History

Refine Search

What were some difficulties and challenges faced in Jamestown and Plymouth?

The Plymouth colony was founded in an area that was extremely cold and lacking in fertile soil. This meant that the colonists at Plymouth were unable to support and feed themselves using traditional large farming techniques. Half of the colonists died from malnutrition and disease during the first winter at the Plymouth colony. However, the colonists at Plymouth were decidedly better off than those at Jamestown because of the lack of indigenous tribes in the land surrounding the settlement, as well as their underlying motives for establishing the colony. The colonists of Plymouth were looking ..

Continue Reading

Why did the United States become involved in the Vietnam War?

Although, after the Second World War the worldwide trend was to free colonies and make them independent countries, the United States decided to aid France in its effort to keep its colony of Indochina because it needed France's help to stabilize Europe in the initial stages of the cold war. In 1954, the same year as the French pullout from Vietnam, delegates at the Geneva Conference partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary, but in 1955 after rigged elections, the prime minister of South Vietnam declared it to be an independent state called the..

Continue Reading

Why was Sir Isaac Newton knighted?

On a visit to Trinity College in Cambridge, England, Queen Anne knighted Newton in the school’s Master’s Lodge on April 16, 1705. By then Newton, who was 62 years of age, had already formulated the laws of gravity, created the foundations for classical mechanics and built the first practical telescope. However, the knighthood was possibly not a reward for Newton’s immense scientific achievements, but for boosting his political profile, according to the website Newton. He had been elected as one of the two members of Cambridge University’s parliament in 1689 and 1701, and he was contest..

Continue Reading

When did the founding of New York colony take place?

Prior to the establishment of the New Netherland colony, the Dutch had a presence in the region. In 1609, Henry Hudson, an English explorer for the Dutch East India Company, traveled along the river that now bears his name. The Dutch initially settled near present day Albany, New York, and founded Fort Nassau in 1614, which was later replaced by Fort Orange in 1624. The Dutch settled Manhattan Island in 1626 and called the settlement New Amsterdam.

Continue Reading

What industries use robots?

Robots are capable of such precision that they are used in modern medicine as aids to surgeons. Human beings program medical robots to make incisions at particular sites and depths.\nScientists use robots to help explore areas that are difficult or dangerous for human beings to explore. Such areas include the deep sea and outer space.\nFactories use robots for the same reason. Since they are programmable, manufacturing robots work faster and with greater precision than human beings. They also withstand more extreme environmental conditions, including higher or lower temperatures, that human be..

Continue Reading

What do the colours on the Union Jack represent?

The Union Jack is composed of the flags of three patron saints layered one over the other. The central red cross on a white field is the flag of St. George, the patron saint of England. Beneath this, the white X (or "cross saltire," in heraldic terminology) on a blue field represents St. Andrew for Scotland. Layered and slightly offset on the white cross saltire is the red cross saltire representing Ireland's St. Patrick.\nThe first version of the Union Jack dates to James I's accession to the British throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I. Because his crowning represented the fi..

Continue Reading

How did the Korean War begin and end?

Although the exact dates vary, it is generally thought that the war began when U.S. forces arrived in Korea on July 1, 1950, one week after the DPRK invaded South Korea. Still, other sources put the beginning of the conflict back much further, pointing to conflicts between Russia and Japan over Korea that took place from the early 1900s up until the end of World War II.\nSoon after U.S. forces arrived to help the South Koreans, Chinese forces also started to arrive in support of North Korea. The two groups then continued to fight against each other for almost three years, before the Americans ..

Continue Reading

What did Zacharias Janssen invent?

The first compound microscopes developed by Zacharias Janssen in the 1590s were hulks compared to modern-day versions. The tripod itself measured more than two feet in height. The actual instrument was a tube equipped with two lenses, a convex lens at one end and a concave one at the other. One lens bent the light; the other magnified the image.\nThe first microscopes only magnified images between three and nine times the size of the actual object. More than half a century would pass before the compound microscope would be in widespread use in the scientific community.

Continue Reading

What was the Scramble for Africa?

In the 1880s, advances in technology, such as steam engines, railroads, telegraph systems and medicines to combat tropical illnesses, made a more thorough colonization of Africa possible. Declining profits in established colonies pushed the entrenched colonial powers to find new places to invest, and Africa offered attractive opportunities. The continent also had a wealth of raw materials, including coffee, rubber and palm oil, which were very profitable. Further, newer European states, such as Germany and Italy, wanted colonies of their own, because they had missed out on the first wave of co..

Continue Reading

Where did the War of 1812 take place?

The War of 1812 began in 1812 and lasted until 1814. It was a war between the United States and Great Britain. The war began because Americans disagreed with the trade restrictions that Great Britain had placed on the United States. Additionally Americans were displeased that American merchants were being forced to joined the British Royal Navy. The United States declared the war, and there was never any clear winner.

Continue Reading
Showing 8301 to 8310 of 8554 (856 Pages)