Christopher Columbus

   Even before Vasco da Gama brought wealth to Portugal, Spain also had become interested in the search for new trade routes. Its rulers, Ferdinand and Isabella, decided to finance a voyage by Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator. Thinking that the world was much smaller than it actually is, Columbus believed he could reach India quickly and easily by sailing westward.
   In August 1492 Columbus set sail with three small ships from Spain and crossed the Atlantic. His small fleet landed in October on a tiny island in the Caribbean Sea. He named the island San Salvador. After visiting several other islands, Columbus returned triumphantly to Spain in the spring of 1493 to report his discoveries. He believed the islands to be off the coast of India and therefore called their inhabitants "Indians." Actually, he had discovered the islands later known as the West Indies. Although Columbus made three more voyages between 1493 and 1504, he believed until his death that the lands he had found were part of Asia.

What was the Fries Rebellion?

   The Fries Rebellion was an uprising in eastern Pennsylvania in 1799, led by John Fries (1764-1825). By act of July 14, 1798, Congress imposed a direct tax of $2,000,000, which was to be equitably apportioned among the various states and which was laid upon all dwelling houses and lands, and on slaves between the ages of 12 and 50. The value of the dwelling houses was to be determined on the basis of the size and number of Windows in these houses, and an impression thus got abroad that citizens who owned houses were being taxed for having Windows, the tax thus coming to be known in some communities as a "window tax." In the eastern counties of Pennsylvania (Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Lehigh and Berks), the large German element vigorously opposed the tax, and under the leadership of Fries, resisted by force (March, 1799) the Federal officers sent to measure Windows preparatory to assessing the owners of dwelling houses.
   Riots soon broke out; some 30 of the rioters were arrested; and at Bethlehem these arrested rioters were rescued by their associates led by Fries. President Adams issued a proclamation against the rioters, troops were called out, and the disturbances were quickly suppressed. Fries was arrested, was tried on a charge of treason—the first trial of the sort in the history of the United States—and was convicted (1799). A new trial, however, was granted, but in the following year Fries was again convicted and was sentenced to the gallows. It was partly for the high-handed manner in which Judge Chase conducted this trial that he was impeached by the House and tried before the Senate. Fries was pardoned by President Adams, and subsequently became a prosperous dealer in tinware in the city of Philadelphia.

The Man with the Iron Mask

Iron mask

   The Man with the Iron Mask was a mysterious state prisoner of France. He was confined in several prisons during the reign of Louis XIV. He always wore a mask of black velvet secured with springs of steel or iron. No one, not even his physician, was allowed to see his face. His name was never mentioned. In other respects he was treated with the greatest consideration. He was evidently a person of some education. He whiled away the time by reading and playing the guitar, and was given anything he desired except his freedom. He died in 1703 and was buried under the name of Marchiali. Everything which had been employed in his service was burned, and every precaution taken to keep the secret of his name from being discovered. Even the tiles in the room he had occupied were removed lest a letter might have been concealed behind them. Great curiosity was felt for many years as to his identity. The question was never settled positively, but the more commonly accepted view is that he was Count Matthioli, a minister of the Duke of Mantua, and that he was imprisoned for treachery. Another view is that he was implicated in a conspiracy against the king.

How Did The Vikings Discover America?

   Among the Viking explorers was a man who was nicknamed Eric the Red because of his red hair and beard. Eric grew up in Iceland, where his father had been sent as punishment for having killed another Viking. Eric had a terrible temper, and one day he killed one of his neighbors in a fight. The Vikings declared him an outlaw and ordered him to leave Iceland for 3 years.
Eric, his family, and friends loaded their possessions on board 25 ships and sailed away. Other Vikings told them about a large island to the west, so they headed in that direction. Eventually they landed on the rugged coast of this island. Although it was mostly icy wasteland, Eric called it Greenland. He hoped the name would attract settlers, which it did.
   A Viking settlement was started around A.D. 985. It lasted for about 400 years.
Eric had a son who was named Leif Ericson—also known as Leif the Lucky. Leif, too, was an explorer. Around the year 1 000, Leif and his crew were caught in a storm while sailing from Norway to Greenland. For many days they were lost at sea. At last they sighted land—the coast of North America.
No one is sure where Leif and his men first came ashore. It may have been as far north as Labrador in present-day Canada or as far south as Virginia. The Vikings described the place as being covered by vast forests, wheat fields, and grapevines. They called it Vinland, or Wineland. Other expeditions followed and settlements were built. However, the Indians later drove out the Vikings. But the fact remains that the Vikings discovered America 500 years before Columbus.

Jean Froissart

Jean Froissart (1337-1405) was a French chronicler, born in Valenciennes. At the age of 18 he went to England, where he spent a year under the patronage of Philippa of Hainault, his countrywoman. At the age of 20 Froissart began to write his history; and having completed the first section, he began his travels (1361-1366). Returning to England, he made an excursion into Scotland about 1364. Froissart accompanied the Black Prince to Dax, and the Duke of Clarence to his marriage at Milan. He was appointed in 1369 to the cure of Lestines. In 1395 he once more visited England. In 1372 Froissart began to write his famous Chroniques, which describe events in western Europe from 1326 to 1400. It is not entirely reliable from an historical point of view, but it presents a picture of the time is unrivaled in its vivid color and its charm.

The Jacobin club

   Jacobin is a name applied to a revolutionary club of France, and later to the party favoring democracy. When the National Assembly first met in Versailles, Lafayette, Mirabeau, and a few other Liberals formed a society known as the Friends of the Constitution. After the assembly removed to Paris, the name was changed to Jacobin club, because of their meeting in the library of the church of St. James. After the removal to Paris, the character of the club changed rapidly, the moderates dropped out, the number of members increased, and the name became synonymous with the party of extreme democracy. Daughter societies were formed throughout France, dependent on the mother club at Paris. At first the Jacobins had little influence in the assemblies though they were all powerful with the mob, but as the Revolution progressed they became more and more dominant. The Jacobins directed the attack upon the Tuilleries in 1792; they initiated the September massacres; they were the ones who insisted that Louis must die. Later when France was beset by foreign war and internal disaffection, the Jacobins instituted the Terror, which, hideous as it was, seemed a necessary evil at this time. Cruel as the Jacobin policy often was, it forms a striking contrast to the wavering vacillation of the Girondists. Every one rejoiced when in 1794 the Jacobin organization was finally suppressed after the repulsion of the foreign dangers and the downfall of Robespierre, yet it is difficult to see how otherwise the same results could have been accomplished. As Lowell says,
"They did as they were taught, not theirs the blame
If those who scattered fire brands reaped the flame."

Who were the Jacobites?

Jacobites hiding

In English history, the Jacobites were adherents of the Stuart family, more particularly followers of James II. The name is from Jacobus, Latin for James. At the time of the English revolution in 1688 the Catholics, save those influenced by political expectations, adhered to the cause of James II. In Ireland they were defeated decisively at the Battle of the Boyne, July 1, 1690. The French court was their rallying center. The Highland Jacobites rose twice, first in 1715 and again in 1745. The Jac¬obites faded away gradually. In the reign of George III they became ardent sup-porters of the royal authority, and contributed not a little to that monarch's obstinacy in dealing with his American colonies. Scottish Jacobite songs form a part of the national literature.

Suetonius

Suetonius

Suetonius, in full Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (70?-160? A.D.), was a Roman biographer and historian. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger, who, when appointed proconsul of Bithynia by the emperor Trajan, took Suetonius with him as a companion.
   After Pliny's death Suetonius was befriended by Gaius Septicius Clarus, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, to whom he dedicated his well-known work, The Lives of the Caesars. As private secretary to the emperor Hadrian from 119 to 121 B.C., Suetonius had access to imperial documents and was able to verify the facts in this work. The biographies contain information about twelve rulers of Rome, from Gaius Julius Caesar to the emperor Domitian, which is found nowhere else; much of it is in the form of scandalous anecdotes. Suetonius was the author of numerous other works now lost, including Miscellanies, an encyclopedic work on Roman antiquities and scientific subjects. His De Viris Illustribus contains biographies of poets, orators, philosophers, historians, grammarians, and rhetoricians; most of the section on grammarians and rhetoricians, and also the biographies of several poets, including those of Terence, Vergil, and Horace, have been preserved.

Who was Horatius Cocles?

Horatius

   Horatius was a legendary Roman hero. Thomas Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome relates the story of Horatius’ defense of the bridge over the Tiber River. When the last king of Rome was overthrown, he went to the Etruscans for help. The Etruscan army advanced to the bank of the Tiber River across from Rome. With two companions, Lartius and Herminius, Horatius held back the Etruscans while the Romans chopped down the bridge behind them. His friends ran back just in time, but Horatius remained alone until the bridge fell. Then, although he was wounded, he jumped into the rushing Tiber and swam to safety. In gratitude for Horatius’ bravery in saving the city, the people gave him many gifts and erected a statue in his honor.

Who was Hesiod?

    Hesiod was a Greek poet about 800 B. C. It is uncertain whether Hesiod should be regarded as a poet next in age to Homer, or whether the name best represents a school of versifiers about the foot of Mt. Helicon. At all events, certain relics of poetry remain, notably Works and Days, in which the degeneracy of modern, that is to say, Hesiod's time is deplored.
    Five distinct ages in the downfall of man are recognized. First a Golden Age of patriarchal simplicity, during which peace and fruitfulness prevailed without labor, and spring was eternal. This age was governed by Cronus. Then came a Silver Age, a lawless age governed by Zeus, during which the year was first divided into seasons, and man was obliged to forsake his ease for sowing and reaping, and the surface of the earth was divided into private fields. In the Brazen Age, or reign of Poseidon, war and violence prevailed. The Heroic Age was the age of the Homeric traditions, the siege of Troy, the wanderings of Ulysses, and of great doings at Thebes. Ares reigned among the gods during the Heroic Age. The last, or Iron Age, in which Hesiod supposed himself to live, was an age in which justice and purity had fled the earth. Hades, the Roman Pluto, was in charge of this age. The times were so degenerate, vice so rampant, that any change at all could not fail to be for the better. Thus we see that despondent writers who depict the downfall of society are not confined to the twentieth-one century. Greek writers called Hesiod the poet of the helots; Homer, the poet of warriors.

Who was Leonidas?

The 300

   Leonidas I, king of Sparta (died 480 B.C.), was a son of King Anaxandrides, and ascended the throne about 489 B.C. When Xerxes invaded Greece, the Greek Congress assigned to Leonidas the defence of the pass of Thermopylae. His force, according to Herodotus, amounted to over 6,000 men, of whom 300 were Spartans. After the Persians had made several vain attempts to force the pass, a Greek named Ephialtes betrayed to them a mountain path, by which Hydarnes led a body of Persians to attack Leonidas in the rear. Before this manoeuvre could be completed, Leonidas, dismissing most of his allies, undertook to hold the pass with a forlorn hope of 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans. Here they resisted the main body of Xerxes' army, being attacked both in front and rear. No quarter was given or taken and it was not until the entire Spartan and Thespian corps were wiped out, that the remaining small body of Thebans surrendered. Leonidas fell early in the action, and a desperate struggle afterward took place over his body which was rescued by the Greeks, but after the surrender Xerxes ordered the head cut off and the remains crucified. The details of the gallant resistance are lost in a maze of myths, but numerous writers have paid their tribute to Leonidas and the brave band betrayed at Thermopylae.

Leonidas statue

Shih Huang Ti, the First Emperor of China

Shih Huang Ti

Shih Huang Ti (259-210 B.C.), is the name by which Prince Ching (or Cheng), the putative son of Chuang Siang Wang, ruler of the feudal State of Tsin, is known in Chinese history. In 246 b.c., when only thirteen, Shih Huang Ti succeeded to the throne of Tsin, then all but paramount, and remained for several years under the tutelage of a wily adventurer named Lü Puhwei, regarded by Chinese critics and historians as bis father. Under his advice the subjugation of the feudal princes, who still remained faithful to the house of Chow, was continued with vigor, and succeeded so well that in 221 B.C., the twenty-sixth year of his reign, the ruler declared himself the sole master of China, assuming the title Shih Huang Ti, or First Emperor. The feudal system was abolished, the whole country as it existed then was divided into thirty-six provinces, and Hien-yahg, near the present Singanfu, in Shensi, became his capital. He ordained, under pen¬alty of branding and four years' service on the Great Wall, that all books except those on agriculture. medicine, and divination be delivered up to be burned. Four and sisty scholars, who protested, alive. The emperor constructed roads and canals, erected many fine buildings, and, to protect the country from the inroads of the Huns and other barbarians, he constructed the Chinese Wall. 

Stadiums (some history)

Millions of sports fans jam stadiums each year to watch their favorite teams compete. The idea of a big "bowl," with terraced steps on which people can sit, goes back nearly 3,000 years, to the ancient Greeks. When the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C., the events took place in a magnificent stadium built for the occasion in the city of Olympia. Ancient stadiums still stand, such as the one at Pergamum, in Turkey.
The Greeks, and later the Romans, erected many of these arenas, which often were used for entertainments other than sports. Circuses were held there, and plays were performed on a stage at one end.
Today, stadiums continue to have various uses. Yankee Stadium in New York City, for example, is mainly a place to play baseball. Yet it has also held huge crowds who have wanted to attend a concert or to hear the pope during his visit to the United States.
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Art in Crete and Mycenae

Lion gate (Mycenae)

   The islanders of Crete and the Mycenaeans of the Greek mainland developed different but related cul¬tures. The works of art they created reflected their customs and beliefs. The magnificent death mask (above), found at Mycenae, was formed from a thin sheet of gold pressed to the face of the dead man. It reminded those who saw it of his likeness and served as a costly and dramatic memorial. The skills of the Mycenaeans are also visible in the enormous structure (right). Two lions are carved at the top of the gateway. Moles near the top of the animals suggest that their heads, now lost, were attached separately.
   To the people of Crete the bull was sacred, figuring in activities of religious significance. It was also used in sport (below). Here men and women are somersaulting over the back of a charging bull.

Who were the Lollards?

   Lollards were originally a religious group of the early 1300's in Holland. About 1387, the term began to be used as a name for the followers of the English religious reformer John Wycliffe. The Lollards preached obedience to God, reliance on the Bible as a guide to Christian living, and simplicity of worship. They rejected the richness of the Mass, most sacraments, and papal supremacy. They denied that an organized church was necessary for salvation. Most Lollards were poor priests or laymen. They wore long russet gowns, carried staffs, and lived on what they could beg. Henry IV, who became king in 1399, persecuted the Lollards because their views disagreed with religious law. By 1420, their movement had been practically stamped out.
   The Lollards had little permanent effect on religious life in England, but they had great influence in Bo¬hemia. There, John Huss was burned at the stake in 1415 for preaching Wycliffe's doctrines. One hundred years later, Martin Luther embraced some of Huss's ideas. In this way, the Lollards helped to pave the way for the Protestant Reformation.

Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci

   Amerigo Vespucci, or Americus Vespucius, was an Italian navigator, eponym of the New World; born in Florence, Italy, March 9, 1451. The exact date of bis voyage has been disputed for centuries. According to one account he reached South America in June, 1497. His Letters (1502), giving an account of his voyages, especially of the voyage of 1501, were translated into Latin, Italian, French, and German, and were widely circulated. He wrote a diary called The Four Journals, after his fourth voyage. The suggestion to name the newly discovered continent America was first offered by Martin Waldseemüller, of St. Dié in Lorraine, in his work Introduction to Cosmography (1507). Vespucci died at Seville, Spain, February 22, 1512.

Who were the Guelfs and Ghibellines?

In Italian history, Guelfs and Ghibellines were the names of two great factions. During the Middle Ages the conflicts of these parties filled the pages of history. The names arose in Germany from rival contestants for the im¬perial dignity. In Italy the Guelfs were identified with the cause of the pope, that is to say, the church, and of the free or independent cities. The Ghibellines were the party of the emperor.

Guelfs and Ghibellines

Heliopolis

Heliopolis, the "city of the sun," appears in the Bible under the name of On. It was a splendid city and a famous seat of learning situated in Lower Egypt near the apex of the Nile delta. The site is now occupied by the village of Matariah. He¬liopolis was said by ancient writers to have been founded during the second dynasty, though Egyptian records seem to indicate that this date is too early. A great temple was erected here by Amenemhat I, before which his son, Usertesen I, erected two obelisks, one of which still stands. Thothmes III erected at Heliopolis the obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles, of which one is now in New York City, the other in London. The priests of this city probably enjoyed a wider reputation for learning than did those of any other ori¬ental city; Thales, Solon and Plato are said to have received instruction from them. Heliopolis declined under later dynasties, and at the beginning of the Christian era the city was practically deserted, and nothing but the obelisk erected by Usertesen now remains.

Heliopolis

Toll roads in history

  Toll roads are not modern inventions. If you had been in a camel caravan arriving in the Middle Eastern city of Petra, over 2,000 years ago, you would have paid a stiff toll before leaving the city.
  About this time the Romans built a network of highways extending from the Wall of Hadrian in northern England to the Persian Gulf. Roads were kept in repair by the collection of tolls at the city gates. Many of the roads were still in use in the Middle Ages.
  In medieval times some tolls were colIected by barring the road with a pike, or pole, and then turning the pike
to allow the traveler to pass. Early in the development of the North Ameri¬can colonies, prívate companies built "turnpikes" and charged travelers tolls to use them. Now the government gives money to the states for road construction, and each state collects the tolls.
  Rivers and canals have also provided natural opportunities for toll stations. By the year 1300, there were more than 35 places along the Rhine River, in Germany, where fees were collected. In England there was a charge for passage both over and under London Bridge. Today, ships pay tolls to go through the Welland Canal in Canada, as well as through the Suez and Panama canals.

Who was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla?

   Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811) was a Mexican priest and revolutionist, born near Guanajuato, educated at the College of San Lorenzo at Valladolid. As a parish priest he attempted to improve the condition of the natives, teaching them to engage in agricultural pursuits, olive growing and the cultivation of vineyards. Under his direction the Indians set up a porcelain factory and interested themselves in the silk industry. All this was frowned upon by the goverment, that had forbidden natives to carry on such activities. Hidalgo was accused of heresy but never brought to trial. At the time of the Napoleonic invasion he was one of a number of Creole intellectuals who planned a revolution of the natives in Mexico. The plot was discovered, whereupon be issued the grito de Dolores, which was the beginning of the War for Independence. Hidalgo had many followers among the natives, the colonial militia and the radical Creoles. At first his army met with success but against his wishes the revolutionists attempted to conquer Mexico City. They met the royalists at Monte de los Cruces and won so costly a victory that they were forced to retreat to Aculco where they were defeated in November 7, 1810. Again at Cal¬deron Bridge in the following January, they met defeat. He was captured and shot.