Historians are not sure of the date of birth of Hamilcar Barca, general from Carthage, and father of Hannibal and Hasdrubal. We know that he commanded the Carthaginian…
Father and Son: Two tsars of Russia
Paul was born in 1754, as son and successor to Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Almost from birth he was seen by courtiers as mentally unstable (the…
New York, New York
This extraordinary town has been, and still is, called a number of different things. For some it was Albany, while for others it was New Amsterdam. For a…
Figures in a Revolution: J-P Marat and Charlotte Corday
Two of the more interesting minor players in the French Revolution were Jean-Paul Marat (1743 – 93) and Charlotte Corday D’Armont (1768 – 93). Marat , rather strangely…
The Election campaign 20N
The campaign: a low blow from the CIS With nearly 4 months to go before the general election, the two major parties are beavering away in the political…
Right, Left and Right again
Norway, a small rich country of some six million inhabitants, was among the worst sufferers of Nazi invasion and subsequent occupation during the Second World War. Larger, more…
The dangers inherent in being a Bishop
English history is packed with characters rather like a sardine can is stuffed with sardines. Many of these suffocating persons wore a mitre, which meant they had been…
120 kph/110 kph/120 kph
Just about the last ‘reform’ ordered by Mr. Pérez R. as Minister of the Interior was the return of the maximum speed limit on Spanish main roads and…