In 1532, the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro (1471-1541) and his men contact with the Inca Empire. The Inca population during that time was estimated to be more than 17 million. Fast-forward only 1 year and Pizarro managed to kidnap Atahualpa (1502-1533), the Inca emperor. Pizarro promised to set him free, if he would fill several rooms with gold, silver and other …
Why the Korean War should be named the useless Chinese-American War
In history, names of wars and eras can be downright confusing. Or in this case misleading. The Korean War which was fought during the “Cold War” is a main example. There was nothing “cold” about 2 million lives lost in a 3 year period between 1950 and 1953. This was a hot war in the cold war era. And although …
133 days lost at sea
Poon Lim was a man of Chinese decent who served aboard a British merchant ship in 1942. The Second World War was in full swing and his boat was attacked by German submarines. Poon Lim -not knowing how to swim- somehow got hold of a life jacket and a life raft. The raft had some basic supplies and water, but …
Mount Tambora
On April 10, 1815 the largest recent volcanic eruption took place in Indonesia. Mount Tambora exploded, lost about a third of its mass (it was 4,300 meters/14,000 feet high). The explosion was so massive that it was felt hundreds of miles away. It eventually caused a global climate change for over a year due to the amount of ash, aerosols, …