Category: Histories of countries and key towns and cities around the world

By Tim Lambert Ancient China The Beginning After 10,000 BC people in China lived by hunting and gathering plants. Then, about 5,000 BC, the Chinese began farming. From about 5,000 BC rice was cultivated in southern China and millet was grown in the north. By 5,000 BC dogs and pigs were domesticated. By 3,000 BC… Continue reading A Short History of China

By Tim Lambert Early Costa Rica At the beginning of the 16th century, the indigenous people of Costa Rica were divided into tribes of farmers. They had created a sophisticated society. However, on 18 September 1502, Christopher Columbus sighted Costa Rica. In the mid 16th century the Spanish gradually conquered Costa Rica. However, it lacked… Continue reading A Short History of Costa Rica

By Tim Lambert Ancient Croatia Before 5,000 BC the people of what is now Croatia learned to farm although they only had stone tools. Later they learned to use bronze and then iron. After 390 BC Greeks settled in colonies along the coast. Then after 229 BC the Romans gradually took control of Croatia. By… Continue reading A Short History of Croatia

By Tim Lambert Early Cuba The first European to reach Cuba was Christopher Columbus in 1492. At that time the indigenous people lived by farming. They grew cassava, maize, and yams. They also smoked tobacco. In 1511 Diego Velasquez conquered the island of Cuba and he founded several settlements including Havana. The natives were devastated… Continue reading A Short History of Cuba

By Tim Lambert ANCIENT CYPRUS The first people in Cyprus were stone age farmers about 8,000 BC. By 4,000 BC they were making pottery and copper tools. By about 2,500 BC the people of Cyprus had learned to make bronze. The society of Cyprus gradually grew more sophisticated after 1,600 BC a form of writing… Continue reading A Short History of Cyprus

By Tim Lambert THE FIRST CZECHS From about 400 BC what is now the Czech Republic was inhabited by a Celtic race. The Romans called them the Boii and they gave their name to Bohemia. Then about 100 AD a Germanic people called the Marcomanni conquered the area. The Romans traded with the Marcomanni and… Continue reading A Short History of Czech Republic

By Tim Lambert Ancient Greece From about 7,000 BC stone age farmers lived in Greece. Then about 3,000 BC bronze was introduced. About 2,500 BC a sophisticated society grew up on the island of Crete. It is known as the Minoan civilization. By about 1,950 BC the inhabitants had invented a form of writing using… Continue reading A Short History of Greece

By Tim Lambert Colonial Haiti Haiti forms part of the island of Hispaniola. Before the Europeans arrived a people called the Arawaks lived there. However, on 6 December 1492, Christopher Columbus landed at Mole Saint-Nicolas on the northwest and called the island Espanola, which was later anglicized as Hispaniola. Columbus built a fort on the… Continue reading A Short History of Haiti

By Tim Lambert Ancient Hungary During the last ice age, humans in Hungary lived by hunting mammoths and reindeer with stone weapons. When the ice age ended they hunted smaller animals. However, about 5,000 BC farming was introduced into Hungary although the farmers still used stone tools. Then about 2,000 BC, they learned to use… Continue reading A Short History of Hungary

By Tim Lambert Ancient India The Indus Valley Civilisation The first Indian civilization arose in the Indus Valley about 2,600 BC. It straddled northwest India and Pakistan. By 6,500 BC the people of the area had begun farming. By 5,500 BC they had invented pottery. By about 2,600 BC a prosperous farming society had grown… Continue reading A Short History of India