Category Archive: Presidents and Rulers

The inhabitants of Peru are very proud of their ancient history, dating back to the Incas, and in every possible way cultivate nationalism.
Juan Velasco Alvarado has long been remembered by the inhabitants of Peru. And not only with his radical reforms he had a chance to go down in history forever, but he, unfortunately, missed it.
In his childhood Velasco knew deprivation in all its diversity. He had no bread, no shoes, he almost did not know maternal love. The 11th son of a medical professional and a housewife, Juan was born on June 16, 1910 in the suburbs of Piura, on the northern coast of Peru. The boy began to work early. The family was large, but a strict father tirelessly ensured that everyone made his own contribution. Juan was barely 9 years old when he began to clean shoes on the streets of Piura.
Cleaning shoes Juan dreamily peered at people, especially in a military uniform. They always had good boots, an arrogant look, and they could give a coin or two to a helpful little boy.
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The very existence of the mysterious queen of Arabia remains to this day one of the fascinating mysteries of world.
There are many legends about the ancient Kingdom of Saba in southwestern Arabia. Herodotus, the father of history, described this country and claimed that it was inhabited by “winged snakes.” In the Quran, Sabeans are mentioned as sun worshipers. The Bible describes Arabia as a very rich country. The Gospel of Matthew reports on the Magi from the East, who came to worship the baby Christ and brought him their gifts – gold and incense. And by the way, it was Ancient Arabia that was famous for its gold, spices and incense.
The Egyptians were the first who attempted to enter the Sabaean possessions. In 1470 BC the Queen of Egypt Hatshepsut sent her warriors there, but they could not reach the goal.
The Bible tells how the Queen of Sheba with a large retinue, camels loaded with gold and precious stones, visited Israel. She heard rumors about the wisdom of the head of the kingdom of Judah, and she decided to find out how wise Solomon was. The king passed the test – he solved all the puzzles and she put gold gifts at his feet.
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Nothing prevented Elizabeth Woodville from being happy but her high position. The gloomy XV century, in which she happened to live, did not dispose to sincere manifestations of feelings. And the tangle of intrigue and war in which Elizabeth’s life took place turned her days into hell, full of anxiety, loss and suspicion.
At first fate generously gifted the woman, and then brutally robbed her. Neither natural beauty, nor wealth, nor high position, nor piety could make her happy.
Elizabeth inherited a thirst for sincere feelings and true passion from her mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg. She was married twice. John Lancaster, the son of the English king Henry IV, was her first husband. This marriage was a purely political union, which lasted about two years and did not bring children. But immediately after this, Jacquetta fell in love with the chamberlain of her first husband – not too noble knight Richard Woodville. This was love at first sight. But the relatives of the first husband and especially King Henry VI (nephew of John Lancaster) reacted sharply negative. It was a misalliance. Woodville even had to pay a fine of one thousand pounds. However, then the king relented, and the money was returned to the happy couple.
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Being a cunning and treacherous man, Herod asked the magi to indicate to him where the baby was, “so that I can bow to him”. But they were not so simple: bowing to the baby, they went home a different way. And then Herod ordered the murder of all male infants under the age of two …
The name Herod for many centuries has a negative connotation. But not many people know that another Herod existed – a ruler who brought peace and prosperity to the Jewish land. Under his rule, Judea became autonomous from Rome. It was Herod I who went down in history under the title Great.
In 73 BC, the second son was born to the Roman procurator of Judea Antipater, who was named Herod.
With the consent of the Prosecutor of Syria at the age of 25 Herod received the first important post – the governor of Galilee.
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It is known that the one who was offended often offends others. This phrase perfectly describes Catherine de Medici – the Queen of France and the mother of three monarchs.
Catherine de Medici outlived her husband King Henry II by almost thirty years. She was destined to stay in this world longer than the eight of her ten children. Her beloved son Henry was killed a little more than six months after the death of Catherine. Only one daughter Margaret met old age, the same Queen Margot, whose destiny Alexander Dumas devoted the novel to.
Medici was called the “black queen” because after the death of her beloved spouse she put on mourning. And she didn’t take it off until the end of her life. It was this queen who introduced the fashion for mourning clothes of this color: before that, in France, as a sign of sorrow, it was customary to wear all white.
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Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the most prominent politicians of the XX century. He was the leader of the Indian national liberation movement and became the first prime minister of independent India. His spiritual and political mentor was Mahatma Gandhi, whose covenants he had followed throughout his life.
Nehru’s father was a well-known lawyer and one of the leaders of the country’s largest party, the Indian National Congress (INC). Jawaharlal (the name is translated from Hindi as “precious ruby”) was born in 1889 and the father wanted him to continue his work. Therefore, as soon as the young man was sixteen years old, he was sent to study in England at the prestigious Harrow school. After graduating from this elite school, Jawaharlal continued his studies at the law faculty of Cambridge University. Despite the fact that he was a good student the young man considered law to be too boring. At that time, he was seriously interested in aviation and dreamed of becoming a military pilot. But his father categorically forbade him to fly.
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At the end of June 1884, a ball was held at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the marriage of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. His bride, Elizabeth of Hesse, arrived in St. Petersburg with her younger sister, twelve-year-old Alix. At that memorable ball, a meeting of the young princess of Hesse with the heir to the Russian throne, sixteen-year-old Tsarevich Nikolai took place in the Malachite Hall.
No one, of course, thought it was seriously. Meanwhile, it was precisely in those June days that the tragic knot was tied not only in the fate of the royal family, but in the whole future history of Russia. The Queen from the Hesse-Darmstadt House will be remembered for a long time in Russia.
Niki fell in love with golden-haired and blue-eyed Alix immediately – and for the rest of his life!
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