Marco Polo

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a Italian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in «The Travels of Marco Polo» (also known 'Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c. 1300'), a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.

Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on a epic journey to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached Cathay (China). They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan, who was impressed by Marco's intelligence and humility. 

Marco was appointed to serve as Khan's foreign emissary, and he was sent on many diplomatic missions throughout the empire and Southeast Asia, such as in present-day Burma, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. As part of this appointment, Marco also traveled extensively inside China, living in the emperor's lands for 17 years and seeing many things that had previously been unknown to Europeans. 

Around 1291, the Polos also offered to accompany the Mongol princess Kököchin to Persia; they arrived around 1293. After leaving the princess, they travelled overland to Constantinople and then to Venice, returning home after 24 years. At this time, Venice was at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisioned and dictated his stories to Rustichello da Pisa, a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married, and had three children. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.

Blas de Lezo

Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta (3 February 1689 - 7 September 1741) was a Spanish admiral best remembered for the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741) in modern-day Colombia, where Spanish imperial forces under his command resisted a siege by a large British invasion fleet under Admiral Edward Vernon. He is considered one of the best strategists in the history of the Royal Spanish Navy.

In the battle of Cartagena de Indias, the British concentrated a large fleet consisting of 186 ships, including 2620 artillery pieces and more than 27000 men, bigger than Spanish Armada. Of that number, 10000 were soldiers responsible for initiating a ground assault. There were also 12600 sailors, 1000 Jamaican slaves and macheteros, and 4000 recruits from Virginia led by Lawrence Washington (1718-1752), the elder half-brother of George Washginton, future President of the United States.

The defences of Cartagena de Indias comprised 3000 soldiers between regular troops, Black and Afro-descendants militia, 600 Indian archers, plus the crews and troops of six Spanish warships. Blas de Lezo's advantages consisted of a formidable primary fortress and numerous secondary fortifications.

On the evening of April 19, the British mounted an assault in force upon San Felipe. Three columns of grenadiers supported by Jamaicans and several British companies moved under cover of darkness, with the aid of an intense naval bombardment. The British fought their way to the base of the fort's ramparts but were unable to overcome the defence and withdrew.

After comprehensively destroying the forts in their possession, the British began an orderly withdrawal back to Jamaica, having lost more than 4500 men and 6 boats, and with other 20 boats in very bad shape. The Spanish victory ensured that the Spanish Empire would continue to dominate the region for some more decades.

Julius Caesar

This general was a Roman politician and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. IN 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero.

Caesar's victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC.

With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman Italy under arms, Civil war resulted, and Caesar's victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence.

After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity", giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus.

Christopher Columbus

Chistopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, 1451-1506) was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World.

Western imperialism and economic competition were emerging among European kingdoms through the establishment of trade routes and colonies. Columbus proposed to reach the East Indies by sailing westward, and this eventually received the support of the Spanish Crown, which saw a chance to enter the spice trade with Asia through a new westward route.

During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipielago that he named "San Salvador". Over the course of three more voyages, he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming all of it for the Crown of Castile.

Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas, having been preceded by the Viking expedition led by Leif Erikson in the 11th century, but his voyages led to the first lasting European contact with the Americas, inaugurating a period of European exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted several centuries.

The Battle of Shiroyama

The Battle of Shiroyama took place on 24 September 1.877, in Kagoshima, Japan. It was the final battle of the Satsuma Rebellion, where the heavily outnumbered samurai under Saigö Takamori made their last stand against Imperial Japanese Army under the command of Generals Yamagata Aritomo and Kawamura Sumiyoshi. The battle culminated in the annihilation of Saigö's army as well as his death, marking the end of the Satsuma Rebellion.

Following defeat at the Siege of Kumamoto Castle and in other battles in central Kyüshü, the surviving remnants of the samurai forces loyal to Saigö Takamori fled back to Satsuma, seizing the hill of Shiroyama overlooking Kagoshima on 1 September 1.877. Imperial army troops under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo and marines under the command of  Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi began arriving soon after, and the rebels were surrounded.

After combat losses and defections, Saigö had only about 500 samurai remaining of a force of over 20.000 which had besieged the government garrison in the city of Kumamoto only six weeks earlier. With 30.000 troops, Yamagata, although greatly outnumbering Saigö, bided his time constructing a series of fortifications to encircle Saigö and preempt any chance of a breakout, additionally requisitioning five warships to bombard the rebels and reduce their defenses.

He was planning an attack from all sides, and in an effort to prevent another escape, ordered that any position engaged by the enemy was to be fired upon, regardless of friendly casualties. Saigö defended his position with limited musket support and a few pieces of artillery, melting down metal statues to produce bullets and tending to injuries with a carpenter's saw. After firing a final barrage of artillery lasting the night, Yamagata's men attacked Saigö's position.

The samurai, under heavy fire, charged the lines of the imperial army, which had not been trained for close-quarter sword fighting. In just a few minutes, the once organized line turned into disarray. Highly skilled samurai swordsmanship prevailed against an army with very little traditional training. For a short time, Saigö's lines held, but was forced back due to weight of numbers. 

Saigö was mortally wounded in the femoral artery and stomach, and was carried by Beppy Shinsuke downhill to find a place to end his life.