In 1807 the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, might be said to have reached the pinnacle of his power. He had just defeated the two great nations of Central Europe, Austria and Prussia. Then, with the Treaty of Tilsit with Tsarist Russia, France became the dominant power in Europe. The borders of the French Empire […]
How Did Napoleon’s Conquests Change History? Read More »
If a Native American from the interior region of North America, say from the Great Lakes, had traveled eastwards to what we now call New England in 1610, they would have traversed an area that was little different from how it had been 200 years earlier. The local Algonquian Indians dominated the region in their villages,
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There is no shortage of symbolism around black cats in the modern world. They are everywhere in popular culture as sidekicks or even malevolent beings which surround witches and other agents of the occult. For example, in the first Matrix movie, when Neo has a moment of Déjà vu, an occurrence which means the sinister controllers of the
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The 2000 film directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator, almost single-handedly resurrected the epic historical drama film genre, one which had been highly popular in the 1950s and 1960s but which had declined after that. As one would expect, the story is about a gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius, who ends up fighting in the Colosseum in the
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In the late 1780s, after the United States had formally concluded peace with Britain and secured its independence, the lawmakers who formed the Second Continental Congress and issued the Declaration of Independence in 1776 faced new problems. The United States was now free of foreign oppression but needed a constitution and ancillary laws. The constitution
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On the 6th of April 1793, a meeting of the National Convention, the parliament of the French Revolutionary government, was held at the Salle du Manége riding academy near the Tuileries Palace in central Paris. The new French Republic, which had only been formally established the previous September, faced a series of threats, both within
What Happened During the Reign of Terror? Read More »
If you bring up the time in which ancient Greek civilization dominated the Eastern Mediterranean, roughly between the sixth and third centuries BC, an individual would have a pretty clear view of that period. This view will undoubtedly involve the Acropolis of Athens and the Parthenon standing atop it. It might include the great temples
What Were Houses Like in Ancient Greece? Read More »
In the spring of 1944, the Western Allies undertook one of the most crucial campaigns on the Southern Front of the Second World War in Europe. This was the Battle of Monte Cassino, in which the Allies sought to break through the German and Italian line in Central Italy and open a pathway to seizing
Wojtek the Bear: A Surprising Hero of the Second World War Read More »
Ancient Egypt is known for its grand pyramids, impressive temples, and elaborate tombs, but what about the everyday homes of the people who lived there? The architecture and design of ancient Egyptian homes offer a look at the daily lives of the people who called this land home. From the bustling cities of the Nile
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What would you do if you found out that your mother was lying to you your entire life? This is the question that Gypsy Rose Blanchard had to answer when she discovered that her mother, Dee Dee, had been telling people that Gypsy was terminally ill when she was healthy. The story of Dee Dee
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