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Battle of Britain
On the 10th July 1940, there began one of the most famous battles in History. The fight to control the skies over Britain. Defeat of the RAF would have been a disaster, leaving Britain in a weakened position in preparation for Hitler’s planned invasion. Following the failed Battle of France, which ended in June after around 5 weeks of heavy ground and air combat during which the RAF suffered massive losses, Adolf Hitler presumed the defeat and surrender of France would mean that shortly afterwards Britain would agree to negotiate peace terms. France signed their armistice on the 17th June, Hitler had already invaded and gained control of much of…
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William Tyndale
William Tyndale’s early life is somewhat of a mystery. Born in Gloucestershire sometime between 1491 and 1494, the exact date and location of his birth is unknown. There are no documents relating to him, until he received his Bachelor’s Degree at Magdalen Hall at Oxford University in 1512, when he would have been in his late teens. In the Oxford registers he uses the surname of Hychyns, which has lead historians to believe his family may have branched into two, either side of the Severn river, one side taking the Tyndale surname, the other Hychyns or Hutchins. In 1515 he was ordained as a priest in London, and he received…
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Sicilian Vespers Revolt
The Sicilian Vespers are one of the Isle of Sicily’s most famous historical events. In the years leading up to the start of the revolt, a struggle had broken out between the House of Hohenstafen and the Papacy in Rome over the control of Italy. The former ruled Germany and claimed authority over most of northern Italy; the Papal States were situated between Northern Italy and the Island of Sicily in the south. Pope Innocent IV had declared Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, the head of the House of Hohenstafen as deposed and raised opposition against him within Germany and Italy. When Frederick died in 1250 his lands were inherited…
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The Historical Gilgamesh
So for my very first post ever here on Naked History, I would like to discuss one of the oldest literary characters in recorded history: None other than King Gilgamesh of Uruk. When I say “literary” I do in fact mean fictional as the “Epic of Gilgamesh” was written circa 2000 BCE (between c. 2150 and 1400 BCE), predating Homer's work by roughly 1500 years. According to legend, he was a demigod possessing supernatural powers, such as uncanny strength, exceptionally long l [...]
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Mountain Meadows Massacre
On September 11th, 1857, a group of migrants travelling from Arkansas to their new home in California, were massacred in a valley in Utah known as Mountain Meadows, ostensibly by a group of Paiute Indians following a siege lasting several days. The Baker-Fancher group totalled around 140 members of an extended family or families. Quite well-off by standards of the day, they were making their way by wagon train with horses, mules and cattle to resettle from Arkansas. Led by Alexander Fancher, known as “Colonel” an experienced man on the migrant route, the train had started out with several smaller parties each from different counties in Arkansas, and had met…
