Articles written by Henry Ramsey

Moctezuma and the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan were expecting a god. Instead, they got Hernán Cortés and his merciless conquistadors, who brought them ruin.

Jan 14, 2008 - Henry Ramsey

Quetzalcoatl was a god to the Aztecs, Toltecs and other Meso-Americans. He was instrumental in the repeated creation and destruction of the world.

Jan 1, 2008 - Henry Ramsey

Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca survived hurricanes, shipwrecks and capture by Indians, and was one of a handful of men to return from an expedition of 600.

Dec 8, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Cabeza de Vaca, who would later survive an ill-fated expedition to conquer Florida, was born in Moorish-controlled southern Spain.

Nov 29, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The great liberator of the Americas, Simón Bolívar, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Rather than lead a life of leisure, he dedicated himself to his studies.

Nov 21, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Columbus spent his last days poor and embittered. And recent evidence has revealed that Columbus did not die from gout as was always thought but from heart failure.

Nov 3, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Balboa was just about to embark on a new expedition to Peru, when he was arrested and charged with treason, after which he was inconvenienced by the removal of his head.

Oct 26, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Vasco Núñez de Balboa had the privilege of being the first European to view the Pacific Ocean from the east after crossing the Isthmus of Panama.

Oct 24, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Pirates in love, real and fictional, include Anne Bonny and John Rackham; Mary Read and Anne Bonny; and Bêlit and Conan

Oct 11, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Unlike the dinosaur, the tarantula learned to adapt to changing conditions and climates. The tarantula´s greatest threat now is man.

Sep 26, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Amerigo Vespucci was one of the early explorers to reach the New World. He was a contemporary of Columbus and is likewise well remembered--but mainly for his name.

Sep 20, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Though smaller than its tiger and lion cousins, the jaguar is the biggest and deadliest predator and cat in the New World.

Sep 9, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The Amazon Forest teems with life. Some of it is nasty and dangerous. Some of it is beautiful and colourful. In this article we examine the anteater and boa constrictor.

Sep 6, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Jack Rackham was a gentleman pirate with flamboyant fashion sense and a way with female pirates who were dressed like men-- notably, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

Aug 12, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Washington was born into a fairly prosperous Virginian family, and with diligence and luck succeeded in becoming a surveyor at age 16 before inheriting Mount Vernon

Jul 25, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Tula (or Tollan) was the capital of the Toltec empire and followed Teotihuacan as the strongest power in Mesoamerica.

Jul 20, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Carved out of sandstone, the 53 man-made Yungang Caves house 51,000 stone sculptures.

Jul 10, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The vessels of choice among pirates included the schooner, brigantine and galleon. They all shared one common factor: they were almost always stolen.

Jun 20, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

There is a surprisingly large penguin population outside of the Antarctic. Among the non-Antarctic birds are the Magellanic penguins of South America.

Jun 15, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The sea monster is nowhere to be seen. However, familiar favourites such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones make their expected return as they battle amid a maelstrom

Jun 1, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Christopher Columbus was born into a wool-weaving family and, like many young men growing up in the port city of Genoa, Italy, went to sea at an early age.

May 29, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The years leading up to Columbus' 1492 voyage were busy ones for the young, enterprising Genoan.

May 29, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The largest dinosaur ever discovered is the Argentinosaurus, meaning "Argentine lizard." This frisky fellow lived during the Cretaceous period, 90 million years ago.

May 25, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Ipanema, Copacabana and Flamengo are among the most famous beaches in Rio and in the world.

May 22, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

With a little persuasion, Portugal's most famous explorer was able to convince Spain's King Charles that he was the right explorer to get the spice-route-finding job done

May 22, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Famed naturalist Charles Darwin put the Galapagos Islands on the map when, in 1835, he disembarked from the HMS "Beagle" and spent five weeks studying animal life there.

May 19, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Yellow fever, malaria, inadequate equipment, ill-considered techniques and corruption were some of the problems that plagued the French attempt to dig the Panama Canal.

Apr 30, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

A common factor among most female pirates was a desire to escape the shackles of convention or to defy male authority-- or both.

Apr 22, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Belize is a small-fry English-speaking country in Central America with an attractive barrier reef as well as a surprising number of mahogany trees and Maya temples.

Apr 21, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Belize, which in Central America borders the Caribbean Sea, Guatemala and Mexico, is home to dozens of important Maya sites, including Cahal Pech, Caracol and Colha.

Apr 17, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Atahualpa, mighty sun-god emperor of the Incas and commander of a huge army, was no match for the crafty foul play of Francisco Pizarro and a couple hundred Spaniards.

Mar 25, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Anne Bonny, Charlotte de Berry and Ching Shih are but a few of the names of famous female pirates who sailed the high seas in search of adventure and plunder.

Feb 28, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Dressed as a man, Mary Read lived the life of a man's man as a woman. She was a skilled swordsman, sailed with Jack Rackham and was best friends with pirate Anne Bonny.

Feb 10, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The aggressive, flesh-hungry, carnivorous piranha swims in fresh-water rivers in S. America. It has razor-sharp teeth and often attacks much larger prey, including humans

Feb 9, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

What were Maya pyramids, temples and other structures built from? How were Maya buildings made? Why were religious temples on top of pyramids? Let us examine the record.

Feb 8, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Castaway Alexander Selkirk was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," spending four years on the deserted Juan Fernández Island.

Feb 1, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Bonny was a better fighter than most male pirates. When the end was near, she fought like a hell-cat on her ship's deck while her male crew mates slumbered in rum heaven.

Jan 25, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

Known as Evita, socialist Perón's fight for welfare for women and the poor made her a saint among Argentina's people but a devil to the ruling elite.

Jan 13, 2007 - Henry Ramsey

The death of Black Bart in 1723 marked the end of the so-called golden age of piracy.

Dec 30, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Captain Kidd was either a bloodthirsty pirate of his own volition, or else a victim of mutinous circumstances beyond his control. The result was the same: a hanging.

Dec 21, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

It is the atrocities that a ruler is best remembered for. Pinochet may have been kind to puppies and Maggie Thatcher, but he was also the face of a repressive junta.

Dec 12, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

As one of the most notorious and well-remembered Caribbean pirates, Blackbeard succeeded in capturing over 40 ships in his relatively brief career.

Nov 20, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Morgan's pirating career winds down. A title and post as lieutenant governor is conferred upon him. Now wealthy, he is one of the few pirates who ends up retiring.

Nov 16, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Morgan made his name plundering the Spanish Caribbean colonies on behalf of the English crown, while pocketing more than one or two pieces of eight for his trouble.

Nov 15, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Captain Morgan was a ruthless privateer and ingenious naval strategist who eventually settled down to a knighted life of ease and wealth as deputy governor of Jamaica.

Nov 11, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

When Bolivian soldiers executed Che Guevara 39 years ago, they initially tried to make his execution not look like an execution.

Nov 2, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Drake was all things to all people: a colorful, adventuring, pioneering, slave-trading cutthroat who left his mark on the Spanish sphere of influence in the New World.

Oct 31, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Inca burial practices, which included preparation for the afterlife, were linked to their religious beliefs.

Oct 25, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

While Hernán Cortés is regarded as the conqueror of the mighty Aztec Empire, former illiterate pig-farmer Francisco Pizarro is credited with wiping out the Inca Empire.

Oct 13, 2006 - Henry Ramsey

Its brain was the size and shape of a banana, but it had arrow-tipped teeth, a bottomless-pit appetite for meat, powerful jaws and eight tons of driving weight behind it.

Sep 29, 2006 - Henry Ramsey