New Delhi: History shapes the future, history teaches us about the wrongs which should not be repeated. History is full of interesting tales, many of which are known to use or have been forgotten. While most of us read about mainstream history in school, there are several incidents which are not discussed in the popular narrative. In this article, we will take a look at some forgotten and interesting events in history.
Interesting and lesser-known events in history
Dancing Plague of 1518
It was a case of dancing mania which took place in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern-day France) which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Dancing Plague took place from July 1518 to September 1518. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people danced for weeks. As per the most popular theory, it took place due to stress-induced mass hysteria while there are theories that suggest ergot and religious explanations.
Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu is not forgotten but it is also not much talked about. Also called the Great Influenza Epidemic, it was a deadly global influenza pandemic. The earliest documented case was in March 1918 in Kansas in the United States and it later spread to major countries in Europe in April. Two years later, nearly a third of the global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves. According to estimates, 17 million to 50 million people or maybe 100 million died in the pandemic.
Great Emu War
It may come as a surprise but Australia once waged war on Emu. In the later part of 1932, Australia waged war on the emus who were reportedly destroying crops in Western Australia. To bring down the population of emu, Royal Australian Artillery soldiers armed with Lewis guns were deployed. Although many birds were killed, the emu population persisted and continued to cause crop destruction.
The Crimean War
The Crimean War took place from October 1853 to February 1856. The warring parties were the Russian Empire and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia-Piedmont. It was one of the wars where military forces used modern technologies like the railways, explosive naval shells, and telegraphs. It was also one of the first wars which was documented extensively in reports and photographs. Thanks to Florence Nightingale, the war witnessed the early days of modern nursing. Also, the war founded the basis of the modern Middle East.
The tale of Onna-musha
While we mostly mean male warriors when talking about Samurais, there were also female warriors in Japan. Those female warriors were known as Onna-musha. The term refers to female warriors in pre-modern Japan and they belong to the bushi (warrior) class. They were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war. Many female warriors fought along with samurai men in wars.
Nubian pyramids
When it comes to pyramids, we mostly think of Egypt. But Sudan also has its share of pyramids. It has the Nubian pyramids which the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms constructed. They were constructed in the area of the Nile valley known as Nubia, located in present-day Sudan. The pyramids in Sudan are built of granite and sandstone.
The Dancing Plague was a case of dancing mania which took place in Strasbourg, Alsace. Hundreds of people danced for weeks and many of them died. But nobody has any clue as to why they did so. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
