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
During the Meiji Period (1868 - 1912), rapid industrialization and modernization of Japan both allowed and required a massive increase in production and infrastructure. Japan built industries such as shipyards, iron smelters, and spinning mills, which were then sold to well-connected entrepreneurs.<br/><br/> Consequently, domestic companies became consumers of Western technology and applied it to produce items that would be sold cheaply in the international market. With this, industrial zones grew enormously, and there was massive migration to industrializing centers from the countryside. Industrialization additionally went hand in hand with the development of a national railway system and modern communications.
The Tangshan earthquake, also known as the Great Tangshan earthquake, was a natural disaster that occurred on July 28, 1976. It is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Tangshan in Hebei, People's Republic of China, an industrial city with approximately one million inhabitants.<br/><br/> The number of deaths initially reported by the Chinese government was 655,000, but this number has since been stated to be around 240,000 to 255,000. Another report indicates that the actual death toll was much higher, at approximately 650,000, and explains that the lower estimates are limited to Tangshan and exclude fatalities in the densely populated surrounding areas.<br/><br/> A further 164,000 people were recorded as being severely injured. The earthquake occurred between a series of political events involving the Communist Party of China, ultimately leading to the expulsion of the ruling Gang of Four by Mao Zedong's chosen successor, Hua Guofeng. In traditional Chinese thought, natural disasters are seen as a precursor of dynastic change.
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).
The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).
In 1519, the Spanish, led by Hernan Cortes, invaded Mexico and colonized the country. Cortes made a series of deals with ethnic groups intended to foster disunity and convince them that he would help them overthrow the ruling Aztecs.<br/><br/> Smallpox ravaged the Mexicans in the 1520s, killing millions. After defeating the Aztecs, the territory became part of the Spanish Empire under the name New Spain. Mexico City was systematically rebuilt by Cortés following the Siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Much of the identity, traditions and architecture of Mexico were created during the colonial period.