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What made up a Sumerian sailboat?

The Sumerian sailboat was used for fishing and water transportation. The sailboat itself was a refinement over earlier boat designs, which lacked control and navigation. The invention of the sailboat helped the Sumerian civilization flourish through the creation of water trade routes as well as provided a method for fishing. Early Sumerian fishing involved using the sailboat to travel downstream before casting a net and waiting for fish to get caught.\nThe same basic principles of sailboat design used by the Sumerians remain in use as of 2014, with sailboats still constructed of wooden planks ..

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Who was the president before Roosevelt?

William McKinley was president between 1897 and 1901 and is responsible for the winning of the 1898 Spanish-American War that aided Cuba in gaining independence from Spain. Herbert Hoover was president between 1929 and 1933, which was also the beginning of the Great Depression. During this time, many Americans fell into poverty, and the New York Stock Exchange plummeted severely, resulting in the closure of several banks.

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What happened to the Incas?

The biggest contributor to the Incan defeat was disease. Between 60 and 94 percent of the Incan population was decimated by smallpox before the Spanish first arrived. This left the empire weakened. In addition, a bloody civil war between Atahualpa and Huáscar, the sons of the deceased Incan ruler Huayna Capac, divided the Incans and allowed the Spanish to exploit the social rifts that formed, which aided in their eventual conquest.

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Why did Napoleon's grand empire collapse?

The Continental System (1806) was a trade embargo Napoleon introduced between Great Britain and Europe. He wanted to weaken Britain's trade system. However, the Continental System backfired on Napoleon as it didn't affect Britain significantly and other Eurpean countries continually ignored the embargo.\n\nThe Peninsular War (1808) began when Napoleon attempted to force Portugal to accept the Continental System. Napoleon invaded Spain and replaced its king. This angered Spanish nationalists, who sent troops to war with the aid of the British. Napoleon lost 300,000 men.\n\nThe Invasio..

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What were the main features of the Reconstruction Act?

After the Civil War, Congress sought to reintegrate the 11 seceded states back into the Union, starting during the Lincoln administration. After his assassination, Johnson took over and continued Lincoln's more moderate plans, angering Congress and the Radical Republicans, who resented the relatively lenient policies. Most Southern states rejected the 14th Amendment, which extended citizenship to former slaves, but they were unable to prevent its ratification.\nIn response, the Southern states passed the black codes, which severely restricted the former slaves' freedoms and reduced t..

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How has technology changed the workplace?

Because of advances in communication technologies, there is less need for employees and clients to communicate face to face. Now many businesses make the most of conference calls, which allow them to speak to people in other areas of the world. As part of this, employees can collaborate with each other remotely. For example, they can work on documents in shared folders. Such changes began with the invention of the telegraph in the 1850s, but have rapidly advanced over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries.Technologies like computers, the Internet and mobile phones have made it possible for..

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How did the Russians defeat Napoleon's Grand Army?

In 1812, Napoleon amassed an army of 400,000-650,000 troops and sent them across the Niemen River. He believed that through sheer numbers he could quickly force Russia to negotiate. In their first move, Russia withdrew from Vilna, which drew the Grand Army further into Russia.Russia withdrew from Vitebsk and Smolensk soon after, torching both cities as they went. Napoleon's troops found little food. Peasants burned their fields rather than let their food fall into French hands. Napoleon still pushed on.After a fierce battle at Borodino on September 7, 1812,, the Russians again retreated, ..

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Who was Martin Luther?

After becoming a monk, Martin Luther began to see the Catholic Church as corrupt and too concerned with worldly matters such as wealth to properly guide the flock to heaven. In particular, he despised the practice of selling indulgences. If a member of the flock committed a minor sin, he could simply pay the church for forgiveness rather than perform acts of contrition. Luther wrote a letter condemning the practice in 1517 and asked the Archbishop of Mainz to discontinue selling indulgences. When officials of the church challenged Luther on his statements, Luther publicly defied them, stating ..

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What was the Battle of Britain in World War II?

The Battle of Britain was intended as the starting point for Operation Sea Lion, or a German land invasion of Britain. It started with bombing raids in July of 1940 and lasted until October of the same year. At first, the German Luftwaffe started bombing munitions factories and aircraft factories along the southern coast, then switched to RAF airfields to maintain air superiority. After all, if the fighters could not take off, there would be no opposition.\nThe Luftwaffe later switched to bombing civilian targets, such as London. The two most notable occurrences were on September 7 and Septemb..

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What are some facts about the Battle of Brandywine?

On Sept. 9, 1777, Washington positioned troops at northern Wistar's Ford and southern Pyle's Ford river crossings, attempting to ensure the British army under General Howe would use the central Chadd's Ford, a vulnerable position. However, the British were familiar with the area. Howe marched most of his army north of Wistar's Ford to another crossing place he knew of. A smaller force marched toward Chadd's Ford in a feint.\nOn September 11, a heavy fog helped to disguise British troop movements. Washington received conflicting intelligence reports, some stating that H..

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