Page 92 - All About History - Issue 38-16
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HISTORY ANSWERS
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How was the Great
FERDINAND MAGELLAN Wall of China built?
Nationality: Portuguese
Born-died: 14801521 Joanna Bennett
Construction of the Great Wall began in 220
Born into a noble
Brief Portuguese family, BCE, when Emperor Qin Shi Huang demanded
Bio Magellan became that sections of earlier fortifications be joined
involved in his first
expeditions in his mid- together to form a defence system against
20s, and soon journeyed to India, invasions from the north. Soldiers, commoners
Africa and present-day Indonesia. and convicts carried out the work using
In 1517, after a disagreement
with the Portuguese king, he whatever materials were available locally. In the
successfully enlisted the support plains, earth was rammed into compact layers
of the Spanish king for the very between board frames; in the mountains, stone
first round-the-world expedition.
was piled high; in the desert, walls of reeds and
willow were stuck together with sand. Much of
the material was transported via human chains,
basket and pulley systems and one-wheel
barrows. However, much of the Great Wall that
exists today was constructed during the Ming
dynasty (13681644), when construction methods
Magellan found passage had advanced. Bricks made from local materials
through South America via
a strait that he named after in factories close to the wall were secured
himself – the Strait of Magellan together with lime mortar, forming a stronger
structure that could withstand the new weapons
Who was the first person to of the time – muskets and cannons.
circumnavigate the globe? Much of the Great Wall that exists
today was built from bricks and
mortar during the Ming dynasty
Colin Wood completed a successful navigation of the globe.
The credit for this historic feat is often bestowed Therefore, Basque mariner Juan Sebastian Elcano,
upon Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who took control of the expedition after Magellan’s
who led a fleet of five ships in search of a western death, is considered by many to be the first person
route to the spice-rich East Indies. to voyage around the world.
He and his crew of 260 men set off from Spain However, others believe that a Malaysian called
in September 1519 and successfully found passage Enrique deserves the honour. Enrique was a slave
across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but two that Magellan had seized from Europe during an
years into the journey, tragedy struck. During earlier voyage, and became his interpreter for the
a fight with natives in the Philippine Islands, round-the-world trip. He left the expedition when
Magellan was killed, leaving the rest of his crew Magellan was killed, but by this time he had very
to go on without him. Just one ship and only 18 nearly circled the globe, albeit over the course of
men returned to Spain in September 1522 having several years and multiple voyages.
This day in history 28 April
1881 1945 1952 1967
l Billy The Kid escapes l Benito Mussolini executed l US ends occupation l Muhammad Ali
Imprisoned and sentenced to While attempting to escape of Japan refuses army induction
hang for the murder of Lincoln Switzerland, the Italian dictator Occupied by the United States- With the USA at war in Vietnam,
County sheriff William Brady, and his mistress Clara Petacci led Allied powers since the end the boxing champion cites religious
outlaw Billy The Kid manages are captured and shot by of World War II, Japan finally reasons to forgo military service. He
to escape jail. A few months Italian partisans. Their bodies becomes an independent state is stripped of his heavyweight title
later, the new sheriff will find are hung in a Milan plaza and again when the San Francisco and convicted of draft evasion, but
him and shoot him dead. residents spit on their corpses. Peace Treaty comes into force. this is later overturned.
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