Browsing: Society

A Brief History On February 8, 1904, the Japanese Navy started the Russo-Japanese War by conducting a sneak attack against the Russian naval fleet at anchor at Port Arthur, Manchuria, a key strategic Pacific port then under the administration of Imperial Russia.  Most of us are familiar with the Japanese sneak (or “surprise” or even “preemptive” attack if you want) on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii on the American fleet, aircraft and port facilities on December 7, 1941, that started World War II for the United States, but even before that famous sneak attack, the Japanese had already embraced the idea…

A Brief History On February 7, 1992, signatories from the 12 member states of the European Economic Community signed the Maastricht Treaty, so named after the city in which it was signed, Maastricht, The Netherlands, which more or less created a modern United States of Europe, although it is actually called The European Union.  The European Union, or EU, now has a total of 28 nations aligned with each other to a common purpose of open travel and trade and economic unity.  Boasting about a quarter of the entire world’s wealth, the EU is collectively the only other serious economic…

A Brief History On February 5, 1933, the crew of the Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën mutinied while stationed off the coast of Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies.  Fed up with harsh working conditions and an announced cut in pay, the crew consisting of both ethnically Dutch and Indonesian sailors seized control of the cruiser sized ship, not relinquishing control until the ship was bombed by Dutch warplanes 6 days later! Digging Deeper The 1930’s was a time of the Great Depression, and Europe was still recovering from the terrible effects of World War I.  Austerity…

A Brief History On February 4, 1992, Hugo Chavez, leader of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, headed an attempted coup against the lawful government of Venezuela.  While the coup attempt failed, another attempt in November of 1992 was also staged, even though Chavez was in prison at the time.  The second attempt also failed, but Chavez was later released from prison after only 2 years and was elected President of Venezuela in 1998, a post he held until his death in 2013.  The Chavez years were no less tumultuous than the political chaos he and his cohorts replaced, and today the…

A Brief History On January 31, 1918, Britain’s Royal Navy “fought” a battle with itself in the Scottish Firth of Forth near the Isle of May, a series of naval accidents in the dark and the mist that led to the loss of 104 British sailors killed.  A total of 8 Royal Navy submarines and ships were involved in 5 collisions, resulting in the loss of 2 submarines and damage to another 4 submarines and a light cruiser.  Our retelling of tale after tale of Naval “Oops” Moments (we have many articles in addition to the one in this link,…