Why did England and Spain go to war?

The English were envious of Spain's rich colonies in South and Central America. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the English raided Spanish ships carrying gold and silver to Spain....

How did the Great Fire of London improve the city?

The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666, destroying more than 13,000 homes. At the time, most of the houses in London were built from timber. They were very close together and often...

How did the Spanish defeat the Incas and the Aztecs?

Several factors made it easy for a small group of Spaniards to conquer these great civilizations. Though vastly outnumbered the Spanish had horses, armour and guns which gave them a...

How did the Spanish build an empire?

After the discovery of the Americas, Spanish adventurers set out to seek their fortunes. They sent expeditions to South and Central America and to Mexico in search of gold and treasure....

What was the Renaissance?

The 1500s was a period when Europe changed rapidly, marking the start of modern history. Before this period most learning was controlled by the Church, and people were not permitted...

What was the Poll Tax?

The Poll Tax was one of the factors that led to a peasant revolt in England. At the same time similar revolts took place in other parts of Europe. The Poll Tax was introduced in England...

What was the Black Death?

The Black Death was an epidemic that permanently changed the face of medieval Europe. It killed more than one-quarter of the population, causing thousands of villages to be abandoned...

What was the Hundred Years War?

The Hundred Years' War began in 1337 and continued for more that a century. It was not a single war, but rather a series of skirmishes between France and England. It began when the...

What was the Golden Horde?

The Golden Horde was the name given to the eastern part of the Mongol Empire, which included most of Russia from the 13th to the 14th centuries. The Horde governed most of European...

Who was Genghis Khan?

Genghis Khan was a Mongol warrior whose conquests built the greatest land empire in history. His empire was huge, stretching across central Asia from the Sea of Japan to the Caspian...

Wicked witches

The belief in witchcraft in the Middle Ages probably resulted from the religious conflicts that raged throughout Europe. Any disease or misfortune was conveniently blamed on the devil....

How did Christianity influence life in the Middle Ages?

The Church controlled almost all aspects of life. Kings usually took their instructions from bishops, under the threat of excommunication if they disobeyed. Bishops were immensely powerful...

What were the Crusades?

Christians throughout Europe were shocked when the Arabs captured Jerusalem during the Middle Ages. In 1095, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church called for a series of crusades to...

Who was the real ruler?

By the 10th century ad, the power of the pope throughout Europe was absolute. The Holy Roman Emperor supposedly controlled all of Western Europe. However, when it came to disagreement...

How did the Norman invasion change the English language?

Up until the Norman invasion, people in England spoke in Old English. The Normans spoke a form of French, and they insisted on the use of French as the language of educated people....

What were tournaments?

Fighting was a matter of honour for knights. When there was no obvious reason to fight, the knights had to invent one. Tournaments were contests in which knights fought each other with...

How did the Normans change British society?

The Normans introduced the feudal system to England. According to this system, the king owned all the land and others could hold land in exchange for providing services to the king....

Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

The Normans won the battle because the English armies were exhausted from previous fighting and were too far away to stop the invasion. After the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold...

Who were the Vikings?

During the 8th century, the Viking people began to leave their homes in Scandinavia and explore Europe in search of treasure and places to settle. The first Vikings appeared in Britain...

Did King Arthur really exist?

Although there is little real evidence for his existence, Arthur probably did live in the 6th century. He is thought to have been a Romano-British chieftain who fought several successful...

What did Islam bring to Europe?

The Arabs joined with the Moors to conquer Spain during the 6th century. These Moors had a more advanced culture than was found in medieval Europe, which was occupied by descendants...

What is the Koran?

The Koran is the holy book of the Islamic religion. It contains the words of Allah as revealed to Mohammed by the archangel Gabriel. The Koran is a series of verses describing the ways...

Who was Mohammed?

Mohammed was a prophet whose teachings form the Islamic religion. He was born in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, around AD570. People throughout this region worshipped many gods, but Mohammed...

Who was Attila the Hun?

Attila was the ruler of the Hun kingdom, in what is now Hungary. The Huns began to expand beyond this area, conquering surrounding countries until they controlled a region from the...