97
Timur, Muslim lord of Samarkand, threw his weight behind the Golden Horde’s subjugation of Christian Russia, with unexpected results.
… By the time of his death in 1405, he had humbled kings and kingdoms from Russia to Iran, India and Egypt … Timur’s impatient attention had now turned towards India’s infidel Hindus …
Timur, who succeeded his father as Lord of Samarkand in 1369, traced his ancestry back to Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire in 1206. By the time of his death in 1405, he had humbled kings and kingdoms from Russia to Iran, India and Egypt, and changed the course of history more than once — though not always as he intended.
Posted December 21 2022
98
Amy Johnson of Hull had clocked only ninety hours of flying experience before taking off alone for Australia.
… She reached India in six days … That such a young and inexperienced pilot should have beaten all records for light aeroplane flights between England and India …
On May 5th, 1930, Amy Johnson left Croydon Airport at the controls of her Gipsy Moth biplane, bound for Australia. She reached India in six days, but hopes of breaking more records were dashed by a catalogue of mishaps. The day before she landed at Darwin on May 24th, the first woman to complete the solo flight, Stanley Spooner of Flight International reminded readers what a feat it would be.
Posted August 2 2022
99
As Napoleon Bonaparte swept from victory to victory in Europe, he began to think he might add the East to the possessions of the French Republic.
… but as Jawaharlal Nehru explains, when Napoleon’s eyes strayed towards India he awoke an altogether more formidable enemy …
In 1793, the new French Republic began exporting her political ideals across Europe through the French Revolutionary Wars. By 1798, policy was dominated by Napoleon Bonaparte, a brilliant general who made breathtaking gains across southern Europe; but as Jawaharlal Nehru explains, when Napoleon’s eyes strayed towards India he awoke an altogether more formidable enemy.
Posted March 31 2021
100
John Bright told his Birmingham constituents that if Britain was indeed a great nation, it was because her public was contented and not because her empire was wide.
After John Bright MP criticised British imperial policy in India, saying it was too much about the glories of empire and too little about the condition of the people, a Calcutta newspaper scolded him and reminded him solemnly of the greatness of Rome. But Bright was unrepentant, and speaking to his constituents in Birmingham on October 29th, 1858, he brought his lesson closer to home.
Posted August 16 2021
101
As Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli stoked fears of Russian aggression, John Bright said that Russia was only threatening when she felt threatened.
… In 1879, British politicians were warning that we must occupy Afghanistan to prevent Russia invading India …
In 1879, British politicians were warning that we must occupy Afghanistan to prevent Russia invading India, and that Emperor Alexander II’s military operations in the Balkans were not a liberation but an excuse to sweep across Europe that must be met with force. John Bright watched this escalation with alarm, and urged the Government to make our peace with Russia as we had with France – by trade.
Posted May 29 2022
102
Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Java, urged London to bypass our European partners and trade directly with Japan.
… On February 13, 1814, Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) in Java wrote to Lord Minto, former Governor-General of India …
On February 13, 1814, Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) in Java wrote to Lord Minto, former Governor-General of India, urging London to pursue a more vigorous trade policy with Japan. Previous trade links had employed Dutch agents, but Raffles believed that Britain would do better by trading directly rather than through European partners.
Posted January 28 2020