Author: James Friend

In 1839 Queen Victoria took the throne and ushered in the Victorian era that bears her name. Under her rule the British Empire became one of the most powerful empires the world had ever seen. Her subjects, particularly amongst the wealthier members of society, tended to attribute this success to what they saw as their…

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Modern-day Spain is a largely peaceful, reasonably prosperous nation that rarely finds itself embroiled in wars of conquest or thrust to the centre of world affairs. This hasn’t always been the case. The Spanish Empire was once one of the largest empires the world has ever seen, spanning almost ten percent of the world’s land…

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The science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. These technologies are commonplace to us, but even in our very modern world there are still a small number of remote tribes living a way of life largely unchanged for thousands of years. Some of these tribes…

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In 1839 Queen Victoria took the throne and ushered in the Victorian era that bears her name. Under her rule the British Empire became one of the most powerful empires the world had ever seen. Her subjects, particularly amongst the wealthier members of society, tended to attribute this success to what they saw as their…

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As a species, human beings share a love of stories. Some are based on real events. Others are pure fiction, and in some cases the line between the two can be blurred or uncertain. Urban legends tend to fall into the latter category, but they can be found in some form in every culture and…

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The science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. These technologies are commonplace to us, but even in our very modern world there are still a small number of remote tribes living a way of life largely unchanged for thousands of years. Some of these tribes…

Read More

Modern-day Spain is a largely peaceful, reasonably prosperous nation that rarely finds itself embroiled in wars of conquest or thrust to the centre of world affairs.  This hasn’t always been the case. The Spanish Empire was once one of the largest empires the world has ever seen, spanning almost ten percent of the world’s land…

Read More

The Middle Ages lasted from the fall of Rome in 486 AD through to the middle of the 15th century. Only around 300 million people populated the entire world, and for the vast majority life was short, brutal, and often brought to a premature end through violent death or infectious disease. This list looks at…

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By August 1944 the sheer weight of men and machines made an Allied victory over Nazi Germany all but inevitable. Freedom loving people across Europe looked forward to the day when the Allied armies would free them from Nazi rule.   In Warsaw the Polish Resistance chose not to wait. Tens of thousands of people would…

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Known as the Fertile Crescent and the cradle of civilization, ancient Mesopotamia lay between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The name itself means “between two rivers.” Today these lands form part of countries such as Iran and Iraq. However, thousands of years ago Mesopotamia gave birth to what may well have been the very first…

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The Middle Ages lasted from the fall of Rome in 486 AD through to the middle of the 15th century. Only around 300 million people populated the entire world, and for the vast majority life was short, brutal, and often brought to a premature end through violent death or infectious disease. This list looks at…

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Combat aircraft were born in the fury of World War One, but they truly came of age in World War Two. It was here that domination of the skies became almost as important as control of the land below. Vast fleets of bombers could reduce entire cities to smoldering ruins, and battleships that had taken…

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The human brain is, so far as we know, the most complicated thing in the universe. It exists in the lonely darkness of the skull, but by interpreting electrical signals from the senses it’s able to build up a detailed picture of the world around it. Quite how accurate this picture is, and how closely…

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War can be cruel, it can be brutal, and every once in a while it can throw up events that are just plain weird. The Second World War was the largest war ever fought, and it was no exception. In this list we take a closer look at some of the strangest events from history’s…

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Earthquakes are by no means a rare phenomenon. It’s estimated that the Earth is rocked by around half-a-million quakes each year. Most are clustered around the fault lines that divide the Earth’s tectonic plates, but others form deeper in the mantle and can strike anywhere in the world. Most of these earthquakes cause no damage…

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On the April 30, 1945 Adolf Hitler committed suicide in the ruins of Berlin. Six days later Germany surrendered, bringing about the final defeat of the Reich he had claimed would last for a thousand years. The world had been changed forever. Germany had been utterly defeated; France had lost her great power status, and…

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Some people choose to become spies out of patriotism; others do so in pursuit of financial reward. Whatever their individual motivations might be, the risks can be considerable. Governments tend to react badly to having their secrets stolen. Anyone accused of being a spy faces the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence or even execution.…

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At the dawn of the 21st century, the United States of America bestrode the world as the sole remaining superpower. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade earlier American military and economic might dwarfed that of its rivals. American culture, from music, to film, to the blue jeans they exported around the world…

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