Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th through to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those enslaved that were transported to the New World, many on the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, were West Africans from the central and western parts of the continent sold by western Africans to western European slave traders, or by direct European capture to the Americas.<br/><br/> The numbers were so great that Africans who came by way of the slave trade became the most numerous Old World immigrants in both North and South America before the late 18th century. Far more slaves were taken to South America than to the north. The South Atlantic economic system centered on producing commodity crops, and making goods and clothing to sell in Europe, and increasing the numbers of African slaves brought to the New World.
The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary <i>xian</i> (immortals) in Chinese mythology, folk religion and Taoism. The Eight Immortals are believed to have been born in either the Tang or Song Dynasty, though they were first described in the Yuan Dynasty, most likely named after the Eight Immortals Scholars of the Han.<br/><br/> The names of the Immortals were: He Xiangu; Cao Guojiu; Li Tieguai; Lan Caihe; Lu Dongbin; Han Xiangzi; Zhang Guolao; and Zhongli Quan. They were each said to have in their possession a tool with which they could transfer their power to and either bestow life or destroy evil, known as the 'Covert Eight Immortals'. They were believed to have lived on a group of five islands, including Penglai Mountain-Island, in the Bohai Sea.<br/><br/> The Eight Immortals are considered signs of longevity and prosperity, and are very popular in art and literature. They are a commonly seen element in secular Chinese culture and revered by Taoists, with many shrines dedicated to them scattered throughout China, Taiwan and Singapore.
Astor was a German-American business magnate, merchant and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States. He was the creator of the first trust in America.<br/><br/> He went to the United States following the American Revolutionary War and built a fur-trading empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. In 1816, he joined the opium smuggling trade. His American Fur Company purchased ten tons of Turkish opium, then shipped the contraband item to Canton (Guangzhou).<br/><br/> In the early 19th century, he diversified into New York City real estate and later became a famed patron of the arts.
George Psalmanazar claimed to be the first Formosan to visit Europe. For some years he convinced many in Britain, but was later revealed to be an impostor. He later became a theological essayist and a friend and acquaintance of Samuel Johnson and other noted figures of 18th-century literary London.<br/><br/> in 1704 Psalmanazar published a book entitled 'An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa', an island subject to the Emperor of Japan which purported to be a detailed description of Formosan customs, geography and political economy, but which was in fact a complete invention on Psalmanazar's part.<br/><br/> Psalmanazar's book also described the Formosan language and alphabet, which is significant for being an early example of a constructed language. His efforts in this regard were so convincing that German grammarians were including samples of his so-called "Formosan alphabet" in books of languages well into the 18th century, even after his larger imposture had been exposed.
Maharaja Suraj Mal has been described by a contemporary historian as 'the Plato of the Jat people' and by a modern writer as the 'Jat Ulysses', because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision. He is associated with the rise of Jat power, for his love of literature, and for his military and diplomatic achievements.<br/><br/> He died on 25 December 1763 in a war with Najib-ud-dola. At the time of his death Maraja Suraj Mal's Empire included Agra, Dholpur, Mainpuri, Hathras, Aligarh, Etah, Meerut, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Farrukhnagar, Mewat, Rewari, Gurgaon and Mathura. He was succeeded to the throne by his son, Maharaja Jawahar Singh.
Catherine II of Russia (Russian: Yekaterina Alekseyevna, 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), was the most renowned and the longest-ruling female ruler of Russia, reigning from 1762 until her death in 1796 at the age of 67.<br/><br/> Born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, she came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever and becoming recognised as one of the great powers of Europe.
The Mo Yi Tong Map or 'Zheng He Map' was purchased from a Shanghai dealer in 2001 by a Chinese lawyer, Liu Gang, for US$500.<br/><br/> Despite initial claims that the map was based on an earlier 1418 map drawn after the observations of Zheng He, the Ma Yi Tong map has been generally discredited as an 18th century forgery.<br/><br/> This analysis is based on the use of several modern Chinese characters, as well as the extensive mapping of Australia, North America and even Antartica, as well as the representation of California as an island which seems to have been copied from 17th century French cartographers.<br/><br/> Finally, China was always represented as the centre of the world in Chinese cartography until the ground-breaking 'Selden Map', c. 1624 CE (see CPA0022438).
Tani Bunchō (谷 文晁, October 15, 1763 - January 6, 1841) was a Japanese literatus (bunjin) painter and poet. He was the son of the poet Tani Rokkoku (1729–1809). As his family were retainers of the Tayasu Family, descendents of the eighth Tokugawa shogun, Bunchō inherited samurai status and received a stipend to meet the responsibilities this entailed.<br/><br/> In his youth he began studying the painting techniques of the Kanō school under Katō Bunrei (1706–82). After Bunrei's death, Bunchō worked with masters of other schools, such as the literati painter Kitayama Kangen (1767–1801), and developed a wide stylistic range that included many Chinese, Japanese and European idioms.<br/><br/> He rose to particular prominence as the retainer of Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759–1829), genetic son of the Tayasu who was adopted into the Matsudaira family before becoming chief senior councilor (rōju shuza; 老中首座) of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1787.<br/><br/> Bunchō is best known for his idealized landscapes in the literati style (Nanga or Bunjinga). Unlike most bunjinga painters of his time, however, Bunchō was an extremely eclectic artist, painting idealized Chinese landscapes, actual Japanese sites, and poetically-inspired traditional scenery. He also painted portraits of his contemporaries, as well as imagined images of such Chinese literati heroes as Su Shi and Tao Yuanming.
Kameda Bōsai (亀田鵬斎, 1752–1826) was a Japanese literati painter (nanga in Japanese). He originally trained as a Confucian scholar, but spent the second half of his life as a literati and artist. The book 'Mountains of the Heart' contains many of his most famous paintings.
Ono Ranzan (小野蘭山) worked as an herbalist in the mid-Edo period. Herbalism is an ancient Chinese study involving research into plants and minerals, focusing on their importance for medicinal usage.<br/><br/> Ranzan published Japan’s most comprehensive literature on herbalism, 'Honzo Koumoku Keimou (Enlightenment for Compendium of Materia Medica)' in 1803 and he is known to have contributed later to the expansion of natural history.<br/><br/> He died in 1810 and his grave was built in Geisetsuin graveyard in Asakusa, but due to the impact of the Great Kanto Earthquake, it was moved to Nerima in 1927.
Kimura Kenkadoh or Kenkado (木村蒹葭堂, 1736-1802) was born the descendant of a wealthy sake brewer. He was well informed, especially in natural history. He studied Dutch and Latin, becoming a writer and a painter. His name became a synonym for extensive learning and versatile talent.<br/><br/> He was friendly with many writers and artists and his residence became a meeting palce for contemporaneous literati.
The Mo Yi Tong Map or 'Zheng He Map' was purchased from a Shanghai dealer in 2001 by a Chinese lawyer, Liu Gang, for US$500.<br/><br/> Despite initial claims that the map was based on an earlier 1418 map drawn after the observations of Zheng He, the Ma Yi Tong map has been generally discredited as an 18th century forgery.<br/><br/> This analysis is based on the use of several modern Chinese characters, as well as the extensive mapping of Australia, North America and even Antartica, as well as the representation of California as an island which seems to have been copied from 17th century French cartographers.<br/><br/> Finally, China was always represented as the centre of the world in Chinese cartography until the ground-breaking 'Selden Map', c. 1624 CE (see CPA0022438).