History Dispatches

In 1867, the United States - led by Secretary of State William Seward - agreed to purchase the territory of Alaska from the Russian government - for $7.2m. Many people mocked the purchase - saying the land was useless. They called it "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox". Little did they understand what had been acquired. This is the story of one of the best buys ever made by the United States government - the purchase of Alaska.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase

https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/treaties/sumners-alaskan-project.htm

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alaska_purchase.jpg

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Just to the east of Athens are silver mines known as the Mines of Laurion. These mines, while abandoned today, were a critical component to the ancient Athenian empire. However, their biggest contribution came in 483 BC, with the discovery of a rich vein, which gave the city a choice: Distribute the profits to the entire city or build a navy. And their choice saved the Athenian Republic. This is the story of the silver mines of Athens.

Sources

https://sites.google.com/email.wm.edu/tour-of-attika/laurion-silver-mines

https://ancient-greece.org/archaeology/lavrion-ancient-silver-mines/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SNGCop_039.jpg - Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

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In 1545, the discovery of silver at the small South American village of Potosi would change the world. Over the next quarter of a century, 150,000 tons of silver would be extracted from the Potosi mines, and silver would fuel Spain’s enormous empire - and facilitate the globalization of the world’s economy. This is the story of the Silver Mines of Potosi.

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Every single day has something in common. It has a date, whether that is July 4, October 7, or even the rare February 29. And that is thanks to the calendar, known as the Gregorian Calendar, and used by almost the entire world. Its efficiency and simplicity means that worrying about calendar drift is a thing of the past. But all this goes back to the mid-16th century when many in the Catholic Church were concerned that Easter was getting later and later. So, reform was introduced, and what emerged is the primary calendar used all over the world. This is the history of the Gregorian Calendar.

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Sources

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gregorian-calendar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar

Images:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#/media/File:Christopher_Clavius.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#/media/File:Gregory_XIII.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#/media/File:Inter-grav.jpg

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According to legend, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, there is a monster. It has horns like a deer, terrible red eyes, a long, twisting tail, and is covered in scales. This fearsome creature was seen in 1673 - painted on the bluffs above the Mississippi - by Father Jacques Marquette - one of the first Europeans to travel down the length of the great river. This is the story of the Piasa - the monster of the Mississippi River.

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Sources

https://www.riversandroutes.com/directory/piasa-bird/

https://mythicmississippi.illinois.edu/native-illinois/piasa-bird/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasa

Piasa today: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Piasa-Bird-Alton-IL.jpg

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