It was supposed to be just another masquerade. As daylight turned to dusk on 28 January 1393, servants rushed through the halls of the Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris, making the final arrangements for what promised to be an evening of fun and revelry. Large spreads of food were set out on tables; musicians readied their instruments. And, in an adjoining room, six young noblemen were being sewn into costumes...| World History Encyclopedia
Sultan Razia (Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din, r. 1236-1240) was one of the few women rulers in the Indian subcontinent and the first and only female Sultan of Delhi. Despite facing Herculean challenges...| World History Encyclopedia
People have been sending letters to each other ever since paper and pen were invented, but it was not until 1840 that a new idea was introduced where people could prepay the cost of delivering their...| World History Encyclopedia
Charles VI (lived 1368-1422) reigned as King of France from 1380 to 1422, during an important phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) against England. Known as the 'Mad King' due to his frequent...| World History Encyclopedia
The history of Italian colonialism unfolded in a relatively short period, between the late 19th century and the Second World War (1939-45). After the unification of Italy, the young kingdom sought to...| World History Encyclopedia
It began with a bet in 1859 and would end in a burning in 1860, but, for the 110 African men, women, and children who had been illegally smuggled into the United States aboard the Clotilda, the flames that engulfed it were only the beginning of their new lives as slaves. The story of the schooner Clotilda, the last ship to transport slaves from Africa to North America, is a microcosm of the epic...| World History Encyclopedia
Grattage is a 20th-century painting technique closely associated with the Surrealist movement. The term derives from the French verb gratter, meaning “to scrape” or “to scratch,” and refers to a method in which paint applied to a surface is partially removed using pointed tools or everyday objects, revealing underlying textures or colors. The resulting surface exhibits abstract and unpredictable...| World History Encyclopedia
The transatlantic slave trade (also given as the Atlantic slave trade, circa 1492 to 1860) was the practice of enslaving the citizens of African states and transporting them across the Atlantic Ocean to the "New World" of the Americas. Although the Portuguese were the first to initiate the slave trade between Africa and Europe in the 15th century, Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain, was the...| World History Encyclopedia
Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, sits high on a precipitous cliff face that towers above a tributary of the river Mulde. First built in the 11th century, the forbidding castle was variously used as a lunatic asylum, a sanatorium for the wealthy, and, through the 1930s, as a prison for enemies of Nazi Germany. In 1939, the castle took on its most famous role: a camp for Allied prisoners of war...| World History Encyclopedia
Sam Watkins was only 21 when his home state of Tennessee seceded from the Union in the spring of 1861. Swept away by the patriotic fervor and thirst for adventure that gripped an entire generation of unfortunate young men, Watkins and most of his childhood friends enlisted in the Confederate Army, joining Company H of the 1st Tennessee Regiment. They marched off to war, little knowing that four...| World History Encyclopedia
Frederick Douglass (circa 1818-1895) was an abolitionist orator, minister, writer, editor, reformer, and statesman, who had been born a slave in Maryland, escaped to New York at around the age of 20, and became a talented orator and writer. Owing to the power of his condemnation of slavery and his skill in presenting it, Douglass was among the most popular speakers on the lecture circuit, became...| World History Encyclopedia
The 1789 mutiny on the Bounty is an infamous tale of sailors being lured by the easy charms of the South Seas into casting adrift their commander and living out their days as fugitives from the Royal Navy. 'Captain' Bligh, victim of the mutiny led by master's mate Fletcher Christian, is traditionally cast as a harsh disciplinarian who only got what was coming to him. As so often with tales which...| World History Encyclopedia
"What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?" is Frederick Douglass' masterwork of oration, delivered on 5 July 1852 at the Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Also sometimes given as "What, to the Slave, is your Fourth of July?", the piece has long been recognized as among the greatest speeches in American history and what scholar David W. Blight calls "the rhetorical masterpiece of American...| World History Encyclopedia
"Outlawed in my own land for having served her with courage," the Marquis de Lafayette wrote to his wife, Adrienne, "I have been forced to flee into enemy territory from France, which I defended with so much love. To the very last minute I fought for the Constitution I swore to uphold…let us resettle in America where we will find the liberty that no longer exists in France." I. The Treasonous...| World History Encyclopedia
The New Economic Policy (NEP) of Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), leader of Soviet Russia, was the introduction in 1921 of a limited form of capitalism in light industry and agriculture. Contrary to Marxist economic ideas, the NEP was viewed as a necessary measure to recover from the economic disasters of WWI and the Russian Civil War. Although the NEP did lead to an economic recovery, it did not create...| World History Encyclopedia
The Thirteen Colonies were a cluster of British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard of North America. Founded for a variety of reasons – economic, political, and religious – the colonies emerged with their own distinct governments, colonial charters, and cultures, but were bound together through their shared language, history, religion (Protestantism), and allegiance to the British Crown...| World History Encyclopedia
With thousands of square feet of canvas capturing every breath of the trade winds, a 19th-century tea clipper was the absolute pinnacle of sailing evolution. The Cutty Sark was just such a ship, carrying tea and then wool across the far-flung outposts of the British Empire. The Cutty Sark gained the record as the fastest ship in the world in the 1880s thanks to its sleek design and 32 sails. This...| World History Encyclopedia
The immense commercial trade, wealth, and sea power of the Republic of Venice was rooted in the ships built in the industrial site known as the Arsenale, or arsenal. It was first established in 1104 and continued building warships, merchant ships, armor, crossbows, catapults, weapons, and artillery for eight centuries. The 24-hectare (60-acre) site spans water and land on the eastern end of the...| World History Encyclopedia
The long-term goal of the Bolsheviks, who took power by force in Russia in November 1917, was a fairer society where workers and peasants were not exploited by wealthy capitalists. The more immediate consequences, though, of the Bolshevik Revolution were the replacement of the Provisional Government by a highly centralised one-party state, the nationalisation of industries, the radical redistribution...| World History Encyclopedia
"Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy in Photographs From the Pyramids to Cleopatra" offers a breathtaking visual and historical journey through ancient Egypt. It features an unparalleled collection of spectacular photographs, from the Pyramids to intricate artifacts, showcasing the civilisation's monumental scale and delicate artistry. The book provides concise historical context, making complex narratives...| World History Encyclopedia
The Bolshevik Revolution occurred on 7 November 1917 (old calendar 25 October) and established a new republic: Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks were radical socialists led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924...| World History Encyclopedia
The brutal murder of the entire Romanov family was the culmination of deep discontent across the Russian Empire with the persistently autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Following...| World History Encyclopedia
Josef Mengele (1911-1979) was a Nazi doctor who performed horrific pseudo-scientific experiments on detainees in the Auschwitz concentration camp where he was a medical officer from 1943 to 1945. Thousands...| World History Encyclopedia
Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) was the head of the Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel) organisation. One of the most powerful individuals in Nazi Germany, Himmler built up the SS from a small paramilitary unit to...| World History Encyclopedia
Tamahay (Tahama, Tamaha,| World History Encyclopedia
The Gestapo was the secret political police organisation of Nazi Germany. Created in 1933, the Gestapo became one of the most feared instruments of state terror, its members having few or no legal restrictions...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Lundy's Lane (25 July 1814) was one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812. Fought near the location of present-day Niagara Falls, it saw a US army under Jacob Brown clash with a...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Chippawa (5 July 1814) was a major battle in the War of 1812, in which a US army proved its newfound discipline by defeating British regulars during the Americans' third attempted invasion...| World History Encyclopedia
Einsatzgruppen ('deployment groups') were secret Nazi killing units, who systematically sought out and murdered civilians identified as enemies of the Third Reich. Operating without any legal restrictions...| World History Encyclopedia
Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962), a lieutenant-colonel in the Nazi SS, was responsible for organising the transportation of Jewish people and other victims of Nazism to concentration, labour, and death camps...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Crysler's Farm (11 November 1813) was a major battle in the War of 1812. Fought along the banks of the St. Lawrence River, it saw a British and Canadian force defeat a much larger American...| World History Encyclopedia
Operation Torch (aka the North Africa landings) landed Allied troops in French Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942 with the aim of removing German and Italian forces from North Africa. The first...| World History Encyclopedia
The First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) was a series of encounters during the Second World War (1939-1945) in Egypt between Allied and Axis forces. The battle, focussed around the El Alamein...| World History Encyclopedia
Operation Compass (9 Dec 1940 to 7 Feb 1941) was an Allied offensive in North Africa, which pushed Italian forces out of Egypt and then Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). The Allied Western Desert Force, led...| World History Encyclopedia
The siege of the port of Tobruk in Libya (April to Dec 1941) by Axis forces during the Second World War (1939-45) lasted 242 days and became a symbol of Allied resistance. Besieged by land but still...| World History Encyclopedia
The Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' was a two-seater dive-bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) in various theatres of the Second World War (1939-45). The Stuka, with its distinctive angled wings...| World History Encyclopedia
An army of 250,000 volunteers, both men and women, working in many different services, ensured life went on during the London Blitz, a period of sustained bombing by the German Air Force on the British...| World History Encyclopedia
Omaha Beach was one of two beaches attacked by the US armed forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Strong German defences on the bluff overlooking the beach made this area the most difficult of the Normandy...| World History Encyclopedia
Gold Beach was the central of the five Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Primarily British units, with massive naval and air support, were set the task of taking the beach, a feat achieved...| World History Encyclopedia
Juno Beach was attacked primarily by forces of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as part of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The Canadian troops initially suffered heavy casualties...| World History Encyclopedia
Sword Beach was the easternmost beach of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The 3rd British Infantry Division was given the task of taking the beach while paratroopers and Royal Marine...| World History Encyclopedia
D-Day was the first day of Operation Overlord, the Allied attack on German-occupied Western Europe, which began on the beaches of Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944. Primarily US, British, and Canadian...| World History Encyclopedia
I’m rebuilding the site and completing the transition to a pandoc| “You can’t do that online anymore!” Hugo Roy’s Blog
I unintentionally broke my HP Touchpad. It was useless and would not boot any more. Here is all I needed to restore it and boot into webOS 3.0.5| “You can’t do that online anymore!” Hugo Roy’s Blog