Climate change contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Romans caused a lot of air pollution and deforestation, just like we do now. But in the long term, that had a lot less consequences. Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) thought the end of the world was near. Life became hell in Rome,
For lovers of historical cartography, a new must have has been released:the Dutch history in a hundred maps. What is special about the book is that it is not the cartography that is leading, but important historical events. Did you know that the Romans built their famous road network mainly in the
Striking paintings, high towers and the battle against the water. Its all in a new, fist-thick book about the churches of Groningen. They tower high and proud above the empty, vast countryside:churches in the province of Groningen. There you see only a few trees and every now and then there is a vi
The Dutch gunboats Hr.Ms. Sumba and Hr.Ms. Flores were there on D-Day. These aging sister ships supported the Normandy landings. They were even nicknamed The Terrible Twins, due to their versatile deployment on the worlds seas and the assertive behavior of their crews. On June 1, 1944, the Terrible
If you want to understand the history of mankind, you should especially look at shifting continents and changing climates, writes Lewis Dartnell in his book Origins. That produces a lot of interesting things, but he sometimes sees a causal connection too easily. Why does the Earth look like this to
Fifty years ago, the eyes of the world were on the moon. The documentary Apollo 11 shows the culmination of the epic Apollo undertaking:the nine days in July 1969 that included the first moonwalk. The film is an exciting time capsule for the enthusiast. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong has a heart
Where in the past almost every Dutch person was Christian and went to church, some of the faithful now shop elements from different religions together. Where does religion come from and why is one more susceptible to it than the other? Answers from evolutionary biology, theology and neuroscience. T
Gardens were very important in the Middle Ages, not only for growing vegetables and medicinal herbs, but also as a pleasure garden to imagine yourself in paradise. This universal garden is now the theme of the new exhibition in the National Museum of Antiquities. A pontifically displayed stone wate
The Denisovan man, in the family tree the sister of the Neanderthal, lived on the Tibetan plateau. This is evidenced by a Pleistocene human jawbone found in a cave in the area. The find means that this ancestor of the Tibetans could already withstand great heights. Prehistoric people lived on the T
The shortage of food, fuel and clothing was enormous in the cities of the western Netherlands. But despite the scarcity, citizens organized themselves to care for the weaker among them. As a result, the death rate among urban children appears to be the lowest of all age groups during the Hunger Wint
We dont often think about it anymore, but the trade unions have been fighting for the working people for a century and a half. Matters such as pensions, holidays or minimum wage are not self-evident, but are rights acquired through actions. This union history has now been given a new site. Since th
It is time for alternative medicine to be removed from the taboo, precisely because so many people use it. This is the opinion of ethnologist Peter Jan Margry (Meertens Institute), author of Healing and alternative healing. In his book he shows that the phenomenon is much bigger than many people thi
Che Guevara is the only historical figure whose face can be seen regularly in the streets. On walls, T-shirts and as a tattoo. His reputation already assumed mythical proportions during his lifetime. But what was he really like? In 2011, Time magazine ranked Ernesto Che Guevara just behind Hitler i
Nearly two million ships had to pay tolls to the Danish kings between 1497 and 1857 when they passed through the Sound. These passages were noted and are now, almost, all digitized. A wealth of information is revealed. The mega project that leads to the complete digitization of the so-called Sound
The gunpowder fumes from the fireworks have now disappeared and most Christmas trees are already beaten up on the street. After looking back at 2017, the editors of NEMO Kennislink are taking a cautious look ahead:what will 2018 bring us for scientific breakthroughs? A monster lives in the center o
Until the nineteenth century, a Dutch Creole language was spoken in the Virgin Islands. The speakers were descendants of slaves who had worked on the plantations. Linguist Cefas van Rossem conducted PhD research at Radboud University on eighteenth-century manuscripts. In the 1980s, the German resea
A gas field near the village of Sleen, in the east of Drenthe, is leaking. The methane from the gas field seeps into the groundwater, Dutch earth scientists discovered. It is the result of a drilling accident 52 years ago. On December 1, 1965, something went wrong during a gas drilling at t Haantje
December is the month of elaborate Christmas dinners, winter walks in the woods, and Christmas movies. But also an excellent moment to settle down in your favorite chair, with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Our editors recommend her favorite books for under the tree. The Bosatlas of Dutch
The Algerian War of Independence with France (1954-1962) was very violent with excesses on both the French and Algerian sides. But the struggle for independence was also fought in the more peaceful international diplomatic arena. Even sport was a weapon. Cycling, for example, put Algeria on the map
The construction of the North/South line in Amsterdam is an unprecedented piece of technical ingenuity. Never before has a metro line been built under an old city so deep and on such soft peat soil. This also offered unprecedented opportunities for archaeological research. Of course, the technique
During the conference of the three powers in Yalta, Stalin received an assurance that the citizens of the Soviet Union, who found themselves in Western Europe as a result of the war, would return to their beloved communist homeland - even if they did not want to. The result of the Yalta agreements w
The German Navy or Kriegsmarine it became the second largest in the world in 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to compete in naval power with his cousin, King George V of England. Following his accession to the throne in the late 19th century, the German Kaiser pushed for accelerated construction of a
The greatest crime of the 20th century was happening before their eyes. They couldnt hide like Anne Frank. Nor were they protected outsiders like the Mary Berg I wrote about a few days ago. When the war was over, they had long lost their lives. But their thoughts and words have survived to this day.
Taking advantage of the turmoil of the beginning of the Reformation, two agile Jews deceived all of Europe. On behalf of non-existent kingdoms, they made alliances with the pope and the leaders of the greatest powers. For a salary fee, they prepared the ground for the coming of the new Messiah. And