This is an excerpt of an on-line discussion with a fellow who was not aware of Nelson Mandela's violent past.
Hi Richard
I too opposed Apartheid and I do not agree with the sentiments of the Springbok club at all. They do not represent my views, however I used their website as a reference as this 'event' from Mandela's life seems to have been downplayed or glossed over in the traditional history of the Anti-Apartheid struggle. The sources are very scarce.
However the fact of the matter is that the Church Street Bombing did occur - Mandela did consent to it - (he mentions this in his book). I was living in Pretoria at the time and my father's office was a few blocks from the site of the bombing. I remember this event very clearly. Church Street is the Yonge Street of Pretoria - the bomb went off at rush hour on a Friday afternoon to ensure maximum civilian casualties. The carnage was awful. There were many people (both black and white) who were cut to shreds by the falling glass from the surrounding buildings. Regardless of how one wishes to justify this act, it was terrible atrocity and probably didn't do much to advance the anti-apartheid struggle.
I do not believe (based on their life actions and philosophy) that neither Gandhi nor King would have consented to such violence. One does not hear of this bombing as it does not fit in with the current image of Mandela as a voice of peace. But we cannot deny the facts - it happened. Even Amnesty International would not endorse Mandela as he refused for a very long time to denounce violence.
Having said this I do respect Mandela's policy of reconciliation which seems to have temporarily healed some of the evils of the Apartheid Era (at least for now). But lets not forget history in our rush to embrace the future.
Your comparison with the King David Bombing, while on the surface comparable, does nor accurately reflect the same moral equivalency as the Church Street Bombing. The King David Hotel was the headquarters of the British forces in Palestine. The bomb threat was called in and many civilians left well in advance as did some of the military. However there were those who chose to stay (they were guided more by arrogance than anything else) and therefore paid the price. The King David Hotel was a justifiable military target.
I would have no complaint with the ANC attack on Church Street if the perpetrators had warned the civilian population ahead of time and chosen a military target instead. After all like the Irgun their struggle was legitimate.
Thanks for the opportunity to indulge.
Gavin
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Arab-Israeli Conflict Quiz #1
The Arab-Israeli Conflict I
1. At which International Conference after World War I was the Palestine Mandate granted to Britain?
2. This area was separated from Palestine and given to the Emir Abdullah in 1921. What was it named?
3. This declaration promising Palestine as a Jewish homeland was issued in 1917. Which Declaration was this?
4. What did Britain issue on May 17, 1939 to restrict immigration into Palestine?
5. Which Country had a mandate in Syria after the First World War?
6. What was UNSCOP?
7. What was the name of the Arab village that was attacked by the Irgun and Stern Gang on April 9, 1948 in order to end the blockade of Jersulalem and attacks by Arabs on Jewish convoys?
8. Jews from this ship that were denied entry into Palestine by the British were eventually interned in the British-occupied zone of Germany. Which ship was this?
9. This man, the Mufti of Jerusalem, collaborated with Hitler during World War II. Who was this man?
10. Of 8, 10, 12 months how long did the War of Israeli Independence last?
11. According to the United Nations Partition Plan, approved by the UN General Assembly by a vote of 33 against 13 with 10 abstentions on the November 29, 1949, what was to become of Jerusalem?
12. Which four countries did Israel sign armstices in 1949 with?
13. This man was Israel’s Ambassador to the UN at the time of the Suez Canal Crisis. Who was he?
14. Which Gulf did the Egyptians blockade on May 22, 1967 cutting off the Israeli port of Eilat?
15. This party seized power in Syria in 1967. Which Party was this?
Answers to The Arab-Israeli Conflict I
1. The San Remo Conference of 1920.
2. Transjordan. It would gain independence as Jordan in 1946.
3. The Balfour Declaration.
4. The White Paper.
5. France
6. The UN Special Committee on Palestine.
7. Deir Yassin.
8. Exodus 1947.
9. Haj Amin el Husseini.
10. Eight months.
11. It was supposed to an international zone. The rest of the region of course was split into a proposed Jewish and Arab state (this does not include the East Bank of the Jordan which had already become a separate entity ‘Transjordan’ earlier).
12. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria with Ralp Bunche, who would later win a Nobel Peace Prize serving as Mediator.
13. Abba Eban.
14. The Gulf of Aquaba.
15. The Ba’ath Party.
1. At which International Conference after World War I was the Palestine Mandate granted to Britain?
2. This area was separated from Palestine and given to the Emir Abdullah in 1921. What was it named?
3. This declaration promising Palestine as a Jewish homeland was issued in 1917. Which Declaration was this?
4. What did Britain issue on May 17, 1939 to restrict immigration into Palestine?
5. Which Country had a mandate in Syria after the First World War?
6. What was UNSCOP?
7. What was the name of the Arab village that was attacked by the Irgun and Stern Gang on April 9, 1948 in order to end the blockade of Jersulalem and attacks by Arabs on Jewish convoys?
8. Jews from this ship that were denied entry into Palestine by the British were eventually interned in the British-occupied zone of Germany. Which ship was this?
9. This man, the Mufti of Jerusalem, collaborated with Hitler during World War II. Who was this man?
10. Of 8, 10, 12 months how long did the War of Israeli Independence last?
11. According to the United Nations Partition Plan, approved by the UN General Assembly by a vote of 33 against 13 with 10 abstentions on the November 29, 1949, what was to become of Jerusalem?
12. Which four countries did Israel sign armstices in 1949 with?
13. This man was Israel’s Ambassador to the UN at the time of the Suez Canal Crisis. Who was he?
14. Which Gulf did the Egyptians blockade on May 22, 1967 cutting off the Israeli port of Eilat?
15. This party seized power in Syria in 1967. Which Party was this?
Answers to The Arab-Israeli Conflict I
1. The San Remo Conference of 1920.
2. Transjordan. It would gain independence as Jordan in 1946.
3. The Balfour Declaration.
4. The White Paper.
5. France
6. The UN Special Committee on Palestine.
7. Deir Yassin.
8. Exodus 1947.
9. Haj Amin el Husseini.
10. Eight months.
11. It was supposed to an international zone. The rest of the region of course was split into a proposed Jewish and Arab state (this does not include the East Bank of the Jordan which had already become a separate entity ‘Transjordan’ earlier).
12. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria with Ralp Bunche, who would later win a Nobel Peace Prize serving as Mediator.
13. Abba Eban.
14. The Gulf of Aquaba.
15. The Ba’ath Party.
Ancient Egypt Quiz #3
Ancient Egypt III
1. What were the names of the two store cities the Hebrews built?
2. How many pharoahs were called Ramases (to the nearest 2)?
3. What domestic animal was held up as sacred by the Ancient Egyptians?
4. Who was the God of the Nile?
5. Who was his wife?
6. During which Dynasty were the Great Pyramids built?
7. What did Ramses II three last wives have in common with respect to their burial?
8. Which European country was responsible for establishing an Egyptian Dynasty?
9. Which kingdom ruled Egypt during the 7th Century BC?
10. Who was the last ruler of Egypt?
11. Which people dominated Egypt between the Middle and New Kingdom?
12. How did Cleopatra die?
13. What disease identified from mummy investigations is thought to have caused high death rates in Ancient Egypt?
14. Who were the Hyksos?
15. To which entity was Ra united with in later Egyptian mythology?
Answers to Ancient Egypt III
1. Pithom and Ramases.
2. 12
3. The cat.
4. Osiris
5. Isis
6. 4th Dynasty.
7. They were all buried in the Valley of the Queens.
8. Greece -Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy was one of Alexander the Great’s generals.
9. The Saite Kingdom.
10. Cleopatra
11. Libyans
12. She allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a type of snake) in order to commit suicide.
13. Tuberculosis
14. An invader race who dominated Egypt during the period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
15. Ammon to create Ammon-Ra.
1. What were the names of the two store cities the Hebrews built?
2. How many pharoahs were called Ramases (to the nearest 2)?
3. What domestic animal was held up as sacred by the Ancient Egyptians?
4. Who was the God of the Nile?
5. Who was his wife?
6. During which Dynasty were the Great Pyramids built?
7. What did Ramses II three last wives have in common with respect to their burial?
8. Which European country was responsible for establishing an Egyptian Dynasty?
9. Which kingdom ruled Egypt during the 7th Century BC?
10. Who was the last ruler of Egypt?
11. Which people dominated Egypt between the Middle and New Kingdom?
12. How did Cleopatra die?
13. What disease identified from mummy investigations is thought to have caused high death rates in Ancient Egypt?
14. Who were the Hyksos?
15. To which entity was Ra united with in later Egyptian mythology?
Answers to Ancient Egypt III
1. Pithom and Ramases.
2. 12
3. The cat.
4. Osiris
5. Isis
6. 4th Dynasty.
7. They were all buried in the Valley of the Queens.
8. Greece -Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy was one of Alexander the Great’s generals.
9. The Saite Kingdom.
10. Cleopatra
11. Libyans
12. She allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a type of snake) in order to commit suicide.
13. Tuberculosis
14. An invader race who dominated Egypt during the period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
15. Ammon to create Ammon-Ra.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
100 Great Military Figures
In order:
Taken from my website:
http://www.lonelythinker.com/hist340.html
Name-Description-Key Wars/Campaigns
1. Alexander the Great - Macedonian/Greek king. Persian Wars and the Alexandrian drive for Empire in the 4th century BC.
2. Napoleon Bonaparte - French Emperor. Napoleonic Wars late 18th century to 1815.
3. Julius Caesar - Roman General. Roman Wars against the Barbarians in particular the Gallic Wars.
4. Tamerlane - Tatar leader. Tatar conquests of the 14th and 15th centuries.
5. John Churchill - aka Duke of Marlborough. English general in War of the Spanish Succession.
6. Sun Tzu - Chinese Philosopher. Wrote the Art of War. A timeless bible on warfare strategy.
7. Genghis Khan - Mongol leader. Mongol conquests 12th and 13th century.
8. Karl Clausewitz - Prussian General and influential military theorist.
9. Erwin Rommel - German General. North African Campaign of World War II.
10. Saladin - Kurdish Warrior. War of the Crusades. Led Muslim resistance.
11. Lord Nelson - British Admiral during the Napoleonic Wars.
12. Richard the Lionheart - English king. 3rd Crusade.
13. Heinz Guaderain - German General. Second World War. Proponent of the Blitzkrieg.
14. Frederick the Great - Prussian king. War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War.
15. Helmuth von Moltke - German General and master strategist. World War I.
16. Gustavus Adolphus - Swedish king. The Thirty Years War.
17. Ariel Sharon - Israeli General. Yom Kippur War.
18. Marshal Zhukov - Russian General. Second World War.
19. George Washington - American Revolution.
20. Peter the Great - Russian Tsar. Northern Wars between Russia and Sweden.
21. Robert Clive - British general led conquest of India.
22. Shaka Zulu - Zulu Chief. Wars leading to the formation of the Zulu Empire.
23. Justinian the Great - Byzantine Emperor led campaigns against the Vandals and Barbarians.
24. Hannibal - Leader of Carthage. Second Punic War against Rome.
25. David - Hebrew King. Campaigns against the Philistines.
26. Scipio Africanus - Roman General. Second Punic War against Carthage.
27. Edward I - English king. Crusades and the war against the Scots and the Welsh.
28. Menelik - Abyssinian leader. Defeated Italians at Adowa in 1896.
29. Douglas MacArthur - American general. Second World War (Far East Campaign) and the Korean War.
30. Charlemagne - French king. Wars against the Moors and other 'pagan' forces in creating a French super state.
31. Prince Eugene of Savoy - Austrian General. War of the Spanish Succession.
31A. Francis Drake - English Naval figure/pirate. Shipping Wars against Spain.
32. Atilla the Hun - Terrorizing of Europe toward the end of the West Roman Empire.
33. Robert the Bruce - Scottish King. War against the English in the 13th century.
34. General Giap - North Vietnamese General. Vietnam War.
35. William Sherman - American Union General. American Civil War.
36. Moshe Dayan - Israeli General. Six Day War (1967)
37. Earl Kitchener - British/Irish Field Marshal. Campaigns against the Mahdi in Sudan.
38. Sulamein the Magnificent - Wars for the Expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
39. Paul von Hindenburg - German General . World War I.
40. Lysander - Spartan Naval Commander during Pelopennesian Wars.
41. George Patton - American General. World War II.
42. Chi Huanghdi - Chinese Emperor started dynasty after which the country is named. Campaigns against the Barbarians in the 3rd century BC.
43. Louis IX - French king. Crusades and the War against the English.
44. Mikhail Kutuzov - Russian Field marshal. War against the Turks and the Napoleonic wars.
45. Oliver Cromwell - English general/politician. Lead forces of Parliament in English Civil War - 17th century.
46. Fabianus - Roman General. Pioneered delaying strategy during Second Punic War.
47. Stonewell Jackson - US Confederate General. American Civil War.
48. Pompey - Roman General. Defeated Spartacus, Mithridates VI and the Marians in the 1st century BC.
49. Mosheshoe - Basuto king. Father of Lesotho. Wars against the British and the Boers.
50. Mikhail Tukachevsky - Russian General. War of the Reds and the Whites. War against Poland.
51. Henry V - Holy Roman Empire. Wars against the French and Protestant forces.
52. Philip of Macedonia - Wars for the Unification of Greece.
53. Geronimo - Apache leader. Waged war against internment on reservation in the
1870's.
54. Arthur Wellesley - British/Irish General aka Duke of Wellington. Peninsular War and the Napoleonic Wars.
55. Joshua - Hebrew leader. Conquest of Canaan.
56. Hernando Cortes - Spanish soldier. Defeat of the Aztecs.
57. William the Conqueror - Norman king. Invasion of England in 1066.
58. Jan Smuts - South African general. Boer War. Important figure in World War I and World War II allied planning.
59. Robert E. Lee - Confederate General. American Civil War.
60. Marshal Blucher - Prussian General during Napoleonic War.
61. Dwight D. Eisenhower - American Supreme Allied Commander. World War II.
62. Marshal Radetsky - Austrian General. Revolutions of 1948-49.
63. Otto the Great - King of the Germans. War against the 'pagans' in the 10th century BC.
64. Count Bernadotte - French/Swedish General/King. Napoleonic War.
65. Mao Zedong - Chinese Communist leader. War against Japan (WWII) and the fight against the Nationalists.
66. Francisco Pissaro - Spanish conquistador. Conquest of the Inca.
67. Henry of Navarre - French King. War of the Three Henrys.
68. Robert Blake - English Admiral. Anglo-Dutch Wars.
69. Ho Chi Minh - Vietnamese leader. Wars against the Japanese, French and Americans.
70. Akbar - Mughal Emperor. Conquest of India the 16th century.
71. Hulagu - Mongol warlord. Grandson of Genghis Khan. Led drives that exterminated the Assassin sect. Waged War against the Arabs and Persia.
72. Albrecht Wallenstein - Austrian General. Thirty Years War.
73. Charles XII - Swedish King. Northern European Wars.
74. Maarten Tromp - Dutch Admiral. Anglo-Dutch Wars.
75. General John J. Pershing - US General. World War I.
76. Alphonso VIII. - Spanish King. Wars against the Moors.
77. Simon Bolivar - South American revolutionary. War of Liberation against Spain.
78. Louis Faidherbe - French General. West African campaigns in the 19th century.
79. Babar - Mughal Emperor. Wars for Empire Expansion.
80. Cyrus the Great - Persian king. War against the Babylonians.
81. Erich von Luddendorf - German General. World War I.
82. Marshal Tito - Yugoslav Partisan leader - World War II.
83. Alfred Von Tirpitz - German Admiral. World War I.
84. Bernardo O' Higgins - Chilean Revolutionary. Chilean War of Independence.
85. John Paul Jones - American Admiral. American Revolution.
86. Harun Al Rashid - Arab leader. Wars of Arab Conquest.
87. Jahangir - Mughal Emperor. Wars of Mughal Expansion.
88. Jose de San Martin - South American Revolutionary. War of Independence from Spain.
89. Ulysses Grant - Union General. American Civil War.
90. Ferenc Rákóczi II - Hungarian prince. Led revolts against Austrians in 18th century.
91. General Wolfe - British General. Seven Years War - north American campaign.
82. Frederick I Barbarossa - German King. Crusader wars.
93. Darius I - Persian Emperor. Greek-Persian Wars.
94. Gerd Von Runstedt - German general. World War II.
95. Ferdinand Foch - French military leader. World War I.
96. Murad I - Ottoman sultan. Wars of Ottoman expansion - 14th century.
97. Ahmad Shah - Central Asian Warlord. Wars of Afghani expansion - 18th century.
98.Nebuchadnezzer II -Babylonian King. Drove Babylonian expansion. Captured Jerusalem.
99. Bayezid I - Ottoman sultan. Led Ottoman advances into Eastern Europe
Taken from my website:
http://www.lonelythinker.com/hist340.html
Name-Description-Key Wars/Campaigns
1. Alexander the Great - Macedonian/Greek king. Persian Wars and the Alexandrian drive for Empire in the 4th century BC.
2. Napoleon Bonaparte - French Emperor. Napoleonic Wars late 18th century to 1815.
3. Julius Caesar - Roman General. Roman Wars against the Barbarians in particular the Gallic Wars.
4. Tamerlane - Tatar leader. Tatar conquests of the 14th and 15th centuries.
5. John Churchill - aka Duke of Marlborough. English general in War of the Spanish Succession.
6. Sun Tzu - Chinese Philosopher. Wrote the Art of War. A timeless bible on warfare strategy.
7. Genghis Khan - Mongol leader. Mongol conquests 12th and 13th century.
8. Karl Clausewitz - Prussian General and influential military theorist.
9. Erwin Rommel - German General. North African Campaign of World War II.
10. Saladin - Kurdish Warrior. War of the Crusades. Led Muslim resistance.
11. Lord Nelson - British Admiral during the Napoleonic Wars.
12. Richard the Lionheart - English king. 3rd Crusade.
13. Heinz Guaderain - German General. Second World War. Proponent of the Blitzkrieg.
14. Frederick the Great - Prussian king. War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War.
15. Helmuth von Moltke - German General and master strategist. World War I.
16. Gustavus Adolphus - Swedish king. The Thirty Years War.
17. Ariel Sharon - Israeli General. Yom Kippur War.
18. Marshal Zhukov - Russian General. Second World War.
19. George Washington - American Revolution.
20. Peter the Great - Russian Tsar. Northern Wars between Russia and Sweden.
21. Robert Clive - British general led conquest of India.
22. Shaka Zulu - Zulu Chief. Wars leading to the formation of the Zulu Empire.
23. Justinian the Great - Byzantine Emperor led campaigns against the Vandals and Barbarians.
24. Hannibal - Leader of Carthage. Second Punic War against Rome.
25. David - Hebrew King. Campaigns against the Philistines.
26. Scipio Africanus - Roman General. Second Punic War against Carthage.
27. Edward I - English king. Crusades and the war against the Scots and the Welsh.
28. Menelik - Abyssinian leader. Defeated Italians at Adowa in 1896.
29. Douglas MacArthur - American general. Second World War (Far East Campaign) and the Korean War.
30. Charlemagne - French king. Wars against the Moors and other 'pagan' forces in creating a French super state.
31. Prince Eugene of Savoy - Austrian General. War of the Spanish Succession.
31A. Francis Drake - English Naval figure/pirate. Shipping Wars against Spain.
32. Atilla the Hun - Terrorizing of Europe toward the end of the West Roman Empire.
33. Robert the Bruce - Scottish King. War against the English in the 13th century.
34. General Giap - North Vietnamese General. Vietnam War.
35. William Sherman - American Union General. American Civil War.
36. Moshe Dayan - Israeli General. Six Day War (1967)
37. Earl Kitchener - British/Irish Field Marshal. Campaigns against the Mahdi in Sudan.
38. Sulamein the Magnificent - Wars for the Expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
39. Paul von Hindenburg - German General . World War I.
40. Lysander - Spartan Naval Commander during Pelopennesian Wars.
41. George Patton - American General. World War II.
42. Chi Huanghdi - Chinese Emperor started dynasty after which the country is named. Campaigns against the Barbarians in the 3rd century BC.
43. Louis IX - French king. Crusades and the War against the English.
44. Mikhail Kutuzov - Russian Field marshal. War against the Turks and the Napoleonic wars.
45. Oliver Cromwell - English general/politician. Lead forces of Parliament in English Civil War - 17th century.
46. Fabianus - Roman General. Pioneered delaying strategy during Second Punic War.
47. Stonewell Jackson - US Confederate General. American Civil War.
48. Pompey - Roman General. Defeated Spartacus, Mithridates VI and the Marians in the 1st century BC.
49. Mosheshoe - Basuto king. Father of Lesotho. Wars against the British and the Boers.
50. Mikhail Tukachevsky - Russian General. War of the Reds and the Whites. War against Poland.
51. Henry V - Holy Roman Empire. Wars against the French and Protestant forces.
52. Philip of Macedonia - Wars for the Unification of Greece.
53. Geronimo - Apache leader. Waged war against internment on reservation in the
1870's.
54. Arthur Wellesley - British/Irish General aka Duke of Wellington. Peninsular War and the Napoleonic Wars.
55. Joshua - Hebrew leader. Conquest of Canaan.
56. Hernando Cortes - Spanish soldier. Defeat of the Aztecs.
57. William the Conqueror - Norman king. Invasion of England in 1066.
58. Jan Smuts - South African general. Boer War. Important figure in World War I and World War II allied planning.
59. Robert E. Lee - Confederate General. American Civil War.
60. Marshal Blucher - Prussian General during Napoleonic War.
61. Dwight D. Eisenhower - American Supreme Allied Commander. World War II.
62. Marshal Radetsky - Austrian General. Revolutions of 1948-49.
63. Otto the Great - King of the Germans. War against the 'pagans' in the 10th century BC.
64. Count Bernadotte - French/Swedish General/King. Napoleonic War.
65. Mao Zedong - Chinese Communist leader. War against Japan (WWII) and the fight against the Nationalists.
66. Francisco Pissaro - Spanish conquistador. Conquest of the Inca.
67. Henry of Navarre - French King. War of the Three Henrys.
68. Robert Blake - English Admiral. Anglo-Dutch Wars.
69. Ho Chi Minh - Vietnamese leader. Wars against the Japanese, French and Americans.
70. Akbar - Mughal Emperor. Conquest of India the 16th century.
71. Hulagu - Mongol warlord. Grandson of Genghis Khan. Led drives that exterminated the Assassin sect. Waged War against the Arabs and Persia.
72. Albrecht Wallenstein - Austrian General. Thirty Years War.
73. Charles XII - Swedish King. Northern European Wars.
74. Maarten Tromp - Dutch Admiral. Anglo-Dutch Wars.
75. General John J. Pershing - US General. World War I.
76. Alphonso VIII. - Spanish King. Wars against the Moors.
77. Simon Bolivar - South American revolutionary. War of Liberation against Spain.
78. Louis Faidherbe - French General. West African campaigns in the 19th century.
79. Babar - Mughal Emperor. Wars for Empire Expansion.
80. Cyrus the Great - Persian king. War against the Babylonians.
81. Erich von Luddendorf - German General. World War I.
82. Marshal Tito - Yugoslav Partisan leader - World War II.
83. Alfred Von Tirpitz - German Admiral. World War I.
84. Bernardo O' Higgins - Chilean Revolutionary. Chilean War of Independence.
85. John Paul Jones - American Admiral. American Revolution.
86. Harun Al Rashid - Arab leader. Wars of Arab Conquest.
87. Jahangir - Mughal Emperor. Wars of Mughal Expansion.
88. Jose de San Martin - South American Revolutionary. War of Independence from Spain.
89. Ulysses Grant - Union General. American Civil War.
90. Ferenc Rákóczi II - Hungarian prince. Led revolts against Austrians in 18th century.
91. General Wolfe - British General. Seven Years War - north American campaign.
82. Frederick I Barbarossa - German King. Crusader wars.
93. Darius I - Persian Emperor. Greek-Persian Wars.
94. Gerd Von Runstedt - German general. World War II.
95. Ferdinand Foch - French military leader. World War I.
96. Murad I - Ottoman sultan. Wars of Ottoman expansion - 14th century.
97. Ahmad Shah - Central Asian Warlord. Wars of Afghani expansion - 18th century.
98.Nebuchadnezzer II -Babylonian King. Drove Babylonian expansion. Captured Jerusalem.
99. Bayezid I - Ottoman sultan. Led Ottoman advances into Eastern Europe
100 Most Critical Battles in World History
Taken from my site:
http://www.lonelythinker.com/hist323.html
(Western Perspective of course)
Stalingrad - World War II
The Somme - World War I
Kursk - World War II
Austrelitz - Napoleonic Wars
Jutland - World War I
Poitiers/Tours - Arab Conquest Wars
Passchendaele - World War I
Agincourt - Hundred Years War
Trafalgar - Napoleonic Wars
Kadesh - Egyptian-Hittite War
Tannenburg - World War I
Lepanto - Turkish Wars of the 16th century
Salamis - Greek-Persian Wars
Adrianople - Roman-Visigoth Wars
Lutzen - Thirty Year War
Cannae - Punic Wars
El Alamein - World War II
Waterloo - Napoleonic Wars
Midway - World War II
D-Day - World War II
Port Arthur - Russo-Japanese War
Blenheim - War of the Spanish Succession
Jena and Austadt - Napoleonic Wars
Leningrad - World War II
Marathon - Greek-Persian Wars
Gettysburg - American Civil War
Thermopylae - Greek-Persian Wars
Borodino - Napoleonic Wars
Siege of - Turkish-Byzantine War
Crecy - Hundred Years War
Siege of Alesia - Gallic Wars
Plassey - Seven Years War ( English-Indian Campaign)
Gaugamela - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Issus - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Granicus - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Ramillies - War of the Spanish Succession
Somme - World War I
Coral Sea - World War II
Leipzig - Napoleonic Wars
Saratoga - American Revolution
Monte Cassino - World War II
Poltava - Great Northern War
Marne - World War I
Spanish Armada - English-Spanish War
Ardennes Bulge - World War II
Britain - World War II
Antietam - American Civil War
Yorktown - American Revolution
Inchon - Korean War
Fredericksburg - American Civil War
Toleso - Spanish-Muslim War
Sedan - Prussian-French War
Aegospotami - Peloponnesian War
St Mihiel Salient - World War I
Adowa - Italian- Ethiopian War
Actium - Roman Civil War
First Battle of Ypres - World War I
Chancellorville - American Civil War
Cambrai - World War I
Dien Bien Phu - Vietnam War
Guadalcanal - World War II
Mediggo - World War I
Plains of Abraham - Seven Years War (in Canada)
Vicksburg - American Civil War
Naseby - English Civil War
Zama - Punic Wars
Verdun - World War I
Marston Moor - English Civil War
Boyne - William's War against James II
Teutoburg Forest - Roman-Goth Wars
Sadowa - Prussian- Austrian War
Sinai Campaign - Arab Israeli War
Pearl Harbour - World War II
New Orleans - War of 1812
Solferino - French-Austrian War
Manzikeret - Byzantine-Turk War
Chalons-sur-Marne - Roman-Huns War
Pharsalus - Roman Civil War
Siege of Syracuse - Peloponnesian War
Nile - Napoleonic War
Masada - Roman Campaign in Palestine
Alamo - Mexican-American War
Malplaquet - War of the Spanish Succession
Baltimore - War of 1812
Gallipoli - World War I
Siege of Sevastopol - Crimean War
Acre - Crusader Wars
Leyte Gulf - World War II
Balaclava - Crimean War
Tunis - World War II
Amiens - World War I
Boyaca - South American Wars of Independence
Shiloh - American Civil War
Siege of Vienna (1683) - Austrian-Turkish Wars
Battle of Narva - Great Northern War
Poitiers - Hundred Years War
Valmy - French Revolutionary War
Pyramids - Napoleonic Wars
Salamanca - Napoleonic War (Spanish theater)
Isandlhwana - Zulu War
http://www.lonelythinker.com/hist323.html
(Western Perspective of course)
Stalingrad - World War II
The Somme - World War I
Kursk - World War II
Austrelitz - Napoleonic Wars
Jutland - World War I
Poitiers/Tours - Arab Conquest Wars
Passchendaele - World War I
Agincourt - Hundred Years War
Trafalgar - Napoleonic Wars
Kadesh - Egyptian-Hittite War
Tannenburg - World War I
Lepanto - Turkish Wars of the 16th century
Salamis - Greek-Persian Wars
Adrianople - Roman-Visigoth Wars
Lutzen - Thirty Year War
Cannae - Punic Wars
El Alamein - World War II
Waterloo - Napoleonic Wars
Midway - World War II
D-Day - World War II
Port Arthur - Russo-Japanese War
Blenheim - War of the Spanish Succession
Jena and Austadt - Napoleonic Wars
Leningrad - World War II
Marathon - Greek-Persian Wars
Gettysburg - American Civil War
Thermopylae - Greek-Persian Wars
Borodino - Napoleonic Wars
Siege of - Turkish-Byzantine War
Crecy - Hundred Years War
Siege of Alesia - Gallic Wars
Plassey - Seven Years War ( English-Indian Campaign)
Gaugamela - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Issus - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Granicus - Alexander the Great's Persian Wars
Ramillies - War of the Spanish Succession
Somme - World War I
Coral Sea - World War II
Leipzig - Napoleonic Wars
Saratoga - American Revolution
Monte Cassino - World War II
Poltava - Great Northern War
Marne - World War I
Spanish Armada - English-Spanish War
Ardennes Bulge - World War II
Britain - World War II
Antietam - American Civil War
Yorktown - American Revolution
Inchon - Korean War
Fredericksburg - American Civil War
Toleso - Spanish-Muslim War
Sedan - Prussian-French War
Aegospotami - Peloponnesian War
St Mihiel Salient - World War I
Adowa - Italian- Ethiopian War
Actium - Roman Civil War
First Battle of Ypres - World War I
Chancellorville - American Civil War
Cambrai - World War I
Dien Bien Phu - Vietnam War
Guadalcanal - World War II
Mediggo - World War I
Plains of Abraham - Seven Years War (in Canada)
Vicksburg - American Civil War
Naseby - English Civil War
Zama - Punic Wars
Verdun - World War I
Marston Moor - English Civil War
Boyne - William's War against James II
Teutoburg Forest - Roman-Goth Wars
Sadowa - Prussian- Austrian War
Sinai Campaign - Arab Israeli War
Pearl Harbour - World War II
New Orleans - War of 1812
Solferino - French-Austrian War
Manzikeret - Byzantine-Turk War
Chalons-sur-Marne - Roman-Huns War
Pharsalus - Roman Civil War
Siege of Syracuse - Peloponnesian War
Nile - Napoleonic War
Masada - Roman Campaign in Palestine
Alamo - Mexican-American War
Malplaquet - War of the Spanish Succession
Baltimore - War of 1812
Gallipoli - World War I
Siege of Sevastopol - Crimean War
Acre - Crusader Wars
Leyte Gulf - World War II
Balaclava - Crimean War
Tunis - World War II
Amiens - World War I
Boyaca - South American Wars of Independence
Shiloh - American Civil War
Siege of Vienna (1683) - Austrian-Turkish Wars
Battle of Narva - Great Northern War
Poitiers - Hundred Years War
Valmy - French Revolutionary War
Pyramids - Napoleonic Wars
Salamanca - Napoleonic War (Spanish theater)
Isandlhwana - Zulu War
Friday, November 30, 2007
Civilizations/Empires/Nation States that have disappeared
The Hebrews/Jews have survived for over 3000 years as a people. The following is a list (off the top of my head) of civilizations/empires/nation states that have collapsed over the same time period. I am sure that there are many more that I have overlooked.
1. Thracians
2. Edomites
3. Philistines
4. Jebusites
5. Ammonites
6. Midianites
7. Amorites
8. Amalakites
9. Babylonians
10. Ancient Egyptians
11. Romans
12. Ionian and Doric Greeks
13. Phoenicians/Carthage
14. Myceneans
15. Celts
16. Ancient Britons
17. Gauls
18. Belgie
19. Cimmerians
20. Lydians
21. Medes
22. Persians - Archamenid, Sassanians and Safavids
23. Mongols
24. Ghazanians
25. Chole
26. Ghana
27. Mali
28. Songhai
29. Aksum
30. Kush
31. Ancient Libyans
32. Islamic Umayyads, Fatimids, Abbasids, Seljuk and Ottoman Turks
33. Crusader Kingdoms
34. Avars
35. Austro-Hungarian Empire
36. Vikings
37. Punt
38. Hellenic Greeks
39. Mamlukes
40. Saracens
41. Holy Roman Empire
42. Burgundians
43. Italian City States
44. Zhou, Three Kingdoms, Han, Qin, Sung, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Manchu dynasties of China
45. Soviet Union
46. The Third Reich
47. European Colonial States
48. Goths - Ostro and Visi
40. Olmecs
41. Toltecs
42. Nazca
43. Inca
44. Aztec
45. Mayan
46. Mohaica
47. Chavin
48. Chimu
49. Moguls
50. Byzantines
51. Phyrigians
52. Macedonians
53. Dacians
54. Illyrians
55. Wends
56. Trojans
57. Indo-Dravidians
58. Huns
59. Teutons
60. Old Zimbabweans
61. San
62. Sheba
63. Saxon Kingdoms
64. Normans
65. Korean Three Kingdoms
66. Vietnamese Annam
67. Cossack Kingdoms
68. Tamerlane's Empire
69. Etruscans
70. Griqua Territories
71. Old Hindu Kingdoms
72. Spanish Kingdoms of Navarre, Leon, Castille, Aragon, Granada
73. Prussia - Hegel's ideal state
74. Arab Pagan Kingdoms
75. Lombards
1. Thracians
2. Edomites
3. Philistines
4. Jebusites
5. Ammonites
6. Midianites
7. Amorites
8. Amalakites
9. Babylonians
10. Ancient Egyptians
11. Romans
12. Ionian and Doric Greeks
13. Phoenicians/Carthage
14. Myceneans
15. Celts
16. Ancient Britons
17. Gauls
18. Belgie
19. Cimmerians
20. Lydians
21. Medes
22. Persians - Archamenid, Sassanians and Safavids
23. Mongols
24. Ghazanians
25. Chole
26. Ghana
27. Mali
28. Songhai
29. Aksum
30. Kush
31. Ancient Libyans
32. Islamic Umayyads, Fatimids, Abbasids, Seljuk and Ottoman Turks
33. Crusader Kingdoms
34. Avars
35. Austro-Hungarian Empire
36. Vikings
37. Punt
38. Hellenic Greeks
39. Mamlukes
40. Saracens
41. Holy Roman Empire
42. Burgundians
43. Italian City States
44. Zhou, Three Kingdoms, Han, Qin, Sung, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Manchu dynasties of China
45. Soviet Union
46. The Third Reich
47. European Colonial States
48. Goths - Ostro and Visi
40. Olmecs
41. Toltecs
42. Nazca
43. Inca
44. Aztec
45. Mayan
46. Mohaica
47. Chavin
48. Chimu
49. Moguls
50. Byzantines
51. Phyrigians
52. Macedonians
53. Dacians
54. Illyrians
55. Wends
56. Trojans
57. Indo-Dravidians
58. Huns
59. Teutons
60. Old Zimbabweans
61. San
62. Sheba
63. Saxon Kingdoms
64. Normans
65. Korean Three Kingdoms
66. Vietnamese Annam
67. Cossack Kingdoms
68. Tamerlane's Empire
69. Etruscans
70. Griqua Territories
71. Old Hindu Kingdoms
72. Spanish Kingdoms of Navarre, Leon, Castille, Aragon, Granada
73. Prussia - Hegel's ideal state
74. Arab Pagan Kingdoms
75. Lombards
Sunday, November 4, 2007
1980s Quiz
1. An airliner belonging to which Country was shot over the Soviet Union in 1983?
2. This Prime Minister of Grenada was killed in a military coup. U.S. troops would then invade the island and institute military rule. Which Prime Minister was this?
3. At which USAF base in the UK did female peace campaigners initiate a permanent picket in 1983?
4. This man succeeded Menachem Begin as Prime Minister of Israel in 1983. Who was he?
5. A Philippine Opposition Leader, this man was shot at Manila Airport after flying home. Who was he?
6. This Nazi war criminal was put on trial in Lyon following extradition in Bolivia. Who was he?
7. This Country became an independent sultanate in 1984 and the 159th member of the United Nations. Which Country was this?
8. Which Temple did Sikh extremists occupy in Amritsar in 1984?
9. In which British City did an IRA bomb kill five people and injure 32 in 1984?
10. To which countries’ cabinet were the Rev. Allen Hendrickse and Amichand Rajbansi appointed in 1984?
11. What was the only state won by Walter Mondale in the 1984 Presidential Election?
12. Operation Moses was carried out to bring Jews from this Country to Israel. Which Country was this?
13. This Priest and Solidarity Supporter was beaten to death by the Secret Police in 1984. Who was he?
14. This man succeeded Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the USSR. Who was he?
15. The UK and China agreed in 1984 that Hong Kong would be handed over to China in which year?
Answers to The 1980s (III)
1. South Korea. Two hundred and sixty nine people on board were killed.
2. Maurice Bishop.
3. Greenham Common.
4. Yitzhak Shamir.
5. Benigno Aquino.
6. Klaus Barbie.
7. Brunei
8. The Golden Temple. Two hundred and fifty deaths occurred during the course of events which resulted in its recapture by the Indian Army. Many Sikh members of the Army would mutiny to protest the Government’s action.
9. Brighton, during the Conservative Party Conference.
10. The South African Cabinet of President PW Botha. They were the first two non-white men to reach this position.
11. Minnesota, his home State.
12. Ethiopia
13. Father Jerzy Popieluzko.
14. Konstantin Chernenko.
15. 1997
2. This Prime Minister of Grenada was killed in a military coup. U.S. troops would then invade the island and institute military rule. Which Prime Minister was this?
3. At which USAF base in the UK did female peace campaigners initiate a permanent picket in 1983?
4. This man succeeded Menachem Begin as Prime Minister of Israel in 1983. Who was he?
5. A Philippine Opposition Leader, this man was shot at Manila Airport after flying home. Who was he?
6. This Nazi war criminal was put on trial in Lyon following extradition in Bolivia. Who was he?
7. This Country became an independent sultanate in 1984 and the 159th member of the United Nations. Which Country was this?
8. Which Temple did Sikh extremists occupy in Amritsar in 1984?
9. In which British City did an IRA bomb kill five people and injure 32 in 1984?
10. To which countries’ cabinet were the Rev. Allen Hendrickse and Amichand Rajbansi appointed in 1984?
11. What was the only state won by Walter Mondale in the 1984 Presidential Election?
12. Operation Moses was carried out to bring Jews from this Country to Israel. Which Country was this?
13. This Priest and Solidarity Supporter was beaten to death by the Secret Police in 1984. Who was he?
14. This man succeeded Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the USSR. Who was he?
15. The UK and China agreed in 1984 that Hong Kong would be handed over to China in which year?
Answers to The 1980s (III)
1. South Korea. Two hundred and sixty nine people on board were killed.
2. Maurice Bishop.
3. Greenham Common.
4. Yitzhak Shamir.
5. Benigno Aquino.
6. Klaus Barbie.
7. Brunei
8. The Golden Temple. Two hundred and fifty deaths occurred during the course of events which resulted in its recapture by the Indian Army. Many Sikh members of the Army would mutiny to protest the Government’s action.
9. Brighton, during the Conservative Party Conference.
10. The South African Cabinet of President PW Botha. They were the first two non-white men to reach this position.
11. Minnesota, his home State.
12. Ethiopia
13. Father Jerzy Popieluzko.
14. Konstantin Chernenko.
15. 1997
Guy Fawkes Day - A History
After a five week hiatus I am back with a bang on Guy Fawkes Day.
See below for the full story
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/g-fawkes.html#GPS
Reproduced by kind permission of the Gunpowder Plot Society
In May of 1604, Guy Fawkes met with Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright and Thomas Wintour at an inn called the Duck and Drake in the fashionable Strand district of London, and agreed under oath along with Percy to join the other three in the gunpowder conspiracy. This oath was then sanctified by the performing of mass and the administering of the sacraments by the Jesuit priest John Gerard in an adjoining room. Fawkes assumed the identity of John Johnson, a servant of Percy and was entrusted to the care of the tenement which Percy had rented. Around Michaelmas, Fawkes was asked to begin preparations for work on the mine, but these plans were delayed until early December as the Commissioners of the Union between England and Scotland were meeting in the same house. Eventually the work in the mine proved slow and difficult for men unused to such physical labours, and further accomplices were sworn into the plot.
About March 1605, the conspirators hired a cellar beneath Parliament, once again through Thomas Percy, and Fawkes assisted in filling the room with barrels of powder, hidden beneath iron bars and faggots. He was then despatched to Flanders to presumably communicate the details of the plot to Stanley and Owen.
At the end of August, he was back in London again, replacing the spoiled powder barrels, and residing at "one Mrs. Herbert's house, a widow that dwells on the backside of St. Clement's Church". He soon left this accommodation when his landlady suspected his involvement with Catholics. On 18 October he travelled to White Webbs for a meeting with Catesby, Thomas Wintour, and Francis Tresham to discuss how certain Catholic peers could be excluded from the explosion. On 26 October, the now famous Monteagle Letter was delivered into the hands of William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle. Concern quickly erupted amongst the conspirators, but the letter's apparent vagueness prompted Catesby to continue with their plans.
On Wednesday 30 October, Fawkes, apparently ignorant of the letter's existence inspected the cellar again and satisfied himself that the gunpowder was still in place and had not been disturbed. On Sunday 3 November, a few of the leading conspirators met in London and agreed that the authorities were still unaware of their actions. However, all except Fawkes made plans for a speedy exit from London. Fawkes had agreed to watch the cellar by himself, having already been given the task of firing the powder, undoubtedly because of his munitions experience in the Low Countries where he had been taught how to "fire a slow train". His orders were to embark for Flanders as soon as the powder was fired, and to spread the news of the explosion on the continent.
On the following Monday afternoon, the Lord Chamberlain, Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, searched the parliament buildings accompanied by Monteagle and John Whynniard. In the cellar they came upon an unusually large pile of billets and faggots, and perceived Fawkes whom they described as "a very bad and desperate fellow". They asked who claimed the pile, and Fawkes replied that it was Thomas Percy's in whose employment he worked. They reported these details to the King, and believing, by the look of Fawkes "he seemed to be a man shrewd enough, but up to no good", they again searched the cellar, a little before midnight the following night, this time led by Sir Thomas Knyvett, a Westminster magistrate and Gentleman of the Privy Chamber. Fawkes had gone forth to warn Percy that same day, but returned to his post before night. Once again, the pile of billets and faggots was searched and the powder discovered, and this time Fawkes was arrested. On his person they discovered a watch, slow matches and touchwood. Fawkes later declared that had he been in the cellar when Knyvett entered it he would have "blown him up, house, himself, and all".
Early in the morning of 5 November, the Privy Council met in the King's bedchamber, and Fawkes was brought in under guard. He declined to give any information beyond that his name was Johnson and he was a servant of Thomas Percy. Further interrogations that day revealed little more than his apparent xenophobia. When questioned by the King how he could conspire such a hideous treason, Fawkes replied that a dangerous disease required a desperate remedy, and that his intentions were to blow the Scotsmen present back into Scotland.
King James indicated in a letter of 6 November that "The gentler tortours are to be first used unto him, et sic per gradus ad mia tenditur [and so by degrees proceeding to the worst], and so God speed your goode worke", as it [torture] was contrary to English common law, unless authorised by the King or Privy Council. Eventually on 7 November Guido's spirit broke and he confessed his real name and that the plot was confined to five men. "He told us that since he undertook this action he did every day pray to God he might perform that which might be for the advancement of the Catholic Faith and saving his own soul". The following day he recounted the events of the conspiracy, without naming names, then on the 9 November he named his fellow plotters, having heard that some of them had already been arrested at Holbeche. Guido's final signature, a barely legible scrawl, is testament to his suffering. There is no direct evidence as to what tortures were used on Guy Fawkes, although it is almost certain that they included the manacles, and probably also the rack.
On Monday 27 January 1606, the day of the capture of Edward Oldcorne and Henry Garnet, the trial of the eight surviving conspirators began in Westminster Hall. It was a trial in name only, for a guilty verdict had certainly already been handed down. The conspirators pleaded not guilty, a plea which caused some consternation amongst those present. Fawkes later explained that his objection was to the implication that the "seducing Jesuits" were the principal offenders.
On Friday, 31 January 1606, Fawkes, Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood and Robert Keyes were taken to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster and hanged, drawn and quartered "in the very place which they had planned to demolish in order to hammer home the message of their wickedness". Thomas Wintour was followed by Rookwood and then by Keyes. Guido, the "romantic caped figure of such evil villainy" came last. A contemporary wrote:
"Last of all came the great devil of all, Guy Fawkes, alias Johnson, who should have put fire to the powder. His body being weak with the torture and sickness he was scarce able to go up the ladder, yet with much ado, by the help of the hangman, went high enough to break his neck by the fall. He made no speech, but with his crosses and idle ceremonies made his end upon the gallows and the block, to the great joy of all the beholders that the land was ended of so wicked a villainy"..
See below for the full story
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/g-fawkes.html#GPS
Reproduced by kind permission of the Gunpowder Plot Society
In May of 1604, Guy Fawkes met with Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright and Thomas Wintour at an inn called the Duck and Drake in the fashionable Strand district of London, and agreed under oath along with Percy to join the other three in the gunpowder conspiracy. This oath was then sanctified by the performing of mass and the administering of the sacraments by the Jesuit priest John Gerard in an adjoining room. Fawkes assumed the identity of John Johnson, a servant of Percy and was entrusted to the care of the tenement which Percy had rented. Around Michaelmas, Fawkes was asked to begin preparations for work on the mine, but these plans were delayed until early December as the Commissioners of the Union between England and Scotland were meeting in the same house. Eventually the work in the mine proved slow and difficult for men unused to such physical labours, and further accomplices were sworn into the plot.
About March 1605, the conspirators hired a cellar beneath Parliament, once again through Thomas Percy, and Fawkes assisted in filling the room with barrels of powder, hidden beneath iron bars and faggots. He was then despatched to Flanders to presumably communicate the details of the plot to Stanley and Owen.
At the end of August, he was back in London again, replacing the spoiled powder barrels, and residing at "one Mrs. Herbert's house, a widow that dwells on the backside of St. Clement's Church". He soon left this accommodation when his landlady suspected his involvement with Catholics. On 18 October he travelled to White Webbs for a meeting with Catesby, Thomas Wintour, and Francis Tresham to discuss how certain Catholic peers could be excluded from the explosion. On 26 October, the now famous Monteagle Letter was delivered into the hands of William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle. Concern quickly erupted amongst the conspirators, but the letter's apparent vagueness prompted Catesby to continue with their plans.
On Wednesday 30 October, Fawkes, apparently ignorant of the letter's existence inspected the cellar again and satisfied himself that the gunpowder was still in place and had not been disturbed. On Sunday 3 November, a few of the leading conspirators met in London and agreed that the authorities were still unaware of their actions. However, all except Fawkes made plans for a speedy exit from London. Fawkes had agreed to watch the cellar by himself, having already been given the task of firing the powder, undoubtedly because of his munitions experience in the Low Countries where he had been taught how to "fire a slow train". His orders were to embark for Flanders as soon as the powder was fired, and to spread the news of the explosion on the continent.
On the following Monday afternoon, the Lord Chamberlain, Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, searched the parliament buildings accompanied by Monteagle and John Whynniard. In the cellar they came upon an unusually large pile of billets and faggots, and perceived Fawkes whom they described as "a very bad and desperate fellow". They asked who claimed the pile, and Fawkes replied that it was Thomas Percy's in whose employment he worked. They reported these details to the King, and believing, by the look of Fawkes "he seemed to be a man shrewd enough, but up to no good", they again searched the cellar, a little before midnight the following night, this time led by Sir Thomas Knyvett, a Westminster magistrate and Gentleman of the Privy Chamber. Fawkes had gone forth to warn Percy that same day, but returned to his post before night. Once again, the pile of billets and faggots was searched and the powder discovered, and this time Fawkes was arrested. On his person they discovered a watch, slow matches and touchwood. Fawkes later declared that had he been in the cellar when Knyvett entered it he would have "blown him up, house, himself, and all".
Early in the morning of 5 November, the Privy Council met in the King's bedchamber, and Fawkes was brought in under guard. He declined to give any information beyond that his name was Johnson and he was a servant of Thomas Percy. Further interrogations that day revealed little more than his apparent xenophobia. When questioned by the King how he could conspire such a hideous treason, Fawkes replied that a dangerous disease required a desperate remedy, and that his intentions were to blow the Scotsmen present back into Scotland.
King James indicated in a letter of 6 November that "The gentler tortours are to be first used unto him, et sic per gradus ad mia tenditur [and so by degrees proceeding to the worst], and so God speed your goode worke", as it [torture] was contrary to English common law, unless authorised by the King or Privy Council. Eventually on 7 November Guido's spirit broke and he confessed his real name and that the plot was confined to five men. "He told us that since he undertook this action he did every day pray to God he might perform that which might be for the advancement of the Catholic Faith and saving his own soul". The following day he recounted the events of the conspiracy, without naming names, then on the 9 November he named his fellow plotters, having heard that some of them had already been arrested at Holbeche. Guido's final signature, a barely legible scrawl, is testament to his suffering. There is no direct evidence as to what tortures were used on Guy Fawkes, although it is almost certain that they included the manacles, and probably also the rack.
On Monday 27 January 1606, the day of the capture of Edward Oldcorne and Henry Garnet, the trial of the eight surviving conspirators began in Westminster Hall. It was a trial in name only, for a guilty verdict had certainly already been handed down. The conspirators pleaded not guilty, a plea which caused some consternation amongst those present. Fawkes later explained that his objection was to the implication that the "seducing Jesuits" were the principal offenders.
On Friday, 31 January 1606, Fawkes, Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood and Robert Keyes were taken to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster and hanged, drawn and quartered "in the very place which they had planned to demolish in order to hammer home the message of their wickedness". Thomas Wintour was followed by Rookwood and then by Keyes. Guido, the "romantic caped figure of such evil villainy" came last. A contemporary wrote:
"Last of all came the great devil of all, Guy Fawkes, alias Johnson, who should have put fire to the powder. His body being weak with the torture and sickness he was scarce able to go up the ladder, yet with much ado, by the help of the hangman, went high enough to break his neck by the fall. He made no speech, but with his crosses and idle ceremonies made his end upon the gallows and the block, to the great joy of all the beholders that the land was ended of so wicked a villainy"..
Monday, September 24, 2007
History of Physics I
1. Who coined the term the ‘Big Bang’?
2. In which field of Physics would you find the names of the following individuals: Weber, Gauss, and Tesla?
3. Which American was the Great Champion of Direct Current?
4. In Newton’s Law of Gravitaion, what is the relationship between the force of gravity and the distance between objects?
5. Who discovered the neutron?
6. For what work did Albert Einstein win his Nobel Prize in Physics?
7. Which Scottish Mathematician devised equations for Electromagnetic Radiation?
8. Which Scientist first determined the size of the Universal Gravitation Constant?
9. In which field would you speak of Balmer and Lyman Lines?
10. Who was the first to compare the reflection of light with that of sound waves?
11. Who, in witnessing a supernova, argued that the heavens are not changeless?
12. Which nearby galaxy was described by the Astronomer Al Razi?
13. Which optics invention did Roger Bacon focus on?
14. Newton’s First Law of Motion defines a certain property of matter. What is it?
15. What type of particle accelerator was invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929?
Answers to History of Physics I
1. Fred Hoyle.
2. Electromagnetism
3. Thomas Edison.
4. The force of gravity varies inversely with respect to the square of the distance between the objects.
5. James Chadwick.
6. The Photoelectric Effect.
7. James Clerk Maxwell.
8. Henry Cavendish.
9. Spectroscopy
10. Leonardo Da Vinci.
11. Tycho Brahe.
12. The Andromeda Galaxy.
13. The Magnifying Lens.
14. Inertia – resistance to acceleration.
15. The cyclotron.
2. In which field of Physics would you find the names of the following individuals: Weber, Gauss, and Tesla?
3. Which American was the Great Champion of Direct Current?
4. In Newton’s Law of Gravitaion, what is the relationship between the force of gravity and the distance between objects?
5. Who discovered the neutron?
6. For what work did Albert Einstein win his Nobel Prize in Physics?
7. Which Scottish Mathematician devised equations for Electromagnetic Radiation?
8. Which Scientist first determined the size of the Universal Gravitation Constant?
9. In which field would you speak of Balmer and Lyman Lines?
10. Who was the first to compare the reflection of light with that of sound waves?
11. Who, in witnessing a supernova, argued that the heavens are not changeless?
12. Which nearby galaxy was described by the Astronomer Al Razi?
13. Which optics invention did Roger Bacon focus on?
14. Newton’s First Law of Motion defines a certain property of matter. What is it?
15. What type of particle accelerator was invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929?
Answers to History of Physics I
1. Fred Hoyle.
2. Electromagnetism
3. Thomas Edison.
4. The force of gravity varies inversely with respect to the square of the distance between the objects.
5. James Chadwick.
6. The Photoelectric Effect.
7. James Clerk Maxwell.
8. Henry Cavendish.
9. Spectroscopy
10. Leonardo Da Vinci.
11. Tycho Brahe.
12. The Andromeda Galaxy.
13. The Magnifying Lens.
14. Inertia – resistance to acceleration.
15. The cyclotron.
Friday, August 31, 2007
History Super Lecture - Part Three
Hour 13
The Early Reformation: Wycliffe, Hus
Martin Luther at Wittenberg - Coucil of Worms
Ultich Zwingli and John Calvin Council of Trent
Counter Reformation - Jesuits
Anabaptism
Religious Wars - Charles V (and the Holy Roman Empire)
Hour 14
Unification of Spain. Expulsion of the Jews
The Dutch Revolt - Rise of the House of Orange
Henry VIII breaks from the Catholic Church.
Reformation in England.
Hour 15
The Elizabethan Era in England
The War of the Henry's in France
Fall of the Incas and Aztercs - Cortes and Pizzaro
Spanish Settlements in the Americas
The Race to India
The Decline of Spain
Hour 16
The Booming Dutch Economy
The reign of James I
Gunpowder Plot
Richelieu and Mazzarin in France
Olivares in Spain
English Civil War
Ivan the Terrible in Russia
English settlement of the Americas
Battle of Lepanto - Decline of Ottoman Empire
Hour 17
Restoration of the Stuarts
Mercantilism - Colbert
The Early Colonial Movement
The Rise of Britain
Prussia - Standing Army
The Quiet Revolution
The Exploration Drive Continued
Wars of Louis XIV includes War of the Spanish Succession
Hour 18
The Engligtenment - Locke, Hume, Berkley, Spinoza, Descartes, Voltaire, Rousseau etc.
Passing of Power to Parliament in England
Wars of the Austrian Succesion, Minor Conflicts, Seven Years War
Peter the Great modernizes Russia - Conflicts with Turks and Swedes
Frederick the Great
Marie Theresa
The Early Reformation: Wycliffe, Hus
Martin Luther at Wittenberg - Coucil of Worms
Ultich Zwingli and John Calvin Council of Trent
Counter Reformation - Jesuits
Anabaptism
Religious Wars - Charles V (and the Holy Roman Empire)
Hour 14
Unification of Spain. Expulsion of the Jews
The Dutch Revolt - Rise of the House of Orange
Henry VIII breaks from the Catholic Church.
Reformation in England.
Hour 15
The Elizabethan Era in England
The War of the Henry's in France
Fall of the Incas and Aztercs - Cortes and Pizzaro
Spanish Settlements in the Americas
The Race to India
The Decline of Spain
Hour 16
The Booming Dutch Economy
The reign of James I
Gunpowder Plot
Richelieu and Mazzarin in France
Olivares in Spain
English Civil War
Ivan the Terrible in Russia
English settlement of the Americas
Battle of Lepanto - Decline of Ottoman Empire
Hour 17
Restoration of the Stuarts
Mercantilism - Colbert
The Early Colonial Movement
The Rise of Britain
Prussia - Standing Army
The Quiet Revolution
The Exploration Drive Continued
Wars of Louis XIV includes War of the Spanish Succession
Hour 18
The Engligtenment - Locke, Hume, Berkley, Spinoza, Descartes, Voltaire, Rousseau etc.
Passing of Power to Parliament in England
Wars of the Austrian Succesion, Minor Conflicts, Seven Years War
Peter the Great modernizes Russia - Conflicts with Turks and Swedes
Frederick the Great
Marie Theresa
A letter to Michael Coren
Michael Coren is a media personality in canada - see http://www.michaelcoren.com/
Hi Michael
Thanks very much for allowing me the opportunity for an interview on your Radio Show.
Its very much appreciated.
As mentioned earlier I believe the topic of Ideology in Education manifests itself not only in the Field of Teacher Training but in many areas of the humanities and social sciences.
Alan Bloom was one of the first to address this issue in his 1987 Bestseller - The Closing of the American Mind and Dinesh D'Souza followed this up with his book Illeberal Education.
I feel that Gen X viewers of your CTS show such as myself would find this a fascinating topic to sink our teeth into.
The following is a list of issues that could be addressed:
1. What are the limits of Academic Freedom of Expression?
2. Can the humanities/social sciences be truly objective?
3. Are professors such as Ward Churchill and Nicholas De Genova (of the million Mogadishus fame)
an embarrasment to their professions? or intellectual heroes?
4. Has post-modernism destroyed Classical Education?
5. Who are the academic McCarthyites? Are we overreacting?
6. Do Universities fail their students? How useful is a humanities degree anyway?
7. What is meant by Critical Reasoning? Has the term been usurped?
8. Are Speech Codes necessary on Campus?
9. What are the responsibilities of a Tenured Prof?
10. Do students need an Academic Bill of Rights?
11. Are the campuses encouraging silence and a culture of monothink?
12. Ridiculous courses on North American campuses: There is one that discusses the role of the Phallus in history, another course focuses on the relationship between Ancient Egypt and Rock n' Roll etc.
I believe that if one looks at these issues one can see some of the thinking that goes into the forces that shape
Anti-Globalization protests
Greenie hysteria
Blind Anti-Americanism
Emerging Moral Relativism
Specism - The psychology that fuels groups like PETA
Most of these can be traced back to Post Structuralism, Foucaltian Power Discourse, Deconstructionism, unrepentant Marxism, Nihilism, Primitavism, Post Colonial Analysis etc.
Thanks for taking the time to read my e-mail
Cheers
Gavin
Hi Michael
Thanks very much for allowing me the opportunity for an interview on your Radio Show.
Its very much appreciated.
As mentioned earlier I believe the topic of Ideology in Education manifests itself not only in the Field of Teacher Training but in many areas of the humanities and social sciences.
Alan Bloom was one of the first to address this issue in his 1987 Bestseller - The Closing of the American Mind and Dinesh D'Souza followed this up with his book Illeberal Education.
I feel that Gen X viewers of your CTS show such as myself would find this a fascinating topic to sink our teeth into.
The following is a list of issues that could be addressed:
1. What are the limits of Academic Freedom of Expression?
2. Can the humanities/social sciences be truly objective?
3. Are professors such as Ward Churchill and Nicholas De Genova (of the million Mogadishus fame)
an embarrasment to their professions? or intellectual heroes?
4. Has post-modernism destroyed Classical Education?
5. Who are the academic McCarthyites? Are we overreacting?
6. Do Universities fail their students? How useful is a humanities degree anyway?
7. What is meant by Critical Reasoning? Has the term been usurped?
8. Are Speech Codes necessary on Campus?
9. What are the responsibilities of a Tenured Prof?
10. Do students need an Academic Bill of Rights?
11. Are the campuses encouraging silence and a culture of monothink?
12. Ridiculous courses on North American campuses: There is one that discusses the role of the Phallus in history, another course focuses on the relationship between Ancient Egypt and Rock n' Roll etc.
I believe that if one looks at these issues one can see some of the thinking that goes into the forces that shape
Anti-Globalization protests
Greenie hysteria
Blind Anti-Americanism
Emerging Moral Relativism
Specism - The psychology that fuels groups like PETA
Most of these can be traced back to Post Structuralism, Foucaltian Power Discourse, Deconstructionism, unrepentant Marxism, Nihilism, Primitavism, Post Colonial Analysis etc.
Thanks for taking the time to read my e-mail
Cheers
Gavin
Friday, August 24, 2007
Early British History Quiz I
Early British History I
1. Who was the real King Arthur?
2. Which Century was Egbert crowned King of Wessex?
3. What was Danelaw?
4. Which Irish monk converted the Picts to Christianity?
5. Who was St. Alban?
6. What was significant about the Treaty of Wedmore?
7. What title did Edward the Elder take in 901 AD?
8. How many Saxon kings were named ‘Ethelred’?
9. Which people took control of Cumberland and Westmoreland from the English in 945?
10. Who were killed on St. Brice’s Day in 1002?
11. What was the nickname of Harold I?
12. Which Danish king of England died of drink in 1035?
13. Who became King of Scotland in 1040?
14. Which English King founded Westminster Abbey in 1052?
15. Who became King of the Southern portion of England in 1016, only to be assassinated in the same year?
Answers to Early British History Quiz I
1. He was a Roman/British chieftain who fought against the Saxon invaders of England during the early 6th Century.
2. 9th Century - 802 AD to be precise..
3. Danish occupied territory in England.
4. St. Columba. He used as his base a monastery which he founded on the Island of Iona
5. A Roman Soldier who became a Christian martyr in England. He was scourged and beheaded for sheltering and changing clothes with a Christian Priest who had converted him.
6. Signed in 878 AD, the Treaty divided England into two sections: Wessex in the South , Danelaw in the North.
7. King of the Angles and Saxons.
8. Two
9. The Scots.
10. Danish settlers and mercenaries in Southern England.
11. Harold the Harefoot.
12. Hardicanute
13. Macbeth. He killed Duncan in the Battle of Elgin.
14. Edward the Confessor.
15. Edmund Ironside, the son of Elthelred II.
1. Who was the real King Arthur?
2. Which Century was Egbert crowned King of Wessex?
3. What was Danelaw?
4. Which Irish monk converted the Picts to Christianity?
5. Who was St. Alban?
6. What was significant about the Treaty of Wedmore?
7. What title did Edward the Elder take in 901 AD?
8. How many Saxon kings were named ‘Ethelred’?
9. Which people took control of Cumberland and Westmoreland from the English in 945?
10. Who were killed on St. Brice’s Day in 1002?
11. What was the nickname of Harold I?
12. Which Danish king of England died of drink in 1035?
13. Who became King of Scotland in 1040?
14. Which English King founded Westminster Abbey in 1052?
15. Who became King of the Southern portion of England in 1016, only to be assassinated in the same year?
Answers to Early British History Quiz I
1. He was a Roman/British chieftain who fought against the Saxon invaders of England during the early 6th Century.
2. 9th Century - 802 AD to be precise..
3. Danish occupied territory in England.
4. St. Columba. He used as his base a monastery which he founded on the Island of Iona
5. A Roman Soldier who became a Christian martyr in England. He was scourged and beheaded for sheltering and changing clothes with a Christian Priest who had converted him.
6. Signed in 878 AD, the Treaty divided England into two sections: Wessex in the South , Danelaw in the North.
7. King of the Angles and Saxons.
8. Two
9. The Scots.
10. Danish settlers and mercenaries in Southern England.
11. Harold the Harefoot.
12. Hardicanute
13. Macbeth. He killed Duncan in the Battle of Elgin.
14. Edward the Confessor.
15. Edmund Ironside, the son of Elthelred II.
History Super Lecture - Part Two
Hour 7
The aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire in the West
The Frankish and Saxon invasions
The exapansion of the Vandals, Visigoths and Huns
Resurrected Byzantine Empire - under Justinian
The Western European Early Dark Ages
The growth of Christendom - Clovis, early monasteries, church splits
Hour 8
Islam
The Arab Invasions
Spread of Islam to Asia (Ghazani etc)
Arab-Indian Intellectual exchange
Hour 9
The Feudal System
Chalemagne
Holy Roman Empire
Viking Invasions
Fall of Paganism
Rise of Christian Anti-Semitism
Hour 10
The Early Saxon Kingdoms in England - Alfred the Great
Events until 1066
1066 and all that - Norman Kingdom
Neo-Platonism to Scholasticism
War against Islam in Spain
Hour 11
Plantagenat rule in England
War with the Scots
Rise of the Valois in France
Hundred Years War
War of the Roses - Lancaster v York
Hour 12
The High Medieval Age to the Renaissance
The Italian Wars - Italian City States
Tudor growth in England
Revolutions in Art, Literature and Science
Renaissance overview
Age of Exploration
The aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire in the West
The Frankish and Saxon invasions
The exapansion of the Vandals, Visigoths and Huns
Resurrected Byzantine Empire - under Justinian
The Western European Early Dark Ages
The growth of Christendom - Clovis, early monasteries, church splits
Hour 8
Islam
The Arab Invasions
Spread of Islam to Asia (Ghazani etc)
Arab-Indian Intellectual exchange
Hour 9
The Feudal System
Chalemagne
Holy Roman Empire
Viking Invasions
Fall of Paganism
Rise of Christian Anti-Semitism
Hour 10
The Early Saxon Kingdoms in England - Alfred the Great
Events until 1066
1066 and all that - Norman Kingdom
Neo-Platonism to Scholasticism
War against Islam in Spain
Hour 11
Plantagenat rule in England
War with the Scots
Rise of the Valois in France
Hundred Years War
War of the Roses - Lancaster v York
Hour 12
The High Medieval Age to the Renaissance
The Italian Wars - Italian City States
Tudor growth in England
Revolutions in Art, Literature and Science
Renaissance overview
Age of Exploration
Friday, August 17, 2007
History Super Lecture - Part One
I have this idea for a 24 hour long lecture that I would like to deliver some time. I know it sounds ridiculous, but my intention is to obtain sponsorship with all revenue collected going to charity. An additional challenge is that I will speak for 24 hours without any notes.
Lecture Title: The History of Western Civilization.
The following is a list of the time chronology of the lecture with the list of topics to be covered.
(Hours 1-6)
Hour 1:
- Out of Africa Theory
- Beaker Cultures and the Venus of Willendorf
- The Agricultural Revolution
- The Urban Revolution
- Mespotamia (Ur, Akkad, Erich, Nippur etc).
- The Hittites, Cimmerians and the Hurrians
- Abyssinia and Babbylonia
Hour 2:
- The Scythians
- The Phoenicians
- Lydia-Media: Persians
- The Ancient Israelites - History + System of Ethics
Hour 3:
The Ancient Egyptians
- The Old, New, Middle Kingdoms
- Egyptian Mythology
- The Pyramids/Scientific Advancement
- Book of the Dead
- Nomarch and Ma'at
- Conquests
Hour 4:
Ancient Greece I:
- Minoan Civilization
- Mycenean Civilization
- Doric Invasion
- Dark Ages
- Classical Greece
- Greek Mythology
- Greek Philosophy
Hour 5:
Ancient Greece II:
- Greek Contribution to Math, Science, Art, Literature
- The Persian Wars
- Conflicts betweem Athens and Sparta (Two Visions)
- Conquests of Alexander the Great
- The Hellenic Era
Hour 6:
Rome the Kingdom and the Republic
- The Origins of Rome
- The Kingdom
- Structure of the Republic
- The Italian Wars
- The Punic Wars
- Macedonian and Greek Campaigns
- Wars in Asian Minor
- The End of the The Repoublic: Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Cicero, Crassus, Caesar
........More to Follow
Lecture Title: The History of Western Civilization.
The following is a list of the time chronology of the lecture with the list of topics to be covered.
(Hours 1-6)
Hour 1:
- Out of Africa Theory
- Beaker Cultures and the Venus of Willendorf
- The Agricultural Revolution
- The Urban Revolution
- Mespotamia (Ur, Akkad, Erich, Nippur etc).
- The Hittites, Cimmerians and the Hurrians
- Abyssinia and Babbylonia
Hour 2:
- The Scythians
- The Phoenicians
- Lydia-Media: Persians
- The Ancient Israelites - History + System of Ethics
Hour 3:
The Ancient Egyptians
- The Old, New, Middle Kingdoms
- Egyptian Mythology
- The Pyramids/Scientific Advancement
- Book of the Dead
- Nomarch and Ma'at
- Conquests
Hour 4:
Ancient Greece I:
- Minoan Civilization
- Mycenean Civilization
- Doric Invasion
- Dark Ages
- Classical Greece
- Greek Mythology
- Greek Philosophy
Hour 5:
Ancient Greece II:
- Greek Contribution to Math, Science, Art, Literature
- The Persian Wars
- Conflicts betweem Athens and Sparta (Two Visions)
- Conquests of Alexander the Great
- The Hellenic Era
Hour 6:
Rome the Kingdom and the Republic
- The Origins of Rome
- The Kingdom
- Structure of the Republic
- The Italian Wars
- The Punic Wars
- Macedonian and Greek Campaigns
- Wars in Asian Minor
- The End of the The Repoublic: Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Cicero, Crassus, Caesar
........More to Follow
Monday, August 6, 2007
World War II Thinking Questions - Part I
These are great for the grey matter..............
1. Why did Hitler not order his forces to finish off the British Expeditionary Force in Dunkirk? What would have happened if he did?
2. Why did Germany declare war on the US so soon after Pearl Harbour?
3. How would the Second World War have evolved if Hitler had not ordered Operation Barbarossa at all or so early in the war?
4. Did the Allies know ahead of time of the attack on Pearl Harbour?
5. How would the Battle for Southern Europe have changed if Franco had thrown his forces behind Hitler instead of remaining neutral?
6. If the Italians had not bungled the Greek Invasion would the Germans have avoided entering Southern Europe altogether?
7. What would have happened if the Suez Canal had fallen into German hands?
8. How much more effective would Japan have been in their Asian campaigns if the Brits did not have control of India? Would the Brits have even entered the Asian fight if this were indeed the case?
9. Could the Allies (Britain and France) have prevented the War if they had acted with force towards Hitler's Rhineland occupation?
10. How would the war have manifested itself if Turkey had thrown its forces behind Germany?
1. Why did Hitler not order his forces to finish off the British Expeditionary Force in Dunkirk? What would have happened if he did?
2. Why did Germany declare war on the US so soon after Pearl Harbour?
3. How would the Second World War have evolved if Hitler had not ordered Operation Barbarossa at all or so early in the war?
4. Did the Allies know ahead of time of the attack on Pearl Harbour?
5. How would the Battle for Southern Europe have changed if Franco had thrown his forces behind Hitler instead of remaining neutral?
6. If the Italians had not bungled the Greek Invasion would the Germans have avoided entering Southern Europe altogether?
7. What would have happened if the Suez Canal had fallen into German hands?
8. How much more effective would Japan have been in their Asian campaigns if the Brits did not have control of India? Would the Brits have even entered the Asian fight if this were indeed the case?
9. Could the Allies (Britain and France) have prevented the War if they had acted with force towards Hitler's Rhineland occupation?
10. How would the war have manifested itself if Turkey had thrown its forces behind Germany?
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Unholy Alliance I
I have been giving some thought to the concept of Unholy Alliances in particular those carved out by the Left (some well meaning others not) with various unsavoury groups to thwart the center – the rational choice. Very often these alliances only serve to resurrect a new evil.
Unholy Alliance I - Brutus with Cassius and Casca against Julius Caesar
Brutus (the champion of Republican virtues who family had driven out the Roman kings) allies himself with the opportunists Cassius and Casca and several others to kill Julius Caesar. Brutus believed that such an act would save Rome from what he deemed to be Caesar’s tyranny.
Why this was short-sighted? Caesar was a powerful force but not a tyrant. He was responsible for a more equitable land distribution amomgst the population and worked to curb some of the powers of the Senate – who were often self-focused and opposed to the buregeoning power of the lower classes (the same classes that Caesar drew his military support from). In addition he secured Rome’s grain supply from Egypt and believed in expanding Rome’s neophyte democracy. His philosophy was in a way closer to the reformist Gracchi brothers and opposed to the Diktat of the Senate (who had earlier backed Caesar’s enemy Pompey – a former ally of the the actual tyrant Sulla). Caesar in short was the wrong target and Brutus identified the incorrect enemy. He should have picked on the bad 'apples' in the Senate but was side tracked by the noise of jealousy and chose to vent his wrath at Caesar.
Results in brief : Caesar was murdered in a gruesome manner. Rome enveloped into a bloody civil war. The forces of Cassius, Casca and Brutus were defeated at Philipi. The Roman controlled territories dividedi nto three domains of power (Second Triumvirate) then later two. Octavian, Caesar’s nephew defeated Mark Anthony at Actium and consolidated Roman power with himself as the Emperor (he will be known as Augustus Caesar). The Republic died as did the last shreds of democracy. An Empire took its place. Augustus would prove to be a competent figure but not so some of his successors: Tiberius, Caligula and Nero, who will each rule with brutality unchecked by the systems of the Republic of Old. In short Brutus’s intentions of saving the Republic failed miserably not only did it end his beloved Republic but instead created the foundations that the very tyranny that he himself so despised could grow.
(on a positive note though George Lucas two thousand years later would gain a historical context – Republic-Empire transition on which to play out his Science Fiction Soap Opera fantasy, Star Wars).
Next posting: Unholy Alliance II - Girondins and the Jacobins
Unholy Alliance I - Brutus with Cassius and Casca against Julius Caesar
Brutus (the champion of Republican virtues who family had driven out the Roman kings) allies himself with the opportunists Cassius and Casca and several others to kill Julius Caesar. Brutus believed that such an act would save Rome from what he deemed to be Caesar’s tyranny.
Why this was short-sighted? Caesar was a powerful force but not a tyrant. He was responsible for a more equitable land distribution amomgst the population and worked to curb some of the powers of the Senate – who were often self-focused and opposed to the buregeoning power of the lower classes (the same classes that Caesar drew his military support from). In addition he secured Rome’s grain supply from Egypt and believed in expanding Rome’s neophyte democracy. His philosophy was in a way closer to the reformist Gracchi brothers and opposed to the Diktat of the Senate (who had earlier backed Caesar’s enemy Pompey – a former ally of the the actual tyrant Sulla). Caesar in short was the wrong target and Brutus identified the incorrect enemy. He should have picked on the bad 'apples' in the Senate but was side tracked by the noise of jealousy and chose to vent his wrath at Caesar.
Results in brief : Caesar was murdered in a gruesome manner. Rome enveloped into a bloody civil war. The forces of Cassius, Casca and Brutus were defeated at Philipi. The Roman controlled territories dividedi nto three domains of power (Second Triumvirate) then later two. Octavian, Caesar’s nephew defeated Mark Anthony at Actium and consolidated Roman power with himself as the Emperor (he will be known as Augustus Caesar). The Republic died as did the last shreds of democracy. An Empire took its place. Augustus would prove to be a competent figure but not so some of his successors: Tiberius, Caligula and Nero, who will each rule with brutality unchecked by the systems of the Republic of Old. In short Brutus’s intentions of saving the Republic failed miserably not only did it end his beloved Republic but instead created the foundations that the very tyranny that he himself so despised could grow.
(on a positive note though George Lucas two thousand years later would gain a historical context – Republic-Empire transition on which to play out his Science Fiction Soap Opera fantasy, Star Wars).
Next posting: Unholy Alliance II - Girondins and the Jacobins
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
On History Education in British Schools
An excellent article reprinted from the Times of London
Original Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article2107201.ece
Children must be taught landmark dates in chronological order from primary school, to give them a common sense of British history and identity, Ofsted tells the Government today. Far from knowing the order of key events, such as the Battle of Hastings or the signing of Magna Carta, pupils have no overview of history and cannot answer the “big questions” it poses, the schools’ inspectorate has found. Not only are key events in British and world history overlooked, but without a sense of the order in which they occurred, students cannot make any connections with the periods that they have studied.
The damning assessment of pupils’ understanding and the way history is taught in England’s schools, particularly primaries, comes after academics and historians have called repeatedly for a review of the way the subject is taught up to the age of 14. “History is taught in all primary schools, but we are recommending that the syllabus is looked at to promote a coherence in what’s being taught – a core, with some local discretion,” said Miriam Rosen, Ofsted’s director of education.
Dr Rosen acknowledged that history had been squeezed in some primaries, because of their need to raise standards in the three Rs. “We quite understand why schools have focused on literacy and numeracy, but we think they are beginning to see they can link history teaching to make sure it’s not lost and that there’s still a focus on the core subjects,” she added. Her comments appear to be at odds with the latest proposals by the Government to allow schools to teach themes such as creativity and cultural understanding, rather than individual academic subjects, such as history and science, at secondary level. In History in the Balance: History in English Schools 2003-7, the inspectors targeted their criticism mainly at the education of 7 to 11-year-olds, “which continues to disappoint”.
While the teachers themselves often had not studied the subject beyond 14, they were also poorly trained in history and tended to jump from one topic to the next, the inspectors found. They cited one primary, where eight-year-olds studied the Romans one term, learnt how children coped in the Second World War the next and finished with Ancient Egypt. Although the National Curriculum calls for pupils to develop a “chronological framework” and to make “connections between events and changes in the different periods”, the inspectors said this rarely happened in practice. “Consequently they often have little sense of chronology and the possibility of establishing an overarching story and addressing broader themes and issues is limited,” they wrote. The inspectors praised history teaching post14, but noted that only 32 per cent of pupils study it at GCSE level and even fewer post16. Although 66 per cent achieve A grades at GCSE, a third of A* grades are from independently educated pupils. The report echoed concerns aired by academics and historians, including Kate Pretty, principal of Homerton College and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, who said that Britain was losing a sense of shared identity, because children were not being taught basic general knowledge in primary school. “It’s not secondary school that instills the deficit, but primaries.
It’s the primary view of the great stories in the past, like Alfred burning the cakes, Magna Carta, Columbus sailing the ocean blue – all that sort of stuff,” she said. “The little tiny stories that make up the common thread which you can pull on, we’re expecting students to somehow implicitly know. It’s not about A-level knowledge of a particular subject, but a general web of understanding that binds us to a past. That seems to me is being lost somewhere in all of this.” The report comes as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority proposes allowing schools from next year to teach themes such as creativity and cultural understanding rather than individual academic subjects from the ages of 11 to 14.
The curriculum watchdog is already piloting a new GCSE syllabus in 70 schools where periods of history are replaced by themes including “conflict and its lasting impact” and “people’s diverse ideas”. Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, said he agreed with many of the points raised by Ofsted, which had been addressed in the revised secondary curriculum introduced last week. “The new curriculum has strengthened the requirement that all pupils need to have a good chronological understanding of history. This is compulsory at primary Key Stages too,” he said, adding that they would improve the training of primary teachers.
However, Michael Gove, the Shadow Children’s Secretary, said the report underlined the dangers of the new curriculum. “The changes Ed Balls [the Education Secretary] announced last week would mean more of the flabby, woolly, ‘theme-based’ teaching this report warns us about,” he said. “Ofsted underlines the importance of rigour and giving pupils a proper connected sense of what went on in the past. Ed Balls’s plans for five-minute lessons and writing Churchill out of the past are the complete opposite of that, and won’t give the next generation the understanding it deserves of our national story.”
Original Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article2107201.ece
Children must be taught landmark dates in chronological order from primary school, to give them a common sense of British history and identity, Ofsted tells the Government today. Far from knowing the order of key events, such as the Battle of Hastings or the signing of Magna Carta, pupils have no overview of history and cannot answer the “big questions” it poses, the schools’ inspectorate has found. Not only are key events in British and world history overlooked, but without a sense of the order in which they occurred, students cannot make any connections with the periods that they have studied.
The damning assessment of pupils’ understanding and the way history is taught in England’s schools, particularly primaries, comes after academics and historians have called repeatedly for a review of the way the subject is taught up to the age of 14. “History is taught in all primary schools, but we are recommending that the syllabus is looked at to promote a coherence in what’s being taught – a core, with some local discretion,” said Miriam Rosen, Ofsted’s director of education.
Dr Rosen acknowledged that history had been squeezed in some primaries, because of their need to raise standards in the three Rs. “We quite understand why schools have focused on literacy and numeracy, but we think they are beginning to see they can link history teaching to make sure it’s not lost and that there’s still a focus on the core subjects,” she added. Her comments appear to be at odds with the latest proposals by the Government to allow schools to teach themes such as creativity and cultural understanding, rather than individual academic subjects, such as history and science, at secondary level. In History in the Balance: History in English Schools 2003-7, the inspectors targeted their criticism mainly at the education of 7 to 11-year-olds, “which continues to disappoint”.
While the teachers themselves often had not studied the subject beyond 14, they were also poorly trained in history and tended to jump from one topic to the next, the inspectors found. They cited one primary, where eight-year-olds studied the Romans one term, learnt how children coped in the Second World War the next and finished with Ancient Egypt. Although the National Curriculum calls for pupils to develop a “chronological framework” and to make “connections between events and changes in the different periods”, the inspectors said this rarely happened in practice. “Consequently they often have little sense of chronology and the possibility of establishing an overarching story and addressing broader themes and issues is limited,” they wrote. The inspectors praised history teaching post14, but noted that only 32 per cent of pupils study it at GCSE level and even fewer post16. Although 66 per cent achieve A grades at GCSE, a third of A* grades are from independently educated pupils. The report echoed concerns aired by academics and historians, including Kate Pretty, principal of Homerton College and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, who said that Britain was losing a sense of shared identity, because children were not being taught basic general knowledge in primary school. “It’s not secondary school that instills the deficit, but primaries.
It’s the primary view of the great stories in the past, like Alfred burning the cakes, Magna Carta, Columbus sailing the ocean blue – all that sort of stuff,” she said. “The little tiny stories that make up the common thread which you can pull on, we’re expecting students to somehow implicitly know. It’s not about A-level knowledge of a particular subject, but a general web of understanding that binds us to a past. That seems to me is being lost somewhere in all of this.” The report comes as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority proposes allowing schools from next year to teach themes such as creativity and cultural understanding rather than individual academic subjects from the ages of 11 to 14.
The curriculum watchdog is already piloting a new GCSE syllabus in 70 schools where periods of history are replaced by themes including “conflict and its lasting impact” and “people’s diverse ideas”. Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, said he agreed with many of the points raised by Ofsted, which had been addressed in the revised secondary curriculum introduced last week. “The new curriculum has strengthened the requirement that all pupils need to have a good chronological understanding of history. This is compulsory at primary Key Stages too,” he said, adding that they would improve the training of primary teachers.
However, Michael Gove, the Shadow Children’s Secretary, said the report underlined the dangers of the new curriculum. “The changes Ed Balls [the Education Secretary] announced last week would mean more of the flabby, woolly, ‘theme-based’ teaching this report warns us about,” he said. “Ofsted underlines the importance of rigour and giving pupils a proper connected sense of what went on in the past. Ed Balls’s plans for five-minute lessons and writing Churchill out of the past are the complete opposite of that, and won’t give the next generation the understanding it deserves of our national story.”
Monday, July 16, 2007
An Anti-Terror Campaign
By Steven Plaut From Front Page Magazine.
After their military defeat by regular forces, the occupied population produced terrorists who engaged in bombings, sniping, poisonings, and other attacks on occupation forces and on the civilian population. They operated as irregulars in small terror units, armed with automatic weapons and bazookas.
Women and minors as young as eight participated in the terror attacks. They attempted to build weapons of mass destruction, using chemical poisons. They assassinated officials of the occupation regime. They had a special obsession with torturing and murdering "collaborators." They murdered hundreds of civilians, while thousands of the terrorists themselves were killed by the occupation armed forces. The occupiers responded to terror with brutality and force, sometimes using collective punishment.
The above does not refer to or describe the anti-American and anti-British terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nor does it describe Palestinian terrorism against Israel launched from the West Bank and Gaza.
What it does refer to is the campaign of terrorism directed against Allied forces in Europe in the aftermath of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The terrorists were members of a number of underground "resistance" organizations attempting to punish the Allied "occupiers" and drive them out. The most important of the terror groups was known as Werwolf (German for werewolf).
For the rest of the article go to:
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28945
After their military defeat by regular forces, the occupied population produced terrorists who engaged in bombings, sniping, poisonings, and other attacks on occupation forces and on the civilian population. They operated as irregulars in small terror units, armed with automatic weapons and bazookas.
Women and minors as young as eight participated in the terror attacks. They attempted to build weapons of mass destruction, using chemical poisons. They assassinated officials of the occupation regime. They had a special obsession with torturing and murdering "collaborators." They murdered hundreds of civilians, while thousands of the terrorists themselves were killed by the occupation armed forces. The occupiers responded to terror with brutality and force, sometimes using collective punishment.
The above does not refer to or describe the anti-American and anti-British terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nor does it describe Palestinian terrorism against Israel launched from the West Bank and Gaza.
What it does refer to is the campaign of terrorism directed against Allied forces in Europe in the aftermath of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The terrorists were members of a number of underground "resistance" organizations attempting to punish the Allied "occupiers" and drive them out. The most important of the terror groups was known as Werwolf (German for werewolf).
For the rest of the article go to:
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28945
Old Testament Link on 2600 year old Tablet
Source: The Australian. Go there for the full article.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22060312-2,00.html
THE British Museum yesterday hailed a discovery within a clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archeology - proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.
The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time - revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.
It is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.
Vatican calls itself the 'one true faith' » 4000-year-old snake sparks road rage »
The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim who, according to Jeremiah 39 was present in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar "marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it".
The cuneiform inscription records how Nebo-Sarsekim lavished a gift of gold on the Temple of Esangila in the fabled city of Babylon, where, at least in folk tradition, Nebuchadnezzar is credited with building the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
British Museum staff are excited by the discovery. Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Department of the Middle East, said: "A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. "This is a tablet that deserves to be famous."
The discovery was made by Michael Jursa, associate professor at the University of Vienna, on a research trip to the museum. "It's very exciting and very surprising," he said.
"Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary."
Since 1991, Dr Jursa has been visiting the museum to study a collection of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets - the world's largest holdings.
Cuneiform is the oldest known form of writing. During its 3000-year history, it was used to write about 15 languages, including Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite and Urartian.
There are only a small number of scholars worldwide who can read cuneiform script.
....Continued at source.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22060312-2,00.html
THE British Museum yesterday hailed a discovery within a clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archeology - proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.
The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time - revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.
It is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.
Vatican calls itself the 'one true faith' » 4000-year-old snake sparks road rage »
The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim who, according to Jeremiah 39 was present in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar "marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it".
The cuneiform inscription records how Nebo-Sarsekim lavished a gift of gold on the Temple of Esangila in the fabled city of Babylon, where, at least in folk tradition, Nebuchadnezzar is credited with building the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
British Museum staff are excited by the discovery. Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Department of the Middle East, said: "A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. "This is a tablet that deserves to be famous."
The discovery was made by Michael Jursa, associate professor at the University of Vienna, on a research trip to the museum. "It's very exciting and very surprising," he said.
"Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary."
Since 1991, Dr Jursa has been visiting the museum to study a collection of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets - the world's largest holdings.
Cuneiform is the oldest known form of writing. During its 3000-year history, it was used to write about 15 languages, including Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite and Urartian.
There are only a small number of scholars worldwide who can read cuneiform script.
....Continued at source.
Ancient Egypt Quiz #2
Ancient Egypt II
1. Which Egyptian Goddess is depicted by a cow?
2. Which pharoah introduced monotheism to Egypt?
3. Who was his Queen?
4. Who was the son God?
5. Between which centuries did the Middle Kingdom exist?
6. Name the three most prominent cities during the period of the Middle Kingdom?
7. Under which pharoah was polytheism introduced into Egypt?
8. Which pharoah was likened by later historians to an Egyptian Napoleon?
9. Who was the mother of this pharoah?
10. Who was the Egyptian bull god?
11. Who according to mythology was creator of all the pharoahs?
12. Which people were Ramases II’s greatest enemy?
13. At which battle did Ramases II record his greatest victory over this enemy?
14. Which Englishman discovered Tut’s tomb?
15. What area of Egypt did the Hebrews reside in before the exodus?
Answers to Ancient Egypt II
1. Hathor
2. Akhaenton
3. Nephretiti
4. Ra
5. 18th to the 20th Century BC.
6. Thebes, Memphis and Luxor.
7. Tutankhamen
8. Ramases II.
9. Hatshepsut
10. Serapis
11. Ptah
12. Hittites
13. Battle of Kadesh.
14. Howard Carter.
15. Goshen
1. Which Egyptian Goddess is depicted by a cow?
2. Which pharoah introduced monotheism to Egypt?
3. Who was his Queen?
4. Who was the son God?
5. Between which centuries did the Middle Kingdom exist?
6. Name the three most prominent cities during the period of the Middle Kingdom?
7. Under which pharoah was polytheism introduced into Egypt?
8. Which pharoah was likened by later historians to an Egyptian Napoleon?
9. Who was the mother of this pharoah?
10. Who was the Egyptian bull god?
11. Who according to mythology was creator of all the pharoahs?
12. Which people were Ramases II’s greatest enemy?
13. At which battle did Ramases II record his greatest victory over this enemy?
14. Which Englishman discovered Tut’s tomb?
15. What area of Egypt did the Hebrews reside in before the exodus?
Answers to Ancient Egypt II
1. Hathor
2. Akhaenton
3. Nephretiti
4. Ra
5. 18th to the 20th Century BC.
6. Thebes, Memphis and Luxor.
7. Tutankhamen
8. Ramases II.
9. Hatshepsut
10. Serapis
11. Ptah
12. Hittites
13. Battle of Kadesh.
14. Howard Carter.
15. Goshen
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Two Important Scholars
Michael Coren - see http://www.michaelcoren.com/ had two excellent guests on his show tonight.
Author Bat Ye'or and Historian David Littman
Topics discussed were the Jewish Refugee Crisis in 1948 (from the Arab World - 900,000 Jews fled this region), bias against Israel at the UN (Littman spoke at length about this - he is involved in a NGO associated with the UN) and the rise of Jihadist culture in Europe.
For more on Bat Ye'or go to: http://www.dhimmi.org/
For more on David Littman's writings check out www.dhimmitude.org/archive/universal_islam.html and
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-littman092602.asp - Looks at the Hamas Charter.
Its rather heart warming to read of individuals of such a high academic calibre especially when so much of the academic discourse available of late is of such poor quality.
Author Bat Ye'or and Historian David Littman
Topics discussed were the Jewish Refugee Crisis in 1948 (from the Arab World - 900,000 Jews fled this region), bias against Israel at the UN (Littman spoke at length about this - he is involved in a NGO associated with the UN) and the rise of Jihadist culture in Europe.
For more on Bat Ye'or go to: http://www.dhimmi.org/
For more on David Littman's writings check out www.dhimmitude.org/archive/universal_islam.html and
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-littman092602.asp - Looks at the Hamas Charter.
Its rather heart warming to read of individuals of such a high academic calibre especially when so much of the academic discourse available of late is of such poor quality.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Russian History Quiz
Russian History
1. This Leader was deported in 1926. Who was he?
2. In which Town were the Tsar and his family executed?
3. This General set up a regime in Crimea from March to November 1920. Who was this General?
4. Lenin introduced this Policy in March 1921 to weaken the peasant revolts that had broken out against the Bolsheviks all over the country. What was this Policy called?
5. Which two colours fought the Russian Civil War?
6. At which Naval base did a revolt breakout in March 1921?
7. Which position did Josef Stalin achieve in April 1922?
8. This one-time ally of Stalin was ousted from the Politburo in 1929. He would die in the purges in 1938. Who was he?
9. Which Plan was adopted in 1928?
10. Which two individuals ruled Russia in a triumvirate together with Stalin after the death of Lenin?
11. This man’s death began the Great Terror of the Purges. Who was he?
12. Which Region became an autonomous Jewish state in 1934?
13. Which type of farms were favoured by Stalin and Co. in the Five-Year Plans?
14. What term did Stalin use to label all peasants who opposed his agricultural reforms?
15. This man was the Chief Prosecutor during the Great purges. Who was he?
Answers to Russian History
1. Leon Trotsky.
2. Ekaterinburg
3. General Wrangel.
4. The NEP or New Economic Policy. It was a mixture of socialism and capitalism.
5. The Whites and the Reds.
6. Kronstadt. It was put down by both Trotsky and Tukhachevsky.
7. He became Secretary General of the Communist Party.
8. Nikolai Bukharin.
9. The First Five-Year Plan.
10. Zinoviev and Kamenev.
11. Sergei Kirov.
12. Birobidzhan
13. Collective Farms.
14. Kulaks
15. Andrey Vyshinsky.
1. This Leader was deported in 1926. Who was he?
2. In which Town were the Tsar and his family executed?
3. This General set up a regime in Crimea from March to November 1920. Who was this General?
4. Lenin introduced this Policy in March 1921 to weaken the peasant revolts that had broken out against the Bolsheviks all over the country. What was this Policy called?
5. Which two colours fought the Russian Civil War?
6. At which Naval base did a revolt breakout in March 1921?
7. Which position did Josef Stalin achieve in April 1922?
8. This one-time ally of Stalin was ousted from the Politburo in 1929. He would die in the purges in 1938. Who was he?
9. Which Plan was adopted in 1928?
10. Which two individuals ruled Russia in a triumvirate together with Stalin after the death of Lenin?
11. This man’s death began the Great Terror of the Purges. Who was he?
12. Which Region became an autonomous Jewish state in 1934?
13. Which type of farms were favoured by Stalin and Co. in the Five-Year Plans?
14. What term did Stalin use to label all peasants who opposed his agricultural reforms?
15. This man was the Chief Prosecutor during the Great purges. Who was he?
Answers to Russian History
1. Leon Trotsky.
2. Ekaterinburg
3. General Wrangel.
4. The NEP or New Economic Policy. It was a mixture of socialism and capitalism.
5. The Whites and the Reds.
6. Kronstadt. It was put down by both Trotsky and Tukhachevsky.
7. He became Secretary General of the Communist Party.
8. Nikolai Bukharin.
9. The First Five-Year Plan.
10. Zinoviev and Kamenev.
11. Sergei Kirov.
12. Birobidzhan
13. Collective Farms.
14. Kulaks
15. Andrey Vyshinsky.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
10 Worst Britons
This is an Old One from BBC History Magazine but its certainly thought provoking. I like the century by century focus.
Reproduced from original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4561624.stm
'Worst' historical Britons list
The full list is:
1900-2000: Oswald Mosley (1896-1980)He was elected as an MP for first the Conservatives and then Labour before becoming disillusioned with mainstream politics and founding the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932.
1800-1900: Jack the RipperThe name given to a serial killer believed to be responsible for the murders of at least four prostitutes in Whitechapel, East London, in the second half of 1888. His identity has never been established.
1700-1800: Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65)A younger son of King George II, he was given the nickname "Butcher" for the merciless manner in which he defeated the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 and quelled the Jacobite Rising.
1600-1700: Titus Oates (1649-1705)In 1678 he made up a story about a Catholic plot to murder King Charles II which led to scores of people being rounded up and several innocent men being executed. He was later convicted of perjury and jailed.
Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich of Leighs (1496/7-1567)Throughout his life he shifted his political and religious allegiances to further his career. During Henry VIII's reign he gave evidence against Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher which helped to convict them of treason, for which they were executed.
1400-1500: Thomas Arundel (1353-1414)Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, he persecuted the Lollards, a group calling for reform of the Catholic Church by promoting a lay priesthood and translations of the Bible.
1300-1400: Hugh Despenser (The Younger) (died 1326)He became one of the richest men in the kingdom by ruthlessly eliminating his enemies and greedily seizing land in South Wales. He was executed as a traitor.
1200-1300: King John (1167-1216)He captured and apparently murdered his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, who was his rival for the throne after the death of Richard the Lionheart in 1199.
1100-1200: Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1120-70)He divided England by quarrelling with King Henry II over the rights of the church. He was assassinated by four knights from Henry's court in Canterbury Cathedral.
1000-1100: Eadric Streona (died 1017)King Aethelred II's chief counsellor betrayed his country by switching sides when the Danish king Cnut invaded England in 1015.
Reproduced from original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4561624.stm
'Worst' historical Britons list
The full list is:
1900-2000: Oswald Mosley (1896-1980)He was elected as an MP for first the Conservatives and then Labour before becoming disillusioned with mainstream politics and founding the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932.
1800-1900: Jack the RipperThe name given to a serial killer believed to be responsible for the murders of at least four prostitutes in Whitechapel, East London, in the second half of 1888. His identity has never been established.
1700-1800: Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65)A younger son of King George II, he was given the nickname "Butcher" for the merciless manner in which he defeated the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 and quelled the Jacobite Rising.
1600-1700: Titus Oates (1649-1705)In 1678 he made up a story about a Catholic plot to murder King Charles II which led to scores of people being rounded up and several innocent men being executed. He was later convicted of perjury and jailed.
Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich of Leighs (1496/7-1567)Throughout his life he shifted his political and religious allegiances to further his career. During Henry VIII's reign he gave evidence against Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher which helped to convict them of treason, for which they were executed.
1400-1500: Thomas Arundel (1353-1414)Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, he persecuted the Lollards, a group calling for reform of the Catholic Church by promoting a lay priesthood and translations of the Bible.
1300-1400: Hugh Despenser (The Younger) (died 1326)He became one of the richest men in the kingdom by ruthlessly eliminating his enemies and greedily seizing land in South Wales. He was executed as a traitor.
1200-1300: King John (1167-1216)He captured and apparently murdered his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, who was his rival for the throne after the death of Richard the Lionheart in 1199.
1100-1200: Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1120-70)He divided England by quarrelling with King Henry II over the rights of the church. He was assassinated by four knights from Henry's court in Canterbury Cathedral.
1000-1100: Eadric Streona (died 1017)King Aethelred II's chief counsellor betrayed his country by switching sides when the Danish king Cnut invaded England in 1015.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Monument to Victims of Communism
Its about time.
By Jacob LaksinFrontPageMagazine.com June 15, 2007
Washington D.C. -- Holocaust victims have one. So do the fallen of World War II and Vietnam. But what of the estimated 100 million who perished at the hands of the last century’s greatest tragedy, communist totalitarianism?
Until recently, these silenced masses -- victims of Soviet gulags, Vietnamese concentration camps, Cambodia‘s killing fields, the East German, Cuban and North Korean police states -- had no fitting memorial to remind the world of their unjust, and often inhuman, fate, let alone of the ideology that abbreviated so many lives. That changed this week with the dedication in the nation’s capital of the world’s first memorial to the collective victims of communism.
It is a long time coming. The memorial is largely the fruit of the labors of Lee Edwards, a writer and a fellow in conservative thought at The Heritage Foundation. Long known for his opposition to communism -- in his well-regarded book, The Conservative Revolution, Edwards proposed the notion that “communism should be defeated, not simply contained” as a core tenet of conservatism -- Edwards credits his wife Anne with coining the idea for the project in January of 1990. “I could see even then that memories about communism were fading,” Edwards said in an interview. “These things worried me.”
for the rest of the article go to: http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28759
By Jacob LaksinFrontPageMagazine.com June 15, 2007
Washington D.C. -- Holocaust victims have one. So do the fallen of World War II and Vietnam. But what of the estimated 100 million who perished at the hands of the last century’s greatest tragedy, communist totalitarianism?
Until recently, these silenced masses -- victims of Soviet gulags, Vietnamese concentration camps, Cambodia‘s killing fields, the East German, Cuban and North Korean police states -- had no fitting memorial to remind the world of their unjust, and often inhuman, fate, let alone of the ideology that abbreviated so many lives. That changed this week with the dedication in the nation’s capital of the world’s first memorial to the collective victims of communism.
It is a long time coming. The memorial is largely the fruit of the labors of Lee Edwards, a writer and a fellow in conservative thought at The Heritage Foundation. Long known for his opposition to communism -- in his well-regarded book, The Conservative Revolution, Edwards proposed the notion that “communism should be defeated, not simply contained” as a core tenet of conservatism -- Edwards credits his wife Anne with coining the idea for the project in January of 1990. “I could see even then that memories about communism were fading,” Edwards said in an interview. “These things worried me.”
for the rest of the article go to: http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28759
Monday, June 11, 2007
History in the News
I scanned the internet recenly for some new history stories of interest. Here are a few that are worth looking into:
Napoleon's sword sells for 6.5 million dollars.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6737909.stm
There is clearly still some life in the Little Corporal.
A look at Hemingway and Orwell in Spain
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28681
Contrasts in personality
The Other D-Day
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/VictorDavisHanson/2007/06/07/the_other_d-day
How D-Day almost backfired
On Churchill and Zionism
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2006/08/the_controversy.html
A worthwhile article from Peter Hitchens - the better of the two Hitchens brothers.
A look at the relationship between Eisenhower and MacArthur in the 1930's
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/mhq/3025421.html?featured=y&c=y
Napoleon's sword sells for 6.5 million dollars.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6737909.stm
There is clearly still some life in the Little Corporal.
A look at Hemingway and Orwell in Spain
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28681
Contrasts in personality
The Other D-Day
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/VictorDavisHanson/2007/06/07/the_other_d-day
How D-Day almost backfired
On Churchill and Zionism
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2006/08/the_controversy.html
A worthwhile article from Peter Hitchens - the better of the two Hitchens brothers.
A look at the relationship between Eisenhower and MacArthur in the 1930's
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/mhq/3025421.html?featured=y&c=y
Monday, June 4, 2007
40th Anniversary of the Six Day War
The following is list of some wonderful articles on the Six Day War.
Prelude to the Six Day War by Charles Krauthammer
There has hardly been a Middle East peace plan in the past 40 years -- including the current Saudi version -- that does not demand a return to the status quo of June 4, 1967. Why is that date so sacred? Because it was the day before the outbreak of the Six-Day War in which Israel scored one of the most stunning victories of the 20th century. The Arabs have spent four decades trying to undo its consequences.
For the rest go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701976.html
Soviet Involvement: A New Interpretation
One of the great enigmas of the modern Middle East is why, 40 years ago next week, the Six-Day War took place. Neither Israel nor its Arab neighbors wanted or expected a fight in June 1967; the consensus view among historians holds that the unwanted combat resulted from a sequence of accidents. Enter Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, a wife-husband team, to challenge the accident theory and offer a plausible explanation for the causes of the war.
For the rest go to:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180527965670&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Quotes from the Aftermath:
Source: http://www.sixdaywar.co.uk/aftermath.htm
“If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations”. - US President Lyndon Johnson - June 19th 1967
"The biggest outcome of the Six Day War was that the State of Israel wasn't destroyed. For the Arabs, the biggest outcome was the discrediting of the Arab nationalist idiom, the movement which had dominated the previous half century.... - [more...] Michael Oren
The USSR wanted to create another trouble spot for the United States in addition to that already existing in Vietnam. - [more...] Ahron Bregman
"... It is undeniable that Soviet warnings about imaginary Israeli "troop concentrations" on the Syrian border prodded Nasser to action. And it is quite impossible that Moscow could have believed what it was saying. " [more...]- Abba Eban
"There was an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the public, and what bothered me and bothers me ever since was how a nation with such military might can suddenly lose its confidence about its ability to fight back and win, when war becomes inevitable." more...] - Ariel Sharon (then an army general)
"Very soon", I told my grandchildren, "the soldiers will come home; there will be peace; we will be able to travel to Jordan and to Egypt and all will be well." I honestly believed it, but it wasn't to be." - [more...] Golda Meir
... While many individuals and groups did speak up to draw attention to the real threat Israel faced, one group was conspicuously silent - the Christian church. - [more...] Dave Blewett
...this [Soviet] warning was deliberate disinformation, part of a plan approved at the highest level of Soviet leadership to elicit Egyptian action that would provoke an Israeli strike. - abstract from - [more...] Isabella Ginor
"For the Arab world the question is ... how we can best make peace with Israel in such a way that many Arabs believe that they can still destroy Israel..." - [more...] Michael Oren
June 5, 2007 will mark forty years since the Six-Day War. As we approach that anniversary, we can expect Israel’s critics, enemies and alleged friends, to intensify their demands for Israel to relinquish and evacuate the “occupied territories”. - [more...] - Rachel Newuirth.
"The greatest success of the Diaspora in the post-Holocaust era: the saving of Soviet Jewry. That would not have happened without the Six Day War...[more...] -Yossi Klein-Halevi
...on a more positive note, in uniting Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, also opened up the holy places of the world's three major faiths to a degree of freedom of access and worship they had never known in all the centuries of Muslim rule." - [more...] Calev Ben David
Prelude to the Six Day War by Charles Krauthammer
There has hardly been a Middle East peace plan in the past 40 years -- including the current Saudi version -- that does not demand a return to the status quo of June 4, 1967. Why is that date so sacred? Because it was the day before the outbreak of the Six-Day War in which Israel scored one of the most stunning victories of the 20th century. The Arabs have spent four decades trying to undo its consequences.
For the rest go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701976.html
Soviet Involvement: A New Interpretation
One of the great enigmas of the modern Middle East is why, 40 years ago next week, the Six-Day War took place. Neither Israel nor its Arab neighbors wanted or expected a fight in June 1967; the consensus view among historians holds that the unwanted combat resulted from a sequence of accidents. Enter Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, a wife-husband team, to challenge the accident theory and offer a plausible explanation for the causes of the war.
For the rest go to:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180527965670&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Quotes from the Aftermath:
Source: http://www.sixdaywar.co.uk/aftermath.htm
“If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations”. - US President Lyndon Johnson - June 19th 1967
"The biggest outcome of the Six Day War was that the State of Israel wasn't destroyed. For the Arabs, the biggest outcome was the discrediting of the Arab nationalist idiom, the movement which had dominated the previous half century.... - [more...] Michael Oren
The USSR wanted to create another trouble spot for the United States in addition to that already existing in Vietnam. - [more...] Ahron Bregman
"... It is undeniable that Soviet warnings about imaginary Israeli "troop concentrations" on the Syrian border prodded Nasser to action. And it is quite impossible that Moscow could have believed what it was saying. " [more...]- Abba Eban
"There was an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the public, and what bothered me and bothers me ever since was how a nation with such military might can suddenly lose its confidence about its ability to fight back and win, when war becomes inevitable." more...] - Ariel Sharon (then an army general)
"Very soon", I told my grandchildren, "the soldiers will come home; there will be peace; we will be able to travel to Jordan and to Egypt and all will be well." I honestly believed it, but it wasn't to be." - [more...] Golda Meir
... While many individuals and groups did speak up to draw attention to the real threat Israel faced, one group was conspicuously silent - the Christian church. - [more...] Dave Blewett
...this [Soviet] warning was deliberate disinformation, part of a plan approved at the highest level of Soviet leadership to elicit Egyptian action that would provoke an Israeli strike. - abstract from - [more...] Isabella Ginor
"For the Arab world the question is ... how we can best make peace with Israel in such a way that many Arabs believe that they can still destroy Israel..." - [more...] Michael Oren
June 5, 2007 will mark forty years since the Six-Day War. As we approach that anniversary, we can expect Israel’s critics, enemies and alleged friends, to intensify their demands for Israel to relinquish and evacuate the “occupied territories”. - [more...] - Rachel Newuirth.
"The greatest success of the Diaspora in the post-Holocaust era: the saving of Soviet Jewry. That would not have happened without the Six Day War...[more...] -Yossi Klein-Halevi
...on a more positive note, in uniting Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, also opened up the holy places of the world's three major faiths to a degree of freedom of access and worship they had never known in all the centuries of Muslim rule." - [more...] Calev Ben David
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Middle East History Quiz
1. Ismail became Shah of which Persian Dynasty in 1501?
2. During his reign from 1520 to 1566, the Ottoman Empire peaked. Who was he?
3. Sultan Mahmud II worked to weaken this group within the Army of the Ottoman Empire. Which Group was this?
4. Sultan Abdul Hamid II undertook the building of this railway designed to make pilgrimage to Medina easier. What was this Railway called?
5. Which Country expanded into Turkestan between 1860-70?
6. Which Country did the reformer Muhammad Abduh play a leading role in?
7. In which country did Abd al-Qadir lead a revolt against the French between 1832 to 1847?
8. After 1261, the Abbasids continued as Caliphs in this Egyptian City. Which City was this?
9. An alternative name for the Nusaryi Shiites, of which Hafez al-Asad was a member, is what?
10. What was the most common name of Ottoman rulers?
11. A military junta led by this man in Iraq replaced the Monarchy in 1958. Who was this man?
12. This man became King of Morrocco in 1961. Who was he?
13. These two countries formed the United Arab Republic in 1958. Which two countries were they?
14. This man replaced the Ayatollah Khomeini as the Spiritual Leader of Iran in 1989. Who was he?
15. This Lebanese President-Elect was killed by a bomb in 1982. Who was he?
Answers to Middle Eastern History Quiz
1. The Safavid Dynasty. He would rule until 1524.
2. Suleiman the Magnificent. He was known to the Turks as Suleiman, the Law-Giver
3. The Janissaries.
4. The Hijaz Railway. It linked Damascus to Medina.
5. Russia
6. Egypt
7. Algeria. It failed and he was forced to surrender in 1847.
8. Cairo. Their dynasty would collapse c. 1517.
9. The Alawi (or Alawites).
10. Mehmed. There were six of them. There were five Murads.
11. Abdul Karem Kassim. He in turn was overthrown in 1963.
12. King Hassan II. He would die in 1999 and would be succeeded by his son, Prince Sidi Muhammad, who would be crowned King Muhammad VI.
13. Egypt and Syria. Syria would pull out in 1961. Egypt would still keep the name until 1971. It then changed to the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE).
14. The Ayatollah Khamenei.
15. Bashir Gemayel. He was replaced by his older brother, Amin Gemayel, as President. Bashir was 34 at the time of his death.
2. During his reign from 1520 to 1566, the Ottoman Empire peaked. Who was he?
3. Sultan Mahmud II worked to weaken this group within the Army of the Ottoman Empire. Which Group was this?
4. Sultan Abdul Hamid II undertook the building of this railway designed to make pilgrimage to Medina easier. What was this Railway called?
5. Which Country expanded into Turkestan between 1860-70?
6. Which Country did the reformer Muhammad Abduh play a leading role in?
7. In which country did Abd al-Qadir lead a revolt against the French between 1832 to 1847?
8. After 1261, the Abbasids continued as Caliphs in this Egyptian City. Which City was this?
9. An alternative name for the Nusaryi Shiites, of which Hafez al-Asad was a member, is what?
10. What was the most common name of Ottoman rulers?
11. A military junta led by this man in Iraq replaced the Monarchy in 1958. Who was this man?
12. This man became King of Morrocco in 1961. Who was he?
13. These two countries formed the United Arab Republic in 1958. Which two countries were they?
14. This man replaced the Ayatollah Khomeini as the Spiritual Leader of Iran in 1989. Who was he?
15. This Lebanese President-Elect was killed by a bomb in 1982. Who was he?
Answers to Middle Eastern History Quiz
1. The Safavid Dynasty. He would rule until 1524.
2. Suleiman the Magnificent. He was known to the Turks as Suleiman, the Law-Giver
3. The Janissaries.
4. The Hijaz Railway. It linked Damascus to Medina.
5. Russia
6. Egypt
7. Algeria. It failed and he was forced to surrender in 1847.
8. Cairo. Their dynasty would collapse c. 1517.
9. The Alawi (or Alawites).
10. Mehmed. There were six of them. There were five Murads.
11. Abdul Karem Kassim. He in turn was overthrown in 1963.
12. King Hassan II. He would die in 1999 and would be succeeded by his son, Prince Sidi Muhammad, who would be crowned King Muhammad VI.
13. Egypt and Syria. Syria would pull out in 1961. Egypt would still keep the name until 1971. It then changed to the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE).
14. The Ayatollah Khamenei.
15. Bashir Gemayel. He was replaced by his older brother, Amin Gemayel, as President. Bashir was 34 at the time of his death.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
The British Empire in 3 minutes
Empire Name: British Empire (1700 - mid 1970s).
Type of Government: Strong Constitutional Monarchy. Prime Minister as head of government wielding the real power.
Golden Age: 1860-1910.
Periodic Breakdown:
1750-1815: Empire expands in India, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa. British Navy rules supreme after the Battle of Trafalger (1805). Major setback – loss of American colonies through revolution.
1815 – 1860: Empire continues to expand. Period of Pax Britanica. Britain separates herself from the continent and focuses on building her global Empire. Agents of Empire include: the Army, the Navy (especially gunboat diplomacy), Missionaries, Corporations (such as the British East India Company, small time businessmen and Politicians.
1860-1914: The Golden Age. Empire is the most powerful force on the planet. There are British colonies on all the continents (except Antarctica). Setbacks occur in the Crimean War which force a second period of isolation. However relations with France continue to improve. The chief rival emerging in Europe is Germany who having defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War will start to rival the Brits at sea especially during the post-Bismarck era. The US is emerging as an economic force to be reckoned with.
1914-1918: Brits are victorious in First World War and take over many possessions once controlled by the Ottoman and German Empires. Victory comes at a high cost. The war in itself resulted in a tremendous loss of life and forced the Empire into a debt held by the US.
1918-1939: Class warfare further weakens Empire. The coming of the Great Depression worsens matters. Pressure for local rule escalates throughout Empire.
1939- 1945: If not for the US and the Soviets the Brits would surely have lost much of their Empire to the Germans. It didn’t happen but after WWII British governments would be forced to focus on domestic issues that was accompanied by a retreat from Empire.
1945 – Early 1970s: The Two World Wars have combined to weaken the Empire. Britain is very much a second rate power behind the USA and the Soviets. The development of the bomb gives the Brits a boost but not for too long. A humbling diplomatic defeat in the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956 (at the hands of the Americans) weakens the Empires authority as more nationalities win their independence from London.
Main sources of strength: The Royal Navy, first comers to the Industrial Revolution, Protestant work ethic, early restrictions on totalitarianism, liberalism, a disciplined army, its dynamic use of technology (such as cable laying for communication, railroad building), a global vision and its education system.
Weaknesses: Class distinction, Pomposity of rulers, supply lines overextended, fought too many land wars.
Important Figures (To name but a few)
Duke of Marlborough
Horatio Nelson
Viscount Palmerston
Benjamin Disraeli
William Gladstone
Queen Victoria
Field Marshal Kitchener
Winston Churchill
David Lloyd George
Cecil John Rhodes
George Goldie
Joseph Chaimberlain
Marquess of Salisbury
William Pitt
General Charles Gordon
Robert Clive
Duke of Wellington
Robert Peel
Wars won: Ashanti Wars, Boxer Rebellion, Burma Wars, Chinese campaigns of General Gordon, Indian Campaigns (including the Mutiny and the Sikh Wars), Conquest of Yemen, Kaffir Wars (South Africa), Malay campaigns, Maori Wars, Napoleonic Wars includes Peninsular War, Nigerian War, North American War (Part of the Seven Years war), Opium Wars (I and II), Second Anglo-Boer War, Seven Years War, Sudanese Campaign, War of the Spanish Succession (includes Queen Anne’s War), Wars to control East Africa, World War I, World War II, Zulu Wars
Wars Lost: American Revolution, First Anglo Boer War, the Easter Rebellion and the Early Afghani Campaigns.
Inconclusive Wars fought: Crimea, War of 1812 and the later Afghani Campaigns.
Reasons for Decline: The economic, political and social costs of World War I and World War II, the Rise of the USA, Germany and the USSR as competing global powers, overextension of resources, nationalist rebellions across the Empire.
Key Contributions to World Civilization:
Spread concept of liberal democracy throughout Empire even if it didn’t always apply it.
Building of an infrastructure in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, to name a few.
Provided a fertile environment for scientific, artistic, industrial and cultural progress.
Acted as a bulwark to the many totalitarian regimes that it faced in Europe ie. Napoleonic France, Nazi Germany, Czarist Russia, Second Reich Germany etc.
Type of Government: Strong Constitutional Monarchy. Prime Minister as head of government wielding the real power.
Golden Age: 1860-1910.
Periodic Breakdown:
1750-1815: Empire expands in India, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa. British Navy rules supreme after the Battle of Trafalger (1805). Major setback – loss of American colonies through revolution.
1815 – 1860: Empire continues to expand. Period of Pax Britanica. Britain separates herself from the continent and focuses on building her global Empire. Agents of Empire include: the Army, the Navy (especially gunboat diplomacy), Missionaries, Corporations (such as the British East India Company, small time businessmen and Politicians.
1860-1914: The Golden Age. Empire is the most powerful force on the planet. There are British colonies on all the continents (except Antarctica). Setbacks occur in the Crimean War which force a second period of isolation. However relations with France continue to improve. The chief rival emerging in Europe is Germany who having defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War will start to rival the Brits at sea especially during the post-Bismarck era. The US is emerging as an economic force to be reckoned with.
1914-1918: Brits are victorious in First World War and take over many possessions once controlled by the Ottoman and German Empires. Victory comes at a high cost. The war in itself resulted in a tremendous loss of life and forced the Empire into a debt held by the US.
1918-1939: Class warfare further weakens Empire. The coming of the Great Depression worsens matters. Pressure for local rule escalates throughout Empire.
1939- 1945: If not for the US and the Soviets the Brits would surely have lost much of their Empire to the Germans. It didn’t happen but after WWII British governments would be forced to focus on domestic issues that was accompanied by a retreat from Empire.
1945 – Early 1970s: The Two World Wars have combined to weaken the Empire. Britain is very much a second rate power behind the USA and the Soviets. The development of the bomb gives the Brits a boost but not for too long. A humbling diplomatic defeat in the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956 (at the hands of the Americans) weakens the Empires authority as more nationalities win their independence from London.
Main sources of strength: The Royal Navy, first comers to the Industrial Revolution, Protestant work ethic, early restrictions on totalitarianism, liberalism, a disciplined army, its dynamic use of technology (such as cable laying for communication, railroad building), a global vision and its education system.
Weaknesses: Class distinction, Pomposity of rulers, supply lines overextended, fought too many land wars.
Important Figures (To name but a few)
Duke of Marlborough
Horatio Nelson
Viscount Palmerston
Benjamin Disraeli
William Gladstone
Queen Victoria
Field Marshal Kitchener
Winston Churchill
David Lloyd George
Cecil John Rhodes
George Goldie
Joseph Chaimberlain
Marquess of Salisbury
William Pitt
General Charles Gordon
Robert Clive
Duke of Wellington
Robert Peel
Wars won: Ashanti Wars, Boxer Rebellion, Burma Wars, Chinese campaigns of General Gordon, Indian Campaigns (including the Mutiny and the Sikh Wars), Conquest of Yemen, Kaffir Wars (South Africa), Malay campaigns, Maori Wars, Napoleonic Wars includes Peninsular War, Nigerian War, North American War (Part of the Seven Years war), Opium Wars (I and II), Second Anglo-Boer War, Seven Years War, Sudanese Campaign, War of the Spanish Succession (includes Queen Anne’s War), Wars to control East Africa, World War I, World War II, Zulu Wars
Wars Lost: American Revolution, First Anglo Boer War, the Easter Rebellion and the Early Afghani Campaigns.
Inconclusive Wars fought: Crimea, War of 1812 and the later Afghani Campaigns.
Reasons for Decline: The economic, political and social costs of World War I and World War II, the Rise of the USA, Germany and the USSR as competing global powers, overextension of resources, nationalist rebellions across the Empire.
Key Contributions to World Civilization:
Spread concept of liberal democracy throughout Empire even if it didn’t always apply it.
Building of an infrastructure in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, to name a few.
Provided a fertile environment for scientific, artistic, industrial and cultural progress.
Acted as a bulwark to the many totalitarian regimes that it faced in Europe ie. Napoleonic France, Nazi Germany, Czarist Russia, Second Reich Germany etc.
Monday, May 28, 2007
7 Quick Facts on the Phoenicians
1. The were the Ancient inhabitants of Lebanon. The Phoenicians were probably the most commercially astute people of the Ancient World.
2. They developed a purple dye which was a big hit for monarchs around the Mediterranean who needed the colour for their tunics.
3. Carthage in North Africa was a Phoenician colony. It was the same Carthage that battled Rome for supremacy in the Middle East.
4. They had a few kings called Hiram. One of whom helped supply the cedar trees for King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem.
5. Their Main cities were Sidon and Tyre. Both of which still exist in Lebanon today.
6. They developed an early alphabet that influenced the Greeks. Not bad for a people who were more known for their sea trading exploits than anything else.
7. They were not a major power but did set up colonies in Spain, North Africa and Cyprus that enhanced their reach.
2. They developed a purple dye which was a big hit for monarchs around the Mediterranean who needed the colour for their tunics.
3. Carthage in North Africa was a Phoenician colony. It was the same Carthage that battled Rome for supremacy in the Middle East.
4. They had a few kings called Hiram. One of whom helped supply the cedar trees for King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem.
5. Their Main cities were Sidon and Tyre. Both of which still exist in Lebanon today.
6. They developed an early alphabet that influenced the Greeks. Not bad for a people who were more known for their sea trading exploits than anything else.
7. They were not a major power but did set up colonies in Spain, North Africa and Cyprus that enhanced their reach.
Ancient Hebrew Quiz
1. Who led the rebellion against the Syrian-Greeks that eventually drove the latter from the country?
2. What group of Jews did this person come from?
3. What two individuals were responsible for building the Second Temple?
4. Who was the Persian King Ahauseus’s chief wife before Esther?
5. Who was Esther’s uncle?
6. What was the name of Ahaseurus’s Chief Minister who was hanged at the gallows for trying to commit genocide against the Jews?
7. Who were Moses’ brother and sister?
8. What was Abraham’s name before it was changed?
9. What was the name of the Jewish high court?
10. Who was the Father of Tamar?
11. Which group of People destroyed the Second Temple?
12. Who was Jochanin Ben Zakai?
13. What are the two chief theories concerning the Origin of the Ethiopian Jews?
14. Which book contains the Sayings of Solomon?
15. On what Jewish holiday is the Book of Lamentations read?
Answers to Ancient Hebrew Quiz
1. Mathias the Maccabi and his sons of which Judah were the most renowned.
2. Hasmoneans
3. Ezra and Nehemiah.
4. Vashti
5. Mordechai
6. Haman
7. Aaron and Miriam.
8. Avram or Abram.
9. Sanhedrin
10. David
11. The Romans.
12. Leader of the Zealot Group that fought against the Romans.
13. The first claims they were the lost tribe of Dan, the second argues they were descendants of the offspring of Solomon with the Queen of Sheba.
14. Proverbs
15. Tisha B’Av.
2. What group of Jews did this person come from?
3. What two individuals were responsible for building the Second Temple?
4. Who was the Persian King Ahauseus’s chief wife before Esther?
5. Who was Esther’s uncle?
6. What was the name of Ahaseurus’s Chief Minister who was hanged at the gallows for trying to commit genocide against the Jews?
7. Who were Moses’ brother and sister?
8. What was Abraham’s name before it was changed?
9. What was the name of the Jewish high court?
10. Who was the Father of Tamar?
11. Which group of People destroyed the Second Temple?
12. Who was Jochanin Ben Zakai?
13. What are the two chief theories concerning the Origin of the Ethiopian Jews?
14. Which book contains the Sayings of Solomon?
15. On what Jewish holiday is the Book of Lamentations read?
Answers to Ancient Hebrew Quiz
1. Mathias the Maccabi and his sons of which Judah were the most renowned.
2. Hasmoneans
3. Ezra and Nehemiah.
4. Vashti
5. Mordechai
6. Haman
7. Aaron and Miriam.
8. Avram or Abram.
9. Sanhedrin
10. David
11. The Romans.
12. Leader of the Zealot Group that fought against the Romans.
13. The first claims they were the lost tribe of Dan, the second argues they were descendants of the offspring of Solomon with the Queen of Sheba.
14. Proverbs
15. Tisha B’Av.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
14 Facts about Tamerlane
1. Tamerlane was born in 1336. His real name was Timur Leng or ‘Timur the Lame’.
2. He was not a Mongol as is popularly believed but a Muslim Turk who spread his conservative brand of Islam across a large swath of Asia before his death in 1405.
3.He nevertheless borrowed many of the military techniques employed by Genghis Khan. Foremost amongst these were brutality, discipline and guile.
4. His base of operation was the White Horde (Chagtai Khanate) one of the survivor regions from the old Mongolian Empire.
5. In 1387 he pushed the Persian forces to the Euphrates River. This feat was accomplished very soon after Tamerlane had consolidated his hold over the White horde.
6. One of Tamerlane’s great rivals was Toktamish the Mongol Leader of the Golden Horde.
7. The Two butted heads between 1382 and 1395. Toktamish almost defeated Tamerlane at the Battle of the Steppes in 1391 but Tamerlane’s reserve troops saved the day.
8. The knockout blow for Tamerlane was his victory over Toktamish in 1395 at the Battle of Terek River. This defeat eliminated Toktamish as a power in Asia.
9. In 1399 Tamerlane defeated the Lithuanian forces of Witold at the Battle of Vorskla River. Tamerlane’s conquests extended to Poland.
10. Tamerlane planned an invasion of China but died before his ambition was realized.
11. He did however reach India (this guy really got around). In 1398 his troops attacked Delhi, burning the city and stealing much wealth. The city of Lahore was also laid waste. Much of the riches taken from the conquered city were used to build Tamerlane’s capital at Samarkand.
12. Tamerlane’s grandson Babur was the founder of India’s influential Mogul dynasty.
Tamerlane could have taken Moscow in 1395. His troops stopped short took the City of Yelets and then went on to subdue Persia instead.
13. Tamerlane was not tolerant of non-Muslims as a whole. His army often massacred non-Muslim populations in their advance to the next conquest.
14. His greatest victory is often thought to have occurred at the Battle of Angora in 1402 where Tamerlane defeated the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I.
2. He was not a Mongol as is popularly believed but a Muslim Turk who spread his conservative brand of Islam across a large swath of Asia before his death in 1405.
3.He nevertheless borrowed many of the military techniques employed by Genghis Khan. Foremost amongst these were brutality, discipline and guile.
4. His base of operation was the White Horde (Chagtai Khanate) one of the survivor regions from the old Mongolian Empire.
5. In 1387 he pushed the Persian forces to the Euphrates River. This feat was accomplished very soon after Tamerlane had consolidated his hold over the White horde.
6. One of Tamerlane’s great rivals was Toktamish the Mongol Leader of the Golden Horde.
7. The Two butted heads between 1382 and 1395. Toktamish almost defeated Tamerlane at the Battle of the Steppes in 1391 but Tamerlane’s reserve troops saved the day.
8. The knockout blow for Tamerlane was his victory over Toktamish in 1395 at the Battle of Terek River. This defeat eliminated Toktamish as a power in Asia.
9. In 1399 Tamerlane defeated the Lithuanian forces of Witold at the Battle of Vorskla River. Tamerlane’s conquests extended to Poland.
10. Tamerlane planned an invasion of China but died before his ambition was realized.
11. He did however reach India (this guy really got around). In 1398 his troops attacked Delhi, burning the city and stealing much wealth. The city of Lahore was also laid waste. Much of the riches taken from the conquered city were used to build Tamerlane’s capital at Samarkand.
12. Tamerlane’s grandson Babur was the founder of India’s influential Mogul dynasty.
Tamerlane could have taken Moscow in 1395. His troops stopped short took the City of Yelets and then went on to subdue Persia instead.
13. Tamerlane was not tolerant of non-Muslims as a whole. His army often massacred non-Muslim populations in their advance to the next conquest.
14. His greatest victory is often thought to have occurred at the Battle of Angora in 1402 where Tamerlane defeated the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I.
History of the Far East Quiz
1. This Dynasty ruled China from the 16th to the 11th Century BC. Which Dynasty was this?
2. This 4000 mile network connected the Far East to Europe between 500 BC and 1500 AD. Which Network was this?
3. Put these three dynasties in order (earliest to latest): Ch’in, Zhou and Han?
4. This Emperor built the Great Wall of China. Who was he?
5. How many Kingdoms dominated China from AD 220-280?
6. This religion reached China in 50 AD. Which Religion was this?
7. What did Cai Lun invent in 150 AD?
8. Rebellions by this sect weakened the Chinese Empire between the 2nd and 3rd Ventury AD. What was this sect called?
9. Along which axis did China begin to divide politically between the 4th and 6th Century AD?
10. Wen di reunited China in the 580s, over which Dynasty was he the First Emperor?
11. Political and social reform known as Taika took place in this Country between 646-700 AD. Which Country was this?
12. The Angkorian Dynasty ruled over this Country from 802. Which Country was this?
13. This City became Capital of Japan in 794 AD. Which City was this?
14. This Clan would start to win control of the Japanese Emperors around 858 AD. Which Clan was this?
15. It sounds like a fruit drink and it collapsed around 907 AD. What is being described?
Answers to the History of the Far East
1. The Shang Dynasty.
2. The Silk Road/Route.
3. Zhou (1066 BC to 771 BC), Ch’in (771 BC to 206BC), Han (206 BC to 26 AD).
4. Shi Huangdi. The wall is 5,000km long.
5. Three. The Wei, Shu and Wu – during the early part of the Period of Disunity.
6. Buddhism. It would be banned in China in 845 AD.
7. Paper
8. The Yellow Turban Sect.
9. The North-South Axis.
10. The Sui Dynasty.
11. Japan
12. Cambodia or Khmer – founder was Jayawarman II.
13. Kyoto (aka Heian-kyo), marked the beginning of Heian period in Japanese history that lasted until 1185. Japan gained more independence from China during this period.
14. The Fujiwara.
15. The Tang Dynasty.
2. This 4000 mile network connected the Far East to Europe between 500 BC and 1500 AD. Which Network was this?
3. Put these three dynasties in order (earliest to latest): Ch’in, Zhou and Han?
4. This Emperor built the Great Wall of China. Who was he?
5. How many Kingdoms dominated China from AD 220-280?
6. This religion reached China in 50 AD. Which Religion was this?
7. What did Cai Lun invent in 150 AD?
8. Rebellions by this sect weakened the Chinese Empire between the 2nd and 3rd Ventury AD. What was this sect called?
9. Along which axis did China begin to divide politically between the 4th and 6th Century AD?
10. Wen di reunited China in the 580s, over which Dynasty was he the First Emperor?
11. Political and social reform known as Taika took place in this Country between 646-700 AD. Which Country was this?
12. The Angkorian Dynasty ruled over this Country from 802. Which Country was this?
13. This City became Capital of Japan in 794 AD. Which City was this?
14. This Clan would start to win control of the Japanese Emperors around 858 AD. Which Clan was this?
15. It sounds like a fruit drink and it collapsed around 907 AD. What is being described?
Answers to the History of the Far East
1. The Shang Dynasty.
2. The Silk Road/Route.
3. Zhou (1066 BC to 771 BC), Ch’in (771 BC to 206BC), Han (206 BC to 26 AD).
4. Shi Huangdi. The wall is 5,000km long.
5. Three. The Wei, Shu and Wu – during the early part of the Period of Disunity.
6. Buddhism. It would be banned in China in 845 AD.
7. Paper
8. The Yellow Turban Sect.
9. The North-South Axis.
10. The Sui Dynasty.
11. Japan
12. Cambodia or Khmer – founder was Jayawarman II.
13. Kyoto (aka Heian-kyo), marked the beginning of Heian period in Japanese history that lasted until 1185. Japan gained more independence from China during this period.
14. The Fujiwara.
15. The Tang Dynasty.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Genocides
The following is a list of the worst genocides that have occured in the 20th century.
Its important to note that Atheist based ideologies have had more than their fair share of genocide related crime - an obvious phenomenon downplayed by Richard Dawkins and the 'God Delusion' groupie crowd.
Those in Red have been driven by Marxist related ideological regimes (Atheist Focused).
Those in Blue have been driven by Fascist related ideological regimes (Atheist Focused).
Those in Green have been inspired carried out by Muslim Leaders against predominantly Muslim Populations.
Those in purple have been carried out by Muslim leaders against predominantly non-Muslim populations.
Those in grey have been carried out by Muslim leaders against mainly Muslim but also non-Muslim populations.
Those in light blue have been carried out by Western Governments.
Those in Black were carried out within by African dictatorships or during the course of African Civil Wars.
Other attrocities are shown in this brownish-colour mixture.
Mao Ze-Dong (China, 1958-61 and 1966-69)
49,000,000 ("great leap forward" and "cultural revolution")
Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1934-39)
13,000,000 (the purges)
Adolf Hitler (Germany, 1939-1945)
12,000,000 (concentration camps and civilians WWII)
Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44)
5,000,000 (civilians WWII)
Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-79)
1,700,000
Kim Il Sung (North Korea, 1948-94)
1.6 million (purges and concentration camps)
Menghistu (Ethiopia, 1975-78)
1,500,000
Ismail Enver (Turkey, 1915)
1,200,000 Armenians
Yakubu Gowon (Biafra, 1967-1970)
1,000,000
Leonid Brezhnev (Afghanistan, 1979-1982)
900,000
Jean Kambanda (Rwanda, 1994)
800,000
Suharto (East Timor, West Papua, Communists, 1966-98)
800,000
Saddam Hussein (Iran 1980-1990 and Kurdistan 1987-88)
600,000
Yahya Khan (Pakistan, 1971) vs Bangladesh
500,000
Fumimaro Konoe (Japan, 1937-39)
500,000? (Chinese civilians)
Savimbi (Angola, 1975-2002)
400,000
Mullah Omar - Taliban (Afghanistan, 1986-2001)
400,000
Idi Amin (Uganda, 1969-1979)
300,000
Yahya Khan (Bangladesh, 1970-1971)
300,000
Benito Mussolini (Ethiopia, 1936; Yugoslavia, WWII)
300,000
Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire, 1965-97)
?
Charles Taylor (Liberia, 1989-1996)
220,000
Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone, 1991-2000)
200,000
Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia, 1992-96)
180,000
Michel Micombero (Burundi, 1972)
150,000
Hassan Turabi (Sudan, 1989-1999)
100,000
Jean-Bedel Bokassa (Centrafrica, 1966-79)
?
Richard Nixon (Vietnam, 1969-1974)
70,000 (vietnamese civilians)
Efrain Rios Montt (Guatemala, 1982-83)
70,000
Papa Doc Duvalier (Haiti, 1957-71)
60,000
Hissene Habre (Chad, 1982-1990)
40,000 (Although Hissene was a Muslim leader and killed many Muslims this was felt to be the most appropriate category for him).
Chiang Kai-shek (Taiwan, 1947)
30,000 (popular uprising)
Vladimir Ilich Lenin (USSR, 1917-20)
30,000 (dissidents executed)
Francisco Franco (Spain)
30,000 (dissidents executed after the civil war)
Fidel Castro (Cuba, 1959-1999)
30,000
Lyndon Johnson (Vietnam, 1963-1968)
30,000
Hafez Al-Assad (Syria, 1980-2000)
25,000
Khomeini (Iran, 1979-89)
20,000
Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe, 1982-87, Ndebele minority)
20,000
Rafael Videla (Argentina, 1976-83)
13,000
Guy Mollet (France, 1956-1957)
10,000 (war in Algeria)
Paul Koroma (Sierra Leone, 1997)
6,000
Osama Bin Laden (worldwide, 1993-2001)
3,500
Augusto Pinochet (Chile, 1973)
3,000
Al Zarqawi (Iraq, 2004-06)
2,000
Source: For all the numbers and stats visit: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html
Its important to note that Atheist based ideologies have had more than their fair share of genocide related crime - an obvious phenomenon downplayed by Richard Dawkins and the 'God Delusion' groupie crowd.
Those in Red have been driven by Marxist related ideological regimes (Atheist Focused).
Those in Blue have been driven by Fascist related ideological regimes (Atheist Focused).
Those in Green have been inspired carried out by Muslim Leaders against predominantly Muslim Populations.
Those in purple have been carried out by Muslim leaders against predominantly non-Muslim populations.
Those in grey have been carried out by Muslim leaders against mainly Muslim but also non-Muslim populations.
Those in light blue have been carried out by Western Governments.
Those in Black were carried out within by African dictatorships or during the course of African Civil Wars.
Other attrocities are shown in this brownish-colour mixture.
Mao Ze-Dong (China, 1958-61 and 1966-69)
49,000,000 ("great leap forward" and "cultural revolution")
Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1934-39)
13,000,000 (the purges)
Adolf Hitler (Germany, 1939-1945)
12,000,000 (concentration camps and civilians WWII)
Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44)
5,000,000 (civilians WWII)
Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-79)
1,700,000
Kim Il Sung (North Korea, 1948-94)
1.6 million (purges and concentration camps)
Menghistu (Ethiopia, 1975-78)
1,500,000
Ismail Enver (Turkey, 1915)
1,200,000 Armenians
Yakubu Gowon (Biafra, 1967-1970)
1,000,000
Leonid Brezhnev (Afghanistan, 1979-1982)
900,000
Jean Kambanda (Rwanda, 1994)
800,000
Suharto (East Timor, West Papua, Communists, 1966-98)
800,000
Saddam Hussein (Iran 1980-1990 and Kurdistan 1987-88)
600,000
Yahya Khan (Pakistan, 1971) vs Bangladesh
500,000
Fumimaro Konoe (Japan, 1937-39)
500,000? (Chinese civilians)
Savimbi (Angola, 1975-2002)
400,000
Mullah Omar - Taliban (Afghanistan, 1986-2001)
400,000
Idi Amin (Uganda, 1969-1979)
300,000
Yahya Khan (Bangladesh, 1970-1971)
300,000
Benito Mussolini (Ethiopia, 1936; Yugoslavia, WWII)
300,000
Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire, 1965-97)
?
Charles Taylor (Liberia, 1989-1996)
220,000
Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone, 1991-2000)
200,000
Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia, 1992-96)
180,000
Michel Micombero (Burundi, 1972)
150,000
Hassan Turabi (Sudan, 1989-1999)
100,000
Jean-Bedel Bokassa (Centrafrica, 1966-79)
?
Richard Nixon (Vietnam, 1969-1974)
70,000 (vietnamese civilians)
Efrain Rios Montt (Guatemala, 1982-83)
70,000
Papa Doc Duvalier (Haiti, 1957-71)
60,000
Hissene Habre (Chad, 1982-1990)
40,000 (Although Hissene was a Muslim leader and killed many Muslims this was felt to be the most appropriate category for him).
Chiang Kai-shek (Taiwan, 1947)
30,000 (popular uprising)
Vladimir Ilich Lenin (USSR, 1917-20)
30,000 (dissidents executed)
Francisco Franco (Spain)
30,000 (dissidents executed after the civil war)
Fidel Castro (Cuba, 1959-1999)
30,000
Lyndon Johnson (Vietnam, 1963-1968)
30,000
Hafez Al-Assad (Syria, 1980-2000)
25,000
Khomeini (Iran, 1979-89)
20,000
Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe, 1982-87, Ndebele minority)
20,000
Rafael Videla (Argentina, 1976-83)
13,000
Guy Mollet (France, 1956-1957)
10,000 (war in Algeria)
Paul Koroma (Sierra Leone, 1997)
6,000
Osama Bin Laden (worldwide, 1993-2001)
3,500
Augusto Pinochet (Chile, 1973)
3,000
Al Zarqawi (Iraq, 2004-06)
2,000
Source: For all the numbers and stats visit: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Thomas Jefferson Quiz
Thomas Jefferson
1. Which university in the South did Thomas Jefferson found, design and build?
2. Jefferson wrote a book rejecting the divinity of this man. Name the individual?
3. What type of system did Jefferson suggest for the US currency?
4. Thomas Jefferson was one of two presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence. Who was the other?
5. Which state’s capital is named after Jefferson?
6. Of 10, 15, 20 and 25. What % of the US population was comprised of slaves at the time of Jefferson’s inauguration?
7. What political party did Jefferson represent?
8. What was his nickname?
9. What day of the year did Thomas Jefferson die?
10. What was the name of Jefferson’s mountaintop home?
11. Jefferson is alleged to have had an affair with this slave woman who bore him a son. Who was she?
12. In which country did Jefferson live between 1784 and 1789?
Answers to Thomas Jefferson
1. The University of Virginia
2. Jesus Christ. The book was entitled ‘The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth’.
3. The decimal system.
4. John Adams.
5. Missouri. Capital is Jefferson City.
6. 20%. Jefferson owned 200 slaves himself.
7. Democratic-Republican Party
8. Red Fox
9. 4th of July 1826. The same day and year as John Adams. Pretty eerie..
10. Monticello.
11. Sally Hemmings.
12. France. He was the US Ambassador. Saw first hand the events leading to the French Revolution.
1. Which university in the South did Thomas Jefferson found, design and build?
2. Jefferson wrote a book rejecting the divinity of this man. Name the individual?
3. What type of system did Jefferson suggest for the US currency?
4. Thomas Jefferson was one of two presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence. Who was the other?
5. Which state’s capital is named after Jefferson?
6. Of 10, 15, 20 and 25. What % of the US population was comprised of slaves at the time of Jefferson’s inauguration?
7. What political party did Jefferson represent?
8. What was his nickname?
9. What day of the year did Thomas Jefferson die?
10. What was the name of Jefferson’s mountaintop home?
11. Jefferson is alleged to have had an affair with this slave woman who bore him a son. Who was she?
12. In which country did Jefferson live between 1784 and 1789?
Answers to Thomas Jefferson
1. The University of Virginia
2. Jesus Christ. The book was entitled ‘The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth’.
3. The decimal system.
4. John Adams.
5. Missouri. Capital is Jefferson City.
6. 20%. Jefferson owned 200 slaves himself.
7. Democratic-Republican Party
8. Red Fox
9. 4th of July 1826. The same day and year as John Adams. Pretty eerie..
10. Monticello.
11. Sally Hemmings.
12. France. He was the US Ambassador. Saw first hand the events leading to the French Revolution.
Four Questions to begin a History Course
What is history?
History is more than just the study of our past. It is the study of human nature responding to different but recurring problems. From history we learn about the limitations of our species, its shortfalls as well as its successes and triumphs. I have often viewed history as the matrix through which all knowledge flows. In shirt is the collective librarian keeping track of our progress providing us with possible solutions for both the present and the future.
What factors drive history?
The factors are numerous but these are the most important ones in my opinion -
· Geographical Position – location is critical. Countries sandwiched between two expansionist powers are likely to have a turbulent history – look at Poland that lies between Germany and Russia. Coastal civilizations will rely more on sea power – England, Portugal and the Netherlands. Landlocked countries will develop strong standing Armies – The Mongols and the Austrians
· The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Famine. Plague, Pestilence and War all exert pressure on a population that in turn lead to certain responses. It can be argued that history is the story of a population’s response to adverse conditions.
· Influential Personalities. Modern historians tend to downplay the role of the ‘Great Man’ in history but there is no doubt that the personalities of such individuals as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon influenced the course of events of their respective times.
· Economic Cycles. There is still much debate as to what causes economic cycles of booms and busts. Everything from sunspot theory, to the whims of human nature have been considered in an attempt to elucidate the trends that influence economic growth.
· Ideology and Philosophy – Communism, fascism, capitalism have all been motivators for a change to the status quo as has been the need for liberalism, nationalism and democracy.
Perhaps one day some genius of untold ability will replicate all these drivers in a mathematical model that accurately mimics our story until then its best to look at these factors through qualitative eyes. Besides which its much more fun.
What is Historical Revisionism?
Historical revision can be either positive or negative. Positive revision involves the updating of the historical record and its interpretation based on new evidence that has become available. This type of revision is not ideologically motivated and is true to the academic spirit. Negative revision is a reinterpretation of the historical record for political and ideological purpose. Very often fact distortion and negation are used to twist the facts to suit the purpose of the writer. This is not only morally corrupt but a crime against history itself with future historians being left with the arduous task of correcting the tainted records for the benefit of all.
What is the role of the historian?
The role of the historian is to uncover, decipher and interpret the record of our past to uncover as true a picture of our legacy as is possible. Since history is filed with information gaps, conflicting observations and missing records the historians task is often daunting and in a sense never complete. However without a history our society lacks much in its collective soul while on a practical level we risk repeating the often costly errors of the past. Historians occupy positions in such fields as academia, journalism, teaching and publishing.
History is more than just the study of our past. It is the study of human nature responding to different but recurring problems. From history we learn about the limitations of our species, its shortfalls as well as its successes and triumphs. I have often viewed history as the matrix through which all knowledge flows. In shirt is the collective librarian keeping track of our progress providing us with possible solutions for both the present and the future.
What factors drive history?
The factors are numerous but these are the most important ones in my opinion -
· Geographical Position – location is critical. Countries sandwiched between two expansionist powers are likely to have a turbulent history – look at Poland that lies between Germany and Russia. Coastal civilizations will rely more on sea power – England, Portugal and the Netherlands. Landlocked countries will develop strong standing Armies – The Mongols and the Austrians
· The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Famine. Plague, Pestilence and War all exert pressure on a population that in turn lead to certain responses. It can be argued that history is the story of a population’s response to adverse conditions.
· Influential Personalities. Modern historians tend to downplay the role of the ‘Great Man’ in history but there is no doubt that the personalities of such individuals as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon influenced the course of events of their respective times.
· Economic Cycles. There is still much debate as to what causes economic cycles of booms and busts. Everything from sunspot theory, to the whims of human nature have been considered in an attempt to elucidate the trends that influence economic growth.
· Ideology and Philosophy – Communism, fascism, capitalism have all been motivators for a change to the status quo as has been the need for liberalism, nationalism and democracy.
Perhaps one day some genius of untold ability will replicate all these drivers in a mathematical model that accurately mimics our story until then its best to look at these factors through qualitative eyes. Besides which its much more fun.
What is Historical Revisionism?
Historical revision can be either positive or negative. Positive revision involves the updating of the historical record and its interpretation based on new evidence that has become available. This type of revision is not ideologically motivated and is true to the academic spirit. Negative revision is a reinterpretation of the historical record for political and ideological purpose. Very often fact distortion and negation are used to twist the facts to suit the purpose of the writer. This is not only morally corrupt but a crime against history itself with future historians being left with the arduous task of correcting the tainted records for the benefit of all.
What is the role of the historian?
The role of the historian is to uncover, decipher and interpret the record of our past to uncover as true a picture of our legacy as is possible. Since history is filed with information gaps, conflicting observations and missing records the historians task is often daunting and in a sense never complete. However without a history our society lacks much in its collective soul while on a practical level we risk repeating the often costly errors of the past. Historians occupy positions in such fields as academia, journalism, teaching and publishing.
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