Category: phd

British capture of Hong Kong, 1839

During the eighteenth century, the demand in Britain for Chinese luxury goods, such as porcelain, silk and tea, created an enormous trade deficit because the British lacked any profitable product…

The shortest war in history, 1896

On the 27th August 1896 the shortest war in history was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar. Three days earlier the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwain died, resulting in…

Tom Thumb beat a horse, 1830

In 1826, two Baltimore bankers, Philip E. Thomas and George Brown, visited England to investigate rail transportation systems. In the year since the Erie Canal opened, providing a new transportation…

last Beatles tour ended, 1966

By the mid-sixties, the Beatles had become the biggest popular music group in the World. The fanatical response of their fans – particularly young females – who screamed through their…

Slave rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, 1800

On August 30th 1800, a group of slaves from Henrico County, Virginia, marched on Richmond. The slaves had planned the insurrection for months, under the leadership of Gabriel Prosser. They…

Buffalo Nine arrested, 1968

In the summer of 1968, a group of anti-war protesters centred on the University of Buffalo in New York State began to engage in draft resistance. Fearing arrest, a number…

Tucson, Arizona founded, 1775

Hugh O’Connor was born in Dublin in 1732 into an aristocratic family. Like many contemporary Irish Catholics of the day, Hugh saw no future for himself in his homeland, which…

Haitian Revolution, 1791

At the time of the Storming of the Bastille in Paris, the French territories on the island of Hispaniola, known as Saint-Domingue, produced forty per cent of the world’s sugar…

British capture of Hong Kong, 1839

During the eighteenth century, the demand in Britain for Chinese luxury goods, such as porcelain, silk and tea, created an enormous trade deficit because the British lacked any profitable product…

The shortest war in history, 1896

On the 27th August 1896 the shortest war in history was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar. Three days earlier the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwain died, resulting in…

last Beatles tour ended, 1966

By the mid-sixties, the Beatles had become the biggest popular music group in the World. The fanatical response of their fans – particularly young females – who screamed through their…

Tom Thumb beat a horse, 1830

In 1826, two Baltimore bankers, Philip E. Thomas and George Brown, visited England to investigate rail transportation systems. In the year since the Erie Canal opened, providing a new transportation…