The Womens March on Versailles, October 5, 1789 • ISTOCK “Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions can only be based on common utility. Article 1 of the famous Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens , written in 1791 by the no less famous Olympe de Goug
Posthumous portrait of Mozart. By Barbara Krafft. 1819 • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS On March 17, 1781, Mozart wrote to his father. It was the only time he addressed Leopold in such an affectionate way:“My very dear friend! A certain excitement shines through in the letter. The young composer had just arr
Born in Montauban on May 7, 1748, Marie Gouze, known as Olympe de Gouges, ascended the scaffold on November 3, 1793. She is said to be the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis de Pompignan. She became famous thanks to her writings, in particular those in which she defended oppressed minorities:wome
Self-portrait, by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. 1790. Uffizi Gallery, Florence • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Elisabeth Vigée Le Bruns self-portraits show her playing on the one hand with the conventions of male representation – at her easel, painting, she affirms her professional skills – and on the other illu
During the 1560s, Philip II ordered the construction of 50 new galleys for operations in the Mediterranean. The largest, the Real , was built in the Barcelona shipyards in 1568. Badly damaged in the Battle of Lepanto, she sank on her way back to Messina. In addition to the normal crew (20 to 30 men
Ali, the fourth caliph, with his sons and successors Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali. Persian miniature, 1837 • ROLAND AND SABRINA MICHAUD / AKG In inaugurating the Safavid dynasty, which reigned until 1736, Ismail Ist (1501-1524), the mystical “blue-eyed shah”, made the first strong gesture of
• SEB GROUP In 1682, the court of Louis XIV marveled at being able to taste a delicious stew that had simmered for only half the time normally required for this type of dish. This miracle had taken place in the kitchens of the palace thanks to an artefact produced in the Parisian foundry of Sieu
View of the Shah Mosque, built in Isfahan in the 17th century for the ruler Abbas I. • ISTOCKPHOTO Around 1700, Iran was at the heart of European politics. For two centuries, the Safavid dynasty and the Ottoman Empire have been in permanent rivalry, both political and religious, and several Euro
In Deep Winter, by Richard von Drasche-Wartinberg. 1923 If the reign of Louis XIV remains for the general public the apogee of the French monarchy, as much by its duration as by the magnificence of the Court and its buildings, we must not forget its shadows. As if to accentuate an end of reign al
THE JEU DE PAUME TILE UNDER EXCAVATION. • DENIS GLIKSMAN, INRAP / PRESS SERVICE A tennis court by François Ist reappeared in the heart of one of the royal residences. Destined to become International City of the French language, the castle of Villers-Cotterêts, located in the Aisne, is engaged i
Confidence capturing Kent, by Ambroise Louis Garneray • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS His parents hoped to make him a priest. But the young Robert Surcouf had something else in mind. Every morning, at daybreak, he roamed the outskirts of the west beach of Saint-Malo, at the head of a personal pack of mastif
Drinkers at a counter. Illustration for La Case de lOncle Tome • ISTOCK If criticism of British gastronomy has become an international sport, no one dares to doubt their taste for good drink. The Englishman Saint Boniface already condemned in the VIIIth Faced with the hundreds of millions of ca
Louis XV in coronation costume, by Louis-Michel van Loo. 1762. Palace of Versailles • WIKIMEDIACOMMONS To dive into the reign of Louis XV is to dive into a vanished world. We have no idea of winter sledding on the Grand Canal at Versailles, rabbit hunting in the meadows of Issy-les-Moulineaux,
Portrait of Ali Bey on a vintage engraving • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In the month of dhou al-qi’da, in the year 1221 of the Hegira (January 1807), a pilgrim enters the city of Mecca, a place forbidden to all infidels on pain of death. This is Ali Bey, a descendant of the ancient Abbasid caliphs. Suffe
View of two of the lead coffins unearthed under the convent of Rennes • INRAP She wore a nuns habit, a brown homespun dress of coarse wool, a linen shirt, leather mules with cork soles; two caps and a cape covered his head; his joined hands held a crucifix. Thus was discovered the almost intact
Self-portrait by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. 1790. Uffizi Museum, Florence • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In 1790, in Florence, the great artist of the 18th century Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842) made her self-portrait on the road to exile she faced during the French Revolution. Now kept in the Uf
Rouget de Lisle singing the Marseillaise for the first time, by Isidore Pils. 1849. Historical Museum, Strasbourg • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In 1849, more than fifty years after the events, the painter Isidore Pils fixed the legend of the Marseillaise :the anthem would have been interpreted for the fir
• LIST The first musical instruments invented by man are certainly percussion instruments, followed by wind instruments. The last, because of their more delicate elaboration, are the string instruments:first the struck string instruments, then those with strings bowed. Of these, the most versati
A London cafe in 1798, by William Holland • © WIKIMEDIACOMMONS London saw cafes flourish from 1652. That year, the first of them was founded by Pasqua Rosee, the Armenian servant of a British merchant, who became a fan of this drink during a trip to the eastern Mediterranean. The establishment m
George Washington by painter Gilbert Stuart (1796) • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The United States did not skimp on the tributes paid to its first president:the federal capital was named after him, as was the 42th State of the country, seven mountains, eight rivers, ten lakes, more than 30 counties and ni
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Qi , Wade-Giles Romanization Chi , one of the largest and most powerful of the many small states into which China between about 771 and 221 v . Chr . Has been split . Britannica Quiz Exploring China:Fact or Fiction? Does China have about half the worlds population? Is Chin
The unity of the SFIO was disrupted by the adhesion of almost all socialists to the Sacred Union. However, with the war lasting longer than expected, supporters of pacifism disputed the legitimacy of the Sacred Union. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Treaty of Brest Litovsk of 1918 aroused the
The Bibi Khanum mosque, built between 1399 and 1404 in Samarkand, bears the name of one of Tamerlanes wives. • ISTOCKPHOTO Capital of the empire of Tamerlane, Samarkand (the city of stone, in Sogdian) was for centuries a crossing point of the Silk Road and the most important city of Central Asia
On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israels Olympic team in Munich and killed 11 of its members. Of course one would have to be naive to believe that the Israelis would let such a challenge go unanswered. Two days after the massacre, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir formed Com