Category: history

On This Day 218 BC: Hannibal Routs the Romans at Trebia

temple of hercules at the amman citadel jabal al qal a
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The first serious encounter of the Second Punic War ended in a decisive victory for Hannibal and his Carthaginian army at Trebia in northern Italy in 218 BC. Whilst the Carthaginian losses were relatively few, the Romans sustained massive casualties, quite possibly losing up to three quarters of their 40,000 strong army.

Although Hannibal was to ultimately fail in defeating the Romans in the long term, he came very close to succeeding. The Punic Wars were all about who controlled the Mediterranean and beyond. In the early years the Carthaginians were masters of the region, with settlements in Sicily and Spain, as well as their burgeoning homeland in north Africa.

When Rome began to flex its muscles and seriously rival the Carthaginians during the third century BC, war was inevitable. Hannibal famously took the war to the Romans with an incredible invasion with a massive elephant led army through the Alps and into Italy, an audacious attempt to finish off the Romans once and for all. It nearly came off – but not quite.

Eventually, as the Romans later got the upper hand, they were to literally wipe Carthage off the map in one of the most heinous acts of revenge ever seen.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

On This Day 1577 – Francis Drake Sets Off On His Circumnavigation of Earth

red and black wooden chest on white sand
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Sir Francis Drake combined several roles, from pirate to sea captain, privateer to explorer. He perhaps typifies the ‘entrepreneurial’ spirit of the Elizabethan Age at the birth of the first English and subsequently British Empire.

One of his most daring exploits was a successful circumnavigation of the earth from 1577 to 1580. He set off with just five ships, including the Pelican which he was on board. He did soon include another ship, however, under the captaincy of a Portuguese, Nuno da Silva, who knew well some of the sea routes around the Americas.

To Elizabeth and the English, Drake was a hero, a continual threat to the Spanish fleets and their gold. To the Spanish, however, he was often referred to as ‘El Draco’, or the Dragon, also probably because of his warlike and privateering exploits in the Spanish Main.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

On This Day 1936 – Edward VIII of Great Britain Abdicates

art carving close up crown
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He had been king for less than a year and hadn’t had a coronation.

Edward VIII officially gave up his kingship, his rule over an empire which spanned the earth, on which the sun never set. All because, we are famously told, for his love of an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, a situation which could not be tolerated by the highly conservative establishment of the time. But of course it was a bit more complicated than that.

Like quite a few Britons at the time, Edward was an admirer of certain European dictators. After the abdication he became more than a mere acquaintance of one of them, something which didn’t go down too well in certain parts of the British establishment, as Europe and the world was led inexorably towards war.

As Prince of Wales he had been quite popular with his people back home and throughout the Empire and Commonwealth. He was able to relate to them despite the most privileged upbringing one could get. He was, however, quite shy and perhaps felt somewhat unworthy of the role fate had given him, something which led to several bouts of depression.

For these reasons and perhaps others too, he probably never felt he was not cut out for being a monarch of a vast and populous empire.

Falling in love with Mrs Simpson was only one reason among several which made him feel incapable of carrying on as king, a heavy responsibility which in the end he was forced to leave behind.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

On This Day 1688 – The Battle of Reading, Culmination of the ‘Glorious Revolution’

brown and black windmill
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The only major military engagement of the so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’, the Battle of Reading, took place today in 1688.

James II of England had come to the throne in 1685 despite being a Catholic, a religion which was very much out of favour in Great Britain at the time due to the conflicts over the previous century and a half.

At first his monarchy was tolerated, perhaps because the populace did not want a repeat of the Civil War which had brought such destruction, resulting in the death of King Charles I in 1648/9.

William and Mary

However, probably due to the birth of an heir in 1688 and the possibility of the creation of a Catholic dynasty, public opinion soon began to turn against James II. His daughter Mary, who was married to his nephew William of Orange, were promoted as obvious replacements and this is how it eventually turned out.

The Battle of Reading itself provided the incongruous spectacle on English soil of King James’ Irish troops pitched against the Dutch forces of Prince William of Orange. Even so, the people of Reading did all they could to support the Dutch.

History Repeats – Two Williams from Abroad

Casualties were relatively few despite the decisive victory of William, who was soon to become the second king of his name to win the throne of England via a foreign invasion, albeit a very different one.

King James very quickly saw the impossibility of his position and abdicated, fleeing the country for France and then Ireland, where he was still largely supported.

This was a major turning point for Great Britain, where the superiority of Parliament over the Monarchy was truly established. For good – or ill – the birth of modern Britain, politically, culturally, economically, can be traced to this period, and it relied on a Dutch ruler.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

Born on This Day – Mary Queen of Scots

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Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots, born in Linlithgow, Scotland in 1542.

She became Queen of Scotland only six days after her birth, following the death of her father, James V.

Mary went on to marry the French king Francis II when she was just sixteen, effectively uniting the thrones of Scotland and France. However, Francis died the following year and Mary had to return to Scotland in 1651.

However, the young monarch soon experienced problems back in her homeland; she was, after all, a catholic in an essentially protestant country.

It was Mary’s subsequent marriages, her apparent lack of judgement and bad counsel she received at critical times, which led to great unpopularity and her eventual arrest and abdication in 1567. Although she managed to escape to England the next year, she was soon apprehended and spent the rest of her life in various places of custody.

She was finally executed on February 18 1587, following much intrigue and attempts to install her on the English throne, although right until the end, it was clear that Elizabeth was very reluctant to sign the order of execution on a fellow female monarch.

copyright Francis Barker 2019