On November 15th, Francisco Pizarro greeted Inca ruler Atahualpa under the guise of diplomacy. But the Spaniards ambushed and seized the emperor. Atahualpa’s offer of a room filled with gold couldn’t save him from execution. The betrayal shattered Incan leadership and paved the way for a devastating Spanish conquest that would forever alter the course of South American history and indigenous civilization.
1532 – Gold, Deception, and an Empire's Collapse Begins
Legendary pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and “Calico Jack” Rackham were captured off the coast of Jamaica by Captain Jonathan Barnet. Taken to Spanish Town for trial, the women defied expectations, earning infamy not just for piracy but for their audacity in a male-dominated world. Their capture marked the waning days of the so-called “Golden Age of Piracy.”
1720 – Pirate Queens Captured: The Fall of Anne Bonny and Mary Read
As economic hardship gripped the Netherlands, angry crowds erupted in protest in Amsterdam. Furious over oppressive taxes imposed by occupying French authorities, citizens clashed with law enforcement in open defiance. The revolt revealed the simmering tensions under Napoleon’s rule and highlighted how fiscal exploitation can ignite rebellion, even in relatively stable urban centers like Amsterdam.
1813 – The Tax Revolt That Shook Amsterdam
In a sweeping act of forced displacement, the Creek Nation lost all legal claim to their property in the southeastern United States. This devastating event furthered the U.S. government’s expansionist agenda and deepened the suffering of Native American tribes. It foreshadowed the horrors of the Trail of Tears and symbolized the systematic erasure of indigenous sovereignty across the continent.
1827 – A Nation Dispossessed: Creek Property Seized
While reporting for the Morning Post during the Second Boer War, 25-year-old Winston Churchill was captured by Boer fighters after a train ambush in Natal. Taken as a prisoner of war, his bold escape weeks later would turn him into a national hero in Britain. The incident kickstarted his meteoric rise in politics and cemented his legend as a man of grit and ambition.
