History

Refine Search

For what country did Hernando De Soto sail?

Though born into a poor family in Spain, Hernando de Soto found success in the New World, achieving military fame in Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras before joining Pizarro's conquest of Peru. Rich from his success, he felt the need to continue his travels. He liquidated much of his fortune and outfitted 10 ships, which he and his crew of 700 sailed to the southern part of the North American continent. Though he died on his journey, he discovered much new land for the Spanish crown. Unfortunately, his explorations also roused Indian sentiment against Europeans and began the spread of diseas..

Continue Reading

Who were the original owners of the Globe Theatre?

The land on which the Globe was built was leased from Thomas Brend. Brend signed a lease allowing for the use of the land for 21 years, and on the expiration of this lease, the then-current landlord, Giles Allen, tried to claim the theater for his own. This prompted the Globe players to dismantle the theatre and transport it across the Thames, where it was rebuilt in a new location.

Continue Reading

Who are a few of the worst presidents of the United States?

Andrew Johnson succeeded Abraham Lincoln following Lincoln's assassination in 1865, putting a racist Southern politician at the head of the country's reconstruction efforts. Johnson refused to force Southern states to give black Americans and former slaves full rights. He granted a slew of pardons to former Confederate rebels and vetoed two pro-black laws, the 1866 Civil Rights Act and the Freedmen's Bureau bill. He was impeached by the Senate but was acquitted by one vote.\nJames Buchanan from Pennsylvania served as president at the start of the Civil War from 1857 to 1861. He ..

Continue Reading

How was salt mined in ancient West Africa?

Salt mining dates back to at least 300 A.D., when camel caravans carried salt out of the Sahara Desert. Camels carried two blocks each, a total of 400 pounds, for 14 days to Timbuktu. West African kingdoms in present-day Nigeria, Mali and Ghana became prosperous with the salt trade.\nMines were controlled by kings, and workers dug in the mines solely for the owner's profit. Everything had to be imported because food was scarce in harsh desert conditions. Buildings in the area were made of the salt blocks themselves because the substance was so readily available. Salt was mined from undern..

Continue Reading

What is a brief timeline of the British monarchy?

Scotland and England had parallel monarchies until the two kingdoms were united by James I in 1603. Early Scottish kings did not closely follow rules of dynastic succession and rarely succeeded in consolidating meaningful power, so the first Scottish dynasty is typically recognized as the descendants of Malcolm III. This original dynasty was followed by the Bruces, the Stewarts and the Jacobite pretender dynasty after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.\nThe Act of Union in 1707 finally consolidated the constituent pieces on the larger British isle into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Although Jame..

Continue Reading

Where was Ancient Rome located?

As a republic, Ancient Rome was composed of the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. As an empire, Ancient Rome contained the lands of Britannia, Gaul, Pannonia, Dacia, Dalmatia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Cappadocia, Egypt, Cyrenacia, Numidia, Hispanica and Aquitania. At its peak, the empire of Ancient Rome covered around 2.5 million square miles in area. As Ancient Rome began to collapse, the Eastern Roman Empire was composed of the lands of modern-day Greece, Syria, Egypt, the Balkans and Asia Minor.

Continue Reading

What happened in the Battle of Midway?

Because American intelligence had broken the codes of the Japanese fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz had detailed advance warning of the Midway invasion plans. Japanese Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku intended the attack on Midway, an island northwest of Hawaii, to draw out the American fleet so he could destroy it. Nimitz sent out three heavy aircraft carriers to engage and defeat the Japanese fleet. Though a U.S. bomber attack from Midway Island and the first wave of torpedo bombers from the carriers were ineffective, the subsequent wave of dive bombers from the carriers badly destroyed most of the ..

Continue Reading

How many presidents appear on both a note and a coin in U.S. currency?

In 2005, the U.S. Mint began producing one-dollar coins with relief portraits of presidents on the obverse side. Since that time, dollar coins featuring the first 32 presidents have been released. When these coins are included, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant can be added to the list of presidents officially featured on both coins and paper money. While these coins are legal tender, they were produced in limited number and are considered collectible, so they are not often seen in general circulation. Bills featuring William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, James Madison and ..

Continue Reading

How many times did the Wright brothers fail?

The Wright brothers' careers as inventors of flying machines started in 1899 when Wilbur started working on a way to bend the wings of a biplane in order to steer it. Many previous attempts, starting as early as 1896, had failed, and Wilbur had always wanted to solve this problem. In 1899, the Wright brothers created a kite glider that demonstrated Wilbur's ideas of bending the wings. It worked as a kite, but full-sized models that were human-controlled failed to live up to the brothers' expectations in their test flights at Kittyhawk in 1900 and 1901.\nIn 1902, their third atte..

Continue Reading

Why was the Battle of Antietam important?

The Battle of Antietam included the bloodiest day of the Civil War; nearly 23,000 soldiers were killed on Sept. 18, 1862, including over 10,000 Confederate troops and over 12,000 Union soldiers. The Union possessed superior forces, so despite its losses, it eventually drove the Confederate troops back. Although neither side landed a crushing blow in this battle, President Lincoln declared it a victory for the north.\nBefore the Battle of Antietam, the Confederate Army had reeled a string of crushing blows to the Union, pushing battles further north. As the two forces met near the Antietam Cree..

Continue Reading
Showing 331 to 340 of 8554 (856 Pages)