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It was a man’s world in Ancient Rome - families were dominated by men. At the head of Roman family life was the oldest living male, called the "paterfamilias," or "father of the family." He looked after the family's business affairs and property and could perform religious rites on their behalf.
The paterfamilias had absolute rule over his household and children. If they angered him, he had the legal right to disown his children, sell them into slavery or even kill them.
Only the paterfamilias could own property: whatever their age, until their father died, his sons only received an allowance, or peliculum, to manage their own households.
Sons were important, because Romans put a lot of value on continuing the family name. If a father had no sons then he could adopt one – often a nephew – to make sure that the family line would not die out.
Roman women usually married in their early teenage years, while men waited until they were in their mid-twenties. As a result, the materfamilias (mother of the family) was usually much younger than her husband.
As was common in Roman society, while men had the formal power, women exerted influence behind the scenes. It was accepted that the materfamilias was in charge of managing the household. In the upper classes, she was also expected to assist her husband’s career by behaving with modesty, grace and dignity.
The influence of women only went so far. The paterfamilias had the right to decide whether to keep newborn babies. After birth, the midwife placed babies on the ground: only if the paterfamilias picked it up was the baby formally accepted into the family.
Source:
The Roman Empire in the First Century
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Upon the death of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, on November 9, 1952, Albert Einstein on November 17, was officially offered the presidency.
Despite Einstein being aged 73, he would have been a popular choice. He had been a long-time advocate for the establishment of a persecution-free sanctuary for the Jews and had been a leader in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Einstein turned the offer down, insisting that he was not qualified. He also cited old age, inexperience, and insufficient people skills as reasons why he wouldn’t be a good choice.
“All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions,” he wrote.
Source:
The New Statesman
Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in 1921
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King Henry VIII of England hired four men who regularly checked his feaces, monitored his bowel movements and wiped his bottom. They were appropriately called ‘Grooms of the King’s Stool’ and all of them were eventually knighted.
The word ‘Stool’ was in reference to a portable commode which would have been carried around at all times, along with water, towels and a wash bowl.
To ensure he was carrying out his job at peak efficiency, the Groom of the Stool would also have closely monitored the king’s diet and mealtimes, and would have organised his day around the king’s predicted motions.
it was the sons of noblemen or members of the gentry that were usually awarded the job. Over time, they came to act more as personal secretaries to the king and were rewarded with high pay and some great benefits such as the right to lodgings in every palace, the Sovereign’s old clothes, and the option to have any used bedchamber furnishings.
Of the monarchs to have most enjoyed this personal attention, it was ‘mad’ King George III who employed the most Grooms throughout a single reign; a total of nine, including John Stuart who would later go on to be Prime Minister of Great Britain.
The role of Groom of the Stool (known as Groom of the Stole from the Stuart era onwards) carried on all the way until 1901 when King Edward VII decided to abolish it.
Source:
Historic UK
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The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 is generally considered to be the shortest war in history. It was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896 and lasted between 38 and 45 minutes.
Following the death of the previous sultan, Zanzibari Prince Khālid ibn Barghash refused to accept the British Empire’s preferred successor and instead occupied the sultan’s palace. Instead of ordering his forces to stand down and to leave the palace, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.
The British had gathered two cruisers, three gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area. Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guard and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The British bombarded the palace, setting it on fire and disabling the defending artillery. A small naval action took place, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels. The flag at the palace was shot down and the palace surrendered.
The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa. The war marked the end of the Sultanate of Zanzibar as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.
Source:
Wikipedia
The Sultan's palace after the bombardment.
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The longest war in history lasted 335 years, between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly. located off the tip of Cornwall, UK. No one was killed during the entire war.
The conflict began on March 30 1651 as an indirect result of the English Civil War. The Dutch took the side of the Parliamentarians, incensing The Royalists with whom they had historically been allies. Furious Royalists raided shipping lanes in the English channel, however things weren’t going well for the Royalists who’d been pushed back by Oliver Cromwell’s successful military advance.
Royalists were pinned back in their last stronghold of Cornwall while its navy retreated to the Isles of Scilly. This presented the Dutch with an opportunity for payback and the fleet of 12 warships headed to the Isles of Scilly to try and recover its losses from Royalist raids.
Admiral Maarten Tromp declared war on the isles on March 30 1651 but no shots were fired. Three months later Cromwell’s forces forced the Royalists to surrender and the Isles of Siclly again fell under Parliamentarian control.
So the Dutch headed for home but nobody had remembered to sign a peace treaty.
The forgotten conflict lasted until April 1986 when The Dutch Ambassador flew to the Isles of Scilly to officially end the 335 year state of war with the islands.
Source:
Cornwall Live
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