The Black Death

The bubonic plague raged from 1346 to 1353 AD throughout Europe and North Africa, and is the most fatal recorded pandemic in history. It is thought around 200 million people were killed.

Although the plague’s origin is disputed, it is generally accepted that the disease was spread by rats traveling on the Genoese trading ships. The genetic analysis points to the Tian Shan mountains, near China, as the original starting point around 2,600 years ago. From there, it spread to the Crimea.

What is recorded, is the unrest and upheaval the plague caused, due to people not understanding what was happening. At the time, the Church jumped on the situation and proclaimed it to be punishment, while others started claiming the ‘end of the world’. Of course, the state of the towns and cities didn’t help prevent the spread either…

The Temple of Artemis

The Artemision, also known as the Temple of Artemis or Diana if you were Roman, was located in Ephesus. Today, only the foundations and fragments remain at the site, as by 401 AD, it had been destroyed several times.

The original temple was destroyed by a flood in the 7th century BC. Then, the reconstruction was attacked by an arsonist. The third rendition of the temple survived for 600 years, before finally being destroyed by John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople.

The Mali Empire

Founded by Sundiata Keira around 1226 AD, the Mali Empire survived through to 1670, when the Bamana Empire sacked and burned the capital.

Renowned for the wealth of the rulers, this was the largest empire in West Africa, influencing the culture, language, laws and customs. However, the two main sources of information on this empire come from the 14th-century historian Ibn Jhaldun, and the Mandinka oral tradition (recorded stories known as griots)

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. - Nelson Mandela

Hadrian's Wall

A former defensive fortification, the Wall, at one point, went across England, beginning at Wallsend in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the West. It is thought that work began on the Wall in 122 AD, under the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

The Wall itself was made of stone, with large ditches in front and behind to slow down attackers. At several points, much like the Great Wall of China, turrets and large forts were built, often with towns or markets developing nearby.

Twenty years later, the Antonine Wall was built further north. Unlike Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall was built out of turf.

Did you know…Winston Churchill was almost assassinated by an exploding bar of chocolate?

Pitcairn Islands

Officially known as the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, these are a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, forming the British Overseas Territory. Scattered across the Pacific, they have a combined land area of about 18 square miles.

Although Henderson is the largest (accounting for 86% of the land area) Pitcairn is the only inhabited island of the four. The earliest known settlers were Polynesians, early traders who used the sea and coast to travel. It is thought that they lived on Pitcairn until the 15th century when the natural resources were exhausted.