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John Rackham (d. 1720), also known as Jack Rackham or 'Calico Jack' for his preference for cotton clothing, was an English pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Rackham took over the pirate crew of Charles Vane (d. 1721), and...

The Portuguese colonised Malacca (modern Melaka) on the southwest coast of the Malay peninsula from 1511 and kept it until 1641 when the Dutch took over. The port controlled the Malay Straits which lead from the Indian Ocean (the Andaman...

Saba (also given as Sheba) was a kingdom in southern Arabia (region of modern-day Yemen) which flourished between the 8th century BCE and 275 CE when it was conquered by the neighboring Himyarites. Although these are the most commonly accepted...

The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748) was a colonial conflict fought between Great Britain and Spain, primarily in the Caribbean and off the coast of South America. Looking to protect its interests in the West Indies, Britain provoked a war...

Trapezus (Greek: Τραπεζοῦς) or Trebizond was a Greek city on the southern shore of the Black Sea, modern Trabzon. According to the Christian author Eusebius, writing more than a millennium after the event, Trapezus was founded in 756 BCE...

While there have been pirates and privateers of all nationalities, some Dutch mariners were particularly troublesome in the early modern period, targeting, in particular, the Spanish Main but also shipping in the eastern Atlantic and the...

Caesarea Maritima was located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Built from the ground up in 22-10 BCE by Rome's client king, Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE), its location in relation to ship traffic and proximity to historical...

Pausanius (l. 110-180 CE) was a geographer and historian who traveled extensively, taking notes on points of interest, then wrote on them in guide books which could be used by tourists visiting the sites described. His works have long been...

The siege and capture of Bristol by Parliamentary forces on 10 September 1645 was one of the most devastating blows to the Royalist cause during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). King Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649) had entrusted the...

Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern-day Hillah, Iraq, 59 miles (94 km) southwest of Baghdad. The name is derived from bav-il or bav-ilim, which in Akkadian meant "Gate of God" (or "Gate of the...