What the Barista is Brewing Today
Grab some espresso and dive in for some brewmination
Crime in England, 1780-1925
Many acts we would describe as crimes today were largely unprosecuted before the mid-nineteenth century. Introduction As with all periods in history, there were many illegal acts which could, if detected (and the perpetrator was prosecuted) appear as “crimes”. However, the vast majority of crimes were never prosecuted. Modern historians can sometimes study unprosecuted acts[…]
Georgians and Victorians: More Than Gin and Sin
Both the Georgian and Victorian eras were marked with significant changes, both socially and politically. The Georgians The Georgian period, which ran from 1714, effectively ended in 1830 with the death of King George IV, notorious for a life of dissipation and wild extravagance. This event, which marked the end of the Georgian era, was[…]
The Inka Paccha: Ceremonial Ritual Watering Device
This was a ritual device intended to promote agricultural fertility. Introduction Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, in his massive colonial treatise The First New Chronicle and Good Government (or El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno), dedicated an entire chapter to the months of the year and the traditional Inka agricultural activities associated with them.[…]
Standing Female Figure of the Chancay People of Ancient Peru
The Chancay lived on the central coast of Peru from c.1000 C.E. until their conquest by the Chimú and then the Inka in the 15th century. Introduction What can small-scale ceramic figurines tell us about the past? It turns out, they can tell us a great deal about cultures that no longer exist. A wonderful[…]
Adamgarh and Nagori: Rock Art History of Madhya Pradesh
Rock art is the primary source to study the culture, rituals, traditions, and lives of prehistoric societies. By Zenab Khan Introduction Rock art, that is paintings and carvings on natural rock formations, is one of the earliest forms of creative expression and a universal phenomenon among prehistoric societies. An instrument of communication rather than simply[…]
Prehistoric Italian Rock Drawings of Valcamonica
The first appearance of these drawings can be dated back to the age of Epipaleolithic (20000-1000 BP). Introduction The rock drawings of Valcamonica are prehistoric petroglyphs carved in the glacier-polished, grey-purple Permian sandstone of the Camonica valley that extends for 90 km in the Italian provinces of Brescia and Bergamo in Lombardy. The name of[…]
Alexander von Humboldt Seeking Unity in the New World
Journeying through South America, Alexander von Humboldt sought nothing less than “the unity of nature.” Alexander von Humboldt’s journey to becoming the preeminent scientist of his day had many possible starting points. But July 16,1799, the day that he, a Prussian naturalist, and his friend Aimé Bonpland, a French botanist, disembarked from the Pizarro in the South[…]
A Mathematical Duel in 16th-Century Renaissance Venice
The story of two Renaissance mathematicians whose jealousies, intrigues, and contentious debates led to a discovery. By Fabio Toscano translated Arturo Sangalli Niccolò Tartaglia was an ambitious teacher who possessed a secret formula – the key to unlocking a seemingly unsolvable, two-thousand-year-old mathematical problem. He wrote it down in the form of a poem to[…]
Rosso Fiorentino, a 16th-Century Painting, and Hollywood
What two pioneers of color movies saw in a 16th-century Renaissance painting. Rosso Fiorentino has no star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And why should he? Born Giovanni Battista di Jacopo in Italy in 1494, he spent most of his career as a painter in his native Florence, later working in Rome before moving[…]
Which Disney Movie Is the Most Medieval?
Looking at a selection of films that present a global Middle Ages, a chronologically flexible period from 500–1500 CE. Introduction We didn’t know we’d grow up to be medievalists and curators of manuscripts when we saw our first Disney films, but their portrayal of castles, cathedrals, and chivalric ideals―all stereotypical elements of the Middle Ages―were[…]
Sanctuary Spaces for Criminals in Medieval English Law
In medieval England, churches had a moral duty – and even a legal obligation – to protect the vulnerable. In medieval England, from at least the 12th to the 16th centuries, sanctuary was defined as a legal procedure within both canon law (the law of the church) and secular common law. It was a last[…]
The Praetorian Guard in Ancient Rome: Protection and Imperial Intelligence
The Praetorian Guard became notable for its intrigue and interference in Roman politics. Introduction The Praetorian Guard (Latin: cohortes praetoriae) was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army whose members served as personal bodyguards and intelligence for the Roman emperors. During the era of the Roman Republic, the Praetorians served as a small escort[…]
5 Jobsearch Tips in the Era of Coronavirus
The global pandemic has harmed the jobs market. However, this does not mean that there are no opportunities available. Businesses are still advertising jobs online. If you are looking for work, you need to give yourself the best opportunity of being successful. There are certain things that you can do to help make this happen.[…]
The Quasi-War between the U.S. and France, 1798-1800
Philadelphia experienced a tumult of both anti-French and anti-Federalist sentiment. Philadelphia, as capital of the United States during the 1790s, played a central role in the conflict called the Quasi-War, an undeclared war, between the United States and France during the years 1798 to 1800. Philadelphia became a hotbed of public displays for and against[…]
King Philip’s Spanish Armada
When Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in 1578, Philip had one more reason to attack England. Introduction The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 132 ships assembled by King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE) in order to invade England in 1588 CE, his ‘Enterprise of England’. The Royal Navy of Elizabeth I[…]
The Continuation of Ancient Roman Law in the Medieval Period
Roman law came to have an immense effect on law as actually practiced in the medieval world. Introduction Medieval Roman law is the continuation and development of ancient Roman law that developed in the European Late Middle Ages. Based on the ancient text of Roman law, the Corpus iuris civilis, it added many new concepts,[…]
An Historical Overview of Ancient Warfare
The difference between prehistoric and ancient warfare is more organization oriented than technology oriented. Introduction Ancient warfare is war that was conducted from the beginning of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe and the Near East, the end of antiquity is often equated with the Fall of Rome in 476[…]
Thrasybulus: The Mysterious Expedition of the Tyrant of Ancient Miletus
Thrasybulus was helping his ally Periander, the tyrant of Corinth. By Sergey M. ZhestokanovProfessor of ArchaeologySt. Petersburg State University A cursory mention of a mysterious expedition against Sicyon, mounted by Thrasybulus, the tyrant of Miletus, can be found in Frontinus’ “Strategemata”. The author of the present article is of the opinion that in this way[…]
Tyranny in Ancient Greece and Rome
The classics contain many references to tyranny and its causes, effects, methods, practitioners, alternatives. Introduction In the modern English-language’s usage of the word, a tyrant (derived from Ancient Greek τύραννος, tyrannos) is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler’s sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may[…]
‘With All Deliberate Speed’: Brown v. Board and the End of Racial School Segregation
White citizens in the South organized a “Massive Resistance” campaign against integration. A Segregated Society An 1896 Supreme Court decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, had declared “separate but equal” Jim Crow segregation legal. The Plessy ruling asserted that so long as purportedly “equal” accommodations were supplied for African Americans, the races could, legally, be separated. In[…]
A History of Racial Segregation in the United States
De facto segregation continues today because of both contemporary behavior and the historical legacy of de jure segregation. Introduction Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, refers to the segregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation in the United States along racial lines. The[…]
Slavery and the Civil War
Slavery was abolished over 150 years ago in the United States, but the hard work of achieving equality continues today. Slavery and the Roots of Racism By Lance Selfa Over 150 years ago, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrendered to the Union Army’s Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, ending the[…]
Caribbean Histories: Early Migration to Slavery to 20th-Century Transitions
Introduction From the start of European expansion into the Atlantic world, Britain fought other powers for territory in the Caribbean and many islands became part of the British Empire. The region experienced near eradication and expulsion of its indigenous populations by European powers. It was also on the receiving end of the largest enforced migration[…]
A History of Abolitionism in the Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
The worldwide movement against slavery (still not entirely eliminated) can be seen as a coming of age for humanity. Introduction Abolitionism (from “abolish”) was a political movement in late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that sought to end the practice of slavery and the worldwide slave trade. Its chief impetus came from Protestantism, as most abolitionists,[…]
Slavery before the Trans-Atlantic Trade
Almost all peoples have been both slaves and slaveholders at some point in their histories. Introduction Various forms of slavery, servitude, or coerced human labor existed throughout the world before the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the sixteenth century. As historian David Eltis explains, “almost all peoples have been both slaves and slaveholders[…]
Ancient Sports That Colonial Powers Acquired and Refined
Colonial powers through the ages have been masters of appropriating the native cultures of foreign lands, waiting a few decades or centuries before casually passing them off as their own creations. Few are better at this than European nations, with the English laying claim to tea and curry that they imported from Asia, and the[…]
Liberty, Equality, and Due Process: A History of Cases, Controversies, and Texts
The doctrine of “state action” is integral to American Constitutional law. Originally published by CALI eLangdell Press under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
Algorithms Associating Criminality and Appearance Have a Dark Past
In some cases, the explicit goal of these technologies is to deny opportunities to those deemed unfit. ‘Phrenology’ has an old-fashioned ring to it. It sounds like it belongs in a history book, filed somewhere between bloodletting and velocipedes. We’d like to think that judging people’s worth based on the size and shape of their[…]
The Beast of Gévaudan: Hyperbole and Supernatural Hype in 18th-Century France
While the creature’s name remained simple, its reputation soon grew extremely complex. This article, The Beast of Gévaudan (1764–1767), was originally published in The Public Domain Review under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0. If you wish to reuse it please see: https://publicdomainreview.org/legal/ In the 1760s, nearly three hundred people were killed in a remote region of south-central[…]
Elizabeth I and the Power of Image
Elizabeth I engage in a memorable invention of herself as a legend in her own lifetime. Introduction Aware of the power of appearances, Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603 CE) carefully controlled her image throughout her reign and through costume, hair, jewellery, and art, she presented herself as the great Virgin Queen. Like a goddess[…]
