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Medieval serfs (aka villeins) were unfree labourers who worked the land of a landowner (or tenant) in return for physical and legal protection and the right to work a separate piece of land for their own basic needs. Serfs made up 75% of...

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher who famously summarised his pessimistic view of human nature in his greatest work, Leviathan, published in 1651. Hobbes believed that the life of humanity in the state of nature is short...

Voltaire (1694-1778) was a French author, historian, and philosopher whose thoughts on religious toleration and moderation of authoritarian power were influential during the Enlightenment. His most famous work today is the satirical Candide...

Thomas Middleton (1580-1627) was a poet and playwright of the English Renaissance, who flourished during the Jacobean Era (1603-1625). One of the most successful dramatists of his time, he often collaborated with other playwrights, including...

Atlantis is a legendary city described by the Greek philosopher Plato (c. 429 – 347 BCE). Atlantis, a fabulously wealthy and advanced civilization, was swept into the sea and lost forever in a story which has captured the imagination of readers...

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French scientist, mathematician, and philosopher whose work influenced both the Scientific Revolution and later European thought. Pascal is known for his practical achievements in science, such as a calculating...

Wahunsenacah, also known as Chief Powhatan (l. c. 1547 - c. 1618) was the head of the Powhatan Confederacy of Native Americans who inhabited the region of the modern-day State of Virginia, USA, which they knew by the name of Tsenacommacah...

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618 CE) was an English courtier, soldier, mariner, explorer, and historian. A one-time favourite of his queen, Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603 CE), Raleigh organised three expeditions to form a colony on...

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) was one of Britain's top commnaders in the Second World War (1939-45). He famously defeated Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in November 1942. Known for...

The Battle of the Little Bighorn (25-26 June 1876) is the most famous engagement of the Great Sioux War (1876-1877). Five companies of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer (l. 1839-1876) were wiped out in one day by the...