In 1877 the Satsuma Rebellion or Sainan War against the Japanese imperial throne ended with the victory of the latter…
Modern Era
The High Court of Chivalry, a medieval institution still active in the United Kingdom
Heraldry is the science of the coat of arms, the “art of explaining and describing the coats of arms of…
The Rosenstrasse protest, when German women saved their Jewish husbands by confronting the Nazi regime
In 2003 the German Margarethe von Trotta, director, scriptwriter, actress and wife of the famous writer Volker Schlöndorf, won the…
Beijing-Paris, the automobile race of 1907 that inaugurated the tradition of celebrating victory with champagne
If there is one classic of sports celebrations, it is motor racing, where victories are showered with champagne (including competitors,…
The British Museum objects that no one can see and that Ethiopia claims
Although the British never conquered or colonized Ethiopia, in April 1868 a battle took place there that ended the so-called…
Jasper Maskelyne, the magician who fooled the Germans with his tricks in World War II
In 1983, the famous magician David Copperfield caused a sensation by making the New York City Statue of Liberty disappear…
A fly-whisk provoked the French occupation of Algeria and the establishment of the protectorate
Most readers will be aware of the historical link between France and Algeria, if only because of the number of…
The alchemist who sought the Philosopher’s Stone and discovered phosphorus by chance
The word serendipity comes from the oriental tale The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the protagonists saw their problems…
Giovanni della Porta, the Renaissance scholar who encrypted messages inside eggs to fool the Inquisition
Giovanni Battista della Porta was born in November 1535 in Vico Equense, a municipality of the Kingdom of Naples that…
Devshirme, the recruitment of Christian children by the Ottoman Empire to become soldiers and officials
The Ottoman Empire was one of the main powers of the 15th and 16th centuries. Its colossal dimensions guaranteed it…
