By Tim Lambert Early Guatemala In 1523 Pedro de Alvarado was sent with a force of Spaniards to Guatemala. The Spaniards had a great technological advantage over the indigenous people and by 1540 they ruled the whole area. The Spaniards then became the ruling class. Meanwhile, the indigenous people were converted to Christianity (although they… Continue reading A Brief History of Guatemala
Category: Histories of countries and key towns and cities around the world
A Brief History of Honduras
By Tim Lambert Early Honduras For thousands of years, indigenous peoples lived in Honduras. The greatest of them was the Mayans. However, the first European to reach Honduras was Christopher Columbus on 30 July 1502. Columbus later sailed as far south as Panama. The area became known as Honduras from the Spanish word for depths.… Continue reading A Brief History of Honduras
A Brief History of Iran
By Tim Lambert Ancient Persia The Persian Empire 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. In 547, he defeated the kingdom of Lydia (in what is now Turkey) at the battle of Pterya and became the ruler of… Continue reading A Brief History of Iran
A Brief History of Kenya
By Tim Lambert Early Kenya The earliest inhabitants of Kenya were hunter-gatherers but from about 2,000 BC herders came to the region. Then from about 800 AD Arabs sailed to Kenya. Some settled and intermarried and they created the Swahili culture along the coast. The first European to reach Kenya was Vasco da Gama in… Continue reading A Brief History of Kenya
A Brief History of Liberia
By Tim Lambert Early Liberia It’s believed the ancestors of the indigenous people of Liberia migrated there between the 12th century and the 16th century. The Portuguese reached the coast in the 15th century and trade began in pepper, ivory, and slaves. In 1816 the American Colonization Society was formed. It aimed to resettle free… Continue reading A Brief History of Liberia
A Brief History of Madagascar
By Tim Lambert Early Madagascar Until about 2,000 years ago Madagascar was uninhabited. Then the Indonesian people arrived. About 800 AD the Arabs started sailing to Madagascar. The first European to reach Madagascar was a Portuguese called Diogo Dias in 1500. However, at first, Europeans showed little interest in the island although pirates used it… Continue reading A Brief History of Madagascar
A Brief History of Malawi
By Tim Lambert Ancient Malawi Two thousand years ago there was a simple stone-age culture in Malawi. The people lived by hunting and gathering. However, by the 4th century AD, Bantu people arrived in the area and introduced iron tools and weapons. They also introduced farming. In the 15th century, people who lived south of… Continue reading A Brief History of Malawi
A Brief History of Mexico
By Tim Lambert The story of modern Mexico began with the conquistadores. In 1492 the Spaniards discovered the new world. The end of the Aztec Empire came when the governor of Cuba sent an army under Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) to conquer Mexico. Cortes only had about 600 men yet he managed to conquer the Aztecs.… Continue reading A Brief History of Mexico
A Brief History of Mozambique
By Tim Lambert Early Mozambique After 100 AD Bantu Bantu-speaking people arrived in what is now Mozambique. They lived by farming and they made iron tools. They were organized into small kingdoms. By the 9th century, Arab merchants arrived at the coast of Mozambique. For centuries afterward, there was trade between Africans and Arabs. Then… Continue reading A Brief History of Mozambique
A Brief History of Namibia
By Tim Lambert Early Namibia In 1487, a Portuguese named Bartholomew Diaz reached what is now Namibia. However, Europeans showed little interest in Namibia until the 19th century because of the desert along its coast. However, in 1884 Namibia became a German colony. Yet at first, the Germans showed little interest in Namibia. The number… Continue reading A Brief History of Namibia