World History Encyclopedia

The Battle of Belmont (7 November 1861) was an engagement fought during the American Civil War in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat command of Union Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant in the war and the first battle experience of most of the men under him. The same was true of the Confederate soldiers fighting under Major General Leonidas Polk and Brigadier G...

Raising toasts, sharing cups of cheer, and singing raucous songs while partaking of alcohol are customs which date back to the early Middle Ages in England. Several of the more formal customs persist today in public and private institutions that cherish traditions. Nowadays, glass dominates when landlords pull a pint, but this was not always so. From Peg tankards to Toby jugs, f...

With the appearance of the legionary, the Roman army was able to maintain a vast empire that totally embraced the Mediterranean Sea. Although the success of the army rested on the backs of the foot-soldiers and cavalry, there were others on the field and in camp who enabled them to prevail. Besides the famed centurion who stood at the front of his cohort and led his legionaries ...

During the reign of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), music accompanied some of the most visible occasions of royal life: entrances, diplomatic receptions, religious services, court festivals, ballets, and eventually tragédie en musique. To explain this phenomenon simply through the king's enthusiasm for music, patronage, or propaganda, however, would be insufficient. Music belon...

The rulers of China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644) acquired an insatiable desire for silver in the 16th century, largely to pay for huge prestige projects like building the Forbidden City in Beijing and repairing the Great Wall of China. A new tax system, the Single Whip Reform, had to be paid in silver. Another major source of silver bullion was trade with Japan and European mercha...