Effect of the Railroad in Panay on the General Economic Life of the People by Ismael Colez

The Panay Railway started operation in 1911 connecting Roxas City of Capiz to the port city of Iloilo. Along its route laid vast farm and sugar lands which Ismael Colez assessed if its farmers benefited from the brand new infrastructure. His findings included in the collection of H. Otley Beyer.

Doc Recap: Lyon in the 1850s by Joel Edson Rockwell

A Vermont Presbyterian Minister, Joel Edson Rockwell visited Europe in the 1850s. Part of his tour included France, in particular Lyon. He logged his impressions of churches in Lyon, especially those of Protestants amidst a nation of Catholics. But most importantly, he also wrote about Lyon’s fledgling silk industry.

Doc Recap: Viscount Torrington's Account of Cromford

Coming from a family of illustrious soldiers, John Byng, the later 5th Viscount of Torrington, decided to add a sideline to his resume, that of a traveller and a diarist. He toured England in a time of breathtaking changes in landscape of the country courtesy of the Industrial Revolution. One of his entries described Cromford the facilities owned by the celebrated inventor and businessman Richard Arkwright.

John Byng by Ozias Humphrey, 1796

Herodotus' Words: Cambyses' Maddness

The Histories by Herodotus painted the most fascinating, colorful and BS stories considering his work meant to be non-fiction. Herodotus diagnosed Cambyses with madness and in his work Histories, he wrote events which supported his claim.

Cambyses in Vigor Boucquet's
The judgement of Cambyses

Herodotus' Words: Cambyses II in Egypt

The Histories by Herodotus painted the most fascinating, colorful and BS stories considering his work meant to be non-fiction. Herodotus’ account of Cambyses invasion of Egypt was already filled with gossip and stories, but his stay in Egypt continued this flair.

Image of Cambyses with prisoners

Herodotus' Words: Cambyses II and His Conquest of Egypt

The Histories by Herodotus painted the most fascinating, colorful and BS stories considering his work meant to be non-fiction. Nevertheless, it continued to serve as a source for many historical events and personalities, from Greeks, Scythians, and Persians albeit taking them with a handful of salt. His description of the reign of Cambyses certainly tells numerous interesting stories.

Cambyses II and his retinue in Egypt in a scene by Jean-Adrien Guignet

Doc Recap: Reply to the 1852 Letter of President Fillmore

In 1854, Perry returned to Edo Bay to take the reply of the Japanese government from the letter that he delivered last year. A translation of the letter was made. Explore the contents of the reply of the Japan to the presidential letter.

Commodore Perry Meeting
the Japanese Commissioners

Doc Recap: 1854 Anglo-Japanese Treaty

Great Britain and Japan signed a treaty of friendship in Nagasaki just months after Perry left the Islands. It established the relation between the two countries and secured the opening of Japan for resupply. Explore the contents of the convention.

Sir James Sterling

Doc Recap: Treaty of Shimoda

In 1855, Putiatin returned to Japan to conclude a treaty delayed for over a year. The Treaty of Shimoda established formal relations between the two countries.

Putyatin in Nagasaki

11 Rulers of the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan

The Florentine Codex in its Book 8 titled Kings and Lords listed the names and a summary of events of the 11 rulers of the Aztecs. Below are the list and the paraphrased summary from the codex.

A European map of Tenochtitlan

Doc Recap: Minister of Interior of France to Nicolas Appert

In 1810, the Minister of Interior of the Napoleonic regime, Jean-Pierre, Count of Montalivet wrote a letter to Nicolas Appert, a famous confectioner turned preserver of meat, fruits and vegetables. 

Napoleon Bonaparte

Doc Recap: 1854 Additional Regulations on the Treaty of Kanagawa

In June 17, 1854, after few months visiting ports opened to Americans, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, commander of the US Squadron assigned to a mission in Japan, signed an agreement adding new regulations accompanying the Treaty of Kanagawa few months before. Explore the additional regulations agreed by Perry and his Japanese counter-parts.

Doc Recap: Treaty of Kanagawa

On March 31, 1854, in the village of Yokohama under the domain of Kanagawa, Commodore Perry and the Japanese commissioners led by Lord Hayashi signed a treaty of peace and amity. Explore the contents of the treaty.

Doc Recap: 1852 Letter of President Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan

In 1852, President Millard Fillmore approved an expedition led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry to Japan. Among the objectives that Washington gave Perry was to deliver a letter by the President to the Emperor of Japan. The letter contained the requests of the United States of America to the Empire. Explore more about the contents of the letter bellow.

Doc Recap: Letter of President Franklin Pierce to the Emperor of Japan

United States Consul to Japan, Townsend Harris, met with the Shogun or Tycoon of Japan in December 1857 and handed over a letter from President Franklin Pierce to Emperor. Explore the contents of the letter bellow.

Doc Recap: 1851 Letter of President Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan

In 1851, Secretary of State and President Fillmore approved an expedition to be led by Commodore John Aulick. He was furnished with a letter to be given to the Japanese government. However, Aulick, due to controversy, never led the expedition to Japan. Explore bellow the 1851 letter of President Millard Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan.

5 Sources on Sargon the Great of Akkad

Sargon the Great, one history earliest recorded Empire-builder, a Rockstar of the ancient world, had a mysterious and legendary life. Much of the mysticism of his biography stemmed from the lack of complete sources on his exploits and below are just some of the primary sources pertaining to this early conqueror.

Byzantine Covert Operations - Leo III in the Caucasus

Covert operations and proxy wars filed the history of the Cold War – a battle between 2 superpowers of the 20th century. Covert operations and proxy wars, however, already existed way before and used by many of the great empires in history to weaken or humiliate rival powers. Such as the case of the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate in the late 7th and early 8th century, when Emperor Justinian II sent his spartharios, the future Emperor Leo III, to the Alans and help them defeat the Abasgians who switched their fealty in favor of the Muslim Empire.

Map of the kingdom of Lazica, by Cplakidas, CC BY-SA 3.0

Accounts: Yung Wing Describing Zeng Guofan

In 1863, Yung Wing or Rong Hong, the earliest known Chinese graduate of Yale College received an invitation for a meeting with Zeng Guofan, a venerable Qing official and commander of the Hunan Army fighting the Taiping rebellion in the Yangtze Valley. Yung Wing just went from a tea district under the control of the Taiping and feared an interrogation or a reprimand, but the meeting turned out to be for an assignment to purchase machines for the future Jiangnan Arsenal – part of the Self-Strengthening Movement that Zeng supported.

Accounts: Gustavus Adolphus' Articles of War

Gustavus Adolphus made a name for himself as a tough disciplinarian.