After 200 years of British imperial rule, India had finally achieved its independence in 1947. What should have been a moment of joyful triumph turned into a year of unthinkable bloodshed. The independence and partition of India created three separate, independent states: a Hindu India and Muslim West and East Pakistan. It was the final solution of the British Empire. FewContinue reading “Podcast: The Bloody Partition of India and Pakistan”
Author Archives: andrewspaulw
King Shaka Zulu – the Napoleon of Africa
In the early 1800’s, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, a powerful kingdom arose. Its leader was the cruel yet clever King Shaka. Under his rule, the small Zulu tribe grew and conquered all other tribes in the region. During his reign, more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a unifiedContinue reading “King Shaka Zulu – the Napoleon of Africa”
The Hickory Polio Miracle
In the spring on 1944 , World War II was still raging in both Europe and the Pacific. At the same time, another deadly threat was invading the U.S. state of North Carolina – a dreaded polio epidemic. Regional hospitals were quickly maxed out with young, sick children. Desperate parents needed a solution, but whatContinue reading “The Hickory Polio Miracle”
The Indestructible Soldier – Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
British war hero Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart survived both the trenches of World War I and PoW camps of World War II. During battles he was shot in the face, losing an eye, and shot through the skull, stomach, groin, ankle and ear. In WW I, he was severely wounded no less than eightContinue reading “The Indestructible Soldier – Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart”
Why is Greenland a part of Denmark?
Though a part of the North American continent, Greenland has been associated first with Norway, then Denmark since the 9th Century. Its head of state is King Frederik X of Denmark. It is an autonomous Danish territory with self-government and its own parliament. But how did this all come about?
Podcast: Jamaica’s Port Royal Sank into the Sea
Jamaica’s Port Royal was the richest, busiest, and most nefarious port in the Caribbean Sea, frequented by smugglers, pirates, and prostitutes. All that changed on June 7, 1692 when Port Royal was hit by a massive earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and literally sank into the sea like the legendary Atlantis. Click BOOKS for more by historicalContinue reading “Podcast: Jamaica’s Port Royal Sank into the Sea”
Podcast: Marguerite Alibert – from Prostitute to Princess
Marguerite Alibert lived many different lives. She had gone from poverty to prostitution to princes – not just one, but two. She was a beautiful yet hard woman who survived the gritty world of Paris poverty, only to mingle among France’s elite. Marguerite viewed sex and love not from a romantic perspective, but as a means toContinue reading “Podcast: Marguerite Alibert – from Prostitute to Princess”
The Real Macaronis – Britain’s Scandalous Mens Club
There have always been daring trendsetters throughout history, from fops and dandies to our more modern hipsters and fashionistas. The ‘Macaronis’ of 18th century Britain outdid them all in their extravagant fashion excesses and pretentiousness. These young, male British aristocrats were famous not just for their extremely elaborate (and often effeminate) dress, but for theirContinue reading “The Real Macaronis – Britain’s Scandalous Mens Club”
The Tragic Sinking of China’s SS Kiangya
On the night of December 4th,1948, the passenger steamship SS Kiangya exploded and sank just north of Shanghai, China. It was the world’s worst non-military maritime disaster at the time. The steamship blew up at the mouth of the Yangtze River, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Shanghai and rapidly sank. The suspected cause – a mineContinue reading “The Tragic Sinking of China’s SS Kiangya”
Was the Ezekiel Airship First in Flight?
Is it possible a Texas Baptist preacher beat the famous Wright Brothers to achieve powered flight a full year before Kitty Hawk? At the turn of the century, huge cash prizes were offered by newspapers for the first powered, heavier-than-air flight. In Pittsburg, Texas, a Baptist minister and inventor named Burrell Cannon just may haveContinue reading “Was the Ezekiel Airship First in Flight?”