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The Spice Trade & the Age of Exploration
One of the major motivating factors in the European Age of Exploration was the search for direct access to the highly lucrative Eastern spice trade...
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Cities Named Alexandria by Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great founded, reorganized, or re-established several towns and cities across his empire and gave most of them the name of Alexandria...
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Raven Tales of the Athabaskan (Dene)-Speaking Peoples
The Raven tales are stories featuring the trickster figure Raven that come from the Athabaskan (Dene)-speaking peoples of the Pacific Northwest and...
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Definition
Kon-Tiki Expedition
The Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, led by the Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), successfully crossed 8,000 km (5,000 miles) of the Pacific Ocean from...
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Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the leaders of the American Revolution (c. 1765-1789), who led the push for American independence from...
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Image Gallery
A Gallery of 40 Portrait Paintings Through History
Capturing in paint for all time the faces of particular people has been an endeavour of artists for millennia. In this gallery, we present in chronological...
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Definition
Herakleia Lynkestis
Herakleia Lynkestis (Heraclea Lyncestis; Ἡράκλεια Λυγκηστίς) was a city in the ancient kingdom of Macedon not far from modern Bitola, founded c. 358...
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Coyote Tales of the Comanche
Coyote tales of the Comanche feature the same trickster figure as the Coyote tales of the Shasta nation, the Coyote tales of the Apache, and those of...
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Definition
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) was an American statesman and diplomat who served as the sixth president of the United States (1825-1829). The son of...
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Definition
Berenike IV
Berenike IV (r. 58-55 BCE) was queen of Ptolemaic Egypt and the older sister of Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). She ruled briefly after her father Ptolemy...
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Paiyatuma & the Maidens of the Corn
Paiyatuma and the Maidens of the Corn is a legend of the Zuni nation of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest of the modern-day USA. Paiyatuma (also given...
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Why Kokopelli is Not Kokopelli: Paiyatamu & The Four Flutes
The iconic image of Kokopelli, the flute-playing kachina spirit of the Pueblo peoples, specifically the Hopi, is easily the most recognizable figure...
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Why Did Hitler Hate Jewish People?
The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) identified Jewish people as enemies of the state, presenting them through relentless propaganda...
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Definition
James Monroe
James Monroe (1758-1831) was an American statesman who served as the fifth president of the United States (1817-1825). The fourth president to belong...
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Definition
First Agricultural Revolution
The First Agricultural Revolution, beginning c. 12-20,000 years ago, was characterized by the emergence of different agricultural systems in different...
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J. R. Giddings' Account of the Dade Massacre of the Second Seminole War
The Dade Massacre (also given as the Dade Battle, 28 December 1835) was the opening engagement of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) between Euro-American...
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A Seminole Creation Story & Other Tales
The Seminole are a Native American nation of people descended from the Muscogee Creek nation, and others, who migrated to the modern-day State of Florida...
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Definition
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (1812-1815), referred to by some contemporaries as the Second American Revolution, was fought between the United States and the United...