History

Refine Search

What was the cause of World War I?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, a city in Herzegovina and Bosnia. Austria-Hungary had seized control of this territory to claim its resources, a policy called imperialism. The assassin was a Serbian nationalist who thought that the territory should belong to Serbia. This extreme belief that a country must demonstrate its power and authority is emblematic of the nationalism that helped fuel World War I.\nAs a result of the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary because it had a mutual defense agreement with Serbia tha..

Continue Reading

What are examples of nativism?

In the mid-19th century, a strong nativism sentiment was also against Catholics, as a number of immigrants were from countries with strong Roman Catholic backgrounds. Nativism flourished in the U.S. during the 20th century after the country became home for thousands of immigrants.As a result of nativism, groups were formed to protest the rights of immigrants. Examples of these groups include the Know-Nothing Party in the 1840s, as well as the Klu Klux Klan.

Continue Reading

How long did the Roman Empire last?

Rome itself lasted over 1,200 years, first as a kingdom during the eighth century B.C. In 507 B.C., King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown by a citizens' revolt, and the Roman nobility declared the growing nation to be a republic governed by a senate and two or three consuls.\nCaesar was one of the last three consuls. When the consul Crassus died, Pompey, the consul in Rome, declared himself sole ruler. Caesar rebelled and defeated him, claiming sole Roman leadership for himself in 32 B.C. The consul system was irretrievably broken, and Rome became an empire.

Continue Reading

What are some facts about Bernardo De Galvez?

Galvez was born in Macharaviaya, which is a small mountain village in Spain on July 23, 1746. When he chose a military career, he was actually following his family tradition as his father and uncles were all in the military. He also was interested in bettering himself as a leader so he learned the French language and military science throughout his career.Galvez had his first war campaign with Portugal in the Seven Years' War. He was given the title of governor of Spanish Louisiana when he was only 29. He is also credited with winning the Battle of Pensacola, which was "one of the longest..

Continue Reading

Why did John Hay call the Spanish-American War "the splendid little war"?

In contrast with World War I, which occurred 20 years later, the Spanish-American War represented the end of an era of warfare. World War I claimed more than 37 million dead and wounded and resolved very little in terms of the hostilities that flamed throughout Europe. The Spanish-American War, on the other hand, claimed about 100,000 fatalities, with half of those resulting from diseases that the Spanish military contracted in Cuba and the Philippines. The shock with which President Woodrow Wilson learned about the horrors of World War I led him to urge the creation of a League of Nations to ..

Continue Reading

Why did the Bosnian War happen?

The roots of the conflict lay in the creation of Yugoslavia, a country formed out of very different ethnic groups in the wake of World War II. Originally, the country was ruled over by a strong, centrally planned Soviet government that governed all the different groups of citizens. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so did this central authority, and the country began to break up almost immediately afterward. A number of separate wars occurred during this process, including the Bosnian War.\nAt first, the Serbs held the upper hand in the Bosnian War, until an alliance between the Bosniaks and th..

Continue Reading

What is a brief biography of Giovanni da Verrazano?

Giovanni da Verrazano was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1485. At an early age, he traveled to Egypt and Syria. In the early 1500s, he went to France, where he met with King Francis I and also came in contact with members of the French navy, sparking his interest in oceanic travel. Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan were becoming renowned explorers during this time, which may have also inspired Verrazano.\nIn January 1524 he sailed to the New World and reached Cape Fear, North Carolina. He then sailed northward, exploring the eastern coast of North America, making discove..

Continue Reading

What did Peter the Great's modernization of Russia entail?

Before Peter the Great's time, Russia was far behind other European powers in the areas of culture and technology. Peter's first journey to Europe inspired him to instate a variety of changes back home. These included having men shave their beards and adopt Western clothes, allowing greater freedom for women, creating a modern navy, fostering the arts inspired by western Europe and providing a greater emphasis on education.\nRussia's military became powerful under Peter's rule. He established a prominent shipbuilding industry and even employed British men in his military. U..

Continue Reading

What was the religion of the southern colonies?

The original laws of the colonies forced people to attend a kind of church and to also pay taxes that helped to pay for the churches. It was later that the colonists decided to become more religiously tolerant and to separate church from state. Interestingly, for all of its importance, the separation of church and state is not explicitly written into any of the founding laws, including the United States Constitution. The idea of the "separation of church and state" first appeared when Baptists in Virginia wanted to have religious tolerance from the Anglicans living in the area.

Continue Reading

Who made the first compass?

Early compasses were used by the Chinese for seeking out gemstones and for divination by fortune tellers. It wasn't until the 11th century that the compass began to be used as a navigational tool. The compass revolutionized ocean exploration by freeing sailors from their reliance on landmarks and astronomical sightings for determining direction. The importance of the compass in navigation is indicated by the word lodestone, which means "guiding stone."

Continue Reading
Showing 1981 to 1990 of 8554 (856 Pages)