#Sweden: trade - Denmark: wars - Norway: exploration

[ifindus]

Waiter, waiter!! More Viking Scotnor headcanons please! (If you have any ofc :3 )

Oh no!! Not my weakness!! 😳

Their relationship during the viking age was mostly very amicable, apart from a few minor fights and arguments later on. In contrast to England and Denmark, Norway and Scotland mostly co-existed peacefully beside each other and even developed a friendship. Norway has always been a traveller and would rarely stay in one place for long, but he would often spend his summers and occaionally autumns in his territories close to Scotland before moving along on his next adventure. During these months Norway and Scotland would hang out and Norway would tell Scotland stories about all his adventures out on the sea, exploring westward, as a hired soldier for the Byzantine emperor, helping out Denmark with his wars agaisnt England, and joining Sweden on his trips east. Scotland would think these were the coolest stories and always look forward to Norway's occasional visits. And sometimes Norway would even bring him exotic gifts he'd picked up on his travels.

[dan6085]

Here's a timeline of Norwegian history with key details:

- 8,000 BCE: Evidence of human settlement in Norway dates back to the Stone Age.

- 8th to 11th centuries: The Viking Age sees Norwegian seafarers and warriors exploring, trading, and raiding across Europe.

- 9th century: The unification of Norway begins with King Harald Fairhair, who reigns from 872 to 930.

- 10th century: Christianity is introduced, with King Olaf Tryggvason playing a significant role in its adoption.

- 11th century: King Olaf II, later known as St. Olaf, dies in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. He becomes Norway's patron saint.

- 14th century: Norway enters into a union with Sweden (1319) and later Denmark (1380), forming the Kalmar Union.

- 1814: Following the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaty of Kiel cedes Norway from Denmark to Sweden.

- 1905: Norway gains independence from Sweden through a peaceful referendum and establishes a monarchy with King Haakon VII.

- World War II: Germany occupies Norway from 1940 to 1945 during World War II, leading to significant resistance efforts.

- 1949: Norway becomes a founding member of NATO, ensuring its security during the Cold War.

- 1969: Norway discovers oil in the North Sea, leading to a substantial economic boom.

- 1994: Norway joins the European Economic Area (EEA) but chooses not to become a full member of the European Union (EU).

- 21st century: Norway remains a prosperous and socially progressive nation, known for its strong welfare system, environmental policies, and high standard of living.

This timeline offers a glimpse into Norway's rich history, from its Viking origins to its emergence as a modern, independent nation known for its commitment to social welfare and environmental sustainability.

[fatehbaz]

A controversy erupted in 2018 when the famous French artist Johnny Hallyday (sometimes known as the French Elvis or France’s rock-and-roll “national hero”) was buried in the island of St. Barthélemy. Many fans complained about this decision. [...] Even though St. Barthélemy has been under France’s jurisdiction since 1878, the controversy around Hallyday's burial site is a reminder that, for many French people, St. Barthélemy is not really part of France.

Jeppe Mulich’s In a Sea of Empires fosters our understanding of the complicated and multilayered place of the Caribbean in historical imagination. The book explores the Leeward Islands, an archipelago of small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, in particular the British Virgin Islands (Antigua and St. Christopher), the Danish Virgin Islands (St. Thomas and St. Croix), and the Swedish St. Barthélemy (France colonized the island in 1648 and sold it to Sweden in 1784 before gaining it back in 1878).

These islands shared many features: they had a highly polyglot and diverse population, the majority of which was enslaved; they were home to a higher share of free people of African descent than larger plantation islands; their expansive coasts and rocky terrains made them more suited for maritime trade while other colonies relied on large-scale agricultural plantation production; they had small military forces. Furthermore, neither Sweden nor Denmark was particularly interested in the day-to-day administration of their colonies and lacked the enforcement to do so, leading to a form of “laissez-faire sovereignty” (p. 78) that characterized life in the Leeward Islands.

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Adopting a micro-regional perspective, Mulich frames the book around the concept of “inter-imperial region,” [...] defined as “a geographical area inhabited by multiple polities, with a particularly high density of relations and interactions between and across the formal boundaries of these polities” (p. 16). [...] In a Sea of Empires proves that movement of people across imperial borders formed an integral aspect of micro-regional systems. The book brings this ground-level perspective to little-studied smaller imperial powers in the Atlantic world such as Sweden and Denmark-Norway. [...] [C]hapter 2 delves into the formal and informal trade of King Mammon. It studies political economy and commercial practices and networks. The chapter starts with the end of the imperially sanctioned trading companies, the Danish West India and Guinea Company and the Swedish West India Company, in the 1780s. The Danish and Swedish colonies were declared free ports and British colonies replaced state-sponsored smuggling practices of the eighteenth century through the practice of free trade. More than an ideological decision, the demise of earlier systems of trade control was a practical response to the fact that European powers could not regulate the flow of trade in the region. [...]

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Chapter 3 switches to the goddess of war Bellona. The eighteenth- and the early nineteenth-century world, Mulich reminds us, was a world at war. Limited military infrastructures left the Leeward Islands vulnerable to invasions, insurrections, and rebellions. In this chapter, Mulich carefully shows how the colonial social and political order managed to remain stable in an era of revolutions and upheavals. Inter-imperial rivalries take center stage in the chapter, especially during the 1790s, and the fear that the French Atlantic Revolution would spread its brand of republicanism to the Leeward Islands alongside the fear that enslaved people would rise up like they did in the French colonies. This fear of insurrection (Mullich uses the term paranoia several times) prompted colonial administrators to push aside their rivalries to protect their political and social system from the perceived threats of slave uprisings and colonial rebellions. 

The heirs to Francis Drake and Robert Surcouf are the topic of chapter 4 with the resurgence of privateering during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) and the start of the Latin American independence movements after 1808. Privateers received commissions, or letters of marque, from countries at war in the Greater Caribbean region. They took advantage of the location of the Leeward Islands as well as the environment of the islands, hiding in coves and islets to attack enemy vessels. The islands were also the perfect markets for the merchandise and human beings they seized from enemy ships. St Barthélemy became a central privateering hub in the region thanks to preexisting human and commercial networks and a lenient governor. The focal point of this chapter is not so much on privateers themselves as on the establishment of prize courts especially in the British islands: Mullich argues that prize courts illustrate the clashes over jurisdiction that characterized the region and eventually led to British ascendance.

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Jurisdictional tensions and legal-political struggles are also present in chapter 5, this time around slave codes and legal frameworks and practices around slavery. In a rich and dense chapter, Mulich tackles various topics such as the rise of abolitionist sentiment in Europe, amelioration programs in the British world, its impact on the Leeward Islands, the efforts by free people of color to obtain political and economic rights, maritime marronage, and the villages, like Kingstown, set up for the Africans “liberated” by the British from foreign slave ships. The close proximity of the islands meant that slave codes were circulated, copied, and imitated, and so were ideas around freedom and self-liberation. [...]

The last chapter focuses on the abolition of the slave trade. The Danish and British empires passed laws outlawing the trade in 1792 and 1807, respectively. [...] Mulich argues that a micro-regional perspective reveals the gaps between imperial policies and local practices since many administrators and merchants in the Leeward Islands circumvented decrees and decisions coming from Europe. This chapter also gives Mulich the opportunity to document the rise of British imperial influence in the region through slave trade treaties, mixed commission courts, and naval hegemony. Bans on international slave trade were not only inconsistently enforced, but they also did nothing to prevent “domestic” or inter-island slave trade, and enslaved people continued to be forcibly transported across islands. [...]

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In the Sea of Empires also opens up the possibility to trace more connections and networks between the Leeward Islands and other parts of the Caribbean and the Americas [...]. Other scholars might be interested in placing the Leeward Islands in connection with the French and/or the Spanish Caribbean, Venezuela, and especially neighboring Haiti, which was the only free and independent country in the Caribbean. Mulich mentions fears around Haiti and especially the insurrections of the 1790s, but Haiti became a geopolitical player in the region in the early nineteenth century. The wonderful digitalization project by the Danish National Archives has made five million documents about the Danish West Indies available for free online: [virgin-islands-history dot org/en]. This amazing resource is sure to fuel our understanding of the place of the Leeward Islands in global history.

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All text above by: Vanessa Mongey. “Review of Mulich, Jeppe, In a Sea of Empires: Networks and Crossings in the Revolutionary Caribbean”. H-LatAm, H-Net Reviews. Published online September 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[ebaeschnbliah]

SCANDINAVIAN  REFERENCES

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In Sherlock BBC - and also a little bit outside of it 

While writing on DISTRACTION & CONSEQUENCES and CABIN ON THE MEADOW, involving Phil with his ‘explosive’ car and the Hiker with the bashed-in head, I couldn’t fail to notice that Phil’s unmoving car is a SAAB … which is a Swedish brand. 

According to the informations given during the promotion campaingn for the Escapre Room, TheGameIsNow, Sherlock lives currently in Sweden. Since these aren’t the only occasions where Scandinavian regions are mentioned in Sherlock BBC, the suspicion inevitably arose that those references could be of some importance. Reason enough to make another little list. :)

TBC below the cut ….

Short definition of Scandinavia

The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 

In English usage, Scandinavia also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula, or to the broader region including Finland and Iceland.  x

A Scandal in Belgravia

As mentioned above, Phil’s immobile car, which ‘explodes’ and thus distracts the Hiker who, as a consequence, is killed by his own boomerang, is of the Swedish brand SAAB. 

The Empty Hearse

Mr. Howard Shilcott, the ‘train guy (and mirror for Sherlock), possesses important informations about the Underground station at Sumatra Road, which once was built but then closed before it ever opened. He wears a ‘funny hat with earflaps’ made of Islandic sheep wool. That hat becomes an object of significance when Sherlock invites his brother to play deductions with him, just like in the old days.

MYCROFT: The earlier patches are extensively sun-bleached, so he’s worn it abroad – in Peru. SHERLOCK: Peru? MYCROFT: This is a chullo – the classic headgear of the Andes. It’s made of alpaca. SHERLOCK: No. MYCROFT: No? SHERLOCK: Icelandic sheep wool. Similar, but very distinctive if you know what you’re looking for. I’ve written a blog on the varying tensile strengths of different natural fibres.

His Last Vow

The main villain of this episode is designed after Doyle’s British character Charles Augustus Milverton. For some reason, in this adaptation, name and origin of the man have been changed into Charles Augustus Magnussen, who is now from Denmark. The fact that he is ‘foreign’ is driven home explicitly right at the beginning of the episode by the dialogue as well as the accent of the man, who is played by Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen.

GARVIE: Do you think it right that a newspaper proprietor, a private individual and, in fact, a foreign national should have such regular access to our Prime Minister? MAGNUSSEN: I don’t think it’s wrong that a private individual should accept an invitation. However, you have my sincere apologies for being foreign.

The Six Thatchers

Mr. Kingsley, a client, thinks that Sherlock’s deductions, once explained, are actually dead simple. Highly annoyed, Sherlock spontaneously invents a ludicrous story and tells the shocked man that his wife is actually Greta Bengtsdotter, Swedish by birth and the most dangerous spy in the world. She secretly works for none other than James Moriarty and uses her unsuspecting husband as cover to hide her true intentions which will finally precipitate in World War III. 

The first location Mary visits on her hiatus is Norddal in Norway. That’s a small place (ca. 1660 inhabitants) deep inside the Storfjord. Here she picks up a fake passport hidden inside the stonewall of a coastal watchtower. Her new name, Gabrielle Ashdown, is taken from TPLOSH, where Holmes chooses the pseudonym ‘Mr. and Mrs. Ashdown’ for himself and Gabrielle Valladon, the woman who consulted him in the case of her missing husband but is actually Ilse von Hofmannsthal, a German spy who pretends to be Mrs. Valladon. 

The Final Problem

One of the very last scenes of this episode shows a man dressed as Viking, including the (cliched) horned helmet. He lies motionless on the floor in the livingroom of 221b Baker Street (played by Paul Weller). John bends over him and examines his left eye. 

Vikings were highly skilled Norse seafarers who raided and pillaged (like pirates) with their infamous longboats (also well known as dragonboats). They acted as mercenaries but also as merchants, who traded goods across wide areas of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, European Russia and the North Atlantic islands. Some of them even reached the North-Eastern coast of North America. (X)

That Viking is not the only character in this story who ‘wears horns’. Furthermore, cow horns are also connected to the eye-goddess Hathor, whose other, dangerous side is represented by lioness goddess Sekhmet.

The way this Viking lays there … one leg sharply angled at the knee, the foot shoved beneath the other, outstretched leg and both arms straight beside his torso … it’s a bit odd and strangely reminds me of the ‘dancing men’ drawn on the blackboard in the shot displayed immediately before this one. It almost looks like the way this man lies there could have some meaning. 

And something else comes to mind: the way John bends over the Viking stunningly resembles the scene from Magnussen’s office in HLV, when Sherlock got shot by Mary. One could even say, there are three potential ‘pirates’ gathered in Magnusson’s bedroom in that scene ... Sherlock, John and ‘Viking descendent’ Magnussen. Interesting ...

The Game is Now - Escape Room Promotion

With the cliffhanger of The Final Problem in mind and still no official announcement regarding a fifth series on the horizon, one could come to the assumption that the ‘TheGameIsNow- EscapeRoom’ event serves as a sort of interlude and somehow resembles a ‘SherlockBBC-Hiatus’ (hopefully). Isn’t it interesting that here too, Scandinavia seems to play a role?

During the conversation with Mycroft, in the intercepted message Nr 1, Sherlock mentions that he currently is in Sweden. 

During the intercepted message Nr 2 a map of Scandinavia is shown in the background with informations regarding its natural recources: iron ore, copper, zinc, gold, IKEA and uranium. 

Additionally Mycroft confirms a second time where his brother might be found at the moment: ‘Missing, rumoured to be in Sweden’ is written below a picture of Sherlock, kept in black and white, but temporarily overlaid with pink and green  (Study in Pink and Green)

Scandinavian canon reference regarding the ‘hiatus’

In Doyle’s original story The Empty House, Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson after their reunion that, for some time during his hiatus, he had stayed in Norway under a fake identity. 

“You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend.” (ACD, The Empty House)

Using Sherlock’s own words from The Great Game, one could say that, by now, the story told in Sherlock BBC as well as the EscapeRoom event have a …  ‘distinctly Scandinavian feeling about it’.  :)

Some Scandinavian side notes outside Sherlock BBC

Not Sherlock related. Should be taken with caution and humor: 

Radio Times, November 2018:  Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss reveale that Danish actor Claes Bang will be playing Dracula in their new series. ‘Hell has a new boss’ says the headline. Strictly speaking, the boss in Hell is generally considered to be the Devil (maybe also his grandma :) but surely not Dracula, who is after all just a human who desired immortal strength to protect and revenge the ones whom he loved. At least, that’s the story told in ….

Dracula Untold  (2014) -  some quotes:

"One day I will call on you to serve me in an immortal game of revenge … to unleash my wrath against the one who betrayed me."

“This is not a game!”

"Oh, what better way to endure eternity. For this, is the ultimate game. Light versus dark, hope versus despair. And all the world's fate hangs into the balance." 

Vlad Dracula meets his creator         Let the games begin

“You want me to shake hands with you in Hell? I shall not disappoint you.“  (Sherlock at Jim Moriarty, TRF)

How Dracula BBC came into being

“It came about several years ago,” Gatiss said. “We were filming  — we’d just started the third series of Sherlock, where he comes back from the dead, and we had to break off after two days to go to the RTS Awards (March, 2013) and I had a picture on my phone of Benedict silhouetted against the door of Mrs Hudson’s room. I showed it to Ben Stephenson, who was then the Head of Drama [at the BBC], and I said, ‘Looks like Dracula’. And he said, ‘Do you want to do it?'”  (RadioTimes, April 2019)

“We’re gonna go all Dane“

The same article from RadioTimes, contains an interview with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. When asked about their upcomming mini-series ‘Dracula’, if there will be more ‘homegrown talents’ among the cast, the producers answered the question in their most familiar way - with lots of laughter and giggling - obviously taking much pleasure in the announcement of their new ‘informations’.

“No, no ..., it’s strictly Dane from now on. We're only casting over Denmark. I don’t think Denmark’s being sufficiently represented and so we’re gonna go all Dane.”  

Strictly Danes …. well, well …. I’m more curious than ever ... and extremely exited!  :))))  

On Scandinavian name-giving tradition

It is a well known custom in Scandinavian regions to create personal names based on the given name of one’s father, grandfather or male ancestor by adding the ending -son/-sen/-søn or -dotter/-dottir/-dattir. This is called a patronymic (while the same method based on the mother’s name is called matronymic). A good example for this in Sherlock BBC is the character Charles Augustus Magnussen …. Magnus-sen = son of Magnus. 

This kind of Scandinavian name-giving tradition is based entirely on first names. Just assuming though, this method would also be applied to last names, then ... a female descendent of someone with the family name ‘Bang’ could be named ... ‘Bangsdotter’. :)))

A last funny detail:  the subtitles for Sherlock BBC, Series 4 (British Edition), display the name of the famous Swedish spy, Sherlock invents in TST, as Greta Bengsdotter. The correct spelling of the first name of Greta’s father (used here as patronymic) isn’t Beng though …. but Bengt.

Bengt (female, Bengta) is the Swedish equivalent of … Benedict.   :)))

As I said above ... to be taken with caution and humor.  :)))))

Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.    Related post by @tendergingergirl

Mai 2019

[enubus]

Russia’s Arctic Ambition is the Real Reason the U.S. Should Welcome Finland and Sweden to NATO.

The Russian President honored a scientist in 2008 for piloting a small submersible to the Arctic seabed. As a result, he planted a titanium version of the Russian flag and proclaimed, “The Arctic is Russian.”

It had been mainly ignored that the frozen Arctic Ocean, half the size of the United States, would be militarized by Putin, which, combined with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, convinced Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Seven of the eight Arctic nations now belong to NATO, and Washington is increasing surveillance and defense systems in Canada and Alaska to protect the northern perimeter of North America. The Arctic is critical to Putin.

At the top of the world, trade and resources are being fought for hegemony. The Northern Sea Route, also known as the Arctic Silk Road, provides a shipping link between Europe and Asia, bypassing the Suez and Panama Canals. In the summer, parts of the Russian Sea Route, which hugs the Siberian coastline, are ice-free. Developing a Northwest Passage through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago and along Alaska’s coast is not viable or possible.

Its government has blocked the development of its massive Arctic oil and gas reserves discovered in the 1980s, leaving Canada’s north empty. In contrast, Russia’s Siberian coastline is populated with settlements, a floating nuclear reactor, and navigational, rescue, and icebreaking capabilities. The route could cut 20 days off the Europe-China journey and bypass the Suez or Panama Canals. There were only 86 transits in 2021, and it’s years away from viable.

Russia, however, has militarized the region, building as many as 50 defensive outposts from the Barents Sea to Alaska. In the Kola Peninsula, for instance, which abuts Finland and Norway, nuclear power is prevalent. Two-thirds of Russia’s second-strike maritime nuclear capabilities are based there, along with the headquarters for the Northern Fleet.

Vladivostok, near Alaska, is home to one-third of Russia’s nuclear-equipped warships and submarines.

The U.S. took over surveillance from Canada in 2021 under NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, after then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put Russia on notice. In the Arctic, Canada’s navy lacks polar icebreakers, making it smaller than Norway’s.

On the other hand, America has 12,000 troops in its Arctic airborne division in Alaska and conducts Arctic maneuvers with Nordic nations, Great Britain, and other Arctic Council members. There are now more advanced fighter jets in Alaska than anywhere else in the world, according to the Pentagon. It is planned to build six new icebreaker ships and develop a northern satellite and radar monitoring security system to reach Alaska to Europe.

The cost of Russia’s war with NATO over Ukraine and Western sanctions will hinder its Arctic ambitions. In 1991, eight nations with frontage on the Arctic Ocean formed the Arctic Council as a high-level intergovernmental forum. In addition to environmental issues, resource extraction, shipping, and sovereignty claims, these nations regularly convene to address these issues. Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States are the eight nations involved in the Arctic Council.

Currently, Russia chairs the council, but on March 3, 2022, the other seven declared they would not attend meetings in Russia because it invaded Ukraine.

In the 20 years that the council has existed, Moscow has made outrageous land claims and engaged in aggressive oil exploration in the region, encroaching on territory owned by Canada and others. According to Moscow, the undersea continental shelf of its country extends beneath most of the Arctic Ocean. Evidence corroborates these submissions, but a negotiation between disputing nation-states rarely leads to settlements.

In response to American sanctions, a Russian politician recently said that Russia should take Alaska. One U.S. politician responded, “Hell will freeze over” when that happens. It should be noted that the threat was made for a reason. As global warming melts ice sheets in the north, the possibility of new sea routes becomes available; then there is the oil that Alaska produces. 

The threat Russia poses is not just for Ukraine or other former Soviet States, but for the Artic and all the seven countries with a shoreline along the Arctic Ocean.   

[thebricknerd]

Say Hello to the New BrickNerd Team

There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable LEGO people to see if they could become something more. Nine countries and at least ten languages later, we have gathered a team of incredible builders, writers, historians and artists to make connections across continents and showcase the best the global LEGO fan community has to offer. BrickNerds, assemble!

We are excited to share our love of LEGO, some intriguing stories, building talent and opinions while highlighting many amazing creations and creators within the AFOL community. We come from diverse backgrounds, generations, locations and demographics, and invite you to join us in dialogue as we explore the awesome nerdiness that is LEGO. Let’s meet the team!

Andreas Lenander

Andreas is from Sweden and builds just about everything! He is a member of Swebrick, and you can find him on Flickr, Instagram and LEGO Ideas.

“I’m an AFOL from Sweden with a patient wife and three kids. LEGO Masterpiece Gallery alumni. Been out of my dark age for about five years and love building... well, pretty much everything, haha!”

Are M. Heiseldal

Are hails from Norway and is most interested in storytelling, culture, and fascinating interviews. He is a member of both Brikkelauget and Brickish. You can find him on Flickr.

“I got back into LEGO because of the modular buildings - so the Café Corner is special to me - and then I dove into an amazing community, traveling to events all over Europe and North America. Through these travels, plus my contributions to the LEGO Adventure Books, Bricks Culture Magazine, the Skærbæk and Paredes de Coura Fan Weekends, and the LEGO House Fan Evenings, I've met some wonderful people both inside the LEGO company and elsewhere. I'll mainly be sharing stories from these experiences: The perspective of a traveling AFOL.”

Bart Larrow, Jr., D.M.D. (aka El Barto)

Bart lives in Vermont (USA) and is continuing as a contributor to BrickNerd! He loves Space, Architecture, and all things dental-related. He is a member of VirtuaLUG, and you can find him on Flickr and Bart’s Brick Designs.

“I’m a dentist in Vermont. I’ve been into LEGO since the 1970s, mostly Space, then I began collecting Star Wars Sets when they came out. I built my first Battlestar Galactica in 2010, and that’s when I found the online community. My family and I attended our first of many Brickworlds in 2013 with the VirtuaLUG Wizard of Oz collab. I started writing for BrickNerd back in 2015 when it was just a few of us, barely scraping by on a shoestring budget. I’m excited to see where this all goes under new management. But I’m STILL waiting to see a new coffee machine in the break room...”

Billy Mohr

Billy is from Pennsylvania (USA) and focuses on minifigure customization, military builds, and third-party offerings. You can find him on Instagram.

“Hello there! My name is Billy and I've been involved in the custom minifigure world since 2013. My goal is to engage customizers and purists alike as I share all that has me so excited to keep on creating. You can expect content ranging anywhere from an in-depth analysis of custom works to an informative look at popular techniques used in the community.”

Dave Schefcik

Dave lives in New York (USA) and loves LEGO Architecture, Winter Village, all things community-related, conventions, and meeting interesting people. He is a member of SeaLUG, PSLTC, I LUG NY, FabuLUG and SortLUG, helps organize BrickCon, and previously contributed to The Brothers Brick. You can find him on Flickr, Instagram and Facebook.

“I’m a lifetime lover of LEGO though I did suffer a Dark Age! As an adult, I started with the Modular Buildings then graduated to full AFOL status by building a huge custom Winter Village. I love building BIG and small, experimenting with foliage, and creating convention trophies. I collect rare sets and elements, analyze new parts, and try to learn everything I can about LEGO. I especially enjoy hearing how LEGO has impacted people’s lives, making connections within the community, and meeting fellow LEGO fans at events and conventions. I hope to see you at one in the future!”

Douglas Hughes

Doug lives in Washington (USA) and builds on all things Power Functions, Castle/Fantasy, Space, and contests. He is a member of SeaLUG, and you can find him on Flickr, Instagram and YouTube.

“Hello! I'm Doug Hughes, an AFOL in my free time and an engineer by trade. I'm originally from the East coast but have made Seattle, WA my home as an adult. I love the LEGO community both here in the wonderful Pacific Northwest and also online, originally on MocPages and now on Flickr, Instagram, and Discord, so I hope to see you there! If you scroll through my work you'll find builds containing power functions, fantasy, castle... and just about anything else!”

Eduard Petrac

Eduard lives in Norway and is from Croatia. He focuses on all things City, interviews and event reports. He is a member of Kockice RLUG in Croatia, has written for Hispabrick, and you can find him on Flickr.

“I’ve been a LEGO fan since I can remember, growing up and building Town/City layouts. A part of the AFOL Community since 2010 which opened up a world of like-minded people on my journeys across Europe. Hoping to bring a fresh approach to Interviews and City-themed sets.”

Francesco Spreafico

Francesco is from Italy and enjoys LEGO History and European Events. He is a member of ItLUG, and contributes to New Elementary and OldBricks.it. You can find him on Flickr and Instagram.

“I am the LAN Ambassador for ItLUG, the Italian LUG, and since I visited the LEGO Idea House five years ago my main LEGO interest has become LEGO History. Another thing I like to do, when the world situation is normal, is organizing and participating in international events in Europe. And that's mainly what I'm going to write about here.”

Geneva Durand

Geneva splits her time between the US and Chile. She spans interests including all things Castle, Ninjago, LEGO Babies, and LEGO Contests. She is a member of InnovaLUG, and you can find her on Flickr, Instagram and her blog.

“I started building with LEGO bricks back when I was 14, and since then I've tried everything from medieval towers to banana-shaped spaceships! Along the way, I've learned new techniques, photography tips, and more from other LEGO builders, so I try to take whatever chances come my way to give a little back. I'm also a writer, I play classical guitar, I'm bilingual, and I do Taekwondo. I'm a Bible-believing Christian and my goal in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever!”

Gwyneth Kozbial

Gwyneth lives in California and loves LEGO art, new elements and techniques, the fan community, and fantasy lines. She is a member of LUGOLA, and you can find her on Instagram.

“I’m an adult-onset AFOL who digs the community's creative diversity and is best known for MOCing the British Beatles album covers, with each "mosaic" employing a unique building style. I’m based in the Southern California desert and hope to explore new techniques while humanizing the talents of builders who push the system's bounds.”

Keith Reed

Keith lives in Canada and builds everything from Apocalypse, Dystopia, Pirates, Movies, Steampunk and more. He is a member of S.l.u.g, and you can find him on Flickr and Instagram.

“I've been building since I was little. LEGO has always been a big part of my life even through my "dark ages". LEGO became a huge part of life again when I joined a lug in 2012. It’s lead to many great memories and friendships since then. Looking forward to showcasing many great MOCs, builders and events.”

Lia Chan

Lia lives in Texas and loves realistic space MOCs and all things NASA. She is a member of DFW-LUG, and you can find her on Flickr, Instagram and Facebook.

“Hiya, I'm Lia Chan, I live near Dallas, Texas, member of the D/FW-LUG. I got my first set of LEGO when I was 5 years old and have been building ever since. I build mostly realistic Space MOCs, especially things related to NASA.”

Malin Kylinger

Malin lives in Sweden and enjoys all types of creative MOCs and LEGO Art. She is a member of Swebrick, and you can find her on Flickr and Instagram.

“I’m a creative MOC builder who likes to build fantasy or sci-fi inspired builds with a great love for vibrant colours especially blue and green. The LEGO hobby is more than just building, it´s therapy, expressing creativity and being a part of an amazing community.”

Markus Rollbühler

Markus lives in Denmark and builds Castle, Microscale and more! He is a member of both RogueBricks and Brick.ie. You can find him on Flickr and Instagram.

“I’m Markus and I love to build in a variety of themes, scales and styles – a jack of all trades, if you may. I constantly find myself building castle though, and I love using pieces creatively especially in microbuilds. When I'm not building, I attend events all over the globe or organise things like Iron Builder – ultimately giving back to the community that has given me so much. I'm excited to bring all of that to BrickNerd, writing about techniques, sorting or photography, latest builds or events – whatever might be of interest! :) ”

Michael J.

Michael lives in Central USA and is continuing on as a contributor to BrickNerd! He loves Space, Castle, Pirates, and everything in between. He is a member of GTWLUG, and you can find him on Flickr.

“I've been building for almost as long as I can remember (one of the lucky few without a significant dark age). Found the online community about 10 years ago and a LUG to call home about six years ago. I've been an occasional contributor here at BrickNerd since May of 2019.”

Miro Dudas

MIro lives in California and loves building characters, animals, and nature. He is a member of SanDLUG, and you can find him on Instagram.

“I’m a lifelong LEGO fan and builder from San Diego, California. I enjoy creating character models and animals out of LEGO when I’m not hiking, busy with woodworking projects, playing guitar or running the San Diego LEGO Users Group (SanDLUG).”

Noah Hennings

Noah lives in Germany and loves all things Star Wars, Cyberpunk, Medieval and Lord of the Rings. He is a member of RebelLUG, and you can find him on YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, Block Heads, and MOC Builder.

“Hello there, I’m Noah! Using this artistic medium loved by many, I assemble models and scenes from mostly the science fiction realm, primarily Star Wars with some recent dabbles into Cyberpunk. I’m looking to share creations from around the community that not only look impressive, but come from people who give their twist as to what LEGO means for them.”

Sergio Rojas

Sergio is from Chile, and builds pop culture, nature, art, and more. He is a member of ChileLUG, and you can find him on Instagram and Flickr.

“Photography and pop culture were the fuel to restart the LEGO passion in me after a long dark ages years ago when there wasn't a LEGO community in Chile. Lucky for me more people were looking for AFOLs to share their hobby and so we founded ChileLUG. But for me not only are the builds interesting, also getting to know how people live their hobby all around the world: their LEGO rooms, the creative process, local conventions and more.”

Simon Liu

Simon lives in Canada and loves Sci-Fi, Space, Mecha, Greebles, and all things contest-related. He is a member of ToroLUG, RebelLUG, OraphanLUG and EscapeLUG. You can find him on Flickr, Instagram and YouTube.

“Hey I'm Simon, I like building Sci-Fi — mainly so that I can systematically shove the cutest creature in little mech suits. I've been in the community for a few years now, but I still feel like I'm a new kid on the block with so many aspects of community I have yet to meet and such deep established roots. But early on I realized what an amazing impact the community can have, so I've been sneaking my way and trying to see as much as I can, and hopefully you can see some of the LEGO community through my eyes via some sort of brain to text technology!”

Sue Ann Barber

Sue Ann lives in Australia, and is mostly interested in unusual LEGO themes like Scala, Clickits and Fabuland as well as building standards like Micropolis, Miniland Scale, Minifig Habitats and Brick Bending. She is a member of MUGs (Melbourne LEGO User Group) and Brickventures, and you can find her on her Brick Room Blog and The Plastic Brick House.

“I became an AFOL in the early 1990s and have been active in the local and international community ever since. I’m a big fan of the more unusual aspects of the LEGO fan community — from obscure themes to weird collectibles and everything in-between”

Ted Andes

Ted lives in Kentucky (USA) and loves contests, Trains, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Speederbikes, Collabs, and more. You can find him on Flickr.

“I’m a MOC builder based in Louisville, KY (USA), drawn to building in sci-fi and fantasy themes and finding creative ways to seamlessly use System/Technic/Constraction parts in my builds. I tend to write articles more about the human elements of the building hobby than those little plastic ones that we all adore.”

Will Fong

Will lives in Canada and loves Trains, Battle Bricks and Robots. He is a member of VLC, and you can find him on Flickr, Instagram and Battle Bricks.

“I started building in 2016. I focus on building public transit vehicles, and I am also the theme coordinator for Battle Bricks fighting robots at BrickCan and BrickCon. Most of my content revolves around what I do and how you too can build fighting robots.”

But wait, there’s more! BrickNerd is still growing and adding amazing contributors so stay tuned to see who else is joining our Nerdly ranks. If you are interested in becoming a contributor for BrickNerd, please send an email to dave@bricknerd.com. Let the LEGO nerdiness commence!

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.1

Pre-Julian Roman calendar

153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.

Early Julian calendar (before Augustus' leap year correction)

45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year. 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.

Julian calendar

193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor. 417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable)[ 1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable). 1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor. 1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris. 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary. 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is first explored by the Portuguese. 1515 – Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII. 1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin. 1600 – Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25. 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland. 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.

Gregorian calendar

1707 – John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.[14] 1739 – Bouvet Island, the world's remotest island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. 1772 – The first traveler's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, is issued by the London Credit Exchange Company. 1773 – The hymn that became known as "Amazing Grace", then titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17" is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action. 1781 – American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781. 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published. 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed. 1801 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi. 1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam. 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States. 1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished. 1808 – The United States bans the importation of slaves. 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. 1847 – The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world. 1860 – The first Polish stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.[29] 1861 – Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City. 1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory. 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India. 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones) 1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government. 1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States. 1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. 1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba. 1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate. 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister. 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California. 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members), since Horatio Nelson. 1912 – The Republic of China is established. 1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft. 1923 – Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS. 1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War. 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc. 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver. 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. 1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison. 1934 – A "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring" comes into effect in Nazi Germany. 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations. 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops kill 60 German POWs at Chenogne. 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow. 1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany. 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen. 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways. 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly. 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom. 1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. 1958 – European Economic Community is established. 1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces. 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom. 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia. 1965 – The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan. 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television. 1973 – Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community. 1978 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing all 213 people on board. 1979 – Formal diplomatic relations are established between China and the United States. 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community. 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations. 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T. 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom. 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone. 1987 – The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.[66] 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. 1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion. 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor. 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. 1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas. 1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect. 1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being. 1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves. 1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. 1998 – Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence. 1999 – Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden; Greece later adopts the euro). 2002 – Euro currency becomes legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states. 2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania join the EU. 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia killing all 102 people on board. 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand. 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more. 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.[80] 2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country. 2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. 2015 – The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. 2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others

[internationalblog-blog1]

Historical Major World Treaties

Wherever there are states, there are treaties. Since ancient times, treaties have been a crucial tool of statecraft and diplomacy. As treaties are agreements between various states, often concluded at the end of a conflict, they profoundly reshape boundaries, economies, alliances and international relations. Here are five of the most important treaties in history.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

The Treaty of Tordesillas, between Portugal and Spain (technically its component Kingdom of Castile), was negotiated by the Papacy and divided newly discovered lands outside of Europe between the two countries along a line of longitude through what is now eastern Brazil.

As a result, Spanish exploration and colonization mostly focused on the Americas, leading to Spanish control over much of Central and South America; the still undiscovered Brazil fell to Portugal. Portugal was able to explore east, and under Vasco da Gama in 1498, it managed to establish that it was possible to sail from Europe to India.

Initially, the treaty was to Portugal’s advantage, as it grew rich off of the trade route between Europe and Asia. However, in the long run, Portugal was edged out of this trade by England and Holland. In terms of controlling land, it was much more difficult for tiny Portugal to seize and hold territory where organized states existed in Asia. Spain, on the other hand, acquired a huge and populous empire in Latin America, and later discovered enormous mineral wealth there.

Ultimately, of course, other powers chose to ignore the treaty, which excluded them, including England, the Netherlands and France.

Historical Footnote

Many great wars caused the evolution of the rules and discipline of international law. Modern international law first took shape in 1625 during the 30 years war when Hugo Grotius, a Dutch diplomat, produced his great work, On the Law of War and Peace.

Grotius saw that the old order in Europe was breaking down and the allegiance to the Pope and the Emperor was losing its grip over numerous states. With numerous states being released from the authority of the Pope and the Emperor, Grotius feared there would be little restraint among society and lawlessness would prevail. To avoid this, Grotius created a set of principles for the newly released states to obey in their dealings with each other. Hence, modern international law emerged.

The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The Peace of Westphalia consisted of two related treaties, the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück, signed at the end of the Thirty Years’ War, which was generally between Catholic and Protestant states, although countries like France played both sides for cynical gain. Although the Peace of Westphalia only originally impacted Western and Central Europe, it eventually had global consequences.

This was because it established some of the most important principles of the international system. The key characteristics of the nation-state were laid out in the treaties signed at the Peace of Westphalia. The treaties established the idea of territorial sovereignty, with each state solely responsible for law and order, taxes and control over the populations in their territories. Additionally, the right of every state to order its own internal religious and political arrangements was recognized. These are now considered global norms.

Historical Footnote

In 1648, with the Peace of Westphalia many new nations large and small emerged and the smallest states would have had no chance of survival if there were not a rudimentary international legal system. Grotius’ ideals were admirable, but the world of power and realpolitik did not pay sufficient attention to them, resulting in other great wars. There was also the race for empires which began after the discovery of America and the evolution of maritime routes to Africa and the East. There were also revolutionary wars such as those accompanying the French Revolution. 

The Treaty of Paris (1783)

The Treaty of Paris (1783), which is the oldest treaty signed by the United States still in effect, ended the American Revolution and established the United States—for that reason alone, it is one of the most consequential treaties in world history. The Treaty of Paris didn’t just establish the United States; it did so on highly favorable terms.

The American negotiating team, led by John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams played their hand astoundingly well. America’s allies, France and Spain, did not want the United States to make a separate peace; however, as fighting continued to rage in the Caribbean and Gibraltar, this is exactly what the Americans sought, as they felt they would get a better deal by directly dealing with London. The French had hoped that America would be a small and weak state between the Atlantic and Appalachians, with the British keeping the lands north of the Ohio River and the Spanish controlling a buffer state to the south. Instead, the British decided that a strong and economically successful America was in their interests and against French interests and were convinced to give the new state all the land up to the Mississippi river as well as fishing rights in Canada. This enabled the United States to later expand westward and become a major continental power.

The Congress of Vienna (1814–15)

The Congress of Vienna occurred at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and dramatically reshaped Europe. Several treaties were signed at the Congress, the most important of which was the 1814 Treaty of Paris (there are a lot of “Treaties of Paris”).

The Congress of Vienna was especially noteworthy because of how successful it was. While some later historians have criticized it as being “reactionary,” it prevented the outbreak of a major European war for a hundred years. How did it accomplish this?

First, all parties, including defeated France, were part of the negotiations. This was due to the informal format of the Congress, which allowed various parties, often led by brilliant diplomats such as Talleyrand (France) and Metternich (Austria) to sit down and hash out their positions, until a compromise was reached. While this did not make everyone happy, it ensured that nobody was totally unhappy and involved convoluted horse-trading. For example, Sweden lost Finland to Russia, but gained Norway from Denmark. Denmark, in turn, gained Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of Lauenburg from Hanover; it gave the first to Prussia and kept the second. In compensation Hanover was given East Frisia from Prussia.

Second, the Congress and the resulting treaties limited the level of punitiveness imposed on the losing parties. France lost the territory acquired by Napoleon but kept its prewar boundaries; it was more often than not treated by the other powers as a fellow victim of Napoleon. Countries that sided with France, like Saxony were allowed to retain their independence, despite calls to the contrary. Unlike the aftermath of World War I, no attempts were made to abolish entire countries or change their internal political arrangements. All this contributed to enormous stability. The only unfortunate thing was that, because of all the horse-trading at the conference, an independent Poland was not reestablished.

Historical Footnote

After the carnage of the French revolutionary wars ended in 1815, a great effort was mounted to establish a peaceful world at the Congress of Vienna. This did not succeed, but the momentum for peace kept growing. In the 19th century there were around 400 peace societies around the world. However there was a great gulf between the world of the philosopher and the world of power and those who commanded real power tended to smile superciliously at the apostles of peace, viewing them as visionaries, day dreamers and utopians who did not understand the politics of power. 

A momentous step forward occurred when the Tsar of Russia Nicholas II summoned all the sovereigns to a peace conference at The Hague in 1899. This was a great advance in world history because here at last was a bridge between the world of power and the world of the philosopher. Writers like Tolstoy were deeply influential in bringing about this result because their works were widely read at that time and may have even influenced the Tsar.

The 1899 Peace Conference sought to achieve a means for the peaceful settlement of disputes, rejecting the principle widely believed in at the time that war was the natural means of resolving international disputes. A proposal was made for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice which would settle disputes between nations. At the time this was not achieved owing to resistance by the great powers. Rather, a Permanent Court of Arbitration4 was established making available a panel of experts in international law for countries to settle their disputes. It was successful in resolving a number of disputes that would have otherwise resulted in war.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Western allies and Germany at the end of World War I. The manner in which it was handled stood in stark contrast with the inclusive way in which post-Napoleonic Europe was organized—terms were dictated, not negotiated. In addition to the Treaty of Versailles, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and the remnant of the Ottoman Empire also signed misconceived treaties.

Germany, of course, was given the short end of the stick, and was punished with the loss of territory and crippling reparations, largely at the urging of a vengeful France. While this was a bad idea, if the allies were going to go down this path, they should have gone ever further and broken up Germany, rather than let Europe’s most populous nation fester in anger.

President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points also lead to the creation of various new, small, weak nation-states which could hardly defend themselves in the long run against predatory powers like the Soviet Union and Germany. Interference in the internal political structures of defeated powers like Germany also created the conditions for trouble, and ultimately lead to World War II.

The related treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne divvied up the Ottoman Empire, with unpleasant consequences for the Middle East: Armenians and Kurds lost out, and most of the Arabs found themselves under French and British colonial rule in artificial states like Syria and Iraq, the consequences of which are abundantly evident today.

Historical Footnote

This Court system, however, was not sufficient to prevent World War I from occurring in 1914. The War resulted in an enormous loss of life and further intensified the drive for peace and international law. In the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Permanent Court of International Justice was established with jurisdiction to settle international disputes if the states concerned were prepared to refer their disputes to the court. Consisting of a highly qualified, regular body of judges, this Court was empowered to apply the principles of international law to disputes before them, and functioned with great professional competence. International law thus gained in stature and acceptance. 

However, this was still insufficient to prevent war because states were not required to submit disputes to the court. The world underwent the agony of a second world war. Afterwards, the Court of International Justice was given greater stature through the creation of the United Nations and the acceptance of the UN Charter of which the Statute of the International Court of Justice was made an integral part. By this Charter, war was outlawed and the peaceful settlement of disputes was required. The Charter was a tremendous advance and a great milestone on the road to the enthronement of international law. 

Charter of the United Nations (1945)

The United Nations Charter is a core constituent document of the United Nations, and the United Nations System.  Legally, the UN Charter is an multilateral international treaty, with 192 member states.  In addition to creating the basic international institutional structure, the UN Charter restates many core principles of international law, including customary international law.  

As outlined in the charter, the two main bodies of the United Nations are the General Assembly, composed of all member nations, and the Security Council. The Council consists of the five victors from World War II (known as “The Big Five”) as permanent members—China, France, the United Kingdom, the USSR (now Russia), and the United States—and 10 other countries, elected by the General Assembly, that serve 2-year terms. The Security Council is the principal UN organ responsible for ensuring peace, and its decisions are binding on all member states. The five permanent members were given individual veto power over issues brought before the Council. 

As a charter, it is a constituent treaty, and all members are bound by its articles. Furthermore, Article 103 of the Charter states that obligations to the United Nations prevail over all other treaty obligations. Most countries in the world have now ratified the Charter.

Historical Footnote

The UN Charter explicitly states, in Article 2(4), that all member states “shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” The UN Charter has now been in force for 60 years, and virtually every state in the world is a member. It is binding on all nations. 

It is the duty of every nation and of every citizen to do all they can to strengthen the acceptance and authority of the UN system as well as the system of international law because this is the principal means of achieving a world of peace and our principal protection against future wars. 

[dan6085]

The Vikings were a seafaring people from Scandinavia who lived between the 8th and 11th centuries. They were known for their skilled navigation, brutal raids, and distinctive culture. The Vikings came from what is now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and they left a lasting impact on the history and culture of Europe.

The Vikings were skilled sailors who were able to navigate the seas using only the stars and natural landmarks. They used their ships to explore new lands, trade with other peoples, and carry out raids on coastal towns and villages. The Vikings were fearsome warriors, and their raids struck fear into the hearts of the people of Europe. They were known for their brutal tactics, such as burning down villages and massacring their enemies.

Despite their reputation as raiders, the Vikings were also traders and settlers. They established settlements in Ireland, Scotland, England, and even as far away as Iceland and Greenland. They traded goods such as furs, fish, and timber, and they were able to establish thriving communities in many parts of Europe.

The Vikings had a unique culture that was influenced by their pagan beliefs and the harsh environment in which they lived. They were skilled craftsmen who produced intricate metalwork, textiles, and jewelry. They also had a rich oral tradition of storytelling and poetry, which was passed down through generations. The Vikings worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses, such as Odin, Thor, and Freya, and they believed in an afterlife that was governed by the god of war, Valhalla.

The Vikings also had a social structure that was based on clan and family ties. They lived in longhouses with extended families, and they had a system of laws and governance that was based on the Thing, a meeting of free men who would decide on important matters. Women had a prominent role in Viking society, and they were often involved in trade, farming, and other activities.

The Vikings eventually converted to Christianity in the 11th century, and their raids on Europe came to an end. However, their legacy lived on in many parts of Europe, including the language and culture of England, which was heavily influenced by the Vikings. Today, the Vikings are remembered as a fierce and resourceful people who left a lasting impact on the history and culture of Europe.

In conclusion, the Vikings were a seafaring people who lived between the 8th and 11th centuries. They were known for their skilled navigation, brutal raids, and distinctive culture. The Vikings left a lasting impact on the history and culture of Europe, and their legacy is still felt today.