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What does "mercantilism" mean in history?

Mercantilism evolved from the desire to consolidate economic power from the regional centers of the feudal era to larger national economies. As such, mercantilism was central to the development of the nation-state.\nThe consolidation and nationalization of European economies had two important consequences. As nations became more competitive over trade, their conflicts with one another became more frequent and expansive. This led to the expansion of military capacities, which required capital derived from taxation on mercantile interests. In exchange, those interests prevailed upon governments ..

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Who is the real Jack Dawson in "Titanic"?

Though the J. Dawson grave in Halifax, Nova Scotia draws Titanic fans who leave notes and flowers, the J. stands for Joseph rather than Jack. Joseph Dawson was born in Dublin and was 23 years old when he died in the wreck of the Titanic. He was part of the Titanic's crew, working as a coal trimmer, responsible for evening out the piles of coal that fueled the Titanic's furnaces.\nJoseph Dawson joined the White Star Line, which built and owned the Titanic, after a short stint in the British Royal Army Medical Corps. Before leaving the Corps, he was stationed in Netley, just outside th..

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What was the growing industry in the 1920's?

The number of automobile owners nearly tripled to 23 million by the end of the 1920s. The vast majority of these cars were Ford's Model T. Due to the influx of automobiles, the government passed the Federal Highway Act in 1921, which helped aid state and local governments to build highways and roads, and added funds to help clear forests for highways. Additionally, travel industries popped up, including motels, roadside diners and gas stations.

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Who claimed Brazil for Portugal?

The treaty between Spain and Portugal granted land in the New World south of the 46th latitude to Portugal, while areas north of it went to Spain. Portugal slowly developed Brazil as a colony over the next 300 years, subjugating the native populations and exploiting the natural resources of the region. During the Napoleonic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the early 19th century, the Portuguese crown relocated to Brazil for 15 years.

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Who was the first pope?

St. Peter served as head of the first Christian church from the time of Jesus' death until Peter's own death in 64 A.D. Christian tradition holds that Peter was martyred under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar and crucified upside down because he felt unworthy of the same type of death Jesus received.

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Who invented the second?

The second was not used in timekeeping, however, until the development in the 17th century of the first mechanical clocks that could track this unit of time. Marin Mersenne, a French mathematician, developed a pendulum clock that could track one second via the pendulum's swing. The development of the atomic clock in the 20th century supplanted these early timekeeping devices, and the second was redefined in 1967 to mean the span of time for a cesium atom to undergo 9,192,631,770 energy transitions.

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When was the telegraph invented?

Morse sent his first telegraph from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 1844. Twenty-two years later, a telegraph line had been laid across the Atlantic Ocean. While the telegraph slowly fell out of widespread use and was completely obsolete around the start of the 21st century, it is credited for being the gateway innovation that led to the telephone, fax machine and Internet.

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Who was involved in the Battle of the Somme?

According to the History Channel, the first day of the battle led to 57,000 British casualties, the bloodiest day in that nation's military history. When British general Douglas Haig called the offensive to a halt, the British had suffered around 420,000 casualties, and the French suffered around 200,000 casualties. Though the French and British gained what they set to accomplish with the attack, most historians agree that it came at too great a cost.

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What is the White House made of?

James Hoban designed the White House after winning a competition that Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, and President George Washington organized in 1792. Hoban was born in Ireland and trained as an architect there. Legend has it that Jefferson, himself an architect, entered the contest under a pseudonym and lost. The White House has been renovated several times since it was first built; however, the exterior walls are the same walls that were initially constructed.

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What was the Rosenberg trial about?

The Rosenbergs were tried under the Espionage Act of 1917. Julius was an electrical engineer who previously lost his job with the U.S. Army Signal Corps because of communist affiliations. David Greenglass, Ethel Rosenberg's brother-in-law, testified that Julius Rosenberg asked him to convey secret instructions for creating atomic weapons. Chemist Harry Gold confessed to being a go-between for the Soviet vice-consul and American spies, including the Rosenbergs. The testimonies of Greenglass and Gold were viewed as circumstantial and conflicting, creating public doubts about the Rosenbergs&..

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Showing 1941 to 1950 of 8554 (856 Pages)