Your Daily History Lesson

Charles Martel

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:00:37 -0400

Location: France

Years Active: 714 - 741

Charles Martel, or Charles the Hammer, was an early Frankish leader, both politically and militarily. Born the illegitimate child of a notable Frankish leader, Charles soon began to impose his succession to become the real power behind the throne of Francia, taking the role of Mayor of the Palace, which was, in essence, a prime minister who wielded all the real power in a kingdom. Thanks largely to Charles Martel, power in Francia (modern-day France) was consolidated and centralized, leading Francia to become the eminent power in Gaul.

Most notably, Charles Martel halted the Islamic encroachment into Europe. The Umayyad Caliphate, which had recently conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain & Portugal), had looked to further march through Europe, starting with Gaul. At the Battle of Tours, Charles Martel routed the Islamic invaders with soldiers trained via Catholic Church funds. Due to Charles, the spread of Islam and the Arabic Empire was stopped. Because of his actions during the Battle of Tours, he gained the name “Martel,” which, as previously mentioned, means “hammer.”

Charles was wildly successful in his military campaigns against the southern foes, the Umayyad Caliphate, and politically successful, in his shrewd politicking to become the most powerful leader in Gaul, consolidating his power by strong-arming out rival kings. He died in 741, buried in Paris, and divided his lands up among his sons. One of his sons, Pepin the Short, would eventually father a young man who would go on to be known across Europe as Charlemagne.

Charles Martel has been called a “hero of an age,” for his routing of the Umayyad Caliphate.

(Author’s Note: Hi.)

Sorry i still dont get what happened in the battle of york can you please make it short for me please and btw my name is madina please and thank you

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:19:58 -0400

After the two frantic e-mails you sent me, I think you can do your own research! I gave the brief overview, but all I do is merely spur a greater thirst for knowledge!

are you sure that the details about operation paul bunyun are correct. i was there in korea on that day and i recall one of the helicopters landing at our medic station with one of the bloody officers. everything went WILD after that

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:19:21 -0400

Almost always positive!

John Rabe

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:04:03 -0400

Location of Events: China

Time Period: World War II

John Rabe was a German businessman working in China during the late 1930’s for the Siemens AG corporation. Rabe worked across all of China, from Beijing, to Shanghai, and finally in Nanking. While working in Nanking in 1937, the Japanese Army began to approach, causing most foreigners, tourists, and visiting businessmen to flee. Twenty-two foreigners and businessmen stayed, including fifteen missionaries from Europe and the United States.

These remaining people formed the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, and subsequently formed the Nanking Safety Zone. As these events began to take shape, the Japanese Army entered the city, and began the horrific historical event known as the Nanking Massacre, or more gruesomely, the Rape of Nanking. While the Japanese devastated the city and it’s inhabitants, Rabe and his acquaintances formally set up the Nanking Safety Zone, an area where Chinese refugees could be safe and be provided with food and water.

Rabe was elected the leader of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone due to his position as a Nazi Party member, and the Anti-Comintern Pact between Japan and Nazi Germany, effectively allying the two groups, ensured that Rabe’s work would be relatively untouched by the Japanese Army. Sources suggest that Rabe’s work saved somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 Chinese lives.

Supposedly, Rabe was ordered back to Germany by Adolf Hitler himself in order to preserve German-Japanese relations. Rabe brought home numerous sources and evidence of the massacre that occurred in Nanking. When he arrived back in Germany, he was detained and interrogated by the Gestapo. There they seized a letter from Rabe addressed to Hitler that pleaded for him to use his influence with the Japanese to end the brutality in China. In 1948, after Rabe went through a thorough de-Nazification process, his family was left on the streets. The citizens of Nanking were made aware of this, and raised the equivalent of $2,000 USD for Rabe and his family.

Rabe’s grave was moved from Berlin to Nanking, where it currently resides in the Nanking Safety Zone.

whats ur opinion of the Assyrian Empire? i am an Assyrian and i really like to hear others view on us :)

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:45:10 -0400

The Assyrian Empire was a great, great empire, originally branching from the Akkadian Empire, the first empire in written history. What I think is truly amazing is how long the Assyrian civilization existed. With proof of its existence in 23rd Century B.C. the Assyrians survived as a nation, in one form or another, through the Roman empire, all the way up until the Arab Islamic Conquest in the 700 A.D.

Yep, the Guomindang-Communist one! Thank you very much (:

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:41:24 -0400

The Chinese Civil War, occurring from 1927 to 1949, was a conflict between two major parties within China. The Kuomintang Nationalist Party, lead by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong. Interrupted briefly by World War II, this conflict occurred from an ideological split between who should rule the country. Eventually, the Communists pushed the Kuomintang farther, and farther, until the Kuomintang was forced to flee to Taiwan, where they set up the Republic of China, while in mainland China, the Communist Party set up the People’s Republic of China. To this day, the war has never officially ended, and most sides declare their governing body to be the official government of the Chinese people.

Will you tell me a bit more about Cleopatra?

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:34:46 -0400

Cleopatra was last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and of Ancient Egypt overall. She, unlike other Ptolemaic rulers, learned Egyptian and declared herself the reincarnation of the Egyptian god, Isis. She is famous for her love affair with Roman general, Mark Antony, after Julius Caesar’ death at the hands of the Roman Senate. They had three children together, and she supported him throughout his campaign with Roman generals who attempted to squash his rebellion. When Antony lost the famous Battle of Actium, he committed suicide. Cleopatra, madly inlove with Antony, soon followed, supposedly via snake bite.

Hi there I would be interested if you can talk about pepin the short of Gaul and his empire he created after the fall of the Roman empire I believe ?

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:29:59 -0400

Pepin the Short was the first King of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty. As you may know, the Franks eventually evolved into modern-day France. His brother and himself succeeded their father Charles Martel, to become mayors of the palace. Soon, Pepin gained permission from Pope Zachary to depose the current king, and take the throne. Pepin soon began military conquests, going to war with the King of the Lombards, Aistulf. Through military might, he forced the Lombards to return land to the church. Pepin’s close ties with the Catholic Church lead to his son gaining an imperial coronation, which many see as the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire.

Hi could you give me a brief overview of the causes of the Chinese Civil War and perhaps your opinion on the extent to which foreign intervention played a role in its outcome? Thanks and great blog (:

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:23:04 -0400

Just for clarification purposes, you mean between the Kuomintang and Communists, right? Not one of the numerous Dynasty quarrels.

Do you think you could come up with a tag system? I'd love to be able to search the blog for lessons on certain topics/time periods/countries/etc., but that's currently impossible. Very interesting and comprehensive blog, though, and thank you for being so committed to it.

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:52:19 -0400

I don’t even know how to go about imposing one, if someone has a suggestion, let me know.

what was de vinci's childhood like

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:51:59 -0400

Born out of wedlock by a wealthy Florentine legal notary and a peasant in the town of Vinci, Leonardo had no surname, so instead took the name of his town, become Leonardo da Vinci. He spent his early life with his mother, in relative destitution, eventually moving in with his illegitimate father’s family. In this environment he learned Latin, geometry, and mathematics. Later, he was apprenticed to Verrocchio, a famous Florentine artist, which is where da Vinci picked up his trade.

Juan Pujol Garcia

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:56:37 -0400

Time Period: World War II

Country of Origin: Germany

Juan Pujol Garcia was a Spaniard who grew up during the time of the Spanish Civil War. Due to his childhood, Garcia grew a hatred for fascism and communism, so when World War II appeared on the horizon, Garcia knew he must take part as a spy for Britain, Germany’s only enemy at the time. Originally denied by the British to become a spy, Garcia instead decided to become a German spy, with the hopes that the British would accept him as a double agent. The German’s were interested in Garcia, who claimed he was operating out of Britain, despite being in Lisbon, Portugal. He was given the codename “Arabel” by the German spymasters.

Garcia used a multitude of deceptions to feed the Germans misinformation, while siphoning money from them. Despite not understanding the British currency system, he sent itemized lists to Germany, where he said he would send the monetary total later. Juan Garcia went one step further though, creating an entire web of fabricated spies. This included such outlandish stories, such as, “Moonbeam,” a Venezuelan student in Scotland who was in charge of three other fabricated spies. At the peak, Garcia had a spyweb of up to 26 fabricated spies, all supposedly working to send information to Germany. When he offered his services to Britain again, they saw the importance of his misinformation, hired him, and put him under the command of the famous XX Committee. He was given the codename “Garbo” by the XX Committee.

Garcia, or Arabel, or Garbo, was instrumental in the misinformation he provided to the Germans concerning the mainland invasion of France. After supposedly conferring with his web of spies, Arabel told the Germans that the first invasion was to be a distraction. The Germans responded stating that this information was “exceptionally valuable.” Later, when asked to confirm the damage of future V1 Rockets, Garcia refused, so the XX Committee arranged to have him “arrested.” When he was released, he forwarded a letter to Germany from the Home Secretary for his “unlawful imprisonment.”

By the end of the war, Garcia had received $340,000 USD to fund his web of spies. For his work, he was granted the Order of the British Empire. Soon after the war ended, Garcia ran into one of his German spymasters, who gave the Iron Cross to Garcia for his help during the war. This ironic distinction places Juan Pujol Garcia as one of the only people during World War II to receive such high decorations from both sides of the war.

Operation Paul Bunyan

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:28:46 -0400

Year: 1976

Country of Origin: Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea

Operation Paul Bunyan is the response by the United States to the killing of two United States’ Army officers. The incident that provoked Operation Paul Bunyan occurred on August 18th, 1976. Capt. Arthur Bonifas, along with an assembled number of South Korean and U.N. soldiers began to prune the trees between the South and North Korean checkpoints. The North Korean officer in charge of the opposing checkpoint, Lt. Pak Chul, euphemistically referred to as “Lt. Bulldog,” originally watched on innocently. Soon, though, he ordered Bonifas’ men to cease pruning the poplar tree as, “because Kim Il Sung personally planted it and nourished it and it’s growing under his supervision.” Bonifas continued the project.

Soon, Lt. Pak appeared with 20 more North Korean guards armed with blunt weaponry. The North Korean Lieutenant once again ordered Bonifas and his men to stop. When Bonifas ignored his demands once again, Lt. Bulldog shouted “Kill them!” and then delivered karate chop to Capt Arthur Bonifas neck, killing him instantly. Another Army officer, First Lt. Mark Barrett, had fallen into a depression by the side of the road. North Korean officers, out of sight of South Korean and U.N. forces, were going down into the depression where they would take turns bludgeoning 1st Lt. Mark Barrett to death. Eventually, a search party was sent out to to find Lt. Barrett’s body.

Operation Paul Bunyan, named after the lumberjack of myth, was formulated in honor of Bonifas and Barrett. A detachment of almost 200 American soldiers, armed with machine guns, tanks, anti-personnel carriers, mortars, and chainsaws rode out into the land between the two separated countries with one mission. While keeping the North Koreans away with the small arsenal, several Army Corps Engineers chopped down all of the trees Bonifas had been ordered to prune several days earlier. Initially, a fear of further tension arose, however, Kim Il-sung soon sent a message to those in charge at the outpost Bonifas was positioned at. Kim Il-sung expressed regret that the incident occurred, without claiming North Korean responsibility.

I just watched the first two seasons of The Tudors and wanted to know if their portrayal of Thomas Cromwell was accurate. Was he really that bad of a guy, and what was his ultimate goal in pleasing the king?

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:00:07 -0400

I have never seen The Tudors (for shame, right?), but from what I know of Cromwell was more opportunistic than bad. Now, opportunistic does not forgive anything, but it helps you understand his point of view. Cromwell’s relatively modest beginnings are also a good demonstration of his precarious situation. Cromwell’s attempts to take power away from the nobility of England in order to bring the government to a much more modern state were accepted by Henry VIII because Thomas was also willing to help Henry divorce Catherine of Aragon.

Who is your favorite president and why is he your favorite?

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:15:00 -0400

Favorite President: Andrew Jackson, personally, because I respect confident men, even when holding unpopular opinions. He was the first man of the people. He was one of the first American heroes. He came from rags to become a millionaire. He would never risk the Union, but would simultaneously never let the Union take precedent over individual freedoms. He was pithy to a tee. He stood for what he believed in, no matter what.

Could you tell me a bit about Mark Antony?

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:58:03 -0400

Sure.

Mark Antony, or Marcus Antonius, was a Roman general and later politician. Antony served under Gaius Julius Caesar in Roman campaigns in Gaul (modern day France) and parts of Germany. Antony moved upwards in the ranks by proving himself an able military leader, eventually becoming a close friend of Caesar, despite Antony’s infamous temper. When Caesar initiated the Roman Republican civil war, Antony took his armies and joined Caesar. When Caesar won and became dictator of Rome, Antony was rewarded by being made Master of the Horse, a position that presided over the Senate, and even held the same powers as dictator when the dictator was not present. After Caesar’s death, Antony became a part of the Second Triumvirate, with Marcus Lepidus and Augustus Caesar. When that failed, Antony was pursued by the Roman government and Augustus, eventually taking refuge in Egypt with Cleopatra, the women he fell in love with. He stayed in Egypt with her, trying to amass an army of Egyptians and Julius Caesar’s veterans. Eventually, Augustus Caesar sent a fleet of ships to fight Antony and Cleopatra’s forces at the Battle of Actium. Antony’s fleet was almost completely decimated, and he fled. Tragically, Antony committed suicide under the mistaken impression that Cleopatra had already done the same thing (Or been killed by a Egyptian priest working for Augustus). Cleopatra, Antony’s lover, was allowed to administer his burial rites, and at the first possible opportunity, took her own life as well.

The Fourteen Points

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:08:07 -0400

Date: January 8th, 1918

Country of Origin: The United States of America

The Fourteen Points were a speech given by 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson on January 8th, 1918. Addressing a joint session of Congress, Wilson delivered the speech in order to reassure the United States that World War I (then referred to as “The Great War”) was being fought for a morally good cause, that cause being peace throughout Europe. This was due to the fact that many Americans were still strict isolationists, feeling that the United States should have never become involved in World War I in the first place. Wilson desperately had to validate the United States’ participation in the war.

The Fourteen Points are notable for their approach to the post-war dealings with Germany. While many of the European countries that had been ravaged by the ferocity of World War I, the United States had not faced any of the wide spread destruction. Therefore, Wilson was much more reverent and considerably less vindictive against the Germans. While the rest of the Entente (France, Great Britain, and Italy) were looking to forever cripple Germany. However, after Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the Germans were much more eager to surrender a war they were losing.

Prince Maximilian of Baden, Chancellor of Germany in 1918, sent a note to Woodrow Wilson, stating that Germany would agree to an armistice with the hopes that the post-war treaty would be based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Unfortunately, for Germany, the rest of the Entente were not willing to agree to such a condition. While the Entente owed a great deal to the United States for their intervention, they were angrier at Germany. While aspects of the Fourteen Points did make it into the Treaty of Versailles (treaty formally ending World War I), the actual Treaty was much more damaging to Germany, without any semblance of reverence.

(Author’s Note: Hi!)

ya need to post more, srsly.

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:51:09 -0400

I’m working on it, I promise. School has been an unexpected amount of work, and I know I’ve been an unreliable drag, and I apologize. I haven’t formally closed the blog, because I still think I can do it.

Updates will be coming soon, I promise. Until then, feel free to suggest lessons.

The Battle & Burning of York

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:33:55 -0400

Date: April 27th, 1813

Belligerents: Great Britain versus the United States

The Battle of York was a battle that took place during the early years of the War of 1812, a war fought between Great Britain and the recently-formed United States. The Battle of York commenced when a sizable American force, supported by an American fleet of boats, landed on the shore near the then-capital of Canada, York. The Americans, being about 1,000 men stronger, quickly defeated the small contingency defending the town.

York was not the original target of this force though, the original target being the town of Kingston, a much more important military objective. However, over exaggerated accounts of the number of militia and regular British troops at Kingston and a significantly lower amount of American soldiers than expected caused a change of plan. The new plan involved taking the less defended York, and using that as a jumping off point to Fort George, an important military objective, and eventually take Kingston once the United States had amassed enough troops.

When the Battle of York commenced on April 27th, the Americans landed on the shores of York, while the Major General of Upper Canada attempted to predict their landing point by placing militiamen and Indians at spots he thought they would land. When the Americans landed, their only opposition was roughly 50 Indians, who were quickly outflanked and immediately retreated. The Americans began marching through York, causing mass confusion and disorganization amongst the defending forces. When the Canadian and British forces attempted to rally at a battery west of the town, a portable arsenal exploded, killing roughly 50 troops and wounding 200.

While the remaining British forces retreated from York, the American forces approached the last remaining battery to seize the remaining ammunition. As they got close, the British ignited the remaining ammunition, sending stone and rubble flying towards the American soldiers. Commanding officer, Zebulon Pike, was mortally wounded by debris and roughly 200 soldiers were wounded. For the next two days, York was sacked. Accounts of looting and arson were widespread. York burned to the ground, a fact the British were eager to redeem when they burned the White House down.

Cadaver Snyod

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:36:46 -0400

Country of Origins: Vatican City

Date of Event: 897

The Cadaver Snyod is an ecclesiastical trial of the recently deceased Pope Formosus held by the then-current pope, Stephen VII. The trial, which took place in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, consisted of Pope Formosus being exhumed from his grave, and supposedly placed on the papal throne in papal vestments. While Formosus was sitting on the throne, Stephen VII presumed over the entirety of the trial. Stephen VII read the crimes Formosus was accused of and simultaneously found him guilty on all accounts. Formosus was accused of transmigrating sees in violation of canon law, perjury, and serving as a bishop while actually a laysman.

Motivated by politics, Stephen VII held this trial in an effort to appease Lambert of Spoleto. Formosus was bullied into crowning Lambert co-ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, terrified of his father, Guy of Spoleto. Eventually, however, Formosus invited the Caroliginian, Arnulf of Carinthia, to invade Rome and “forcefully” take the Holy Roman Empire’s crown. While he did fail, Guy of Spoleto soon died, Arnulf crossed the Alps into Rome, and Formosus gladly crowned him the Holy Roman Emperor. When Lambert, his mother, the Empress Angiltrude, and his cousin, Guy IV of Spoleto marched into Rome to retake the crown, the new pope Stephen VII quickly crowned him. In an effort to discredit Formosus, Stephen VII was forced to hold the Cadaver Snyod.

After being found guilty, Formosus’ corpse was stripped of his papal vestments, removed the three fingers of his right hand, the fingers used for benedictions, and declared all of his ordinations and acts invalid. Ironically, one of his ordinations was ordaining Stephen VII as Bishop of Anagni. After Formosus’ cadaver was mutilated, he was interred in a graveyard specifically for foreigners. Soon after, it was dug up, weighted down, and thrown into the Tiber River.

The Cadaver Snyod was immensely negative for Stephen VII, as it caused his public image to become exceedingly negative. Rumor stated that Formosus’ body had washed up on the Tiber River, and began to perform miracles. This continued to push the public against Stephen VII, and they eventually performed an uprising, and Stephen VII was deposed and imprisoned. Soon after, he was strangled to death. The next two popes to be elected conducted synods to negate the acts performed in the Cadaver Snyod. However, the third pope to be elected, Pope Sergius III had taken part in the Cadaver Snyod as a co-judge. He overturned the verdicts of the two preceding popes, and had a laudatory epitaph written on Stephen VII’s tomb.

(Author’s Note: I’m terribly, terribly sorry for disappearing for nearly a month. Things have gotten hectic for me in these summer months, and for several personal reasons that I will not divulge, I have been unable to update. I will try my best to stay consistent. Hope you enjoy today’s daily lesson! :D)