Surprises and The Unintended Invention of Potato Chips

George Crum

Cornelius Vanderbilt was a famous tycoon. First made his name well-known in the ferry industry. He was renowned to be given the title “Commodore” for his good quality of service and his vast ferry business. But when the steam engine dawned, he moved from the sea to land. He invested a lot of his wealth in creating a huge railroad empire. He made a lot of money as well as enemies as a result of his aggressive business tactics. He contributed on the rise of the railroad industry as well as capitalism in America. However, besides business and industry, Vanderbilt was said to have made another surprising contribution. According to legends, he had been instrumental for the creation of one of the most eaten snack in the world – Potato Chips.

Songhai Empire: The Last Great Empire

Songhai Empire

In area of Western Africa, great civilization appeared and fell. Cities like Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne (Jenne) were just among the flourishing cities of trade, culture, and education. Trans-Saharan trade of cloth, gold, and salt brought wealth and prosperity to the civilization that control such lucrative routes. Rivers provided fresh water and food that sustained empires for long time. Among the last empires that grew in this part of the world is the Empire of Songhai. From obscurity of a shadow of another empire, it grew to become the dominant power in the area.

Antonine Plague:The End of Pax Romana

Galen

The period of Pax Romana lasted for over a century. Spanning over the reign of the Five Good Emperors, it was a period of prosperity, peace, and expansion for the Roman civilization. But during the reign of the last of the Five Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, calamity struck the Empire. Even more deadly than a barbarian invasion, a disease spread like wild fire across Rome. The disease was known as the Antonine Plague, the plague that would end peace and tranquility of Rome.

Township and Village Enterprises: Owed by So Many to So Small

Mao proclaiming the foundation of
the People's Republic of China

The death of Mao Zedong brought waves of changes to Communist China. Under Mao, China suffered hardship through his failed Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. The nation was in ruins. Many were poor, starving, and jobless. After his demise, a brief period became under Hua Guofeng. But he was later replaced by another formidable figure in Chinese politics – Deng Xiaoping. Under his authority China saw reforms that shook the foundations of communism. Among his projects were small business called Township and Village Enterprises.

The Umayyads: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

From the chaos brought by the death of Shias and Sunnis, a new caliphate rose. From the brutal murder of Caliph Uthman and the disintegration of order during the reign of Caliph Ali, Governor Muawiya from Damascus fought hard in order to establish a new caliphate from the ashes of the previous Rashidun caliphate. The Umayyad Caliphate was the result of Muawiya’s efforts. And from the foundation that Muawiya established, his successors would develop it to create one of the largest empires that the world had ever seen. Considered a part of the greatest caliphs of the Umayyad, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan would cement the caliphate in the world by war and by reforms.

John Warne Gates: From Barbed Wire to Riches

John Warne Gates

Barbed wire is a small tool that changes the world. It changed how ranchers grew their livestock. It’s a tool used to keep prisoners inside their prison. It changed the faces of battlefields forever. During the advent of this small but decisive tool, many took the opportunity to make some money from it. But one man stood to dominate the industry. A man that did not invent barbed wire but used it to made a fortune from it. A fortune that so huge that a million dollars can be easily loss in one poker game. 

Potosi: The Mine that Changed the World

Sketch of Potosi in 1533

The discovery of the Americas was just the start of an exploration of a land that had so much potential and resources. A new economic order in Europe brought so much change in trade and economic perspective and policies. This new policy, called Mercantilism, brought the need for the control of sources of raw materials as well as new markets for manufactured products. This led to a wave of imperialism, colonialism, and a search for sources of wealth. The Spanish, in particular, were keen to discover El Dorado, the city of gold. But what they found out in the Peruvian highlands was almost similar in size of wealth. Cerro de Potosi would change a landscape of the mountain itself and world commerce as a whole.