In the 1930s, tensions between the Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine steadily deteriorated as Jewish immigration and land purchase escalated. An Arab General Strike in 1936 was followed by an uprising led by prominent Arab clans, the Nashashibis and Husseinis. Lord Peel was called upon to examine methods to... More
The Pennsylvania Railroad is a Class 1 railroad established in the state of Pennsylvania in 1846, with its first line running from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, and a subsequent passenger line running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. For the first half of the twentieth century it was the largest railroad in terms... More
The classic theory of Paleoindian colonization of the Americas proposed migration from a heartland in Siberia across the then existing Beringian landbridge c. 15000 BP. Thereafter, according to this model, the early Paleoindians exploited an ice-free corridor in western Canada before fanning out when reaching the present day United States.... More
The early Permian saw the collision of the landmasses of Laurentia and Gondwanaland. This was followed by the fusion of proto Siberia, Angara, to form the vast proto continent, Pangea, surrounded by the ocean of Panthalassa. At the same time, the constituents of modern South and East Asia sheared from... More
Astyages, king of Media, was the dominant power in the Middle East when he moved to crush a rebellion in Persia, led by his grandson Cyrus. Cyrus triumphed at the Battle of Pasargadae, going on the capture the Median capital Ecbatana (550 BCE). Now in control of a substantial empire,... More
In October 1939 the Germans created ‘Fall Gelb’ (Plan Yellow), plotting an invasion of France via Belgium, avoiding the Maginot Line. In January 1940, a German plane carrying documents crashed in Belgium, forcing a change of tactics. Army Group B would invade through the Netherlands and Belgium, focusing the Allies’... More
With Russia out of the war, Germany was keen for Austria-Hungary to make a decisive strike against Italy, in the hope that it might divert Allied troops from the western front. The Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff, von Straussenburg, buoyed by the decisive victory at Caporetto, decided on a broad frontal... More
The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is believed to hold the remains of the apostle St James. Local visits to the shrine are recorded in the 9th century, but it became a major centre of international pilgrimage through the evangelism of Pope Calixtus II (1119–24), who instituted ‘Compostelan years’ and... More
The Polish/Lithuanian Commonwealth became a victim of ruthless realpolitik, progressively partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia (1772–95). The Congress of Vienna (1815), agreed that the Russian emperor would rule his Polish territories separately as their king, respecting their constitution and Sejm (parliament). He ignored these niceties, and adopted a steadily... More
Mithridates V, king of Pontus, was careful to be a loyal ally of the contemporary superpower, Rome, supporting its wars against Carthage and Pergamon, and was given Phrygia as a thank-you present (129 BCE) by the local Consul, Manius Aquilius. The gift was apparently considered over-generous; Aquilius was accused of... More
Before the arrival of Europeans in North America, the numerous Native American tribes had developed different lifestyles and ways of living off the land. In the east, the Mississippian tribal groups were some of the first to transition away from the hunter-gatherer nomadic lifestyle, developing agriculture and settlements on a... More
As the East India Company grew it recruited guards and watchmen to to protect its possessions scattered around India. This group evolved into field armies that were then organized under its three ‘presidencies’, Bengal, Bombay and Madras, hence the Bengal Army, Bombay Army and Madras Army. In 1748 these were... More