The encomienda system was a Spanish feudal system prevalent in the 16th century in the Americas. Although it was purported to benefit the Indigenous communities over which it ruled, it was, in essence, very thinly veiled slavery. It led to the Spanish conquistadors amassing land in the colonies and taking advantage of the labor of […]
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Imagine an institution renaming itself in honor of the boy it once attempted to bar in the name of racial segregation. In the summer of 1959, the Lake City Public Library in South Carolina refused a young 9-year-old boy from checking out books. But the boy wasn’t raised to submit to such harmful societal constructions
The extraordinary life of astronaut Ronald McNair Read More »
Few Native American tribes have been as instrumental to the history of the United States as the Oneida Tribe. The Oneida Tribe made its mark very early in US history, thanks to its peaceful approach to American settlers and its desire to assimilate into colonial culture. While the Oneida tribe currently has a reservation in
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William Poole, aka Bill the Butcher, was a fierce knife-wielding gang leader in 19th-century New York City. He led the nativist street gang Bowery Boys, went on to rule the criminal underworld, and later got into politics. Bill’s larger-than-life presence was immortalized by actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ fictionalized portrayal of him as William “Bill the Butcher”
Bill the Butcher: The notorious life of William Poole Read More »
The end of World War II promised an era of peace in Asia and the West. The neutralization of Japan in the region led Korea to be under the control of two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. But what seemed an excellent decision to control the tides of war was the first
What caused the Korean War and how did the US get involved? Read More »
In 1979, the Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Japan completed an ultra-large crude carrier (ULCC) that is still the biggest and longest self-propelled ship in history, the Seawise Giant. Throughout its long and turbulent history, it would be known by several names: Knock Nevis, Oppama, Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, and Mont. It would also pass through
Raising the Seawise Giant: the fascinating history of the largest ship ever built Read More »
History has a long reach. The story of Georgia Tann, who ran a criminal enterprise from the 1920s to the 1950s to place thousands of babies taken from often-poor mothers with wealthy parents, still echoes today even though most of the babies she took are very elderly or gone. Early Years and Formulating the Scheme
Georgia Tann stole thousands of babies from the poor and gave them to the rich Read More »
A tsunami is one of the greatest and most potent natural disasters known to man. While several things can cause a tsunami, the result is always, quite literally, a tidal wave of disaster. Tsunamis have been around since the beginning of time, but the first recorded occurrence was in 2000 BC off the coast of
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Dragons have captivated our imaginations for millennia, appearing in the myths and legends of cultures scattered worldwide. From the fire-breathing beasts of ancient Greece to the dragon kings of Chinese mythology, dragons have long served as symbols of power, danger, and wisdom. But where did the widespread stories of these fierce, fantastical creatures come from,
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Most people only know the basics of car safety—wear your seat belt, never drink and drive, etc. But few are aware of the people whose inventions make them safer, like Nils Bohlin. The Swedish engineer is credited with inventing the modern three-point seat belt in 1959, a device that has saved millions of lives since
Nils Bohlin, the Volvo engineer who saved thousands of lives Read More »
