Ancient history

• Leif Erikson and the Vikings' Discovery of America

  The Vikings , led by the explorer Leif Erikson, are considered today as the first Europeans to have discovered America, five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. Around the year 1000, Icelanders established in Greenland indeed approached the shores of North America, naming the lands they encou

• The Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1187)

  The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Latin and Christian state of the Middle Ages founded during the first crusade, in 1099, and whose capital was Jerusalem. Disappeared in 1291, it covered present-day Israel, part of Jordan and Lebanon. It was the longest and most extensive of the Frankish states founded

• Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Arab Hero

  Saladin (1138-1193), of Kurdish origin, was a sultan who founded the Ayyubid dynasty and ruled Egypt and Syria in the 12th century. He entered into legend, both in the West and in the East, for having restored Muslim power in the Middle East and retaking Jerusalem from the Crusaders. His name is als

• The Vikings:Origin and History of the Warriors of the Sea

  The Vikings , “warriors of the sea”, are maritime and conquering peoples who came from Scandinavia and who, from the end of the 8th century until the 12th century, engaged in incursions on the coasts of Europe and along the rivers. In the Carolingian period, they were given the name “Normans”, from

• Black Death in France and Europe in the 14th century

  TheBlack Death , also called the Great Plague , is an epidemic that appeared in the Mediterranean basin in the middle of the 14th century, causing the disappearance of a third of the European population. Coming from Asia, it would have reached Europe via the Silk Roads and Genoese merchant ships fro

• Medieval recipes and dishes from the Middle Ages

  Medieval recipes are very different from our current cuisine. But contrary to what one might think, they are full of finesse, slightly tart, colorful, spicy and non-greasy. Most sauces accompanying poultry and fish are rather acidic (wine, vinegar, verjuice). Very popular, sweet and sour flavors ar

• Independence of Algeria (July 5, 1962)

  Theindependence of Algeria was proclaimed on July 5, 1962 , at the end of a very violent conflict of almost eight years, and especially more than a century of colonial occupation. On March 19, 1962, the Évian agreements had put an end to the fighting and on July 1, a referendum allowed Algeria to ch

• Gorbachev, last leader of the USSR (1985-1991)

  Mikhail Gorbachev , a Russian politician, was the last leader of the USSR from 1985 to 1991. A rising figure in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he became secretary general of the party and took charge of the destinies of the second superpower of the time. Gorbachev contrasts sharply with h

• Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)

  October 14, 1962 broke out the Cuban crisis , in the midst of the Cold War. The United States discovered missile launch pads provided by the Soviet Union on the island. US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy then announced a naval blockade of the island and ordered his fleet to intercept the Soviet sh

• Salvador Allende and the coup of September 11, 1973

  Salvador Allende (1908-1973) was a Chilean statesman, who served as President of the Republic of Chile from 1970 to 1973. On September 11, 1973, the socialist government of Salvador Allende was the target of a military coup directed by General Augusto Pinochet . The one who had represented the hope

• The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia (1975-1979)

  The term Khmer Rouge commonly refers to the Cambodian Communist Party, which came to power in 1975 after the fall of the Republic of Cambodia of dictator Lon Nol. Its leader Pol Pot will build in the months that follow a totalitarian state by systematically eliminating all opposition. Taking the pre

• From the clash of civilizations to the clash of religions

  Samuel Huntingtons book, Clash of Civilizations , seems to have become the alpha and the omega in trying to explain international problems, particularly since September 11, 2001, and even more in the relationship between “West” and “Islam”. This is precisely where we begin to discern a shift towards

• Berlin Wall, from construction to fall (1961-1989)

  Built in August 1961, the Berlin Wall is the most symbolic evocation of the Cold War . 45 km long, bristling with barbed wire and guarded by many watchtowers, it was above all intended to prevent the East Germans from fleeing the communist regime. Between 1961 and 1989, at least seventy people died

• The CIA, from its creation to September 11

  The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is the main intelligence agency of the United States, created in 1947, at the same time as the Security Council (National Security Council). It is responsible for intelligence collection abroad, counterintelligence outside the United States, development and rese

• Yugoslavia, from war to disintegration

  From 1991 to 2001, the disintegration of Yugoslavia caused a series of wars particularly deadly against a background of exacerbated nationalism. Yugoslavia , a kingdom created in 1918, had become a federal state after the Second World War. It then comprised six Republics:Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia an

• Stasi, East Germany's political police

  Now defunct, the Stasi was the political police, the espionage and counterintelligence service of the German Democratic Republic, created in 1949 and disappeared in 1990 with reunification. Its name comes from the diminutive of Staatssicherheitsdienst, which designates the security services of the f

• First Man on the Moon - Neil Armstrong (1969)

  July 20, 1969 at 9:56 p.m. Houston time, a crew consisting of Neil Armstrong (Mission Commander) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (lunar module pilot) lands on the Moon after a 3-day trip, while Michael Collins remained in orbit in the command module in preparation for the return trip. A few hours later, Jul

• First Man in Space - Yuri Gagarin (1961)

  Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in space on April 12, 1961. Launched into orbit aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, he circled the Earth once and landed after a 108-minute flight. Five centuries after Christopher Columbus , between 1961 and 1981, man embarked on a new conquest, the great

• History and origin of Valentine's Day, the feast of lovers

  Celebrated on February 14, Valentines Day is since the 15th century the feast of lovers. The tradition is that we offer this day some special attention to his other half. This custom probably originated from the ancient feast of the Lupercalia (February 15 in ancient Rome). However, we can ask ourse

• Muhammad, Founder and Prophet of Islam

  Common in the west as Muhammad , Mohammed (or Muhammad) was a warlord from the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the founder of a new religion:Islam. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad received several divine revelations during his lifetime; it is these revelations which have been transcribed and w