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

By Tim Lambert Early Adelaide Before Europeans arrived the Kaurna tribe lived in the Adelaide area. The Indigenous Australians called the Adelaide area Tandanya, which means the Place of the Red Kangaroo. However, in the early 1830s, the British drew up plans to settle the area. It was planned the new colony in South Australia… Continue reading A History of Adelaide

By Tim Lambert Ancient Afghanistan Afghanistan has a very long history. The Oxus civilisation flourished from about 2,200 to about 1,700 in northern Afghanistan. This great civilisation vanished for unknown reasons. However, most of the Ancient history of Afghanistan is that of one empire after another conquering the region. About 700 BC, Afghanistan was conquered… Continue reading A History of Afghanistan

By Tim Lambert Ancient Azerbaijan Ancient Azerbaijan was ruled by a series of empires. The Persian Empire existed from 550 BC to 331 BC. It included most of what is now Azerbaijan. The Persians introduced Zoroastrianism. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, but after his death in 323, his empire broke up. However, in… Continue reading A History of Azerbaijan

By Tim Lambert Colonial Baltimore The Maryland Assembly created a region called Baltimore County in 1659. The first settler was David Jones. In the following decades, other people settled in the region. In 1706 the Port of Baltimore was established near the site of Fort McHenry where goods could be loaded and unloaded. However, the… Continue reading A History of Baltimore

By Tim Lambert BELFAST IN THE 17TH CENTURY The city of Belfast began in the early 17th century. The name Belfast is a corruption of the Gaelic words Beal Feirste meaning mouth of the sandy ford. The town of Belfast grew after 1609 when King James began his policy of settling Englishmen and Scots in… Continue reading A History of Belfast

By Tim Lambert Early Belgium The Romans conquered Belgium in 57 BC and it became integrated into the Roman Empire as Gallia Belgica. However, in the 5th century AD Roman rule collapsed and the Franks conquered Belgium. Their first capital was at Tournai. In the 9th century, the Franks ruled most of Western Europe. Yet… Continue reading A History of Belgium

By Tim Lambert 19th Century Brisbane In 1823 the government of New South Wales was hoping to found a new prison colony to remove the worst of the convicts from the Sydney area. They sent the Surveyor-General John Oxley (c. 1785-1828) with a ship to explore the coast. When he sailed into Moreton Bay Oxley… Continue reading A History of Brisbane

By Tim Lambert The Foundation of Calgary For 10,000 years native people lived on the site of Calgary. Then in 1875, the Mounties built a fort there. In 1876 it was named Fort Calgary after Calgary Bay in Scotland. The Scottish name is derived from the Gaelic words Cala-ghearridh meaning pasture by the bay. When… Continue reading A History of Calgary

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Hollee and Hayden Davill Early Canberra For thousands of years, the indigenous Ngunnawal people lived in the Canberra region, and the name ‘Canberra’ is believed to be derived from an indigenous word meaning ‘meeting place’. The first European explorers arrived in the Canberra area in 1820 and the first settlers… Continue reading A History of Canberra

By Tim Lambert According to tradition Cork was founded by St Finbarr in the 7th century. He built an abbey there. Its name comes from the Gaelic Corcaigh, which means marshy place. For centuries the abbey at Cork flourished and it was famous for learning. However, in 820, the Vikings raided the abbey and the… Continue reading A History of Cork, Ireland