I AM BACK!!!!

 I have given up on trying to get my laptop fixed. I will try keep my blog running from my iPhone and my iPad. I hope to keep sharing fun and interesting history facts and stories with everyone!

Computer Problems

I am sorry for the lack of posts. My computer has died on me and I am trying to get a new one. I will post more when the problem is solved.

The 3 Japanese Shogunates

A while ago a friend asked me about the Japanese Shoguns. He wanted to know if the same shogun clan ruled all of Japan. I told him that Japan had 3 different Shogunates that ruled Japan. They were the Kamakura Shoguns (1185-1333 CE), Ashikage Shoguns (1338-1573 CE) and the Tokugawa Shoguns (1600-1868 CE).

The Kamakura Shoguns came from 3 different families. They were the Minamoto and Fujiwara clans. The last 6 shoguns were imperial princes. This group of shoguns take their name from the city that they made their capital. That was the City of Kamakura. The one fun fact about this shogunate is the fact that the real power was in the powerful regents. They all came from the same family, The Hojo Clan. The first picture is of the symbol of the Kamakura Shogunate and the next picture is of the first Kamakura Shogun (Minamoto no Yoritomo).

The Ashikage Shoguns all came from the same clan... The Ashikage Clan. There were 15 total shoguns that came from this family. Their capital was Hein-kyo or Kyoto. The shogunate fell when Oda Nobunaga installed a puppet shogun and then removed the said shogun. This picture is of the symbol of the Ashikage clan.

The Last Shogunate was the Tokugawa Shoguns and ruled by the powerful Tokugawa clan. A total of 15 Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan until the emperor took back control of the country and the arrival of the Western powers. The one fun fact about this clan is that they are still around today and still trying to improve Japan for the better. The first picture is the symbol of the Tokugawa clan the last is of an old map of Tokugawa Japan.

So... to answer my friends question, there were several families or clans that have ruled Japan through their shoguns. But, the shogun system fell out of use when the Emperor took back control of the country in 1868 CE.

Top 5 Oldest Military Buildings on US Soil

A few days ago a friend asked by what was the oldest military building on US soil. I found a few places that matched his criteria. Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Fort Christian, Castillo de San Marcos, Blackbeard's Castle and Fort Niagara are the 5 oldest military building on US soil. Let's talk about all 5 of these places.

5. Fort Niagara: This fort was built by the French in 1678 CE in New York. The French lost the fort to the British in 1759 CE to the British in the French and Indian War. The fort stayed in British hands until 1783 CE, when it was ceded to the new nation of the United States. It fell out of use by the time WWI and WWII rolled around. It did serve was a POW camp for German soldiers. Today it serves as a base for the US Coast Guard and historic site.

4. Blackbeard's Castle: This watchtower was built in 1679 CE. It was built by the Danes on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It was build to help protect the city of Charlotte Amalie. No one knows when the tower took the name of Blackbeard's Castle... but the name has stuck.

3. Castillo de San Marcos: Is a fort located in Florida. Its was built in 1672 CE by the Spanish to protect the Spanish city of St. Augustine. The British gained Florida in 1763 CE. The Spanish regained Florida in 1783 CE. Then the US gained the territory in 1819 CE. The military used the fort until 1933 CE. It has been a historic site ever since.

2. Fort Christian: The Danes built this fort to protect the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in 1672 CE. The fort served as the government and defense headquarters on the island. The fort was turned over to US when the islands were sold to the US in 1917 CE. Today it is used as a museum.

1. Castillo de San Felipe del Morro: This fort was built by the Spanish in 1539 CE. The fort was built to protect the city of San Juan. The Spanish ruled Puerto Rico 1539 to 1898 CE. The fort survived many battles and wars. Most were against the French and British. The American took over the island and the fort in the Spanish-American War (1898). The US military retired the fort in 1961 CE and it became a historical site.

All of these buildings are great examples of military engineering from their time periods. All of these buildings are still around today and can be visited. I found pictures of all 5 sites online and added them to each section as I talked about them.

Non Egyptian Pyramids?!

When people talk about pyramids, most people talk about the ones in Egypt and Mexico. But did you know that there are pyramids located in Sudan. The are collected called the Nubian Pyramids. The Pyramids were build be the Kushite Kingdoms South of Egypt. That region was dominated the Kerma Kingdom (2500 BCE-1500 BCE), Napata or Nubia (1000-300 BCE) and Meroe (300 BCE-300 AD). All 3 kingdoms made pyramid in their time of power. These pyramids were made from granite and sandstone. Sadly most were partly destroyed by the Italian explorer, Giuseppe Ferlini in the 1830s CE. I did find a few photos of the Nubian Pyramids.

 

The Only Poet Named Battleship... The Dante Alighieri

One of my friends was reading one of my naval stories and asked about battleships and some of their naming system. He asked me about the oddest named battleship. I found one battleship that might fit. The Italian battleship Dante Alighieri. It is the only battleship to be named after a poet. Here is what I could find on this ship.

She served in the Italian navy from 1913 to 1928 CE. She was every little action. She was the flagship during the Battle of Durazzo in 1918 CE. The ship did not fire its guns once during the battle. The Dante Alighieri did not once fire its guns in anger during her entire naval career. Due to a crashing economy in Italy after WWI, the navy decided to scrap this ship and many others to save on costs. They did this in 1928. The Dante Alighieri had a short career and a very peaceful one compared to other battleship from this time period. I found a few old photos of the ship online to share with you.

Anglo-Zanzibar War... The Shortest War in History

Some friends and I were talking about some famous wars in history. We talked about some of the longest and shortest wars in history. We could not agree on which wars were the shortest. So like a good scholar I am, I did some digging and I found the answer to this question. The answer is the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It lasted 38 minutes. Yes... you saw that correctly. The war was over in under an hour.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War happened on August 27 1896. This war was part of the Scramble for Africa that happened in the last half of the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s. The war started with the death of the pro-British Sultan and the appointment of an anti-British Sultan. The British did not like this and so started the war. The British bombardment the Sultan's Palace ended the war and the independence of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. I found a few pictures. The first is a map of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. The 2nd picture is of the remains of the bombed out building of the Sultan's harem. The last picture is the placement of the armed forces involved the war.