Of course we have all heard of New England, though its composition may confuse us at times, but did we know that there was a New France? America…
Category: French History
Titus Oates (1649 – 1705): a great scoundrel
Oates had an erratic career; he was certainly a pathological liar, and lived in a dream world of his own, people with conspirators whom he determined to stamp…
Two proud Dukes of Buckingham (too proud perhaps?)
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham was born around 1454 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He was a member of the House of Lancaster, being a descendent of Edward III,…
Powerful women in history: the Empress Dowager Cixi
She was the real ruler in China from 1861 – 1908. She was intelligent, literate, well able to express herself, and able in all matters. She did not…
The League of Nations
This preamble to the United Nations has vanished without trace. It was one of the oddest disasters waiting to happen the world has ever seen. It appeared after…
Switzerland: where Italians, Frenchmen & Germans don’t bother with nationalism
A half-dozen of the planet’s most important countries are now infected by the nationalist mosquito. Europe (after the Second War) invented a large country called Yugoslavia…
Humour: tall tales
Paul Johnson tells us that when General de Gaulle at last decided to retire to his small chateau at Colombey-les-deux-Églises, he and his wife threw a small…
Disasters waiting to happen: Edward VIII
Edward (born 1894) was the oldest son of George V and Mary of Teck. He should have become King of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, and…
Disasters waiting to happen: Charles X of France
Charles was born in 1757 and was King of France for barely six years. He was a younger brother of Louis XVI, guillotined during the French Revolution, and…
‘Emancipation’ of the Catholics
The Christian Church first came into Britain through the north of Ireland and Scotland, probably with St. Augustine. The Roman Catholic Church was soon established throughout Ireland,…