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Darwin’s tortoises
While visiting the Galapagos archipelago in 1835, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) encountered the giant tortoise and observed that, as with the finches, each island had its own unique types of tortoise. The most notable difference, it turned out, was in the shape of the shell – some giant tortoises were able to extend their necks higher than others depending on what food source was available to them. They had evolved to survive on each particular island. The giant tortoise was a staple part of the diet of the indigenous peoples and also a source of money and goods from sale and trade – Darwin ate giant tortoise on James Island. Forty…
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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
“Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. In a gun fight… You need to take your time in a hurry.” Words couldn’t have been truer than those spoken by Wyatt Earp. A total of thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds in the most famous shootout in the history of the American Old West. I will of course follow this article up with more about Wyatt’s vendetta, and biographies of the key players, but for now I will concentrate on the infamous gunfight itself. Tombstone, Arizona is located near the Mexican border. The Earps arrived on December 1, 1879, when the small town was mostly composed of tents as living…
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Mary I’s phantom pregnancies
Mary I of England was overjoyed at her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain. She had married a man of royal blood, the son of her adviser and cousin Charles V of Spain and had laid the foundation for the passing of the throne to a true born Catholic heir. There was only one fly in the ointment. She was thirty-seven years old, past the usual child bearing years of that time, and had erratic health. Few people believed that the Queen was capable of bearing children, but still they prayed with all their might for a prince. In September of 1554, it seemed as if their prayers had been…
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Vesuvius Erupts in 79 AD
Vesuvius is currently the only active volcano in mainland Europe, and while the volcano has been dormant since 1944, the cataclysmic eruption that started on August 24, 79 AD reminds everyone of the real danger that Vesuvius poses. For 2 days the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy were being hit by the most famous volcanic explosion of Vesuvius, but the dates in August that have been accepted for so long are now being challenged as incorrect. Years worth of earthquakes led up to the eruption but as the people were unaware that earthquakes and volcanic activity was linked, the people remained in their homes as seismic activity is…
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Second Act of Succession- Declaring Mary and Elizabeth bastards
Everyone knew there could not be a Queen of England alone on the throne. The last Queen Regnant of England was arguably Margaret the She Wolf of France or if you chose to disregard Margaret then Matilda of England. Both had periods of rule riddled with strife and open warfare. These were not pleasant memories for the people of England or their king Henry VIII Henry had a big problem. He had just moved heaven and earth to get rid of one wife, Katherine of Aragon, because she had not given him an heir. The only child that survived their union was a living daughter, Mary. In desperation, Henry had…
