When Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the head of the rival
House of Lancaster, landed at Milford Haven, Wales. Richard III hastened to meet him at Bosworth Field, near the
village of Market Bosworth, 12 miles west of Leicester.
According to local tradition in Leicester, Richard went to see a
seer in the town before heading off for the Battle of Bosworth Field
on August 22, 1485. She told him "where your spur should strike
on the ride into battle, your head shall be broken on the return".
Richard is reputed to have celebrated Mass at St James’ Church
before the Battle of Bosworth.
Richard had 11,000–12,000 men and a strong position on Ambion
Hill. Henry had 5,000–7,000 troops, but Lord Stanley commanded
5,000 men to the north of the royalists and when Stanley
switched sides, it severely depleted his army's strength.
King Richard III at Bosworth Field. Wikipedia Commons
As many of Richard's men deserted him, his friends urged him to
flee but the determined Richard fought on furiously. The King was
forced into a swamp unhorsed and was hacked at by Welsh pikemen. As
he fell mortally wounded, his crown was picked up and placed on
Henry's head.
Richard was to be the last English king to die on the battlefield.
The late king’s body was slung on a horse and taken to
Leicester.
On the ride into battle Richard’s spur struck the bridge stone
of the Bow Bridge; as he was being carried back over the back of a
horse his head struck the same stone and was broken open.
It is said that Richard's body was dragged naked through the
streets before being buried at Greyfriars Church, Leicester.
The name of Richard’s horse at Bosworth was “White Surrey”.
Tudor succeeded Richard to become Henry VII, and cemented the
succession by marrying the Yorkist heir, Elizabeth of York.
Richard’s death at Bosworth marked the end of the Middle Ages.
The name "Battle of Bosworth Field" didn’t enter the common lexicon until around 1510. Prior to this, the battle was known as Redemore or "the place of the reeds", Brownheath, or Sandeford.
The true location of the Battle of Bosworth was only ascertained in 2009, around a mile from the place previously thought.
There is a fish and chipshop in Bosworth Market called “The Batter of Bosworth”.
The American colonists had long been resentful of British taxation policies, especially the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. These policies imposed taxes on various goods and activities in the American colonies without colonial representation in the British Parliament, leading to the famous slogan, "No taxation without representation."
British colonists in the New World had continued their tea-drinking habit from back home. For instance, George Washington regularly breakfasted on three bowls of tea. In 1773, a significant development occurred when the British government enacted the Tea Act. This legislation bestowed upon the British East India Company the exclusive privilege of selling tea in the American colonies. Furthermore, the act permitted the company to offer any surplus tea directly to the colonies at a lowered tax rate, rendering British tea more cost-effective than illicitly imported Dutch tea. The British government's objective in implementing the Tea Act was to enhance the affordability of tea for the colonists and thereby promote their preference for purchasing it from the East India Company.
This act was seen as an attempt to bail out the struggling British East India Company and strengthen British control over colonial trade and was met with widespread opposition in the American colonies. Colonists also saw the act as a violation of their right to "no taxation without representation."
In response to the Tea Act, colonists organized boycotts of British tea and in various cities, protests were organized to prevent the unloading and sale of the British beverage. Colonial merchants, some of them smugglers, played a significant role in the protests. Because the Tea Act made legally imported tea cheaper, it threatened to put smugglers of Dutch tea out of business.
In Boston, a group known as the Sons of Liberty, led by figures like Samuel Adams and John Hancock, was particularly active in opposing the act. On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of colonists, many of them disguised as Mohawk Indians to conceal their identities, boarded three British ships—the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver—at Griffin's Wharf in Boston Harbor. They emptied 342 tea chests into the harbor, worth a substantial amount of money, into the harbor as a protest the Tea Act and British taxation. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
A work of art by Nathayel Corrier entitled "Tea sabotage in Boston Port".
The Boston Tea Party destroyed an equivalent of $1.7million of tea in today's money.
The Boston Tea Party inspired five hundred Boston women whom to show how strongly they feel about the immoral English tax resolved henceforth not to use any more tea but to drink coffee instead. Word about their protest spread and the popularity of tea in America waned. Contrarily, in England to show their patriotism many loyal Englishmen drunk more tea and less coffee.
Three months after the Boston Tea Part, in an unsuccessful little-known second protest, another 30 chests were thrown overboard.
The British government responded to the Boston Tea Party with outrage. In 1774, they passed the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, as punitive measures against Massachusetts. These acts included the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the destroyed tea was paid for, and other measures aimed at restricting colonial self-governance.
The Boston Tea Party marked a significant escalation in tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775.
John Winthrop, a puritanlawyer from Suffolk in England, founded on September 7, 1630 a large settlement on a peninsula at the mouth of the River Charles in Massachusetts, which was named Boston.
He named it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the origin of several prominent colonists. The name also derives from Saint Botolph who was the patron saint of travelers. Dating from 1634, Boston Common is the oldest city park in the United States.
The first tavern in Boston, The Ordinary, was established in 1632 by a man named Samuel Sharpe, and it was called The Ordinary.
The Three Mariners was the first tavern in Boston to be granted a license to sell wine and liquor by the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court. The tavern was located near the waterfront and was a popular gathering place for sailors and merchants. It was owned by Samuel Cole and opened for business on March 4, 1634.
The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston on April 23, 1635. The school was specifically modeled after the Boston Grammar School in Lincolnshire, England, from where many of Boston's original settlers derived. The School's first class was in single figures, but it now has 2,400 pupils drawn from all parts of the City of Boston.
The man who built the town stocks in Boston charged so much he was the first man punished in them.
Boston Shoemakers formed the first U.S. labor organization in 1648.
America's first waterworks, privately owned, were built in Boston in 1652. Ann Austin and Mary Fisher were the first Quakers to arrive in America. The pair had sailed from Barbados, where the Quakers had established a center for missionary work. Their ship docked in Boston Harbor in the Massachusetts Bay colony on July 11, 1656. As soon as Ann Austin and Mary Fisher set foot on American soil they were arrested and imprisoned. The pair were locked up for five weeks in a dark cell and ordered to be given no food or water. If it wasn't for Nicolas Upshall, the owner of the Red Lion on Boston’s North Street who bribed one of the guards to slip the women some nourishment, both surely would have died, Austin and Fisher were eventually deported back to England five weeks later.
In 1659 in Boston, Christmas was banned with any one found guilty of observing Christmas or any other religious holiday being made liable to pay a fine of five shillings. The ban lasted for over 20 years before being repealed. By 1689, Boston had one pub for every 20 adult men.
The first regular newspaper in North America, The BostonNews-Letter, was first published in Boston on April 24, 1704. It was heavily subsidized by the British government, with a limited circulation. During its early years, the News-Letter was filled primarily with news from London journals describing English politics and the details of European wars.
The Boston News-Letter, first issue
The Franklins lived on Milk Street, Boston for the first six years of Benjamin Franklin's life, until January 25, 1712. The Franklins moved from their rented home on Milk Street and bought a house from Peter Sargeant at the south-west corner of Union and Hanover streets for £320. It was about five times as large as the Milk Street lot. On March 17, 1737, the Charitable Irish Society of Boston held a St. Patrick's Day celebration, the first in America.
The "Great Fire" of Boston destroyed 349 buildings on March 20, 1760. Two hundred and twenty families were left homeless, and the total estimated losses of £53,334 hit especially hard a town that was already bearing the huge expense of the ongoing French and Indian War.
Map of Boston in 1760, showing the extent of the Great Fire (dotted area)
British soldiers shot five men in Kings Street, Boston on March 5, 1770, when attacked by a mob throwing snowballs, stones and sticks at them. Known as the Boston Massacre, the event is remembered as a key event in helping to galvanize the colonial public to the Patriot cause. The popularity of tea in North America suffered a blow after the British imposed a tax on the commodity. At Boston, in protest in 1773 fifty men disguised as Native Americans boarded a British vessel and emptied 342 tea chests into the harbor.
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town of Boston, It started on April 19, 1775 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and ended on March 17, 1776 when British forces evacuated the city, after George Washington and Henry Knox placed artillery in positions overlooking Boston.
An engraving depicting the British evacuation of Boston, March 17, 1776, at the end of the Siege of Boston
The first house rats recorded in America appeared in Boston in 1775. It is believed that the rats arrived in Boston on British ships during the American Revolutionary War. The rats quickly spread to other parts of the country, and they have since become one of the most common pests in the United States.
Lady pirate Rachel Wall was hanged on October 8, 1789 in Boston for highwayrobbery. She was the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts. Wall may also have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate.
Thousands of Bostonians watched the Battle of Bunker Hill take place. People in the Boston area sat on rooftops, in trees, on church steeples, and in the rigging of ships in the harbor to watch the American revolutionaries battle the British.
The first hotel with ensuite bathrooms (and towels) was the Tremont House in Boston, Massachusetts, which opened in 1829.
The first recorded use in print of “OK” (said to stand for “orl korrect” or for “Old kinderhook”- the nickname of President Martin Van Buren) was in Boston’s Morning Post in 1839
A brawny black lady called Maria Lee kept a lodging house in mid 19th century Boston and helped bundle arrested people into the policevehicle. It became known as a “Black Maria”.
The first medical school for women, The Boston Female Medical School, opened on November 1, 1848. In 1874, Boston Female Medical School merged with Boston University School of Medicine. Following a $100 million donation in 2022 by philanthropist and clarinetist Edward Avedisian, the school name was formally changed to "Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine", honoring Avedisian and his friend, former dean of the medical school Aram V. Chobanian.
The first YMCA in the US opened in Boston on December 29, 1851. It was founded by Captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan (1800–59), an American seaman and missionary. By 1853, the Boston YMCA had 1,500 members, most of whom were merchants and artisans.
Whilst working to improve the telegram in an upper room in Court Street, Boston, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. On June 2, 1875 his assistant Watson made a mistake, the incorrect contact of a clamping screw which was too tight changed what should have been an intermittent transmission into a continuous current. Bell at the other end of the wire heard the sound of the contacter dropping. Emma Nutt became the world's first female telephone operator in Boston on September 1, 1878. She had been recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company. A few hours after Emma started working, her sister, Stella Nutt, became the world's second female telephone operator.
This scene from "Bold Experiment – the Telephone Story", depicts Emma and Stella Nutt,
Benjamin Franklin left £1000 in his will to the town of Boston, micro-lending at 5% compound interest for a century to be used for some work of public benefit. By 1890, the original sum had grown to nearly $430,000 and was used to buy an extensive piece of land now called a Franklin Park.
The Boston Marathon is one of the oldest and most prestigious annual marathons in the world. The inaugural Boston Marathon took place on April 19, 1897, and it has been run every year since then, making it one of the longest-running and most iconic marathons in history.
The Boston Marathon is typically held on Patriot's Day, a holiday in Massachusetts on the third Monday in April that commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The race has a rich history and is known for its challenging course, including the famous Heartbreak Hill.
The Tremont Street Subway opened in Boston on September 1, 1897, the first underground rapid transit system in North America. It was originally built to get streetcar lines off the traffic-clogged streets, and the tunnel served five closely spaced stations: Boylston, Park Street, Scollay Square, Adams Square, and Haymarket, with branches to the Public Garden Portal and Pleasant Street Incline south of Boylston.
Pleasant Valley Incline Junction
Boston Americans, representing the American League, defeated the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates in eight games (best of nine) in 1904 to win the first modern baseball World Series.
Babe Ruth made his major-league debut with the Boston Red Sox at an annual rookie salary of $2,900. He remained with them until 1919, becoming one of the best pitchers of the time. An estimated three million people attended a parade in Boston, celebrating the Boston Red Sox's 2004 World Series victory on October 30, 2004. The victory ended an 86-year drought of World Series championships and ended the era of the famous Curse of the Bambino for the Red Sox.
The first instant Polaroid cameras, the Model 95, went on sale at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston on November 26, 1948. The cameras were priced at $89.75 (equivalent to about $900 in 2023). All 57 cameras that were in stock were sold.
At Boston’s Logan International Airport, two American flags fly above gates B-32 and C-19. These gates are where American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines flight 175 departed from on 9/11.
In Boston it is illegal to take a bath unless instructed to do so by a physician.
Boston has hidden poems on its sidewalks that are only visible when wet. When it rains, pedestrians are treated to the work of Langston Hughes, Elizabeth McKim and others. The Boston University Bridge (on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston) is one of the few places in the world where a boat can sail under a traindriving under a car driving under an airplane.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Balkan Peninsula and bordered by Croatia to the north, west, and south; Serbia to the east; and Montenegro to the southeast. It has a small coastline on the Adriatic Sea.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a rich history and culture, dating back to the Neolithic period. The country was ruled by the Roman Empire for over four centuries, from the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD. During this time, the Romans built many roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also introduced Christianity to the region.
Stephen Tvrtko I (1338 – 1391) was crowned first King of Bosnia on October 27, 1377. Under his command Bosnia became the strongest power in the Balkans, conquering parts of what is today Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 15th century. Later, at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Austria-Hungary was given a mandate to administer Bosnia and Herzegovina.
When Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 8, 1908, it caused a crisis that permanently damaged the country's relations with the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia.
After the Second World War, Yugoslavia became the Federal Peoples' Republic of Yugoslavia and Bosnia became an independent republic within it. Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia on March 1, 1992 following a referendum.
The declaration of independence was not recognized by the government of Yugoslavia, which led to a military conflict between the Yugoslav People's Army and the newly formed Bosnian government. This conflict eventually escalated into the Bosnian War, which lasted from 1992 to 1995 and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 people.
The three main ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina are Bosniak, Serb and Croat. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the distinction between a Bosnian and a Herzegovinian is maintained as a regional, not an ethnic, distinction.
Along with a national government, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a second tier of government - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, which deals with internal affairs.
Tuzla is the economic, scientific, cultural, educational, health and tourist centre of northeast Bosnia. It derives its name from the word "tuz", the Turkish word for salt. Tuzla's salt comes from its salt water springs.
The official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian.
Majority of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises of Muslims, followed by Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants and others.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a population of approximately 3.428 million people (2023 est.). The capital city is Sarajevo, which has a population of approximately 275,524 people (2023 est.).
Sarajevo is home to many historical and cultural landmarks, including the Old Town, the Baščaršija market, and the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque. Sarajevo is also a popular destination for skiing and snowboarding in the winter, and hiking and biking in the summer.
The composer Alexander Borodin was born in Saint Petersburg on November 12, 1833. He was the illegitimate son of Prince Luka Spanovich Gedianov, an elderly nobleman, and the beautiful and intelligent 24-year-old Avdotya Konstantinova Antonova. To save any public embarrassment, he was registered under the name of one of the Prince’s serfs, Pofiry Borodin.
He began taking lessons in composition from Mily Balakirev in 1862. While under Balakirev's tutelage in composition he began his Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, which was first performed in 1869.
At the same time as writing his First Symphony, Borodin was also fulfilling his duties as Professor at the Medio-Surgical Academy in St Petersburg, and he helped to set up the first medical courses for women in Russia.
Alexander Borodin
Borodin was one of the foremost chemists of his time, being particularly noted for his work on aldehydes. In 1872 he announced to the Russian Chemical Society the discovery of a new by-product in aldehyde reactions with alcohol-like properties.
With only a couple of major works behind him, word got out of Russia of Borodin’s extraordinary talent, and Franz Liszt took the burgeoning composer under his wing, conducting his music whenever he could. At this point Borodin wrote his symphonic picture, In the Steppes of Central Asia, which takes his unique Oriental style to unprecedented levels of poetic sensitivity.
His epic operaPrince Igor is seen by some to be Borodin's most significant work and one of the most important historical Russian operas. It contains the Polovtsian Dances, often performed as a stand-alone concert work which is probably Borodin's best known composition. He slaved away for years at Prince Igor, but it was left unfinished upon the composer's death in 1887 and the opera was edited and completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov.
Aside from his musical and scientific commitments, Borodin was a devoted husband and was under considerable strain at home. His wife Ekaterina continually battled with asthma and had very unusual sleeping habits (4am to 2pm) and the couple adopted a seven-year-old girl. All these pressures contributed to Borodin’s premature death, at the age of 53 on February 27, 1887.
Borneo is one of the Sunda Islands in the West Pacific and the third-largest island in the world with an area of 754,000 square kilometers/290,000 square miles.
It comprises the country of Brunei; the Malaysian territories of Sabah and Sarawak; and, occupying by far the largest part, the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan.
BORNEO HISTORY
The history of Borneo is long and complex, dating back to at least 40,000 years ago. The island has been inhabited by a variety of indigenous peoples for centuries, including the Dayak, Iban, Kadazan-Dusun, and Murut.
In the 14th century, Borneo came under the influence of the Majapahit empire, a powerful Hindu-Buddhist kingdom based in Java, which is in present-day Indonesia. The Majapahit Empire was one of the last major empires of the Indonesian archipelago and had a significant sphere of influence, which included parts of Borneo.
The Portuguese were among the first Europeans to establish a presence in the region in the 16th century, and they were followed by other European powers, including the Dutch, British, and Spanish. This era marked the beginning of European colonial and trading interests in Borneo.
These European powers were primarily interested in Borneo's valuable resources, which included items like pepper, camphor, gold, and other valuable commodities. The competition for control of these resources, as well as trade routes in the region, often led to conflicts and power struggles between the European colonial powers.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) had established a trading post on Borneo in the 17th century, and over time, they sought to strengthen and expand their control in the region.
The Dutch gradually extended their influence by establishing administrative and trading centers, forming treaties with local rulers, and, in some cases, using force to assert their dominance. The Dutch presence in Borneo was concentrated in what is now known as Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian part of Borneo. They sought to exploit the island's rich natural resources, including timber, rubber, and minerals.
Dayak, the main indigenous people in the island, were feared for their headhunting practices.
James Brooke was an English adventurer and a former military officer of the East India Company. He visited Borneo in 1839 and aided the sultan in suppressing a revolt. Brooke was subsequently appointed the Sultan's representative in Sarawak, and he eventually established himself as the ruler of the region He established a monarchy, and the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great-nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years; the leaders were known as the White Rajahs.
In 1877, the British established the North Borneo Protectorate. The North Borneo Protectorate was created when the British North Borneo Company, a private British trading company, obtained a royal charter from the British government to administer and govern the territory of North Borneo (now known as Sabah) on the northern part of the island.
During World War II, Borneo was occupied by the Japanese. After the war, the Dutch and British returned to the island, but their rule was short-lived. In 1949, Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands. In 1963, North Borneo and Sarawak joined the newly formed Federation of Malaysia. Brunei gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1984.
Today, Borneo is a diverse and vibrant island. The three countries that share the island have worked together to promote economic development and cooperation. However, Borneo also faces a number of challenges, including deforestation, pollution, and climate change.
BORNEO FACTS
In the early 1950s, the World Health Organization parachuted around twenty live cats into Borneo after cities became overrun with rats.
A forest fire in early 1998 destroyed 11,583 square miles of forest.
Borneo's population is estimated to be around 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). The majority of Borneo's population lives in coastal cities and towns. The largest city on Borneo is Samarinda with a population of 827,994 at the 2020 Census, Other major cities include Pontianak, Banjarmasin, and Kuching.
In coastal areas the people of Borneo are mainly of Malaysian origin, with a few Chinese, and the interior is inhabited by the indigenous Dyaks.
Indigenous communities in Borneo, particularly in Sarawak and Kalimantan, live in traditional longhouses. These longhouses are communal dwellings that can stretch for hundreds of meters and house multiple families.
The food in Borneo reflects the diverse culture and ingredients found on the island. Popular dishes include laksa, rendang, and various seafood dishes, often cooked with aromatic spices and coconutmilk.
Borneo has extensive cave systems, with some of the largest and most intricate caves in the world. The Mulu Caves in Sarawak, Malaysia, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the world's largest cave chamber, Sarawak Chamber.
Borneo is renowned for its incredible biodiversity. It is home to more than 60,000 plant and animal species, including 180 species of frog. It is also home to the endangered Bornean orangutan, pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, and the world's smallest bear, the sun bear.
A forestfire destroyed 11,583 square miles of forest in Borneo in early 1998. It was one of the most destructive forest fires in recorded history, and it had a devastating impact on the island's ecosystem.
Borneo is home to the Rafflesia arnoldii, the world's largest flower. It can measure up to 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter and emits a foul odor of decaying flesh.
The Borgias were a Spanish-Italian noble family that rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were known for their ambition, ruthlessness, and patronage of the arts.
In 1492 Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI, his election to the papacy coming about largely through bribery. The new Pope was a wily, morally corrupt politician, whose love of woman was legendary. Many doubted his suitability to be the new head of the church.
Portrait of Pope Alexander VI Borgia (Vatican Museum)
Pope Alexander VI fathered several illegitimate children by his mistress Vannozza Cattani, including a daughter called Lucrezia. He arranged two marriages for her when she was 12 and 13 purely to further his own ambitions, then when he’d got what he wanted out of them he arranged the divorces. The late pope had a picture of her made to look like the Virgin Mary painted over the door of his bedroom.
European Christians believed that the European discovery of the New World was divine intervention so that the American pagans could be converted and thereby complete the evangelization of the entire world in order that Christ could return. Even the corrupt Alexander VI got caught up in this wave of evangelistic zeal and he assembled the ambassadors of Europe to exhort them to dispatch missionaries to the newly discovered continent of America. The proposed crusade petered out quietly but the Pope had helped determine the importance of evangelizing the American continent. In 1503 the controversial Borgia Pope Alexander VI died of the poison he had prepared for his cardinals. Such was the late Pope’s unpopularity that only four prelates attended his the Requiem Mass.
Alexander VI used his position to advance the interests of his family. The year after his father, Pope Alexander VI, had been elected to the papacy, the 17-year-old Cesare Borgia was made a cardinal.
On 17 August 1498, Cesare Borgia became the first person in history to resign the cardinalate to become captain-general of the papacy, campaigning successfully against the city republics of Italy. Ruthless and treacherous in war, he was an able ruler (a model for Machiavelli's The Prince), but his power crumbled on the death of his father.
Copy of an original contemporary portrait painting of Cesare Borgias by Bartolomeo Veneto
Michelangelo worked as an architect and engineer for Cesare Borgia from 1502 to 1503. During that time, he designed a number of fortifications, including the fortress of Imola and the citadel of Cesena. He also supervised the construction of several bridges and roads..
The Banquet of Chestnuts was a supper held by Cesare Borgia in the Papal Palace on October 30, 1501 where fifty prostitutes were in attendance for the entertainment of the guests.
Lucrezia Borgia was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI . She was married at 12 and again at 13 to further her father's ambitions, both marriages being annulled by him. At 18 she was married again, but her husband was murdered in 1500 on the order of her brother, with whom (as well as with her father) she was said to have committed incest.
Her final marriage was to the Alfonso d'Este, the heir to the duchy of Ferrara. Lucrezia made the court a center of culture and she was a patron of authors and artists such as Ariosto and Titian. A Glass of Wine with Caesar Borgia, an 1893 painting by John Collier, represents the popular view of the treacherous nature of the Borgias - the implication being that the young man cannot be sure that the wine is not poisoned. The painting below shows from left: Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, and a young man holding an empty glass
A Glass of Wine with Caesar Borgia,
A new Italian eggpasta in the form of flat ribbons called tagliatelle was supposedly inspired by a nobleman’s love for Lucrezia’s hair.
Border Collies originated in the English and Scottish borders, hence their name, and were originally bred for guarding and herding sheep. Border Collies show a large range in size (18 - 21 inches, up to the shoulder), weight (30 - 45 pounds) and coloration because historically they were bred as working stock and focus was placed on performance, not looks.
Border Collie Pixiebay
The life expectancy of this breed of dog is between 14 - 16 years.
Border Collies can be almost any color, including red and completely white.
Old Hemp was a stud dog who is considered to be the progenitor of the Border Collie breed. He was born on September 1, 1893, and died in May 1901. He was owned by Adam Telfer, a sheep farmer from Northumberland, England.
Old Hemp was a remarkable dog. He was known for his intelligence, obedience, and herding skills and it was from him that the working style of herding sheep commonly seen among the breed was developed. He was also a very successful stud dog, and his offspring helped to establish the Border Collie as a distinct breed.
Jean the Vitagraph Dog, a Border Collie mix, was the first dog to star in an American movie. She made her first film, Jean Goes Foraging, in 1910. Jean was owned by Laurence Trimble, who trained her to perform tricks. He took her to Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York, where she was immediately offered starring roles in films.
Jean starred in over 25 films between 1910 and 1915. She was a popular star, and was known for her intelligence, obedience, and playful personality.
The most popular Border Collie stud was Wiston Cap, the dog who appears on the International Sheep Herding Badge; he is posed in the pose that is characteristic of herding Border Collies.
Border Collies have been called by other names including 'working collie', 'farm collie', and 'old-fashioned collie'.
The Border Collie uses a direct stare at sheep, known as "the eye", to intimidate while herding.
By C. MacMillan - Original Work,
Border Collies are used for more than just herding; they also make good tracking, search and rescue, and therapy dogs.
Border collies are considered the most intelligent breed of dog, in front of poodles and German Shepherds. Proof of Border Collie intelligence is Rico, a Border Collie study subject who could recognize more than 250 objects by name. A border collie named Chaser (April 28, 2004 – July 23, 2019) is believed to have had the largest vocabulary in the animal world. She was taught by her owner to identify and retrieve 1,022 toys by name. Chaser was taught by her owner, Wofford College Professor Emeritus of Psychology John W. Pilley, with the formal research published in Elsevier's journals Behavioural Processes and Learning and Motivation.
Chaser's memory was so remarkable that she was able to remember toys that she had not seen in years. She was also able to learn new words and concepts very quickly. For example, Pilley once taught her the word "new" by giving her a toy that she had never seen before. Chaser immediately understood the meaning of the word, and she was able to retrieve the toy every time he asked for it.
The fastest time a dog has opened a non-electric carwindow is 11.34 seconds and was achieved by Striker, a border collie owned and trained by Hungarian Francis V. Gadassi. The record was set on September 1, 2004 in Quebec City, Canada. Striker used his paw and nose to perform the record attempt, and kept checking his progress on the way.
A border is a line that separates two or more geographic areas. Borders can be political, natural, or cultural.
Political borders are the most common type of border. They are created and enforced by governments. Political borders can be used to define the territory of a country, state, province, county, city, or town. For example, the border between the United States and Canada is a political border.
The Swiss–Italian border. By Diego Menna
Natural borders are created by physical features such as mountains, rivers, oceans, and deserts. Natural borders can be difficult or impossible to cross, making them effective barriers between different groups of people. For example, the Pyrenees Mountains form a natural border between France and Spain.
Cultural borders are less visible than political or natural borders, but they can be just as important. Cultural borders are created by differences in language, religion, customs, and traditions. For example, the border between the United States and Mexico is also a cultural border.
Borders are constantly changing. They can be created or moved through war, diplomacy, or natural disasters. For example, the border between Germany and Poland has changed several times over the past century.
BORDER RECORDS
The world's oldest international border is the border between Andorra and France, which was established in 1278 by the Treaty of Usurall. The treaty was signed on September 8, 1278 by the Count of Foix and the Bishop of Urgell, who were the two co-princes of Andorra. The treaty established a permanent border between the two countries, which has remained in place ever since. The border between Andorra and France is approximately 75 miles (125km) long and runs through the Pyrenees Mountains.
The border between Botswana and Zambia is the shortest border between two fully independent countries. It is approximately 135 meters (443 ft) long. The border is located in the Chobe National Park in Botswana and the Kazungula National Park in Zambia.
The world’s longest international land border is the 5,525 mile border between Canada and the USA of which 1,538 is the Canada-Alaska border. Despite being the longest international border in the world and it lacks military defense.
The longest continuous land border is the 4,254 miles between Russia and Kazakhstan.
China has the largest number of countries sharing its land borders, with 14 neighboring countries. The countries share its 22,000 kilometers (14,000 miles) land borders.
BORDER HISTORY
The concept of international borders is a relatively recent one. In the past, borders were often fluid and contested. It was not until the rise of the modern nation-state in the 17th and 18th centuries that borders became more fixed and defined.
Hadrian's Wall marked the border of Roman Britain. It was built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century AD to protect the Roman province of Britannia from the Picts and other tribes to the north. The wall was approximately 73 miles long and ran from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the Solway Firth in the west.
Hadrian's Wall was a massive undertaking, and it took about six years to build. It was made up of a stone wall, a ditch, and a series of forts and watchtowers. The wall was also patrolled by Romansoldiers.
A Section of Hadrian's Wall
The purpose of the Great Wall of China was to stop people and militaries from crossing the northern border of China. It was built over centuries by China's emperors to protect their territory from nomadic invaders from the Eurasian Steppe. The wall was a massive undertaking, and it is estimated that it took over two million people to build it. Today it is a relic border.
The borders negotiated in 1084, after the Song-Lý War, largely remain as the current boundaries between China and Vietnam. The border between China and Vietnam is a significant border because it separates two of the largest and most populous countries in Asia.
The Dutch founded New Amsterdam in the New World in 1624, and one of America's first border walls was built the following year to protect the settlement from Native Americans. In the early days of New Amsterdam, the border wall was an important part of the settlement's defenses.
A border wall was constructed under orders from Director General of the Dutch West India Company, Peter Stuyvesant, at the start of the first Anglo-Dutch war soon after New Amsterdam was incorporated in 1653. The first Anglo-Dutch War ended in 1654, but over time the wall reinforced and expanded to protect against potential incursions from Native Americans, pirates, and the English.
In 1664, the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the English, and the settlement was renamed New York. The wall and its fortifications were eventually removed in 1699—it had outlived its usefulness because the city had grown well beyond the wall. The street along which the wall ran is now known as Wall Street.
New Amsterdam's wall depicted on tiles in the Wall Street subway station
The Convention of 1818, also known as the Treaty of 1818, was signed on October 20, 1818, between the United Kingdom (representing British North America, which included Canada) and the United States. This treaty had several provisions, but one of the key aspects was the resolution of the boundary dispute between British North America (Canada) and the United States.
The treaty effectively established the 49th parallel as the boundary between the two nations from the Rocky Mountains to the Lake of the Woods. It also allowed for joint occupation of the Oregon Country (present-day Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho and Montana) for ten years.
The Convention of 1818 is notable for its role in peacefully resolving border issues between the two nations and for setting the groundwork for their friendly relations in the years to come. It remains the border between the two countries today.
The US-Canadian Border was known by the Plains Indians as "The Medicine Line" for it's seemingly magical ability to keep US troops from crossing it.
BORDER FUN FACTS
The International Date Line between Little Diomede and Big Diomede is the border between the USA and Russia in the Bering Strait. Americans in Little Diomede can look across the 2.5 mile gap and see “tomorrow” in Big Diomede.
The entire US-Canada border is defined by a 20 ft. deforested area called "The Slash".
There is a street that is split down the middle by the USA-Canadian border, aptly named Canusa Street. On this stretch of road, the centre yellow line defines the international border and separates Beebe Plain, Vermont, in the United States on the south side of the street, from the Beebe Plain area of Stanstead, Quebec, in Canada on the north side. Crossing the street requires having to report to the border crossing office.
Derby Line is another village bisected by the Vermont-Quebec border, even cutting some houses in half. The entrance to the library/opera house, for example, is in the US but the stage is in Canada. The building is open to free use by both Canadians and Americans, provided they enter and leave from their country's respective door.
The border between China and Nepal passes through the summit of Mount Everest.
In Hidalgo, Mexico, there's an amusement park attraction that offers visitors a fake illegal border crossing experience.
South Korea has completely Autonomous Turrets, SGR-A1 developed by Samsung, deployed along its entire 160 mile border with North Korea, making it the most militarized border in the world.
You can travel by zip wire from Spain to Portugal on the first cross-border zip line in the world.
In the town of Baarle between the Netherlands and Belgium, there are border-marking street tiles with B or NL on either side of rows of crosses.
The borders between Belgium and the Netherlands are so complex that many buildings have an international border running right through them. A bank was built on top of the border so paperwork was moved from one side of the building to the other whenever one nationality’s tax inspectors came.
The only place France borders the Netherlands is in... the Caribbean. The island of Saint Martin is divided between French Saint-Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten.
Decades after the Cold War, red deer on the border between the Czech Republic and old West Germany still do not cross the divide. During the Cold War, electric fences made the Czech-German boundary impossible to pass; red deer are intent on maintaining this old boundary.
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