History holds many surprises, which is why it is actually such a captivating subject. Check out if you knew the following interesting historical facts. No matter whether you did or did not, you will most probably be stimulated to dig even deeper and find out even more things to engage your imagination.
- Even though Ancient Egypt was probably the most stable and peaceful state in the history of mankind – the Pyramid builders’ civilization existed for well over two thousand years and for that time the records of economical dis-balance, wars, invasions and natural disasters were pretty scarce – they also had one of the weakest armies in the ancient world. Historians share the opinion that this is so because the Ancient Egyptians simply did not need a strong army. The very terrain of the Nile Valley and the surrounding deserts from the east and the west made the country very well protected from enemies.
- It is often thought that the Middle Ages we a period of darkness, when education was not something common, people had low hygiene and died of horrible diseases at a young age, while at the same time the Church took care that ignorance was wide-spread and so on and so forth. In truth, the Middle Ages were a period of great scientific discoveries and advances in philosophy and learning as a whole, which paved the way for the coming ages of the Renaissance, Enlightenment and so on. The latter were not a reaction against the status quo, but rather a direct result. Furthermore, even during the Industrial revolution and in Victorian England the number of uneducated people in the country was not significantly higher than that of the Middle Ages. People did not live longer too, and the Plague and cholera outburst were still something that was much feared.
- And since we have mentioned Victorian England, there are several major misconceptions about the state in which women were at that time. Many people are left under the impression that Victorian women died young, while in fact it was the infant mortality rate that was high, but if a woman survived into adulthood, her expected lifespan was well into her 70s at average. Similarly, women in 19th century England did not marry (that) young – the average age was 26 for women, never married their cousins, or wore tight corsets that much.
- Manchester is a rather interesting city even today, but it can boast a pretty fascinating history too. In addition to being home to one of the terminal stations of the first ever railway line (the famous Manchester to Liverpool line) Manchester was home to another major innovation. The Bridgewater Canal was opened in 1761. What is so unique about a canal, you might ask? Well, it was actually the fist manmade waterway that was completely independent from rivers. If that is not an accomplishment, we do not know what is.
- Mentioning canals, probably the most famous one in the world is the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. It holds a great economic value as well, because until the opening of the Suez Canal, ships had to go around Africa in order to reach the India and the Far East. The Suez Canal was built by an international company in the period between 1859 and 1869. The opening of the Suez Canal was to happen on 17 November 1869 and it was going to be a big deal. Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Egypt and Sudan invited the French Empress Eugenia to be on his yacht, which was scheduled to be the first vessel to ever pass the newly built canal. The first ship to actually go through the Suez however was HMS Newport, captained by George Nares. On the night prior to the official opening, captain Nares navigated Newport with no lights, in total darkness, around the ships that were lined for the ceremony the next day and anchored right in front of L’Aigle – the Khedive’s yacht. The French were naturally horrified to see a British ship on the frontline and realize there was no way for it to be passed. This caused quite an international scandal. Captain Nares was officially scolded by the Admiralty and unofficially commended for “for his actions in promoting British interests and for demonstrating such superb seamanship.”
- Stonehenge is probably the most famous archaeological site in Britain and it is among the popular tourist attractions around the world. And even though its purpose and the way it was built remain a mystery to this day, you probably did not know that one of the most curious pieces of trivia about the place dates to a relatively recent time. In 1915 Stonehenge was… sold at an auction. The thing is that the land on which the monument was erected belonged to one Antrobus family. The heir of the family however was killed during World War I and the land was sold at an auction (including the monument which by that time was protected under the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act in 1913 from intentional destruction) to local resident Cecil Chubb, who paid 6 600 GBP for it. Mr. Chubb later donated the land and Stonehenge to the Government and was knighted by Lloyd George for this deed.
- Even though we found the grave of King Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester in 2012, the final resting places of some of the most famous and influential figures in world history remain unknown up to this day. For example, Genghis Khan is supposed to be buried somewhere in Mongolia, but no one knows exactly where. The same goes with Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Sir Francis Drake and even Mozart – who was interned in an ordinary unmarked grave in the Vienna Cemetery after his untimely demise and since then no one can tell you which one it was and what actually happened to Mozart’s body.