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Click for part 2 Apia Cyclone, 1889 It was during the peak years of Western-state nationalism when countries like the USA, Britain, Germany and Italy strutted around the world with their chests puffed out that a small US Naval squadron was wrecked in rueful circumstances. A storm had been brewing in the Samoan Islands since... Continue Reading →
Click for part 1 USS Hornet Sunk, 1829 A large US Navy sloop-of-war was lost in 1829, albeit in a maritime disaster rather than a military one. The USS Hornet was a 440-ton ship armed with 20 cannon and had a distinguished record as the first U.S. Navy ship to capture a British privateer in... Continue Reading →
The time one disregarded European state forgot to end the 'Great War' For its main belligerents, World War One lasted from 1914 until 1918, yet bizarrely Germany remained technically at war with one country for another 39 years. Modern Andorra is a European minnow state of 468 km (181 sq mi) and just 76,000 call... Continue Reading →
What kind of pirate would sail to London to parley with her arch nemesis, the Queen of England? Her name was Grace O'Malley, she was Irish and a queen in her own right In the 16th Century, whilst Ireland’s eastern coastline was controlled by the English, its hinterland to the west was frontier country. On... Continue Reading →
History and Things 