Dean Swift

Pontiac

Algonquin Chief Pontiac / macmillanmh.com

Some of our many readers will be disappointed that this post is not composed about the finely-produced American quality motorcar that I fear has passed away and perhaps been buried. No, I talk about Pontiac, born around 1720, leader of a ‘Native America’ confederacy of tribes, most of his life a faithful friend to the French in North America.

After the defeat of the French armies in 1759, and subsequent occupation of their forts by the English, Pontiac assembled the many Algonquian tribes ready to face what he considered would be typically English intransigence, expansion, and untrustworthiness. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-20T13:20:25+00:00 January 20th, 2013|A History of North America, British History, Today, World History|0 Comments

The Home Guard (a.k.a.Dad’s Army)

The Home Guard in training / dacorumheritage.org.uk

Thanks to a BBC-made TV series stretching from the early Sixties to the late Seventies, a phenomenon from the Second War has become memorable. The series was written about a force of elderly men and teenage boys raised in Britain as a home defence organisation, in case of invasion by Nazi hordes. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-19T12:11:37+00:00 January 19th, 2013|British History, English History, German History, History of the Cinema, Scottish history|0 Comments

The Hohenzollern family

William ! of Prussia / en.wikipedia.org

Of all the great and influential German families, descending from the mists of time, always involved in something – providing kings, making a nuisance of themselves, being or not being involved in charitable causes etc., the Hohenzollern top the list. There are still plenty of them around, but their power has waned. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-18T12:46:45+00:00 January 18th, 2013|Austrian history, British History, English History, German History, Greek History, Russian history, Scandinavian history, Spanish History, Today, World History|0 Comments

Armies

A moment’s rest during The Great War / frivolousendeavour.wordpress.com

There are times when we believe that that History is nothing but series of forgettable dates, the names of Kings or Presidents or Prime Ministers, and the Battle of This or the Battle of the Other. We may be right, but History is also the events of yesterday, that we may try to compare with the events of BC. It is also the history of armies. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-16T13:02:55+00:00 January 16th, 2013|Today, World History|0 Comments

Archers and Archery

English and Welsh bowmen (and King Henry V) at Agincourt / lookand learn.com

An archer was a soldier, usually professional, armed with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. It would be difficult to estimate how long this lethal weapon has been in use, but woodcuts exist of Scythian archers employed by the Romans. The bow was not long, because the Scythians fought on horseback, but the arrow seems to have been at least two and a half feet long from goosefeather guide to the iron arrowhead. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-14T06:49:04+00:00 January 14th, 2013|A History of North America, British History, English History, French History, German History, History of the Cinema, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

The House of Guise

Mary of Guise, Queen of France and mother of Mary Queen of Scots / vacationsscotland.biz

The name of a branch of the ducal house of Lorraine in France, it became prominent, if not menacing, during the 16^th century. Claude de Lorraine was born in 1496 and created Duke in 1528 when he was thirty-two. By then he had already distinguished himself in a respectable number of (French) military conflicts, all of which he won. They included the Battle of Marignano in 1515. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-12T18:17:33+00:00 January 12th, 2013|French History, World History|0 Comments

Two Hawkins, father & son, both ‘pirates’

Sir Richard Hawkins / thebiggeststudy.blogspot.com

Sir John and Sir Richard Hawkins or Hawkyns would have preferred to be called seamen, or navigators, or simply sailors. That is how British history books describe them. French, Dutch and especially Spanish historians prefer to say corsarios or piratas. But then most European historians describe any man (or woman) who sailed across the seven seas with a crew and attacked other shipping or a passing port – as long as they were British – as pirates or corsairs. The Spanish even call Admiral Lord Nelson a pirate, despite the awkward fact that he was a professional navy man who assaulted Spanish-held ports or Spanish ships when England was officially at war with Spain (or France for that matter). One could claim that that was his job. Hawkins however was by no means indefatigable, losing a sea battle to the Spanish at San Juan de Ulúa (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-12T07:41:55+00:00 January 12th, 2013|British History, Dutch History, English History, French History, South American History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

The Passive Voice & the use of the Double Negative

The passive voice is most popular with writers and speakers in the Anglo-Saxon world. It is rarely used in Latin countries. It is formed by inverting the subject and the object of a sentence, + the use of the verb TO BE + the past participle of the action verb.

Remember that every verb has its PAST and its PRESENT Participle:- (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-11T17:16:29+00:00 January 11th, 2013|English Language, Today|2 Comments

Monks, Friars & Orders

The founder of the Franciscan Order / ginagenis.wordpress.com

Men who renounced a worldly life in order to enter a monastery were many in medieval times. They are few and far between now, but the three most celebrated orders these religiously inclined young men joined, or attempted to join were the Benedictines, the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Each of these ‘sects’ was founded by a man who was not necessarily a saint in his youth, but whose foundations have lasted under those names for centuries. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-11T07:47:02+00:00 January 11th, 2013|History of the Cinema, Italian History, Today, World History|1 Comment

The Battle of Cannae

Cannae / forums.taleworlds.com

This was not just an armed, bloody struggle between fighting men. It was one of the classic victories in military history. Carthage’s general Hannibal (q.v.) faced a Roman army with larger infantry units, but Hannibal had more cavalry, well-trained and armed horsemen, kept out of sight. The armies were engaged at the village of Cannae, in southern Italy. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2013-01-08T13:52:44+00:00 January 8th, 2013|History of Rome, Italian History, World History|2 Comments

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