By Tim Lambert Christine de Pizan was a great woman writer of the Middle Ages. Her father Tommaso was a famous academic and she was born in Italy in about 1363. When she was an infant Christine and her family moved to France, where her father was employed by the French king. In 1379 Christine… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Christine de Pizan
A Brief Biography of Catherine the Great
By Tim Lambert Her Early Life Catherine the Great was born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst in Stettin, Prussia on 2 May 1729. Her father was a German prince. It was decided she should marry Peter, the heir to the throne of Russia. She moved to Russia in 1744 and changed her name to Catherine.… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Catherine the Great
A History of The Persian Empire
By Tim Lambert The Persian Empire was created by Cyrus II, known as Cyrus the Great (559-529 BC). Cyrus first defeated another Iranian people called the Medes, then in 547 he defeated the kingdom of Lydia (in what is now Turkey) at the battle of Pterya and he became the ruler of most of Asia… Continue reading A History of The Persian Empire
A Short History of Turkey
By Tim Lambert Ancient Turkey Catal Huyuk was one of the world’s first towns. It was built in what is now Turkey about 6,500 BC not long after farming began. Catal Huyuk probably had a population of about 6,000. In Catal Huyuk, the houses were made of mud brick. Houses were built touching against each… Continue reading A Short History of Turkey
A Brief History of Panama
By Tim Lambert The first human beings lived in Panama about 11,000 BC. By 2,500 BC they had learned to make pottery and later people from the region traded with others as far north as Mexico and as far south as Peru. The first European to land in Panama was a Spaniard named Rodrigo Galvan… Continue reading A Brief History of Panama
A Short History of Trinidad and Tobago
By Tim Lambert Early Trinidad About 5,000 BC stone-age hunter-gatherers arrived in Trinidad by canoe. Then about 300 BC, more advanced people arrived. They grew crops like cassava and sweet potatoes. They also made pottery and wove cotton. However, in 1498 Columbus discovered the island. He named it Trinidad because he saw 3 peaks. The… Continue reading A Short History of Trinidad and Tobago
A History of Ancient Peru
By Tim Lambert By about 2,500 BC people in what is now, Peru began farming. By about 1,800 BC they were making pottery. The first South American civilization was the Chavin. It arose in what is now Peru in about 900 BC. The Chavin did not invent writing but they were skilled architects, stonemasons, potters,… Continue reading A History of Ancient Peru
A History of the Mayans
By Tim Lambert The Mayan Realm The Mayans created a great civilization in parts of what is now Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. The ancestors of the Mayans were hunters but about 2,000 BC they adopted farming as a way of life. In the years from 300 BC to 250 AD organized Mayan kingdoms emerged. Then from 250… Continue reading A History of the Mayans
The Olmecs
By Tim Lambert The Olmec Civilization The Olmecs were the first Central American civilization. They flourished in the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico between 1300 BC and 400 BC. The Olmecs influenced all the other civilizations that came later. So much so that they are sometimes called the mother culture. The Olmecs built the first… Continue reading The Olmecs
A Timeline of Tea and Coffee
By Tim Lambert 2737 BC According to legend tea is discovered by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung 800 AD The Ethiopians discover coffee around this time c 1450 Coffee is drunk in Yemen c 1550 Coffee is drunk in Turkey and Persia 1610 The Dutch introduce tea into Europe 1651 A coffee house opens in Oxford 1652 A coffee house opens in… Continue reading A Timeline of Tea and Coffee