The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by 0.4–0.7 °C (0.7–1 °F). Summer temperatures in Europe were the coldest of any on record between 1766 and 2000, resulting in crop failures and major food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere. Evidence suggests that the anomaly wasContinue Reading
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.Continue Reading
Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng’en. It is regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. Arthur Waley‘s abridged translation, Monkey, is known in English-speaking countries.Continue Reading
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, and kept trading posts andContinue Reading
Style of accompanied solo song consisting of a vocal line, which is frequently embellished, and simple, often expressive, harmonies. It arose about 1600, particularly in Italy, as a response to the contrapuntal style (based on the combination of simultaneous melodic lines) of 16th-century vocal genres such as the madrigal andContinue Reading
A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire’s official chronicler, and his “History of the Wars of Justinian” proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor’s reign. Yet all the while the dutiful scribe was working on a very different – and dangerous – history to beContinue Reading
Also called Wat Tyler’s Rebellion – first great popular rebellion in English history. Its immediate cause was the imposition of the unpopular poll tax of 1381, which brought to a head the economic discontent that had been growing since the middle of the century. The rebellion drew support from severalContinue Reading
The Beagle sailed from Plymouth Sound on 27 December 1831 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy. While the expedition was originally planned to last two years, it lasted almost five—Beagle did not return until 2 October 1836. Darwin spent most of this time exploring on land (three years andContinue Reading
Far from ‘dark’, the early medieval period saw religious diversity and the invention of new forms of art. The Lindisfarne Gospels is only 1 example of great early medieval art. 1. Why is the period known as ‘dark’? The term ‘Dark Age’ was used by the Italian scholar and poetContinue Reading
Site by Moonpub NET, The Netherlands 2021
