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 Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three peninsulas of Southern Europe (the other two being the Iberian Peninsula and Balkan Peninsula), spanning 1,000 km from the Po Valley in...| World History Encyclopedia
The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived...| World History Encyclopedia
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) was the founder of fascism and dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He led the country into a highly authoritarian regime and then dragged it into the Second World War (1939-45...| 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
Slicing through tropical reefs or patrolling Arctic waters, the Calypso gained worldwide fame as the research ship of the French underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Seen by millions on TV documentaries broadcast worldwide, the Calypso helped Cousteau and his team show the world never-before-seen underwater wonders and raise awareness of environmental issues. The Calypso, then known only...| World History Encyclopedia
Six armed robbers. One warehouse. Three tons of gold worth around $320 million today. The raid on the Brink's-Mat secure storage facility on the edge of London's Heathrow airport on 26 November 1983 was Britain's biggest ever gold robbery. The crime caused a sensation in the press as headlines posed the question everyone across the country was asking: what happened to the Brink's-Mat gold? An...| 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 free online history encyclopedia with fact-checked articles, images, videos, maps, timelines and more; operated as a non-profit organization.| www.worldhistory.org
A mandala (Sanskrit for “circle”) is an artistic representation of higher thought and deeper meaning given as a geometric symbol used in spiritual, emotional, or psychological work to focus one's attention...| World History Encyclopedia
Crucifixion as a punishment was practiced by several ancient cultures, but most notably adopted by the Roman Republic and later Roman Empire. Crucifixion was a method of hanging or suspending someone...| World History Encyclopedia
The Yuan Dynasty was established by the Mongols and ruled China from 1271 to 1368. Their first emperor was Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294) who finally defeated the Song Dynasty which had reigned in China...| World History Encyclopedia
The Thesmophoriazusae (also called The Poet & the Women or Women at the Thesmophoria) is a two-act comedy play written in 411 BCE by the great Greek comic playwright, Aristophanes. The play's principal...| 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
The world's oldest love poem is The Love Song for Shu-Sin (c. 2000 BCE) composed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in part of the sacred rites of fertility. Prior to its discovery in the 19th century...| World History Encyclopedia
"Stony Ground" is an 1884 CE gouache painting by Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911 CE) which depicts a domestic scene from 17th or 18th Century CE America. A puritan pastor recites a sermon before a gathering...| World History Encyclopedia
The War of 1812 (1812-1815), referred to by some contemporaries as the Second American Revolution, was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom. Often remembered only as a sideshow to...| World History Encyclopedia
The Sioux are a native North American nation who inhabited the Great Plains region of, roughly, modern Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They are one of the many...| World History Encyclopedia
The Hussite Wars (1419 to c. 1434) were a series of conflicts fought in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) between followers of the reformer Jan Hus and Catholic loyalists toward the end of the Bohemian...| World History Encyclopedia
Sanskrit is regarded as the ancient language in Hinduism, where it was used as a means of communication and dialogue by the Hindu Celestial Gods, and then by the Indo-Aryans. Sanskrit is also widely...| 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
Writing is the physical manifestation of a spoken language. It is thought that human beings developed language c. 35,000 BCE as evidenced by cave paintings from the period of the Cro-Magnon Man (c...| World History Encyclopedia
The Vikings were originally diverse Scandinavian seafarers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (though other nationalities were later involved) whose raids and subsequent settlements significantly impacted...| World History Encyclopedia
The Saxons were a Germanic people of the region north of the Elbe River stretching from Holstein (in modern-day Germany) to the North Sea. The Saxons who migrated to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries...| World History Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Wessex (c. 519-927 CE or c. 519-1066 CE) was a political entity founded by the West Saxon Chieftain Cerdic (r. 519-540 CE) in 519 CE in the Upper Thames Valley of modern-day Britain which...| World History Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Mercia (c. 527-879 CE) was an Anglo-Saxon political entity located in the midlands of present-day Britain and bordered on the south by the Kingdom of Wessex, on the west by Wales, north...| World History Encyclopedia
Egbert of Wessex (l. c. 770-839 CE, r. 802-839 CE; also given as Ecgberht, Ecbert) was the most powerful and influential king of Wessex prior to the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE). Egbert...| World History Encyclopedia
Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings of East...| World History Encyclopedia
Bede (c. 673-735 CE) was an English monk, historian, and scholar who lived in the Kingdom of Northumbria. He is at times referred to as the Venerable Bede or Bede the Venerable. He was a monk at the...| World History Encyclopedia
Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) was the king of Wessex in Britain but came to be known as King of the Anglo-Saxons after his military victories over Viking adversaries and later successful negotiations...| World History Encyclopedia
Aethelflaed (r. 911-918 CE) was the daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex (r. 871-899 CE) and became queen of Mercia following the death of her husband Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians (r. 883-911...| 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 Mediterranean island of Sicily, with its natural resources and strategic position on ancient trading routes, aroused the intense interest of successive empires from Carthage to Athens to Rome. Consequently...| World History Encyclopedia
Burial of the dead is the act of placing the corpse of a deceased person in a tomb constructed for that purpose or in a grave dug into the earth. Archaeological excavations have revealed Neanderthal...| World History Encyclopedia
The Desert Rats was the nickname of the 7th Armoured Division of the British Eighth Army, which first fought in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). Fighting in the Western Desert Campaigns...| World History Encyclopedia
In the study of the ancient world a City is generally defined as a large populated urban center of commerce and administration with a system of laws and, usually, regulated means of sanitation. This...| World History Encyclopedia
The English word 'wall' is derived from the Latin, vallus meaning 'a stake' or 'post' and designated the wood-stake and earth palisade which formed the outer edge of a fortification. The palisades were...| World History Encyclopedia
Gold, chemical symbol Au (from the Latin aurum meaning 'shining dawn'), is a precious metal which has been used since antiquity in the production of jewellery, coinage, sculpture, vessels and as a decoration...| World History Encyclopedia
'God' is the common word for the identity of a higher being in the universe beyond our world, the creator of all known existence, and who rules in conjunction with lower gradients of divinity (angels...| World History Encyclopedia
Tiberius was Roman emperor from 14 to 37 CE. Tiberius, the adopted son of Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, never aspired to follow in his stepfather's footsteps — that path was chosen by his domineering...| World History Encyclopedia
Jerusalem is a major holy city for the three Western traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It sits on spurs of bedrock between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea area. To the north and...| World History Encyclopedia
India is a country in South Asia whose name comes from the Indus River. The name 'Bharata' is used as a designation for the country in their constitution referencing the ancient mythological emperor...| World History Encyclopedia
A December 1941 photograph of a disabled British Matilda tank near Tobruk during the Western Desert Campaigns in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)| World History Encyclopedia
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas or Ellada, and consisting of a mainland and an archipelago of islands. Ancient Greece is the birthplace of Western philosophy (Socrates...| World History Encyclopedia
The Horae (Horai, sing. Hora) were the personification and goddesses of the seasons and the hours and, later on, were regarded as goddesses of order and justice in Greek mythology. They were the daughters...| World History Encyclopedia
A February 1942 photograph of a column of US-made Grant tanks of the British 5th Royal Tank Regiment during the Western Desert Campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)| World History Encyclopedia
An empire is a political construct in which one state dominates over another state, or a series of states. At its heart, an empire is ruled by an emperor, even though many states in history without...| World History Encyclopedia
Egypt is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to one of the oldest civilizations on earth. The name 'Egypt' comes from the Greek Aegyptos which was the Greek pronunciation...| World History Encyclopedia
Alexandria is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It was the site of the Pharos (lighthouse), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world...| World History Encyclopedia
The London Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain's capital by the German and Italian air forces from September 1940 to May 1941 during the Second World War (1939-45). The objective was to bomb...| World History Encyclopedia
The Dunkirk Evacuation of 26 May to 4 June 1940, known as Operation Dynamo, was the attempt to save the British Expeditionary Force in France from total defeat by an advancing German army. Nearly 1,000...| World History Encyclopedia
Warfare is generally understood to be the controlled and systematic waging of armed conflict between sovereign nations or states, using military might and strategy, until one opponent is defeated on...| World History Encyclopedia
The word 'war' comes to English from the old High German language word Werran (to confuse or to cause confusion) through the Old English Werre (meaning the same), and is a state of open and usually...| World History Encyclopedia
Europe is a continent forming the westernmost part of the land mass of Eurasia and comprised of 49 sovereign states. Its name may come from the Greek myth of Europa, but human habitation of the region...| World History Encyclopedia
There are multiple pages about 'Mediterranean' on our website. Here's a list.| www.worldhistory.org
There are multiple pages about 'Battle' on our website. Here's a list.| www.worldhistory.org
There are multiple pages about 'Africa' on our website. Here's a list.| www.worldhistory.org
Ancient Britain was a landmass on the northwest of the continent of Europe first occupied by humans c. 800,000 years ago prior to it becoming an island c. 6000 BCE due to flooding which separated it...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Gazala in Libya in May-June 1942 was a decisive victory for German and Italian forces led by General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) against British, Commonwealth, and Free French forces during...| World History Encyclopedia
The defence by Free French forces of the remote desert watering hole of Bir Hakeim (Hacheim) in Libya, North Africa in May-June 1942 during the Second World War (1939-45) is one of the most heroic episodes...| World History Encyclopedia
The Supermarine Spitfire was a single-seater fighter plane, one of the most important aircraft of the Second World War (1939-45). Employed by the Royal Air Force in such crucial encounters as the Battle...| World History Encyclopedia
Silver had great value and aesthetic appeal in many ancient cultures where it was used to make jewellery, tableware, figurines, ritual objects and rough-cut pieces known as hacksilver which could be...| World History Encyclopedia
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, also known as the Me 109, was Germany's most important single-seater fighter plane throughout the Second World War (1939-45). Produced in greater numbers than any other German...| World History Encyclopedia
The Junkers Ju 88 was a two-engined medium bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) throughout the Second World War (1939-45). Ju 88s were involved in the Battle of Britain and London Blitz...| World History Encyclopedia
The Hawker Hurricane was a single-seat fighter plane, Britain's first monoplane, which fought in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. Slower but more numerous than the Supermarine Spitfire...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Britain, dated 10 July to 31 October, 1940 by the UK Air Ministry, was an air battle between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force and allies during the Second World War (1939-45...| 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
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were seven impressive structures famously listed by ancient writers including Philo of Byzantium, Antipater of Sidon, Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus, Strabo, and...| 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
