Monday, November 30, 2015

● Pre-20th century

● 21st century ..
● 20th century τ ..

Pre-20th century
● 19th century ..

● 19th century

1871-1-18 Wilhelm I of Prussia 1st German Emperor ..
1887-6-18 Germany, Russia sign Reinsurance Treaty ..

19th Century

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19th Century History (1850-1874) - HiPo >>Victorian England (1837-1901) - Vīta Domī >> .

1898-4-25 Spanish–American War


The Cuban War of Independence had begun in February 1895, in which Cuban rebels sought to break from Spanish influence amidst seismic social changes that had upset the economic stability of the country. Meanwhile, the United States took great interest in the conflict as business interests on the island began to suffer. Yellow journalism – that which often presents no legitimate news story – was also aggressively anti-Spanish and contributed to mounting tensions.

With growing concerns about the safety of U.S. interests in Cuba, the battleship USS Maine was sent from Key West, Florida to Havana harbor at the end of January 1898. Three weeks later, on 15 February, a fierce explosion on board the ship killed 260 members of the crew. An investigation was immediately launched, but in the meantime the sensationalist New York Journal and New York World newspapers reported that the ship had been sunk by Spain.

Although President McKinley initially opposed going to war, the wider public demanded action. Eventually he requested permission from Congress to send troops to Cuba in an attempt to end the civil war. Passed by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate, the Joint Resolution for Cuban independence was followed by an ultimatum to Spain to leave Cuba or else face American military intervention.

In response to the ultimatum Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States and, on 21 April, declared war. A U.S. blockade of Cuba began the same day. Congress didn’t formally declare war until 25 April, although the declaration recognized that a state of war had existed since Spain’s declaration four days earlier.

1894-12-22 Dreyfus Found Guilty

22-7-26 France's Hx & Geostrategic Choices in Central Europe - gtbt > .

Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most controversial and polarizing political dramas in modern French history. The incident has gone down in history as the Dreyfus Affair, the reverberations from which were felt throughout Europe. It ultimately ended with Dreyfus's complete exoneration.

In 1894, the French Army's counter-intelligence section, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jean Sandherr, became aware that information regarding new artillery parts was being passed to the Germans by a highly placed spy, most likely on the General Staff. Suspicion quickly fell upon Dreyfus, who was arrested for treason on 15 October 1894.

On December 22nd 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish artillery officer was found guilty of treason in one of history's largest miscarriages of justice. The origin of the scandal lay in a ripped-up letter in wastepaper basket at the German Embassy in Paris. Having been handed by the cleaner who found it to French counter-espionage, it was found to contain French military secrets and was determined to have been leaked by someone within the General Staff.

Alfred Dreyfus, who had been born into a Jewish family in the Alsace region before its annexation by Germany, had been promoted to the rank of captain by 1889. He joined the General Staff in 1893 but, following the discovery of the letter known as the bordereau, was arrested after his handwriting was compared to that in the letter.

Dreyfus’ trial began on 19 December, but was preceded by weeks of anti-Semitic articles in the right-wing wrong-wing press. The trial itself was conducted in a closed court, where the seven judges unanimously found him guilty of treason after being handed a secret dossier during their deliberations. They declared their verdict on 22 December, and sentenced him to life imprisonment preceded by military degradation. This involved the insignia being torn from his uniform and his sword broken, before being paraded in front of a crowd stirred up by the press shouting, “Death to Judas, death to the Jew.”

Dreyfus was transported to Devil's Island in French Guiana, but in France new evidence began to emerge that another officer was the real traitor. With support from the Dreyfusards including the novelist Emile Zola, a retrial in 1899 reduced the sentence while the President of the Republic granted a pardon. However, it wasn’t until 1906 that Dreyfus was finally exonerated and readmitted to the army.

sī vīs pācem, parā bellum

igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum    therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...