My Science School

               Queen Victoria had the longest reign among all the British monarchs. She was born in London on 24 May, 1819. She was the only child of Edward Augustus of Kent. She succeeded to the British throne on the death of her uncle, King William IV on 20 June, 1837, when she was only 18 years old. She ruled for sixty three years and seven months and died on 22 January, 1901. She was very popular with her people. All over the British Empire, celebrations were held to mark the Golden and Diamond Jubilee of her reign in 1887 and 1897 respectively.

               Victoria was the queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India. Her reign was long as well as eventful. During her reign Britain became more powerful and prosperous and built up a large empire overseas. Her reign saw a rapid industrial expansion, growing humanitarianism and literary output, and prolonged peace. 

Continue reading "Which British Sovereign had the longest reign? "

            William Shakespeare, an English poet and dramatist, is widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 34 plays between 1591 and 1641. His first play is believed to have been Henry VI, and his last two were probably The Tempest and Henry VIII. Even today, his plays are performed more often and in more countries than ever before. Ben Jonson’s (one of his great contemporaries) prophecy that ‘he was not of an age but for all time’ has been marvellously fulfilled.

            Born in 1564, Shakespeare’s early life was spent in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he attended the local grammar school. At the age of 18, he married a local girl, Anne Hathaway, who bore him a daughter Susanna and the twins, Hamnet and Judith. By 1584 he had emerged as a rising playwright in London. He continued to live there, enjoying fame and prosperity as a member of London’s leading theatre company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Company (afterwards known as the King’s Men). They played at the Globe Theatre, Bankside, which was burnt down in June 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII.

            In about 1610 Shakespeare retired to his birthplace and lived as a country gentleman. His will was made in March 1616, a few months before his death. He was buried in the parish Church at Stratford.

            Though we know a lot about Shakespeare’s works yet little is known about his early life. It seems that his versatility flowed from a deep and wide knowledge of history, geography, mythology, religion, biology, human psychology and Latin. Apart from being a famous playwright, he was also a renowned poet and actor.

            Among the most famous works of Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Twelfth Night occupy a lasting place in the history of literature and theatre. He also wrote some loveliest sonnets in English and almost all of his works have been translated into different languages of the world. 

 

           From the available historical sources, Jericho is considered to be the oldest city in the world. It is located on the west side of Jordan near Israel. It is situated 825 ft below the sea level, some six miles north of the Dead Sea. The Archaeologists have uncovered 17 layers of settlements dating back to 5000 B.C. or earlier, signifying its continuity over the years. 

          In the biblical history, it is known as the first town captured by Israel and that its wall fell to blast of their trumpet.

          Jericho is mentioned in the Old and new Testaments. Herod the Great established a winter residence there and died there in 4th B.C. There is evidence to prove the visit of Mesolithic hunters around 9000 BC, and of a long period of settlement by their descendants. To begin with their habitations included flimsy huts. From these huts solid houses were developed and the settlement spread to cover an area of about 10 acres. By 8000 BC the inhabitants had developed into an organized community capable of building a massive stone wall around the settlement. The construction of such a huge wall suggests that a population of around 2000-3000 persons inhabited the town. Thus, within a period of 1000 years, there had been a development from a wandering-hunting way of life to an agricultural settlement. For the next 2000 years, Jericho passed through the Neolithic stage. During 5000 BC people of this place started using pottery. Over the next 2000 years, occupation was sparse and possibly intermittent.

          At the end of the 4th millennium BC, an urban culture once more appeared in Jericho as in the rest of Palestine. Jericho became a walled town again with its walls rebuilt many times. About 2300 BC there was once more a break in the urban life. Jericho of the Crusader period was on yet a third site, a mile east of the Old Testament site and here the modern town grew up. Its major expansion, however, came after its incorporation into Jordan in 1949.

 

          The French Revolution (1789-93) is one of the greatest landmarks in the history of mankind. It ushered in a new era of liberty, equality and fraternity. The revolution started on 14 July, 1789 in France with the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris. It was a peoples’ revolution that started during the reign of King Louis XVI. It had its roots in the deep resentment of the masses over the rising prices as well as the brutal oppression and exploitation by the aristocrats and the ruling classes.

          King Louis XVI in 1789 tried to solve his financial problems by calling a meeting of the Estates General, the French parliament. When this almost forgotten body met on 5 May 1789 for the first time in 175 years, the third estate (representatives of people) defied the nobles and clergy and declared them as the National Assembly. On 20 June 1789 they took an oath not to disperse until they had given France a constitution which would defend the middle class and peasants against the feudal aristocracy.

 

Continue reading "What was the French Revolution? "

          The word Buddha literally means ‘The Enlightened One’. This was the title given to Siddhartha Gautama. He became the founder of the religion called Buddhism.

          Buddha was born as a prince in the 6th century B.C. in a warrior community of Nepal called ‘Sakyas’. Although brought up in great luxury, he did not show any attachment to the material delights. Even when young, he had a sensitive and philosophical temperament. Though he had everything necessary for worldly pleasures, he was somehow dissatisfied.

          One day Siddhartha went out of his palace grounds on his chariot to get a glimpse of the town. On his way he saw three, sights which he had never seen before: a sick man, an old man and a dead man. These had a deep impact on his mind and made him sad and thoughtful. He could sense the eternal truths of life and realized that life was full of sorrows and suffering. He wondered if sickness, old age and death ultimately grab everyone’s life then what was the goal of life and how men could best use the comparatively short lives they had on this earth. These questions kept on hunting his mind.

          One night Siddhartha left his palace in the pursuit of his goal. He was then 29 years old, married and father to a son. He left behind his wife and infant son in the palace. He spent several years studying under various teachers, but none could impart him the wisdom he was searching for. Finally, travelling from one place to another he reached a place in North India, now called Bodh Gaya. There he sat for many days under a tree in deep meditation, until suddenly one morning he had a wonderful experience of a starting vision of what he had been seeking. The light that shone in him was the enlightenment he was searching for. Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares on the banks of river Ganges.

          Gautama Buddha died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar, near Benares. After him, his followers were divided into two sects: Mahayana and Hinayana. Buddhism is now followed in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan.

 

          The word Buddha literally means ‘The Enlightened One’. This was the title given to Siddhartha Gautama. He became the founder of the religion called Buddhism.

          Buddha was born as a prince in the 6th century B.C. in a warrior community of Nepal called ‘Sakyas’. Although brought up in great luxury, he did not show any attachment to the material delights. Even when young, he had a sensitive and philosophical temperament. Though he had everything necessary for worldly pleasures, he was somehow dissatisfied.

          One day Siddhartha went out of his palace grounds on his chariot to get a glimpse of the town. On his way he saw three, sights which he had never seen before: a sick man, an old man and a dead man. These had a deep impact on his mind and made him sad and thoughtful. He could sense the eternal truths of life and realized that life was full of sorrows and suffering. He wondered if sickness, old age and death ultimately grab everyone’s life then what was the goal of life and how men could best use the comparatively short lives they had on this earth. These questions kept on hunting his mind.

          One night Siddhartha left his palace in the pursuit of his goal. He was then 29 years old, married and father to a son. He left behind his wife and infant son in the palace. He spent several years studying under various teachers, but none could impart him the wisdom he was searching for. Finally, travelling from one place to another he reached a place in North India, now called Bodh Gaya. There he sat for many days under a tree in deep meditation, until suddenly one morning he had a wonderful experience of a starting vision of what he had been seeking. The light that shone in him was the enlightenment he was searching for. Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares on the banks of river Ganges.

          Gautama Buddha died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar, near Benares. After him, his followers were divided into two sects: Mahayana and Hinayana. Buddhism is now followed in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan.

 

          The Stone Age probably began more than three million years ago. It faded away some 5000 years ago and was succeeded by the Bronze Age. This period has been described as the landmark in the human history when man learned to make and use stone tools. This was followed by the metal age when people learnt the use of metals. 

          The Stone Age has been divided into three periods: the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age; the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age.

          The Paleolithic or the Old Stone Age essentially began with the appearance of the first ‘hominids’ or man-like forms such as the australopithecines. The Paleolithic men were all hunters. Their tools were generally crude and made by flaking. The oldest Paleolithic tools are about 2,500,000 years old. It is likely that apart from the stone tools, the earliest hominids also used tools fabricated from wood and bone. The Pleistoce Epoch began about 2,500,000 years ago and lasted until about 10,000 years ago. During the latter part of the Old Stone Age, people had learned the art of making paintings on the cave walls. They had also learned the sculpture work.

          The Mesolithic period or the Middle Stone Age usually refers to that period when in the north-western Europe certain advancement started in about 8000 BC and lasted until about 2700 BC. During this period finer stone tools were made. The hunters used tiny flakes of flint in arrows and harpoons.

           During the Neolithic or New Stone Age, farming and the manufacture of pottery became widespread in Europe. The New Stone Age began in the Middle East about 9000 years ago. The people in the New Stone Age manufactured smooth axe heads of ground stone as they learned to grind and polish stones. The domestication of animals was an important factor in Neolithic life as was agriculture, including the plant care and growing of crops. This was the period when mining also came to be practiced. By this time agriculture had started and the people started forming villages.

          When the Europeans discovered America most of the Native Americans (Red Indians) were living in a Neolithic state. Some Australian aborigines and tribes in New Guinea still lead largely a Stone Age life.

          Man has always had a burning desire to explore the world around him. This natural urge within him to discover and see what lies beyond his own limited horizon has always led him to explore outside his own land. The explorers of ancient times often undertook perilous journeys across the seas as well as by land for trading, conquest and other purposes.

          But events were somewhat different in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was the period of Renaissance when people again became interested after a long gap, in every aspect of art, science, architecture and literature. New ideas and outlooks were emerging in all fields and the field of exploration was no exception. New lands and sea-routes were being discovered by European explorers. Columbus, a very brave and determined seaman, probably has earned the highest recognition in the history of exploration for his adventures. The most famous among his voyages was the one when he discovered the first sea-route to America, thereby opening it to the rest of the world. 

           Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was a gifted voyager who had a dream to discover the sea-route to Indies (Asia) by sailing westwards. Sailors of those days used to sail east to reach China, Japan and India and managed to bring plenty of gold, spices and treasure. Columbus was convinced that Earth was not flat but round and thought he could reach Indies quicker by sailing west as this could be the shortest route. To translate his ideas into action he approached the Kings of Portugal and England for help who turned him down. Finally Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to sponsor his voyage and provided him ships, manpower and money, required for the voyage. 

Continue reading "Who was Columbus? "

          The scout movement commenced in 1903 after the appearance of a book called Scouting for Boys, written by the then Inspector General of Cavalry in the British Army Lt. Col. Sir Robert Baden Powel. Although the author’s basic intention was only to formulate certain guiding principles to be followed by the existing youth organizations, it soon became evident that a new movement had begun. In fact, Baden Powel came to be known as the father of the scout movement.

          Baden Powel had held an experimental camp on Brown-sea Island in Poole harbour, Dorset, and put his ideas into practice. He believed that the youths should organize themselves into small natural groups of six or seven under a boy leader. Their training should add another dimension to their education by teaching them the art of mapping, signalling, rope knotting, first-aid and all the other skills needed in camping and similar outdoor activities. 

          A boy becomes a scout by joining a scout troop any time between the age of 11 and 16. Before being accepted as a scout, a boy has to take an oath that he would do his duty to God and his country or sovereign, help other people at all times and to obey the scout laws. The Scout Laws are: i) a scout is to be trusted, ii) a scout is loyal, iii) a scout is friendly and considerate, iv) a scout is a brother to all other scouts, v) a scout has courage in all difficulties, vi) a scout makes good use of his time and cares for others’ possessions and property, vii) a scout has respect for himself and for others.

          Almost all of the scout activities are based on the patrol which is the primary unit in scouting. The patrol leader takes part in the planning and running of activities. This does not mean that each patrol works only on its own. The patrols regularly come together for Troop Meetings and activities. The scouts from different patrols may even work for a particular Proficiency Badge in which they share a common interest. The traditional scouting activities are hiking, camping and pioneering.

          Scouting today is a worldwide movement. There is a Boy Scouts World Committee, elected by the Boy Scout World Conference which comprises all National Member Associations. The conference is the General Assembly of world scouts and meets every two years. 

            The Incas were South American Indians who ruled an empire that extended from central Chile to the present Colombia-Ecuador border. The centre of their empire was Peru and they established their capital at Cuzco in the 12th century. The legend goes that the first Inca ruler, Manco Capan was believed to have been descended from the sun god. The Incas began their conquest in the early 15th century and within 100 years they had gained control of an Andean population of about 12,000,000 people. 

            The Inca society was a highly stratified and structured one. The emperor ruled with the aid of an aristocratic bureaucracy that was harsh and brutal in the exercise of its authority. Their technology and architecture were highly developed. Most of the Inca people were farmers and grew maize, beans, tomatoes, chillies, peppers, cotton etc. Nobody paid taxes, but every man was periodically called to serve in the army or to aid in the construction of buildings, roads, temples or mining. The Incas built suspension bridges, hillside terraces, long irrigation canals and immense fortresses, palaces, temples etc. and a few can still be seen throughout the Andes. In addition to all these, medicine and surgery were also highly developed. They made their clothes from the llama wool and cotton. Practically every man was a farmer, producing his own food.

            The Incas were conquered by a Spanish adventurer, Francisco Pizarro in 1532. Pizarro entered the Inca Empire with 180 soldiers. At that time there was a power-struggle going on between Huascar and his half-brother Atahualpa as to who would be the Inca ruler. Atahualpa was winning the contest. Pizarro captured him by treachery. In the meantime Huascar had been captured and killed. Pizarro then killed Atahualpa though the Incas fulfilled the demand of the Spaniards who promised the release of Atahualpa in return for gold. Now the Inca Empire had no leader, and it could not resist the brutal Spanish adventurers. The Spanish conquerors transformed the Inca Empire into a colonial appendage of Spain. Many Indians migrated eastward to escape the brutalities of the colonial system. The Inca religious institutions were crushed by massive campaigns against idolatry. According to many historians, the civilization the Spanish conquerors destroyed was in many ways better than their own. 

          The United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales and the Northern Ireland and many other small islands. It was formed in 1801 when the ‘Act of Union’ brought Ireland under the same parliament with England, Scotland and Wales. The official name of the country was changed to the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland’. But 26 Irish countries left the Union in 1922 and formed the Irish Free State, now called the Republic of Ireland. Five years later the ‘Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act’ named the union as the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and the monarchy is hereditary.

          Wales was the first to unite with England, having been subdued by King Edward I in 1282. The heir to the English throne has been known as the Prince of Wales ever since Edward gave the title to his infant son in 1301. But it was not until 1536, during the reign of Henry VIII, a Tudor monarch of Welsh descent, that an Act of Union peacefully incorporated the principality into the Kingdom. 

          The name Great Britain came into currency after King James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne in 1603 as James I, and United the two crowns, though not the nations. Another ‘Act of union’ brought England and Scotland under one government in 1707.

          The Union flag of the present kingdom is composed of the flag of England (white with an upright red cross), the flag of Scotland (blue with a diagonal white cross) and the red diagonal cross of Ireland.

          On 29 May, 1953, under the Royal Titles Act, a proclamation was issued which gave the Queen the title ‘Elizabeth the second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the commonwealth, Defender of the faith’.

 

          We are sure you have heard about the Trojan War. It was fought between the early Greeks and the people of Troy (now in Turkey). The scene of this great battle was the city of Troy in about 1230 BC. The war lasted for 10 years.

          According to the legend, the war started in about 1240 BC. When Paris, the prince of Troy, fell in love with Helen, the beautiful wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and carried her off to Troy with him. Menelau’s brother, the great king Agamemnon of Argos, summoned all the kings of the other Greek cities, and set off with a thousand ships to bring Helen back. For a number of years the Greeks besieged Troy without success. Then they devised an ingenious scheme to defeat the enemy.

          They built a great wooden horse which was called the Trojan horse. The horse was built by Epeius, a  master carpenter and pugilist. The Greeks concealed a raiding party inside it and left it outside the city walls. The Greeks, pretending to retreat, sailed to the nearby Island of Tenedos. They left behind Sinon, who persuaded the Trojans to believe that the horse was an offering to Athena to make Troy impregnable. The Trojans brought the horse inside the city walls. What they did not know then was that the horse was full of Greek soldiers. In the middle of the night, they came out of the horse, opened the city gates and let in the rest of the Greek army. They killed all the Trojans they could find, and set fire to the city. It was completely destroyed.

          The legend of the Trojan War has been the subject of a famous epic called ‘The Iliad’ by the blind Greek poet, Homer, written Ilium is another name for Troy. The story is told at length in the 2nd book of Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’ and is also touched upon in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’.

          No one knows if the story is true. However, a German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, discovered the site of the city in 1871-94.

 

          Guerrilla warfare is waged by irregular forces, generally in small-scale operations, often in enemy held territories. The word guerrilla is a Spanish word which means ‘little war’. The word came into use during the Duke of Wellington’s campaigns to help the Spanish - Portuguese guerrillas to drive the French out of the Iberian Peninsula. Lawrence of Arabia, a great force behind the guerrillas in their struggle against the Turks in the First World War, once remarked, ‘Guerrilla war is much more intellectual than a bayonet charge’.

          Guerrilla warfare is generally preferred when the enemy is a large well-organized force with sophisticated weapons and it becomes practically difficult to defeat the enemy in a conventional warfare. Guerillas are hit-and-run fighters or use similar methods as they lack the manpower and other resources to face their powerful adversaries. The guerillas seldom use regular uniforms and secretly take the help of friendly local people. Sometimes they attack under the cover of darkness of the night and do agricultural or pastoral work along with the local people in daytime to avoid their enemy’s notice. They are an extremely mobile force. Earlier they were using indigenous and self-made weapons — at times relying on the arms and ammunition captured from the enemy and at times helped by their sympathizers with modern weapons. The technical organization of guerrilla units varies according to their operational demands. They may be in a squad of 4, 5, 11 or more. They usually live in places where they can easily hide, such as forests and mountains.

          Guerrilla warfare underwent significant changes after World War II when it received the intellectual support, direction and guidance from some quarters. Also the fight was for some revolutionary causes like to overthrow an oppressive government or to change the social order of the time. If Shivaji, the great Marattha warrior, used the technique of guerrilla warfare to fight the powerful Mughals, Mao-tse-Tung of China favoured it to establish communism in China. The LTTE militants used this warfare in their fight against the Sri Lankan army.

         The guerrillas won their wars whenever they got the support of the people. But over the years, the nature of guerrilla warfare has changed completely as it has become more city-oriented and individualistic but less idealistic.

        A guerrilla force cannot fight all the time. They control safe areas where they can retire for rest, recuperation and repair of arms and where new recruits can be indoctrinated, trained and equipped.

          One of the most famous guerrilla leaders of our times was Che Guevara of Cuba who led guerrilla armies at many places of the world and was very popular with the masses. He was killed while leading a band of guerrillas against the Bolivian army in 1967. Among the other famous leaders who led guerrilla wars at some point of time were Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Tito, Ho Chi Minh and Yasser Arafat etc.