History You Should Know – Page 5 – Manchester Historian

On 16 October, 1953, Fidel Castro gave an impassioned speech while on trial for his role in the Moncada Barracks attack. The speech was entitled, ‘History will absolve me.’ Having studied law at Havana University, Castro represented himself at the trial, and being a skilled propagandist, used this platform to spread his message of revolution against Continue Reading

Cleopatra is one of the most well-known Egyptian historical figures of all time, but why is she so iconic? She was born in Alexandria in 69 BCE into the Ptolemaic dynasty. From birth until the time of her suicide in 30 BCE, Cleopatra’s life consisted of incredible drama, incest, murder, mystery and undeniable scandal. Cleopatra Continue Reading

The Māori are the native Polynesian people of New Zealand. The ancestors of the Māori originated from south-east Asia. Some historians trace these early settlers as migrating from today’s China. However, more commonly, the indigenous Māori are believed to have come from Haiwaiki, an island or group of islands in Polynesia in the South Pacific Continue Reading

The Mongol Empire was one of the largest empires in the history of the world, covering a massive nine million square miles at its greatest extent; approximately a quarter of the world’s population were under Mongol rule. One man in particular is credited with this awesome feat of conquest: Genghis Khan. Born Temujin in around Continue Reading

In 2012, the Richard III Society commissioned an archaeological excavation on a city council park in Leicester. After identification of the skeleton by the University of Leicester research team, the discovery became a huge historical landmark within the East Midlands city. Despite this significant and almost bizarre discovery, there will still be one main discussion Continue Reading