The place to learn about the past and present,
Click for Part 1 Retreat from Kabul, 1842 During the 'Great Game' Britain greatly feared that the Russian Empire's expansionism could spill into the Asian subcontinent. To counter this threat, they moved to establish a presence in Afghanistan (a buffer between the two empires) and install a pro-British regime. In 1839 a 20,000 strong army... Continue Reading →
'We lose many battles, except the last' - an adage referring to how the British prevailed in a catalogue of conflicts from the British Empire's inception in 1707 until its end in the 1950s, yet were mauled on many an occasion. This article includes the worst military calamity of (almost) every decade - failures little... Continue Reading →
Unlike the hundreds before and after, one woman survived jumping into the chasm of Avon Gorge from the bridge that spans it. Find out what quirk of fashion saved Ms Henley from her attempt to end her life. The city of Bristol, UK, is a charming place in England’s West Country. It’s famous for a... Continue Reading →
When a pregnant young queen started to drown, her attendants wouldn't help. Find out why. The protocol around royalty which governs how they interact with commoners is usually ancient, rigid and ensures royal family members’ inviolability. On one occasion however it caused an entirely avoidable tragedy for the Chakri royal dynasty of Siam, modern-day Thailand.... Continue Reading →
The legend of a Marquis' drunken antics resulted in an epic night in town... painting it red despite the townsfolk's spluttering rage. Read about the chaos this posh wild child caused. One day in spring 1837 at the Thorpe End tollgate in the fine old English market town of Melton Mowbray, with its half-timbered Tudor... Continue Reading →
Of all of Bonaparte's illustrious battles perhaps the one he wanted to forget was not his worst ever defeat, but his most embarrassing one, when Napoleon fled from a horde of rabbits. History tells us that Napoleon Bonaparte’s worst ever defeat occurred at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Yet, his most humiliating one was... Continue Reading →
The tale of the Boyd Massacre; an act of bone-chilling cannibalism perhaps the worst to occur since the Aztec Empire The subjects of Europe’s empires often saw the world beyond as one inhabited by varieties of savage, and in the most exotic corner of the world the image of Pacific islanders as fierce cannibals remained... Continue Reading →
To survive was one-in-a-million, but to almost completely recover is incomprehensible. The side-effects, however, made him shunned by decent society A moral man, Phineas Gage, Tamping powder down holes for his wage, Blew his special-made probe, Through his left frontal lobe, Now he drinks, swears, and flies in a rage. (Anonymous limerick) On September 13,... Continue Reading →
History and Things 