanded money in compensation. Afterwards, for some years, Sweyn demanded money for not attacking England. Nevertheless in 1013 he drove out the English king Ethelred and he became king of England. However he died in 1014.

His son Canute fled to Denmark, fearing the revenge of Ethelred. Moreover in 1015 Norway became independent of Denmark. However Ethelred died in 1016. Some of the English were willing to accept Canute as king but some elected a man named Edmund Ironside. The two fought for the crown.

Edmund was defeated but Canute allowed him to rule part of England until his death. Conveniently Edmund died the same year (1016). Canute then became king of England as well as Denmark. In 1028 he also conquered Norway and became the ruler of a northern empire. However his empire did not long survive his death. England became independent in 1042 and Norway became independent in 1047.

In 826 a monk named Ansgar went to Hedeby to try and convert the Danes to Christianity, but he had little success. However about 960 King Harald Bluetooth became a Christian and most of his subjects followed.

DENMARK IN THE MIDDLE AGES

In 1047 Sweyn Estridson became king of Denmark. He increased the power of the crown and during his reign Denmark was divided into 8 bishoprics (areas presided over by a bishop). Sweyn was followed by 5 of his sons in turn. However in 1131 the kings son Magnus the Strong murdered one of his relatives Cnut Lavard, fearing that Cnut might try to claim the throne one-day. The result was civil war which dragged on for 26 years until Valdermar the son of Cnut became king of Denmark in 1157.

Valdermar went to war with a people called the Wends who lived between the River Ellbe and the River Oder. In 1169 he captured an island called Rugen. In 1184 his son Absalon conquered Pomerania and Mecklenburg. His brother Valdermar II, known as the victorious, followed him. Valdermar II was ambitious and he wished to control all the Baltic. By 1215 he controlled all the land between the Elbe and the Oder. In 1219 he invaded Estonia. He crushed the Estonians at the battle of Lydanis and became their ruler.

However in 1223 Valdermar was captured by a German Prince. He was released in 1225 on condition he surrender all his conquests except Rugen and Estonia (in 1346 a Danish king, desperate for money sold Estonia).

In Viking times land in Denmark was farmed on a 2-field system. One half was sowed with crops and one half was left fallow. In the 12th century a more advanced 3-field system was used. The land was divided into 3 large fields. One was sowed with Spring crops, one with autumn crops while the third was left fallow. Denmark grew steadily richer. Trade in the Baltic region prospered and Danish towns grew larger and more important. However in 1349-1350 Denmark, like the rest of Europe was devastated by the Black Death, which probably killed 1/3 of the population.

Later in the century a lady named Margaret became regent of both Denmark and Norway. In 1388 Swedish nobles rebelled against their king and declared Margaret regent of Sweden. In 1389 her soldiers captured the Swedish king although his supporters held out in Stockholm until 1398.

In 1397 Erik, grandson of her sister was crowned king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway at Kalmar. This union of three kingdoms was called the Union of Kalmar. Its capital was Copenhagen.

However in 1434 a rebellion broke out in Sweden. It spread and in 1348 Erik was deposed as king of Denmark. In 1439 he was deposed as king of Sweden and in 1442 as king of Norway. In 1440 he was replaced as king of Denmark by his nephew Christopher, who later became king of Sweden and Norway as well. However Christopher died in 1448 and union broke up. In 1449 the Danes elected Count Christian of Oldenburg king.

In 1481 John became king of Denmark. In 1483 he also became king of Norway. The Swedes also recognised him as their king but he was not actually crowned until 1497. Furthermore his reign over Sweden was short lived. In 1501 the Swedes rebelled against him. From 1506 to 1513 John fought against Sweden but failed to regain the Swedish crown.

DENMARK IN THE 16th CENTURY

Nevertheless his son Christian II was made King of Sweden in 1520. However his reign was short. The Danes rebelled against Christian and imprisoned him in 1523. His uncle was made King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway in his place. Meanwhile the Swedes chose one of their own people as king of Sweden. Afterwards Sweden was separated from Denmark forever.

When Frederick I died in 1533 the Reformation was splitting Europe. His oldest son Christian favoured Lutheranism, while his younger son, Hans, was brought up a Catholic. After Fredericks death the election of a new king was postponed for a year. Then in 1534 the people of Lubeck sent an expedition under Count Christopher of Oldenburg to demand that the former king Christian II be released from prison and reinstated. The expedition landed in Zealand and civil war ensued. The people of Copenhagen supported the expedition and the people of Jutland rose in rebellion in support of ex-king Christian.

However a man named John Rantzau, a Lutheran noble, crushed the rebellion in Jutland and the Danes defeated Lubeck at sea. In 1536 Copenhagen was starved into submission and the civil war, known as the Counts War ended. Subsequently the king confiscated the land belonging to the church and Lutheranism became the religion of Denmark.

Both Denmark and Sweden sought to control the Baltic States. The result was a war in the years 1563-1570. Neither side was able to totally defeat the other and the Peace of Stettin ended the war. The devastation caused by the war was followed by a long period of peace. However the king of Denmark was forced to pay for the war partly by imposing taxes on farmers and partly by charging duties on cargoes carried through the Sound.

DENMARK IN THE 17th CENTURY

In 1611-1613 yet another war was fought between Denmark and Sweden. Neither side was able to inflict decisive defeat on the other.

Meanwhile Christian IV (1588-1648) founded new towns in Denmark and gained overseas possessions. However Christian insisted on intervening in the Thirty Years War in Germany (1618-1648). However in 1626 the Danish army was severely defeated and was forced to retreat. The enemy army occupied Jutland for 18 months. In 1629 Christian made peace by the treaty of Lubeck.

In 1643 Dnemark and Sweden fought again. Denmark was defeated and was forced to make peace in 1645.

The Danes and the Swedes fought again in 1658-1660. The Treaty of Copenhagen ended the War. For Denmark the terms were humiliating. The Danish king was forced to surrender territory to the Swedish king. The Swedes were also granted exemption from tolls charged on ships passing through the Sound.

Nevertheless after the war the king of Denmark greatly increased his power. In 1660 the Danish assembly, the Rigsdag, granted him autocratic powers. From then on the Danish king was an absolute monarch, at least in theory.

in 1675-1679 Denmark and Sweden went to war again. The great Danish admiral Niels Juel defeated the Swedes at sea. Nevertheless after the war the Danes were forced to surrender Skane in Southern Sweden.

DENMARK IN THE 18th CENTURY

By 1700 the population of Denmark was about 2/3 of a million.

During the 18th century Denmark was an overwhelmingly agricultural society. There was little industry. The peasants were not free. Each man had to live in the village he was born in between the ages of 4 and 40 and he had to spend some of his time working on his landlords land rather than his own.

Denmark took part in the Great Northern War 1709-1720 against Sweden but at the wars end had little to show for it. However most of the 18th century was a peaceful one for Denmark and quite a large merchant navy was built up.

From 1784 Crown Prince Frederick was Regent of Denmark and he introduced reforms. Peasants were made free and no longer had to work on their lords land. Tenant farmers often became small landowners. Furthermore rich landowners no longer had the right to physically punish their tenants e.g. by whipping them. Trade was also deregulated and tariffs on imported goods were cut.

DENMARK IN THE 19th CENTURY

During the war the British navy tried to stop France importing war materials so they stopped and searched vessels from neutral countries. In 1794 Denmark and Sweden formed an armed neutrality to stop the British doing this .In 1800 Russia and Prussia joined. Britain decided to take action. In 1801 a British fleet under Nelson attacked a Danish fleet in Copenhagen Harbour and destroyed part of it.

In 1805 the French fleet was destroyed at Trafalgar. Britain feared the French might seize the Danish fleet and use it to attack Britain. Therefore the British fleet attacked Copenhagen. The British ships bombarded the city and fired congreve rockets at it. Parts of Copenhagen were burned. Copenhagen was forced to surrender and the British took the Danish fleet.

Worse was to come. In 1813 the Swedes attacked Norway. In 1814 Denmark was forced to surrender Norway to them.

On a brighter note in 1814 universal primary education was introduced into Denmark.

Moreover during the 19th century the kings power was gradually reduced. In 1834 the king created 4 assemblies called diets for the islands (including Iceland), Jutland, Slesvig and Holstein. Only men who owned a certain amount of property could vote and the diets only had the power to advise the king but it was a start

Furthermore between 1837 and 1841 local self-government was created in Denmark. Yet the liberals demanded more reforms. So finally in 1849 King Frederick VII agreed to a new constitution. A new assembly was formed made up of 2 houses, the Folketing and Landsting. Freedom of the press and of religion were also granted in Denmark.

Joined to Denmark were two duchies, Holstein and Slesvig. Holstein was German but Slesvig had a mixed German and Danish population. The Danes tried to make Slesvig an integral part of Denmark. As a result a rebellion began in Slesvig-Holstein. The Prussians and other Germans intervened but the Tsar persuaded them to withdraw. The war against Slesvig-Holstein ended in January 1851. By agreements of 1851 and 1852 the Danes agreed not to try and make Slesvig closer to Denmark than Holstein.

However war began again in 1864. Despite the agreement Denmark tried to absorb Slesvig in 1863. On 1 February 1864 Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the Eider. The Danes fought bravely but the Germans occupied Jutland and they captured the island of Als (a Danish stronghold). So on 20 July peace talks began. In October the two duchies were surrendered to Prussia and Austria by the Treaty of Vienna.

Despite this disaster the Danish economy grew rapidly in the late 19th century. Land was drained for farming. The brewing and sugar beet industries boomed. Engineering and shipbuilding flourished. Meanwhile Copenhagen grew very rapidly. By 1911 it had a population of 560,000. In 1870 only about 25% of the population of Denmark was urban but by 1901 it had reached 44%. (Today the figure is about 70%).

DENMARK IN THE 20th CENTURY

Denmark remained neutral during World War I and in 1915 the constitution was changed to make it more democratic. Women in Denmark were granted the right to vote.

Denmark suffered severely during the depression of the 1930s. Unemployment soared. At the worst point in 1932-1933 it reached 42.8%. The government responded by creating public works to reduce the numbers of unemployed. At the same time a number of laws were passed to create a generous welfare state.

When World War II began in 1939 Denmark stayed neutral. However the Germans occupied Denmark in 1940. On 9 April 1940 the German army crossed the border and German troop transports sailed to Copenhagen. The Germans threatened to bomb Copenhagen and so the Danes surrendered. At first the Germans treated the Danes leniently as they wanted the Danish food supply. However Danish resistance gradually increased. Acts of sabotage took place and on 29 August 1943 the Germans clamped down. They declared a state of emergency. The Danish army was disarmed and the Danish fleet was seized. The Danish cabinet was replaced by a group of civil servants who ran the country.

However during World War II nearly 7,000 Jewish Danes were smuggled into Sweden.

After the German surrender in May 1945 some 46 Danes were executed for collaborating with the enemy. However the country benefited from Marshall Aid, which was given by the USA in the years 1948-1953. It helped Denmark to recover and in 1949 Denmark joined NATO. Then in 1953 the Danish constitution was changed.

The 1960s were years of prosperity for Denmark. There was full employment. Danish agriculture became highly mechanised and Danish industry grew rapidly. In 1973 Denmark joined the Common Market (forerunner of the EU).

Unfortunately in the late 1970s the Danish economy deteriorated. Unemployment rose. In the 1980s the government introduced austerity measures to try and curb inflation. However in the early 21st century the Danish economy began to flourish. Today Denmark is a prosperous country with a high standard of living.

Today the population of Denmark is more than 5.5 million.

Prehistoric Europe

2010-05-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Prehistoric Hunters

Modern humans entered Europe about 35,000 BC at a time when the Earth was in the grip of an last ice age (which ended about 8,000 BC). They lived by hunting mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. They also hunted smaller animals like hares and arctic foxes.

The ice age hunters were skilled at making stone tools but they also made tools from bone such as needles for sewing and harpoons. They even made musical instruments from bird bones.

Ice age humans lived in caves some of the time but they also made tents from mammoth skins. Mammoth bones were used as supports. They wore boots, trousers and anoraks made from animal skins.

The ice age people also created art. They carved mammoth ivory and reindeer antler. They also painted animals and occasionally humans on the walls of caves.

Ice age people also buried their dead with care. Sometimes the dead person was sprinkled with red ochre, perhaps to represent the blood of a living person.

After the end of the ice age people in Europe hunted red deer, boar and rabbits. They also fished and collected shellfish.

Stone Age Farmers

Farming began in the Middle East but thousands of years later it spread to Europe. By about 5,000 BC farming had spread to central Europe. By 4,000 BC it had reached northern Europe.

People stopped living in tents made from animal skins and they began to live in huts made from stone or wattle and daub with thatched roofs. They also began making pottery.

They grew crops of wheat and barley and they raised sheep, cattle, goats and pigs. They also kept dogs. The farmers used oxen for pulling wooden ploughs and for pulling carts. By 4,000 BC chariots were in use in eastern Europe.

About 2,000 BC stone age hunters lived in a village at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. They lived in stone huts with roofs of whalebone and turf. Inside they made stone furniture such as cupboards and beds.

The stone age farmers also dug stone-lined communal graves called barrows. The stone age farmers also created megalithic (large stone) monuments across Europe.

The farmers still used stone tools. They mined flint to make them using deer antlers as picks and ox shoulder blades as shovels.

Copper, Bronze and Iron

However in the years 4,500-3,000 BC copper was also used in Europe.

However copper is a soft metal and the next step was to combine copper and tin to make bronze, a much harder and more useful metal.

The technique of making bronze reached central Europe about 2,300 BC. It reached England about 2,000 BC.

The 'iceman' who died on the border of Austria and Italy about 3,500 BC was carrying a copper headed axe. He was wearing leather and fur clothes with a grass cloak.

In the bronze age society became stratified. An upper class emerged. Communal graves were no longer made. Instead people were buried in individual ones. People were buried with goods they would need in the after life. Some people obviously owned much more than others. Also in the bronze age trade was carried out across Europe.

Meanwhile clothes made from wool replaced ones made from animal skins. Weaving reached England about 2,000 BC.

Furthermore the bronze age people continued to build megalithic (large stone) monuments.

Iron age Europeans apparently practiced human sacrifice. Bodies have been found preserved in peat in England and Denmark and they seem to have been sacrificed.

From about 1,000 BC iron was used in Europe. It reached England about 700 BC. By then Prehistoric Europe was drawing to a close. Civilisations had arisen in Greece and Italy. People from central and northern Europe traded with the people of the Mediterranean and in time they were conquered by Rome.

Hippocrates

2010-05-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

Hippocrates made such an impression on medical history that his name is still very much associated with medicine today. All newly qualified doctors take what is called the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ and some see Hippocrates as the father of modern medicine even though he did most of his work some 430 years before the birth of Christ.

Greek doctors had started to look at the issue of poor health and disease by using a process of reasoning and observation. The most famous of these was Hippocrates. He is thought to have been born in Cos in 460 BC. In fact, we know very little about Hippocrates as a person but his fame was such that Plato and Aristotle wrote about him. While Hippocrates has found fame in medical history, there were other Ancient Greek doctors who were not so lucky.

Ancient Greek medical knowledge is demonstrated in what is known as the Hippocratic Collection. This is a collection of sixty medical books of which Hippocrates wrote just some. We do not know who wrote most of them but they cover a time span of 150 years so they could not have all been written by Hippocrates.

Hippocrates and other Greek doctors believed that the work done by a doctor should be kept separate from the work done by a priest. They believed that observation of a patient was a vital aspect of medical care. Ancient Greek doctors did examine their patients but Hippocrates wanted a more systematic period of observation and the recording of what was observed. Today, we would call this ‘clinical observation’. Such ideas have lead to Hippocrates being called the ‘Father of Medicine’.

The Hippocratic Collection gave Greek doctors detailed advice on what to do with their patients:

"First of all the doctor should look at the patient’s face. If he looks his usual self this is a good sign. If not, however, the following are bad signs – sharp nose, hollow eyes, cold ears, dry skin on the forehead, strange face colour such as green, black, red or lead coloured. If the face is like this at the beginning of the illness, the doctor must ask the patient if he has lost sleep, or had diarrhoea, or not eaten."

From "On forecasting diseases".

In the book "On Epidemics", doctors were told to note specific symptoms and what was observed on a day to day basis. By doing this they could make a natural history of an illness. Hippocrates and other doctors believed that by doing this they could forecast the development of the illness in future:

"I believe that it is an excellent thing for a physician to practice forecasting. He will carry out the treatment best if he knows beforehand from the present symptoms what will take place later."

From ‘On forecasting diseases’

The ideas of Hippocrates and others spread in the eastern Mediterranean and others took to writing down what they saw with regards to illnesses. These writings have survived and have given historians a vast resource to study.

Hippocrates and other doctors worked on the assumption that all diseases had a natural cause rather than a supernatural one. Priests believed that an illness such as epilepsy was caused by the gods. Hippocrates believed that with all other illnesses it had a natural cause.

"Men believe only that it is a divine disease because of their ignorance and amazement."

From ‘The Sacred Disease’.

Smallpox and London

2010-05-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

n a crowded city like London a disease like smallpox was bound to spread. With little medical treatment available to the poor, it was this social group that suffered the most. Edward Jenner had not patented his discovery of a vaccination, but medical help had still to be paid for. This severely restricted the number of those who could be treated for smallpox and it hit hard those in dirty tenements found in London’s East End.

The impact of smallpox can be found from the records of deaths kept for 1844.

Deaths of those under 1 year old: 4120

Deaths of those aged 1: 1524

Deaths of those aged 2: 1197

Deaths of those aged 3: 569

Deaths of those aged 4: 629

Deaths of those aged 5: 1122

Deaths of those aged 10: 226

Deaths of those aged 15: 226

Deaths of those aged 20: 240

Deaths of those aged 25: 148

Deaths of those aged 30: 98

Deaths of those aged 35: 75

Deaths of those aged 40: 43

Deaths of those aged 45: 22

Deaths of those aged 50: 13

Deaths of those aged 55: 10

Deaths of those aged 60: 19

Deaths of those aged 70: 10

Deaths of those aged 75: 4

Deaths of those aged 80: 10

Deaths of those aged 85: 1

Deaths of those aged 90: 0

Total deaths from smallpox for 1844: 10,316

This represents an average of 28 deaths a day from a disease that had a cure.

The Roman Army and Warfare

2010-05-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

The Roman Army was considered the most advanced of its time. The Roman Army created the Roman Empire - a huge part of Western Europe – and Rome itself greatly benefited from the riches that the army brought back from its conquered territories.

The Roman Army developed fighting techniques that were linked to a ferocious training regime. All new recruits to the army became very fit and disciplined. Training was harsh, as were punishments for failure. In a battle, new recruits were always placed at the front of the more experienced soldiers in the army. There were three reasons for this. The first was to give them confidence as behind them were experienced soldiers who had fought in battles before. Secondly, it stopped the new soldiers running away if their courage deserted them. Finally, those who were more likely to be killed in the initial phase of a battle were at the front. The hardened and experienced legionnaires were at the rear. The Roman Army could ill afford to lose experienced legionnaires whereas if a new legionnaire came through a battle alive, he would be blooded and experienced and a valuable addition to the army. If he was killed, then the loss of his inexperience would not be too great.

The most important fighting unit of the Roman Army was the legion commanded by a legatus. This consisted of between 5000 to 6000 legionnaires. 500 to 600 legionnaires made up a cohort while between 80 to 100 soldiers were a century commanded by a centurion.

The Romans used a tried and tested attacking technique. Legionnaires would run forward at the enemy and throw their pila at them. While this caused disarray among the enemy, the legionnaires would move in for close quarter fighting using their swords (gladius). Each attack was the result of meticulous planning and practice – hence why they were usually so successful.

To support the legionnaires, the Romans also used cavalry. The primary task of the cavalry was to support the legionnaires by attacking an enemy line at the flanks. Cavalry was also used to chase after a retreating enemy.

To assist the legionnaires, who were professional soldiers, part-time soldiers were used called auxiliaries. These men were often recruited from an area that the Romans were trying to conquer and occupy. They were not fully trained soldiers and their usual task was not to fight when the legionnaires attacked, but to assist them by acting as scouts or archers who would fire at the enemy while the legionnaires attacked. Those auxiliaries who fought on foot would be used to attack an enemy position before the legionnaires did – in this way, an enemy position would be softened up before the main assault.

Fortifications presented other challenges. When confronted with a fort or the like, a frontal assault by legionnaires would have resulted in large casualties, though the use of a 'tortoise' would have helped reduce casualties.

The 'tortoise' in action

The Romans designed weaponry that both gave some protection to their men but also were designed to smash into fortifications. Battering rams and siege towers were used for this – the latter allowed the Romans to gain access to a fort by effectively removing the problem of a high wall. Battering rams had a cover to them made of wood and animal hide. This combination was enough to stop arrows etc but was still flammable.

The Romans also developed an early form of large attack catapults called onagers. These hurled large stone boulders at a wall to smash it down. The Romans also used catapults to fire iron bolts at the lines of the enemy facing them.

All of this required meticulous training and one of the most important people involved here were the centurions. Each centurion was required to ensure that his century was a capable and effective fighting force. Any century that did not perform well in battle might pay the price and be 'decimated'. The unit would stand in line and every tenth man would be take out and killed. This was known as 'decimus' by the Romans. This punishment served as a stark warning to other units and to those who had survived in the century being punished.

Edward The Confessor

2010-05-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

Edward the Confessor was king of England from 1042 to 1066. Edward's death was to transform Medieval England and led to the reign of the Norman William the Conqueror with all that his rule meant to Medieval England - castles, the Domesday Book and feudalism.

Edward the Confessor was born in about 1003. Edward’s father was Ethelred the Unready and his mother was Emma of Normandy. Edward spent the first part of his life in Normandy. He grew up with deep religious views and gained the nickname “Confessor”. However, away from his family and in a strange land, it is said that Edward’s childhood was not a happy one.

In 1040, Edward was re-called to England by his half-brother Hardicanute who had succeeded Ethelred in the same year. Hardicanute died after a drinking party in 1042 and Edward became king of England.

According to those who compiled the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the first thing Edward did, despite his religious views, was to deprive his mother of all of her estates and reduce her to relative poverty. It is said that Edward blamed her for his miserable and lonely childhood.

Edward married in 1045. His wife, Edith, was the daughter of Godwin of Wessex, the most important nobleman in England. They had no children as Edward had taken a vow of celibacy.

In 1051, a number of Normans were killed in a brawl in Dover, Kent. Edward still had influential friends in Normandy and he wanted the people of Dover punished for this. Edward ordered Earl Godwin to do this. Godwin refused and raised an army against the king instead. Two other senior noblemen, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, remained loyal to Edward, and outnumbered, Godwin agreed to leave England and live with his family in Flanders

Between 1051 and 1052, Edward increased the number of Normans who advised him at court. This angered the Witan – a body of English advisors made up of the most important noblemen in England – and in 1052, Earl Godwin returned to England with an army. This army was commanded by his two sons, Harold and Tostig. Edward was unable to raise an army to fight Godwin as no nobleman was willing to support the king. Edward was forced to send back to Normandy his Norman advisors and he had to return to Godwin all his estates and accept him back into the kingdom. Despite being king of England, Edward had no choice but to do this.

In 1053 Godwin died. His title was taken by Harold who became known as Harold of Wessex. He was the most powerful nobleman in England.

Harold of Wessex

Between 1052 and 1066, Edward contented himself with putting all of his energy into the building of Westminster Abbey in London. The Witan maintained its political and advisory power. Having ‘tasted’ its power once in 1052, Edward had no desire to challenge it again. Harold of Wessex commanded the king’s army when it was required and gained a reputation as a skilled leader.

In January 1066, Edward died. He did not have any children and the fight for who should succeed him led to the Norman invasion of October 1066 and the Battle of Hastings.

Sweyn Forkbeard

2010-05-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

AKA Svein Otto Haraldsson

Born: c. 960 AD
Birthplace: Denmark
Died: 3-Feb-1014
Location of death: Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Denmark

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Royalty

Nationality: Denmark
Executive summary: King of England, Norway, Denmark

Sweyn I, King of Denmark, son of Harold Bluetooth, the christianizer of Denmark, by his peasant mistress Aesa, according to the Jomsvikinga Saga, though more probably his mother was Queen Gunild, Harold's consort. The lad was a born champion and buccaneer. His first military expedition, in alliance with the celebrated Jomsborg Viking, Palnatoke, was against his own father, who perished during the struggle (c. 986). Six years later he conducted a large fleet of warships to England, which did infinite damage, but failed to capture London. During his absence, Denmark was temporarily occupied by the Swedish king, Eric Sersel, on whose death (c. 994) Sweyn recovered his patrimony. About the same time, he repudiated his first wife Gunild, daughter of Duke Mieszko of Poland, and married King Eric's widow, Sigrid. This lady was a fanatical pagan of a disquieting strength of character. Two viceroys, earlier wooers, were burned to death by her orders for their impertinence, and she refused the hand of Olaf Trygvessön, King of Norway, rather than submit to baptism, whereupon the indignant monarch struck her on the mouth with his gauntlet and told her she was a worse pagan than any dog. Shortly afterwards she married Sweyn, and easily persuaded her warlike husband to unite with Olaf, King of Sweden, against Olaf Trygvessön, who fell in the famous sea fight off Svolde (1000) on the west coast of Rügen, after a heroic resistance immortalized by the sagas, whereupon the confederates divided his kingdom between them. After his first English expedition Sweyn was content to blackmail England instead of ravaging it, until the ruthless massacre of the Danes on St. Brice's day, the 3rd of November 1002, by Ethelred the Unready (Sweyn's sister was among the victims) brought the Danish king to Exeter (1003). During each of the following eleven years, the Danes, materially assisted by the universal and shameless disloyalty of the Saxon ealdormen, systematically ravaged England, and from 991 to 1014 the wretched land is said to have paid its invaders in ransoms alone £158,000. Sweyn died suddenly at Gainsborough on the 13th of February 1014. The data relating to his whole history are scanty and obscure, and his memory has suffered materially from the fact that the chief chroniclers of his deeds and misdeeds were ecciesiastics. It was certainly unfortunate that he began life by attacking his own father. It is undeniable that his favorite wife was the most stiff-necked pagan of her day. His most remarkable exploit, Svolde, was certainly won at the expense of Christianity, resulting, as it did, in the death of the saintly Olaf. Small wonder, then, if Adam of Bremen, and the monkish annalists who follow him, describe Sweyn as a grim and bloody semi-pagan, perpetually warring against Christian states. But there is another side to the picture. Viking though he was, Sweyn was certainly a Christian viking. We know that he built churches; that he invited English bishops to settle in Denmark (notably Godibald, who did good work in Scania); that on his deathbed he earnestly commended the Christian cause to his son Canute. He was cruel to his enemies no doubt, but he never forgot a benefit. Thus he rewarded the patriotism of the Danish ladies who sacrificed all their jewels to pay the heavy ransom exacted from him by his captors, the Jomsborg pirates, by enacting a law whereby women were henceforth to inherit landed property in the same way as their male relatives. Of his valor as a captain and his capacity as an administrator there can be no question. His comrades adored him for his liberality, and the frequent visits of Icelandic skalder to his court testify to a love of poetry on his part, indeed one of his own strophes has come down to us. As to his personal appearance we only know that he had a long cleft beard, whence his nickname of Tiugeskaeg or Fork-Beard.

Father: Harald Bluetooth
Mother: Gunhild
Wife: Gunhilda
Son: Harold II
Son: King Canute

UK Monarch 25-Dec-1013 to 2-Feb-1014

William The Conqueror

2010-04-28T01:28:00.001-07:00

England's first Norman king, William I, was born in 1028, at Falaise Castle, the illegitimate son of Robert the Devil or the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy and Herleve, (sometimes called Arlette) the daughter of Fullbert, a tanner of Falaise. Before history renamed him the Conqueror he was more commonly known to his contemporaries as William the Bastard. Herleve was reported to have attracted Duke Robert with her dancing, in some accounts, he is said to have first caught sight of her while she was washing her linen in the castle moat.

The Norman dynasty had been founded by Robert's ancestor Rollo or Hrolf the Ganger, a Viking raider chief, who was granted the duchy by Charles the Simple, King of France, in 911, at the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, in exchange for feudal alliegiance and conversion to Christianity at which he took the baptismal name of Robert.

William's mother, Herleve, also had a daughter, Adelaide, to Duke Robert. Although they had a long relationship, the gap in their social standing rendered marriage out of the question and Herleve was married off to one of Robert's vassals, Herluin, a knight. From this marriage, Herleve produced two further sons, Robert, who later became Count of Mortain and Odo, destined to become Bishop of Bayeux and also to play a part in England's history.
William, Duke of Normandy

Duke Robert decided to expiate his sins, which were many, by going on pilgrimage in 1034. Since he had no legitimate heir to succeed him, he persuaded his unruly barons to accept the illegitimate William as future Duke of Normandy. On his return journey from the Holy Land Robert died suddenly and the young William succeeded to the Dukedom by his father's will.

The Barons exhibited no loyalty to the"'base born" child and thereafter William grew up in the school of adversity. He had to learn, very early, how to survive. The barons constantly rebelled and anarchy reigned in Normandy during the years of William's minority. William's guardians were murdered in succession. Osbern was killed whilst guarding his door. His maternal uncle, Walter, at one point resorted to hiding the child with some poor people. William was formed and moulded by this savage and insecure childhood into the stark and often ruthless ruler he was later to become.

In 1047, he asserted his authority and crushed the rebels at Val-es-Dunes after which he began to restore order in his Dukedom. At Alencon, the burghers insulted his birth by hanging "hides for the tanner" over the walls. On taking the town he exacted a terrible revenge and had both their hands and feet amputated. One of lifes great survivors, William finally emerged as undisputed Duke of Normandy.

William's appearance

William matured into a tall, thick set man with dark hair, which receeded from his forehead early. His voice was rasping and guttural. William undoubtedly possessed considerable powers of leadership and courage. He was devout and inspired loyalty in his followers, but could also be ruthless and cruel.

William of Malmesbury provides us with a detailed description of the king in his Historia Anglorum:

'He was of just stature, ordinary corplulence, fierce countenance; his forehead was bare of hair; of such great strength of arm that it was often a matter of surprise, that no one was able to draw his bow, which himself could bend when his horse was in full gallop; he was majestic whether sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly deformed his royal person; of excellent health so that he was never confined with any dangerous disorder, except at the last; so given to the pleasures of the chase, that as I have before said, ejecting the inhabitants, he let a space of many miles grow desolate that, when at liberty from other avocations, he might there pursue his pleasures.

His anxiety for money is the only thing on which he can deservedly be blamed. This he sought all opportunities of scraping together, he cared not how; he would say and do some things and indeed almost anything, unbecoming to such great majesty, where the hope of money allured him. I have here no excuse whatever to offer, unless it be, as one has said, that of necessity he must fear many, whom many fear.'

William negotiated a marriage in 1049 to Matilda, a descendant of the old Saxon House of Wessex and daughter of Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Adela, daughter of Robert II, King of France. They were an ill-assorted pair, he strongly built and five feet ten inches tall and she ( as it emerged when her skeleton was exhumed) just over four feet tall, almost a dwarf. It proved however, to be a highly successful union and produced a large family.

The Conquest of England

The Duke of Normandy visited his English cousin, Edward the Confessor, in 1051. Edward and his brother Alfred had spent much of their childhood in exile at the Norman Court, their mother, Emma, had been a daughter of the House of Normandy. During this visit, Edward is purported to have promised his Norman cousin the crown of England, should he die without issue. The real heir was Edgar the Atheling, Edward's great-nephew, the grandson of his elder brother Edmund Ironside, but he was still a child and knew little of England, having spent much of his life in exile in Hungary. Others also coveted the English throne, the chief candidate amongst these was Harold, son of the powerful Godwine, Earl of Wessex.

Harold was unfortunately shipwrecked on the coast of Normandy, where he found himself the unwilling guest of Duke William. The Confessor was now unlikely to survive long and Harold was anxious to return to England to forward his ambitions there. However, before he would allow his guest to leave, William required him to swear an oath to support his claim to the crown upon Edward's death. Under duress, Harold finally consented and swore the oath on holy relics.

Edward the Confessor finally breathed his last in January, 1066, and was buried in his foundation of St.Peter, Westminster, which had been consecrated but ten days previously. It was reported that on his deathbed he had nominated Harold as his successor who was duly accepted as King by the Saxon Witangemot or council of elders, which traditionally elected the next English King.

Back in Normandy, on reciept of this ominous news, the formidable Duke William flew into a rage. He began to build an invasion fleet to take by force what he considered to be his by right. The Pope himself, due to Harold's foresworn oath on holy relics, supported William's enterprise. After Harold was crowned by Archbishop Stigand, a portentous star was seen in the skies, this has now been identified as Halley's comet, many in that superstitious age saw it as an omen of the wrath of God on the perjured King Harold and his followers.

Harold assembled the fyrdd, the Saxon militia of freemen, in preparation for William's imminent landing, whilst the Duke prepared his fleet and waited for good weather to set sail for England. In mid September, Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, invaded England, accompanied by Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, Harold's unruly and discontented brother, who had earlier been banished and his earldom confiscated.

Harold marched his army north in haste to meet the invaders at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, where he won a decisive victory over the Viking army. At this time, the winds William had been pensively awaiting turned favourable and he set sail with his massive invasion fleet. News of his landing at Bulverhythe was conveyed to Harold, who responded by hurrying south to meet him, giving his exhausted army no respite. Had Harold rested and reorganized his army, the outcome of the impending battle and English history could have been very different.

William the Conqueror On 14th October, the Saxon and Norman forces clashed in the fateful Battle of Hastings. Harold took up a defensive position on Senlac Ridge. The Norman army was thus forced to attack uphill, placing them at a disadvantage.

The Saxon army formed a shield wall along the edge of the hill which rebuffed repeated Norman attacks. A rumour arose in the Norman ranks that Duke William was dead, causing panic and flight. Many of the Saxon fyrdd pursued the fleeing Normans down the hill. William put heart into his army by loudly announcing he still lived. The Normans rallied, Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine were both slain on the battlefield.

The battle continued for most of the day, Harold and his Saxons fought with steely determination for possession of their country. As dusk began to fall over Hastings, William ordered his archers to fire high into the air and one of these arrows is said to have hit Harold in the eye, blinding him, although this point is disputed by some sources. Whether this was the case or not, Harold fell mortally wounded under the dragon standard of Wessex.

The Saxon army, seeing that the day was lost, began to flee the field. The houscarls, Harold's trained professional militia, loyally and valiantly defended the body of their King to the last, but they too finally fell and Harold's body was mutilated by the Normans, a vindictive act, which William punished. The battle was lost and Anglo-Saxon England died with Harold on the battlefield that day.

Harold's deeply distressed mistress, Edith Swan-neck came to William pleading for her lover's body and offering him its weight in gold in exchange, but William coldly refused her distraught request. He had Harold buried in a secret location.

William proceeded to London, where he was crowned King of England at Edward the Confessor's foundation of Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.

He accepted the surrender of the Saxon Earls Edwine and Morkere along with that of the child claimant, Edgar Atheling and defeated the heroic Hereward the Wake at Ely. On the whole the south of England submitted to Norman rule, whereas in the north resistance was more prolonged. William responded by subjecting the English to a reign of terror. Determined to punish and crush rebellion to his rule and strike abject fear into English hearts, he laid waste vast tracts of Yorkshire, which suffered under a great famine for nine years after as a result. He rewarded his Norman and French followers by distributing the confiscated lands of the English to them.

William was a savage and formidable ruler, by modern standards an exceedingly cruel one, but his methods produced the desired results and extinguished the fires of opposition. Many castles and keeps were built across the country to enforce his rule, originally wooden towers or earthen mottes, in all over 80 castles were established during the reign, including the White Tower, the first building in the Tower of London complex. The dominating shadow of the White Tower loomed menacingly over medieval London, a visible expression of Norman power.

The new King's half brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, commissioned a tapestry to commemorate his brother's victory in 1078. It depicts a series of scenes leading up to and during the conquest. William's conversion of the New Forest into a royal hunting ground saw the introduction of harsh and severe forest laws, which caused great resentment amongst the Anglo-Saxons. William changed England's laws and inflicted harsh punishments for offenders. Murder became an officially punishable crime in England and slavery was abolished.

Anglo-Saxon England was radically altered by the Norman conquest, it changed the entire way of life then established in the country. Its laws, aristocracy and church were altered and it introduced the French feudal system. The Anglo-Saxon language was replaced by Norman French as the language of the upper classes, modern English is the natural outgrowth of both. The role of the conquerors and the conquered can still be detected in many English words, the Saxon cow, tended by the lowly Saxon villein became the Norman beef when it appeared on the lord's table. The Saxon swine became Norman gammon. There are countless other examples in modern English which amply illlustrate the role of Saxon servant and Norman master.

The Norman Feudal System, which William introduced into England, was a complicated heirarchial structure at whose apex sat the king. That lords held their lands under the king in exchange for homage and military assistance rendered to him in times of need.

The Domesday Book

In December, 1085, William decided to commision an enquiry into the extent of his dominions to maximise taxation. This unique survey was known to history as the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book still survives today in the Public Record Office, London and is an extraordinary document for its time.

The Death of William I

Tomb of William the ConquerorThe last year of William's life was spent fighting in Normandy, in battle for the Vexin, a much disputed territory, which lay between Normandy and France. Amongst those opposing him was his rebellious eldest son, Robert, nicknamed Curthose by his father, due to his short legs.

On 9th September, 1087, whilst riding through the smouldering ruins of the sacked town of Mantes, in what must have appeared to him as like an act of divine retribution, William was thrown from his horse when it trod on burning ashes and sustained severe abdominal injuries.

The King, now aged fifty nine and mortally injured, was carried to the convent of St. Gervais in Rouen, the Norman capital. There he summoned his younger sons, William and Henry, to his deathbed. Robert Curthose remained at the court of France.

England was bequeathed to his second surviving and favourite son, William Rufus and despite his bitter differences with Robert Curthose, he left Normandy to him. To Henry, the youngest son, later destined to inherit all his dominions, he left 5,000 silver pounds. He is reported to have ruminated on and repented of his many sins, transgressions and cruelties at the end. He tried to salve his conscience, before preparing to meet his maker and fearing for his immortal soul, he ordered all the treasure he possessed in Rouen to be given to the church and the poor and forgave his enemies. William the Conqueror died on 9th September, 1087, having ruled England for 21 years.

William was buried in the monastery of St.Stephen at Caen in Normandy, an abbey he had previously founded as an act of repentence for his consanguineous marriage to Matilda of Flanders. The body was broken as it was lowered into the sepulchre, made too short by the stonemasons and the ceremony was interrupted by a dispossessed knight. A stone slab with a Latin inscription, in the abbey church of Caen today marks the burial place of the first Norman King of England. His grave has since been desecrated twice, in the course of the French Wars of Religion his bones were scattered across Caen, and during the tumultuous events of the French Revolution, the Conqueror's tomb was again despoiled.

The children and grandchildren of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders

(1) Robert 'Curthose' Duke of Normandy (1054 -1134) m.Sybilla of Conversano

(i) William Clito, Count of Flanders (d.1128) m. Sybil of Anjou

(2) Richard (circa 1055 - 1081)

(3) WILLIAM II (circa 1056 - 1100)

(4) Cecilia (d.1126)

(5) Adeliza

(6) Adela (circa 1062 - 1138) m. Stephen, Count of Blois

(i) Matilda (d. 1120)

(ii) Theobald, Count of Blois (d. 1151)

(iii) Henry, Bishop of Winchester

(iv)STEPHEN, KING OF ENGLAND (d. 1154) m. Matilda of Boulogne

(v) William

(7) HENRY I (circa 1068 - 1135) m. (i)Edith of Scotland (ii) Adeliza of Louvain

Issue by (i):-

(i)William the Atheling (circa 1103-1128)m. Matilda of Anjou

(ii) MATILDA(circa 1103 - 1162) m. (i) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (ii) Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou

Charlemagne

2010-04-28T01:24:00.001-07:00

"By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne (Charles the Great) became master of Western Europe. It was falling into decay when Charlemagne became joint king of the Franks in 768. Except in the monasteries, people had all but forgotten education and the arts. Boldly Charlemagne conquered barbarians and kings alike. By restoring the roots of learning and order, he preserved many political rights and revived culture.

Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel, the warrior who crushed the Saracens (see Charles Martel). Charlemagne was the elder son of Bertrade ("Bertha Greatfoot") and Pepin the Short, first "mayor of the palace" to become king of the Franks. Although schools had almost disappeared in the 8th century, historians believe that Bertrade gave young Charles some education and that he learned to read. His devotion to the church became the great driving force of his remarkable life.

Charlemagne was tall, powerful, and tireless. His secretary, Eginhard, wrote that Charlemagne had fair hair and a "face laughing and merry . . . his appearance was always stately and dignified." He had a ready wit, but could be stern. His tastes were simple and moderate. He delighted in hunting, riding, and swimming. He wore the Frankish dress: linen shirt and breeches, a silk-fringed tunic, hose wrapped with bands, and, in winter, a tight coat of otter or marten skins. Over all these garments "he flung a blue cloak, and he always had a sword girt about him."

Charlemagne's character was contradictory. In an age when the usual penalty for defeat was death, Charlemagne several times spared the lives of his defeated foes; yet in 782 at Verden, after a Saxon uprising, he ordered 4,500 Saxons beheaded. He compelled the clergy and nobles to reform, but he divorced two of his four wives without any cause. He forced kings and princes to kneel at his feet, yet his mother and his two favorite wives often overruled him in his own household.

Charlemagne Begins His Reign

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. At that time the northern half of Europe was still pagan and lawless. In the south, the Roman Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own realm, the Franks were falling back into barbarian ways, neglecting their education and religion.

Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year campaign that conquered and Christianized the powerful pagan Saxons in the north. He subdued the Avars, a huge Tatar tribe on the Danube. He compelled the rebellious Bavarian dukes to submit to him. When possible he preferred to settle matters peacefully, however. For example, Charlemagne offered to pay the Lombard king Desiderius for return of lands to the pope, but, when Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized his kingdom in 773 to 774 and restored the Papal States.

The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. These feats of organization and the swift marches later led Napoleon to study his tactics.

One of Charlemagne's minor campaigns has become the most famous. In 778 he led his army into Spain to battle the infidel Saracens. On its return, Basques ambushed the rear guard at Roncesvalles, in northern Spain, and killed "Count Roland." Roland became a great hero of medieval songs and romances (see Roland).

By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm covered what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. It included half of present-day Italy and Germany, part of Austria, and the Spanish March ("border"). The broad March reached to the Ebro River. By thus establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.

Crowned Emperor

On Christmas Day in 800, while Charlemagne knelt in prayer in Saint Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo III seized a golden crown from the altar and placed it on the bowed head of the king. The throng in the church shouted, "To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!"

Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge.

The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did not use the title, he is considered the first Holy Roman emperor (see Holy Roman Empire).

Reform and Renaissance

Charlemagne had deep sympathy for the peasants and believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. When he came to the throne, various local governors, called "counts," had become lax and oppressive. To reform them, he expanded the work of investigators, called missi dominici. He prescribed their duties in documents called capitularies and sent them out in teams of twoÄÄa churchman and a noble. They rode to all parts of the realm, inspecting government, administering justice, and reawakening all citizens to their civil and religious duties.

Twice a year Charlemagne summoned the chief men of the empire to discuss its affairs. In all problems he was the final arbiter, even in church issues, and he largely unified church and state.

Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people.

He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles.

Charlemagne never stopped studying. He brought an English monk, Alcuin, and other scholars to his court. He learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, he listened to men reading from learned works.

To revive church music, Charlemagne had monks sent from Rome to train his Frankish singers. To restore some appreciation of art, he brought valuable pieces from Italy. An impressive monument to his religious devotion is the cathedral at Aachen, which he built and where he was buried (see Aachen).

At Charlemagne's death in 814 only one of his three sons, Louis, was living. Louis's weak rule brought on the rise of civil wars and revolts. After his death his three quarreling sons split the empire between them by the Partition of Verdun in 843.

The Phoenicians

2010-04-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

The Phoenician Achievement

The Phoenicians were a people who lived in what is now Lebanon. They were a great trading people and they were at their peak between about 1200 BC and 800 BC.

The Phoenicians lived on a strip of fertile land between the sea and the Lebanon mountains. With the mountains as a natural barrier they looked to the sea to expand.

However the Phoenicians were not a single state. Instead they were divided into a number of city-states. The greatest were Tyre, Byblos and Sidon. Phoenician cities were usually built on islands off the coast or on promontories to make them easier to defend.

After 1000 BC the Phoenicians founded colonies on Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and southern Spain. They also founded colonies in north Africa. One of these was Carthage (founded c. 800 BC). Carthage grew into a great empire which rivalled Rome.

The Phoenicians are also famous for their alphabet, which they invented about 1200 BC. This alphabet was passed onto the Greeks and is the basis of the alphabet we use today.

The Phoenicians were also craftsmen. They made tools and weapons from bronze and they carved ivory plaques which were used to decorate furniture.

Phoenician Ships

The Phoenicians were excellent sailors. They built warships with masts and sailes. However in battle the ship would rely on its oars. The Phoenicians are believed to have invented the bireme, a ship with two rows of oars and the trireme with three rows. A man played a flute to help the oarsmen row in time.

Merchant ships were broader to carry cargo. A typical Phoenician merchant ship was 30 metres long and 7 metres wide and had a crew of about 20.

Phoenician ships did not have rudders. Instead they were steered by large oars. Phoenician sailors usually sailed within sight of the coast. Because their ships were vulnerable to storms the Phoenicians normally sailed between March and October.

Phoenician Trade

The Phoenicians were merchants who sailed around the Mediterranean. They also sailed past the Straits of Gibraltar and around western Africa. They may have also sailed to southwest England in search of tin.

The Phoenicians exported cedar wood to Egypt. In return they imported Egyptian and papyrus (a type of paper made from the papyrus plant which grows in the Nile).

The Phoenicians also traded with the Greeks. (Their name Phoenician is derived from the Greek word for purple-red). The Phoenicians made purple dye from murex shells and they were famous for their cloth industry.

The Phoenicians also exported dishes made of precious metals, jewellery and glass vessels. They imported copper from Cyprus and tin from Turkey (the two metals were combined to make bronze). Silver and tin were imported from Spain.

For centuries the Phoenicians dominated long distance trade in the Mediterranean. However in time the Greeks grew to be their rivals. Alexander the Great finally ended the greatness of the Phoenicians. In 332 BC he captured Tyre and the Phoenicians were absorbed into his empire.

The Bizantine Empire

2010-04-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

The Foundation of Constantinople

Byzantium (today called Istanbul) was founded by the Greeks about 650 BC. Byzantium was built on a triangular peninsula on the very edge of Europe. it was separated from Asia by a narrow stretch of water called the Bosphorous. To the south of the peninsula lay the Sea of Marmora. On the north side lay an inlet called the Golden Horn.

History was changed in 324 AD when Emperor Constantine decided to build a new capital city for the Roman Empire. Constantine's experts drew up plans for a new fortified city on the site of Byzantium and work was almost complete after 6 years. The new city was inaugurated by Constantine on 11 May 330 AD. It became known as Constantinople.

However although the new city was supposed to be the capital of the Roman Empire a mixture of Roman and Greek culture held sway. Roman laws and administration applied but Greek literature and learning was dominant in the city.

Meanwhile as early as 286 the Roman Empire was split into two halves, East and West. The two sides were temporarily reunited by Constantine in 324. However after 395 the Roman Empire was permanently divided into two halves and increasingly they went their separate ways.

The city of Rome was captured by a people called the Goths in 410 and the Western Roman Empire ended completely in 476 AD. However the Eastern Roman Empire survived for a thousand years after wards. It became the Byzantine Empire.

The Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius (408-450) decided to strengthen the defences of Constantinople. He built a great wall across the peninsula on which Constantinople was built about a mile across the west of the city's walls. The was about 15 feet thick and it was strengthened by nearly 160 towers.

However the wall proved vulnerable to earthquakes. In 447 when Attila the Hun was pillaging Southeast Europe much of the wall was destroyed by an earthquake. Fortunately Attila was bribed to go away.

The Reign of Justinian

The great emperor Justinian reigned from 527-565. During his time Roman influences weakened in the Byzantine Empire and Greek ones grew stronger. Justinian tried to keep Latin as the official language of the empire so he became known as the 'last of the Romans'.

Justinian is famous for drawing up a code of laws known as the Justinian code in 529-533, which influenced law in many European countries. He also tried to conquer those parts of the empire that had been lost to the Germanic peoples. he sent his great general Belisarius to North Africa in 533 and he succeeded in conquering the Vandal kingdom in what is now Tunisia and Algeria. In 536 Belisarius invaded Italy. He advanced quickly and took Rome. Justinian's army also took the southern part of Spain.

In 540-561 Justinian also fought the Persians but with only modest success.

Justinian was also famous for building. His greatest building was the Church of St Sophia in Constantinople, which was built between 532 and 538. As well as architecture the other arts also flourished in the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines made great mosaics, frescos, jewellery and illuminated manuscripts.

Meanwhile in 554 two Byzantine monks who travelled to China stole some silk worms. Until then only the Chinese had made silk. Afterwards silk was made in the Byzantine Empire as well.

after the death of Justinian the Byzantine Empire suffered some setbacks. In 568 a people called the Lombards conquered North Italy. Furthermore the Byzantines lost their territory in Spain. In the east the Persians fought another war against the Byzantine Empire in 602-628. In 614 they captured Jerusalem. The Persians then invaded Egypt and Asia Minor.

However in 610 a man named Heraclius became Byzantine Emperor. He was able to rally his troops and push back the Persians. By 627 he had recaptured the lost territory and in 628 he captured the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

Meanwhile during the reign of Heraclius ties with Western Europe weakened and Greek was finally made the official language of the Byzantine Empire.

However the Byzantine Empire now faced a new enemy - the Arabs. They began their attacks in 632 and in 638 they captured Jerusalem. In 639-642 the Arabs captured Egypt. In 698 they captured Carthage.

In 673 the Arabs began to blockade Constantinople by sea. However they failed to capture the city.

In 678 the Byzantines counterattacked with a new weapon called Greek fire (naphtha), a highly inflammable liquid. Earth, dust or cloth was soaked in Greek fire and fired from a catapult at enemy ships. Greek fire could also be held in a container of stone or metal, which exploded when it hit its target. It proved to be a deadly weapon.

Greek fire was invented about 650 BC by Callinicus of Heliopolis.

However in the 9th century the Arabs and other enemies of the Byzantines learned to make it.

In 716 the Arabs blockaded Constantinople. The blockade lasted for a year but it was broken by a Byzantine fleet.

However at that time the Byzantine Empire was riven by disputes over religion. The Emperor's claimed to be God's representative on earth and they were not afraid to intervene in religious arguments.

In the 8th century paintings of Jesus, Mary or the saints were common. However in the 8th and early 9th century there were many people who disapproved of icons and many of them were destroyed. (Giving us our word iconoclast). Yet after 843 icons became popular again.

Greatness and Decline

In 867 Basil I murdered the previous emperor Michael III, known as Michael the Drunkard and succeeded him as emperor. He founded the Macedonian dynasty and under it the Byzantine Empire flourished. The Byzantines expanded their empire at the expense of the Arabs.

However the Macedonian dynasty ended in 1056 and the Byzantine Empire began a long slow decline.

Meanwhile in 1054 the Eastern Orthodox Church formally separated from the Western (Catholic) Church.

In the East the Byzantines faced a new enemy. A people called the Seljuk Turks captured Baghdad in 1055. They then turned on the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines were decisively defeated at the battle of Manzikert and they lost most of Asia Minor.

Emperor Alexius appealed to Western Europe for help. Pope Urban II preached a crusade to recapture the Holy Land (Israel). The Arabs were tolerant and allowed Christians to make journeys called pilgrimages to Jerusalem. However the Seljuk Turks were intolerant and persecuted Christians. So the idea of a crusade found much support.

A Western European army arrived at Constantinople. However the allies disliked each other. The Byzantines regarded the Westerners as uncouth and ignorant while the Westerners regarded the Byzantines as effete and too fond of luxury.

Nevertheless the Crusaders went on to capture Jerusalem in 1099.

In the 12th century there were two more crusades. In 1202 the fourth crusade was organised. However in 1204 when the Crusaders were underway they turned and attacked Constantinople. They soon captured the city and looted it. For the next 55 years European ruled Constantinople.

However some parts of the Byzantine Empire remained independent and were ruled by emperors in exile. Gradually the emperors in exile won back territory and in 1261 they recaptured Constantinople. Nevertheless the Byzantine Empire never recovered.

From the end of the 13th century Byzantium was threatened by a new people from Central Asia, the Ottoman Turks. They gradually gained strength and Byzantium dwindled. By the time of the Emperor Manuel II (1391-1425) the Byzantine Empire consisted of Constantinople and small parts of Greece and Asia Minor.

However Constantinople finally fell in 1453. The Sultan, Mohammed III had cannons and he used them to good effect. On 7 April 1453 they began firing at the walls. Gradually they chipped away and made breaches in the walls. Finally on 29 May 1453 the Turkish army rushed through the breaches and took the city of Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire came to an end.

Romulus & Remus

2010-04-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. The story begins with the deposition of Numitor (their grandfather and king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa), by his brother Amulius. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius - which meant that she was made a priestess of the godess Vesta and therefore forbidden to marry. However, the god Mars came to her in her temple and of him she conceived her two sons, romulus and remus.

As soon as they were born, her husband abandoned them in a remote location. This practice was a form of quasi-infanticide tolerated in many ancient cultures, including the Roman and Greek, when children were unwanted. They were unwanted because Amulius, was fearing that the boys would grow up to overthrow him, had them placed in a trough and thrown into the River Tiber. At that time the river was in flood, and when the waters fell, the trough, still containing the two boys, came ashore. They were found by a she-wolf, who instead of killing them, looked after them and fed them with her milk, the she-wolf was helped by a woodpecker who brought them food too. Interesting enough both these animals were sacred to Mars.

Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own. According to Livy, some said that Loba, wife of Faustulus had suckled them, not a female wolf Indeed, her name meant wolf which was Lupus in Latin. Upon reaching adulthood, Romulus and Remus killed Amulius and reinstated Numitor, their grandfather, as King of Alba Longa, then they decidet to found a town of their own. Romulus and Remus chose the place where the she-wolf had nursed them. Romulus began to build walls on the Palatine Hill, but Remus jeered at them because they were so low. He leaped over them to prove this, and Romulus in anger killed him. Romulus continued the building of the new city, naming it Roma (Rome) after his own name. It's first citizens were outlaws and fugitives, to whom Romulus gave the settlement on the Capitoline Hill.

There were however not enough wives for all these men, and so Romulus decided to steal women from the Sabines, an Italian tribe. He there proclaimed a festival and invited many Sabines to it. While the attention of the men was elsewhere Romulus' men rushed in and carried off the women. This was the famous "Rape (carrying off) of the Sabine women", which later became a subject for painters. The Sabine men were furious and, led by their king Titus Tatius, made war on Romulus. When the fighting had reached its peak the Sabine women, who had grown fond of their Roman husbands, rushed between the ranks and begged both sides to make peace. So the battle was stopped, Romulus and Titus Tatius ruled together over the two peoples until Titus Tatius was killed in battle. For the rest of his life Romulus ruled alone, proving himself a great leader in peace and war. He did not die but disappeared one day in a violent storm. The Romans believing he had been taken up to heaven, worshipped him under the name of Quirinus. He was succeeded by Numa Pompilius.

It seems unlkely that any part of this legend is true. Almost certainly it is a copy of a Greek tale, invented to explain the name of Rome and certain customs. For instance Roman brides were taken from their families on their wedding days with a pretence of force, and this probably accounts for the story of the Sabine women.

Cambodia

2010-04-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

ANCIENT CAMBODIA

Cambodia has a rich and fascinating history. The first humans in Cambodia were Stone Age hunters and gatherers. However farming was introduced into Cambodia about 2,300 BC. The first Cambodian farmers used stone tools but from about 1,500 BC the Cambodians used tools and weapons made from bronze. By about 500 BC they had learned to use iron.

The first civilization in the area arose about 150 AD in the Mekong River delta in South Vietnam. This civilization was known to the Chinese who called it Fu-nan.

While Fu-nan was trading with the Chinese Cambodian society grew more sophisticated. Settlements grew larger. So did kingdoms. By the beginning of the 7th century AD the Cambodians were a civilized people.

At first Cambodia was divided into rival states but at the beginning of the 9th century a king named Jayawarman II created a strong, united state. He founded a dynasty, which lasted until about 1000 AD.

THE KHMER EMPIRE

Like all early civilizations the Khmer Empire was an overwhelmingly agricultural society, Although there were many craftsmen the great majority of the people were farmers. Their staple diet was rice.

The Khmers were animists. They believed that spirits inhabited natural phenomena such as the earth and trees. Later Indian religions (Hinduism and Buddhism) were introduced but they co-existed with traditional beliefs. The rich and powerful built fine temples (the only stone buildings in Cambodia). They were richly decorated with fine stone carvings. The most famous temple is Angkor Wat which was built in the early 12th century.

For centuries the state of Angkor was prosperous and powerful. Then about 1000 AD. King Jayawarman V was killed. Civil war followed until Suryawarman I founded another dynasty. By 1011 he was in control of Cambodia. However his dynasty only lasted until 1080 when it was replaced by another.

In 1177 a people called the Chams from Champa (on the coast of Vietnam) invaded Cambodia. However King Jayawarman VII managed to drive them out by 1183 and between 1203 and 1220 he was able to force the Chams to submit to him. Nevertheless by the mid-13th century the Khmer kingdom was in decline.

About 1430-31 the Thais captured the Cambodian capital, Angkor. After wards it was abandoned and new capital was founded at Phnom Phenh. By the mid-16th century Angkor was overgrown by the jungle and it was accidentally rediscovered by a Cambodian king.

CAMBODIA 1500-1800

During the 16th century Cambodian power continued to decline. At the end of the century Cambodia fell under Thai suzerainty (loose control). In 1594 the Thais captured the capital, Longvaek. After that they dominated the region.

From the middle of the 17th century the power of Vietnam grew. In the early 17th century the Cambodians controlled parts of what is now South Vietnam. They held a port called Prey Nokor. (Later it was renamed Saigon). In the late 17th century Prey Nokor fell under Vietnamese rule.

During the 18th century Cambodia found itself squeezed between two powerful neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. The Thais invaded Cambodia several times in the 18th century and in 1772 they destroyed the Phnom Phenh. In the last years of the 18th century the Vietnamese also invaded Cambodia. The Cambodian king was forced to look to the Thais for protection. In return Thailand took north-west Cambodia.

CAMBODIA IN THE 19th CENTURY

In the early 19th century King Chan (1806-1834) turned to the Vietnamese for protection from the Thais! The Thais were annoyed by this policy and when a rebellion occurred in south Vietnam in 1833 they took advantage by invading Cambodia. However the Vietnamese king crushed the rebellion and the Thai army retreated.

As a result the Vietnamese emperor strengthened his control over Cambodia. When Cambodian King Chan died in 1834 one of his daughters was installed as Queen and Vietnamese people settled in Cambodia. The Vietnamese regarded the Cambodians as 'barbarians' an tried to 'civilize' them by teaching them Vietnamese customs.

Resentment at Vietnamese influence led to a rebellion in 1840-1841. The Thais invaded again to re-assert their control of Cambodia.

However in the 1850s French missionaries arrived in Cambodia. the Cambodian king hoped the French would protect him from both the Thais and the Vietnamese. In 1863 King Norodam agreed to accept French protection. Inevitably however the French influence increased.

In 1844 the French demanded the right to collect customs dues in Cambodia. King Norodom refused and the French sent a gunboat to Phnom Penh. Norodom was forced to back down and accept an increase in French power over Cambodia. However shortly after wards a rebellion broke out. It lasted until 1887 when the French prevailed. Norodom was allowed to keep his throne until 1904 when his brother Sisowath replaced him.

CAMBODIA IN THE 20th CENTURY

Under French rule some economic development took place in Cambodia. Roads and railways were built and in the 1920s a rubber industry grew up. However the Cambodians were forced to pay heavy taxes and from the 1930s Cambodian nationalism grew.

Then in 1941 Cambodia was occupied by the Japanese. However at first they allowed French officials to remain in their posts but in March 1945 as the Japanese were losing the war they desperately tried to curry favour with the Cambodians. They arrested French officials and declared Cambodia independent. However when the Japanese surrendered the French took over again. They arrived in October 1945.

This time the French did allow the Cambodians to have political parties and a constitution. By a treaty of 1949 Cambodia was made semi-independent. Then in 1952 King Sihanouk dismissed the government and took personal control of the country. Events then moved swiftly. On 9 November 1953 the French finally allowed Cambodia to become fully independent and in 1955 Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father and elections were held.

Sihanouk formed his own political movement. From 1955-1970 he dominated politics in Cambodia so much so that it is sometimes called the 'Sihanouk era'. In 1960, when his father died, he named himself 'Chief of State'. Sihanouk called his movement 'Buddhist Socialism'. However it was not really socialist at all.

Sihanouk's reign began to crumble in 1968 when the communists began a civil war. In 1970 Sihanouk left the country. While he was away the National Assembly voted to remove him as chief of state. Cambodia was renamed the Khmer Republic.

However the communists slowly made headway. The Americans bombed Cambodia to try and stop the communists. Nevertheless they captured Phnom Phen on 17 April 1975.

THE KHMER ROUGE

In 1975 a horrific and tragic era of Cambodian history began in the reign of the Khmer Rouge. They were led by Pol Pot (or Saloth Sar) also known as 'Brother Number One'. How many people were killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge is not known for certain but it was probably at least 1.5 million and it may have been as many as 3 million. Pol Pot declared that history would begin again in Cambodia. The first year of revolution was now the first year of history.

In 1975 Cambodia was a mainly agricultural country. Pol Pot decided it should be completely agricultural. This meant all the people from the towns and cities were forced to move to the countryside. Pol Pot also decided that agricultural output should double in 4 years (a totally unrealistic target). Private property was banned and collective farms were formed. They were supposed to grow 3 tonnes of rice per hectare (again a completely unrealistic target). People were made to work very long hours to try and grow the extra rice. They were given insufficient food and many fell ill and died from a combination of exhaustion and malnutrition.

That was not all. Religion was banned in Cambodia (people caught practising Buddhism were executed). Family relationships were banned (on the grounds that parents exploited their children). Furthermore the smallest infringement of the rules resulted in execution. Although they were half starved people caught foraging for food were executed. People were also executed for being lazy. Needless to say anyone who complained was executed.

Furthermore the Khmer Rouge murdered intellectuals. Soon people who could speak a foreign language or who wore glasses were executed. This nightmarish situation was only ended by a war with Vietnam. The Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in December 1978 and quickly prevailed. Unfortunately Pol Pot escaped and he did not die until 1998.

Pol Pot's soldiers fled to Thailand and they were welcomed by the Thai's who feared a Vietnamese invasion. The Khmer Rouge continued a guerrilla war against the Vietnamese. However the Vietnamese forces withdrew from Cambodia in 1989.

Afterwards negotiations began among several different parties. The result was the Paris Peace Accords of 1991. Communism was abandoned in Cambodia and a provisional government ruled until 1993 when elections were held and a constitution was framed. Sihanouk was made a constitutional monarch.

However the Khmer Rouge refused to take part in the elections and they continued their guerrilla war. Fortunately in 1996 Pol Pot's second in command Ieng Sary defected in 1996. Many Khmer Rouge troops followed him. Pol Pot himself died in 1998 and peace returned to Cambodia.

In 19999 Cambodia joined ASEAN

CAMBODIA IN THE 21st CENTURY

Today Cambodia is still a poor country but there is every reason to be optimistic about its future. In the early years of the 21st Century the Cambodian economy grew rapidly. The fastest growing industry in Cambodia is tourism. There is also a clothing industry in Cambodia.

Today the population of Cambodia is 13 million.

The Pirates

2010-04-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

Early Pirates

A pirate is a person who robs ships. The idea is not new! There have been pirates since ancient times. After 800 BC a people called the Phoenicians from what is now Lebanon had many merchant ships carrying valuable cargoes across the Mediterranean. As they sailed near the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea pirates sailed after them and robbed them.

In the 1st century BC pirates were a serious menace in the Mediterranean. Pirates captured Julius Caesar when he was a young man. Finally in 67 BC the Roman senate decided to take action. They appointed Pompey to deal with them. He divided the Mediterranean into sections. Pompey quickly defeated the pirates and thousands were killed. Many more surrendered and hundreds of pirate ships were captured.

The next great period of piracy was the Middle Ages. In the 12th and 13th centuries trade in Europe was growing rapidly offering rich pickings for pirates. The English Channel was infested with pirates many of them operating from the Cinque Ports, Dover, Hastings, Hythe, Romney and Sandwich. There were also pirates operating from ports like Dunkirk and Calais. There were also many pirates in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

The Great Age of Piracy

During the Middle Ages there were many pirates in the Mediterranean. In the 16th and 17th centuries pirates in North Africa flourished even sailing into the Atlantic. They were sometimes known as Barbary Corsairs. In 1803 the USA sent a fleet to Tunis against the pirates but the Barbary Corsairs were only finally defeated in 1820 when the French sent a large fleet to Algiers and Tunis.

Meanwhile pirates continued to sail in the English Channel. However in the mid-17th century Oliver Cromwell built up a formidable navy and by 1651 the pirates had been driven from their bases in the Sicily Isles and the Channel Islands.

Furthermore the discovery of the New World led to a new golden age of piracy. The Spanish conquered the Aztecs and the Incas. They created a rich empire in Central America and ships laden with gold sailed back to Spain. They provided rich pickings for pirates, including many English pirates. (Both John Hawkins and Francis Drake were pirates).

In the 17th century French pirates sailed into the Caribbean and preyed on the Spanish. The pirates dried meat on a grill called a barbecu. The meat was called boucan and the men who ate it were called boucaniers or buccaneers. As well as the French there were English, Dutch and Portuguese buccaneers. By the late 17th century buccaneers of many different nationalities served under 'admirals'.

As well as the buccaneers there were privateers. In wartime governments authorised captains to capture enemy merchant ships and loot them. One famous privateer was Captain William Kidd. However Kidd was accused to overstepping the mark into outright piracy and he was hanged in 1701. Another famous privateer was the Welshman Sir Henry Morgan (c1635-1688) who was knighted in 1674 and was appointed lieutenant-governor of Jamaica (a British colony). However in 1856 most European nations signed a declaration of Paris making privateers illegal.

Pirate ships were armed with cannons and long-range guns called culverins. When they boarded ships pirates threw grenades. They also fought with muskets, pistols and the cutlass.

However the British navy played a key role in ending piracy and the golden age of pirates came to an end in the early 18th century. Among the last of the pirates was Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, who was killed in 1718.

Modern Pirates

Yet off China and Southeast Asia piracy continued through the 19th century and the 20th century.

In the early 21st century many pirates operate from Somalia. In 2008 they stole a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks. They also hijacked an oil tanker.

History of Cakes & Biscuits

2010-04-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

Early Cakes and Biscuits

The word biscuit is derived from the Latin words bis cotus, meaning twice baked. The idea of making biscuits goes back to the Romans. However biscuits as we know them were developed in the late Middle Ages.

People have eaten pancakes since the Middle Ages. (The earliest recipe dates from the 15th century). At that time people were supposed to fast certain foods during Lent, the 40 days before Easter. They were also supposed to confess their sins. The old word for confess was shrive so the day when confessions were made was shrive or shriven Tuesday. Later it became Shrove Tuesday. At that time making pancakes was a useful way of using up food like butter, eggs and milk before the period of fasting.

The Tudors were also fond of sweet foods (if they could afford them). The rich ate preserved fruit, gingerbread, sugared almonds and jelly. However in the 16th century sugar was very expensive so most people used honey to sweeten their food.

Marzipan was introduced into England in the late Middle Ages. It is a paste made of almonds and sugar. The Tudors used marzipan to make edible sculptures of animals, castles, trees and people called subtleties.

From the Middle Ages people ate simnel cakes. (Simnel was originally the name of a fine flour. There is a Simnel Street in Southampton.)

At Christmas the Tudors enjoyed mince pies, but they had far more significance than today in that they had 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and the apostles, they contained fruit (raisins, currants, prunes) and spices (cloves, mace, black pepper, saffron) and also mutton to represent the shepherds. The fashion was for them to be shaped like a crib, but this practice was banned by Oliver Cromwell.

The Tudors also had Christmas pudding but this was shaped like a sausage and contained meat, oatmeal and spices. Twelfth Night cake was fruitcake baked with an item in like a coin or dried bean, whoever found it became King or Queen or host for the evenings entertainment. Banbury cakes were first mentioned in 1586. Furthermore the Scots were eating shortbread by the 16th century. Scones were also first mentioned in the early 16th century.

In Tudor times people ate spiced buns on Good Friday. The first mention of crosses on them was in the 18th century. So by the 1700s people were eating hot cross buns.

It is not known when liquorice was first grown in England. It was originally a medicine and Pontefract cakes were first made in the early 17th century. Bread and butter pudding also became a common dish in the 17th century.

The earliest recipe for crumpets dates from the beginning of the 18th century (although they may have existed before then). Then in the late 18th century people began to eat macaroons. Eccles cakes also date from the 18th century.

Modern Cakes and Biscuits

In the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution the mass production of cakes and jelly began. Also in the 19th century people began to eat birthday cakes. Battenburg cake was invented in the 19th century. So was Swiss roll. Victoria Sponge was also invented in the 19th century (it was named after Queen Victoria). Kendal mint cake was invented in 1869. Doughnuts also date from the 19th century.

Bakewell tart is known locally as Bakewell pudding. It was, supposedly, invented by accident in 1859. However similar puddings were made in the area as early as the 16th century and the 'accident' story is now seen as doubtful. Tarte tatin was invented in the 1880s. Pavlova was invented in the 1920s. Jaffa cakes went on sale in 1927. Twiglets date from 1929 and Penguins were introduced in 1932.

Several new biscuits were invented in the 19th century including the Garibaldi (1861), the Cream cracker (1885) and the Digestive (1892). In the 20th century new biscuits were introduced including the Bourbon (1910) and HobNobs (1986).

Weapons in The Ancient World

2010-04-28T00:34:00.000-07:00

Sumerian Weapons

The Sumerians lived in what is now Iraq. By 3,500 BC they had created a highly civilised society. The Sumerians fought with chariots pulled by donkeys. They also used bows and arrows. They also fought with spears, axes and clubs. Although they did not wear armour soldiers did wear leather jackets studded with bronze, which gave them some protection and they wore copper helmets and carried rectangular shields.

Egyptian Weapons

Egyptian soldiers went into battle protected only by wooden or leather shields. They fought with spears, swords, axes, daggers and clubs or maces. They also used slings and bows and arrows. (In skilled hands a sling is a very accurate and effective weapon).

In ancient Egypt most men fought on foot but after about 1,700 BC the army also had chariots. Each chariot carried two men, one to drive and one to shoot arrows. (In ancient Egypt horses were mainly used for war. Donkeys were used as pack animals).

However only the most important soldiers wore armour made of bronze.

Assyrian Weapons

The Assyrians lived in what is now Iraq. Between 900 BC and 612 BC they created a great empire in the Middle East. The Assyrians were the first people to use only iron weapons, which were superior to bronze ones.

They used a combination of chariots, cavalry and infantry. Each chariot carried a crew of 3, a driver, an archer and a shield bearer. Cavalry fought with bows and spears. Infantry fought with bows, spears, swords and slings.

The Assyrians also equipped their soldiers with sturdy boots, which helped on long marches.

Greek Weapons

Greek armies were based on infantry called hoplites. The hoplite had to buy his own armour and weapons so he usually came from the middle class.

Hoplites were protected by helmets, breastplates and backplates and shin guards called greaves. They carried round, bronze shields.

Hoplites carried 1.8 metre long spears made of wood with a metal point. They also carried swords and daggers.

When they went into battle Hoplites marched in lines with their shields overlapping to form a metal 'wall'.

Only the rich could afford horses so they provided the cavalry. Cavalrymen carried two throwing spears and a sword.

Poor men became archers or were armed with slings. They did not wear armour.

The Athenians also had a large navy. The ships were called triremes. They had three rows of oars. Two rows poked out of portholes. The third row was on the top deck. Ships were armed with a ram at the prow. (To try and ram enemy ships).

Roman Weapons

A Roman legionary wore a helmet called a cassis. His torso was protected by segmented armour called lorica segmentata. He was protected by a curved shield made of layers of wood covered in leather. A Roman shield was called a scutum.

He carried a throwing spear called a pilum but his main weapon was a short sword called a gladius. There were also auxiliary soldiers, both infantry and cavalry. When they finished their service (after 25 years) they became Roman citizens.

When they were on the move Roman soldiers marched at a steady pace. They covered 30 km a day. At the end of each day they built a camp. They dug a ditch and used the earth to make a rampart. An army on the move carried wooden stakes, which were erected on the rampart. The soldiers slept in tents.

Roman soldiers also formed a formation called a testudo (the Latin word for tortoise). They held their shields over their heads to form an interlocking 'roof'. (Soldiers at the front held their shields in front of them to form a 'wall'). The testudo protected soldiers from arrows and javelins.

Siege Weapons

The Assyrians lived in what is now Iraq. From 900 BC to 612 BC they ruled a great empire in the Middle East. They used battering rams inside a wooden vehicle on wheels. The ram was a long pole with a metal point. It was suspended on ropes and was swung to smash gates and walls.

The Assyrians also used siege towers made of wood and wickerwork, which were mounted on wheels and were pushed near to the walls of an enemy city. On top were archers who shot arrows into the enemy city.

Later the Macedonians invented a catapult powered by twisted rope. The rope was twisted tighter and tighter then released, firing a stone. It was later used by the Romans. They often called it an onager (wild ass).

The First Farmers

2010-04-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

The Agricultural Revolution

After 9,000 BC a great change came over the world. Previously humans lived by hunting animals and gathering plants. Then about 8,000 BC people began to grow wheat, barley, peas and lentils instead of gathering them wild. By 7,000 BC they domesticated sheep, pigs and goats. By 6,000 BC they also domesticated cattle.

Farming first began in the Fertile Crescent, which stretches from Israel north to southeast Turkey then curves southeast to the Persian Gulf. However agriculture was also invented independently in other parts of the world as well.

The invention of agriculture took place over millenia but it fundamentally changed human life. People began to live in settled communities instead of being nomadic or semi-nomadic. When the food supply improved the population increased. Most of all people developed new skills, first making pottery then using metals. Finally they invented writing.

Pottery was first made in the Middle East and North Africa about 7,000 BC. Pottery was, of course, no use to people living a nomadic or semi-nomadic life but it was very useful to people living in settled villages.

The First Towns

About 7,500 BC the world's first town was built at Jericho. It was protected by a 6 metre high wall. Before 6,000 BC a town was built at Catal Huyuk in southern Turkey. It consisted of houses made of mud brick. The houses had no front doors. Instead they had openings on the roofs with ladders. Inside walls were decorated with murals.

The Spread of Farming

Meanwhile by 5,000 BC Chinese farmers began growing millet and rice. By 5,000 BC farming had also begun in the Indus Valley. Then, about 3,500 BC people in Mexico began growing maize and beans.

Meanwhile farming spread from the Middle East to Europe. By about 4,000 BC people in central Europe were using oxen to pull ploughs and wagons. About the same time people in the Middle East began using donkeys as beasts of burden. Also about 4,000 BC horses were domesticated on the steppes of Eurasia.

Furthermore about 4,500 BC people began using copper. By about 3,500 they used bronze tools.

Meanwhile by 5,000 BC people had learned to dig canals to bring water from rivers to their crops. As a result they began to farm the arid lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates. It was here that the world's first civilisation arose.

A Brief History Of Farming

2010-04-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

The Farming Revolution

After 9,000 BC a great change came over the world. Previously humans lived by hunting animals and gathering plants. Then about 8,500 BC people began to grow wheat, barley, peas and lentils instead of gathering them wild. By 7,000 BC they domesticated sheep, pigs and goats. By 6,000 BC they also domesticated cattle.

Farming first began in the Fertile Crescent, which stretches from Israel north to southeast Turkey then curves southeast to the Persian Gulf. However agriculture was also invented independently in other parts of the world as well.

Meanwhile farming spread from the Middle East to Europe. By about 4,000 BC people in central Europe were using oxen to pull ploughs and wagons. About the same time people in the Middle East began using donkeys as beasts of burden. Also about 4,000 BC horses were domesticated on the steppes of Eurasia.

Farming in the Ancient World

Egypt was said to be the gift of the Nile. Each summer the Nile flooded and provided water to grow crops. For irrigation Egyptians used a device called shaduf. it was a 'see-saw' with a leather container at one end, which was filled with water and a counterweight at the other.

When the Nile flooded it also deposited silt over the land near the banks, which made the land very fertile once the water had subsided.

In contrast farmers in Greece were hampered by rocky soil. Nevertheless they grew barley and wheat. Greek farmers also grew olives (which were part of their staple diet) and they grew vines. Greek farmers also raised goats and sheep.

In France and England the Celts grew crops in rectangular fields. They raised pigs, sheep and cattle. They stored grain in pits lined with stone or wicker and sealed with clay. The Celts also brewed beer from barley.

In Israel farmers grew olives. They also grew crops of flax (for linen), wheat and barley. The people planted vegetables.

Grapes were also an important crop. So were pomegranates and figs.

Meanwhile shepherds looked after sheep and goats. Farmers also kept oxen and asses. Both were used for pulling ploughs. Oxen also threshed grain by walking on it.
The Chinese began farming about 5,000 BC. From about 5,000 BC rice was cultivated in southern China and millet was grown in the north. By 5,000 BC dogs and pigs were domesticated. By 3,000 BC sheep and (in the south) cattle were domesticated. Finally horses were introduced into China between 3,000 and 2,300 BC.

Under the Han Dynasty agriculture improved partly due to an increasing number of irrigation schemes, partly due to the increasing use of buffaloes to pull ploughs and partly due to crop rotation which was introduced into China about 100 BC.

Meanwhile in the Roman Empire most people continued to use the same methods of farming they had employed for centuries. The Romans grew, among other things, wheat, barley, grapes and olives. There were some large estates worked by slaves. However there were also many small farms worked by families.

In Roman France a harvesting machine called a gallus was invented. It was a box on wheels with horizontal blades at the front. The box was pushed by an ox. As it moved forward through the wheat the blades cut the heads of the crop and they fell into the box.

Saxon Farmers

The vast majority of Saxons made their living from farming. Up to 8 oxen pulled ploughs and fields were divided into 2 or sometimes 3 huge strips. One strip was ploughed and sown with crops while the other was left fallow.

The Saxons grew crops of wheat, barley and rye. They also grew peas, cabbages, parsnips, carrots and celery. They also ate fruit such as apples, blackberries, raspberries and sloes. They raised herds of goats, cattle and pigs and flocks of sheep.

However Saxon farming was very primitive. Farmers could not grow enough food to keep many of their animals through the winter so as winter approached most of them had to be slaughtered and the meat salted. The Saxons were subsistence farmers. (Farmers grew enough to feed themselves and their families and very little else). At times during the Saxon era there were terrible famines in England when poor people starved to death.

Farming in the Middle Ages

Things did not change much in the Middle Ages. For peasants life was one of toil. Most people in the Middle Ages lived in small villages of 20 or 30 families. The land was divided into 3 huge fields. Each year 2 were sown with crops while one was left fallow (unused) to allow it to recover. Each peasant had some strips of land in each field. Most peasants owned only one ox so they had to join with other families to obtain the team of oxen needed to pull a plough. After ploughing the land was sown. Men sowed grain and women planted peas and beans.

Most peasants also owned a few cows, goats and sheep. Cows and goats gave milk and cheese. Most peasants also kept chickens for eggs. They also kept pigs. Peasants were allowed to graze their livestock on common land. In the autumn they let their pigs roam in the woods to eat acorns and beechnuts. However they did not have enough food to keep many animals through the winter. Most of the livestock was slaughtered in autumn and the meat was salted to preserve it.

There were no fundamental changes to farming in England the 16th century. Nor were there any in the 17th century although new crops such as tomatoes and potatoes were introduced. (Both took a long time to be accepted). In England much of the Fens was drained for farming.

Farming in the Americas

Maize was the staple crop of the Aztecs. The Aztecs also grew tomatoes, avocados, beans and peppers, as well as pumpkins, squashes, peanuts and amaranth seeds. They also ate fruit such as limes and cactus fruits.

Aztecs food also included rabbits, turkeys and armadillos. They also ate dogs.

To grow food Aztec farmers did not have ploughs. However they did use tools like a digging stick, clod breaker and hoe. The Aztecs created small islands on marshy lakes. These were called chinampas. First plots of land were staked out with canals between them so they could be reached by canoe. The chinampa was built up in layers made of plants from the lake and mud from its bottom. The Aztecs planted willows around the edges of chinampas to make them more secure.

In the Inca Empire in the lowlands the staple food was maize. In the highlands it was potatoes. Incas also ate peppers, tomatoes and avocadoes. They also ate peanuts and a grain called quinoa.

Llamas and alpacas were kept for wool and for carrying loads but they were sometimes provided meat. Incas also ate guinea pigs.

Inca farmers did not have ploughs pulled by animals. Instead their main tools were digging sticks, clod breakers and hoes. In hilly regions Inca farmers terraced the land. They also irrigated crops. Inca farmers also used bird droppings called guano as fertiliser.

The Maya practiced 'slash and burn' agriculture. They cut down an area of forest and burned the trees. They Maya sowed crops in May and harvested them in November. However after a few years the soil would lose its fertility. The farmers would then 'slash and burn' another part of the forest. Meanwhile the abandoned area would become overgrown again.

Mayan farmers also drained swampy areas for farming. They dug canals for irrigation.

Mayan farmers did not have ploughs but they did use digging sticks.

Maize was the staple food of the Maya but they also grew beans, chillies, sweet potatoes and squashes. The Maya also ate fruit like papaya, watermelon and avocados.

The Maya also kept bees for honey.

18th Century Agriculture

During the 18th century agriculture was gradually transformed by an agricultural revolution. Until 1701 seed was sown by hand. In that year Jethro Tull invented a seed drill, which sowed seed in straight lines. He also invented a horse drawn hoe which hoed the land and destroyed weed between rows of crops.

Furthermore until the 18th century most livestock was slaughtered at the beginning of winter because farmers could not grow enough food to feed their animals through the winter months.

Until the 18th century most land was divided into 3 fields. Each year 2 fields were sown with crops while the third was left fallow (unused). The Dutch began to grow swedes or turnips on land instead of leaving it fallow. (The turnips restored the soil's fertility). When they were harvested the turnips could be stored to provide food for livestock over the winter. The new methods were popularised in England by a man named Robert 'Turnip' Townsend (1674-1741).

Under the 3 field system, which still covered much of England, all the land around a village or small town, was divided into 3 huge fields. Each farmer owned some strips of land in each field. During the 18th century land was enclosed. That means it was divided up so each farmer had all his land in one place instead of scattered across 3 fields. Enclosure allowed farmers to use their land more efficiently.

Also in the 18th century farmers like Robert Bakewell began scientific stockbreeding (selective breeding). Farm animals grew much larger and they gave more meat, wool and milk.

However despite the improvements in farming food for ordinary people remained plain and monotonous. For them meat was a luxury. They lived mainly on bread, butter, potatoes and tea.

19th Century Agriculture

In the early and mid-19th century farming in Britain propspered. In the mid-19th century it was helped by the rapid growth of towns (providing a huge market) and by railways. (The railways made it easier to transport produce).

Farming was also helped by new technology. Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) and John Lawes (1814-1900) introduced new fertilisers. Farmers also began using clay pipes to drain their fields.

Meanwhile Cyrus Mc Cormick (1809-1884) invented a reaping machine in 1834 and in 1837 John Deere (1804-1886) invented a steel plough. In 1856 John Fowler invented a steam plough.

However the good times for British farmers ended in the 1870s. In the USA a network of railways had been built and steamships were sailing across the Atlantic. The result was that American farmers could now move their grain to ports and it could be shipped to Britain. Cheap American grain helped ordinary people in the towns but it meant a depression in British farming. Furthermore at the end of the 19th century the invention of refrigeration meant meat could be imported from Australia and New Zealand.

20th Century Agriculture

In the 20th century British agriculture greatly increased production. There were a number of reasons why. New varieties of creal were introduced and from the 1940s new pesticides were developed. Also in the 1940s farmers began using artificial insemination. Farmers also used far more artificial fertilisers.

Farming also became mechanised. In the earlier 20th century tractors gradually replaced horses.Milking machines were rare in the early 20th century but they became common from the 1940s to the 1960s. From the 1950s combine harvesters became common.

The Incas

2010-04-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

THE INCA EMPIRE

The Incas ruled a great empire in South America - but only for a short time. At its peak the Incas Empire lasted less than a century before it was destroyed by the Spaniards.

In about 1300 the Incas founded their capital city of Cuzco. They were only a small tribe but they came to rule a vast empire including most of Peru and parts of Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and northwest Argentina. The expansion began in 1438 under their ruler Pachakuti and continued under his successors.

INCA LIFE

Inca Society

At the top of Inca society was the emperor, the Sapa Inca. (His title means unique Inca). The Incas believed their ruler was descended from the sun god and he was treated with great respect. Visitors had to remove their footwear if they approached the Sapa Inca and they had to carry a burden on their back to show their respect for him. When he travelled the Sapa Inca was carried in a litter.

Below the Sapa Inca were the nobles. Below them were a class of men called curacas. They were not necessarily Incas. When the Incas conquered a people they took the leader's sons and taught them to rule the Inca way. They then became curacas.

At the bottom of Inca society were the craftsmen and farmers.

Inca craftsmen made objects of gold, silver and copper. Stonemasons cut stone bricks for building using stone hammers and wet sand for polishing. Inca stone bricks fitted so closely they did not need mortar to hold them together.

Every aspect of Inca life was highly organised. Each person's life was divided into stages. At each stage they were expected to different tasks. Naturally adults in their prime were expected to do the hardest work. Children and old people did the easiest tasks.

All the people were part of extended families called Ayllus. Each one was ruled by a man called a curaca.

In theory the Sapa Inca owned all the land and wealth in the empire. The Sapa Inca gave farmers land to grow food. In return they had to do some work for him. The Sapa Inca reserved some land for himself and some was set aside to support the temples and priests. The Inca farmers had to pay a kind of tax by working of the Sapa Inca's and temples land. Sometimes they also had to work on projects like building roads and bridges.

Inca Government

The Inca empire was like a pyramid with the Sapa Inca at the top. The empire was divided into 4 regions ruled by men called opas. Below them there were more layers of government.

To help rule their vast empire the Incas created an efficient network of roads. The Incas also made rope suspension bridges. As well as the roads the Incas had messengers called chasquis. Messages were carried by relay. Groups of messengers lived in houses by main roads and at all times two of them kept lookout. If they saw another messenger approaching one of them would run to meet him. The two messengers would run together for a while and the message was passed on from one man to the other. Using this relay system messages could be sent over long distances very quickly. Inca messengers could take messages 240 kilometres in one day.

Furthermore although they never invented writing the Incas kept records with a device called a quipu. It was a cord with strings of different thickness and colours hanging from it. Knots were tied at different positions in the strings. The colour and thickness of the strings and the positions of the knots all meant something.

The Incas did not have prisons. Instead for serious crimes such as murder, stealing and blasphemy offenders were executed by being pushed off a cliff. Less serious crimes were punished by cutting off the hands or blinding.

Inca Religion

The Incas were polytheists (they worshipped several different gods). The most important god was Inti, the sun god. The Incas also worshipped Quilla the moon goddess, wife of the sun. They also worshipped Illapa god of thunder, who controlled the rain.

The Incas had a host of priests and priestesses to serve their gods in temples throughout the empire. Priests were also surgeons who performed simple operations. Patients chewed coca leaves to dull the pain. Priests bit the heads of a type of ant and used the jaws as clips to close wounds.

The Incas sometimes practised human sacrifice but it was rare.

Inca Warfare

Incas knew of the bow and arrow but they relied mainly on the sling and stone. It is a surprisingly accurate and deadly weapon.

Incas did not have swords but in hand to hand fighting they used wooden clubs tipped with stone or bronze.

Many Incas wore a costume of quilted cotton, which gave some protection against the wooden and stone weapons of other South American peoples. Some Inca soldiers also protected their backs and chests with plates of wood or metal. They also carried wooden shields.

The Inca army was supplied by a network of storehouses. They also had stone fortresses on mountains.

When the Incas killed their enemies they sometimes covered their skulls with gold and used them as drinking cups. They also made dead enemies teeth into necklaces and even made drums from human skin.

Inca Food

In the lowlands the staple food was maize. In the highlands it was potatoes. Incas also ate peppers, tomatoes and avocadoes. They also ate peanuts and a grain called quinoa.

Llamas and alpacas were kept for wool and for carrying loads but they sometimes provided meat. Incas also ate guinea pigs. They also fished and ate birds. However for most Incas meat was a luxury.

Incas drank a fermented drink called chicha. Ordinary Incas drank from bowls carved from gourds. Rich Incas drank from pottery vessels or even ones made from gold or silver.

Poor people ate off dishes placed on the ground. Inca nobles ate off a cloth on the ground. There were no tables.

Inca farmers did not have ploughs pulled by animals. Instead their main tools were digging sticks, clod breakers and hoes. In hilly regions Inca farmers terraced the land. They also irrigated crops. Inca farmers also used bird droppings called guano as fertiliser.

Inca Houses

Inca houses were very simple. They often consisted of just one room (although some houses did have an upper storey with a wooden floor). Inca homes did not have furniture. People sat and slept on reed mats or animal skins.

Doors and windows were trapezium shaped. (A trapezium is a four-sided shape with only two parallel sides). Roofs were thatched and there were no chimneys.

Rich Incas, of course, lived in much grander homes. Inca palaces sometimes had sunken stone baths.

Inca Clothes

Incas made clothes from wool or (in warmer areas) from cotton. Ordinary people wore coarse alpaca wool but nobles wore fine vicuna wool.

Inca men wore loincloths and tunics. Inca nobles wore gold ear plugs.

Inca women wore a long dress with a cloak on top fastened with a brooch.

Inca Children

Inca children were treated harshly to toughen them. They were severely punished if they misbehaved.

At about the age of 10 the most beautiful girls were selected to be chosen women or Aqllakuna. They were taken from their families and sent to a house of chosen women or Aqllawasi. They were taught the Inca religion and skills like cooking and weaving. When they were about 14 some of the girls became priestesses or they married important Incas or even the Sapa Inca himself (the Sapa Inca often had hundreds of wives).

Girls left behind learned skills like cooking and weaving from their mothers. When they reached their teens they were old enough to marry.

Boys learned farming, fishing and other trades. Noble boys had tutors called Amataus who trained them to rule. When they reached the age of 14 boys were given a loincloth which symbolised the fact that they were now young men.

THE CONQUISTADORS

The Inca Empire was destroyed by Spanish conquistadors (conquerors).

Even before the Conquistadors arrived smallpox began to spread among the Incas. They had no resistance to this European disease and many of them died. So the Inca Empire was weakened even before Pizarro came.

Worse the Inca Empire was afflicted by a civil war. When the emperor Huayna died in 1527 he did not name a successor. There were two claimants to the throne. Huayana had many wives. His 'chief' wife or coya had a son called Huascar. However he had an older brother called Atahualpa. His mother was one of Huyana's 'ordinary' wives.

The two half-brothers Huascar and Atahualpa fought a civil war. Atahualpa eventually won and he wreaked a terrible revenge on his enemies. However when the Spaniards came Atahualpa's surviving enemies were willing to join them against the emperor.

In 1532 a small force of Spaniards, 100 infantry and 67 cavalrymen arrived on the coast. They were led by Francisco Pizzaro (c.1475-1541). At first the Spaniards inspected the country then they entered a town called Cajamarca. Atahualpa was staying in a camp nearby.

Atahualpa was not afraid of the small group of strangers. After all he had thousands of soldiers at his command. However Pizzaro planned to kidnap him.

Atahualpa and several thousand bodyguards entered a square in the town. There were only a few entrances to the square, which were easily blocked. Furthermore the Spaniards hid guns in the buildings around the square.

A Spanish friar (friars were like monks) approached the Sapa Inca and offered him a bible. Atahualpa had never seen a book before and he threw it onto the ground. Angrily the friar called on the Spaniards to avenge what he thought was an insult to God.

The Spanish fired cannons and muskets and the cavalry charged. (Incas had never seen horses before and the sight of a man charging on a horse must have been terrifying). The Spaniards were also protected by steel armour and they carried steel swords. (Steel was a metal unknown to the Spaniards). The bodyguards had little chance against the Spaniards and thousands were slaughtered in the square. Atahualpa himself was taken prisoner.

The Inca Empire was rather like a pyramid with the Sapa Inca at the top. Orders flowed from him. Capturing him was rather like cutting the head from a body. Without him the Incas did not know what to do.

Eventually Atahualpa offered to fill a large room with gold and a small room with silver twice over if the Spaniards would let him go. In the meantime Spanish reinforcements arrived. However when the gold and silver was collected Pizzaro had no intention of letting the Sapa Inca go. He claimed that Atahualpa was plotting against him and the Sapa Inca was tried for treason and sentenced to death.

At first he was sentenced to be burned. Atahualpa was horrified because he believed his spirit would be destroyed if his body was burned and he could not enter the afterlife. Instead he agreed to be baptised a Christian and he was strangled with a rope.

The Spaniards then ruled through a puppet, which they made the Sapa Inca. However the puppet Sapa Inca soon became disenchanted and he fled from Cuzco. In 1536 he raised armies to besiege both Cuzco and Lima (which the Spaniards founded in 1535). However both sieges failed. The Incas besieged Cuzco again in 1537 but again failed.

However Inca resistance did not end. The puppet Sapa Inca fled to the east of Cuzco with his supporters and ruled a small Inca state called Vicambamba. It was finally conquered by the Spaniards in 1572.

The Australian Aborigins

2010-04-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

The Aborigines are believed to have arrived in Australia about 40,000 BC during an ice age when Australia was connected to Asia by a land bridge.

Tasmania was cut off from Australia around 8,000 BC when the last ice age ended and sea level rose.

The Aborigines were a hunter-gatherer society. However dingoes were domesticated by Aborigines about 4000-3,000 BC. The Aborigines hunted with wooden spears and sometimes with stone or bone blades. They also used nets.

As well as hunting mammals they hunted reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Aborigines also ate insects and eggs. They also hunted birds such as ducks, parrots, cockatoos and emus. Aborigines dug up roots and collected fruits and nuts. Although European settlers regarded them as primitive in fact Aborigines survived in Australia for tens of thousands of years and they had a rich culture.

Contact with Europeans was, of course, a disaster for the Aborigines. It began in 1770 when Captain Cook arrived in Botany Bay. He claimed the whole of Australia (or New South Wales) for Britain. To Cook and his contemporaries Australia was terra nullius or empty land (ignoring the Aborigines who lived there!).

The Tasmanian Aborigines

In 1803 there may have been about 8,000 Aborigines in Tasmania. Tasmanian Aborigines were hunter-gatherers. They hunted with spears and they also fished. They made simple huts of bark and they covered themselves with fat, ochre and charcoal to keep themselves warm.

Whites killed many especially during the 'Black War' of the 1820s. Others died of diseases introduced by Europeans. The 'warfare' between Whites and Aborigines began in 1804 with the 'battle' of Risdon Cove. About 300 Aborigines stumbled onto a European camp while hunting kangaroo and soldiers fired at them. Many more Aborigines were killed in the ensuing years.

The Governor of Tasmania from 1824 to 1837 was George Arthur. In the years 1828 to 1832 he declared martial law hoping to end the warfare between Whites and Aborigines. In 1830 he ordered all able-bodied white men to form a line across Tasmania and sweep across it forcing all the remaining Aborigines onto the Tasman Peninsula. However this move, known as the Black Line, failed.

Eventually a preacher named George Robinson agreed to try and persuade the remaining Aborigines to go to a reservation on Flinders Island. The surviving Aborigines agreed to go there. However they continued to die of disease and in 1847 the few survivors were allowed back onto Tasmania.

War With The Aborigines in Australia

When the first convicts and their guards were sent to Australia they were enjoined to 'live in amity and kindness' with the Aborigines. That of course did not happen. The Europeans came to drive the Aborigines off their land. Naturally the Aborigines resented this and fought back. However there were no pitched battles between Europeans and Aborigines. The Aborigines fought 'hit and run' raids and parties of Europeans went out to kill Aborigines.

One of the leaders of Aborigine resistance was Pemulwuy who fought the British from 1790 to 1802. However he was eventually shot. European diseases such as smallpox, influenza and measles to which they had no resistance also devastated the Aborigines. Intermittent 'warfare' between Whites and Aborigines continued for decades. As the Whites took more and more of the Aborigines hunting land for sheep tension grew and violence flared. Aborigines sometimes attacked settlers and took sheep. In retaliation Europeans sometimes massacred Aborigines.

One such massacre happened on 9 June 1838 when a group of 12 White men massacred a group of 28 Aborigine men, women and children who were peacefully camped near a hut belonging to 2 convicts. Of the 12 men 11 were brought to justice. At their first trial all 11 men were acquitted. However 7 were re-tried, found guilty and hung. It was rare for settlers to be prosecuted for killing Aborigines. Many (though not all) settlers regarded Aborigines as inferior and not fully human.

By the late 19th century people of European descent vastly outnumbered Aborigines. The number of Aborigines had fallen drastically since the beginning of the century. From the end of the 19th century until the 1960s half caste children were taken away from their parents and in 1918 a law forbade a White man to live with an Aborigine woman.

However the treatment of Aborigines improved in the late 20th century. From 1959 Aborigines were allowed welfare benefits and after 1962 they were allowed to vote. In 1971 Aborigines were included in the census for the first time.

A turning point in Australian history came in 1992 with the Mabo Judgement. Aborigines claimed that the island of Mer belonged to them and not to the crown. A court finally overturned the doctrine of terra nullius, the idea that Australia was empty when the Europeans arrived. In 1993 the government passed the Native Title Bill to clarify rights to ownership of land. However in 1993 came the Wik judgement, which said that even in the Queensland government leased land to pastoralists the Aborigines still had some right to use the land as long as they did not interfere with the pastoralists activities. In 1998 the government was forced to amend the 1993 Native Title Act. As a symbol of reconciliation between the different peoples of Australia over 250,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge on 28 May 2000.

Today the population of Australia is 21 million. In 2006 it was estimated that the aboriginal population was about 500,000 - about the same as it was when Europeans first arrived in Australia at the end of the 18th century.

The Maori

2010-04-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

The Maori arrived in New Zealand in the 10th century AD. They called the new land Aotearoa, which means Land of the Long White Cloud. The Maori brought dogs and rats. They also brought yams and kumara or sweet potatoes and gourds. The Maori also ate fern roots. There was also an abundance of seafood in New Zealand. The Maori hunted dolphins, whales and seals and they ate fish and shellfish. They also hunted large, flightless birds called moa - until they became extinct.

Maori society was tribal. Each person belonged to a family or whanau, a sub tribe or hapu and the full tribe or iwi. Warfare was common in New Zealand. The Maori built fortified settlements called pa. They fought with long wooden clubs called taiah and short wooden clubs called patu. They also fought with short jade clubs called mere. People captured in war became slaves.

The Maori are famous for their woodcarvings. They also make pendants or tikis from whalebone. The Maori are also famous for their tattoos or moko, which were made with a bone chisel, a mallet and blue pigment.

The first European to see New Zealand was a Dutchman called Abel Tasman who arrived in 1642. Ominously Europeans fought with the Maori and the Europeans were not keen to return. However the new land was named New Zealand after a Dutch province.

Europeans left New Zealand alone until 1769 when Captain James Cook arrived in his ship The Endeavour. The first encounters with the Maori were violent so Cook called the place Poverty Bay and sailed away. However later, at Mercury Bay, Cook managed to befriend the local Maori. He went on to circumnavigate New Zealand and to accurately map it. Cook made two more voyages to New Zealand in 1773 and 1777. Furthermore other European explorers came, French and Spanish.

Towards the end of the 18th century sealers began to sail to New Zealand. The first group arrived on South Island in 1792. Then, at the beginning of the 19th century whalers came to New Zealand. Sailors began to cut wood from New Zealand for masts and spas and a small group of Europeans settled there. In the early 19th century some Europeans began buying land from the Maori.

Moreover there were isolated conflicts between Maori and Europeans but generally relations were peaceful. The Maori traded food and flax for European goods - including muskets. Imported muskets made Maori warfare much more bloody. The so-called musket wars were fought between 1819 and 1825. Furthermore Europeans brought diseases to New Zealand to which the Maori had no resistance. On the other hand they did bring potatoes and pigs.

Meanwhile missionaries went to New Zealand. The first was Samuel Marsden who arrived in 1814. However at first the missionaries had little success. The first Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in 1838.

Then in 1817 the laws of New South Wales were extended to New Zealand. However, in reality there was little law and order among the European settlers and some of them appealed to the British government for help. So in 1833 the government sent a man named James Busby as 'official British Resident'. The British government were concerned about the way people were buying land from the Maori and they wanted it to be properly regulated. Busby's job was to unite the Maori tribes into a federation that the British could deal with. In 1838 Busby was replaced with a man named William Hobson.

At first the British government reluctant to make New Zealand a colony. However they changed their minds when they feared the French were about to do so. In 1840 William Hobson persuaded the Maori to accept annexation by the treaty of Waitangi. The Maori accepted the sovereignty of the British crown. In return the Maori became British subjects and they were guaranteed possession of their land. However despite the treaty the British and the Maori soon quarrelled. Also in 1840 Hobson made Auckland the capital of New Zealand.

Meanwhile the Maori grew disenchanted with the treaty of Waitangi and in 1844 a chief named Hone Keke cut down the British flag (symbol of British authority in New Zealand) several times. He sacked the town of Kororareka and he fought a 2-year war with the British. However he was eventually defeated.

The white population of New Zealand grew at a tremendous rate. By 1861 it was almost 100,000. By 1881 it was nearly 500,000. However the Maori were increasingly discontented. Some Maori in North Island appointed a king in 1858. In 1860 simmering Maori resentment broke out into war. The fighting dragged on until 1872. As a result of the war large amounts of land was confiscated from rebel tribes.

Furthermore the Maori suffered from diseases introduced to New Zealand by Europeans and their numbers declined drastically. In 1769, when Cook arrived, there were about 100,000 Maori. By 1896 their numbers had fallen to 42,000.

By 1956 the white population of New Zealand reached about 2 million. The Maori population was about 135,000.

However in 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act was passed. It formed a tribunal to examine Maori land claims. However many Maori continue to suffer deprivation.

The Goths

2010-04-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Goths were a German people. They originated in Scandinavia, but by the 2nd century of the Christian Era had moved into what is now Southern Russia. The Goths had adopted the habit of fighting on horseback. This arose from the fact that the first area the Goths invaded in the 2nd century AD were the vast plains of Eastern Europe and southern Russia. This was horse country and Goths quickly took to mounted warfare. This was aided by the fact that the stirrup was just being introduced into Europe and, more importantly, because the Goths considered warfare the ultimate experience, preferable to any other undertaking. Doing it on horseback was a lot more efficient. With horses, they could wage war faster and farther than they ever had in the past. While the Goths had speed, they did not have mass. They became like nomads, always on the move.

There were actually two groups of Goths, the Visigoths (meaning the "West Goths") and the Ostrogoths (the "East Goths"). The Goths first burst upon the scene of history in the 3rd Century, when they swarmed out of Southern Russia by both land and sea to beset the Roman Empire. After an heroic struggle, the Romans managed to drive them back to work on their military techniques a little more. In the mid-4th century the Goths were attacked by even wilder peoples, like the Huns The Visigoths sought security within the boundries of the Roman Empire, offering to help defend the Balkans in return for land, but the Emperor Valens spurned their offer. So they invaded, and in 378 overwhelmed a Roman army at Adrianople, using cavalry in combination with a fortified camp. The victory seems to have surprised the Visigoths almost as much as it did the Romans, for they agreed to settle in the Balkans and help defend them against other tribes. Within a century, the Visigoths had drifted westwards, to settle in southern Gaul (modern France) and Spain, where they set up a kingdom of their own.

Meanwhile, the Ostrogoths found themselves subjects of the Huns, and participated in the Hunnish invasions of Europe during the first half of the 5th century, fighting under Attila against their Visigothic cousins and the Romans at the great battle of Chalons in 451. The Huns and their allies lost this battle and thus began their rapid decline. With the collapse of the Hunnish empire, the Ostrogoths for a time settled in the Balkans, where they were more or less subject to the authority of the Eastern Roman Emperor. In 493 the Emperor "authorized" the Ostrogoths to occupy Italy, which was then under the control of still other Germanic babarians. Under their able king Theoderic, the Goths accomplished this in surprisingly short order, and established a kingdom of their own. This came to grief in the mid 6th century, when the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian decided to reestablish Imperial control over Italy: The war lasted over 20 years and brought absolute ruination to Italy. Thus did the Ostrogoths exit the scene.

The Visigothic kingdom in Spain (the Franks drove them out of most of France in the 6th century), proved a vigorous one. A more or less stable government was established, the province was rich, and Roman institutions remained pretty much intact. The knigdom flourished, producing such worthies as St. Isidore of Seville. But in 711 the Islamic warrior chief Taric led a raid across the Straits of Hercules (now the Straits of Gibraltar). This came at a time when there considerable disorder in Visigothic Spain, a civil war just then being in progress. The raid was reinforced, and within just a few years Visigothic Spain was no more, submerged beneath an Islamic tide. However, Roman and Visigothic fugitives established small states in the mountains of northern Spain, which became the nuclei from which the reconquista was undertaken.

The Goths left a considerable heritage. Perhaps their most lasting influence was linguistic, for both Italian and Spanish are strongly influenced by Gothic words, one of the reasons that the two diverge so greatly from French.

Delphi

2010-04-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

Apollo squinted in the bright sunlight and calmly tensed his muscles as he pulled his bow. He released his arrows one after the other until Python's blood was spilled and his life escaped in the thin air. Python-dragon,the faithful guardian of Ge's sacred ground, had guarded the hill for hundreds of years until his encounter with "far-reaching" Apollo. The new god despite his serene nature, or perhaps because of it, was triumphant in the epic battle, and with his victory he gained the right to call the rolling slopes of Delphi his sanctuary.

Oracle at Delphi

Delphi was inhabited since Mycenaean times (14th - 11th c. B.C.) by small settlements who were dedicated to the Mother Earth deity. The worship of Apollo as the god of light, harmony, and order was established between the 11th and 9th centuries. Slowly over the next five centuries the sanctuary grew in size and importance. During the 8th c. B.C. Delphi became internationally known for the Oracular powers of Pythia--the priestess who sat on a tripod, inhaled ethylene gasses, and muttered incomprehensible words that foretold the future.

The ancient people of the Mediterranean had such faith in Pythia's view of the future that no major decision was made without consulting the Oracle of Delphi first. Greek and foreign dignitaries, heads of state, and common folk made the pilgrimage to the Delphi sanctuary, and paid great sums for Pythia's oracles. Since the sanctuary only served the public a few days over nine months out of the year, great sums were paid by the more affluent ones in order to bypass the long line of pilgrims.

Plutarch served as a priest at Delphi, and in his histories he has left many details about the inner workings of the sanctuary. Pythia entered the inner chamber of the temple ("Adyton"), sat on a tripod and inhaled the light hydrocarbon gasses that escaped from a chasm on the porous earth. After falling into a trance, she muttered words incomprehensible to mere mortals. The priests of the sanctuary then interpreted her oracles in a common language and delivered them to those who had requested them. Even so, the oracles were always open to interpretation and often signified dual and opposing meanings.

"You will go you will return not in the battle you will perish" was an example of this duality of meaning. The above sentence can be interpreted two different ways depending where the comma can be placed. If a comma is placed after the word "not" the message is discouraging for him who is about to depart for war. If on the other hand the comma is placed before the word "not", then the warrior is to return alive.

Delphi Sanctuary

Such was the importance of the Oracle at Delphi that the ancients believed it to be the center ("Omphalos") of the world. The oracle advised the great Persian Kings of the time, and when the Persians were poised to sack Athens, Themistokles turned the advice of the Oracle to a winning strategy that led to the Greeks' victory in the naval battle of Salamina. The Oracle had simply advised that "wooden walls" would aid to victory, and Themistokles interpreted walls to mean the wooden ships of the Athenian fleet.

To commemorate the triumph of Apollo over Python the sanctuary organized the Pythian Games every four years which were athletic events much like the Olympics. In the 20th century Angelos Sikelianos organized a modern version of the Delphic games.

From the 7th c. B.C. and at least until the 4th c., the sanctuary of Delphi was part of the Amphictyonia. The Amphictyonia alliance protected the site from many invaders, and above all it prevented the Phocians who lived in the surrounding land from controlling it. In 356 B.C. the Phocians allied with the Athenians and the Spartans captured the sanctuary of Delphi, and in desperate need to finance their war they stripped the temples from the precious offerings. They held control of the grounds only for a short time until king Philip of Macedon liberated the sanctuary.

In 339 B.C. Philip interfered once again against the Amphictyonic alliance when the Krissans trespassed on Apollo's sacred grounds. Philip punished the Krissans, and consequently in 338 c. B.C. defeated the combined armies of the Athenians and the Spartans, thus becoming the dominant force in Greek affairs.

The sanctuary of Delphi fell into Roman hands in 191 B.C, and was stripped of its treasures by General Sylla in 86 B.C. in order to finance his siege of Athens, and three years later Delphi was razed by the Thracian Maedi who -legend has it- extinguished the sacred fire which had been burning uninterrupted for centuries.

Despite some building revivals by the Romans, the Oracle of Delphi lost its influence over the next few centuries, and its spiritual fire was gradually extinguished as Apollo's worship was replaced by a new religion imported from the East: Christianity.

Alexandria and It's Library

2010-04-24T18:45:00.001-07:00

Alexander the Great hoped that Alexandria, the city at the mouth of the Nile that he founded and helped plan, would become a center of trade and culture for the Mediterranean basin. Less than fifty years after its founding in 331 BC, the booming metropolis had become a sophisticated hub of commerce, due in large part to its famed Great Library.

Soon after Alexander's unexpectedly early death in 323 BC, his expansive empire dissolved into three major regions. One of his closest friends and ablest generals, Ptolemy, was at the time de facto governor of Egypt. He took control of the reins of that ancient land, eventually becoming pharaoh ( as Ptolemy I Soter) and, thus, continuing the Greek presence in Egypt began by Alexander. It was Ptolemy that intercepted Alexander's funerary procession, bound for Macedonia, and brought his mortal remains to Alexandria for internment. Besides personal glory and luxurious living, however, the early Ptolemaic rulers were, to their credit, also interested in improving the culture of their city and its land. Alexandria, Egypt's new capital, was already the center of commerce for the known world: they wanted it to become the intellectual capital as well. To this end Alexandria's Great Library was conceived and built.

The Great Library was mankinds' first center of scholastic learning and research. The brilliant minds of antiquity here laid the foundations for the systematic study of astronomy, geography, literature, mathematics, medicine, and physics. It was here that Euclid first defined geometry and Eratosthenes accurately measured the circumference of the earth, arguing that India could be reached by sailing westward from Spain. The Ptolemaist devoted much of their time and energy, and a small portion of their wealth, to obtaining copies of every important manuscript know to man. To this end a law was passed proclaiming that every caravan and ship entering Alexandria was to be searched - not for contraband, but for articles of learning. Any map or scroll found was turned in to the library so that scribes could copy it as pictured below.

Thus, Alexandria's scholarly haven eventually cataloged papyri scrolls, including many now-lost masterpieces of art, literature and science, such as classics by Homer, Aristotle, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides. But all was not letters of learning. The legendary library's ground also boasted botanical gardens and a museum, as well a temple to the nine muses (Greek gods and goddesses of the arts and science). A short stroll along a garden-lined palisade would take one to a zoo no doubt containing many exotic animals Many were the ancient scholars that walked its colonnaded passages.

What led to the Great Library's demise is not completely clear. A good portion of its priceless works was evidently destroyed in a fire that occurred when Julius Caesar torched the ships of Cleopatra VII's brother. By the fourth century AD, as Christianity influence was spreading, most of the remaining manuscripts of the Library were, apparently, destroyed in an effort to stamp out all relics of paganism and heresy. Later, in 640 AD, Arabs that swept through the almost abandoned city probably burned for fuel whatever scrolls had survived. Of the 123 plays of Sophocles that were known to be in the Great Library, only seven remain today.

Pharos lighthouse

Even though Alexandria's location was ideal for a commercial port, with lots of coastline and a large natural harbor, its points of egress were rife with dangerous sandbars. It was, therefore, conceived that a tall lighthouse on Pharos Island, near the mouth of the harbor, would not only be of benefit to mariners, but (at least if magnificent enough) would also be a wondrous new attraction to boost Alexandria's renown.

The Pharos Lighthouse, as it came to be known, was partially constructed largely of Proconnesian white marble, much of it imported from Princes' Island off the Coast of present-day Turkey. It was built in three large tiers: the base, or lower tier, was quadrangular: the middle tier was octagonal: the top-most tier was cylindrical. A mammoth spiral stairway leading to the top even allowed pack animals to haul wood to the top to feed the bright fire that burned there. Topping the spectacular structure was (by some accounts) a statue of Poseidon; another account contends it was an image of Zeus - or, perhaps, a statue of both of them.

The construction of Alexandria's Pharos Lighthouse was begun by the first Ptolemy (Auletes), but wasn't finished until 283 BC during the reign of his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. By all accounts, it was an incredible sight, more than worthy of being one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

This monument's ultimate demise was brought about not by the hand of man, but by a series of earthquakes that rocked the region. Its top-most tier tumbled down during a severe quake in 303 AD. However, it was not until a massive trembler, on August 8th, 1303, that most of the remaining structure came down to be swallowed up by the surrounding waters. Today, a fort built by the Mamluk sultan Oait Bey can be seen on Pharos Island, where the wondrous lighthouse once stood.

A Brief History Of USA : PART FOUR THE MODERN USA

2010-04-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

After World War II the USA was by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world. However relations between the USA and the Soviet Union quickly cooled after 1945. By 1947 the Cold War had begun.

In 1946 the British were helping the Greek government fight communist guerrillas. However Britain was exhausted after World War II and could not continue. On 12 March 1947 Truman announced that the USA must 'support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.' Truman hoped the aid would be primarily financial. The USA gave money to both Greece and Turkey. The USA also provided massive aid for Europe, which was devastated by war. The aid given was called the Marshall Plan after Secretary of State George C. Marshall who first proposed aid for Europe in June 1947. The aid was given in 1948-1951 and it greatly assisted European recovery. However in 1950 the USA was drawn into the Korean War.

THE FAIR DEAL

In his domestic policy Truman tried to extend the New Deal (his policies became known as the 'Fair Deal'. but he was frustrated by Congress which refused to pass most of his proposed laws. However in 1946 the Employment Act committed the federal government to the aim of full employment. In 1949 Congress increased the minimum wage and extended state benefits to another 10 million people. Furthermore in 1949 the Housing Act provided for slum clearance and for public housing for more than 800,000 people.

McCARTHYISM

The early 1950s was the era of McCarthyism. At that time there was a great fear of communist infiltration. In 1946 Winston Churchill announced that an 'iron curtain' was descending across Europe. Puppet communist regimes were installed in Eastern Europe in countries like Hungary and Bulgaria.

However in Czechoslovakia elections were held. For a time democratic government ruled the country. Yet in 1948 it was overthrown by a communist coup.

Fear was fanned by the case of Alger Hiss. He had been a high-ranking government official. In 1948 a former communist called Whittaker Chambers told the House Un-American Activities Committee (which investigated 'un-American' activity) that Hiss was a spy for the Soviet Union. Hiss denied the charge. He could not be arrested for spying because of a statute of limitation. However he was charged with perjury and he was convicted in January 1950. The case increased fears of communist subversion.

Furthermore in 1949 the Russians exploded an atomic bomb. The American people were shocked to hear that spied had helped the Russians to develop a bomb by leaking them information.

Into this atmosphere of fear stepped Senator Joseph McCarthy 1908-1957. In February 1950 McCarthy claimed that he had a list of communists employed by the State Department. McCarthy then began a witch-hunt in which many people lost their jobs. However eventually McCarthy overreached himself and he began to accuse too many important people. Public support ebbed away and in December 1954 McCarthy was finally censored by the Senate.

Despite McCarthy the 1950s were a prosperous period for America. Unemployment was low, living standards rose and TV. became common. The USA launched its first satellite in 1958. However the prosperity was not shared by everyone.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The struggle for civil rights really began in the 1950s. In the south at that time schools were segregated. In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as equal facilities were provided for both groups. In reality, of course, facilities for black people were always inferior. In 1954 the Supreme Court recognised this and overturned the previous decision. However most white people in the south were strongly opposed to desegregation and they dragged their feet. In 1957 when Little Rock Central High School was desegregated 9 black students were prevented from entering, first by the Arkansas National Guard then by the local people. Eventually Eisenhower had to send troops to allow the black students to enter.

In the south most people did not register to vote. In 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts were passed to try and remove obstacles to them doing so. Neither was very successful.

However black Americans or African Americans had great success with non-violent campaigning. In 1955 Montgomery Alabama had a law, which said black people must sit at the back of buses. In December 1955 a woman called Rosa Parks sat at the front of a bus and refused to move. She was arrested. Black people then organized a boycott of the buses. Finally segregation on buses was ruled unconstitutional. One of the leaders of the boycotts was to become famous. He was the Baptist Minister Martin Luther King 1929-1968.

In 1960 black students in Greensboro, North Carolina were refused service in a restaurant. They then staged a sit-in. The sit-in movement quickly spread to shops, hotels, theatres and parks and had some success in forcing them to desegregate.

In 1962 President Kennedy sent troops to the State University of Mississippi to enforce a court order that a black student should be admitted.

In 1963 a quarter of a million people marched on Washington to demand civil rights legislation. Martin Luther King made a speech beginning with the immortal words 'I have a dream', in which he outlined his vision of racial harmony.

However black campaigners met with violence. In 1963 a campaigner named Medgar Evers was shot and killed. Also in 1963 a bomb exploded in a Baptist church in Birmingham Alabama, killing four black girls. In 1965 the militant black leader Malcolm X was assassinated.

In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act which gave all people equal rights in voting, education, public accommodation and federally assisted programs.

However in 1965 black anger and resentment boiled over into rioting. Riots in Los Angeles left 34 people dead. More riots followed in 1966 and in 1967. On 4 April 1968 the great orator Martin Luther King was assassinated. His death provoked further riots.

Native Americans also began to protest about their treatment. In 1968 they formed the American Indian Movement. In 1969 they occupied Alcatraz Island. In 1972 they marched on Washington in the Trail of Broken Treaties and occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1973 they occupied Wounded Knee village.

JOHN F. KENNEDY AND LYNDON B. JOHNSON

In the early 1960s Kennedy strengthened the US armed forces. He also committed the USA to landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Kennedy also created the Peace Corps, which sent volunteers to help with various educational, economic and welfare schemes in poor countries.

In his foreign policy Kennedy agreed to a plan to send 1,500 Cuban refugees to overthrow Cuba. The refugees landed at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and were quickly routed by the Cuban forces. After that fiasco came the Cuban missiles crisis. The Russians placed long-range missiles on Cuba that were capable of hitting the USA. In 1963 Kennedy also signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was ratified by the Senate in June 1963. Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963.

Lyndon B. Johnson called for an 'all out war on poverty', recognising that while the USA was the richest country in the world a considerable part of her population were poor. During his presidency several important acts were passed, which it was hoped would tackle the roots of poverty. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 provided for adult education and job training. The Medicare Act of 1965 provided health and hospital insurance for over 65s. The Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided aid for schools with large numbers of poor and deprived children. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally removed obstacles to black people voting. It banned the use of literacy tests and gave the federal government power to oversee voter registration and elections in certain circumstances.

THE VIETNAM WAR

In the early 20th century the French ruled Vietnam but in 1941 it was occupied by the Japanese. The Americans did not approve of European colonialism and had no wish to see Vietnam handed back to the French after the war. Nevertheless after World War II the French tried to rule Vietnam again. However they were opposed by communist guerrillas.

With the onset of the Cold War American sympathy for the Vietnamese cooled and from 1950 financial aid was given to the French to prop up their rule in Vietnam. Senator John Kennedy said that the USA had 'allied itself to the desperate effort of the French regime to hang on to the remnants of an empire'. He was soon proved right. In 1954 the French were utterly defeated by the guerrillas at Diem Bien Phu. Afterwards they withdrew and Vietnam was split into north and south. In the late 1950s communist guerrillas infiltrated the south. After they attacked US installations in October 1957 the USA began to provide the South Vietnamese dictator with money and materials.

In the 1960s American policy in Vietnam was influenced by the 'domino theory', which said that if one country fell to communism neighbouring states would also fall. American involvement in Vietnam really began in 1961 when Kennedy sent the first soldiers.

American involvement increased after August 1964 when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked US warships. Congress agreed to a resolution allowing the president to 'take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression in Southeast Asia'. As a result American forces in South Vietnam rapidly increased and reached half a million by the end of 1967. The USAF also carried out strategic bombing of the north. However the Vietcong continued to fight a successful guerrilla war. The Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular at home. From 1965 onwards anti-war demonstrations were held. Then on 30 January 1968 came the Tet offensive. The Vietcong attacked towns and cities in South Vietnam. Eventually they were repulsed but American public opinion hardened. On 3 April 1968 peace talks began. From 1970 President Nixon slowly withdrew US troops from South Vietnam proposing to let the South Vietnamese defend themselves. The last US troops left in 1973.

WATERGATE

The USA was also troubled when its President became involved in a scandal and was forced to resign.

On 17 June 1972 five men broke into the Democratic Party Headquarters in the Watergate Building. The five were arrested. Later two other men, both former White House officials, were also arrested. All the men worked for the Committee for Re-election of the President or CREEP. However President Richard Nixon denied that his administration had anything to do with the break in.

The seven men were all convicted but at the sentencing in March 1973 one of them claimed the White House had arranged a 'cover up' of its involvement in the break in. Subsequently investigations revealed that a number of White House staff were involved in planning the break in and in arranging a 'cover up'.

Nixon firmly denied that he was personally involved in any attempted 'cover up'. However he refused to surrender tapes of conversations in his private office, which would prove his guilt or innocence. In April 1974 he agreed to hand over edited versions. In July 1974 the Supreme Court ordered him to hand over all relevant tapes. On 5 August 1974 Nixon surrendered tapes which made it clear that he was involved in an attempted 'cover up'. Having lost all support Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974.

After Vietnam and the Watergate scandal the USA suffered a recession in the mid-1970s. Unemployment rose to 8.5% in 1975. Despite its troubles the United States remained by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world.

THE USA TODAY

In 1980 the USA was in the grip of a recession. However in the mid and late 1980s the economy grew steadily. Unemployment was almost 11% in 1982. It fell to 7% in 1985 and 5.5% in 1988. In 1999 it stood at 4.2%. Meanwhile inflation fell from 12.5% in 1980 to 4.4% in 1988.

Meanwhile the Cold War came to a sudden end in 1989 when communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 leaving the USA the world's only superpower.

In the 1990s and effort was made to roll back the welfare state. In 1996 the Welfare Reform Act was passed. Today it is estimated that 12.5% of the US population live in poverty. Although compared to most of the world the American people enjoy a very high standard of living.

In 2001 the USA suffered a terrorist attack but it quickly recovered and remains the world's only superpower.

In the late 20th century the population of the USA grew very rapidly, partly due to immigration. Today the population of the USA is more than 300 million.

A Brief History Of USA : PART THREE THE RISE OF THE SUPERPOWER

2010-04-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

In the late 19th century the population of the USA grew very rapidly. In 1860 the population was 31 million. By 1900 it was almost 76 million. Immigrants from Europe poured into the USA hoping for a better life. Many were lured by the Homesteader Act of 1862. Settlers were offered 160 acres of land free provided they agreed to till it for 5 years. (However Chinese immigration into the USA was ended by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882).

American industry also boomed. In the late 19th century the USA was the fastest growing industrial nation in the world. By the end of the century it had surpassed Britain in production of iron and steel. The American railroad network also grew rapidly. In 1850 there were 9,000 miles of railways. By 1900 there were 190,000 miles. The first transcontinental railroad was built in 1869.

Meanwhile, in 1859, Edwin Drake (1819-1899) struck oil in Pennsylvania. Soon there was a flourishing oil industry in Pennsylvania. The first oil pipeline was built in 1865.

In 1874 Levi Strauss began making riveted jeans.

An increasing number of Americans lived in cities. By 1900 almost 1/3 of them did. by then there were more than 40 cities with a population of over 100,000. (It wasn't until 1920 that the majority of Americans lived in cities). Conditions in the industrial cities were often appalling. Many people lived in overcrowded slums.

Meanwhile American agriculture continued to boom. It was helped by new technology. Cyrus McCormick invented a mechanical reaper in 1834. John Deere (1804-1886) invented the steel plough in 1838. In 1854 the first successful self-governing windmill (that changed direction automatically to face the wind) was made. In 1874 barbed wire was patented.

THE PLAINS INDIANS

Westward expansion inevitably meant wars with the plains Indians. From the 1860s to the 1880s a series of wars were fought.

Eventually all the Indian Wars were won by the whites because of their superior technology. They also hunted the buffalo, the main food supply, almost to extinction. The plains tribes such as the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux were all forced to move onto reservations.

Conditions on the reservations were appalling. Rations were inadequate and in some cases there was near starvation. Then in 1888 a Pauite Indian called Wovok claimed he was the messiah. He claimed that soon North America would be restored to the Natives and the plains would run black with buffalo again. His followers did the ghost dance. This new religious movement alarmed the white men. It ended with a massacre at Wounded Knee on 29 December 1890. Soldiers were sent to disarm a group of Indians but one man refused to surrender his gun. Somebody started shooting and the rest of the soldiers followed killing many Indians (possibly as many as 350). The massacre at Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars and the final triumph of the white man.

Meanwhile in 1881 Helen Hunt Jackson published A Century of Dishonour which showed how unjustly the native people had been treated. However in 1887 the Dawes Act was passed. It stated that tribal lands should be divided up into individual holdings. The intention was to undermine the tribal way of life and force the natives to adopt the white way of life. Furthermore after the land was divided a great deal was left over. It was declared 'surplus' and sold. As a result the amount of land held by Indians declined drastically.

The year 1890 was significant for another reason. By then the frontier had disappeared as settlers moved across the continent.

In the late 19th century several new states were added to the union. West Virginia was admitted in 1863. Nevada followed in 1864. Nebraska was admitted in 1867. It was followed by Colorado in 1876. In 1889 four new states were admitted to the union, North and South Dakota, Montana and Washington. In 1890 Idaho and Wyoming were admitted. Utah followed in 1896.

THE SPANISH WAR

In 1898 the USA fought a war with Spain. In the 1890s Cuba rebelled against Spanish rule and the Spanish dealt with the rebels very harshly. That enraged American public opinion. On 15 February 1898 an American battleship, Maine, blew up in Havana Harbour, killing 260 men. It is not certain what caused the explosion but many people blamed the Spanish. On 25 April 1898 the USA went to war. On 1 May Spanish ships were destroyed in Manila Harbour. US soldiers landed in the Philippines and they captured Manila on 13 August. Meanwhile a Spanish fleet was destroyed outside Santiago on 3 July. US soldiers landed in Cuba and captured Santiago on 17 July. The last Spanish troops in Cuba surrendered on 26 July. An armistice was signed on 14 August. By a peace treaty, which was signed in Paris on 10 December 1898, Cuba became independent while the USA took the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The Spanish War proved the USA was now a great power. By 1910 the USA had overtaken Britain as the richest and most powerful nation in the world. By then the population of the USA had reached 92 million.

20TH CENTURY USA

In the early 20th century three new states were admitted to the union, Oklahoma in 1907 and Arizona and New Mexico in 1912.

Also in the early 20th century the USA built the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt decided to build a canal across Panama in 1902. In 1903 the USA leased a 6-mile wide canal zone for 99 years. The canal was built in the years 1904-1914.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

When the First World War began in 1914 the USA remained neutral. However Germany alienated American public opinion on 7 May 1915 when a German submarine sank the Cunard liner Lusitania, without warning. Among the 1,198 people killed were 128 Americans. Nevertheless Woodrow Wilson fought the 1916 election partly on the slogan 'he kept us out of the war'.

However on 1 February 1917 Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare. That meant that any neutral ship attempting to trade with Britain was a target for submarines. Furthermore British intelligence intercepted a telegram from Arthur Zimmerman, German Foreign Secretary. It stated that in the event of a war between Germany and the USA efforts should be made to persuade Mexico to attack the USA. The Mexicans were offered parts of the USA as a reward if they did so.

On 6 April 1917 the USA declared war on Germany. America had a strong navy but a relatively small army. However conscription was introduced and the USA began to raise a huge army. The first US soldiers were sent to France in June 1917 but it was the Spring of 1918 before large numbers arrived. By September the US commander General John J. Pershing was able to begin an offensive against the Germans. In September 1918 US troops destroyed a German salient at St Mihiel. They then launched an attack on the Meuse-Argonne area. German troops were pushed back until Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918.

Meanwhile women gained the vote. In April 1917 only 11 states allowed women to vote. However in 1918 the House adopted the 14th amendment, which allowed women to vote. It was ratified in 1919 and came into effect in 1920.

The early 20th century saw internal migration in the USA. Many black people moved from the south to the north especially to the big cities. The National Association For The Advancements of Colored Peoples was founded in 1909 to improve conditions for black people. However there were race riots in several cities in 1919.

However immigration into the USA was severely restricted after 1921 when the Emergency Quota Act was passed.

THE 1920s

For most people (not all) the 1920s were a time of prosperity. In 1912 only 16% of homes had electric light. By 1927 it had risen to 63%. Electrical appliances became common, refrigerators, irons and fans. Radios also became common. By 1930 40% of homes had one. Cars also became common in the 1920s. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world.

The 1920s were also the era of prohibition. The eighteenth amendment was ratified in 1919 and came into force in 1920. It banned the 'manufacture, sale or transportation' of alcohol. However people simply made alcohol illegally and drank it in 'speakeasies'. Worse, prohibition boosted organised crime as gangsters tried to control the supply of alcohol. Prohibition ended in 1933.

THE WALL STREET CRASH

In 1929 the American economy began to falter. Demand for new cars fell and house building slowed down. However the stock market continued to boom in the late 1920s. Many people bought stocks with borrowed money. As a result the stock market became inflated. Prices rose to a very high level. However, inevitably, some people began to sell. From mid-September prices fell. On 24 October 1929, known as Black Thursday, panic selling began and prices fell catastrophically, an event known as the Wall Street Crash. Business confidence disappeared, banks failed and industry slumped. By 1932 industrial production in the USA had fallen by half and exports fell to one third of their 1929 level. Unemployment went through the roof. By 1932 about one quarter of the work force was unemployed. When people lost their jobs they could no longer buy goods and demand fell so more people lost their jobs. There had been economic slumps in America before but his one was more severe than anything previously experienced. It was known as the Depression.

THE DEPRESSION

President Hoover did try and help. He persuaded employers to maintain wages at their present levels. He also increased spending on roads, bridges and public buildings. However Hoover refused to introduce federal unemployment relief. He believed in what he called 'Rugged individualism'. He believed too much state help would make people dependent.

For the unemployed life during the depression was very harsh. Many were reduced to attending soup kitchens run by charities. (The soup was sometimes called 'Hoover stew'. Destitute people lived in shantytowns they called Hoovervilles. Hoover became deeply unpopular and in 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President.

THE NEW DEAL

Roosevelt assured the American people that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. He promised the American people 'A New Deal'. However between 1933 and 1939 he had only limited success. Unemployment fell to between 14% and 15% by 1937. However in that year the economy dipped again. (It was called the recession) and unemployment rose to 17%. However industrial production rose to its 1929 level again by 1939.

At first Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass a number of laws in a hectic period known as 'The Hundred Days'. One of the first things Roosevelt did was to close all the banks in the USA by law. The Emergency Banking Act of 9 March 1933 meant they would only open again if the Federal government declared they were solvent. This measure persuaded people it was safe to deposit their savings in banks. Restoring faith in banks was the first step to dealing with the depression.

On 12 May 1933 the Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed to help the unemployed. The states were given grants to provide work like repairing roads and improving parks and schools.

Also in 1933 Roosevelt founded the civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men on conservation projects. A Public Works Administration was created which built public buildings, bridges and dams. Also the Tennessee Valley Authority was created to build dams and hydroelectric plants.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 tried to raise the price of farm produce by reducing supply. Land was set aside and deliberately not used. In 1937 the Farm Security Administration was formed to lend money to tenant farmers to buy their land.

However farmers on the plains suffered terribly during the depression. Over planting, overgrazing and a drought combined to create a 'dust bowl'. Many farmers abandoned the land and went to California in search of work.

In 1935 the Social Security Act created old age pensions and an unemployment insurance scheme. Also in 1935 the National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act upheld workers right to collective bargaining. In 1938 a Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage.

Despite all of Roosevelt's efforts the depression only ended with the coming of war.

THE APPROACH OF WAR

In 1940 Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. In response Roosevelt started to expand American armed forces. He introduced conscription. Although American public opinion was opposed to joining the war Roosevelt declared that America must be 'the arsenal of democracy'. In January 1941 he introduced the lend-lease bill to Congress. It empowered him to sell, lend or lease arms, food or any other supplies to any country whose defence he deemed vital to the United States. At first lend-lease applied only to Britain but in August Roosevelt extended it to Russia. US troops also occupied Iceland.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. On 11 December 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the USA.

The USA mobilised all its resources for war. Industrial output doubled during World War II and by 1943 there was full employment. Only 2,000 aircraft were made in 1939 but by 1944 the figure was 96,000. The American public suffered less than people in other countries because the USA escaped occupation of air raids.

During World War II many black people migrated from the south to the north and west. Black people became increasingly dissatisfied with their position in American society. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples increased its membership. The Congress for Racial Equality was formed in 1942.

From March 1942 people of Japanese descent, on the west coast, were interned. By September over 100,000 of them had been moved inland. Yet many Japanese Americans served in the US armed forces.

The USA's massive industrial strength made the defeat of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) inevitable. Unfortunately Roosevelt did not live to see the end of the war. He died on 12 April 1945.

to be continue...

A Brief History Of USA : PART TWO THE EARLY USA

2010-04-24T01:42:00.000-07:00

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR

At first sight the British had many advantages. They greatly outnumbered the Americans and had much greater resources. However they were handicapped by long lines of communication. (In those days it took a sailing ship 6 to 8 weeks to cross the Atlantic). The British won the battle of Long Island in August 1776 and in September 1776 they captured New York. Washington was forced to retreat. However Washington won victories at Trenton in December 1776 and at Princeton in January 1777. The Americans were defeated at Brandywine in September 1777 but they won a decisive victory at Saratoga in October. A British force led by Burgoyne marched south from Canada but was surrounded and forced to surrender.

Saratoga convinced the French that the Americans might win the war. As a result they declared war on Britain, their traditional enemy in 1778. French naval activity in the Atlantic made it even harder for the British to supply their forces in America. Spain declared war on Britain in 1779 and the Dutch declared war in 1780. The Spanish and Dutch tied down British forces in Europe.

Furthermore the Americans won victories at Kings Mountain in October 1780 and at Cowpens in January 1781. Cornwallis, the British Commander, unwisely concentrated his forces on the coast at Yorktown, Virginia. However the French navy blockaded him while the Americans besieged him from the land. The British were forced to surrender. Yorktown was a catastrophic defeat for the British and ended any hope of them ending the war. Nevertheless it continued for 2 more years before the Treaty of Paris ended it in September 1783.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

In 1777 Articles of Confederation were drawn up which joined the states into a loose federation. However the arrangement proved unsatisfactory. In 1787 each state sent delegates to a convention in Philadelphia to remedy this. Between May and September 1787 they wrote a new constitution. The first Congress met in 1789 and George Washington became the first President. In 1791 ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights were ratified.

In the late 18th century and the early 19th century the population of the USA grew rapidly. Immigrants from Europe poured into the country including many from Germany. Meanwhile the USA expanded westward. In 1791 Vermont was admitted to the union as the 14th state. Kentucky became the 15th state in 1792 and Tennessee the 16th in 1796. In 1803 Ohio became the 17th state.

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

Also in 1803 American territory was greatly increased by the Louisiana purchase. France claimed a vast amount of land in central North America around the Missouri River and the Arkansas River. In 1803 Napoleon agreed to sell the lot for $15 million. Buying the French land meant there was now no bar to the USA spreading across the continent to the Pacific ocean. Louisiana became the 18th state of the union in 1812.

THE WAR OF 1812

Meanwhile the Americans and British fought another war. This war came about partly because, after 1807, the British navy blockaded European ports during the war with Napoleon and they prevented American ships from delivering their cargoes. They also boarded American ships looking for deserters. Some of the men they arrested were not deserters at all. Finally some Americans wished to invade Canadian territory. War was declared on 18 June 1812. The senators voted 19 to 13 for war. However not all Americans actively supported the war. Some were, at best, lukewarm in their support. This dissension weakened the US war effort. On the other hand American sailors were all volunteers while many sailors in the British navy were forced to join by press gangs. Volunteers were, generally, better than pressed men, one reason why America did well in naval battles.

However an American attempt to invade Canada failed. However the American navy had more success. They won a victory on Lake Erie in September 1813. However Napoleon abdicated in April 1814 allowing the British to send more forces to North America. In August 1814 a British expedition landed and captured Washington. They withdrew after a few weeks. A peace treaty was signed at the end of 1814. However a major battle was fought after it was signed. The British were severely defeated at the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815.

THE GROWTH OF THE USA

In 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out to explore what is now the northwest United States. In 1805 they followed the Missouri River to its headwaters then crossed the Rocky Mountains and reached the Pacific. They returned in 1806.

By 1810 the population of the USA was over 7.2 million and it continued to grow rapidly. By 1820 it was over 9.6 million and by 1840 over 17 million. More and more states were added to union. Indiana was admitted in 1816. Mississippi followed in 1817. Illinois became a state in 1818 and Alabama in 1819. Missouri became a state in 1821. It was followed by Arkansas in 1836 and Michigan in 1837.

The American economy also grew rapidly. In the south cotton expanded rapidly after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. It also grew because Britain was industrialising. There was a huge cotton industry in Britain in the early 19th century, which devoured cotton from America. In the North trade and commerce grew rapidly. By 1860 more than 60% of the world's cotton was grown in the USA.

In the decades after the war of 1812 the Northern States began to industrialise. Coal mining and manufacturing industries boomed.

In 1817 the New York legislature authorised a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. The canal was completed in 1825 and it cut the cost of transporting freight. Furthermore the first railroad was built in the USA was built in 1828.

After 1814 there was fighting between Seminole Indians from Florida and settlers from Georgia. The Seminoles also allowed runaway slaves to live among them, which annoyed the Americans. Eventually, in 1818 Andrew Jackson led a force into Florida (although it was Spanish territory). This was the first Seminole War. Spain ceded Florida to the USA in 1821. Florida became a US state in 1845.

TEXAS

In the 1820s the Mexican government welcomed Americans who wished to settle in its thinly populated territory of Texas. However in the American settlers soon quarrelled with their Mexican masters and in 1835 they began a rebellion. On 1 March 1836 a convention met and on 2 March 1836 they signed a Texas Declaration of Independence. Meanwhile a force of Mexicans under Santa Anna besieged about 189 men in the fortress at Alamo. All the defenders were eventually killed and the Alamo passed into legend. Apart from Americans Scots fought at the Alamo, so did Irishmen and Englishmen. There was also a Welshman and a Dane.

However on 21 April 1836 Texan troops under Sam Houston routed the Mexican army under Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto. Texas became independent and Sam Houston became its first president. In 1845 the USA annexed Texas and it became the 28th US state. However the Mexicans never accepted the independence of Texas and they were infuriated when the Americans annexed the territory. The US annexation of Texas led directly to war with Mexico.

THE MEXICAN WAR

In 1845, fearing the Mexicans would invade Texas, President Polk sent troops under Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande. The Mexicans ambushed an American patrol north of the river. However the Americans defeated the Mexicans at the battles of Palo Alto on 8 May 1846 and Rseca de la Palma on 9 May 1846. On 13 May 1846 Congress declared war on Mexico. On 21 September Taylor attacked Monterrey. An armistice was agreed and the Mexican troops withdrew. Santa Anna counterattacked on 22 February 1847 but he was defeated.

Then General Scott captured Veracruz on 28 March 1847. He then marched on Mexico City and captured it in mid-September 1847. The Mexican War was ended by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848. Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the USA.

THE PACIFIC COAST

The population of California boomed when a gold rush occurred. Gold was discovered at Sutters Mill on 24 January 1848. In the fall of 1848 newspapers in the East published the news that gold could be found in California and a gold rush began. By early 1849 large numbers of men set out for California hoping to make their fortune. By 1852 the population of California reached 250,000. The huge wave of migrants created a huge demand for industries products and the Californian economy prospered. California was admitted to the union as a state in 1850.

Meanwhile, in the 1840s and 1850s, many settlers travelled along the Oregon Trail. The trail was used by trappers from the early 19th century but the first wagon train travelled along it in 1842. It was followed by many others but railroads eventually made the trail obsolete. Oregon was admitted to the union as a state in 1859.

THE INDIAN WARS

As the USA expanded westward there were many wars with the Indians. In 1790 Chief Little Turtle of the Miami defeated an American force under Josiah Harmar. The next year the Americans were defeated again. However in 1794 American troops decisively defeated the natives at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. By the treaty of Greenville, 1795, the natives were forced to cede most of Ohio to the Americans.

During the war of 1812 some natives sided with the British. The Creeks won a battle against the Americans at Fort Sims in 1812. However troops led by Andrew Jackson defeated the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in 1814. The Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creeks to cede more than half their land to the Americans. (It later became the state of Alabama).

Andrew Jackson later became President and in 1830 he signed the Indian Removal Bill which forced Indians east of the Mississippi River to move to Oklahoma.

The Choctaws were forced to move in 1832. They were followed by the Creeks in 1835 and the Chickasaw in 1837. The Cherokee's were forced to move in 1838-39. (So many of them died on the trail it was called the 'Trail of Tears'. However one tribe, the Seminoles of Florida, resisted deportation. In the years 1835-1842 they fought a guerrilla war against the Americans. This was the Second Seminole War. However in 1837 their leader, Osceola, was captured. Most of the Seminoles eventually surrendered and were forced to move to Oklahoma but several hundred escaped and fought another war in 1855-1858. This was the Third Seminole War.

In the 1850s the USA also fought wars with the natives of the Northwest. The natives were defeated in the Rogue River War of 1855-56 and the Yakima War of 1855-58. Afterwards they were forced onto reservations.

THE USA IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY

The USA continued to grow rapidly and by 1860 its population was 31 million. New states were added. Iowa was added to the union in 1846. Wisconsin followed in 1848 and Kansas was admitted in 1861.

However the rapidly growing nation was torn apart by the issue of slavery.

When the constitution was written in 1787 many people hoped that slavery would die out of its own accord. However Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793 gave slavery a new importance in the southern states. In the northern states slavery was gradually abolished and the USA became divided into 'free states' and 'slave states'.

THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE

In 1803 the USA bought land from France. This was known as the Mississippi purchase. In 1819 part of the territory asked to be admitted to the union as a state in which slavery was allowed. However at that time the USA was evenly divided between free states and slave states. Another slave state would upset the balance. Furthermore northerners feared that more slave states would be created in future. Representative James Tallmade of New York proposed an amendment, which would have ended slavery in Missouri. However it did not become law.

A row occurred between northerners who believed that Congress had the power to ban slavery in new states and southerners who believed that new states had the right to allow slavery if they wished. Eventually an agreement was reached. Missouri was admitted as a slave state but at the same time part of Massachusetts became the state of Maine so the balance of slave and free was preserved. Furthermore a line was drawn across the continent. States north of it were to be free, south of it they were to be slave. However the Missouri compromise was only a temporary solution. Gaining new territory from Mexico created new tensions. In 1846 a man named David Wilmot introduced the Wilmot proviso, which stated that slavery should not be allowed in any territory taken from Mexico. It was added as an amendment to bills but was never passed by Congress. Nevertheless the Wilmot Proviso alienated the south.

THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

Eventually a compromise was reached. The Compromise of 1850 stated that the territories of New Mexico and Utah could decide for themselves whether they wished to allow slavery or not when they applied to become states. A fugitive slave law was also passed which said that slaves who ran away to the north should be returned to their masters.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 organised the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It also ended the Missouri Compromise. The compromise drew a line across the continent and banned slavery north of it. Although Kansas and Nebraska were north of the line the Act allowed them to choose whether to permit slavery or not when they applied to become states.

In Kansas supporters and opponents of slavery came to blows in a series of violent incidents called 'Bleeding Kansas'.

Feeling against slavery in the north was strengthened by Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was published in 1852.

In the Dred-Scott case of 1857 the southern-dominated Supreme Court decided that slaves were not and never could be US citizens. It also declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. The case enraged public opinion in the north.

The civil war was not caused just by the question of slavery. North and south were also divided over tariffs. The northern states began to industrialise in the early 19th century. By the middle of the century the north was becoming an industrial, urban society. Northerners wanted tariffs to protect their industries. However the south remained an agricultural society. Its economy was based on plantations worked by slaves. Southerners objected to tariffs because they bought goods from the north or from Europe and tariffs made them more expensive. North and south were quite different economically and culturally.

THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR

The civil war was finally provoked by the election of Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865 as president. Lincoln did not believe he had the power to abolish slavery in states where it already existed. However he firmly opposed the expansion of slavery into territories of the USA, which were likely to become states in future. His policy meant that in future free states would outnumber slave ones. As a result of his election South Carolina ceded from the union on 20 December 1860. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas followed it early in 1861. Together they formed the Confederate States of America on 4 February 1861. Jefferson Davis(1808-1889) became the President.

Fighting began on 12 April 1861. Fort Sumter was a unionist stronghold under Major Robert Anderson. On 12 April the Confederate General Beauregard ordered the unionists to evacuate the fort. The unionists and rejected his terms and that day southern artillery bombarded the fort. Fort Sumter was forced to surrender the next day but the unionist soldiers were allowed to retreat to the north. Afterwards both sides began arming for war.

Following Fort Sumter Arkansas ceded from the union on 6 May 1861. It was followed by Tennessee and North Carolina.

However the south was easily outmatched by the north. In the south there were only 5 1/2 million whites and over 3 1/2 million slaves. The north outnumbered the south 4 to 1 in men of military age. Furthermore while the north had begun to industrialise the south remained an agricultural society. About 90% of manufacturing industry was in the north of 2/3 of US railroads. Furthermore the south suffered from disunity. Since they were firm believers in states rights the confederate states could not form a firmly united federation.

Despite these disadvantages the south won some early victories.

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

In July 1861 General Beauregard was in charge of 22,000 confederate troops an Manassas Junction by the Bull Run River. General McDowell marched south with over 30,000 unionist soldiers. They attacked the confederates on 21 July 1861. However they were held in check by troops led by Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson. Eventually the unionists retreated.

However in the west the unionists won a significant victory at Shiloh on 6-7 April 1862. On the first day the confederates had some success but they were unable to drive the unionists off the field completely. Unionist reinforcements arrived that night and on 7 April the confederates were forced to retreat with heavy losses. In Louisiana unionists captured New Orleans on 25 April and Baton Rouge on 12 May.

In April 1862 the Army of the Potomac, led by General McClellan began the Peninsular Campaign. They captured Yorktown on 4 May 1862. By late May McClellan reached the outskirts of Richmond. However in late June 1862 General Robert E. Lee attacked and fought a series of battles called 'The Seven Days'. McClellan was forced to retreat.

In August 1862 the two armies clashed at a battle known as Second Bull Run or Second Manassas. It was a decisive southern victory and the northern army retreated. Lee invaded the north and the two armies fought at Antietam. Lee was forced to retreat into Virginia.

However the unionists were severely defeated at Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862. Robert E. Lee won another brilliant victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863.

Lee invaded the north again in June 1863. The turning point of the war was at Gettysburg in July 1863. The two armies clashed on 1-3 July. At first the confederates had some success. Eventually, however, they were forced to retreat with heavy losses. The south also suffered defeat at Vicksburg on the Mississippi. General Grant laid siege to the town and captured it on 4 July 1863. From the middle of 1863 the south's fortunes gradually waned. In November the south suffered another defeat at Chattanooga.

In May 1864 both sides suffered heavy losses at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. The unionists were unable to capture Petersburg or Richmond for many months.

Meanwhile, after Chattanooga, General Sherman began to advance through Georgia towards the sea. His army entered Atlanta on 3 September 1864. On 21 December 1861 Sherman's troops captured Savannah on the coast. The confederacy was cut in half. Then, in February 1865, Sherman headed north into South Carolina. He captured Columbia on 19 February 1865. Then he pressed on into North Carolina.

Further north Robert E. Lee faced increasing pressure from Grant's forces in Virginia. On 2 April 1864 the confederates abandoned Petersburg and Richmond. Finally on 9 April 1865 Lee surrendered to Grant at Appotomax Court House. That was effectively the end of the civil war. The rest of the confederate forces surrendered soon afterwards. Johnston surrendered to Sherman on 18 April and the last confederate army surrendered on 26 May 1865.

However Lincoln did not live to see the end of the war. John Wilkes Booth assassinated him on 15 April 1865. Lincoln was watching a play in Ford's Theater when Booth shot him in the head. Andrew Johnson took his place.

THE END OF SLAVERY

At first Lincoln was reluctant to abolish slavery in the south. However he eventually changed his mind. On 23 September 1862 he made the Emancipation Proclamation. Slaves would be made free in any states still in rebellion on 1 January 1863. However this only applied to areas occupied by the unionist army after that date it did not apply to areas already under unionist control. However the proclamation was followed by the 13th amendment, which banned slavery. It was ratified by December 1865.

RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SOUTH

Johnson appointed provincial governors for the former confederate states. In each of them a constitutional convention was elected to draw up a new constitution.

However although they were forced to accept the end of slavery southern governments drew up 'black codes' which restricted black peoples rights, such as depriving them of the right to vote or to sit on juries. Southern whites were completely unwilling to accept the former slaves as equals.

Johnson was unwilling to force the south to change. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act 1866. It stated that all people born in the USA were now citizens regardless of race, color or previous condition (i.e. if they were former slaves). Johnson vetoed the act but congress overrode his presidential veto.

Johnson's refusal to take firm action against the south alienated Congress. They passed the first Reconstruction Act in 1867. (It was followed by other acts). The southern governments were removed from power and the former confederate states were placed under military rule again. They were forced to allow black men the right to vote.

However the southern states were gradually re-admitted to the union and allowed to send senators and representatives to Congress again.

In 1875 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. By it all people regardless of race, color or previous condition, were entitled to full and equal treatment in 'inns, public conveyances on land or water, theatres and other places of public amusement'. However in 1883 the Supreme Court decided the Act was unconstitutional.

When Rutherford Hayes was inaugurated as President in 1877 he withdrew troops from the south. The former confederate states were then left to go their own way without any interference from the north. In the south white people re-asserted their rule and black people were forced to become subservient. Between 1890 and 1908 black people were deprived of the right to vote in all the former confederate states.

Furthermore in 1866-1867 the Ku Klux Klan was formed to terrorise black people. They played an important role in restoring white rule by scaring black people into not voting.

to be continue...