Afonso de Albuquerque, the ‘Caesar of the East’, established the lynchpins of Portuguese commerce in the Indian Ocean, crucially Malacca (1511) at the choke-point of the China trade, and Goa, which gave access to the wealthy Indian sub-continent. As a consequence, the Venetian control of the overland trade, via the... More
Following the World Trade Center attacks on 11 September 2001, the US launched its war on terror. With the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq two years later in 2003, the US aimed to eliminate the leadership of Al-Qaeda, the militant multinational Sunni Islamist organization, and... More
Latin America exhibited a range of reactions to the combatants in World War II. A number of dictators admired fascism, including Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and Ubico in Guatemala. Other states enjoyed profitable trading relationships with the Axis powers. However, trans-Atlantic trade reduced when war began, as did Pacific... More
Displaced from their traditional homelands, then shunted to progressively smaller and more barren reservations, the provisions of the Dawes Act (1887) were the final wrecking ball for the Indian way of life. Under the pretext of ‘assimilation’, the Indians were now to be assigned individual land allotments, abolishing communal ownership,... More
Xerxes the Great was determined to punish the Greeks for their victory over Persia at Marathon. After several years of planning, Xerxes’ huge army and navy travelled south from Sardis, through Thrace and Macedonia. While the land army was advancing, there were several severe storms that shipwrecked much of the... More
Believed to be the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history, the Xia (Hsia) dynasty is described in ancient chronicles such as the Bamboo Annals, yet some historians question its existence and consider it to be mostly mythological. The exact dates of this dynasty are unclear, but are generally agreed to... More
In the build-up to the Yom Kippur War, the Israelis were placed under extreme American pressure not to launch a pre-emptive strike; something they had done, with devastating success, in 1967. Consequently, the Egyptians were able to take the initiative. When they launched their offensive across the Suez Canal on... More
The Israeli defences in Sinai took a severe pummelling in the first week of the war. The line of fortifications east of the Suez Canal had been repeatedly breached, but by 14 October, the Egyptian offensive had been repulsed, and, with the Syrian assault on the Golan Heights likewise stalled,... More
At the outset of their Golan Heights campaign, Syria had a 10:1 advantage in troop numbers, and a 5:1 advantage in tanks. As in Sinai, the first three days developed into a series of last ditch Israeli defensive operations, made all the more critical by the proximity of the action... More
The Warwick Line of Confederate fortifications ran across the Virginia peninsula from Skiff Creek to Yorktown. Its defence against McClellan’s invading Union Army of the Potomac was entrusted to General Magruder, a keen amateur actor, who paraded his meagre defence force up and down the line with elaborate theatricality, gulling... More
After the division of the Mongol Empire in 1259, it split into four separate khanates, controlled by various elements of the Mongolian ruling class. The Yuan Dynasty was founded by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and comprised the traditional northern Chinese Empire. Kublai Khan was careful to portray himself... More
The fort of Závist in Bohemia occupies a hill, overlooking a river and fertile landscape. It was first occupied late in the Hallstatt phase of Celtic culture. Initially unfortified, the Acropolis enclosure at its summit may have been a ceremonial site. Around 500 BCE, and earthwork rampart was added, topped... More