How did the great fire of London start?

How did the great fire of London start?

On September 2, 1666, a fire was discovered in the house of John Farynor, the king’s baker in Pudding Lane, a narrow street East of the London Bridge. Unfortunately for the residents of London, there was a strong wind, which blew the flames towards the city.


The fire spread rapidly and burnt for four days. It spread from London Bridge to Lombard Street and to Cornhill, from Cheapside to Fleet Street and then to the Inner Temple and New gate. Over 121 hectares of land were completely destroyed.

When was the English East India Company founded?

When was the English East India Company founded?

The Dutch had, at one point of time, controlled most of the spice trade with Indonesia and Moluccas. London, as the other great city of traders was very concerned about this. As the sixteenth century drew to a close, on its very last day, Queen Elizabeth granted permission to a newly formed company to carry on trade in Asia, Africa and America between Cape Cod and the Strait of Magellan. The ships of the East India Company, as it was called, followed the route to the East via Cape of Good Hope. Soon it was as large as the Royal Navy in terms ships and men. The supremacy of the East India Company over India is well known. This continued until 1874, when the Company handed over India to the Crown in Britain.

Why is Galileo Galilee so famous?

Why is Galileo Galilee so famous?

Galileo Galilee (1564 – 1642) was a celebrated Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who is synonymous with the scientific revolution. Often referred to as the ‘father of the modern astronomy, Physics and science’, his achievements include the first systematic studies of uniformly accelerated motion, and improvements to the telescope. He made a variety of astronomical observations, and supported the theories of Copernicus.


Galileo’s experiment-based work represented a significant break from the abstract approach of Aristotle. Galileo studied the motion of uniformly accelerated objects, as subject of kinematics.


Galileo was born in Pisa in modern day Italy. In 1589, he was appointed to the chair of Mathematics in Pisa. From 1592 to 1610 he taught geometry, mechanics, and astronomy at the university of Padua. During this period, Galileo made significant discoveries in both pure science and applied science

What is the importance of Shakespeare in English literature?

What is the importance of Shakespeare in English literature?

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. In 1587, he went to London seeking a job. He discovered theatre there, and was much attracted to it. After being employed as an actor doing small roles, a writer and a patcher of old scripts, Shakespeare finally became the head playwright and the part-owner of the Globe Theatre in Southwark. In the 1590s, Shakespeare’s reputation grew steadily, and he wrote a number of plays and sonnets. He enjoyed royal patronage for many of his plays.


The total of 37 plays that Shakespeare wrote include comedies, tragedies, romances and histories. Shakespeare’s drama is accepted by people of all tastes. Some of his famous plays are “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar and As You Like It”. Many call his plays and their rich poetry unparalleled in history.

Who founded the Mughal dynasty in India?

Who founded the Mughal dynasty in India?

The founder of the Mughal dynasty was Babur, who ruled from 1483 to 1530. He was a direct descendant of Timur, and believed himself to be a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother.


Babur ruled over a small kingdom in Turkestan; he expanded his kingdom by attacking Afghanistan and capturing Kabul in 1504. From there, he crossed over the mountains into Hindustan and attacked Delhi Sultanate. With an Army of only twelve thousand men, he defeated the Sultan at Panipat, captured Agra and Delhi and established himself as Sultan. He then attacked a confederation of Rajput states. When he died in 1530, he had conquered an empire that extended from the Deccan to Turkestan.

Which was the first ship to sail around the world?

Which was the first ship to sail around the world?

Though Columbus had discovered the West Indies, however the search for a new trade route to the East continued. Magellan, a Portuguese sailor was in the service of the Spanish Government and he was one of the many engaged in this pursuit. In August 1519, he set out with five ships badly in need of repair, and a crew drawn from many countries. He overcame a mutiny abroad the ship. The men had tried to revolt when they heard that he was planning to look for a strait in the southernmost tip of South America. The strait, which allowed his to cross into the pacific is named after him. Magellan crossed the pacific with great difficulty, his supplies having run out by then. He finally reached the Philippines but was killed in a local war there.


The Vittoria, the only one of Magellan’s ships to remain, sailed back to Portugal in 1522. She became the first ship to sail around the world.

Why was Spain able to become a very powerful nation?

Why was Spain able to become a very powerful nation?

Following Columbus’s discoveries, Spain acted quickly to exploit the New World. In the course of their conquests in South America, the Spanish came into conflict with two of the most ancient civilizations –the Aztec Empire and eh Inca Empire. The Spanish had the advantage of firearms and soldiers on horses, while this type of warfare was unknown to the Native Americans. The Spanish won quite easily, and these two conquests were the first major conflicts between the Old World and the New World’s rich mineral resources at Spain’s disposal making Spain the most powerful nation in the world for the next 100 years. It also encouraged Spain to expand at the time had the largest empire in the western hemisphere.

Who was Michelangelo?

Who was Michelangelo?

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564) is responsible for the beautiful paintings the vault on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The painting, consisting of scenes from the Bible, covers an area of 1500 square metres. Michelangelo started its work in 1508. It is said that he suffered pain in his neck, from bending his head back, for years after he had finished it.


Michelangelo was not only the greatest artist, but also an architect, poet and a sculptor. One of his most famous sculptures is the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus. Pieta and the statue of David are great works of art.


It is said that Michelangelo’s genius is not just great natural talent, but also a supernatural ability to work towards perfection. He spent forty years on the tomb of his patron Pope Julius II, and never finished it to his satisfaction

Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Who painted the Mona Lisa?

The most famous painting in the world – the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It is housed in the Louvre Museum, Paris (France). It is the picture of a young woman with a mysterious smile. Leonardo da Vinci had painted the portrait on a flat surface but it is almost as if the young woman were alive.


Leonardo da Vinci was a true Renaissance man, some say, because he was always experimenting with things. In painting, he always experimented with new materials and because he did this, he left a lot of work unfinished. His mind was brimming over with new ideas and he carried a notebook with him where he drew pictures of machines and engines of war. Leonardo even designed a submarine and a flying machine. Many of these remained on paper and were never built, but this proves fact remains his mind was far ahead of his time.

Why was Vasco da Gama’s journey to India so important?

Why was Vasco da Gama’s journey to India so important?

Spices and other valuable goods from India reached Europe from very ancient times. However, goods from India had to travel a long way through sea and land to reach Europe. Trading merchants had to cross the Arabian and Red Sea, and also an overland route through Central Asia. This took a lot of time and effort, making goods from India highly expensive and rare. When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, the excluded the Europeans from the trade with the East, by closing the old link between Europe and Asia.


Europeans were keen to find an alternate route to India. In 1488 Bartolemeu Diaz, a Portuguese explorer sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa. This important achievement helped in finding a sea-route to India.


In 1497, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese sailor was chosen by King Manuel I of Portugal to lead an expedition to find a sea route to India. In July 1497, Gama left Lisbon with four ships. He rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed up to Kenya. From there, he crossed the Indian Ocean, and in April 1498, he landed in India at Calicut, Kerala.


Gama’s new trade route helped open trade between Europe and Asia. It also made Portugal a great power in the 16th century.


Many explorers followed the route that Vasco da Gama had discovered. Portuguese trading posts were established in East Africa and on the west coast of India. Goa was Portugalis chief colony in India, and it remained under Portuguese control till the Indian Government took it over in 1961