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The Zulu Kingdom was one of the most powerful states in Southern and Central Africa during its peak in the mid-19th century. The Zulu expansion and domination of their neighbours is credited to the inspirational leader Shaka, who transformed...

Prince Henry the Navigator (aka Infante Dom Henrique, 1394-1460) was a Portuguese prince who famously helped capture the North African city of Ceuta, sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic...

Captain Samuel Bellamy, aka 'Black Sam' Bellamy (d. 1717), was a British pirate active during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Bellamy’s final ship Whydah was wrecked off Cape Cod in a storm, and the pirate captain drowned along with...

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 Manila galleons were Spanish treasure ships which transported precious goods like silk, spices, and porcelain from Manila in the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico, between 1565 and 1815. The Atlantic treasure fleets then shipped some of...

The Roanoke Colony was England's first colony in North America, located in what is today North Carolina, USA. Established in 1585 CE, abandoned and then resettled in 1587 CE, the colonists had little regard for their new environment and were...

The Crusader States (aka the Latin East or Outremer) were created after the First Crusade (1095-1102) in order to keep hold of the territorial gains made by Christian armies in the Middle East. The four small states were the Kingdom of Jerusalem...

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...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer most famous for his symphonies, the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, and the operas Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. A composer of innovative and...

David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish philosopher, writer, historian, and important figure in the Enlightenment. Hume presented a positive view of human nature but a sceptical view of religion's usefulness. His Treatise of Human Nature was...