Raiders of The World - Winter 2014 PDF

Raiders2014-Cover 10/24/14 3:22 AM Page US_C1
Raiders of the World 2014
CONQUERORS, REBELS AND RENEGADES
Raiders
of the
World
Genghis Khan
EXPLORE HISTORY'S GAME CHANGERS
EXPLORE
HISTORYS
GAME CHANGERS
Alexander
the Great
Pancho Villa
SECRETS REVEALED
WAS DRACULA REAL?

WHO BROKE THE BACK OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE?
WAS THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WON BY RAIDERS?
VIKINGS: TRADERS OR RAIDERS?
BECKETT OUTDOOR WINTER 2014 $9.99 US

DISPLAY UNTIL 1/27/2015
Engaged Media By Beckett
Raiders14-2-3-Editorial.JN 10/23/14 10:32 PM Page 2
559 BC
334 BC
63 BC
395
434
793
1066
1206
1524
Cyrus
Alexander
the Great
Julius Caesar
Alaric
the Visigoth
Attila
the Hun
Start of the
Viking Age
End of the
Viking Age
Genghis Khan
Francisco
Pizarro
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raiders14-2-3-Editorial.JN 10/23/14 10:32 PM Page 3
Set
Sail
F
act can be strangerand more dramaticthan fiction. For riveting stories of men and women who set
out for adventure on the high seas, won paradigm-shifting battles and overcame insurmountable odds,
you need look no further than the pages of history.
From the ancient world to the dusty roads of the Wild West, raiders of all shapes and sizes have changed
history. Whether they were out to build their own empires or take down existing ones, to break with the status
quo to pursue wealth or to defend their convictions, these men and women have left their mark.
Read on to relive their stories and remember what made them great, from well-known game changers like
Julius Caesar to George Washington. Find out what pirates had to do with Americas fight for independence
and the founding of the US Navy. Learn about lesser-known raiders like the Night Witches (page 100) and a
raider you know by the name of Dracula (see page 32). Meet the men who brought the mighty Roman Empire
to its knees, and learn how they did it.
Set sail for an adventure of your own and explore the stories, tactics and little-known facts about these men
and women who seized the day and did not leave the world the same way they found it.
Bon voyage,
BATTLE OF ABUKIR FRANCE AGAINST ENGLAND BY ROBERT POLLARD (1798)
Jolene Nolte
Editor
1563
1650
1776
1779
1847
1855
1910
1942
Sir Francis
Drake
Caribbean
Pirates and
the Golden
Age of Piracy
Begins
American
Continental
Navy
Napoleon
Jesse James
John
Brown
Pancho
Villa and
Emiliano
Zapata
Night
Witches
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weapons, Reinterpreted
32
Vlad the Impaler
Discover the top 10 game-changing weapons

and how they changed the course of
civilization.
He wove a web of horror for his enemies and

continues to inspire horror by a different name
today.
By Matt Nolte
By Andrew M. Luther
EMPIRE BUILDERS
11
Cyrus the Great
Strategy on and off the battlefield helped him

build the largest empire the world had seen.
By Peggy Matthews Rose
14
Alexander the Great
The man who did not believe in impossibilities

secured the known world under his rule.
36
Caribbean Privateers
and Pirates
The line between a pirate and a legallysanctioned pirate for hire was a blurry one, but
it set the stage for the Golden Age of Piracy.
By Adam Jones
Vikings
Gain a fuller understanding of these seafaring

warriors.
By Alex J. Taylor
40
54
Vikings
Discover the History Channels inspiration for

the shows characters.
By Merrie Destefano
60
Anne Bonny
& Mary Read
These female pirates were every bit as fierce as

their male counterparts.
By Analicia Davis
64
Sir Francis Drake
This royally-sanctioned pirate remained a

sneaky treasure-huntereven while defeating
the Spanish Armada.
By Benjamin Deeb
44
By Corey Clark
20
From the chaos of the French Revolution came

this self-made emperor and European
juggernaut.
By Amberly Piotrowski
Poet by day, thief by night, this surprising

figure from the Middle Ages lived a fascinating
double life.
Julius Caesar
Rome was never the same after this ambitious

rulers expansion of power.
Napoleon
By Jenna Handley
24
Genghis Khan
More territory to his credit than any other

conqueror, this empire-builder was an
unstoppable force.
By Jenna Handley
28
William the Conqueror
The face of England changed forever after this

Norman landed on its shores.
By Andrew M. Luther
WEALTH GRABBERS
51
Barbary Pirates
These plunderers of Mediterranean shores

provoked the US into forming an official navy
and its first overseas war as an independent
nation.
By Adam Jones
68
Franois Villon
By Analicia Davis
70
Jesse James
This infamous outlaw and his gang were

quintessential Wild West robbers.
By Nathan Lee Adamus
74
Black Bart
The Wild Wests most prolific stagecoach

robber was not who you would expect.
By Alicia Taylor
THINKSTOCK
Contents
Raiders14-4-5-TOC.PS.JN 10/23/14 10:38 PM Page 4
Raiders14-4-5-TOC.PS.JN.CX 10/27/14 10:10 PM Page 5
REVOLUTIONARIES
79
100
Night Witches
An all-female regiment of Soviet night bombers in World

War II inspired fear in the hearts of their German
enemies.
Hong Xiuquan
Mystical visions set this peasant on a mission,

igniting rebellions across China's southeast
provinces.
By Andrew M. Luther
84
104
Pancho Villa
George Washington
At 21 years old, Washington honed his guerilla

tactics in the French and Indian War.
By Adam Jones
86
A robber with a sense of justice turned revolutionary and

helped lead the charge in the Mexican Revolution.
By Nathan Lee Adamus
Emiliano Zapata
Of the people and for the people, Zapata fought hard for
the land rights of Mexicos peasants in the Mexican
Revolution.
Tea-Tossing Colonists
By Jenna Handley
88
American Continental
Navy
EMPIRE ERODERS
A motley crew, along with some help from

pirates, took on the formidable British navy in
the American Revolution.
113
Hannibal & Scipio
Hannibal took aim at Rome, and Rome fought back with

Scipio leading the charge.
By Spencer Murray
By Andrew M. Luther
92
John Brown
Alaric the Visigoth
This man spelled the beginning of the end for the Roman
Empire.
By Jason Gorton
By Daniel Bulone
96
Fenian Raiders
ADVERTISING
Gabe Frimmel - Ad Sales Director

GFrimmel@Beckett.com (714) 200-1930
Donna Silva Norris - Senior Account Executive
(714) 200-1933
Shanda Ogas - Account Executive
(714) 200-1959
Desiree Newman - Account Executive
(714) 200-1957
Eric Gomez - Ad Traffic Coordinator
John Cabral - Creative Graphic Designer
John Bartulin - (866) 866-5146 ext. 2746

Paul Caca - (866) 866-5146 ext. 4961
Ryan Lauro - (866) 866-5146 ext. 2756
Gus Alonzo: Newsstand Sales & Marketing Manager

Celia Merriday: Newsstand Analyst
Mohit Patel: Newsstand & Production Analyst
Attila the Hun
Destruction and danger came in this warriors wake,

leaving a weakened Rome to hang on for dear life.
By Jason Gorton
Nathan Lee Adamus, Daniel Bulone, Corey Clark,

Analicia Davis, Benjamin Deeb, Merrie Destefano, Jason
Gorton, Jenna Handley, Adam Jones, Andrew M. Luther,
Spencer Murray, Matt Nolte, Amberly Piotrowski, Peggy
Matthews Rose, Alex J. Taylor, Alicia Taylor
OPERATIONS
122
Irish immigrants in the US eager to fight for

their homeland set their sights on the British
colonies of Canada.
Erin Masercola - Group Editorial Director

Jickie Torres - Executive Editor
Jolene Nolte - Editor
Gabby Oh - Design Director
Jong Cadelina, Brad Crowder,
Kelly Lee - Art Director
Peter Schelden - Managing Editor
Bethany Miller - Production Editor
DIRECT MARKETING
GROUP
118
An abolitionist crusader dreamed up a plan

that ended in disaster.
EDITORIAL
CONTRIBUTORS
108
Reimagine the iconic raid in Bostons harbor.
2014
EDITORIAL,
PRODUCTION
& SALES OFFICE
By Daniel Bulone
126
Francisco Pizarro
Absurdly outnumbered, this conquistador still managed

to take down the mighty Inca Empire.
By Jenna Handley
22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Suite 200

Yorba Linda, CA 92887
(714) 939-9991
Fax (800) 249-7761
www.engagedmediamags.com
www.facebook.com/eembybeckett
Raiders of the World 2014 by Engaged Media by
Beckett. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any
material from this issue in whole or in part is strictly
prohibited.
BONUS
3 Timeline
128 Raiders in Pop Culture
130 Closing
CUSTOMER SERVICE
ENGAGED MEDIA BY BECKETT
4635 Mc Ewen Road. Dallas, TX 75244
SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES,

RENEWALS, MISSING OR DAMAGED COPIES
(800) 764-6278
(239) 653-0225 Foreign Inquiries
subscriptions@beckett.com
customerservice@beckett.com
BACK ISSUES
www.engagedmediamags.com
BATTLE OF HANAU BY HORACE VERNET (1824)
BOOKS, MERCHANDISE, REPRINTS

(239) 280-2380
COVER DESIGN BY Kelly Lee

COVER MAIN IMAGE Napoleon Crossing the Alps
by Jacques-Louis David (1800)

COVER INSETS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP):
Wikimedia Commons; Alexander and Porus, detail by

Charles Le Brun (1673)/ Photo by Fine Art
Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images; Photo by Susana
Gonzalez/Getty Images; Photo by Bernard
Walsh/HISTORY 2014
BACK COVER DESIGN BY Kelly Lee
BACK COVER IMAGE: A Sea Fight with Barbary
Corsairs by Lorenzo A. Castro (c. 1681)
DEALER SALES
(239) 280-2380
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, NEW PRODUCTS OR
TO CONTRIBUTE A STORY OR PHOTO
Jolene Nolte: jnolte@beckett.com
ENGAGED MEDIA
BY BECKETT
Nick Singh: Executive Director

Vikas Malhotra: Vice President
RAIDERS OF THE WORLD | 5 |
Raiders14-6-9-Weapons-3 10/23/14 10:41 PM Page 6
Weapons,
Reinterpreted
THE 10 WEAPONS THAT TRANSFORMED THE WORLD.
eapons shape more than the battlefield.

Game-changing weapons factor into
who wins and who loses in war, but
they also alter the course and structure
of civilizations.
See what weapons have commanded the most influence
both on and off the battlefield.
10
The Crossbow
The crossbow's first

recorded usage was in 5th
century BC China and Greece, with nearly
continuous military use until the 16th
century. While slower to reload than a
conventional bow, the crossbow required less
skill to operate than conventional long bows (a
week, instead of years) and packed a powerful punch
against heavily armored knights. The effects were twofold. As the crossbow became adopted in European
armies, battlefield tactics began to incorporate combined
arms strategies where infantry, cavalry, knights and
archers were used together. For the first time in the
Middle Ages, infantry with crossbowmen began to be
used offensively. The second effect carried over from
the battlefield to feudalism itself. Crossbowmen
brought military flexibility but
were expensive. Monarchs alone
The Crossbow
could pay, sustain and garrison
the growing armies incorporating more
commoners. The beginning of the end of
the knight had begun.
| 6 | RAIDERS OF THE WORLD
Crossbows took only weeks of

training to operate well, whereas
the more cumbersome longbow
took years to master.
THINKSTOCK
BY Matt Nolte
FROM TOP:
PHOTO COURTESY OF US NAVY;
PHOTO BY NEIL HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES;
CAVALRY IN AN ARIZONA SANDSTORM BY FREDERIC REMINGTON (1889)
The word "gladiator" derives from the word gladius and reflects
The Gladius Hispaniensis ("Spanish

Roman society's preoccupation with men of the sword.
sword") was first widely used by Roman
soldiers in the early first century BC. Made of
iron, the sword distinguished itself from other
swords with its sharp edges (copper swords were
less durable and prone to bending); pointed,
tapered end (ideal for stabbing); and relative
shortness, with a blade measuring uo to two feet.
The gladius perfectly fit Roman tactics. When
fighting shield-to-shield with their enemy, the
highly disciplined Roman legion would stab at
close range, where the enemies' longer swords
and javelins could not be effectively used.
The gladius' symbolism in Rome is equally
sweeping. The Roman Republic gave way to the
Roman Gladius
Roman Empire shortly after the gladius' debut,
in large part because the tactics required by the
gladius needed professional armies. Professional
armies became more loyal to their generalssuch as Julius Caesarthan the
Roman senate, and imperial Rome succeeded shortly thereafter.
The Horse
Did
You
w
Kno
The Horse
Civilizations in antiquity used the chariot,

which could not maneuver well, or archers
mounted on horseback as auxiliary forces to support
foot soldiers. Then Phillip II of Macedonia reformed his
cavalry for shock action, where horse-mounted soldiers
used superior maneuverability, mass and momentum to
charge and tear apart enemy formations. The phalanx
infantry became the auxiliary force.
Philip's son, Alexander the Great, personally led the
Companion Cavalry in the opening charge of each of
his battles, resulting in an empire encircling nearly the
entire known world in a mere 15 years.Unfortunately,
the social effect of a powerful cavalry was to develop an
elite class of cavalrymen officers, who fought after
Alexander's death and fractured the empire. Europe
would follow the companion cavalry's example, both in
tactics and in the elitism of the cavalry class, to define
warfare and culture in the medieval feudal system.
R e i n t e r p r e t e d
Roman Gladius
W e a p o n s ,
The Aircraft Carrier
The Aircraft Carrier
Aircraft carriers in World War II, specifically in

the Pacific theater, proved to dramatically change
naval operations. Aircraft launched from an aircraft
carrier could sink entire battle groups, patrol against
enemy submarines and attack enemies on landthe
aircraft carrier itself remained outside of direct gun range.
Naval structures reformed around the aircraft carrier as a
base in World War II. Even with the rise of sophisticated
anti-ship missiles in the present day, the aircraft carrier
provides a fundamental tool of national policy that can
quickly project conventional forces on the doorstep of
nearly any conflict zone.
Mechanized Vehicles and Armored Divisions
IronClad Warships
The Airplane
Though iron armoring, steam power and

explosive shell technology had been
demonstrated before, the American Civil War
Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 was the first
time all of the ingredients were put together. The
battle itself between the Confederate CSS Virginia
and Union USS Monitor ended in a draw.
While it didnt create a decisive victory for either
side, the technology's effect was a worldwide rush to
implement new technologies. Thus began the
modern phenomenon known as an arms race. The
mistrust fostered by competing nations in the naval
arms race laid the conditions for both World Wars
in the 20th century.
Orville and Wilbur's famous flight over

Kitty Hawk in 1903 was for peaceful,
commercial purposeshowever, the first buyers of
airplanes were European and US militaries. While
primarily serving a signals and reconnaissance role
in World War I, with limited effect in direct air and
ground combat, it was aircraft that began and
ended the United States' involvement in World
War II. Tactics that had been unimaginable before
became commonplace in World War II, with mass
carpet bombing employed by both sides against
civilian populations and the use of aircrafts as
psychological weapons.
Today, aircraft remains the distinguishing factor
of American military might, delivering not only
bombs and missiles, but also reconnaissance, global
transport and medical evacuation.
| 8 | RAIDERS OF THE WORLD
DEFENSE MEDIA ACTIVITY
The Airplane
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
While tanks were introduced in World War I, the primary

logistics and troop movements at the war's end were still accomplished by rail, horse and foot. This posed tactical problems, as
none were able to successfully execute offensives against withering
machine gun fire and massive artillery bombardments.
World War II, however, introduced widespread
mechanization in both armored and infantry roles, and enabled
unprecedented maneuverability across widespread fronts. This
allowed Hitler to flank the French Maginot line in a matter of
days. In addition to the ongoing reliance on mechanized
infantry and armor in present day militaries, the legacy of
mechanization also lives on in the autobahn of Germany and the
interstate system of the United Statesconstructed first for
military purposes.
IronClad Warships
FROM TOP: THINKSTOCK;
Mechanized Vehicles and

Armored Divisions
The Revolver
Gunpowder
FROM TOP: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
THE OFFICIAL CTBTO PHOTOSTREAM
Gunpowder is rumored to have been

discovered in the ninth century by
Chinese alchemists seeking the elixir of life.
They settled for an elixir of death instead. It
was not until about 700 years later that
gunpowder was widely adopted in Europe, first
in cannons and then in handheld weapons.
Continued experimentation yielded not
only artillery and firearms, but bombs, mines
and warships. The widespread use of
gunpowder weapons in Europe marked the
end of the Middle Ages and its ideas of
chivalry. What came in its place was larger,
more lethal wars and the emerging,
Gunpowder
powerful monarchies required to sustain
the larger armies.
Anonymous tapestry
depicting the 1573 Siege
of La Rochelle. Note the
gunpowder-powered
cannons at the center.
Ivy Mike atmospheric

test of a hydrogen
bomb in 1952.
Atomic and
Nuclear Bombs
The only wartime use of

the atomic bomb was in 1945
over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but
this resulted in approximately
200,000 casualties and long-term,
poisonous effects from radiation.
In the post-Cold War era, bomb
shelter drills and mutually
assured destruction may have
receded from regular practice, but
the nightmares remain. The
greatest threat to the world is the
threat of a terrorist or rogue state
obtaining and deploying a nuclear
weapon, and the greatest changes
to Constitutional rights has not
been a discussion about better
laws, but better security. R
Atomic and Nuclear Bombs

R e i n t e r p r e t e d
The revolver is considered a defensive weaponit has a short range, loading is cumbersome,
and early models were as dangerous to their operators as to their targets. There are two
reasons, however, why this weapon caused strategic effects when it was introduced in the mid-19th
century. First, the revolver itself could repeat fire. The second effect was Samuel Colt's manufacturing
techniques for his revolvers. What Ford's Model T did for automobiles, Colt's revolvers did for
firearms, introducing interchangeable parts, reduced costs, consistent performance, increased
production and standardization to the firearms manufacturing industry.
W e a p o n s ,
The Revolver
Raiders-10-Intro1.JN 10/23/14 11:00 PM Page 10
mpire
Builders
GENERAL BONAPARTE IN EGYPT BY JEAN-LEON GEROME (1867)/PHOTO BY DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES
Impossible is not a word in a

conquerors vocabulary. With
undaunted determination and
ingenuity, these men pushed the
boundaries of possibility and changed
the course of civilizations.
Read on
to discover
THE TRUTH ABOUT GENGHIS KHAN

WHAT MADE ALEXANDER THE GREAT SO GREAT?
NAPOLEONS HIGH-CLASS EGYPTIAN AND ITALIAN RAIDS.
DRACULA WAS REALAND HE WAS A FEARSOME RAIDER.
WERE THE VIKINGS MERCILESS OR MISUNDERSTOOD?
Raiders14-011-013-CyrusTheGreat.PS2 10/23/14 10:58 PM Page 11
the Great
DIPLOMACY AND MILITARY STRATEGY HELPED HIM BUILD THE
LARGEST EMPIRE THE WORLD HAD KNOWN.
BY Peggy Matthews Rose
ilitary strategist, fearsome

conqueror, liberator,
diplomat and even
messiah are all words
that can describe Cyrus the Great, the
founder and leader of the Persian Empire.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Cyrus the Great,

also known as
Cyrus II and Cyrus
the Elder
Extraordinary
Beginnings
DATES ACTIVE:
Imagine how you would feel if you

discovered that you had been called out by
name to accomplish a certain historically
significant taskmore than 100 years
before you were even born! Such was the
case for Cyrusalso known as Cyrus the
Great, Cyrus II and Cyrus the Elder
whose declaration freeing the Jews from
Babylonian captivity was prophesied in
the Old Testament book of Isaiah, written
between the eighth and seventh centuries
BCwell before Cyrus was even a twinkle
in his fathers eye.
As if that werent enough, Greek
historian Herodotus, writing in the 4th
century BC, tells us Cyrus grandfather
Astyages had been warned in a dream that
his as-yet-unborn grandson would
AREAS ACTIVE:
559-530 BC
Persian Empire,
encompassing
what is now Iran,
Turkey and parts of
Egypt.
CLAIM TO FAME:
Remembered as
the founder of the
Achaemenid or first
Persian Empire.
THINKSTOCK
LEFT A digital
illustration of Cyrus the
Great.
RAIDERS OF THE WORLD | 1 1 |
559-530 BC
Cyrus
overthrow him and ultimately take over all of Asia.

His grandfather actually tried to have the infant
killed! With all this prelude, how could Cyrus not
grow up to be extraordinary?
If success comes from recognizing opportunity,
then Cyrus succeeded well. He did finally overthrow
his grandfather and went on to become the founder of
the Persian Empire. As a conqueror of nations, he
united the Medes and the Persians and ultimately
bridged the Eastern and Western cultures. His empire
stretched from the Mediterranean in the west to
eastern Iran and from the Black Sea to Arabia.
But unlike most conquerors, Cyrus became known
not as a tyrant or dictatorbut as a liberator. While
he brought the nations he conquered into the greater
Persian Empire, he abstained from taking over the
cultures of the peoples. When he conquered Babylon
in 539 BC, the Jews had been in captivity there for
nearly 70 years. Cyrus freed them and allowed them
to return to Israel and rebuild Jerusalem. Many
regarded him as their long-awaited messiah.
He is able to extend
the fear of himself over
so great a part of the
world that he astonished all, and no one
attempted anything
against him. He was
able to inspire all with
so great a desire of
pleasing him that they
wished to be governed
by his opinions.
The Immortals and Military

Innovation
Cyrus formidable ability to conquer and expand
his empire was due in large part to his expertise as a
military strategist. His first conquest over Media
was thanks to a motley crew of kinsmen, but from
that point on, he began building a force to be
reckoned withand who would build the greatest
| 1 2 | RAIDERS OF THE WORLD
TOP This Persian glazed
brick frieze depicts the

Immortals, an elite
military unit of 10,000
soldiers.
MIDDLE Map of the
Persian Empire in 500
BC, showing how Cyrus
expanded the empire.
ABOVE The tomb of
Cyrus the Great in

Pasargadae, Iran.
CLEVER TACTICS
According to Herodotus, an ancient Greek scholar,

Cyrus was informed that Lydian horses were afraid
of camels. Based on this information, Cyrus and his
men quickly adapted their baggage-bearing camels
into an improvised camel cavalry. The strategy
worked, and the Lydian territory was subsumed into
the Persian Empire.
In overtaking Babylon, Cyrus men diverted the
Euphrates river into a canal to make it easier for
their troops to wade across and capture Nabonidus,
the last king of the Babylonian Empire.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
THINKSTOCK
Persepolis
FROM TOP: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
Xenophon of Athens
describing
Cyrus in Cyropaedia
Babylon
PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ABOVE The Cyrus
Cylinder was unearthed

in an 1879 Babylonian
archaeological dig. It is
believed to contain the
worlds first declaration
of human rights issued
by Cyrus II, Emperor of
Persia and
Mesopotamian Raider.
LEFT Ruins of Cyrus the
Greats private palace in

Pasargadae, Iran.
To navigate this large crew successfully, the Persian

military also sent out men ahead of the troops to
help make the way smooth by repairing roads,
bridges or digging ditches.
Its sheer size and organization was unmatched at
the time, as was the size of the territory they
conquered under the leadership of Cyrus the Great.
Legacy
The Cyrus Cylinder contains a declaration
concerning an Iran/Iraq warbut not the one that
began in the late 20th century. Rather its a war that
occurred in 539 BC and resulted in Cyrus the Great
conquering Babylon. The baked clay cylinder is
currently housed at the British Museum in London.
G r e a t
Syndey Olympic Park,

Syndey, Austrailia.
t h e
TOP Cyrus Memorial in
C y r u s
empire the world had seen.

Some of the most distinctive units of the Persian
army were The Immortals. Made of 10,000 soldiers,
these were elite guards and warriors. Great care was
reportedly taken to make sure their number was
always 10,000any who fell ill or were killed were
immediately replaced. One of their famous tactics
was to remain silent when marching into battle. It
was common practice for armies heading into
battle to shout, so The Immortals thundering
march accompanied by their solemn silence no
doubt inspired fear in their enemies.
Cyrus military was also composed of a cavalry,
infantry and charioteers. Both cavalry and infantry
were divided into light and heavy units, with light
units carrying less weaponry than the heavy. Light
cavalry was armed with bow and arrow and
consisted largely of foreign mercenaries. Persian
nobility comprised the heavy cavalry and were
armed with javelins, a lance, a sword called an
akinakes and a shield. Light infantry was armed
with spear and sword while the heavy infantry
carried a battle-axe as well. The charioteers were
used sparingly, but they were distinguished from
other chariots of the time by their large size, which
required four horses rather than two. Scythes about
two yards long extended from the chariots axle.
Raiders14-014-019-AlexanderTheGreat.PS2.JN 10/23/14 11:06 PM Page 14
I am not afraid of an
army of lions led by a
sheep; I am afraid of
an army of sheep led
by a lion.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great as

depicted by a mosaic made
during his lifetime in Pompeii.
Raiders14-014-019-AlexanderTheGreat.PS2.JN.CX 10/27/14 10:13 PM Page 15
the Great
THE MAN WHO CONQUERED THE KNOWN WORLD.
BY Benjamin Deeb
Lasting Legacy
FULL NAME:
Alexander III of
Macedon, aka
Alexander the
Great
DATES ACTIVE:
334-323 BC
AREAS ACTIVE:
Greece, Egypt and

Asia Minor (Persia,
India, and the
Arabian Peninsula)
CLAIM TO FAME:
He used ruthless
military tactics to
create one of the
largest empires of
the ancient world.
(STARTS HERE)
(DIES HERE)
LEFT:
PHOTO BY DEA / M. CARRIERI/DE AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES;
RIGHT:
THINKSTOCK
hen the Great is part of your name, youve got a lot to live up to. An ingenious,
unstoppable force in his short 32 years of life, Alexander the Great certainly lives up to his
namewith 2 million miles of conquered territory to his credit.
Born in the Greek kingdom of Macedon, Alexander was groomed for the best right from
the start. His father, King Philip II, led the Macedonian army and ensured his son had an illustrious line-up of
tutors: the austere Leonidas of Epirus, the later-king Lysimachus and the philosopher Aristotle.
When Alexander was only 16, Philip II died and Alexander ascended to the throne. He wasted no time
setting the tone for his career. In his first act as king, Alexander had all threats to his rule executed, family and
foe alike. He spent the next two years leading his first campaign, where he conquered every city-state in Greece
with the exception of Sparta. With Greece unified under his rule, Alexander amassed his army and set out to
conquer the Persian Empire.
334-323 BC
Alexander
Savvy Siege Tactics

Alexander moved across the eastern Mediterranean
coast, capturing each city in his path. He annihilated
many of the cities he conquered or had all the male
inhabitants killed. He spared the settlements that
chose to surrender, and Alexander often made allies of
these rulers. Alexanders army decimated the Persian
forces it encountered, growing his empire and picking
up momentum for his military campaigns.
With the eastern Mediterranean secured,
Alexander began to move his forces into Africa. Most
of the towns he passed quickly surrenderedbut
not Gaza. Alexander was told that Gaza would be
impossible to capture, but Alexander the Great did
There is nothing
impossible to him
who will try.
Alexander the Great
not believe in impossibilities.

Facing the challenge head-on, Alexander
surmounted the impossible. Alexander had his
troops build up mounds around Gazas city walls.
With the walls breached, he was able to capture this
strategic city.
This famous siege is just one example of
Alexanders cunning as an undefeated military
commander. His inventive strategy enabled him to
mow down his enemies in battle after battle, even
when he was outnumbered.
What made him so unstoppable?
ABOVE A Macedonian Phalanx was effective even against war elephants, as seen in this
painting of the Battle of Hydaspes in India.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
TOP Detail of The Battle of Guagamela, an 18th-century relief depicting Alexander

fighting atop his horse, Bucephalus, in the famous battle of Gaugamela.
FROM TOP:
Alexander earned his victories largely through the

technical superiority of his army. Instead of only
using one type of troop like most militaries of the
time, Alexander used a strategy known as combined
arms tactics, which used a number of specialized
troop types, including skirmishers, cavalry, archers,
swordsmen and siege engines.
One of the most important hallmarks of
Alexanders armies was the phalanx. This formation of
heavy infantry, originally developed by Alexanders
father Philip, allowed for flexibility and quick response
in battle. Members of the phalanx were called
Phalangites, and they fought in tight rectangles, using
round shields and 18-foot double-pointed pikes called
sarissas. This allowed them to keep their enemies at a
distance, though they also carried short, curved
swords called kopis, which were used in close combat.
Alexander rarely used phalanxes alone to defeat
his enemies. Instead, the phalanxes served to keep
DRAWING BY ANDR CASTAIGNE (C. 1911)
Alexanders Lethal Recipe
A l e x a n d e r
t h e
G r e a t
FROM TOP: ALEXANDER THE GREAT ENTERS BABYLONIA, JEAN AUDRAN (1703-1708);
BATTLE OF ALEXANDER VERSUS DARIUS, PIETRO DA CORTONA (1644-1650)
the enemy in place so his heavy cavalry could break

their ranks. His use of heavy cavalry was novel for
the time, and many credit his military success to the
expert use of horsemen in battle.
Did
You
w
Kno
Now you fear punishment and beg

for your lives, so I will let you free, if
not for any other reason so that you
can see the difference between a Greek
king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not
expect to suffer any harm from me.
A king does not kill messengers.
Alexander the Great
Alexander himself
fought mainly on
horseback, and he
even named a town
after his favorite
horse, Bucephalus.
Alexanders armies also featured large siege

engines, which were used both as battering rams and
towers to scale walls. These large constructs were
usually built near the site of a battle and used to gain
entrance to fortified towns and cities. Combined
with the other aspects of his arsenal, these features
made Alexanders forces nearly invincible.
Alexanders innovations and tactics continued
their effect long after his death, influencing the later
Roman armies and continuing to present-day
military academies, where his tactics are still taught.
Taking Egypt
After capturing Gaza, Alexander moved on to
Egypt. Storming into a civilization with thousands of
years of history, Alexander took Egypt and made it
his own.
He founded the Egyptian city of Alexandria, one of
over 70 cities Alexander would name after himself.
Alexandria became an important center for
Hellenistic culture in the ancient world, including its
massive library and the Lighthouse of Alexandria,
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. While
neither of these ancient structures remain, Alexandria
continues today as Egypts second-largest city.
Alexander also established a new dynasty. Like the
Egyptian pharaohs before him, Alexander was
heralded as a god. He proclaimed himself the son of
Zeus-Ammon, a conflation of Greek and Egyptian
gods. After Alexanders death, Ptolemy, one of
Alexanders former bodyguards, became
the Hellenistic ruler of Egypt. Ptolemy and his
successors ruled as the last pharaohs of Egypt.
ALEXANDERS LEGACY
Alexander the Greats influence on the ancient world was immense and far-reaching.
He is mentioned in texts from diverse cultures across Europe, Asia and the Middle
East, and his legacy lives on today.
It can sometimes be difficult to separate the facts from the myths about Alexander.
One of the most famous Alexander myths is the story of the Gordian Knot. Outside
the Gordian Palace lay an ox-cart tied to a post with an
intricate knot. Legend had it that the man who could
undo the Gordian Knot would go on to become king
of Asia. Though many had tried, the knot
remained an uncompleted challenge. Of course,
when Alexander encountered this impossible
knot, he was undaunted and sliced through it
with his sword. Whether fact or fiction, this
story shows his characteristic determination
and outside-the-box thinking.
RIGHT Alexanders likeness appeared on
Greek currency for hundreds of years.
Pursuing Persia
PHOTO BY DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES;
Still Alexander was not satisfied. Instead of

returning home to Macedon, he chose to expand his
empire even further and launched a campaign
through Pakistan and into India. Before he could
complete this conquest, however, Alexanders men
revolted, demanding that they be allowed to return
to their families. Alexander complied and led his
army back through the captured Persian lands toward Greece.

Alexander wouldnt live to see his homeland againhe died in Babylon at age
32. The exact circumstances of his death remain one of the greatest historical
mysteries. Many believe he was poisoned, likely by his own troops, or even by his
former tutor Aristotle. Others believe his death was the result of his multiple
battle injuries and years of heavy drinking. Nevertheless, Alexander accomplished
more in his relatively short life than any other military commander had in
history. At the time of his death, his empire was the largest the world had ever
seen or would see for some time.
FROM TOP:
Conqueror and Conquests

Cut Short
ALEXANDER THE GREAT CUTTING THE GORDIAN KNOT, GIOVANNI PAOLO PANINI (1718-1719)
After founding Alexandria, Alexanders campaign

continued across Asia Minor on a mission to
completely conquer the Persian Empire. He set off
toward Mesopotamia, where he swiftly defeated
Darius III, the king of the Persian Empire, in the
Battle of Gaugamela. Darius himself managed to
escape while Alexander moved on to conquer
Babylon.
Though he now controlled most of the Persian
Empire, Alexanders campaign was far from over. His
next stop was Persepolis, the Persian capital, where
he stayed for five months before setting off after
Darius once again. However, before Alexander could
defeat Darius, the Persian monarch was killed by
Bessus, one of his kinsmen who sought to usurp the
Persian throne.
To crush any potential threat from Bessus,
Alexander switched his focus to Central Asia
through what is now Afghanistan and Tajikistan,
meanwhile capturing and founding cities along the
way. Though Bessus was killed before Alexander
could personally defeat him, Alexander had already
overtaken enough land to solidify his position as
ruler of Central Asia.
A l e x a n d e r
t h e
G r e a t
A tomb now
suffices him for
whom the world
was not enough.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK (2)
Alexander the Greats

epitaph
RAIDING PERSEPOLIS
In his determination to take down
the Persian Empire, Alexander
looted and destroyed its crown
jewel, Persepolis. The ruins remain
todayif not for Alexander,
perhaps these beautiful palaces
would still be standing. While he
often destroyed much of what he
conquered, there is some debate
as to why he burned Persepolis.
Ancient writers speculate he was
exacting revenge on the Persians
for burning temples in Athens.
Alexander reportedly regretted this
decision later in life.
RIGHT What remains of Persepolis,
the former capital of the Persian

Empire in present-day Iran.
Raiders14-20-23-JuliusCaesar.JN.PS2 10/26/14 9:52 PM Page 20
If you must break

the law, do it to seize
power; in all other cases
observe it.
Julius Caesar
Lasting Legacy
NAME
Julius Caesar
DATES ACTIVE
63-44 BC
AREA ACTIVE
Western Europe
CLAIM TO FAME
Caesar is famous
for his disciplined
and skilled army,
which he used to
successfully defeat
many tribes.
Julius Caesar
expanded Romes
territory across
Western Europe and
set the stage for the
end of the Roman
Republic and the
rise of the Roman
Empire.
LEFT Statue of Julius

Caesar in armor.
reenactment soldiers
demonstrate the
shield wall tactic.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
OPPOSITE Centurion
Caesar
I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED.
BY Jenna Handley
The Life of Julius Caesar

One of the most influential figures from history, Julius Caesar
rose from a relatively ordinary family to the highest position in
Roman politics, conquering much of Western Europe throughout
his lifetime. Born to a family with little influence, Caesars
ambitions extended beyond his modest station. After being exiled
from Rome as a young man, Caesar left the Republic and joined
the army.
Upon returning to Rome in 63 BC after the ruling regime had
changed, Caesar quickly rose up the political ranks. In 59 BC he
formed the First Triumvirate, essentially a political alliance, with
two partners, Crassus and Pompey. Through this union he
became consul, the highest political position in Rome. Once his
one-year term as consul ended, Caesar began the campaigns to
conquer Western Europe that would define his life.
Although at the high point of his career, the end was coming
soon for him. Many Romans believed that Caesar was trying to
become the king, but Rome did not want a king. On March 15 in
44 BC, known today as the Ides of March, a group of Roman
senators stabbed him to death. Julius Caesar was gone, but his
accomplishments in life would continue to affect the future of
Rome for years to come.
Military Strategies
In typical Roman general fashion, Caesars main war tactic was to
advance towards the adversary in a tight formation and focus on
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
CONQUESTS
Starting with quick defeats of the Helvetians and the Germans,
Caesar established himself as a force to be reckoned with,
especially since the Germanic tribe had a renowned, skilled army
much larger than his own. In 55 BC he attacked Britain and
Germany once again, which angered the Roman senate.
Upon his return in 54 BC he faced a revolt. Almost every tribe
in Gaul united against him and attacked under the leadership of
Vercingetorix, but Caesar defeated them all in the Gallic War.
Gaul became a Roman province, and Caesar was on his way to
becoming the sole leader of Rome.
After the end of the war, despite backlash from many, Caesar
crossed the Rubicon and marched into Rome with his army in 49
BC. There was little resistance, and after taking control of the
state, he appointed himself the temporary dictator of Rome.
63-44 BC
Julius
Roman Weapons
Common military weapons during Caesars
time were spears, sword and field artillery, but
he and his troops favored the pilum, or javelin,
for battle. All soldiers carried two javelins, both
of which were two meters long. The first set of
javelins was thrown at the enemy from afar to
scatter their ranks, and the second was used for
hand-to-hand combat. In addition to this,
Caesar and his men carried cylindrical leather
shields on their left arms. When facing battle,
the soldiers were able to crouch beneath their
Fortune,
which has a
great deal of
power in
other
matters but
especially in
war, can
bring about
great
changes in a
situation
through very
slight
forces.
Julius Caesar
shields and lock them together, which would

allow them to approach the enemy while
protecting them from a torrent of javelins. To
shield their heads the soldiers wore bronze
helmets with a skullcap on the inside to cover
their ears, neck and cheeks.
Caesars Great Battles

The Gallic War
Caesars conquer of Gaul through the Gallic
Wars was his most infamous accomplishment.
From 58 BC to 52 BC Caesar waged a series of
wars against the Gallic tribes. He defeated tribes
such as the Helvetti and the Suebi, among
others. The Battle of Alesia was the decisive end
of the war after Caesar successfully besieged the
town with the help of cavalry commander Marc
Antony. This was the last major battle between
the tribes of Gaul and Caesar, and, although it
took a few more years for loose ends to be tied
up, it effectively ended the war. At the time
Caesar acted as if this war was a preemptive
move, but it is more likely that he waged this
war in order to boost his political career. Some
also argue that this war was a move by Caesar to
get out of the debt he had incurred during his
consulship. By conquering and plundering
territories, Caesar would be able to collect
enough money to pay off his debts, and Gaul
happened to be a wealthy area. Whatever the
real reason, these wars paved the way for Caesar
to become dictator of Rome.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
breaking up the enemy lines. He would move

forward with his men in three lines, about eight
men deep, which was the formation he
famously used to win his first victory against
the Helvetii in Gaul in 58 BC, at Bibracte.
Caesars four legions were separated into
three groups and advanced on the tightly
packed Helvetii lines. The Roman soldiers
hurled a wall of javelins at the Helvetii lines, and
they quickly broke in confusion and retreated to
a northern hill. Immediately after two new
troops attacked Caesars army from behind
the Boii and Tulingibut Caesar kept his first
two lines of soldiers facing forward, toward the
Helvetii, and had the third line turn and face
down the two new tribes. The Helvetii retreated
permanently, and the Boii and Tulingi were
defeated. By focusing on breaking up the enemy,
Caesar defeated even the most trained armies.
Raiders14-20-23-JuliusCaesar_CX 10/27/14 10:20 PM Page 23
C Ka h
e a
s a
n r
JG ue ln i gu hs i s
TFROM TOP LEFT, CLOCKWISE: PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK; PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
You
d
i
D
w
Kno
Caesar vs. Ariovistus
In 58 BC, during one of the first
battles of the Gallic War, Caesar and his
troops faced the German leader
Ariovistus after he led an attack against
the Aedui tribe, Romans allies.
Partly in support of the Aedui and partly
to get rid of the troublesome tribe West
of the Rhine, Caesar and his troops set
off towards the German troops.
Prior to battle Caesar and Ariovistus
met with just their cavalries in an
attempt to resolve the issue before
resorting to warfare, but nothing was
settled. The next day Ariovistus invited
Caesar to a second meeting, but Caesar,
wary of his intentions, sent two soldiers
in his place.
Caesars instincts were right
Ariovistus had moved his troops into
position, prepared to fight, and the
tribe imprisoned the two men sent by
Caesar. The Roman army advanced and
charged at the Germans. Although they
were outnumbered, the Romans were
able to take control with a third line of
defense. Ariovistus and his soldiers fled
for fifteen miles, all the way to the
Rhine River. Although some, including
Ariovistus, managed to escape across
the river, Caesar captured and killed
the rest. R
As a young man, Caesar

was kidnapped while
crossing the Aegean Sea.
The pirates who took
him were going
to demand 20 talents (an
ancient measurement)
of silver for his safe
return, but Caesar
insisted that he was
worth more than 20 and
told them to ask for 50.
While in captivity,
Caesar told the pirates
that once he was
released he was going to
capture and kill them.
True to his word, after
the ransom was paid and
Caesar was released, he
put together a fleet and
went after the pirates.
He captured them and
had them crucified, but
first slit their throats to
lessen their pain
because they had treated
him well while he was
imprisoned.
DEPICTIONS OF CAESAR
Since his lifetime, Caesar has appeared in many

intellectual and artistic works, from paintings to books
and TV shows. Most famously he was depicted in Virgils
Aeneid, Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy and William
Shakespeares Julius Caesar. The historical-drama TV
show Rome, which ran from 2005 to 2007, showed
much of Caesars rule, starting with his conquest of
Rome and ending with his assassination. Although the
character of Julius Caesar did not physically resemble
depictions of him, the show focused on remaining
otherwise authentic to the historical figure.
MYTHBUSTER
One common misconception about Caesar is that he

was Marcus Brutus, his eventual betrayers, father. This is
based on many pieces of evidencefrom the leniency
that Caesar showed him after he stood up against his
rule to the long-term affair Caesar had with Servilia,
Brutus mother. For this to be true, however, Brutus
would have been conceived just after Caesars
fourteenth birthday. Most historians agree that Caesar
did not father Brutus and his real father was Marcus
Junius Brutus the Elder.
LEFT The Death of Caesar by Jean-Leon Gerome (c. 1859-
1867)
MIDDLE TOP Map of Romes territory before and after Julius
Caesar.
MIDDLE BOTTOM Julius Caesar depicted on a denarius, or
Roman coin.
RIGHT The Roman invasion of Britain commanded by
Julius Caesar in 55 BC.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Raiders14-24-27-Khan.PS2.qxp 10/23/14 11:31 PM Page 24
Raiders14-24-27-Khan.PS2.qxp 10/23/14 11:32 PM Page 25
Khan
THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR IN HISTORY.
BY Jenna Handley
Lasting Legacy
The Founding Father

of Mongolia
Genghis Khan was the founder and emperor of
the Mongol Empire, which he started when he
united the nomadic tribes in Asia under his rule.
After the creation of his empire, Genghis Khan
began Mongol invasions in Eurasia and spent his
life expanding the Mongolian territory. These
invasions resulted in a huge conquest of land, as
well as the massacre of millions of civilians, and
turned the relatively poor empire into the largest
kingdom that has ever existed. Between 1206 and
1227, Genghis Khan conquered about 12 million
square miles of territory, more land than the
Romans conquered in 400 years and twice as much
land as any other historical leader.
Genghis Khan is remembered as being ruthless
as he expanded the Mongol Empire. No one can be
sure of how many deaths he was responsible for,
but some historians have estimated it to be around
40 million people. Censuses from the Middle Ages
reported a population drop of tens of millions in
China during Khans rule. Scholars have claimed
that his attacks would have reduced todays
population by 11 percent. Despite his bloodthirsty
tendencies, Genghis Khans rule wasnt completely
detrimental to society. He modernized Mongolian
culture and opened communication between the
West and the East.
A Skilled Military
NAME
Genghis Khan
DATES ACTIVE
1206-1227
AREA ACTIVE
Spread across
Eurasia
CLAIM TO FAME
Genghis Khan was

famous for his
disciplined army,
which relied heavily
on careful planning
and the skilled
cavalry to conquer
millions of miles of
territory. He began
the great Mongol
empire that
stretched from
Poland to Vietnam
and Korea, which
reached a size of
around 12 million
square miles at its
peak.
Although a great leader and skilled tactician,

Khan would never have been able to conquer so
much land without his highly disciplined military.
One of their more successful and sly tactics was to
fake retreat from the enemy before attacking. Khan
would have his troops begin retreating and then
turn on the enemy when they started pursuing.
Khan was also a careful planner. Some of his
invasions were preceded by months of spying on
the enemy and mapping out escape routes. This
way the troops knew what sort of defense and
infrastructure they would be up against before they
arrived at battle.
Traditionally, the Mongolians relied heavily on
their skilled cavalry for attack, but this wasnt
helpful with walled cities, so they adopted siege
weapons from the Chinese, Persians and other
cultures and developed them to fit their tactics.
They perfected strategies that relied on damming
streams to flood a town and cutting off supplies to
cities to starve the inhabitants. With his wide range
of skill sets and tactics, Khan was able to conquer
almost all of Asia and the Middle East, as well as
sections of Eastern Europe.
Weapons of Mass Destruction

The Mongol army was primarily a cavalry force,
which allowed them to move at great speeds and
1206-1227
Genghis
Raiders14-24-27-Khan.PS2.CX 10/27/14 10:27 PM Page 26
Conquering the
world on horseback
is easy;
it is dismounting and
governing that is
hard.
Genghis Khan
LEFT This portrait of Ganghis Khan was created

about 100 years after his lifetime.
both extremely accurate and could shoot twice as

far as European bows at the time. Their arrows
made a whistling sound when shot in order to scare
the enemies, and they could be easily turned into
flaming arrows. The Mongolians adapted catapults
from China into trebuchets, which allowed them to
sling weapons into enemy cities at incredible force.
These catapults were especially significant in their
attacks against Korea. Their third main weapon was
a lightweight saber that they could maneuver with
one hand, which gave them an advantage over the
heavy swords during mounted warfare.
provided a quick system to pass messages from the

station to battlefront. Each soldier had at least two
horses at all times so they could exhaust one, and
then switch to the second without slowing down
the troop. The soldiers were able to shoot arrows
forwards, backwards and from one side while
riding in a full gallop. The military aimed to fight
from horseback for as long as possible before they
dismounted and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
On horseback they would often approach the
enemy and fire arrows into their crowds repeatedly
until the troops broke ranks and the Mongol
soldiers could easily charge.
The Mongols three main weapons were the bow
and arrow, sabers and a type of catapult. The
Mongolian bows were short and had a pull that was
You
d
i
D
w
Kno
Genghis Khans
birth name was
Temjin. In
Mongol, his
name is
transcribed
Chinggis Khaan;
Genghis Khan is
a Persianized
adaptation of his
Mongol title.
Although vicious, Khan was not against being

reasonable. More often than not, he gave towns the
chance to submit to Mongol rule before he unleashed
the wrath of his army. Not many submitted, however,
and he consequently fought many battles.
One of his more infamous confrontations was
with the Khwarezmid Empire in 1219 after they
broke a trade treaty with the Mongol Empire. This
was one of his biggest invasions, with 200,000
soldiers at his disposal. He divided his men into
three groups, and they approached the city from
different directions. Khan released his fury on the
kingdom in a war that left millions dead and the
kingdom in ruin. He ordered most of the civilians
to be killed, enslaved the rest and executed the
governor by pouring molten silver in his eyes and
ears. Still not satisfied, he attacked the Tanguts of Xi
Xia, Mongol subjects who had refused to provide
troops for the war against the Khwarezmid Empire.
Khan destroyed the capital and executed the entire
royal family as punishment.
PHOTO BY WOLFGANG KAEHLER/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
Revenge Against the

Khwarezmid Empire
Raiders14-24-27-Khan.PS2.CX 10/27/14 10:27 PM Page 27
He was very socially

progressive. Unlike
other conquerors, Khan
embraced different
cultures and encouraged
religious tolerance. He
even passed laws to
protect religious freedom.
Khan also supported
rights for women.
No one is sure how he
died or where he is
buried, but there are
many theoriessome say
he fell from a horse while
others claim it was malaria
that did him in. There were
great measures taken to
keep his burial place a
secret and supposedly the
funeral procession killed
everyone they came in
contact with. The most
likely place of his burial is
the Burkhan Khaldun
mountain.
Conquest of the Jin Dynasty
TOP AND BOTTOM: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
For 23 years, from 1211-1234, the Mongol Empire

waged a war against the Jin dynasty. Although Khan
would not be around to see the end result of the long
war, he played an imperative role in the first half. The
war began after a representative was sent to Genghis
Kahn to announce the ascension of a new Jin
Emperor to the Jurchen throne. On the Jin dynastys
behalf, the representative demanded the Mongols
submission to the Jurchen rule. Of course this did not
settle well with Khan, and he refused to submit.
His refusal resulted in a declaration of war between
the Mongols and Jurchens. Khan over saw the first
decisive battlethe Battle of the Badger Mouth.
During this crucial attack, Khan faced about 500,000
Jin soldiers, which outnumbered his force, but he
expertly circumvented the troops by passing over
mountains to surround the larger army. The
Mongolian troops attacked from both the front and
the back, which resulted in the slaughter of thousands
of Jin soldiers. The war waged on for many more
years, even after Khans death, but the Mongol
Empire finally conquered Jin and completed their
control of northern China. R
GENGHIS KHAN IN POP CULTURE
There have been many movies, TV shows and books

released based on Genghis Khans life. Although some
received critical acclaim, none of these representations
of Khan can be thought of as historically accurate since
most of his life, outside of his battles, remains
unknown. There is even disagreement on his physical
appearance. Most accounts agree that he was tall in
stature with long hair and a beard, but beyond that they
often differ. One 14th century chronicler, Rashid al-Din,
claimed that Khan had red hair and green eyes, which
surprisingly would not have been unheard of in the
diverse Mongol culture.
MYTHBUSTER
Since no artifacts, like architecture or art, are leftover

from Khans reign, a lot of unrecorded information we
have is based mostly on conjecture. One fact that
has been circulating around is that Genghis Khan
killed 1,748,000 people in one hour during a battle.
Although this may seem reasonable at first, given that
he is estimated to have killed about 40 million people
in his lifetime, for this to be true, he and his army
would have taken 29,133 lives every single minute.
This rumor is impossible, but it demonstrates the
ferocity that people associate with Khan.
Khans fondness for

rape and pillage left
him with hundreds, or
possibly thousands, of
children. In a 2003 study,
scientists found that 1 in
200 men today carry a Y
chromosome that could
be traced back to Kahn
himself. If this is true,
0.5% of the worlds
male population is
descended from him.
TOP 14th-century
watercolor illustration of
the Mongol conquest of
Baghdad in 1258.
MIDDLE Map of Mogol
territory before and after
Genghis Khan.
BOTTOM Genghis Khans
temporary palace in
Fengning County, Hebei,
China.
K h a n
1
2
G e n g h i s
Trivia
Raiders-28-31-WilliamTheConqueror.JN 10/23/14 11:40 PM Page 28
PHOTO BY THE PRINT COLLECTOR/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES
Norman-born William
the Conqueror crowned
king of England.
Conqueror
THIS MAN CHANGED THE FACE OF ENGLAND FOREVER.
BY Andrew M. Luther
illiam the Conqueror is a man

known by several names: Duke
William II of Normandy, King
William I of England and
William the Bastard. These
descriptive titles offer a hint at the complex and
fascinating man to whom they were giventhe man
responsible for the Norman Conquest of England.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
King William I,
Duke William II of
Normandy, William
the Conqueror,
William the
Bastard
DATES ACTIVE:
Tumultuous Childhood
William was born in the year 1028 to Robert,
Duke of Normandy and his mistress Herleva of
Falaise. Robert, the most powerful duke in France at
that time, was known as Robert the Magnificent.
Williams mother was the unmarried daughter of a
local tanner.
When Duke Robert decided to go on a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem in 1035, he had no sons except for
7-year-old William. The duke assembled his
noblemen and had them swear an oath that should
he die, William was to inherit the title of Duke of
Normandy. His father did not return, and the
noblemen kept their oath, bestowing the title on
young William.
Because of his young age and his illegitimacy,
challenges to his right to rule the duchy of Normandy
were many. He was referred to by his enemies as The
Bastard, and his life was in constant danger. During
his childhood, three of his guardians were killed, his
teacher was stabbed and his personal bodyguards
throat was slashed right in front of him.
1053-1087
AREAS ACTIVE:
Normandy (region
of France) and
England
CLAIM TO FAME:
A duke from
Normandy, William
was not content
until he crossed the
English Channel
and laid claim to
the English throne.
His victory in the
uphill Battle of
Hastings changed
the course of
English civilization.
Under the protection of his great-uncle

Archbishop Robert and later King Henry I of
France, William survived the attempts on his life.
At the age of 15, he was knighted by King Henry I
and joined the king in many of his battles. Fighting
beside the king, William learned military tactics
and the traits of a commander. Though illiterate,
William had a brilliant mind and a desire to
conquer.
Aiming High
By 1064, William had conquered his neighboring
provinces of Brittany and Maine. His control over
Normandy and these provinces was wellestablished. He now set his eyes on the richest
country in EuropeEngland.
The King of England, Edward the Confessor, was
a distant cousin of William. Edward, childless and
purportedly celibate, had no direct heir and
promised William succession to the English throne.
Bolstering Williams confidence that the throne
would one day be his, Edwards brother-in-law
Harold Godwin had sworn an oath to support
William in his claim to succession.
Prelude to War
When Edward died in 1066, Harold claimed that
Edward had made him his successor on his
deathbed. Believing that he had been robbed and
betrayed, William made plans to invade England
and claim his title.
1053-1087
William The
I have cruelly
oppressed them [the
English] and unjustly
disinherited them, killed
innumerable multitudes
by famine or the sword
and become the
barbarous murderer
of many thousands both
young and old of that fine
race of people.
Williams deathbed confession
according to historian Orderic Vitalis
evenly matched with Williams in both size and

ability. At the time that William landed on English
soil, Harold had just defeated another rival for his
throne, Viking King Harald Hardrada of Norway.
Upon hearing of Williams arrival, Harold turned
his weary troops from their northern locations and
marched them over 250 miles in three days, where
they met William the Conqueror at the most
famous battle in English history, the Battle of
Hastings.
Depiction of William the Conqueror from a Player's cigarette card

based on the engraving by G Vertue; British Museum.
William prepared to go to war, and the Pope gave

Williams quest his blessing. This turned the
invasion into a holy crusade, making it difficult for
any European rulers sympathetic to Harold to
offer him support. It also gave William and his
men confidence they were on a just and holy
mission.
William began building ships. When finished, he
had built 700 ships with room to carry 8,000 men
and 3,000 war horses across the English Channel
from Normandy to England. His army was not only
comprised of Normans: William enticed
mercenaries and noblemen from other regions with
promises of English land and property.
Soldiers carried leather-covered wooden shields
and were armed with slingshots, bows and arrows,
spears, axes and knives. Many Normans fought atop
horses trained to stomp and crush the enemy.
Riders used stirrups, a new innovation at that time,
to attack standing up, allowing them to put more
force behind every hit.
Williams opponent, King Harold II, was also a
brilliant strategist and commander with an army
You
Did ow
Kn
When William
the Conquerors
troops sailed
across the
English Channel,
this became the
largest invasion
between
Normandy and
England since the
Romans invaded
1,000 years
earlier and until
the D-Day
invasion of World
War II.
King Harold II carefully chose the spot where his

army would meet the Norman challenge. Atop a
steep ridge flanked by swamps and thick brush,
Williams men were forced to conduct a frontal,
uphill assault. Harolds enormous army lined up
atop the ridge, shields interlocked. Against this
formidable force, the Normans were confident in
their mission and in their ruler. After all, they
carried the papal banner, and their commander,
William the Conqueror, had never in his long
military career been defeated.
Telling his men that God was on their side,
William cried out that this battle could only end in
one of two waysvictory or death. Wall after wall
of Norman men charged up the hill towards the
English Shield Wall, where they were killed by
spears and axes protruding through gaps. Arrows
shot by Williams archers bounced off of the shields
as the bodies of Norman fighters rolled back down
the hill.
At noon, three hours into the battle, the wall of
shields still held. At one point during the battle
Williams horse stumbled and William fell. A rumor
CULTURE CLUB/GETTY IMAGES
The Norman Invasion:

An Uphill Battle
ELOQUENT KLUTZ
Williams strong military resume

didnt mean he was beyond the
occasional fumble. Tradition has
it he fell when he first set foot
on English land. Soldiers took
this as a bad omen, but William
quickly turned it around by
grabbing a handful of sand,
saying, Look I have already
taken the land.
Norman Makeover of England

New King William I brought many unwelcome changes to the
English. The previously free, democratic and meritocratic society was
replaced with feudalism. French became the official language. William
installed his bishop as the head of the English church. The English
aristocracy was driven from England and replaced by Normans as a
reward for their service at the Battle of Hastings. Castles and forts built
in the Norman style of architecture sprung up at 15-mile intervals to
help William control his new land and people.
William, King of England, spent most of his time in France. He never
learned the English language and was mistrusted and unwanted by the
people he ruled. For better or for worse, the Norman King William I of
England changed the shape of the English civilization and people. R
FROM TOP: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; THINKSTOCK
Raids en route to the Throne

William the Conqueror was victorious again. He
waited for two weeks for a formal surrender of the
English throne. When he learned that the
Witenagemot had instead proclaimed young Edgar
Atheling king, William headed for London.
On his way to London, William marched
through the greatest cities of the southDover,
Canterbury and Winchesterwhich all submitted
to him when he arrived. He hacked and burned
farms and businesses in northern England.
Eventually the Archbishop of York met William
outside of London and begged William to take the
crown. A few days later, Atheling personally
relinquished the crown, and the exhausted
noblemen of England surrendered.
AN UNSIGHTLY FUNERAL
On Sept. 9, 1087, at the age of 59, William died from abdominal injuries he sustained
when he fell from a horse. The burial of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and
King of England, was not as dignified as was planned. William had become quite fat.
When his body was lowered into his stone sarcophagus, he was too large to fit. When
the holy assembly of bishops attempted to push his body into the sarcophagus, the
body burst, sending the putrid smell of a rotting body throughout the room and
emptying it of mourners.
C o n q u e r o r
quickly spread that William the Conqueror had

been killed, sending panic through his troops.
William quickly remounted a horse and charged
after his fleeing men. Pushing back his helmet to
show his men that he was alive, he rallied the troops
and fighting resumed with a vengeance.
William decided to employ a new strategy. He
directed his archers to send their arrows past the
shield of armor and into the troops in the rear. Both
of King Harold IIs brothers were killed in this hail of
arrows. By eight hours into the battle, three mounts
had been killed under William and his helmet had
been dented by an axe, but he fought on.
William could see King Harold II on the ridge and
knew that his path to the throne would not be clear
until Harold was dead. An arrow suddenly fell from
the sky and hit Harold in his right eye. Still, he lived.
William formed a hit squad of four men and
instructed them to ride directly to Harold and to
make sure that they killed him. Each of the four got a
piece of him, thoroughly carrying out their orders.
T h e
He is also supposed to have put

his hauberk, or chain mail shirt,
on backwards, which his men
again took as a bad sign. Quick
with his words, William calmed
their fears by offering his own
interpretation: Just as I turn the
hauberk round, I will turn myself
from duke to king.
W i l l i a m
Bayeux Tapestry depicting a Norman ship en route to English shores for battle.
Raiders-32-35-Vlad_The_Impaler.JN 10/24/14 12:13 AM Page 32
DEAGNOSTI/GETTY IMAGES
Portrait of Vlad III of Wallachia,

aka Vlad the Impaler.
Impaler
MEET THE REAL DRACULA.
BY Andrew M. Luther
Lasting Legacy
arely in history does the man live up to
the myth. For Vlad the Impaleralso
known as Vlad Tepes and, more
popularly, Draculathe man
far surpasses the horrors of his myth.
Bram Stokers main character in his fictional work
Dracula is named after the very real Dracula, Vlad
III. Most obviously, both share a name. When Vlad
IIIs father was invited into the Order of the Dragon
or, in Romanian, Order of Dracul, Vlad became
Dracula, or son of the dragon. Aside from the
name, both were noblemen, well-educated and
charismatic. Both lived in Transylvania, an area in
present-day Romania. And both were mass
murderers on a scale rarely seen in history. But
Stokers Dracula is a fictionalized character meant to
entertain. The real Dracula caused agonizing death
for an estimated 100,000 people.
Childhood Hostage
Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, was most certainly a
product of his dark childhood. The second of three
sons, he was born in 1429 to the Royal Governor of
Transylvania. From their earliest days, Vlad and his
three brothers were surrounded by war and conflict.
Their homeland of Wallachia, part of present-day
Romania, was the border between the Muslim
Ottoman Turks and the crusading European
Christians.
His father Vlad II brokered a peaceful agreement
with the Ottoman ruler Sultan Murad II which
allowed his principality of Wallachia to remain
Christian while staying free from Ottoman attack.
NAME:
Vlad III, Prince of

Wallachia. Of the
House of
Drculeti, he was
also known by his
family patronymic,
Draculesti or
Dracula. He
became known as
Vlad Tepes, or Vlad
the Impaler, after
his death.
DATES ACTIVE:
1456-1462
AREA ACTIVE:
Present-day
Romania and
Bulgaria
CLAIM TO FAME:
Vlads cruelty to his

enemies in life gave
rise to his immortal
reputation after his
death; the
descendants of his
subjects, however,
remember him
fondly for protecting
them from their
enemies.
Vlad II agreed to pay the sultan 10,000 gold ducats

annually and to swear on the Bible and on the
Koran to avoid engendering future hostilities.
But there was a thirdmore difficult
stipulation. Eleven-year-old Vlad III and his
9-year-old brother Radu were to remain with the
Turks as hostages to ensure these conditions would
be met.
What must it have been like for the boys to be
left by their father in a country they had grown up
fearing and hating? As political hostages, the boys
were free to roam the castle. Eventually they
received training in Turkish culture and customs.
Although Radu seemed to adapt to his new life,
Vlad III did not. Vlad demanded more freedom
and more respect from his guards. Instead he
received whippings and restraint. Had Vlad known
what was to come, he may have been quite thankful
for the few liberties he had been granted.
A Waking Nightmare
In 1445, the European Christians organized
another crusade against the Muslim Ottomans.
Vlads father had promised the sultan that he
would not aid in future hostilities. Growing
pressure from his neighboring Christian countries
contributed to his decision to renege on his
agreement and to direct 4,000 men to aid in the
effort against the Turks.
In an attempt to protect his two hostaged sons,
he did not lead his men but instead sent his eldest
son Mircea as their commander. Sultan Murad did
not appreciate this token of compliance.
1456-1462
Vlad the
We killed 23,884 Turks

without counting those
whom we burned in
homes or the Turks
whose heads were cut by
our soldiers...Thus, your
highness, you must
know that I have broken
the peace with him
(Sultan Mehmed II).
Vlad III describing his raid on
Ottoman camps and
surrounding towns in Bulgaria
Reign of Terror
The boys were thrown into the dungeon where

they experienced daily floggings and near
starvation. Perhaps the most influential part of
their confinement was the firsthand view they had
of prisoner executions. Never knowing if it would
be his turn, Vlad III watched from a small window
as, several times a week, prisoners were executed by
either being hung, beheaded, shot with spears and
arrows, crushed under wheels, given to beasts of
preyor impaled.
Vlad III and Radu would eventually leave this
prison, but not to the joyful homecoming they
would have hoped. The Crusaders were
unsuccessful in their effort against Sultan Murad.
They took their anger out on Vlad II, perhaps
feeling that he did not do enough to support their
efforts. The leader of the crusade stormed the castle
of Vlad II, the Dracul, chasing Vlad II, his wife
and their eldest son Mircea into the woods. The
three were captured and Vlads parents were
executed quickly. Not as fortunate was Mircea. He
was buried alive.
VLAD
A HERO?
Vlad the Impaler is
considered a folk hero
in Romania and
Bulgaria. His gruesome
tactics arent what you
would think of when
you think hero, but he
did fight to assert
Romanian
independence from
Ottoman ruleand
died in that pursuit.
Separating fact from
fiction about his cruelty
is also not cut-and-dry.
Some accounts come
from the pen of Vlad
himself, but others
come from German or
Russian sources, which
may have been
embellished.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (2)
Sultan Murad II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire during Vlads lifetime.
When news of his familys executions reached Vlad,

he snapped. Taking advantage of an opportunity,
Sultan Murad offered to release the young man and
give him troops to avenge his familys deaths and
reclaim his fathers throne. In return, Vlad would keep
Wallachia open to Turkish commerce and continue to
pay 10,000 gold ducats annually.
Vlad successfully reclaimed his fathers throne, but
only two months later, he was driven from the castle.
He would fight for and win his battle for the throne
two more times. It was during these two subsequent
reigns he gave the world ample reason to call him
Vlad the Impaler.
Impalement as a form of execution was used long
before Vlad the Impaler gained power. What makes
Vlad notorious is the large number of men, women
and children he put to death in this way. Equally
disturbing is the pleasure Vlad derived from watching
the torture. During an outdoor festival of St.
Bartholomew at Sibiu, Vlad had 20,000 revelers spiked
in one afternoon, calling them either treacherous
bourgeoise or their supporters. As entire families were
impaled, he had a dining table brought up so that he
Surprise Attacks
While impalement may have been his most-used tactic, Vlad did have some
military versatility. Before impaling the sultans men, Vlad had successfully
ambushed them. Vlad also raided Ottoman camps in Bulgaria. Taking
advantage of his intimate childhood knowledge of the language, Vlad
pretended to be an Ottoman cavalry commander to get behind enemy lines. He
successfully destroyed the Ottoman camps and razed the surrounding
Ottoman-controlled towns.
Mysterious Death
The final battle with Sultan Mehmed found Vlads army greatly
outnumbered. Vowing not to surrender, Vlad charged the enemy. Although
there is no exact account of his death, monks at the nearby monastery, Snagov,
found his mutilated and beheaded body in a nearby bog. Although his head was
never found, the body wore the medallion and regal garments of Vlad III. The
monks said they buried Vlad at the foot of the altar at Snagov.
In the 1930s archaeologists opened the grave of Vlad III. Inside they found
only an empty six-foot pit. Years later a headless skeleton wrapped in expensive
fabrics was found in the back of the monastery. It is considered to be the
remains of Vlad III, Dracula. R
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; THINKSTOCK; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Terror Tactics
Vlad used brutality not only as a
method of managing his citizens, but also
as a military strategy. After two envoys sent
from Sultan Mehmed, Sultan Murads son
and successor, declined to remove their
customary headdress in Vlads court, he
instructed his soldiers to nail the caps to
their heads. When the bodies were
returned to the Sultan, Mehmed devised a
plan to destroy Vlad.
Under the guise of arranging a peace
talk, Mehmed invited Vlad to meet. The
Sultan sent an army to ambush him along
the way. Sensing a plot, Vlad left early with
ABOVE This depiction of Christ

before Pilate pictures Pilate with
the face of Vlad. (Pilate handed
Christ over to be crucified, so this
is a strong statement against
Vlads character.)
I m p a l e r
could watch the executions while enjoying a meal.

Periodically, he had a servant dip his bread in the
victims blood so he could savor the taste of life.
Vlad the Impaler viewed women as inferior to men.
When traveling through the countryside one day he
noticed a farmer working in the fields. The farmer was
wearing a caftan shorter than the customary length.
When Vlad asked the farmer about his unusual
clothing, he explained that his wife had fallen ill and
was unable to finish knitting the garment. Incensed
that she was taking care of herself and not her
husband, Vlad had the wife pulled from her sickbed
and impaled outside of the home. He then found a
young, unwed girl from a nearby farm and instructed
her to marry the farmer and to make sure he was
properly clothed and fed.
On another occasion, Vlad invited all of the poor
and homeless to a feast. While they were eating, Vlad
and his men left the building and locked the doors.
Archers then shot flaming arrows into the building,
ridding Wallachia of the burden of caring
for its less fortunate citizens.
his own small army and surprised and killed

thousands of Mehmeds men. When
Mehmed arrived at the designated meeting
place, he expected to hear good news of
Vlads destruction. Instead, he found the
bodies of his soldiers nailed to trees along the
river for as far as his eyes could see.
Vlad knew that Sultan Mehmed would
retaliate and that his resources and army
would far outmatch his own. Since he could
not defeat Sultan Mehmed in combat, Vlad
opted to engage in psychological warfare. He
took 20,000 Turkish soldiers and spies from
his prisons and had them impaled and
displayed around his castle. The plan
worked. When the Turks saw the display,
they fled in horror.
T h e
How much is Bram

Stokers Dracula
based on Vlad III?
The name was taken
from the historical
Dracula, Vlad III, but
Stokers notes make
no mention of
anything else from
the historical mans
life. How much
Stoker knew about
the real Dracula and
how that influenced
his conception of
one of the worlds
best-known
vampires is
unknown.
V l a d
DRACULA
Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania,

where Vlad IIIDracula
would have lived.
Raiders14-036-039-Vikings.PS.qxp 10/24/14 12:18 AM Page 36
Wake early if you want

another man's life or land.
No lamb for the lazy wolf.
No battle's won in bed.
The Hvaml,
Norse poetry from the Viking Age
Raiders14-036-039-Vikings.PS.CX 10/27/14 10:45 PM Page 37
THESE INFAMOUS SEAFARING WARRIORS SET THE COURSE FOR

EUROPEAN HISTORY IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES.
BY Alex J. Taylor
Lord, deliver us from the

fury of the Northmen! So
prayed the terror-stricken
inhabitants of Western
Europes northern coasts,
huddled together in their parish churches and
monastery chapels, throughout the Viking Age,
starting with the Lindisfarne monastery on the
northern shores of England.
FROM LEFT:
THINKSTOCK;
THINKSTOCK;
PHOTO BY DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES
Who were the Vikings?

The Vikings did not simply appear fully formed
out of the northern mists. At the start of the Viking
Age, the Scandinavian peoples, in what is now
Norway, Sweden and Denmark, were spread out over
a wide territory but united by the Norse language and
a common culture based around ships and the sea.
Archaeology has shown that these people had already

spent centuries, if not millennia, perfecting the
shipbuilding and sailing techniques which allowed
them to dominate the western seas in the Viking Age.
The lean, sleek Viking longship and its lesserknown cousin, the sturdier, heavier knarr, enabled the
Scandinavian peoples to dominate the seas and rivers
of the early medieval world. They had also already
perfected the art of raiding the Slavic peoples along
the coast of the Baltic Sea and the great rivers of
eastern Europe, such as the Volga and Dnieper.
They had also established a great trading network
into Eastern Europe, which would eventually grow to
extend as far south as Constantinople, the greatest city
in the medieval Christian world, and as far north as
IrelandDublin, for instance, was founded by
Vikings as a trading port.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Vikings, Northmen,
Varangians, Rus
DATES ACTIVE:
793-1066
AREAS ACTIVE:
Scandinavia,
Western Europe,
the Baltic and
across the North
Atlantic as far as
North America
CLAIM TO FAME:
By raiding, trading
and exploring their
way through the
rivers of Eastern
Europe and the
vast open ocean to
the west, the
Vikings established
a trade network
and strengthened
cultural ties
between peoples
all the way from
Greenland to
Constantinople.
LEFT Viking boat in
transit toward
Normandy.
793-1066
Vikings
ABOVE Viking
Oseberg ship.
Shield Work
The shield wall, or skjaldborg, was a common sight
on battlefields in the Viking Age, and looked exactly
like the name suggestsa wall of shields, kept solid
and steady by a row of warriors who would advance,
tightly knit together in close, shoulder-to-shoulder
formation, and plough through anyone or anything
that got in their way.
Another common tactic was the svinfylking, or
boars snout, in which the center of the shield wall
MYTHBUSTERS
Easily the most persistent image of Vikings in popular
culture is that of a muscle-bound, heavily-armored
warrior clad in a horned helmet and brandishing an
oversized, double-headed axe or hammerin other
words, Marvels Thor. All of those
Viking helmetsnotice
elements are a misrepresentation.
the lack of horns.
Their terrifying appearance to those

they raided was likely because they were taller than their
southern neighbors, not necessarily because they were
muscular. Their axes were more like hatchets in size and only had a single blade. Their armor was light, a combination
of chainmail and reinforced leather. And the iconic horned helmet? Those were only for ceremonial purposes.
THINKSTOCK;
By the end of the eighth century, most of Western

Europe was united as the Carolingian, or Holy
Roman, Empire. This vast empire had been founded
and maintained in reaction to external threats, first
from the Muslims to the south, and now from the
Vikings in the north. These Carolingian and other
Christian kings had their work cut out for themand
until the eventual conversion of the Scandinavian
peoples to Christianity at the end of the Viking Age, it
was largely a losing battle.
Starting as early as 789, the Vikings began a
sustained invasion of England, which would eventually
result in the conquest of much of the English island.
There, the Vikings established the so-called Danelaw,
The Hvaml,
Norse poetry
from the
Viking Age
Viking Invasions
a region under Scandinavian control and centered in

the city of York. Due to Viking incursions down the
Seine river throughout the following century, the
Frankish monarchy was eventually forced to surrender
a large section of their territory to the Vikings in the
year 911, resulting in the formation of the Duchy of
Normandynamed for the Nortmanni, or
Northmen who began to rule there.
Similarly, in the Slavic lands to the east, everambitious Viking princes created the kingdom of Rus,
centered around the city of Kiev and later growing to
include more and more surrounding lands, becoming,
in the ensuing generations, what we now know as
Russia.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
Never walk
away from
home
ahead of your
axe and
sword. You
can't feel a
battle in your
bones or foresee a fight.
The Vikings were already well-established further

east, and they had finely honed their craft of raiding
for slaves and material goods which could then be
sold at great profit in markets throughout the early
medieval world.
The raid at Lindisfarne marked the beginning of
the Viking Age, and began a series of incursions into
the Christian West that would dramatically change the
face of Europe.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
BELOW Viking sword

with a silver and gold
hilt from Dyback,
Skane, one of the
finest swords of the
Viking Age found in
Scandinavia. This was
either made in
England or heavily
influenced by English
styles in work, being
the Winchester style of
metalwork (8th-11th
century).
PHOTO BY CM DIXON/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES
RIGHT Viking fleet

arriving on a new land.
VIKINGS IN
POP CULTURE
BY Merrie Destefano
The bloody reign of
the Vikings may have
ended in the 11th
century, but their
invasion is far from
over. They have and
continue to
successfully invade
our popular culture.
Below are some
examples of how this
warrior people has
influenced the arts
and spawned a
unique version of
heavy metal music.
MUSIC
Der Ring des

Nibelungen, (1876),
opera by Richard
Wagner
Warrior by Unleashed,
(1997) Viking heavy
metal band
Thyrfing by Thyrfing,
(1998), Viking heavy
metal band
Djevelmakt by
Kampfar, (2014),
Viking Heavy metal
band
BOOKS
The Long Ships by

Frans Gunnar
Bengtsson
The Vikings by Edison
Marshall
Eaters of the Dead by
Michael Crichton
The Hammer and The
Cross by Harry
Harrison
The Last Kingdom by
Bernard Cornwell
Blood Eye by Giles
Kristian
Northlanders by Brian
Wood
Vinland Saga by
Makoto Yukimura
FROM TOP:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
MOVIES
The Vikings, 1958

The Long Ships, 1963
Erik the Viking, 1989
The Secret of Kells,
2009
Thor, 2011
ABOVE Map of Viking
exploration patterns
and settlements.
LEFT Leiv Eiriksson
discovers North
America by Christian
Krohg (1893).
V i k i n g s
was pushed out in a wedge shape

protecting a line of archers in the
rear.
Both these formations proved
Voyages
very effective on the battlefield,
Settlements
but they were only as strong as
their weakest linksonce
breached, shield walls tended
to fall apart very quickly. These
tactics worked best in the
quick, decisive strikes that
characterized Viking raids.
Although the Vikings made
use of many weapons on their
raids, including the spear, bow, axe
and a type of long knife or dagger
known as a seax, perhaps the weapon for which they
among the best sources we now have for learning
were most feared and famed is the sword. Carried
about the Viking Age. Even more remarkably, this
only by the wealthier Viking warriors, or Hersir, these
Icelandic settlement provided a base for further
straight, long swords averaged a little over three feet
westward exploration.
long, featured a one-handed grip and a two-edged
Nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus
blade and were deadly in close quarters.
sailed to the Americas, intrepid Norsemen made their
Numerous such swords from the period have been
way to the coast of Newfoundland, which they called
found by archaeologists to have been crafted with an
Vinland, or Wine Land. They briefly settled there
unusual degree of skill and remarkably high-quality
before harsh conditions, internal strife and fierce
materials for the time.
resistance from the native population forced them to
abandon their settlements and return home to Iceland.
Pre-Columbus Exploration
Ultimately, this savage and glorious Viking Age of
Even with all this impressive trading and raiding
raiding, trading and exploring was ended by the
activity, the Vikings still found time to distinguish
Scandinavians becoming what they had so long
themselves as the greatest explorers and navigators the
fought against: Christians. As more Scandinavian
Western world had ever seen. Starting in 870, the
rulers converted to the Christian faith, they began to
Vikings began the settlement of Icelanda previously
adopt along with it the laws, customs and civil
uninhabited island, which soon became what was an
institutions that governed the broader civilization of
astonishingly egalitarian and democratic society, and
medieval Europe. So, by the end of the 11th century,
one of the most literate populations on earth.
the Viking raids had become a thing of the pastbut
Icelandic storytellers and poets, or skalds, were
the Viking legacy had earned an unshakable place in
renowned throughout Scandinavia for centuries, and
the history of Western Europe and beyond. R
their writingsincluding the famed sagasare
Raiders14-040-43-VikingsTVshow-2.PS.JN.CX 10/27/14 10:49 PM Page 40
Vikings
THE HISTORIC BACKGROUND OF THE EPIC TV SHOW.
BY Merrie Destefano
Photography courtesy of HISTORY 2014
Was there a Real Ragnar?
The Vikings TV series centers around Ragnar
Lothbrok. In the show he is a warrior played by Travis
Fimmel, but did this legendary Viking warrior
actually exist? To this day, historians argue whether
Ragnar was real or a combination of several men or a
myth conjured by a skalda Scandinavian court poet
who recorded heroic deeds through oral legends.
Ragnar casts a larger-than-life shadow, supposedly
fathering three great warriors: Ivar the Boneless, Bjrn
Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Hvitserk, a
legendary quartet of kings and warlords.
According to the Gesta Danorum and the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Ragnars
exploits included an ongoing feud with King Aella of Northumbria (Northern
England) and a battle with Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor. Ragnar led
frequent raids against France and once spared Paris from being burned when he
was paid 7,000 pounds of silver by the King of France. He was also well-known for
employing blitzkrieg maneuvers, or fast, surprise attacks.
Don't be too impatient to put

yourself in danger. Ragnar Lothbrok
LEFT AND RIGHT: JONATHAN HESSION
LEFT Ragnar Lothbrok

(Travis Fimmel) is a
restless young warrior
and family man who
longs to find and
conquer new lands
across the sea and
claim the spoils as his
own. Ragnar feels a
deep affinity with the
Norse god Odin. This
powerful deity is the
god of warriors slain in
battle and is also the
god of curiosity.
RIGHT Viking men did
not always limit
themselves to one
wife, which gives
historical validity to the
love triangle between
Princess Aslaug (Alyssa
Sutherland) Ragnar
Lothbrok (Travis
Fimmel) and Lagertha
(Katheryn Winnick).
v2
v2
ar
v2
ABOVE Jarl Borg
(Thorbjorn Harr) and

his territorial disputes
with Ragnars king
demonstrate that
Vikings, especially
early on in the Viking
Age, were not one
united people, but
more a collection of
tribes.
TOP RIGHT Bjorn,
Ragnars son (played
by Alexander Ludwig),
in battle.
ed
RIGHT Ragnar's army

charges into battle.
They were a much more democratic society than

the Saxons, the Franks or other societies at the time.
Their attitude toward women was positively
enlightened.Michael Hirst
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JONATHAN HESSION (2); BERNARD WALSH; JONATHAN HESSION
v2
Raiders14-040-43-VikingsTVshow-2.PS.JN 10/24/14 12:33 AM Page 43
THINGS THE
TELEVISION
SERIES GOT
WRONG.
Vikings gets a lot right

may about eighthcentury Nordic
culture, but for
dramatic purposes,
some historic facts
have been changed.
FROM TOP: BERNARD WALSH; JONATHAN HESSION (2)
Murphy), Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), Torstein

(Jefferson Hall)
LEFT Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick):
shieldmaiden in action.
LEFT Porunn (Gaia Weiss), a shieldmaiden
in the making.
Ragnar's last name:

Most historians agree
that there was a
historic character with
a name similar to
Ragnar, but his last
name did not come
into play until later.
Lothbrok, which
translates to hairy
britches, was
possibly given to
Ragnar
posthumously. One
theory states that the
legendary warrior
died from dysentery,
caught while in
France, and by the
time he returned
home, his ragged,
near-death
appearance was one
of wearing hairy
trousers.
S h o w
ABOVE From left to right: Arne (Tadhg
No knowledge of the
British Isles:
North Sea trade
routes dated as far
back as the first
century BC. So at the
time of Ragnar
Lothbrok, the Vikings
would have known
about the group of
islands to the west.
T V
Ragnars three wives were nearly as

legendary as he was: shieldmaiden
Lagertha, who rescued Ragnar in battle
after their divorce, Aslaug, the alleged
daughter of shieldmaiden Brynhildr and
Sigurd, and Thora Town-Hart.
Creator, writer and executive producer of
Vikings, Michael Hirst summarizes the
situation well in inquirer.net's article
"History's Vikings dispels misconceptions
about legendary conquerors."
They were a much more democratic
society than the Saxons, the Franks or other
societies at the time, Hirst says. Their
attitude toward women was positively
enlightened. Women could divorce their
husbands. They could own property. They
fought beside their husbands, brothers and
sons. They could rule!
In historic hindsight, its interesting that
a society long labeled barbaric was in fact
more democratic in nature than its
surrounding monarchies and that its
women had more rights when its men were
savage. R
t h e
The Feminist Savage
Capital Punishment:
The Vikings didnt
gather in a group and
decide upon public
execution. Instead,
they practiced a form
of ostracism called
skoggangr, which
translates to forestgoing, where the
accused was forced
to leave society and
fend for him or
herself in the woods.
V i k i n g s :
MYTHBUSTERS
Raiders14-044-049-Napoleon.PS-BC 10/24/14 1:37 AM Page 44
Impossible is a word
to be found only in the
dictionary of fools.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Raiders14-044-049-Napoleon.PS-BC.CX 10/28/14 12:07 AM Page 45
Bonaparte
THE SELF-MADE EMPEROR TOOK EUROPE BY THE HORNS.

BY Amberly Piotrowski
apoleon Bonapartes emperor-sized

ambition and military ingenuity
rocked the European continent and
brought the majority of Europe
under his sway. Although Napoleon
lived to see his regime collapse, his legacy continues to
outlast his crumbled empire.
Seizing on Chaos
THINKSTOCK
The French Revolution set the scene for

Napoleon. It erupted and threw France into
upheaval while Napoleon was a student in a French
military school. Napoleon himself had some
involvement with the Revolution as a member of the
military including saving the National Assembly
from a Parisian mob in 1795.
The Revolutions biggest gift to Napoleon, however,
was opportunity. A long, tumultuous and bloody
The battlefield is a
scene of constant chaos.
The winner will be the
one who controls that
chaos, both his own and
the enemies.
Napoleon Bonaparte
revolution left the political structure of France wide

open to someone who could command order from the
chaos. Napoleon seized his opportunity.
After leading successful military campaigns in
Austria and Italy, Napoleon returned to Paris to
overthrow the existing French government. At 30 years
old, he took charge of the coup, assumed power in the
government and began to create a dictatorship. In
1799, he took the position of First Consul. He
consolidated his power continually until 1804 when he
famously crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I.
Making the Rules
Lasting Legacy
FULL NAME OF
PERSON:
Napoleon
Bonaparte
DATES ACTIVE:
1799-1815
AREAS ACTIVE:
France and
eastward through
Europe
CLAIM TO FAME:
The revolution that deposed kings and guillotined

nobility ironically ended with a self-proclaimed
emperor. How did Napoleon swing that?
In addition to his charisma and military victories,
the nation that erupted into a revolution for Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity accepted Napoleon as
emperor because he incorporated revolutionary values
into the new law of the land, the Napoleonic Code.
These laws especially valued the equality of all
citizens before the law and abolished serfdom and
feudalism in France. The code granted the people the
right to choose their own profession and religion and
protected property rights.
Napoleon also created a reliable bureaucratic
machine in France to act as the foundation for a vast
empire that would stretch across Europe. Napoleon
streamlined the government under his authority by
Napoleons military
prowess on the
battlefield and
strategy winning
people to his side
enabled him to
bring the French
Revolution to an
end, seize power as
Frances emperor
and conquer much
of Europe.
1799-1815
Napoleon
Raiders14-044-049-Napoleon.PS-BC.CX 10/27/14 10:55 PM Page 46
French Empire
Dependent States
Nominal Allies
(within green border)
Enemies of Napolean
completely eliminating the former system of electing

officials. Instead, he handpicked his subordinates.
While certainly not democratic, the system was strong
and efficient because he selected employees according
to their demonstrated abilities.
Napoleon the Juggernaut

With a new reign, new rules and fresh personnel in
place, Napoleon had his sights set on enfolding all of
Europe under his rule. The French army under
Napoleons leadership won battle after battle against
his enemies, and Napoleons empire and influence
expanded at a brisk pace.
Napoleon built an extensive network among rulers
in Europe. Napoleons military strategies were not
limited to physical force but included knowing people
and winning them over to his side.
At its height, Napoleons grand empire stretched
across Europe from Spain in the west to Russia in the
east to Norway in the north. The Empire was
composed of three major parts: France (larger than
present day) functioned as the inner core of the
empire. Within the empire, there was a series of
dependent states which Napoleon had conquered and
controlled, including Spain, Holland and Italy. Finally,
there were allied states, countries defeated by Napoleon
and forced to join France as allies against Britain.
Beyond Europe, Napoleon also had his sights set on

the glories of Egypt. Not to be outdone by Alexander
the Great before him, Napoleon led a military
campaign into Egypt. Besides being an alluring jewel
in his empires crown, his ambitions made good
strategic sense as an interruption to British attempts at
control in the region and to divert the British military
from France.
While the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, it
remains the stuff of legends. French flags flew atop
mosques while great battles raged on the banks of the
Nile and plains with the pyramids in the background.
Besides its dramatic setting, the Battle of the
Pyramids was notable for Napoleons contribution to
military tactics with his use of the infantry square.
While Napoleon did not invent the square, he adapted
it to a much larger scale and proved its success,
making it popular during and after his time. The
infantry square was a tight formation of soldiers in the
shape of a square or rectangle, with two or more layers
of armed infantry at each leg of the square.
The tight formation would wait until the enemy
MIDDLE The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-
Louis David (1805-1808)

LEFT French naval ships, from left to right: French
frigate Bellone, French frigate Minerve, Victor
(background) and Ceylon
FROM TOP: THINKSTOCK; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (2)
Napoleon in Egypt
BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS BY LOUIS FRANCOIS LEJEUNE (1808);

FROM TOP:
I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of

government lies in knowing when
to be the one or the other.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Raids and Ratings

Napoleon plundered more than just Egypt. As he
and his men swept across Europe, they amassed an
impressive collection of souvenirs. These acquired
treasures bolstered national pride back home,
distracted the public from defeat and helped to fund
the expenses of war.
Italy was a treasure trove for Napoleons army with
such elite booty as Rembrandts Descent from the
Cross, Raphaels Transfiguration and the Laocoon
sculpture. Thousands of artworks were loaded up
onto wagons and transported back to Paris, where the
Louvre showcased these beautiful spoils.
Napoleons art looting was a systematic part of his
conquests. In fact, he had a division that researched
B o n a p a r t e
cavalry would come within easy firing distance,

sometimes as close as 100 feet from away from the
square. Firing this close would seriously injure horses
and their riders, debilitating much of the cavalry and
forcing enemy riders the ground. Timing was
imperative as firing when the cavalry was too far away
would deplete the square of their ammunition and
not have much effect on the enemy cavalry.
Thanks to his successful tactics in the Battle of the
Pyramids, Napoleon won. Ultimately, Napoleons
Egyptian campaign succeeded in creating more
enemies, and he left Egypt in defeat. Not all was lost
for the French, though.
Napoleon had brought a team of scientists with
him, who documented the trip. Their records, and the
plunder Napoleon and his men brought home,
ignited Western imaginations with the ancient
grandeur of pyramids, mummies and pharaohs.
One of the most famous pieces of Egyptian loot
from this campaign was the Rosetta Stone. In 1799,
one of Napoleons soldiers found this invaluable slab.
The stone contains an inscription written in Greek,
hieroglyphics and demotics, the common Egyptian
script. As hieroglyphics had gone out of use centuries
before, this stone was the lost key that unlocked
interpretation of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
N a p o l e o n
NAPOLEON AT THE BRIDGE OF ARCOLE, BY ANTOINE-JEAN GROS (C. 1801)/THINKSTOCK
the most valuable works of art and arranged their

transport back to Paris. Often, the acquisitions would
be included in the treaties over conquered territories,
which allowed Napoleon to rake in such
unprecedented quantities.
Never
interrupt
your
enemy
when
he is
making a
mistake.
The Men Who Took Him

Down
While Napoleon raided and battled, he gathered
enemies as well as territory and artwork.
Britain, Napoleons chief enemy, gained strength
and allies. The British navy remained dominant under
the leadership of men like Lord Nelson. Napoleons
efforts to damage British trade and economy proved
ineffective.
Napoleons invasion of Russia in 1812 substantially
weakened his forces and set his inevitable downfall into
motion. Napoleon invaded Russia, but Russia, under
the command of Alexander I, would not give France
the satisfaction of a direct confrontation. The Russian
army and citizens retreated while setting their own
villages on fire in order to prevent the French army
from finding any useful resources in the abandoned
cities. The Russian and French armies eventually
battled at Borodino, and the French just barely won a
very costly victory. The long trek home during the
brutal Russian winter also claimed many French lives.
Only a fraction of the French troops survived.
When the defeated Napoleon returned home to
France, he was sent into exile on the small island of
Elba while the monarchy was reestablished in France.
Not one to be held back, Napoleon escaped to reclaim
the throne. The monarch sent troops to capture
Napoleon, but Napoleon won the troops over to his
side and took back the crown on March 20, 1815.
Instantly, the countries who had just thrown off
French rule vowed that they would continue to fight
Napoleon
Bonaparte
12-pdr, and 8-pdr

cannons, which were
about one-third lighter
than the alternatives at
the time. This gave
Napoleons forces an
edge on their enemies
since they were lighter,
faster and more easily

maneuverable.
Furnace bombs
Musket Model 1777
.69 pistol
Swords
Bayonets
Pikes
This reenactment of
the Battle of
Montereau includes
bayonets like those
that Napoleons army
would have used.
FROM TOP:
TOOLS OF THE TRADE

A conqueror needs more than personality to get the
job done. Napoleons conquests were made possible
in large part thanks to his artillery and weapons,
including:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS(3);
PHOTO BY KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The French infantry in

square formation
against the Malmuk
cavalry at the Battle of
the Pyramids.
Fun
s
Fact
As emperor of France, Napoleon enjoyed disguising

himself in common, bourgeoisie clothing and talking
to people on the street in order to find out how
popular he was and what people thought of his
policies.
Napoleons letters and relationship with his first wife

Josephine show a desperate side to the larger-thanlife conqueror. His love letters to her shows he could
gush like a schoolgirlWithout his Josephine,
without the assurance of her love, what is left him
upon earth? What can he do?and fume with
jealousy like a character out of a soap operaYou
dont write to me at all; you dont love your husband.
To Napoleons shame, a letter he wrote to his brother
in despair at his suffering relationship with Josephine
was intercepted and published in British newspapers:
The veil is torn, he wrote in his intercepted letter, It
is sad when one and the same heart is torn by such
conflicting feelings for one person I need to be
alone. I am tired of grandeur; all my feelings have
dried up. I no longer care about my glory. At 29 I have
exhausted everything. Rumors of Josephines
infidelity and their childless marriage led to their
ultimate divorce, but Napoleon still had feelings for
her. He mourned her death and wore a locket with a
tulip petal enclosed in it since tulips were Josephines
favorite flower.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Josephine in Coronation Costume by

Baron Franois Grard (1807-1808)
against Napoleon. Napoleon decided to strike first

and moved his troops to Waterloo in Belgium. There
Napoleon met with the British and their allies,
commanded by the Duke of Wellington, who
successfully employed Napoleons tactics to defeat
him. The Dukes expert use of the infantry square
defeated the ever-persistent Napoleon in June 1815.
The allies exiled Napoleon to a more remote island,
Saint Helena. This time, the isolation of the island
kept Napoleon constrained, and the man who once
ruled the majority of Europe remained there until his
death six years later in 1821.
Napoleon once proclaimed, There is no
immortality but the memory that is left in the minds
of men. By these standards, Napoleon remains
immortal. His emperor-sized ego, charisma, epic
victories and defeats influenced the shape of modern
Europe and continues to capture our imaginations. R
TOP Napoleon in
Egypt by Edouard
Detaille (1848-1912)
ABOVE Battle of
Waterloo by Thomas
Jones Barker (1882)
MYTHBUSTER
Besides his
namesake pastry,
Napoleon is often
associated with being
particularly short.
However, record
shows that Napoleon
was 1.68 meters tall,
or about 5 feet, 6
inches, an average
height for men in
Europe at this time.
B o n a p a r t e
The illness that brought the great Emperor Napoleon

to his death is still a mystery. The current theory is
that Napoleon died due to stomach cancer.
N a p o l e o n
By blood, Napoleon
was actually Italian.
Napoleons family lived
on an Italian island
called Corsica, and only
a few months before
Napoleon was born, the
French government annexed
the island. While his loyalties were
to France, Napoleon consistently spoke French with a
distinct Italian accent, which caused some social
tension throughout his life.
Raiders14-050-WealthGrabbers-2 10/24/14 1:36 AM Page 50
From terrors on the high seas

to dusty roads of the Wild
West, these pillaging
personalities threw morality
to the winds and seized riches
with dramatic flair.
Meet some
of these
Colorful
Thieves,
including:
REAL FEMALE PIRATES

THE BEST STAGECOACH ROBBER OF THE WILD WEST
MEDIEVAL POET BY DAY AND THIEF BY NIGHT
CAPTURE OF THE SPANISH GALLEON NUESTRA SEORA DE COVADONGA BY THE BRITISH SHIP CENTURION , COMMANDED BY GEORGE ANSON, JUNE 20 , 1743 BY SAMUEL SCOTT. (C.1772)
ealth
Grabbers
Raiders14-051-053-BarbaryPirates.CX2 10/28/14 11:08 PM Page 51
Barbary
Pirates
THESE LONG-STANDING TERRORS OF THE SEAS FORCED THE US

INTO ITS FIRST FOREIGN FIGHT.
BY Adam Jones
he Barbary pirates were a brutal gang

of raiders, slaver traders and pirates
operating primarily from the North
African ports of Morocco, Algeria,
Libya, and Tunisia, aka the Barbary
Coast. Also known as the Barbary or Ottoman
corsairs, they pillaged the coastal areas of countries
as far away as Iceland and South America.
For centuries, they kidnapped, burned and
plundered where they landed and even enslaved entire

populations. While the US was certainly not the only
country to fight them, part of the Barbary pirates
legacy is provoking the newly-formed US to create an
official navy and enter its first foreign war.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
The Barbary Pirates

DATES ACTIVE:
1518-1830
Unstoppable Brutality
AREAS ACTIVE:
Like the Nordic Viking raiders, large fleets of pirates

would land at a seaside location and burn, loot and
The Mediterranean,
the waters of
Iceland and South
America
CLAIM TO FAME:
NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
These raiders,
slavers and pirates
pillaged and
plundered so
aggressively that
the US Navy was
founded
specifically to deal
with them.
LEFT Decatur
Boarding the Tripolitan
Gunboat during the
bombardment of
Tripoli, 3 August 1804
by Dennis Malone
Carter (1820-1881).
1518-1830
the
destroy what they found. The corsairs tended to take

prisoners rather than killing, however, as they gained
most of their income from the slave trade. They were
often very successful in amassing large numbers of
captives. In 1798, Tunisia pirates attacked a small
island off the coast of Italy and enslaved more than
900 people. On the northern shores of the
Mediterranean more than 200 years earlier, they
captured the island of Ischia, about 19 miles from the
city of Naples, Italy. The pirates took 4,000 prisoners,
and then invaded and enslaved 9,000 citizens of the
island of Lipari off the coast of Sicilyalmost the
entire population of the island.
The ecomomies of the countries along the Barbary
Coast were primarily driven by what the pirates could
capture or loot from merchant ships and coastal cities.
From the Halls of

Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our countrys
battles
In the air, on land,
and sea.
US Marine Corps Hymn
It was also common practice to abduct individuals

from as far away as the British Isles. Oftentimes, an
entire community would have to pool resources to
ransom its loved ones.
Impact on America
After the American Revolution, the newly formed

United States was no longer protected by the treaties
the British had with the Barbary Coast piratesa
disadvantage for all parties. In what was a shrewd
business move, the Moroccan government became the
first foreign power to recognize the United States, and
the subsequent Moroccan-American Treaty of
Friendship became the longest unbroken treaty in
American history.
But the treaty did not prevent the Barbary pirates
from soliciting tribute from the US government. For a
time, the US would pay the Barbary pirates what they
required to protect US merchant shipping vessels and
return captured ships as well as citizens enslaved in
foreign lands. Eventually, this price became higher
than the new country could bear.
ABOVE Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia in the
Harbor of Tripoli by Edward Moran (1897)

LEFT An action between an English ship and vessels
of the Barbary Corsairs by Willem van de Velde de

Jonge (1633-1707)
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
BURN THE SHIP

After the Barbary pirates commandeered the US ship Philadelphia, the US replied in
kind and captured a small Barbary ship. The pirates aboard the stolen Philadelphia
recognized the ship as one of their own, so they got close enough for the US Marines to
climb on board. Once they stormed onto the decks of the Philadelphia, they set the ship
on fire in a decisive move to take the ship out of Barbary hands once and for all. A wellrespected British admiral of the day, Horatio Nelson, described this move as the most
bold and daring act of the age.
FROM TOP;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
PHOTO BY LEEMAGE/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES; NATIONAL ARCHIVES
galleys of the Barbary corsairs by Jean Antoine

Thodore de Gudin
RIGHT Decaturs Conflict with the Algerine at Tripoli.
Rueben James Interposing His Head to Save the Life
of His Commander. August 1804. Copy of Engraving
after Alonzo Chappell.
The Birth of a Navy and the

Barbary Wars
In 1794, the United States officially formed a navy
to fight the pirates off the Barbary Coast. By 1801, the
US was well-prepared, and so began the First Barbary
War, the first war the United States fought on foreign
soil as an independent nation.
The US Navys great advantage was that the pirates
tended to fight with smaller vessels in a disorganized
fashion. While the exact number of combatants is
unknown, the US is believed to have suffered fewer
than 100 casualties, and caused more than 2,000. This
was the first great victory for the United States military.
The war resulted in a peace treaty with the United
States, which stabilized the developing economy due
to more reliable shipping lanes. Distracted by the
events leading to the War of 1812, however, Algerian
pirates once again began to raid US ships and capture
US citizens. This led to the Second Barbary War, and
another decisive US victory, finally ending all US
tribute payments to the Barbary pirates. R
A popular
characterization of
pirates in modern film
and media is that of
an old sltan wearing
an eye patch. It is likely
that this imagery
descends from an Arab
pirate named Rahmah
ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah,
who lost his eye in an
18th-century conflict.
Miguel de Cervantes,
who wrote Don
Quixote, was captured
by Barbary pirates and
enslaved in the city of
Algiers for five years.
While he never wrote
directly about the
period of his
enslavement, this
period of his life
influenced many
scenes in elements of
his writing.
P i r a t e s
ABOVE Battle of a French ship of the line and two
The Marine Corps

Hymn, the oldest
official song in the
United States,
mentions the shores of
Tripoli, a reference to
the First Barbary War
and the Battle of
Dema. Fifty-four
Marines and
approximately 500
mercenaries fought in
this battle, facing
4,000 enemy troops.
This battle resulted in
about 2,000 enemy
casualties, and was a
stunning strategic
success for the young
United States military.
B a r b a r y
THE BARBAROSSA BROTHERS

This band of four brothers were some of the most famous
of North African Barbary pirates. Barbarossa was not the
family name, but a nickname which is Italian for Red
beard. This was thanks to red beard of the oldest brother,
Oru, who also lost his left arm in a battle. The most
famous of the brothers was Hzr, also known as
Hayreddin. He embraced the Barbarossa nickname and
dyed his beard red with henna. He operated in
conjunction with his older brother Oruc for much of his
seafaring career. His proven success in capturing cities
led to his eventual appointment in the Ottoman fleet.
Known for its

appearances in the
Star Trek television and
movie series, the
starship Enterprise was
named after the USS
Enterprise, one of the
first sailing vessels of
the American
Continental Navy, and
then later the US Navy,
where it fired the first
shots of the First
Barbary War. The name
is carried forward to
the modern US Navy;
the USS Enterprise is
scheduled to become
the third of the Ford
class of super carriers.
t h e
Fun Facts
Raiders14-054-059-CaribbeanPrivateers.JN 10/24/14 1:50 AM Page 54
Privateers
and Pirates
LEARN THE SURPRISING TRUTH BEHIND THE REAL

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
LEFT; BLACKBEARD IN SMOKE AND FLAMES, FRANK E. SCHOONOVER (1922);
RIGHT: KIDD AT GARDINER'S ISLAND, HOWARD PYLE (BEFORE 1911)
BY Adam Jones
irates! The scum of the seas!

The devils of the ocean! Or were
they?
Some of the most successful pirates
in history were actually in the
employment of the British, Spanish and
French governments, blurring the lines
between legally-sanctioned privateers
and lawless pirates.
Pirates were not only an accepted evil
but were even regarded as political tools
used by governments to undermine
their enemies. These privateers
comprised some of the most famous
pirates of the era.
France, England and Spain were the
largest political powers of the time and
were all vying for control of the New
World: North, Central and South
America. Privateers consequently
operated primarily out of the Caribbean,
with the largest hubs of activity being
Tortuga, Port Royal and Nassau.
An effective means of disrupting the
shipping lanes of competing
governments, privateering became
quite common for a time, which led
significantly to the rise of its illegal
formpiracy.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Privateers and
Pirates of the
Caribbean
DATES ACTIVE:
1650-1730
AREAS ACTIVE:
Caribbean and
waters surrounding
North, Central and
South America
CLAIM TO FAME:
Wrecking havoc on
shipping lanes for
official and
unofficial
purposes, these
seafaring looters
gained wealth and
a reputation for
ruthlessness.
ABOVE Captain Kidd supervises as his men bury treasure.
1650-1730
Caribbean
Raiders14-054-059-CaribbeanPrivateers.JN.CX 10/27/14 11:03 PM Page 56
The Letter of the Law

Pirates were converted into privateers in a very
simple fashion. When a government wanted to make
war on the merchants and military vessels of another
nation, they issued what was known as a letter of
marque. This essentially converted a pirate or
commercial vessel into a member of that countrys
navy.
The letter also included information on revenue
sharing between the privateer and the employing
government. The government would take its cut of
the recovered goods or ships and the rest was split
amongst the captain and crew. This was a critical
relationship for the employing governments because
of the prohibitive costs associated with maintaining
a navy in the colonies.
One of the advantages, from the governments
perspective, of using privateers was that they could
claim plausible deniability.
This was important when trying to keep a conflict
from exploding into a full-blown war. For the
countries that were already in conflict, privateering
allowed governments to disrupt supply lines, limit
the profitability of their colonial interests and
destroy isolated or smaller modern military vessels.
William Kidd, upon being sentenced to hang
RIGHT Aztec
jewelry such as
this made
excellent
pirate plunder.
ABOVE
William Kidd
buries his
treasure
before being
sentenced.
FROM TOP: PHOTO BY MPI/GETTY IMAGES;
My Lord, it is a very hard

sentence. For my part, I am the
innocentest person of them all,
only I have been sworn against
by perjured persons.
Oftentimes ships working as privateers would pool

themselves into fleets in order to bring down more
significant numbers of the enemy. Over time, these
battles could result in extraordinary rewards for the
privateers. Vast amounts of gold and precious stones
were shipped from the Americas to Europe. Privateers
such as Piet Hein, working for the Dutch West India
Company, intercepted Aztec gold from the Spanish.
Heins loot in 1628 was worth 12 million florins. Since
these men and their crews became phenomenally
wealthy as a result of their privateering, it spawned
something of an industry, improving the economies
of the colonies and inspiring the economic investment
of nobles and businesses.
So much money was to be made that it became an
accepted practice, despite the absolute abhorrence
that everyone felt towards piracy. As privateering
made more and more individuals wealthy, it drew
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Treasure Hunt
The practice was even used by the United

States. The US Constitution empowers
Congress to issue letters of marque, and in
fact Congress utilized that power to
commission privateers as recently as 1815.
Captain William Kidd
P i r a t e s
Consider the famous case of Captain William

Kidd. Kidd was born in Scotland, but early in life
moved to New York, and then joined a pirate crew in
the Caribbean. The crew mutinied, renamed the ship
the Blessed William and made Kidd captain. He then
became a privateer for the English, who at the time
were at war with the French.
Kidd was later hired as a pirate hunter, legally
employed to attack privateers of other countries and
pirates alike. This expedition proved to be largely
unsuccessful, as he had a great deal of difficulty
finding the pirates he was hired to attack. As he was
also employed to attack ships of non-English origin,
he set out to find those as well, but his crew often
disagreed with him on the targets he chose and often
threatened mutiny.
Piracy was a much more profitable venture. While
there is some historical uncertainty about the next
a n d
FROM LEFT: TREASURE ISLAND BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNERS SONS, 1911;
Did
You
w
Kno
Privateering in the Caribbean began to decline

when piracy escalated into its Golden Age. Anxious
to extend their profits even higher, the captains and
their crews broke away from the letters of marque
and simply attacked whoever they liked, even the
ships of their home countries.
To combat both the privateers of other nations and
the rise of piracy, home nations started to employ
pirate hunters. These were captains and crews that
were offered a bounty on certain vessels and they
were also entitled to take whatever booty they may
have found on the ship once it was captured.
Ships and their captains often flip-flopped back
and forth from one role to another, either starting as
a privateer and jumping to piracy and back again, or
occasionally even starting as a pirate hunter and
turning into a pirate!
P r i v a t e e r s
CAPTAIN KIDD IN NEW YORK HARBOR, JEAN LEON GEROME FERRIS (1932)
Anonymous Pirate, asked on the

gallows if he repented
Pirate Hunters
C a r i b b e a n
Yes, I do heartily repent.

I repent I had not done more
mischief; and that we did not cut
the throats of them that took us,
and I am extremely sorry that
you aren't hanged as well as we.
more and more pirates into the field. Investors

would bring all kinds of different ships into their
mission of privateering; whether they were former
military vessels or simply a refitted merchant vessel.
The organizations would then hire on a crew and set
sail for fortune and glory.
RIGHT The Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which inspired the film of the
same name, now ends with a figurine of Johnny Depps Jack Sparrow.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: THE COMBATANTS CUT AND SLASHED WITH SAVAGE FURY,
HOWARD PYLE (1894); PHOTO BY BARRY KING/WIREIMAGE
Edward "Blackbeard" Teach,

before his final battle
There are hundreds of books, movies, video games

and other forms of media across the centuries
exploring the adventure and excitement of pirates
and privateers. Spanning everything from amusement
park rides to video games, pirates and privateers
remain embedded in popular consciousness and
have been as long as people have been there to write
or make movies about them.
Even writers from hundreds of years ago enjoyed
writing about piracy and privateering. A General
History of the Robberies and Murders of the most
notorious Pyrates was written in 1724, for example,
or consider Treasure Island by Robert Louis
Stevenson, written in 1883. For more modern
evidence, see the Pirates of the Caribbean movie
franchise, whose films collectively grossed more than
$3.7 billion dollars worldwide.
LEFT Captain Edward Teach (1680 - 1718), better known as
Blackbeard, a pirate who plundered the coasts of the West

Indies, North Carolina and Virginia. His hair is woven with
flaming fuses to increase his fearsome appearance.
P i r a t e s
LEGACY IN POPULAR CULTURE
a n d
FROM TOP; THIS LEAN, STRAIGHT ROVER LOOKED THE PART OF A COMPETENT SOLDIER, RALPH DELAHYE PAINE (1922);
Damnation seize my soul if

I give you quarters, or take any
from you.
Blackbeard is one of the most infamous

privateers/pirates. Born Edward Teach in 1680, he
became a privateer in the Caribbean, and later
became one of the most violent pirates in history.
He eventually captured a French merchant vessel
and renamed it the Queen Annes Revenge and
refitted it with 40 guns. Teach was a fearsome sight
and used his appearance to terrify his enemies. He had
a thick, black beard and hair and was said to wear a
sling of three pistols like a bandolier across his chest.
He was also known to put lit matches in his hair
so he had a smoky, hellish appearance. He was
described as "such a figure that imagination cannot
form an idea of a fury from hell to look more
frightful." To avoid having to kill his enemies, he
sought to strike fear to induce surrender. But this is
not to say that he was not a fearsome enemy.
He was eventually killed in an extremely violent
battle off the coast of North Carolina. The officer
that inspected his body discovered that he had been
shot no less than five times and been cut
approximately 20 times. It appears that Blackbeard
did not go down easily. He was beheaded, and his
head hung from the bowsprit. It appears that
privateer or pirate, not all getaways were clean. R
P r i v a t e e r s
PHOTO BY HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Blackbeard
C a r i b b e a n
step in his career path, he was charged with piracy

and murder and ordered captured on July 6, 1699.
He was taken to London and quickly found guilty
on all charges. He was hanged twice (the rope broke
on the first attempt), and his body put on display
over the River Thames for three years to warn future
pirates. He protested his innocence up until his
execution. His case clearly illustrates that the lines
between privateer, pirate and pirate hunter were as
shifty and unpredictable as the high seas.
Raiders14-060-63-AnneBonnyMaryRead.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:46 PM Page 60
If theres a man
among ye, yell
come up and fight
like the man ye
are to be!
Mary Read
Raiders14-060-63-AnneBonnyMaryRead.PS.qxp 10/24/14 2:06 AM Page 61
THESE WOMEN TOOK ON A PIRATES LIFE AND GAVE THE MEN

A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.
BY Analicia Davis
RIG HT AND LEFT : ANNE BO NNY AND MA RY READ: THE F EMA LE PI RATE S BY BENJAM IN CO LE (C. 1724)
rmed with a pistol in one hand and

a machete in the other, two trouserclad women led the charge onto a
merchant ship off the coast of
Jamaica, shooting, swearing and
fighting the merchant ships crew to take hold of
tobacco and spices the ship carried. They held the
crewmembers hostage for two days and returned
with their plunder to the Curlew, captained by John
Calico Jack Rackham.
While the men of Calico Jacks crew were drunk
from celebrating their success, these two women
noticed an oncoming pirate-hunters ship. The
women refused to surrender to the pirate-hunters,
fighting tooth and nail. The men hid below deck and
left the fighting to the women. One of the women
shouted down to the drunken, cowardly sailors,
Come up and fight like men, punctuating her taunt
by firing a shot into the hold. Her shot killed a fellow
crewmember and wounded at least two others.
Meet Anne Bonny and Mary Read, pirates of the
Caribbean. While fellow crewmembers and some of
their captives knew they were women, no one
suspected their sex made them any less of a danger. A
victim of their pirating recalled they swore like
sailors and were very active on board and wiling to
do any thing.
young age, Annes family moved to the New World

where her mother soon died of typhoid fever, leaving
her to grow up with her attorney and merchant father.
Annes father tried to marry her off to a man of his
choosing, but to her fathers chagrin, Anne married
sailor John Bonny in 1718. William disinherited her,
and the couple moved to New Providence in the
Bahamas where John became an informant to the
governor. It was here that Anne was introduced to a
life of raiding and piracy.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Anne Bonny and

Mary Read
DATES ACTIVE:
1718-1720; c.
1708-1720
AREAS ACTIVE:
The Caribbean
CLAIM TO FAME:
Disguised as men,
these female
pirates equaled
their male
counterparts in
strength and
courage.
OPPOSITE Depiction
of Anne Bonny, Irishborn pirate.

LEFT Depiction of
Mary Read, Englishborn pirate.
Becoming Pirates
Anne Bonny, then Cormac, was born around the
year 1700 in Ireland. She was the daughter of lawyer
William Cormac and his servant Mary Brennan. At a
circa 1708-1720
Bonny
& Read
Anne
Mary
Raiders14-060-63-AnneBonnyMaryRead.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:07 PM Page 62
Anne Bonny (left) and

Mary Read (right) by
Karen Humpage.
ABOVE Engraving
depicting pistols from
Bonny and Reads era.
OPPOSITE Once,
when a young Fellow

would have lain with
her, against her Will,
she beat him so, that
he lay ill of it a
considerable Time.
Captain Charles
Johnson describing
Mary Read
She grew disenchanted with her husband and ran

off with pirate John Calico Jack Rackham on the
ship the Revenge. It was some time during her exploits
on the Revenge that Anne Bonny met another female
pirate disguised as a man, Mary Read.
Mary Read was born in England sometime between
1685 and 1690 to a widow. Marys half-brother Mark
had died at a young age right after Mary was born.
Not wanting to cut off their money supply, her
mother tried to pass Mary off as Mark to continue
receiving support from her mother-in-law. Mary
continued dressing as a boy for much of her life,
working first as a footboy and then as a sailor.
She even joined the British military as a man and
fell in love with a Flemish soldier. She donned
womens attirewhich fellow officers chipped in to
help purchasewhen she married that soldier, and
they bought and ran a tavern together. Marital bliss
didnt last long. With the death of her husband only a
short time after their wedding, Read left the tavern
and again turned to disguising herself as a man.
Eventually Mary Read boarded a ship bound for
THE PRINT COLLECTOR/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES;
TOP Depictions of
Whatever the order of events, in 1720, Bonny and

Read met and joined forces. Their meeting sounds like
something straight out of the pages of a
Shakespearean comedy, complete with cross-dressing,
death threats and a love triangle.
At first, Read was still disguised in mens clothing
and fooled even Bonny and Rackham into believing
she was a man. Bonny thought Read was handsome,
though, and Read decided to divulge that she was in
fact a woman. Rackham grew jealous of Bonny and
Reads familiarity, and Read soon had to reveal her
identity to him as well to keep him from cutting her
throat.
Apparently she did not always masquerade as a
man in private anymore after this time. Both Bonny
and Read dressed as men while raiding and in combat
even though the crew knew their true identities at this
point. Before this time, Bonnys gender had been more
widely known than Reads anyway. Even though she
was a woman in a mans world, her shipmates
respected her and her competence with both pistol
and machete.
In 1720, Read fell in love with one of the prisoners
on the ship. After revealing to him her affection and
FROM TOP:
Partners in Crime
PHOTO BY: PRISMA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
the West Indies. This marked her first exploits in

piracy. When the ship she was traveling on was
captured by pirates, Read was forced to join them.
Apparently the English pirates offered to let her join
them since she was the only English man onboard
the ship. Around 1718 or 1719, Read was one of the
pirates who took the Kings pardon and lived the
more legal life of a privateer for awhile. That job was
short lived, however. Soon she and her crew either
mutinied in order to return to a life of pirating or
she was captured by Captain Rackhams crew and
joined their pirating exploits.
Raiders14-060-63-AnneBonnyMaryRead.PS.qxp 10/24/14 2:06 AM Page 63
PHOTO BY FOTONOTICIAS/WIREIMAGE
PHOTO BY CULTURE CLUB/GETTY IMAGES;
FROM TOP:
IN GOOD COMPANY
Anne Bonny and Mary Read were not the only female pirates to plunder the seas, nor
were they the first. Ching Shih of China and Grace OMalley of Ireland both were
pirates as well, Shih in the early 19th century and OMalley before that in the 16th
century. Even as far back as the 230s BC, Queen Tueuta of Illyria raided and pirated
as a means of fighting back against fierce neighboring countries.
R e a d
Anne Bonny and Mary Reads last stand came in

Oct. 1720. The governor of Jamaica had
commissioned Jonathan Barnet to hunt down
pirates in the immediate area. When Rackhams ship
was attacked, the majority of the crew was
unprepared for a fight. Despite Bonny and Reads
fierce fighting and Reads aggressive taunt for help
from the crewmembers, the women and the rest of
Rackhams crew were captured and taken to Jamaica,
where they were imprisoned and tried.
The crew eventually had to surrender, and all were
put on trial for piracy, felonies, and robberies. They
were all convicted and sentenced to death. Rackham
hung for his crimes, and all the other crewmembers
were also convicted and sentenced to death.
But Bonny and Read pled the belly. They were
both pregnant. British law considered their unborn
children innocent of any crimes, so they were not set
to hang at the same time as the other pirates. Mary
Read, however, soon died anyway in prison. She
contracted a violent fever and may have even died in
childbirth.
Anne Bonny did not hang for her crimes, either.
Instead, she disappeared from the pages of history.
Some say her father bribed officials to get her released
from prison. Some say that she may have returned to
her first husband John. Some say that she married
another man, had five children, and lived to the age of
81. And still others say that she took on a new identity
and resumed a life of piracy.
Whatever the case, these two women have the
distinction of being the only female pirates
documented during the Golden Age of Piracy and
have left their mark on the pages of piracy. R
M a r y
Capture and Condition
&
Anne Bonny
to Calico Jack Rackham
Some say that Anne

Bonny and Mary Read
have influenced modern
culture even more than
their own era. Women
pirates as romantic figures
have been popular in
many different fictitious
worlds. From Angelica in
Pirates of the Caribbean:
on Stranger Tides to Anne
Bonny and Mary Read
themselves in Assassins
Creed IV: Black Flag,
women pirates make
appearances right
alongside their male
counterparts. Even back in
1728less than a decade
after Anne Bonny and
Wax figure of Angelica, played by Angelina Jolie from
Mary Read were convicted the Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, at the
of their crimesJohn Gay
Museo de Cera, Spain.
included a female pirate
in his opera Polly. Piracy has never entirely been a mans game, and real life, legend
and lore all acknowledge this fact with great interest.
B o n n y
Sorry to see you there,

but if you'd fought like
a man, you would
not have been hang'd
like a Dog.
LEGACY IN
POPULAR
CULTURE
A n n e
that she was a woman, they exchanged wedding vows

at sea in the absence of a minister. Reads new
husband soon found out that she was a fierce fighter
who could hold her own. When one of the other
pirates challenged her lover to a duel, Read planned a
preemptive duel to take place a few hours ahead of
time. She successfully killed the pirate before he could
go anywhere near her lover.
Raiders14-062-065-SirFrancisDrake.PS3.qxp 10/24/14 2:12 AM Page 64
Drake
THIS KNIGHTED PIRATE TOOK ON THE SPANISH ARMADA AND

RAKED IN SHIPLOADS OF GOLD.
BY Corey Clark
terror to the Spanish and a hero to

the British, Sir Francis Drake was a
royally-sanctioned pirate who
circumnavigated the globe and
helped stave off the Spanish Armada
from invading England in 1588. His efforts secured
him the title of knightand large amounts of gold.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, BY JODOCUS HONDIUS (BEFORE 1612)
El Draque
Drakes vendetta against the Spanish, who called
him El Draque, began early in his career. At the
Mexican port of San Juan de Ula, the Spanish
attacked his fleet of ships, but he narrowly escaped.
From then on, as Drake sailed as an explorer and
slave-trader, he also added terrorizing the Spanish to
the top of his priority list. He captured multiple
Spanish ships loaded with gold, silver and spices. He
also amassed large amounts of wealth in his threeyear journey circumnavigating the globe. He shared
his treasure with Queen Elizabeth I, who approved
of his piracy and even secretly funded some of his
expeditions.
The Quest for Gold

Early on in his career, Drake joined Guillaume Le
Testu in ambushing a treasure-bearing Spanish mule
train in what is now Panama. The mission was
highly profitable, and the group found 20 tons of
gold and silver. Unfortunately for the men, this was
too much for all of them to carry, and they had to

bury a significant portion of it. Le Testu was injured
and later killed. The rest of the men schlepped the
booty across 18 miles only to find that their boats
had disappeared. Not one to admit defeat, Drake
lifted the morale of the group and helped to build a
raft that enabled them to find their ship.
When Drake got on board, he feigned bad news
for a moment, and then laughed, showing everyone
that he had a necklace of Spanish gold. Apparently
his words were: Our voyage is made, lads!
Drake served official capacities, not only as a
commissioned pirate (known as a privateer), but
also as a Vice-Admiral, or second-in-command, of
the English fleet in battling the Spanish Armada in
1588. His ship was responsible for leading the fleet
with a lantern that could guide the English ships and
keep the fleet together throughout the night.
The call of riches proved to be most motivating
for Drake when he came within easy capturing range
of the Spanish ship Rosario.
Drake knew the Rosario carried Spanish army
fundsand as a professional pirate, the chance was
just too good to pass up. He concealed his ships
lantern so that he could sneak up and capture the
Rosario to intercept the armys funds. He succeeded
but threw the rest of the English fleet into scattered
confusion since they lost their guiding light.
Breaking orders and causing such confusion
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Sir Francis Drake

DATES ACTIVE:
1563-1596
AREAS ACTIVE:
A citizen of
England, his duties
carried him all over
the world. He spent
much of his time
traveling through
the Caribbean Sea.
CLAIM TO FAME:
He is famous for
being the second
person to
successfully
circumnavigate the
world, as well as
fighting and
robbing the
Spanish
throughout his life
during many
different conflicts.
1563-1596
Sir Francis
SQUASHING
MUTINY
Co-commander
Thomas Doughty
allegedly became a
mutineer on Drakes
trip around the world.
In turn, Drake
accused him of
treason and
witchcraft. These
offenses for Drake
were the grounds for
Doughtys immediate
execution. And as a
result he was not
brought back to
England for a trial;
instead he was
beheaded on the
voyage. Drake
claimed that he had
commission from
Queen Elizabeth to
carry out the
execution, but the
legitimacy of this
claim is up for
debate.
normally earned the offending officer a court marshal

if not worse. But while his superior did have some
words with him, Drakes importance in defeating the
Spanish Armada was too important to worry about
punishing him. So he got away with it. Historians also
suspect he made off with substantially more plunder
than he admitted and shared with the crown.
others. This event successfully delayed the invasion

of the Spanish Armada by a whole year. By the time
the Spanish Armada finally came to attack England,
the Englishwhich included Drake as secondin-commandwere ready and successfully
defeated them.
Seafaring Warfare
The ship was initially

dubbed Pelican but
was renamed as
Drake reached the
Strait of Magellan in
honor of Sir
Christopher Hatton,
who was Lord
Chancellor of England
at the time.
There must be a
beginning of any great
matter, but the continuing unto the end until it
be thoroughly finished
yields the true glory.
Sir Francis Drake
After the trip around

the world, The Golden
Hind was kept in
Deptford for
exhibition to the
public. The Golden
Hind was maintained
and lasted there for
almost 100 years.
Finally decay set in
and the remains of
the ship were broken
up. This is one of the
earliest known
examples of a ship
being kept for its
historical significance.
Several replicas exist
today.
Defeating the Armada

Already a British hero for circumnavigating the
globe, Drakes legendary status increased with his
successful efforts at weakening the Spanish and their
armada. Drake made himself a nuisance to the
Spanish worldwide. He laid siege in the port city of
Vigo, Spain and held off trade for two weeks. In the
New World, he pillaged, sacked and raided from
Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic)
to a Spanish fort in Florida.
His most riotously successful raid on the Spanish
came in 1587 when he led a preemptive attack on
Spain to resist their planned invasion of England.
Drake sailed into one of Spain's main ports and held
his ground for a total of three days. Over the course
of the fight, he captured six ships and ruined 31
One of Drakes signature tactics was the

broadside. This was when his ship would come up
next to an enemys and then suddenly fire
simultaneous cannon shots into the rival ship.
Typically fights at sea were held up close and avoided
damage to each others ship in hopes to gain control
of both. By avoiding this more common strategy, he
was able to take opponents by surprise.
Fire ships comprised another tactic Drake used
with great success against the Spanish Armada. Fire
ships were wooden ships that were intentionally
filled with explosives. The army would set them on
fire and sail them into the enemys formation,
causing confusion and ideally damage to ones
opponents. The Spanish fell for this tactic, which led
them to sail out of the port of Calais and out into the
open sea, thus loosing their organization and
making them easy targets.
Perhaps Drakes most effective and most wellknown weapon was his ship, The Golden Hind. The
vessel was the only one out of the original six ships
to withstand the three-year trip across the world.
Late Career and Water Burial

In the year 1595 he suffered some major defeats.
First failing to take the port of Las Palmas, and then
later failing to take Puerto Rico in the Battle of San
Juan. In early 1596, he died of dysentery on his ship
near Panama. As was fitting, he was buried at sea in full
armor in a lead coffin off the coast of Portobelo. R
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
THE
GOLDEN
HIND
S i r
F r a n c i s
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
LEFT The Spanish Armada defeated in the English

Channel in July 1588 by Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (c.
1600)
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
BELOW LEFT Sir France Drakes house near Severn

Bridge in Gatcombe, England.
BELOW The Drake Jewel, which Drake gave to Queen
Elizabeth after returning from his journey
circumnavigating the globe.
OPPOSITE Bronze relief of Queen Elizabeth knighting Sir
FROM TOP:
ELIZABETH I AND THE SPANISH ARMADA AUTHOR UNKNOWN (EARLY 17TH CENTURY);
Francis Drake.
Fun s
Fact
Elizabeth ordered reports of Sir Francis Drakes

circumnavigation of the globe kept secret. She did
not want the Spanish to learn of it or use any of the
information his journey provided.
Sir Francis Drake was a Sea Dog, or pirate

commissioned by Queen Elizabeth to plunder Spanish
treasure and weaken their armada. Drakes fellow Sea
Dogs include Sir Walter Raleigh, founder of Roanoke, the first
attempt at a permanent English settlement in America.
One of the most famous stories of Sir Francis Drake was that he was playing bowls in
Plymouth; a game where you try to roll a ball closer to a smaller ball that dates back
to the 13th century. When he was told that the Spanish were arriving, it is said that
he refused to leave immediately and claimed he could still finish the game and
defeat the Spaniards after. The accuracy of this anecdote has been questioned.
D r a k e
ABOVE Battle of the Gravelines, a battle between the

Spanish and English fleets in the 1588 defeat of the
Spanish Armada.
Franois
Villon
A RENEGADE MEDIEVAL POET ARRANGED A HEIST
AND EVADED THE GALLOWS.
BY Analicia Davis
ong before Jekyll and Hyde,

this medieval poet led an
equally dark double life as a
writer and criminal. Literature books remember him
as a renowned poet; history books,
for his part-time job as a thief,
brawler, and even killer.
Lasting Legacy
Franois Villon (also Franois

de Montcorbier or Franois des
Loges)
DATES ACTIVE:
1456-1463
AREAS ACTIVE:
Paris
CLAIM TO FAME:
This famous poet was also a

part-time ringleader of a gang
of student thieves.
LEFT Portrait of Francois Villon
OPPOSITE Ernst Stankovski in the
German ZDF-Film Das groe

Testament des Francois Villon (The
Large Testament of Francois Villon)
Fun
Fact
Villon was born in

1431, the same
year that Joan of
Arc was burned
at the stake.
RIGHT: PHOTO BY PETER BISCHOFF/GETTY IMAGES
NAME:
LEFT: PHOTO BY LEEMAGE/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES;
1456-1463
Raiders14-068-069-FrancoisVillon.PS2-BC.qxp 10/24/14 2:16 AM Page 68
Raiders14-068-069-FrancoisVillon.PS2-BC.qxp 10/24/14 2:16 AM Page 69
My days are gone

a-wandering.
Franois Villon
Mysterious Disappearance
We're dead after all. Let no soul revile us,

but pray God
would us all absolve.
Rain has washed us, laundered us,
and the sun has dried us black.
Worseravens plucked our eyes hollow
and picked our beards and brows.
[...]
Therefore, think not of joining our guild,
but pray God
would us all absolve.
From The Ballad of the Hanged Men,
by Franois Villon
Eventually Villons crimes caught up with

him. In 1462 he found himself in prison
again, this time for theft. He made bail but
was immediately arrested again for fighting in
the streets and was sentenced to the gallows.
Though he wrote Ballad of Hanged Men
awaiting his execution, Villon wasnt actually
hanged for his crimes. An appeal worked in his
favor, and he was banished from Paris instead.
In 1463, at the age of 34, Franois Villon left
Paris and was never heard from again. R
Bob Dylan, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ezra

Poundall have found Villon inspiring to their
various art forms. From Bonanza to Downton
Abbey, Warehouse 13 to Catch-22, Villon and
his poetry are given a courteous nod. His
legend and legacy are so malleable that he
even shows up as the vampire prince of Paris in
the role-playing game Vampire: The
Masquerade.
V i l l o n
Although Villon was a good student and

the foster child of a chaplain and professor of
canon law, his respectable reputation got its
first black spot when a scuffle turned lethal.
Villon killed a priest in the heat of a brawl
in 1455. Villon fled and was subsequently
banished for his crime. King Charles VII
pardoned Villon in 1456, and he was allowed
to return.
Rather than take the pardon as a chance to
reform, Villon became the ringleader of a
student gang of thieves. In the December
following Villons pardon, he and his band of
thieves stole 500 gold crowns from the College
of Navarres chapel. Villon almost got away
with it, too. The robbery wasnt discovered
until March, and Villons name didnt come
up in connection with the crime until a whole
year later when one of the conspirators ratted
him out.
Villon evaded capture by leaving Paris and
wandering the French provinces. Some think
he lived life as a wandering thief over the next
four years, but we do not have record of this
period of his life.
F r a n o i s
Criminal Career
Raiders14-070-073-JesseJames.PS 10/24/14 2:21 AM Page 70
Just able barely

to mount a horse
and ride about a
little in the spring
of 1866, my life was
threatened daily,
and I was forced to
go heavily armed.
The whole country
was then full of
militia, robbing,
plundering and
killing.
Jesse James
Raiders14-070-073-JesseJames.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:11 PM Page 71
James
LEGENDARY LAWLESSNESS IN THE WILD WEST.
BY Nathan Lee Adamus
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Rise of a Scoundrel

Jesse Woodson James rise to outlaw status began
during the Civil War. In 1861 at the onset of the war,
Missouri was a border state between the northern and
southern territories. The state attempted to remain
neutral, but most of the population favored slavery,
particularly in Clay County, where James was born.
The political tension resulted in the formation of
guerrilla squads that were divided between
secessionist bushwhackers and Union militias, or
jayhawkers. The two sides frequently participated in
heinous crimes that included torture, raids and the
murder of innocent civilians.
James family sided with the Confederates, and
Jesses brother Frank joined the bushwhackers, later
leading his own notorious James-Younger Gang. In
1863, Union soldiers raided the James familys farm,
where young Jesse still lived, in an effort to dispose of
Frank and his gang, who had garnered a reputation
for their raids and robberies. Upon finding Frank was
not home, the soldiers arrested his mother, tortured
his father and, according to legend, whipped Jesse. His
mother never let him forget the humiliation, and
Jesses hatred for the Union grew.
In 1864, Jesse, then 16, joined his brother and
became part of a bushwhacker regime led by William
Bloody Bill Anderson, who was known to chop off
the heads of his enemies with a pirate sword. On
September 27 of that year, Frank and Jesse joined 80
guerrillas, disguised as Union soldiers and led by

Anderson, in descending upon the town of Centralia,
Washington. Historians estimate that 22 unarmed
Union soldiers were executed or wounded in what is
now known as the Centralia Massacre, or the
Armistice Day Riot.
Many of the dead were tortured and humiliated,
and some reports tell of the heads of many victims
being cut off and placed on the bodies of other
soldiers. The Union attempted to retaliate and in the
ensuing battle, 122 Union soldiers, including Union
He wanted to quit the

business, but he said he
had to make a living, and
as the whole world
seemed to be pitted
against him, and he
couldn't do anything else,
he kept on with it.
George T. Hite,
Jesse James cousin. Quoted by
Frank Triplett, 1882.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Jesse James
DATES ACTIVE:
1847-1882
AREAS ACTIVE:
Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Minnesota,
Virginia, West
Virginia
CLAIM TO FAME:
Jesse James
gained infamy
through his many
bank heists and
train robberies.
OPPOSITE Jesse
James, half-length
portrait, facing front,
holding handgun in
left hand at his waist.
1847-1882
Jesse
Raiders14-070-073-JesseJames.PS 10/24/14 2:22 AM Page 72
Major A.V.E. Johnston, were killed. According to

Frank James, his brother Jesse fired the fatal bullet.
Criminal Activity
JESSE JAMES WEAPON OF CHOICE

Although Jesse James was known to use a shotgun from
time to time, his preferred weapon was the Colt .45
Peacemaker. James had two Peacemakers strapped to his
side at all times and was rarely seen without them.
Samuel Colt designed the Colt .45 in 1873 in an effort to
fix some of the problems that
The Colt Peacemaker
plagued his earlier revolvers such was Jesse James
as the .36 caliber 1851 Navy
weapon of choice.
Colt revolver and the 1860 .44
caliber Army Colt. Both guns were marred by flaws and
would routinely jam when dirty. The Colt .45 was more
reliable and did more damage than its predecessors, making it the gun of choice for outlaws in the late 1800s.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
Jesse James is the only American

bandit who is classical, who is to this
country what Robin Hood or Dick
Turpin is to England, whose exploits
are so close to the mythical and
apocryphal.Carl Sandburg
FROM TOP;
FRIENDS AND FOES

After the robbery in Gallatin, Missouri, Frank and Jesse
James met with Kansas City Times editor and former
Confederate cavalryman John Newman Edwards.
Edwards was awed by the James brothers exploits and
used his column in the Kansas City Times to paint the
two as noble champions of Confederacy for their selfproclaimed war against Republican corruption and
oppression in Missouri. Jesse continued to write
Edwards up until his death. However, the contents of
the letters and Edwards writings have come under
scrutiny as an attempt to boost Jesses folk hero status.
UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES
After suffering two chest wounds (one during his

escapades under Bloody Bill, the second in an
encounter with a Union cavalry patrol near
Lexington, Missouri), Jesse was forced to abandon
bushwhacking. He retired to his uncles home in
Harlem, Missouri, where he eventually married his
nurse and first cousin Zerelda "Zee" Mimms.
Although no longer active in guerrilla warfare, Jesse
and Frank were still sought by radical Republicans for
their crimes during the Civil War. The two brothers
began to fight back, often targeting wealthy
Republicans in order to make a political statement.
In February 1866, the Clay County Savings Bank in
Liberty, Missouri, which was owned by former
Republican militia officers, was robbed. Many
historians credit this as the first daylight armed bank
robbery in US history. Its also cited as the first James
brothers bank robbery, but historians are in
disagreement, some believing that Jesse was still
recovering from his injuries at this time.
While he was linked to other robberies and crimes
between 1866 and 1869, it wasnt until December 7,
1869, that Jesse James truly became notorious after he
robbed the Daviess County Savings Association in
Gallatin, Missouri. During the robbery, Jesse shot and
killed a cashier, Captain John Sheets. Jesse mistook
Sheets for a militia officer who had, years earlier,
killed his friend Bloody Bill.
Because Sheets had ties to some wealthy Missouri
Raiders14-070-073-JesseJames.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:11 PM Page 73
AUTHENTICATED NEWS/GETTY IMAGES

AMERICAN STOCK ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES;
Unbeknownst to James, the two brothers he felt were

trustworthy were secretly planning to collect the
$10,000 reward that had been placed on Jesses
head by Governor Thomas T. Crittenden. During
preparation for the robbery, James picked up a
newspaper to find out that Dick Liddil, a friend of the
Ford brothers, had confessed to the murder of Jesses
cousin Wood Hite. In fact, both brothers were present
at Hites murder and were brought in for questioning.
Crittenden promised them the $10,000 reward and a
full pardon if they killed Jesse James.
businessmen, the crime received significant public

attention and newspaper coverage. After the robbery,
Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden labeled
Jesse an outlaw and set a reward for his capture,
marking the true beginning of Jesses career.
Over the next 20 years, Jesse and the James Gang
reportedly were responsible for the robberies of more
than 20 banks and railroads. According to legend,
Jesse and his rotating team of bandits operated like
Robin Hood, taking money from the rich and giving
it to the poor. Historians, however, estimate that the
gang acquired well over $250,000 during their reign of
terror and kept the money for themselves.
Rumor has it that Jesse left his family penniless
upon his death, the whereabouts of his ill-gotten
fortune uncertain. R
ABOVE Jesse James
home in St. Joseph,

Missouri, where he
was killed by Robert
Ford in 1882.
BELOW Missouri
Governor Thomas J.
Crittenden, who
placed the reward on
Jesse James head
that led to the outlaws
assassination by
Robert Ford.
According to Robert, James appeared suspicious after

reading the article in the paper, but instead of
confronting the two brothers, he simply stood up, set
his revolvers on a sofa, and began dusting a painting
that was hanging over the mantle. Robert took the
opportunity to draw his pistol and fired one shot into
the back of Jesses head.
The two brothers were initially charged with murder
when they showed up to receive their $10,000, but
were later pardoned by Governor Crittenden. They
received only $500 of the $10,000 Crittenden had
promised them. Charley would later commit suicide
and Bob was killed in a tent saloon he owned in 1894.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
AUTHENTICATED NEWS/GETTY IMAGES;
With the gang severely depleted, Jesse needed new

blood he could trust. He linked up with a former
acquaintance named Charley Ford, who had
accompanied Jesse on prior Union raids. Charleys
younger brother Robert (Bob), who was eager to live
the outlaw lifestyle glorified in the local papers, also
joined the gang. With the gang rejuvenated, James
began planning a robbery of the Platte City Bank.
Robert Ford and the revolver he used to kill Jesse

James.
J a m e s
Although many historians feel that he was no more of an outlaw than many other Wild
West criminals, James became the epitome of a raider. With the aid of John Newman
Edwards, he glamorized the life of an outlaw and robber and perhaps instigated public
fascination with the lives of neer-do-wells.
THE DEATH OF A LEGEND

From 1876-1881, the James Gang suffered
significant losses during a number of botched
robberies. By 1881, Frank was growing tired of the
gunslinger lifestyle and moved to Virginia where
people were less likely to recognize him. Jesse
decided to stay in Missouri, despite his face appearing
on nearly every wanted poster in the area.
J e s s e

Jesse James is arguably the most notorious outlaw of the Wild West. Although too
extensive to list here, the legendary outlaw has made numerous appearances in
literature, comic books, music, and television. His likeness has appeared in no less
than 26 major films, including the 2007 indie film The Assassination of Jesse James
by the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James.
Raiders14-072-075-BlackBart.PS2-BC.CX 10/27/14 11:15 PM Page 74
Raiders14-072-075-BlackBart.PS2-BC.CX 10/27/14 11:15 PM Page 75
Bart
AMERICA'S GREATEST STAGECOACH ROBBER LIVED

A POET AND A GENTLEMAN.
BY Alicia Taylor
here were rampant robbers in the old

Wild West, and everyone knew the danger. Since Mrs. Bowles' husband moved
west, she hadnt heard from him in 12
years. They had both known the dangers when he asked her about moving
west to start a mine. After his years in the Civil War, the
English-born gentleman felt restless on their dusty little
farm in Decatur, Illinois.
The West, even with its dangers, suited his tastes better.
Now, their grown children hadnt seen their father in 16
years since his letters stopped after 1871. The last one
described some men from Wells Fargo cutting off the
Black Bart
water supply to his land after he refused to sell it. But that
was all. For a while, she felt angry with him for neglecting
to write. Then, she grew fearful for his safety. After a few
years, she had a little memorial service said, burying some of his things ceremoniously.
One day, her mail carrier passed her a letter stamped "San Quentin Prison" and postmarked from Northern
California. Sitting suddenly, she read how her respectable, gentlemanly husband had just begun serving a sixyear sentence for robbing thousands of dollars from Wells Fargo stagecoaches at gunpoint under the alias
Black Bart.
Yet come what will,

I'll try it once,
My conditions can't
be worse,
And if there's money
in that box,
Tis money in my
purse.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Gentleman Robber
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Charles E. Bowles,
aka Charles Bolton
and Black Bart
DATES ACTIVE:
1875-1883
AREAS ACTIVE:
Northern California
CLAIM TO FAME:
Robbing Wells Fargo

stagecoaches with
an unloaded
shotgun, polite
demeanor and
poetry, he called
into question Wells
Fargos purported
role as the keeper
of the peace and
civilization in the
Wild West.
The most shocking thing was how small a transformation Charles Bowles needed to become Black Bart.
From his first robbery in Calavaras County, California on July 26, 1975, he had always borne himself with a
calm and dignified demeanor. Straight as a cedar and with startling blue eyes, a masked man with a shotgun
walked out from behind the boulders toward a slowing Wells Fargo stage coach, calmly shouting, Please
throw down the box.
The driver fumbled his hands over the ropes securing the box, never taking his eyes off the shotguns doublebarrel. A lady in the stage leaned out of the window to see why they had stopped. Glimpsing a man with the
1875-1883
Black
Raiders14-072-075-BlackBart.PS2-BC.qxp 10/24/14 2:27 AM Page 76
ABOVE Slowing to turn around sharply winding roads like this made for prime
stagecoach robbing territory.
mask over his face, gripping a trigger and shouting to his companions to shoot if
the driver tried anything, she let out a shriek and threw her purse out onto the
ground, an offering she frantically hoped would buy her life. The man turned to
her. He walked over slowly and solemnly, tenderly picked up the purse and
returned it to the lady. He looked her in the eyes and said, Madam, I am robbing
Wells Fargo, not their passengers.
The Wells Fargo box fell to the dirt, and Bart ushered the stage coach to
continue on. The lady, fingering her purse like a soiled jewel, looked back to see
the man tear into the ponderosa chest with a hatchet.
Bloodless, Bullet-less Crime

When a group of men came to investigate the scene later, armed and ready,
they found that what had appeared to be guns between boulders turned out to be
carefully arranged sticks. The one real gun that remained, stowed where Black
Bart had hidden, was not even loaded.
Wells Fargo issued posters for a reward even greater than the sum that the
robber had taken. It was no use. He struck again in six months, and again in
another two. No evidence was ever found at the

crimes, and no bullet was ever fired. Despite the fact
that they met him pointing a gun at their faces, every
victim described the man the way they might
describe a recent acquaintance at a dinner party:
amiable, courteous, using fine language, with
beautiful eyes and refined posture.
That was always the way with Black Bart. Over the
next eight years, Black Barts terrifying reputation
was matched by his calm, controlled step as he
approached coaches forced to slow down on winding
mountain roads. He never fired a shot. Alone and
without a horse, he would saunter up politely to a
stagecoach. Wearing a knee-length duster draped
over soiled miner's clothes, with socks spread over
his boots to disguise the footprints, he raised his
voice to the driver. On his head, he bore a flour sack
with eyeholes. He would reassure the passengers that
he only wanted Wells Fargo's money; he would
return any items they threw to him. In his belt would
be a hatchet. In his hand, a shotgun.
Black Bart's showy refinement reached legendary
status when, on the fourth robbery, the outlaw left a
poem. I've labored long and hard for bread, / For
honor, and for riches, / But on my corns too long
you've tread, / You fine-haired sons of bes. It was
signed "Black Bart the P o 8." Wells Fargo's detective,
James Hume, lifted this note from the shards of the
thick chest lying on the roadside, pillaged of treasure,
and saw his first clue to the identity of the man whose
career he would follow for eight years. It led him
nowhere. Another poem accompanied the following
crime, this one reading "Here I lay me down to sleep /
To wait the coming morrow, / Perhaps success,
perhaps defeat / And everlasting sorrow. / Yet come
what will, I'll try it once, / My conditions can't be
worse, / And if there's money in that box, / 'Tis
money in my purse. Black Bart, the P o 8."
I've labored long and hard for bread,

For honor, and for riches,
But on my corns too long you've
treadBlack Bart
Fun s
Fact
Charles Bolton is among the most famous of a class known as

"Gentleman Thieves," or "Lady Thieves." A trope in modern
fiction, from The Thomas Crown Affair to White Collar, this
type of character likes to live well, exhibits excellent manners
and taste and usually avoids actual violence in the process
of stealing treasure. Black Bart's authoritative demeanor and
polite language, along with his literary tendencies, make him
the perfect model of a Gentleman Robber.
On Nov. 3, 1883, coach driver Reason McConnell

made what had become a frequent stop at the
Reynolds Ferry Hotel. He handed the 19-year-old
son of the hotel owner some buckshot hed promised
the young hunter, and offered him a ride down to
where the deer were. After a short ride, Jimmy
thought he spotted a deer, and quietly left the stage.
The driver continued on until he reached a turn in
the road, where he slowed his horses for a careful
turn around the boulders.
A figure became visible on the granite's far side.
Flour sack on his head, knee-length tan duster flitted
around him in the breeze, the figure hesitated. The
driver knew him on sight.
Black Bart wavered between fleeing and going
forward. Then he shouted, Who was that, getting out
of the coach back there? The driver answered, A
PHOTO BY BUYENLARGE/GETTY IMAGES
Clues and Capture
Raiders14-072-075-BlackBart.PS2-BC.qxp 10/24/14 2:27 AM Page 77
B l a c k
B a r t
local boy going to muster some cattle. Black Bart

waited a second, then said, Please throw down the
box. I cant, the driver said, Its bolted to the floor.
That meant it was valuable, and that meant Black
Bart wanted it. He told the driver to get out, climbed
into the coach, and tore at the floorboards with a
hatchet. Quietly, McConnell beckoned Jimmy over,
took his gun and shot two badly aimed bullets into
the air around Black Bart. The outlaw leapt out of the
coach, and Jimmy yanked the gun into his own hands
and shot the outlaw clean in the left hand.
Throughout his career, Black Bart had left so little
evidence at any crime scene that he was rumored to be
a ghost. Not this time. When Detective Hume arrived,
he found handkerchiefs and treasure and blood and
everything that Black Bart could leave behind to make
a quick escape. The handkerchief bore a laundry
mark. Hume was ready to follow this precious, solid
clue right to the criminal he had sought for eight long
years. He looked up all of the launderers in San
Francisco and spent a week going down the list, until
one man nodded recognition. Within days, Black
BartCharles Bolton to his San Francisco friends
was writing a letter to his wife Mary Bowles from San
Quentin Prison, where he spent a little over four years
on a six year sentence. He was released early for his
trademark attribute: good behavior. R
RIGHT Charles E. Bowles, aka Black Bart.
BELOW Concord Stagecoach on display at the Wells Fargo
History Museum in San Francisco, California.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
PHOTO BY AMERICAN STOCK/GETTY IMAGE;
BELOW RIGHT Wells Fargo ad from a paper in 1868 during

Black Barts lifetime.
Raiders14-078-Revolutionaries-BC.JN 10/27/14 1:57 PM Page 78
These are the

movers and
shakers who
refused to sit
idly by and
witness
injustice. These
were men and
women of
action, who
would stop at
nothing to see
the wrongs
righted.
Read on to
Discover
WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON A RAIDER?

THE SURPRISING TACTICS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY IN THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE.
FEMALE NIGHT BOMBERS IN WORLD WAR II.
A CRAZED ABOLITIONIST AND HIS RAID GONE WRONG.
COPY OF TRAGIC PRELUDE BY JOHN STEUART CURRY (1938-40)
R evolutionaries
Raiders14-079-083-HongXiuquan.JN 10/24/14 2:36 AM Page 79
Xiuquan
CLAIMING TO BE JESUS' YOUNGER BROTHER, HE LED CHINAS
BLOODIEST REBELLION.
BY Andrew M. Luther
hina has seen more than its share of

peasant rebellions, but the Taiping
Rebellion tops them all. Between
1850 and 1864, at least 20 million
people died in a massive civil war.
The man who spearheaded one of the deadliest
conflicts in military history was a peasant-turnedrevolutionary who claimed to be the younger
brother of Jesus Christ.
SOVFOTO/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Humble Beginnings
Hong Xiuquan was born on Jan. 1, 1814 to peasant
ethnic Hakka farmers in southern China. Even as a
young boy, Hong showed great academic promise. His
parents sacrificed financially to provide him with a
formal education in the hopes that he would one day
take and pass the imperial civil service examinations.
When Hong was 15, his parents could no longer
afford his formal education. Nevertheless, he studied
diligently to prepare for the civil service tests. Hong
took and passed the district level examination, which
qualified him to take the preliminary level of the
imperial examination. Because only one percent of
those taking the imperial examination passed, it is not
surprising that Hong failed it on his first attempt. He
returned home to study further.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Hong Xiuquan
DATES ACTIVE:
1850-1864
AREAS ACTIVE:
China, particularly
the Yangtze River
Valley
CLAIM TO FAME:
He battled the
ruling Manchu
Qing Dynasty
with the Taiping
Rebellion.
A Heavenly Path
In 1836, on his way to take the exam for the second
time, Hong heard two Christian missionaries, one
1850-1864
Hong
Raiders14-079-083-HongXiuquan.JN.CX 10/27/14 11:17 PM Page 80
Perhaps the next uprising

in Europe may depend
more on what is now
taking place in the
Celestial Empire
than any other
existing political
cause.
SOVFOTO/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Karl Marx
commenting on
hong's Taiping
Rebellion
H o n g
Holding the Universe

in the hand I slay evil,
preserve justice,
and improve the lives
of my subjects.
Xiuquan.
ABOVE King
Shiwang's Residence
of the Taiping
Heavenly Kingdom, a
museum dedicated to
the rebellion Hong
led.
BELOW Regaining
Jinling: A scene of the
Taiping Rebellion,
1850-1864 by Wu
Youru (1886)
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Hong Xiuquan,
The Poem on Executing the
Vicious and Preserving the
Righteous (1837)
OPPOSITE Hong
X i u q u a n
Chinese and one American. They gave him a set of

nine pamphlets containing translations and
summaries of the Bible, entitled Good Words for
Exhorting the Age. Hong read the pamphlets but did
not give them much thought. Hong failed the
imperial examination on his second and third
attempts. After the third failure, he suffered a mental
breakdown.
During his recovery, Hong had several mystic
visions. In one, an old man complained to Hong
about men worshipping demons instead of him. In
another, Hong saw Confucius being punished for his
faithlessness, after which he repented. In a third
vision, angels carried Hong to heaven, where he met a
man with a golden beard wearing a long, black dragon
robe. This man gave him a sword and a magic seal and
told him to purify China of its demons.
Hong recovered from his breakdown and returned
to tutor children in his village for the next five to six
years. After failing the imperial examination for a
fourth and final time, Hongs cousin Li Jingfang
encouraged him to reread the Bible translations and
summaries he had been given years before. Studying
the Christian literature helped him to interpret his
earlier visions to mean that God the Heavenly Father
was his actual father and the golden bearded man was
his older brother, Jesus Christ. This heavenly family
was instructing him, through visions, to rid the world
of demon worship.
Provincial Capital of
Ruizhou: A scene of
the Taiping Rebellion,
1850-1864 by Wu
Youru (1886)
RIGHT The Porcelain

Tower of Nanjing,
China, c. 1895. The
Porcelain Tower (or
Porcelain Pagoda) was
constructed in the
15th century as a
Buddhist pagoda, but
was mostly destroyed
during the Taiping
Rebellion.
RIGHT Stockade
where the Taiping
generals were
beheaded at the end
of the Taiping
Rebellion in December
1863.
Peasant Rebellion
Hongs message resonated with the disenfranchised
Hakka Chinese who made up the majority of Chinas
population, particularly in southern China. Most
Hakka were anti-Qing, believing that the ethnic
Manchu Qing rulers were responsible for the
corruption, military defeats and increased foreign
commerce plaguing China during the 19th century.
Because it was illegal to openly challenge the Qing,
secret societies sprung up all over China. Hong chose
not to join a secret society but instead turned to
Christianity in an attempt to reach the traditional
Chinese ideal of Taiping, or great peace. He
established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in 1841
and named himself Heavenly King and brother of
Jesus Christ.
The agenda of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
included social reforms such as shared property in
common where all assets became communal,
equality for women and the replacement of
PHOTO BY THE PRINT COLLECTOR/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES;
ABOVE Regaining the
WIKIMEDIA;
Hongs forces
were disciplined
and fanatical.
They refused to
tie up their hair
in the traditional
long braid, so
they were known
as Longhairs.
FROM TOP:
Did
You
w
Kno
Hong and Li burned all the Confucius and

Buddhist statues and books in their homes, and Hong
began to preach in the community about his visions.
His earliest converts were relatives who, like Hong,
had failed the imperial examinations. Together they
travelled to small, neighboring villages where they
destroyed religious idols and shared their version of
Christianity.
These acts were considered sacrilegious, and the
men were forced to leave their homes. In 1844 they
fled to Guangxi, a village 300 miles to the west, where
the large Hakka population was more receptive to
their ideas and teachings. They then recruited a large
number of coal burners who were primarily minority
Hakka like Hong and were ready to rage against the
ruling Manchu Qings.
Most of Hongs converts were poor or lived on the
fringe of society. His literate recruits usually were
those who, like himself, did not pass the provincial
level of the imperial exams.
PHOTO BY WILLIAM SAUNDERS/HENRY GUTTMANN/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Hong and his followers next goal was the capture

of the city of Nanjing. On their way, they were met by
an elite militia created by the local gentry specifically
to defend against peasant rebellions. Although 20
percent of the Taiping were killed, they managed to
take Nanjing in March 1853 and turn it into the
capital of their movement.The Taiping Heavenly
Kingdom now controlled a large part of South China
and ruled an estimated 30 million people.
In 1860, the Taiping attempted to take the city of
Shanghai. The Qing government had finally ended the
second Opium War and was able to send a large
military force to battle the Taiping. Assisted by officers
from France and the United Kingdom, the Qing
government slowly began to gain ground. By June
1864, Qing authorities had defused the Taiping
Rebellion and The Kingdom of Transcendent Peace
was neutralized.
X i u q u a n
Bigger Plans
H o n g
Buddhism, Confucianism and Chinese folk religions

with Hongs form of Christianity. Hong preached a
strict morality where opium, tobacco, gambling and
foot-binding were forbidden. Although Hong is
reported to have had more than 80 concubines,
women were purported to be equal to men. Taiping
women served as soldiers and administrators and
were allowed to take civil service exams.
By 1850, Hong had between 10,000 and 30,000
followers. This alarmed the authorities, and the
Taiping were ordered to disperse. When they refused,
there was an unsuccessful attempt by local forces to
squash them. In Jan. 1851, the Qing government
launched a full-scale attack on the Taiping. Hongs
followers were victorious. After this victory Hong
declared the foundation of the Heavenly Kingdom of
Transcendent Peace. The Taiping continued to defy
expectations as they defeated the much larger Chinese
Green Standard Army and took the cities of Yongan
and Hunan.
ABOVE During the
rebellion, Hongs
forces controlled all or
parts Zhejiang, Jiangxi,
Hubei, Anhui and
Guangxi.
RIGHT Seal of the
Taiping Revolution.
BELOW A Buddhist
monk supervises as
laborers rebuild what
Hong and his fellow
revolutionaries had
destroyed in Nanjing,
China.
FROM TOP:
THINKSTOCK; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (2)
Death
Hong Xiuquang died on June 1, 1864 at age 52. His
death is reported to have been either from illness,
from eating manna or from suicide. He was
succeeded by his teenage son, Hong Tianguifu, who
was decisively defeated later that year.
Legacy
Although the rebellion failed, it led to the collapse
of Chinas traditional order and prepared the way for
the common Chinese to revolt against the traditional
social system and political model. Although there is
no indication that Hong was aware of Karl Marxs
Communist Manifesto (1848), there is evidence that
Karl Marx was watching the Taiping. Less than 100
years later, Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong
would look to Hong Xiuquan as inspiration. R
George
Washington
the Continental Raider
21-YEAR-OLD WASHINGTON GOT HIS START USING GUERRILLA
TACTICS IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
BY Adam Jones
ou know George Washington

was the first president of the
United States, and you may
also know he was a general in
the American Revolution
before that, but even before the Revolution,
Washington began his career in military
leadership as a 21-year-old in the French
and Indian War.
This illustration shows 21year-old Washington with

his companion Gist crossing
the Allegheny River to warn
the French against
colonizing the
Ohio valley.
Early Life and Rise

through the Ranks
While Washingtons early life was plagued
with the deaths of family membersthree
siblings died when he was a child, and his
father passed away when he was 11he
stumbled into some luck. His half-brother
Lawrence had a relationship with the
Fairfax family, one of the richest and most
powerful families in Virginia.
When he turned 17, Washington was able
to use his brother Lawrences connection to
the Fairfax family to obtain a position as
official surveyor for Culpeper County,
Virginia. This position and his relationships
got him the attention of Lt. Gov. Robert
Dinwiddie of Virginia. Sadly, his brother
Lawrencewho was adjutant general of the
Virginia militiapassed away in 1752 of
tuberculosis. Dinwiddie made the decision
to divide the single position held by
Lawrence into four pieces, and George
Washington received one of those four
district adjutant positions. He was given the
rank of major in the Virginia militia, and his
military career began.
George Washington was just 21 years old
when he was ordered into the Ohio River

Valley by Dinwiddie. Then-Major
Washington was instructed to deliver a
message to members of the French military
operating in the area at the time: Leave the
Valley immediately and cease interference
with all British traders working the land.
The valley and the Ohio River were
critical to the success of colonization efforts
by both nations, as rivers were critical
methods of transit and commerce. Both the

British and French were desperate to
strengthen their hold on this territory.
Washington was accompanied only by a few
close friends and a translator. The French
commander at Fort LeBoeuf responded to
the letter only to say that the French claim
was incontestable.
Washington chronicled his journey and
interaction with the French and published it
INTERIM ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
1753-1758
Raiders14-082-83-GeorgeWashington-2.PS2.qxp 10/24/14 2:40 AM Page 84
Raiders14-082-83-GeorgeWashington-2.PS2.qxp 10/24/14 2:40 AM Page 85
Washingtons handdrawn map of his Ohio

expedition in 1753.
George Washington
describing the ambush on the
French camp
Improvisation and the Battle

of Fort Necessity
Not all of Washingtons exploits were so riotously
successful. Upon hearing of battle, the French
commander at Fort Duquesne immediately
marshaled a much larger force600 French and
Canadian men-at-arms as well as 100 nativesand
George Washington
DATES ACTIVE:
1753-1758
AREAS ACTIVE:
Virginia, Ohio Valley

CLAIM TO FAME:
Before the
Revolutionary War
and his presidency,
he was a leader
and tactician
during the French
and Indian War.
Fun Facts
George Washington
almost joined the
British Royal Navy at
the age of 15.
However, his mother
was recently widowed
and objected to the
decision.
Washington joined the
Freemasons in
Fredericksburg the
same year he joined
the military, 1753.
R a i d e r
Lt. Col. Washington was ordered back into the

Ohio Valley to confront the French, this time with 160
Virginia militia members. At the same time, the
French sent additional forces to the area in an attempt
to push the British further east. Identifying the
position of approximately 35 French soldiers camped
in a ravine near his own encampment, Washington
did not hesitate to act. Waiting for nightfall, he crept
through woods with 40 of his own men and a Seneca
chief named Tanacharison and 12 of his braves. It
took them all night to reach the French position. They
attacked just before dawn. The French soldiers were
taken completely by surprise. Washingtons forces
killed 13 men and were able to capture 21.
This attack is sometimes regarded as the encounter
that set off a conflict that would spread around the
worldthe French and Indian War, sometimes called
the Seven Years' War.
NAME:
set out to cut off Washington, who had been

reinforced and now led around 400 bedraggled men.
Hearing of the advance approach of the force,
Washington felt he had only one option.
He and his men began to rapidly construct a
fortification at Great Meadows on a mountaintop in
what is today Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Dubbing
the fortification Fort Necessity, Washington
hunkered down and prepared to fight a battle against
impossible odds, not the last time he would be in that
position. A heavy rain complicated Washingtons
defensive efforts.
Further entangling the defenders was a lack of
regular army forces, as Washingtons troops were
largely comprised of militiamen. Washington
engaged the French outside the tree line with swivel
guns and the majority of their men, but after
suffering rapid losses, the irregulars quickly fled back
into the Fort, forcing Washington to retreat. The
heavy rain wet the gun powder of the British forces.
Return fire began to become impossible.
The French demanded immediate surrender,
which Washington agreed toit became the only
surrender of his famed career. The French allowed
them to return to Virginia unharmed. Washingtons
aggressive style was established from his early
military career, and his fame began to grow. He was
not blamed for the defeat at Fort Necessity; Virginias
governor blamed it on a lack of support from the
other colonies, a problem Washington would
eventually dramatically overcome. R
C o n t i n e n t a l
FROM LEFT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Sneak Attack
Lasting Legacy
t h e
in various British and American newspapers. As a

reward for the job he did on this mission,
Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Wa s h i n g t o n
"I fortunately escaped without any wound, for the right

wing, where I stood, was
exposed to and received all
the enemy's fire, and it was
the part where the man was
killed, and the rest
wounded. I heard the bullets
whistle, and believe me
there is something charming
in the sound."
G e o r g e
The reconstructed Fort Necessity in Fayette County,

Pennsylvania.
Tea-Tossing
Colonists
INFURIATED BOSTONIANS SPILL ENGLISH TEA, BUT NO BLOOD.
ed up Boston colonists
decided to take matters into
their own hands. Under the
cover of night and disguised as
Native Americans, over 100
impassioned Bostonians muscled their
way past the crew of the three tea-bearing ships and heaved over 342 chests of
tea into the murky harbor waters while
surrounding British military ships
looked on.
No fragment of tea was spared. In
fact, written accounts from that
December night report a few residents
tried to smuggle tea leaves for
themselves but were kicked and hit by
the other raiders. The next morning,
colonists damaged the tea even more by
rowing over what still sat on top of the
waters surface, mercilessly hitting it
with their oars. This tea was for making
a statementnot a drop would go into
the Boston colonists cups.
This iconic raid, later known as the
Boston Tea Party, remains a legendary
symbol of the escalating conflict and
rebellion that led to the American
Revolution. But what was this all
about anyway?
Brewing Conflict
The colonists motivation to shove
about 90,000 pounds of teathe
equivalent of about 18.5 million
cupsinto the harbor trace back to the
end of the French and Indian War. The
war was costly for England, and after| 8 6 | RAIDERS OF THE WORLD
THINKSTOCK
December 16,
1773
Raiders14-88-89-BostonTeaParty.PS.JN 10/24/14 2:42 AM Page 86
Raiders14-88-89-BostonTeaParty.PS.JN.CX 10/27/14 11:21 PM Page 87
eye-witness of the
Boston Tea Party
PHOTO BY DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES
ward the nation imposed high taxes on America in

order to replenish some of its war expenses as well
as to regain control over the colonies, which had
become increasingly more independent.
The subsequent series of taxes, including those
on stamps, sugar and tea, inspired the familiar
colonist mantra, No taxation without
representation! The colonists consistently
retaliated against these taxes and other forms of
oppression as long as they were denied the right to
representation in English parliament.
The parliaments taxation on tea was particularly
contentious because tea was a daily, social staple in
colonial life. England also had a strong handle on
the tea industry, so any tax on tea sold in the
colonies was sure to go back to the King. Through
rebellion and boycotts, the colonists succeeded in
getting many of the taxes in the infamous
Townshend Acts (1767) repealed, but to the
colonists chagrin, the tea tax persisted.
Eventually, Parliament crafted a plan that they
anticipated would win colonial favor and still
generate profit. After giving the British East India
Company a monopoly over tea importation to the
colonies, England implemented the Tea Act of 1773.
This act actually lowered the tea tax significantly, but
many American colonists would not accept the gesture.
If they bought tea at this cheap rate, they would still be
acknowledging parliaments right to tax the colonies.
The colonists began to plot their retaliation.
The Boiling Point

In Boston, the arrival of three ships incited
incredible turmoil among the colonists. They plotted how to prevent the cargo from being unloaded
onto the dock. Increased English military presence
on the docks heightened the tension. On Dec. 14,
WHAT DID GEORGE WASHINGTON HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
Many of the events leading up to the Revolutionary War happened in the feisty city of
Boston, usually summoning a lot of support from The Sons of Liberty and other
revolutionaries. However, some of these men, including George Washington, did not
stand behind Boston this time. Washington believed that private property ought to be
honored and respected and disapproved of the colonists for their raid.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Tea-tossing
colonists
DATES ACTIVE:
Dec. 16, 1773

AREA ACTIVE:
Boston,
Massachusetts
CLAIM TO
FAME:
The colonists
unconventional
tactics against
the British
symbolized the
increasingly
strained
relationship
between the
American
colonies and
England.
TOP Colonists
filled Boston
Harbor with tea.
OPPOSITE
Colonists protest
unfair taxation.
You
d
i
D
w
Kno
Boston was actually the fourth city to refuse

a tea shipment from the East India
Company. Soon after the Tea Act took effect,
ships from the East India Company arrived
in Philadelphia and New York, only to be
turned around and denied permission to
dock. In Charleston, South Carolina, ships
were allowed to dock, but the tea was
immediately stored in a warehouse where it
stayed for three years until colonists sold it
to help finance the revolution.
The three tea-bearing ships, whose cargo
was emptied into the Boston harbor, were
named Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver.
1773, the colonists went to English Royal Governor

Thomas Hutchinson, demanding to have the ships
leave the dock without unloading their cargo.
On Dec. 16, thousands of colonists gathered to hear
the governors response. Hutchinson insisted that if
the ship left the harbor, the colonies would have to pay
a duty on the goods. This stalemate infuriated the
colonists and triggered their determination to destroy
every leaf of that tea. R
C o l o n i s t s
Joshua Wyeth,
T e a - T o s s i n g
We were
merry,
in an
undertone,
at the idea
of making
so large a
cup of tea
for the
fishes.
Raiders14-088-91-AmConNavy.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:24 PM Page 88
Washington Crossing the Delaware

by Emanuel Leutze (1851)
Raiders14-088-91-AmConNavy.PS.qxp 10/24/14 2:47 AM Page 89
American
Continental Navy
HOW THE MOTLEY CREW OF REVOLUTIONARIES DEFEATED THE
WORLDS MOST POWERFUL NAVY.
BY Spencer Murray
he American Continental Navy was

up against the worlds prevailing
naval power whose dominance
stretched back centuries and would
continue for a couple centuries more.
The Americans were outnumbered and outgunned.
But characteristic of the American revolutionarys
determined spirit, they found inventive, unconventional ways to harass the British and wear them
down into acquiescence.
and 20 to 40 guns. The Americans' small, manpowered boats actually proved to be a tactical
advantage: They defended their coastline with smaller,
cheaper ships that were fast and able to navigate in
shallow water. The Americans used these small crafts
to repel privateers, smugglers and other naval threats.
Recognizing these seemingly harmless, everyday vessels
as threats in revolutionary hands, the British made
efforts to keep any floating vessel out of the water.
The Ambush that Could

Ragtag Resources
The British had the resources of a vast empire and
a long history as the worlds naval superpower. By sea,
the British had ships with 60 or more guns,
essentially floating fortresses. By land, the British paid
German mercenary soldiers known as Hessians to
beef up their forces.
All this time, it blew

a hurricane
One soldier recalls crossing
the Delaware River
American forces also succeeded in stealing ships

from the British. This tactic was unorthodox, effective
and kept the British on their toes.
One of the British warships the colonists managed
to steal from the British was the HMS Roebuck. The
Roebuck chased the USS Wasp into the Delaware River,
but in doing so, the Roebuck ran aground. Taking
advantage of the opportunity, the Americans rowed
out in 13 galleys to attack the Roebuck. The Roebuck
could not effectively defend itself because the smaller
targets were too close for the ships cannons to fire at.
Like a mammoth surrounded by Neanderthals with
spears and rocks, the British warship could not defend
itself against its smaller enemies.
ware
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Guerilla Tactics
The Americans were up against this superpower,
forcing them to be inventive. They built, collected and
stole whatever ships they could. Mostly they
repurposed rowboats, small whaleboats and even
canoes. By the end of the war, the biggest ships they
were able to build were larger-scale ships with masts
The British wanted to end this costly war once and

for all, especially as it was December and winter was
setting in. They surrounded George Washington and
his army in New York to force him to surrender like a
gentleman.
Washington decided to take the fight elsewhere. On
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
The American
Continental Navy,
consisting of
government-issued
frigates, George
Washingtons hired
schooners, small
gunboats and
privateers hired by
the Continental
Congress.
DATES ACTIVE:
1774-1785
AREAS ACTIVE:
Primarily along
America's eastern
coast as well as off
the coast of
England, the
Caribbean Islands
and parts of Africas
west coast.
CLAIM TO FAME:
The navys hit-andrun raiding tactics

slowed the British
navy, which helped
the American
revolutionaries win
the war for their
independence.
1774-1785
the
First Recognition of the American Flag by a

Foreign Government by Edward Moran (1898)
This Scottish-born sailor

is considered one of the
fathers of the American
Navy and one of the best
commanders in naval
history. The British,
however, thought of him
as a pirate and a traitor.
Based on his raid on
British shores in the
American Revolution, its
easy to see how this
same man can be
interpreted so differently.
After he burned the
British coastal town of
Whitehaven, he made his
way to Scotland where
he intended to take an
earl hostage in order to
trade the Scottish earls
life for Americans held
captive. Unfortunately,
the earl was away, but
Jones made off with all
of his silver.
Most famously, Jones
Captain John Paul Jones, Continental Navy, Cecilia
fought the British from a
Beaux (1906)
sinking ship, refused to
surrender and managed
to win at the Battle of Flamborough Head off the coast of Yorkshire. Outgunned by the
larger British ship, Jones ship was shot and leaking, but through determination and
well-placed grenades that set off a chain reaction of gunfire on the larger British ship,
Jones won the fierce naval battle.
Pirates: Hired Help

Another American secret weapon was piratepatriot John Paul Jones. Americans viewed him as a
great naval commander, the British as pirate, traitor
and nuisance. In the American Revolution, he was
given the title of first lieutenant in the American
Continental Navy.
Jones plotted and led a surprise attack on the
British mainland and led an amphibious raid in
Whitehaven, a coastal town near the Lake District of
England. Jones and his men rowed out from their
larger ship and took control of the southern fort,
which they set on fire. The blaze soon burned the
village, and while Jones and his men didnt make off
with much, they successful alarmed the British by
attacking their home turf.
Jones and other commissioned pirates continued to
harass Englands navy and trade, making the war even
more expensive and unpopular for the British. The
American Continental Navy and their hired pirates
continued to raid British supply lines, international
trade, war ships and homeland in order to erode the
support of the British citizens and discomfit His
Majestys armed forces. R
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
JOHN PAUL JONES: PIRATE-PATRIOT
Christmas night, in darkness and cold rain, he and his

men crossed the Delaware River using small, local
boats. The next day, the American troops split up and
ambushed the British-hired Hessian fighters, raided
their supplies and took 1,000 of them prisoner.
The element of surprise worked. The British Royal
Navy, who were responsible for patrolling the waters,
were embarrassed by these ragtag rebels, and the
Americans successfully evaded a direct British
confrontation yet again.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
John Paul Jones, receiving the salute of the French fleet at Quiberon Bay, France,
Feb. 1778. This was the first time a foreign government saluted the American flag.
FROM TOP:
ABOVE The painting depicts Continental Navy Ship Ranger, commanded by Captain
A m e r i c a n
C o n t i n e n t a l
98)
t h e
Our enemies ride in perfect security

that security would prove their ruin
and insure our success. John Paul Jones
FROM TOP:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
BATTLE OF NASSAU BY V. ZVEG (1973)
N a v y
TOP Painting by Thomas Mitchell (1780) depicting Bonhomme Richard (center), commanded by Continental Navy Captain John Paul Jones, closely
engaged with HMS Serapis, commanded by Royal Navy Captain Richard Pearson, off the coast of England.
ABOVE The painting depicts continental sailors and marines landing in the Bahamas in March 1776. Their initial objective, Fort Montagu, is in the left
distance. Close offshore are the small vessels used to transport the landing force to the vicinity of the beach. They are (from left to right): two
captured sloops, schooner Wasp and sloop Providence. The other ships of the American squadron are visible in the distance.
Raiders14-090-093-JohnBrown.PS2.qxp 10/24/14 2:51 AM Page 92
These men
are all talk;
What is needed
is action
action!
John Brown
1855-1859
John
Brown
THIS IMPASSIONED ABOLITIONIST LIT THE MATCH THAT WOULD

IGNITE THE CIVIL WAR.
BY Jason Gorton
n the tense political climate leading up to the

Civil War, policy aimed at compromise rather
than change on the divisive issue of slavery.
Disgusted with the institution and impatient
with the lack of progress towards abolishing it,
John Brown took matters into his own hands.
The town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now a part of
West Virginia) held the largest collection of weapons
south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The federal arsenal
there housed 20,000 rifles, muskets and pistols, plus
ammunition. This trove of firearms could be used to
arm an insurgent slave revolt that would terrorize the
pre-Civil War South. That was John Browns plan.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Raid on Harpers Ferry

After nightfall on Sunday, Oct. 16, 1859, Brown
and 18 of his men crossed over the Potomac River
and descended upon the town of Harpers Ferry.
Among their number were four former slaves and
three of Browns own sons. A handful broke off from
the main group and captured several hostages,
including the great-grandnephew of President
George Washington. Meanwhile the main contingent
overran the few armory guards with ease.
Brown was counting on two things for his plan to
be successfula massive uprising of the local slaves
to aid the raiders and help transport the captured
weapons to safe keeping, and a fast retreat before
government reinforcements could arrive. Neither
one materialized.
Slaves in the area simply didnt know what was
going on, and so no aid to Browns forces came. But
word did soon get out to the white townsfolk who

surrounded the armory. By morning, Browns escape
route was blocked.
A firefight continued between the raiders and local
militia throughout the next day. Several townsfolk,
including the mayor, were killed. Realizing that their
position was no longer defendable, the raiders took
nine hostages and retreated into the engine house,
which would become known as John Browns Fort.
By the afternoon, Brown decided to send two men
out under a white flag to negotiate, one of them
Browns son, Watson. The militia shot them on
sightWatson was killed, the other man wounded
and captured. During successive volleys of gunfire
another of his sons, Oliver, was also wounded. He
died a short time later.
On the morning of the 18th a company of United
States Marines arrived. Brown refused to surrender.
Using a wooden ladder as a battering ram, the
I, John Brown, am
now quite certain that
the crimes of this
guilty land will never
be purged away but
with blood.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
John Brown
DATES ACTIVE:
1855-1859
AREAS ACTIVE:
Pottawatomie
River, Kansas and
Harpers Ferry,
Virginia
CLAIM TO FAME:
Brown raided
homes of proslavery landowners
in Kansas and the
Harpers Ferry
military arsenal in
Virginia (now part
of West Virginia) in
the hopes of
beginning an
abolitionist
uprising.
John Brown
Raiders14-090-093-JohnBrown.PS2.CX 10/27/14 11:27 PM Page 94
by John Steuart Curry, a

mural painted in the
Kansas State Capital in
Topeka, illustrating
John Brown and the
clash of forces in
Bleeding Kansas.
PATRIOT OR
TERRORIST?
Theres no question
that by modern
definitions of the
term, John Brown
used terrorism as a
weapon for his cause.
Historians and
political philosophers
will continue to
debate whether the
nobility of his mission
can possibly justify
his tactics. Although
many in the proslavery camp used
Brown as a wedge to
help drive the South
to secede, their
accusations that
many in the North
admired him were
most assuredly true.
But admiring his
motives is not the
same as admiring his
tacticsor his ability.
Brown was described,
even by his admirers,
as fanatical, insane,
frenzied, rabid, a
zealot, a bad
tactician [and] a bad
strategist.
Marines broke down the main doors. Brown was

knocked unconscious as the raid came to its
disastrous end.
Bleeding Kansas
Years before the disastrous Harpers Ferry raid in
1859, Brown was actively involved in the abolitionist
cause. Hearing about the 1837 murder of an
abolitionist minister in Illinois by a pro-slavery mob
transformed Brown from a passive opponent of
slavery into an active combatant. He spent years
working the Underground Railroad, meeting with the
likes of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and
Sojourner Truth and agitating for the establishment
of Free State governments in the western
US territories.
Browns earlier raid for the abolitionist cause was
in the western territory of Kansas. In 1854 the
Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the question of slavery
up to a popular vote by white male landowners in the
territory. Almost immediately thousands of settlers
northern Yankee Free-Staters and southern Border
Ruffians flooded the future-state in order to win
the coming referendum. John Brown was first
among them.
Brown was optimistic that there would be enough
Free-Staters to swing the vote, but soon it became
obvious to all that the Border Ruffians were willing to
use fraud, intimidation and terrorism to ensure that
Kansas became a slave state. Often, public officials
themselves, put in place by a Democratic pro-slavery
administration in Washington, DC, led the
lawlessness. Tempers in and out of Kansas ran so hot
that an abolitionist Republican Senator was nearly
beaten to death on the floor of the United
States Senate by his own cousin, a South
Carolina congressman.
In 1855 and 56, scores of Kansas settlers were being

slaughtered on both sides as attack was met by attack.
Seeking personal revenge for an attack on the town of
Lawrence, Kansas, Brown led a raid on a series of
cabins along the Pottawatomie River in which five
men were hacked to death with long swords. One of
Browns sons was killed in the fighting, and fearing
for the lives of his other sons, he took advantage of a
lull in the skirmishes and moved back east where he
set out on a mission to raise funds and allies for the
abolitionists cause.
Covert Preparations
Brown left Kansas and began to put his longsimmering plan for an abolitionist uprising into
action. Originally Brown wanted to set up a camp in
the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. From there, he
and his envisioned army would stage guerilla warfare
on the southern slaveholders and plantations and aid
slaves in escaping to freedom with the hope that
many of the newly-freed slaves would also join his
ranks as soldiers.
To this end he enlisted the help of Colonel Hugh
Forbes. Forbes was a former English soldier who had
fought as a mercenary under the famous Italian
general Giuseppe Garibaldi. Brown had read much of
Forbes writings on the subject of warfare and was
impressed with his tactical knowledge. Forbes, for his
part, was looking for a way to make money after
participating in unsuccessful European revolutions of
1848, and so he agreed to be Browns tactician and
drillmaster to prepare the men for battle.
Brown and Forbes agreed on many subjects,
including the evil of slavery. They also knew that for
his plan to have any hope of working, they would
need to acquire more weapons than Browns financial
backers, known as The Secret Six, would be able to
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ABOVE Tragic Prelude
J o h n
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
AND JOHN BROWN
The success of John Browns plan

hinged on newly liberated slaves
aiding Browns fight. To this end
he traveled north to enlist the aid
of his friend, Frederick Douglass:
escaped slave, gifted writer,
masterful orator, and one of the
most recognized and respected
leaders of the abolitionist
movement.
Frederick
Douglass
Brown wanted Douglass to act as

a liaison to the newly freed slaves
fearing that they might not trust a
white man. By the time the Supreme Court had ruled in the Dred Scott case, Douglass
was no longer so nave as to think that the profitable institution of slavery could be
abolished without the shedding of blood, but after careful consideration, he declined
Browns offer. He felt that any raid on the federal armory was doomed to failure and
might do the cause grievous political harm by turning allies in the government against
them. Brown would have to proceed without him.
FROM TOP:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
THINKSTOCK
Grave Aftermath
The failed storming of Harpers Ferry raid killed
two of Browns sons and led to Browns capture. Of
the 18 men who crossed into Virginia that night, 10
were killed. Five men avoided capture, several of them
later serving in the Union Army during the Civil War.
John Brown stood trial for treason against the
Commonwealth of Virginia and was convicted and
sentenced to death by hanging only five days later. At
his execution, he made a statement predicting that
war between the North and South was inevitable.
Frederick Douglass fear that the raid on the
arsenal at Harpers Ferry might damage the cause of
abolition was proved at least partly true. Although
nearly all northern papers and politicians
condemned the raid and Browns fanaticism,
Southern agitators saw that the abolitionists were
building him up as a martyr and imagined everyone
in the North was secretly sympathetic. How could the
South possibly live with northern neighbors who
would countenance such terrorism? The country was
only months away from electing Republican
Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. This would be
the final insult that would propel the South to secede.
John Browns body and that of several of his
raiders were eventually laid to rest on his old
homestead at North Elba, New York. R
RIGHT Harpers Ferry Insurrection Interior of the engine-house, just before the gate is
broken down by the storming party Col. Washington and his associates as captives, held
by Brown as hostages.
JOHN BROWNS BODY
Almost everyone today and, in fact, for over a century and a half, recognizes the
stirring melody of The Battle Hymn of the Republic with its emotional chorus, Glory,
glory, hallelujahHis truth is marching on! But for years before Julia Ward Howe
wrote her version, the song had a different set of lyrics.
Old John Browns body
lies a-mouldering in the
grave,
While weep the sons of
bondage whom he
ventured all to save;
But tho he lost his life
while struggling for the
slave,
His soul is marching on...
John Brown captured.
B r o w n
provide, and they hatched a plan for a daring raid on

the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
Under the alias Isaac Smith, Brown rented a
farmhouse and adjacent small cabin four miles north
of Harpers Ferry in Washington County, Maryland.
Initially Brown had few recruits and very little
money. The $600 Brown paid Forbes up front was
not enough, and promises that more was coming
would not placate the drillmaster who was eager to
bring his family over from Europe. Forbes soon left
Browns employ and set in motion a whisper
campaign to find Browns financial backers and get
them to abandon the firebrand emancipator. His
efforts caused Brown to postpone his plans while he
travelled north to shore up his support. He would not
set it in motion for almost a year.
Ironically, almost as soon as Forbes departed, the
number of Browns volunteer raiders increased
dramatically, but still not all that he had hoped for. He
had even tried to recruit Harriet Tubman (she declined
the offer due to ill health), and Frederick Douglass,
who refused to be a part of what he called a suicide
mission, sure that an attack on the federal government
would array the whole country against us.
The Kennedy Farmhouse which Brown was using
as his training camp was unfortunately close by to
other neighbors, and so to avoid arousing suspicion,
Brown and his raiders were forced to spend long days
crowded together inside, and at night they would train
and drill in preparation for the Harpers Ferry raid.
Raiders14-096-099-FenianRaids.PS-BC.qxp 10/24/14 2:56 AM Page 96
We are the Fenian Brotherhood,

skilled in the arts of war,
And we're going to fight for
Ireland, the land we adore.
"Fenian Soldier's Song"
ATTEMPTING TO FORCE THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO GIVE IRELAND HER

FREEDOM, IRISH REPUBLICANS INVADED BRITISH CANADA.
BY Jason Gorton
any Irish immigrants who fled

to the US did not forget about
their homelands fight for independence. A group of
revolutionary-minded
American-Irish hatched a plan to help their
homelands cause abroad by invading Britishcontrolled Canada. While their revolutionary
schemes did not provoke the English into granting
Ireland independence, it led to some surprising
raids and unexpectedly helped accelerate another
countrys independence.
FROM LEFT:
PHOTO BY HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES;
PHOTO BY MPI/GETTY IMAGES
Birth of the Fenian Movement

The Fenian Movement of the mid- to late-19th
century was a blanket term for the Irish Nationalist
movement working to overthrow English rule in
Ireland. It took its name from the Fianna, bands of
Irish and Scottish warriors featured in Celtic
mythology led by the Irish hero Finn McCool (Fionn
mac Cumhaill).
In Ireland the flag for Irish Independence was
carried by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB),
founded in 1858. (The IRB was a separate
organization from the Irish Republican Army, which
did not come into existence until decades later.) In
America, an organization called the Fenian
Brotherhood was founded by John OMahony in that
same year. The Fenian Brotherhood was dedicated to
the principles that Ireland should be an Independent
Democratic Republic and that this goal could only be
accomplished by armed uprising.
Many Irish had fled their homeland around this
time. Starvation, disease in the 1840s and 50s, a failed
rebellion in 1848 and increased tension between
Ireland and England were enough to drive 1 million

Irish to leave. The majority went to America. There
they would soon find themselves fighting on both
sides of the American Civil War.
John OMahony, one of the leaders of the 1848
rebellion, was a highly-educated man, having studied
Irish, Hebrew and Sanskrit at Trinity College in
Dublin despite a ban there on Catholics. The collapse
of the 1848 uprising led him to flee Ireland before
completing his degree, and eventually he made his
way to America in 1856, founding the Fenian
Brotherhood two years later.
Recruitment was slow at first, and with the outbreak
of the American Civil War in 1861 he became a colonel
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Fenian Raiders
DATES ACTIVE:
1866-1870
AREAS ACTIVE:
US-Canadian
border, mainly in
the eastern
states/provinces
CLAIM TO FAME:
In trying to start a
revolution in North
America to force
the issue of Irish
independence
abroad by attacking
British-controlled
Canada, these
raiders instead
gained short
glimpses of victory
and deepened
Canadian national
identity.
OPPOSITE Fenians
take possession of St.
Armand in Canada
during the Fenian
Invasions, June 1866.
LEFT The cover of the
sheet music of the
Flag of Green,
dedicated to The
Fenian Brotherhood
(1861).
1866-1870
Fenian
Raiders
the
irritated by British support of the Confederacy and so

had no inclination to do the British any favors.
General Thomas W. Fighting Tom Sweeny was even
given leave during the war in order to help organize
the raids. The British, for their part, simply did not
take the Fenian Brotherhood seriously enough to feel
action on their part was warranted. They would soon
reconsider.
ABOVE John
OMahony, founder
of the Fenian
Brotherhood
DESERTER
DENNIS
During the Battle of
Fort Erie, while his
men were making a
valiant but ultimately
futile stand, Canadian
Lieut. Col. John
Dennis ran off to
hide, donning civilian
clothes and shaving
his distinctively long
sideburns. His
desertion would earn
him a court-martial
during which he was
acquitted at trial, but
the transcripts of
which (except for the
verdict) were kept
secret for years.
for the Union Army. At the conclusion of the war in

1865, however, there were tens of thousands of newly
discharged Irish immigrants and their first generation
descendants from both the Union and Confederacy
who felt the time was right for Ireland to be a free
nation again. They soon flooded the coffers and the
ranks of the Fenian Brotherhood.
THE PLAN
It did not take long, however, for a power struggle to
ensue. OMahony wanted to continue funneling cash
and weapons to Ireland for a new revolution there. The
other faction, led by William R. Roberts, wanted to
take the large cache of arms and lead a coordinated
series of raids into British-controlled Canada with the
intention of effectively holding the territories hostage
in exchange for withdrawal from Ireland.
Although the Fenians were riddled with informants
and spies for both the American government and the
British (and the Fenians took little effort to maintain
their secrecy anyway), neither country made any
moves against the pending invasion. The US was
After a failed attempt at Campobello Island, New

Brunswick, they formed a plan to invade from the
vicinity of Buffalo, New York across the Niagara
River. Brig. Gen. John ONeill, formerly a Union
cavalry commander, took 800 men across the
Niagara, upriver from Fort Erie in the early morning
hours of June 1, 1866 with several hundred more
following later in the day.
Ultimately, his supply of recruits would be cut off
by a US Navy gunboat patrolling the river. To offset
this, ONeill spent much of the first day trying to rally
Canadian Irish to join his effort. Not only was this
effort fruitless, but many of his own troops deserted
him. Thanks to a late night reinforcement making it
across the Niagara, ONeill would face the defending
Canadians with about 650 men.
During the night, the Fenians would march further
into what was Canada West, now the present-day
province of Ontario, and meet the waiting Canadian
militia and British Garrison troops at Limestone
Ridge near the town of Ridgeway.
At first the Fenians were pushed back. Although
reports conflict on why, the Canadian defenders
suddenly descended into chaos. Some historians think
a group of scouts on horseback may have been
mistaken for advancing cavalry. Whatever the reason,
Fenian leader ONeill seized the opportunity and
ordered a bayonet charge, which quickly defeated the
Canadian militia.
At the same time, British troops, known as the
Queens Own Rifles or QOR, spotting some Fenians
in red coats, thought they were being relieved and so
withdrew from battle. The Fenians took the town, but
feeling they would not be able to hold it against an
anticipated British counterattack, they fell back
toward Fort Erie.
Both sides suffered surprisingly low casualties: the
Fenians only lost five or six men, the Canadians and
British together lost less than 40.
At the township of Fort Erie, the Fenian invaders
met the small but determined defenders led by Lieut.
Col. John Dennis. Dennis and his men expected to be
mopping up the dejected stragglers of the defeated
Fenian forces. Instead they were surprised to find the
raiders at a full strength of 600-plus. A small group
managed to escape, but the majority were taken
prisoner.
ONeill spent that night at Fort Erie weighing his
RIDGEWAY AND FORT ERIE
Cells of the Fenian Brotherhood operated openly in

the Pacific Northwest and for several years made no
secret of their wish to raid north into British
Columbia. However, a strong British naval presence in
Vancouver helped ensure that no further incursions
came about after Pembina, effectively ending the
Fenian Raids.
Although its doubtful that the Fenian Raids had
any real impact on the question of Irish statehood,
they had a definite effect on the people of Canada.
Due to the incursions on their territory, Canadians
developed a deeper sense of national identity. On July
1, 1867, the Canadian Confederation was signed, and
the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia were born into what would become
the modern country of Canada, partly in response to
the efforts of Irish immigrants seeking the release of
their home country. R
reenacted for its

150th Anniversary in
2016. The event will
take place at Historic
Old Fort Erie in
Ontario, Canada on
June 11 and 12. For
more information,
contact the Niagara
Parks Commission at
1-877-642-7275.
BELOW A
contemporary, but
wildly inaccurate,
rendering of The
Battle of Ridgeway,
Canada West
(Ontario). The Fenians
are in green on the
left, Canadian troops
on the right.
BOTTOM Border
Volunteers stand over
a Fenian slain during
the Battle of Eccles
Hill, 1870.
FROM TOP:
PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES;
MISSISQUOI HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS
ECCLES HILL
Four years after Pigeon Hill, Samuel Spears and
John ONeill again attempted an incursion into
Canada East near Montreal, this time at Missisquoi
County, on May 25, 1870. Before he was able to cross
from Vermont, ONeill was arrested by a police patrol.
Spears and his force of around 200 men made it
across the river successfully. An English spy within
their ranks, however, had betrayed them, and they
were spotted almost immediately.
The raid was doomed to fail. After a disastrous
charge on the tiny town of Eccles Hill, the Fenians
were forced to retreat, with the Canadian defenders
suffering no casualties.
PEMBINA
With all their efforts repulsed thus far, most of the
Fenian Brotherhood lost interest in a Canadian
invasion, turning their attention to supporting
revolution back in Ireland. ONeill, however, urged on
by William B. O'Donoghue, felt that they could have
more success by moving the focus of the raids west.
They meant to invade Manitoba from the Dakota
Territories to attack a Hudson Bay Company supply
post and a Canadian customs house. The Fenians
wanted nothing to do with it, but did agree to loan
ONeill the arms for the attempt. ONeill resigned his
position in the Brotherhood and set out with
O'Donoghue and a small force of 35 men.
Unfortunately, just before the raid commenced on
Oct. 5, 1871, a survey team had declared that the border
had been mis-drawn two miles further south than it
should have been. This meant that when the formerRAIDERS OF THE WORLD | 9 9 |
R a i d e r s
By this time, with little or nothing to show for their

efforts, the Fenians had tested the patience of the US
authorities. The Fenian leaders were now being
arrested, men were going into hiding, and supplies
and weapons were becoming hard to come by.
Recognizing that time was short for their efforts to
bear fruit, Fenian Gen. Samuel Spear led 1,000 men
from the north country of upper New York across the
St. Lawrence River into what was then called Canada
East (now Quebec) June 8, 1866. They managed to
take the territory around Pigeon Hill and St. Armand
and hold it until the next day when low supplies and
ammunition forced them to surrender to the
Canadian forces.
AFTERMATH
THE BATTLE OF
RIDGEWAY is being
F e n i a n
PIGEON HILL
Fenians commenced their attack, they were actually

raiding United States territory. ONeill and his men
were arrested but then later released and never charged.
t h e
options: A sizable force of Canadian and British forces

were certainly on their way, and the US Navy would
prevent any reinforcements from arriving in time to
aid his position. His path was clear. The next morning,
June 3, he led his men back to New York state and they
surrendered to a naval party from the USS Michigan.
The soldiers were released within a matter of weeks.
Of the leadership put on trial, most were acquitted.
Raiders14-100-103-NightWitches.PS.qxp 10/24/14 3:08 AM Page 100
| 1 0 0 | RAIDERS OF THE WORLD
THESE SOVIET WOMEN RAIDED GERMAN CAMPS AND PEACE OF MIND.

A
PHOTO BY SOVFOTO/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
t the height of World War II, the

German soldiers most dreaded
enemy would come almost silently,
under the cover of night. All would
seem normal, no roar of an engine,
nothing to alert them of their imminent danger
until it was too late. They would only hear the rush
of airstreams as small planes swooped in for attack
and bombed their encampment. The German
soldiers came to refer to these terrors of the night as
Nachthexen, or Night Witches for their resemblance to the swift movement of a witchs broom.
Unbeknownst to the German soldiers, these Night
Witches were members of the Soviet 588th all-female
regiment of night bombers. Their planes were better
equipped for crop dusting than combat, but their
agility and bravery in maneuvering these small,
unimpressive planes was a lethal weapon in the fight
against Germany.
Soviet Secret Weapon

In the time surrounding the outbreak of the war,
LEFT Soviet squadron of only female pilots, World War
2. From left to right: Squadron Navigator Yekatrina
(Katya) Ryabova, Flight Commander Raisa Yushchina,
Navigator Mira Paromova, Squadron Commanders
Nadezhda (Nadya) Popova and Marina Chechneva,
Eastern Pomerania, 1945.
there were growing numbers of women studying and

practicing aviation in the Soviet Union. These
aviatrixes were eager to use their skill to defend their
country, but women were initially barred from fighting
in the war.
Operation Barbossa changed that. When Germany
invaded Russia in 1941, Russian leader Josef Stalin was
desperate to retaliate with full force. The German army
was a mere 19 miles from Moscow and had already
taken Leningrand under siege and captured 3 million
Russian prisoners. Marina Raskova, a woman skilled in
aviation and persuasion, showed Stalin that he was
overlooking a powerful weapon lying at his fingertips:
the female pilots who were ready and willing to fight.
Ready to strengthen his revenge and defense against
Germany, Stalin took Raskovas advice. He
commissioned Raskova to assemble the first of three
regiments of female pilots and prepare them for
combat. This was the initiation of the 586th, 587th
and 588th female regiments in the Soviet Air Force.
The 588th regiment was the group of stealthy night
bombers nicknamed the Night Witches. An entirely
female unit from the mechanics and engineers to the
navigators and pilots, these young women were mainly
between the ages of 16 and 17. While other countries,
including the United States, allowed women to fly in
their air force in supportive or transport tasks, this
group of women was unique because they fought in
combat and primarily worked on bombing missions.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
The 588th
Regiment of the
Soviet Air Force,
nicknamed Night
Witches
DATES ACTIVE:
June 1942- May

1945
AREAS ACTIVE:
Eastern Europe
FAMOUS FOR:
Gliding toward their

target silently on
night bombing
missions.
CLAIM TO FAME:
This first female

combat unit in the
Soviet Union
Military carried out
stealthy night
bombing missions
on German camps.
RAIDERS OF THE WORLD | 1 0 1 |
1942-1945
Night
Witches
the
The 588th regiment began training in a small town

called Engels a little north of Stalingrad and eventually
flew their first mission on June 8, 1942 targeting the
headquarters of a German division. They succeeded in
their objective, but only two of the three planes
returned. This was the first of about 30,000 difficult
missions this regiment executed.
Primitive Planes
These women made the most of their less-thanstellar equipment. They flew Polikarpov, or Po-2,
biplanesmade out of canvas and plywood
originally designed in 1928 for crop dusting. The
planes' simplicity posed many tactical challenges. The
model did not include radios or radar, and its
maximum speed was slower even than most World
War I fighter planes. Because the planes were made of
canvas and wood, they were also incredibly fragile
under fire. Nadia Popova, one of the regiments pilots,
reported that she returned from a mission and
counted 42 bullet holes on her planes exterior.
The small size also meant it could only carry the
weight of two people and two bombs at a time. This
required pilots to go on several missions, sometimes
up to 18 in one night, in order to reach all of their
targets. The planes limited capacity and the weight of
the bombs also forced them to fly at low altitudes and
forgo carrying parachutes.
Their open-air cockpits also proved incredibly cold
on the night missions, especially during the bonechilling Eastern European winters, as Popova recalled
in an interview, "In winter, when you'd look out to see
ABOVE A Polikarpov
Po-2, similar to the

aircraft operated by
the Night Witches.
BELOW In 1938, the
year before Soviet
involvement in World
War II, Polina
Osipenko, Valentina
Grizodubova and
Marina Raskova pose
for a photo right
before their flight that
set the world record
for a non-stop flight by
women. They flew
from Moscow to
Komsomolsk-on-Amur,
the southeastern tip of
Siberia. Raskova went
on to found female
combat units, including
the Night Witches, in
World War II.
I can still imagine

myself as a young girl,
up there in my little
bomber. And I ask
myself, Nadia, how did
you do it?
Nadia Popova
your target better, you got frostbite, our feet froze in

our boots, but we carried on flying."
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the
regiment excelled in overcoming and even using the
planes design to their advantage. In lieu of radio and
radar, they used maps and stopwatches to navigate
toward their targets. Although the model was slow
and highly flammable, it was agile, and the witches
were skilled at maneuvering their way out of danger.
Writer Garth Ennis created a three-part comic book

miniseries called Battlefields:The Night Witches.
The novel Last Cotadel by David L. Robbins includes
a character, Katya Berkovna, who fights with the Night
Witches during the Battle of Kursk.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
NIGHT WITCHES IN POP

CULTURE
Sabaton, a Swedish heavy metal band known for
writing songs about battles or wars in history have a
song entitled Night Witches on their 2014 album
Heroes.
FROM TOP:
Some of the primitive characteristics of the Po-2

proved to be tactical advantages for the regiment and
helped them fly incognito among German planes.
First, the unreflective canvas material helped the
planes fly unnoticed by German radar. They also flew
very low to the ground, sometimes low enough to
hide among foliage, which made it difficult for
Underdog Combat Tactics

AFP/GETTY IMAGES;
FROM TOP;
German fighters to locate and reach them. Their tiny

engines did not even emit enough heat for planes with
infrared heat detectors to pick up on their presence.
The witches (they took ownership of the German
nickname as an honor) also used the planes slow
speed to their advantage in evading the German Bf109
planes chasing them down. The Po-2s maximum
speed was 94 MPH, which was slower than the stall
(lowest possible) speed of the German plane, 120
MPH. When a German Bf109 was on their tail, the
Night Witches made a quick tight turn at a speed
slower than the German plane was capable of going,
causing the German planes to zoom right past them.
The Bf109 would swing around in a wide circle to
catch up with them again, but the witches repeated
the same tactic, continually flying just out of the reach
of the German plane. This aviation game of cat-andmouse would frustrate the German fighters until they
would often give up and fly away.
The 588th regiment had another clever tactic to
dodge German searchlights at Stalingrad. The Night
Witches would fly in groups of three. First, two planes
would fly into the spotlights, and then sharply
separate in two different directions, weaving, diving
and flying unpredictably, while the third pilot would
fly to their target unattended by German spotlights
and fighter planes. The third pilot would return to the
TOP Undated picture
of members of the
125th Guards Bomber
Regiment commanded
by Marina Raskova,
the aviator who initially
formed the 588th
Regiment, or Night
Witches.
ABOVE The Night
Witches receiving
orders for an
upcoming raid,
Byelorussian front,
World War II, 1944.
other two planes and trade places, allowing the other

planes to attack their targets. Then, all three would
depart from the area. This was an effective tacticbut
a terrifying one in which each plane would have to
play the risky role of decoy during the night.
Ultimately, this regiment was effective and active
until the end of the war, at which point it became the
most highly decorated female regiment in the Soviet
Air Force. At its largest, the regiment had 80 members
(40 two-person crews), and each pilot flew at least 800
missions during the war, as a group dropping a total
of 23,000 tons of bombs. Twenty-three members
received the title of Hero of The Soviet Union, and 30
of its members were lost in combat.
Decades after the bitterly cold nights under
German attack, pilot Nadia Popova reminisced, I
sometimes stare into the blackness and close my eyes.
I can still imagine myself as a young girl, up there in
my little bomber. And I ask myself, Nadia, how did
you do it? R
THE FEMININE TOUCH IN WAR

As one of the only countries that permitted women to fight in combat, the unit of Night
Witches was sometimes met with doubt or surprise among the rest of the Russian
military. One Russian general initially complained when he received this unit under his
command about being sent a bunch of girlies rather than soldiers. However, these
women were dedicated and successful and quickly earned the respect of the army.
Although they donned baggy male uniforms, these women brought a feminine touch
to their combative role in the war. They were known to decorate their planes with
flowers and use their navigation pencils to color their lips. One pilot, Lydia Litvyak,
known as the White Rose of Stalingrad, is rumored to have kept fresh flowers in her
cockpit and used to steal peroxide to bleach her hair. These women were dedicated,
successful fighters and were also quite resourceful in finding double uses for their
tools and equipment.
W i t c h e s
The Germans spread

stories that we were
given special injections
and pills which gave us a
felines perfect vision at
night.Nadia Popova
N i g h t
The Night Witches

were not the only
brave women in the
Soviet Armed Forces.
In total 800,000 women
served in the Soviet
Armed Forces during World
War II. In addition to pilots, women served
as snipers, machine gunners and tank crew
members, as well as in auxiliary roles.
t h e
Did
You
w
Kno
Raiders14-104-107-PanchoVilla.PS3.JN 10/24/14 3:12 AM Page 104
Photograph of Pancho Villa

(c. 1911)
My sole ambition is to rid

Mexico of the class that has
oppressed her and give the people
a chance to know what real
liberty means. And if I could bring
that about today by giving up
my life, I would do it gladly.
Pancho Villa
Villa
THIS RENEGADE GENERAL PLAYED AN INTEGRAL ROLE IN THE
MEXICAN REVOLUTION.
BY Nathan Lee Adamus
utlaw, governor, rebel, prison

escapee and hero of the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa
led an action-packed career as a
raider and revolutionary across
the northern states of Mexico.
Bandito Beginnings
Pancho Villa was born Jos Doroteo Arango
Armbula to poor peasants Agustn Arango and
Micaela Armbula in 1878. He grew up in a hacienda
located in San Juan del Ro in the Mexican state of
Durango. Pancho, the oldest of five children, became
the man of the house after his father died. He briefly
attended school but later quit to raise money for his
family. He was surrounded by crime and poverty and

vowed to do whatever it took to keep his family afloat.
Although historians question the validity of the
story, legend has it that Villa left Durango at 16 but
later returned to track down a hacienda owner who
was accused of raping his sister. He killed the man,
stole a horse and rode off into the sunset where he
roamed the hills as the bandit Arango. Later he
joined an outlaw band led by Ignacio Parra, one of the
most infamous Durango gangsters of the time.
Not much is known about Villa prior to a mule
jacking and assault charge in 1902. He faced the death
sentence for his crimes, but his relationship with a
powerful local leader saved his life. Instead of facing
execution, the court forced him to join the army.
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Jos Doroteo
Arango Armbula
renamed himself
Pancho Villa and
was also known as
La Cucaracha.
DATES ACTIVE:
1894-1920
AREAS ACTIVE:
Northern states of
Mexico and New
Mexico
CLAIM TO FAME:
MEXICAN REVOLUTION QUICK FACTS

1910-1920
ORIGINAL CAUSE: Dictator Porfirio Daz increased economic growth, but this mainly made rich landowners richer
while the landless underclasses were exploited. Francisco Madero, joined by Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata,
launched a revolution against Daz.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
KEY POLITICAL FIGURES:
Porfirio Daz Dictator the revolutionaries sought to overthrow.

Francisco Madero Ran against Daz in a 1910 election for Mexicos presidency, which turned out to be rigged in
Daz favor. Madero then led the opposition and launched attacks on the Daz-controlled Mexican federal army. He
succeeded in ousting Daz and had a short-lived tenure as president.
General Victoriano Huerta This commander of the Mexican federal army opposed Madero as president and
with support from Mexican and US politicians, he was installed as Mexicos president in 1913 after
Maderos assasination.
Venustiano Carranza Carranza took over after Huerta, but Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were not fans of his
leadership and continued the revolution to fight him.
Besides being a
Robin Hood-type
bandit in his early
life, Villa is most
celebrated and
remembered for
his role as an
integral leader in
the Mexican
Revolution.
1894-1920
Pancho
In 1910, Villa met Abraham Gonzlez, a local

representative for politician Francisco Madero who
was an extreme opponent of dictator Porfirio Daz.
Gonzlez told Villa that his sharp outlaw skills were
wasted on frivolous crimes, and he convinced
Villa to join the fight against Daz and wealthy
hacienda owners.
Villa became a major piece of the Mexican
Revolution and succeeded in driving the dictator
Daz into exile. Madero took over the presidency and
saved Villa from execution. General Victoriano
Huerta accused Villa of insubordination and had
Villa scheduled for execution. Madero saved Villas
life by converting the sentence to jail time instead. Of
course, Villa escaped.
Maderos presidency was cut violently short when
he was assassinated. General Huerta proclaimed
himself Mexicos provisional president. Villa then
joined forces with Venustiano Carranza to take the
Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa is not a common figure in American
popular culture, but he remains one of the biggest
folk heroes in Mexico. He appeared as himself in
several films between 1912 and 1916 and the
character of Pancho Villa shows up frequently in
television and film. In 2003 Antonio Banderas
played him in the HBO original film And Starring
Pancho Villa as Himself, which focuses on the
filming of The Life of General Villa in 1914.
Even though his tactics were often cruel and
unusual, Villas character has reached mythical
proportions and he is often described as a
modern-day Robin Hood in Mexican folklore.
Actor Damian Alcazar plays General Rodolfo
Fierro in the film And Starring Pancho Villa as
Himself (2003).
PAINTING DEPICTING PANCHO VILLAS TAKING OF ZACATECAS, THE LARGEST BATTLE OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, BY NGEL BOLIVER.;
Outlaw-turned
Revolutionary
I am not
an educated
man.
I never
had an
opportunity
to learn
anything
except how
to fight.
usurper Huerta down.

During the second part of the Mexican Revolution,
Madero was assassinated and Huerta proclaimed
himself Mexicos provisional president. A number of
governors and military leaders sought to overthrow
Huerta, and Villa aligned himself with revolutionary
leader Venustiano Carranza who was elected
Governor of Coahuila in 1911.
In 1913, local military officials elected Villa the
provisional governor of Chihuahua. His reign only
lasted a year, but he succeeded in recruiting a number
of successful military leaders to protect the region and
formed deals with Hollywood that helped fund the
Mexican Revolution.
Although Villa was monumental in Carranzas rise
to power, his unorthodox methods of torture and
fear caused quite a few problems. By 1914, the already
sour relationship between Villa and Carranza was
strained. After ignoring Carranzas orders to leave the
FROM TOP:
He later deserted and surfaced in Chihuahua where

he killed an army officer and took his horse.
In an effort to remain hidden, Villa changed his
bandit name from Arango to Francisco Pancho
Villa. His friendswho clearly thought very highly of
himsimply called him La Cucaracha, which means
the cockroach. And no, the well-known folk song
was not written in his honor, although the outlaw
may have inspired several Mexican Revolution
versions of the famous song.
From 1903 to the start of the Mexican Revolution
in 1910, Villa operated as a Mexican Jesse James or
even Robin Hood, robbing banks and raiding the
homes of those he deemed unnecessarily wealthy.
PHOTO BY SUSANA GONZALEZ/GETTY IMAGES
Battle of Zacatecas
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
In June 1914, Villa led the bloodiest battle of the

Mexican Revolutionuphill and against orders.
Carranza sent word to Villa to divert his troops south
instead of north. This made little sense strategically,
and Villa resolved to obey the orders and then resign.
At the urging of his advising officers, however,
Villa reconsidered and decided to instead capture the
strategic city of Zacatecas. The mountainous city was
a major source of silver, and Huertas federal troops
were posted at the mountains peak. Villa and
his men won the uphill battle in a costly but
decisive victory.
Guerrilla Attack in New

Mexico
On March 9, 1916, Villa decided to retaliate against
the US, sending 100 guerrillas to attack Columbus,
New Mexico. Although some historians site revenge
as his motivating factor, others believe that Villa was
in serious need of supplies as his ongoing battle with
Carranza had left his army depleted. In response to

the raid, Woodrow Wilson sent 5,000 Army soldiers
to pursue Villa through Mexico. The search never
produced Villa, but the US pressure was enough to
severely reduce his influence in Mexico.
After a series of lost battles with Carranzas forces,
Villa met with interim president Adolfo de la Huerta
in 1920 and agreed to peacefully retire. In exchange
for the gesture, he was given a pension and a 25,000acre hacienda in Canutillo, Chihuahua.
On July 20, 1923, Pancho was assassinated during a
visit to Parral. Although he usually traveled with an
entourage of bodyguards, Villa chose to venture into
town with only a few companions. On his drive
through the city, a street vendor ran after his car and
signaled to a group of seven riflemen who fired more
than 40 shots into his 1919 Dodge roadster. Villa and
two of his bodyguards were killed. A third bodyguard
was badly wounded but survived and managed to kill
one of the assassins before escaping.
Leadership Attributes
Despite Villas spotted reputation and violent
methodology, he was an incredible leader. Although
he was uneducated at the onset of the Mexican
Revolution, Villa took advantage of his imprisonment
under Huerta and learned to read and write. He was
already an intimidating presence and the boost in
education made him a formidable mental opponent
as well.
Villa became a powerful motivational speaker and
fundraiser. He was quite skilled at recruiting soldiers,
politicians and influential leaders, and his slick
tongue and charm may have single-handedly
prevented war between the US and Mexico during
the Tampico Affair.
Even though his tactics often relied on intimidation,
Villas military strategies became a blueprint for future
political revolutions and guerrilla warfare. R
Mexican journalist
Martn Luis Guzmn
reported that Fierro
once captured
somewhere between
200 and 300
soldiers and gave
them the option to
either join Villas army
or try to escape by
running across a field
and climbing a wall
to freedom. Those
who didnt join the
army were set free in
groups of ten while
Fierro fired pistols at
them as they ran.
Only one prisoner
escaped during his
two-hour killing spree.
Another story claims
that Fierro got in an
argument with a man
over whether a person
who was shot while
standing would fall
forward or backward.
Fierro was insistent
that you would fall
forward and became
so enraged that he
shot the man and
watched him fall
forward just to prove
his theory.
ABOVE Villa (center)
and his men. His forces

were called the Divisin
del Norte, which
reached about 50,000
men at its height.
V i l l a
city of Zacatecas alone, Villa decided to attack

anyway. The battle was a huge victory that marked
the end of Huertas regime, but Carranza was still less
than pleased and refused to allow Villa to enter
Mexico City upon his return.
Villa also felt that Carranza was disguising his true
intentions and that once he became president, he
would assume the role of a dictator. Villas instincts
were right, and Carranza ignored the rules set forth
by the National Convention. Carranza was
immediately removed from office, and Villa joined
forces with revolutionary general Emiliano Zapata.
The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, and the
United States eventually sided with Carranza, likely
due to Villas controversial military tactics and the
assumption that Carranzas ideology was the quickest
route to a stable Mexican government.
All the best

desperados have a
repulsive sidekick,
and Villas right-hand
man was built for the
role. During the height
of Villas tenure, he
aligned himself with a
psychotic hitman
named Rodolfo
Fierro. Villa was not
shy about doing most
of his own dirty work,
but he regularly relied
on Fierro to carry out
executions, raids and
assassinations.
Nicknamed El
Carnicero or The
Butcher, Fierro was a
reckless hothead who
enjoyed his liquor.
P a n c h o
VILLAS EVIL
SIDEKICK
Raiders14-108-111-EmilianoZapata.PS.qxp 10/24/14 3:15 AM Page 108
Raiders14-108-111-EmilianoZapata.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:29 PM Page 109
Zapata
A PEASANT WHO FOUGHT FOR LAND REFORMS BECAME AN IMPORTANT LEADER

AND NATIONAL HERO DURING THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION.
BY Jenna Handley
LEFT: PHOTO BY TOPICAL PRESS AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES;
RIGHT; PHOTO BY MATIAS RECART/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
icknamed The Attila of the

South, Zapata worked alongside
Pancho Villa for the cause of freedom for the landless peasants in
the Mexican Revolution. His
slogan, Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty), still
reverberates today and has secured him a place as
one of Mexicos national heroes.
Lasting Legacy
It is better to die on
your feet, than to
live a lifetime on
your knees.
Emiliano Zapata
NAME:
Emiliano Zapata
DATES ACTIVE:
1909-1919
AREAS ACTIVE:
Mexico, mainly
southern states
Zapata and the Revolution
CLAIM TO FAME:
Prior to the revolution, Zapata lived in the small

town of Anenecuilco in Morelos, where he was elected
mayor at the age of 30. This role marked the
beginning of his political participation and efforts to
protect the land rights of the poor, which were quickly
becoming nonexistent.
The landowning hacendados were putting
increased pressure on the peasants by monopolizing
the land and water resources in the small village.
Zapata was elected to represent the farmers rights to
the land in 1909, which landed him on the
government blacklist. Zapatas efforts had little effect,
so when the Morelos governor refused to do anything
to help the peasants, he gathered his fellow farmers to
take back the land by force.
In 1910 Francisco Madero, a previous candidate
for president, called for revolution in Mexico and
announced a plan to declare the 1910 elections void
because the current president, Porfirio Daz, had won
the elections through fraudulent means. Madero
would become the provisional president until fair
elections could be held.
Zapata decided to join his forces because he
A leader in the
peasant rebellion
in Morelos and in
the Mexican
Revolution, he
effectively removed
Porfirio Daz from
the presidency and
made way for
popular
revolutionary
organizations.
LEFT A mural in
Mexico City depicting
Zapata with a flag that
proclaims LAND.
1909-1919
Emiliano
I forgive
those who
murder and
steal because
they did it out
of necessity,
but a traitor
never.
Emiliano Zapata
believed that Madero offered the best chance for

change, which would encourage land reform. Zapata
gathered his men for Maderos campaign against Daz,
thus beginning his almost 10-year involvement in the
revolution.
He and other peasant leaders formed the Liberation
Army of the South, but it wasnt long before Zapata
became the undisputed leader of the group. They were
not alone in forming peasant armies, however. As
Zapata raised an army in the south of Mexico, other
revolutionaries were doing the same thing around the
country. In the north Pancho Villa and Pascual
Orozco gathered large armies to fight back as well.
The three men quickly became central leaders in the
revolt.
In a devastating battle against the federal army
Zapata captured Cuautla in 1911, which effectively
brought an end to Dazs regime. Following this
revolutionary change, Zapata continued his role in the
revolution for eight years until his untimely death at
the hands of his once-collaborator, Venustiano
Carranza. Today he is remembered as a visionary who,
although he did not live to see any true results, fought
for his countrymen.
Zapatas Tactics
Zapata was known for his diverse army and his
guerrilla tactics. The Zapatista forces were not formed
into one centralized, disciplined army. Instead, they
were a loose, scattered assembly of armed bands.
Many of the peasant soldiers continued to work on
their farms during the revolution, but they were
always prepared for a fight. The men would tend to
their crops as normal, but with rifles strapped to their
backs, ready to leave at a moments notice.
Due to their unstructured setup, the army preferred
guerrilla warfare as opposed to facing the federal army
in battle. To avoid battle, they would fight back by
raiding federal forces throughout Mexico and cutting
off supplies. When the army was forced to face battle,
Zapata relied on swift cavalry charges in order to get his
men close to the enemy as fast as possible, before they
were shot down by machine guns, and they would then
employ hand-to-hand combat with knives and guns,
sometimes shooting the enemy at point-blank range.
Zapatista Weaponry
TOP Statue of Emiliano Zapata in his hometown of

Cuautla, Morelos, in his home state where he led a
successful raid against federal troops.
LEFT Zapata pictured with his gun, sword and bullets
strapped to his chest.
Much like the army itself, the soldiers weapons were

a mix of whatever they could get their hands on. There
was no official weapon that every man carried, although
they did rely heavily on rifles. Many of their weapons
were stolen during their raids of federal troops.
The Battle of Cuautla

In 1911, Zapata and his army faced down federal
forces during the Battle of Cuautla in the state of
Morelos. This battle, described as "six of the most
terrible days of battle in the whole Revolution," was
different from any that the peasant bands faced
before. In order to prepare, Zapata conducted raids in
Mexico to obtain more soldiers and supplies. His
4,000 men then arrived in Cuautla and faced an elite
force of 400 federal soldiers.
Although this Golden Fifth regime was highly
experienced and undefeated, they were greatly
outnumbered. Zapatas soldiers surrounded the
town, cut off their communication and set fire to
bunkers and empty aqueducts. The two sides
eventually fought hand-to-hand with machetes and
bayonets. Before long, the federal troops ran out of
ammunition and exhausted themselves. The federal
troops retreated and Zapata took over the town. This
battle led to Porfirio Daz resigning as president.
FROM TOP:
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;
Trouble for the Big Four

The Big Four was a group of Revolution
leadersPancho Villa, Alvaro Obregn, Venustiano
Carranza and Emiliano Zapatawho joined together
to stop Victoriano Huerta, a violent man who was
responsible for numerous atrocities in southern
Mexico while attempting to quell the rebellion.
They were successful, but before long the four
began fighting among themselves. Obregn sided
with Carranza, who had declared himself the leader
of Mexico, while Zapata sided with Villa. In 1916
Carranza ordered his ruthless general, Pablo
Gonzlez, to get rid of Zapata once and for all.
Zapata began guerilla warfare against the
Carrancistas, but they turned around and invaded
Morelos, which caused great damage to Zapatas
home state. Zapata was able to reclaim the territory
and escape Gonzlez for a few years, but in 1919
Gonzlezs officer, who pretended to be on Zapatas
side, ambushed and killed him.

Zapatas supporters refused to believe that he had
actually died, and many claimed that he was hiding
out in the nearby mountains. This was not true, and
with Zapatas death came the fall of the Liberation
Army of the South.
Zapata might not have been alive to see the end of
the revolution, but his legacy lived on. Although
Mexico has yet to implement the extent of land
reforms he called for over a century ago, he remains a
national hero as well as an inspiration. R
EMILIANO ZAPATA IN
POP CULTURE
Zapata has been depicted in various forms of pop
culture since his death. Most notable was Marlon
Brandos portrayal of him in the 1952 movie Viva
Zapata! written by John Steinbeck. This movie is a
fictionalized story of Zapatas life, from his early work
to his death. In addition to this, the band Rage Against
the Machine referenced Zapata in their song Calm
like a Bomb. Like other revolutionaries, his face often
appears on clothing items for young adults.
There have been controversies over Zapatas role in
the pastsome people claimed he and his followers
were bandits more than they were revolutionaries
because of their steal from the rich, give to the poor
tendencies, but in the modern day he is widely
considered to be one of the greatest national heroes
of Mexico. It is common to see streets, developments
and towns called Emiliano Zapata.
Marlon Brando, as Emiliano Zapata, talking to the

movies director.
It was customary
among the
revolutionary armies
to bring women
around with them to
be in charge of
securing food and
cooking, but the
women in Zapatas
army had a different
experience. Zapata
actually recruited
them to fight
alongside the men.
Some of these
female soldiers,
known as soldaderas,
were even officers.
Although they rarely
get the credit they
deserve, these
women played a vital
role in the revolution.
Many Mexican
feminists look at the
soldaderas as a
crucial milestone for
womens rights.
Between 1914 and
1916, Zapata and his
followers lived
according to their own
laws and governed
themselves without
bureaucratic
intervention. They
increased the
agricultural output,
and each village
decided what land
would be communal
and what would be
individual property.
Their short-lived
community was a
major success and
one of the most
workable societies
from Latin America.
A guerrilla group
named in the
revolutionarys honor,
The Zapatista Army of
National Liberation,
emerged in 1983 and
provoked the 1994
indigenous uprising in
Chiapas.
Z a p a t a
Emiliano Zapata
(right) and
Pancho Villa (left)
sitting with a
group of soldiers.
E m i l i a n o
Did
You
w
Kno
Raiders14-112-EmpireEroders-BC.JN 10/24/14 3:18 AM Page 112
mpire
Eroders
HANNIBAL CROSSING THE ALPS ON AN ELEPHANT BY NICOLAS POUSSIN (C. 1625)
Building an empire usually

doesnt happen without
tearing another down. But
these men are mostly
remembered for their
daring in squaring off
against massive empires
and bringing their mighty
foes to their knees.
Find
Out
WHO BROKE THE BACK OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE?

HOW 200 SOLDIERS TOOK DOWN THE INCA EMPIRE.
Raiders14-113-117-HannibalScipio.PS.JN 10/24/14 3:23 AM Page 113
WHEN GREATNESS COLLIDES.
BY Andrew M. Luther
ruly great conquerors are a rare

breed. But even more rare are two
such indomitable men on the world
stage at the same timemuch less in
direct competition. This is the epic
story of one such occurrence.
Hannibal
Hannibal was born in the city of Carthage in 247
BC to a noble family. His father, Hamilcar Barca, was a
renowned general in the Carthaginian army, having
been credited with saving it from annihilation while
waging a guerrilla war against the Romans in Sicily
during the First Punic War.
Growing up in Carthage, Hannibal was raised with
a strong hatred of Rome. Following a series of brutal
defeats in the First Punic War, Carthage had been
forced to withdraw all of its forces from the island of
Sicily, a center of ancient world commerce and trade,
as well as to pay a humiliating war indemnity before a
shaky peace was established in 241 BC.
Following his defeat at the hands of the Romans,
Hamilcar immediately began a campaign to
strengthen Carthage and its ailing economy. Against
the will of many within the Carthaginian government,
who were happy to simply pay tribute and remain in
power, in 238 BC, Hamilcar and two sons, Hannibal
and Hasdrubal, set sail from the Pillars of Hercules
and crossed into the Iberian Peninsula.
Hamilcars goals with conquering Iberia were

twofold. In addition to providing many natural
resources to fill the sorely lacking coffers of the
Carthaginian government, Hamilcar envisioned it as a
potential springboard for a later war of revenge
against the hated Romans.
Hamilcars conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was
not without issue. Many violent and dangerous tribes
native to the areas harassed him nearly every step of
the way. Because of a lack of any central government,
this required him to conquer each city individually
while simultaneously maintaining control of the ones
he already had.
The fighting was dangerous, and the political
situation tenuous at bestfacts that would cost
Hamilcar his life in battle.
Hannibal Takes Command

Following the deaths of Hamilcar and Hasdrubal,
an election among the senior officers was held.
Though at 29 he was quite young, Hannibal had
already so impressed the other officers that he was
Lasting Legacy
NAMES:
Hannibal; Publius
Cornelius Scipio
Africanus, aka
Scipio
DATES ACTIVE:
221-182 BC; 218185 BC

AREAS ACTIVE:
Western Europe
and North Africa
CLAIM TO FAME:
Hannibal showed
the world Rome
could be
threatened, while
Scipio held the
threat at bay for an
ungrateful Rome,
which lived to die
another day.
I will either find a

way, or make one.
Hannibal
221-182 BC; 218-185 BC
Hannibal
and Scipio
of the Carthaginians. Hannibal was once again at the

head of a force capable of taking on Rome.
The Roman Routs

The first two major battles of the war on Roman
soil were nothing short of disasters for the Romans. In
the first, the Battle of Trebia, Hannibal used his
Numidian cavalry to taunt the exhausted Romans
into a trap in which as many as 20,000 perished due to
frostbite and combat, while he lost only 5,000 men.
At the second battle, the Battle of Lake Trasimene,
Hannibal led the Romans into what has been called
the greatest ambush in military history. Hiding the
bulk of his forces in the woods along the battlefield,
Hannibal once again taunted the Romans into
attacking his front. When the Romans had advanced
all the way, the Carthaginians and their allies emerged
from the forest to assault the Roman flank. In the
confusion that followed, Hannibals forces massacred
God has given to man

no sharper spur to
victory than contempt
of death.
RIGHT Depiction of
Hannibal from Danish
Photos For School
And Home (1896).
LIVY
Much of what we know
about the Punic Wars
or Rome and Carthage
in generalcomes to
us from the works of
the famous Roman
historian Livy. Though
not even yet alive at
the time of the conflict,
Livys composition of
now lost works of other
Roman historians have
proven an invaluable
tool for recording
locations, casualty
counts and the
aftermath of many of
Romes most famous
battles.
a further 30,000 Roman troops.

The results of these two resounding defeats put the
Romans in a state of near panicnever had the
Roman heartland been so threatened by an outside
force before. As was the custom when such a threat
emerged, the Romans elected a single dictator, Fabius.
Rather than seek a decisive engagement, Fabius
sought to harass the invaders through guerrilla
warfare. However, this tactic was unpopular with
many, as it did not lead to a decisive end to the conflict.
Seeking a more aggressive strategy, Rome deposed
Fabius in favor of new leaders and new strategiesand
unwittingly caused what is likely the deadliest day in
the history of war.
Attempting to crush once and for all the
Carthaginian incursion, the Roman consuls elected
Paullus and Varro to replace Fabius. The newly-elected
consuls raised the largest army Rome had ever fielded.
Rejecting the popular theory of the time, which
called for the strongest troops to be placed in the
center, Hannibal instead placed his weakest, creating
an irresistible target for the Roman forces. As the
Roman forces advanced deeper into the Carthaginian
lines, the powerful right and left flanks of the
Carthaginians closed around them. Enveloping them
on all sides, the Carthaginians cut down the Romans
nearly to a man. The result was nearly 80,000
Romans dead in the span of a day.
PHOTO BY DEA / G. NIMATALLAH/DE AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES;
Cornelius Scipio
Africanus
selected for chief command of the army. Upon his

selection, Hannibal immediately began putting his
fathers plans into motion. After spending two years
consolidating his position and putting down several
rebellions, Hannibal prepared to cross the Alps.
The crossing of the Alps is widely regarded as one of
the most impressive military feats in ancient history.
The steep, soaring peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees
mountains offered few easy or safe passes with which
to lead his army of approximately 40,000 infantry,
12,000 cavalry and 37 war elephants. The crossing was
made all the more difficult by the frigid subzero
temperatures found at their higher altitudes, as well as
constant harassment of his forces by native tribes
conducting a guerrilla defense. Though Hannibal
eventually made it through the Alps, the losses were
terriblehe may have entered with as many as 60,000
men, but he emerged on the other side with no more
than 30,000 starving and exhausted soldiers.
In spite of this, Hannibal immediately went on the
offensive. At the Battle of Ticinushis first on Italian
soilthough heavily outnumbered, Hannibal and his
troops routed the Roman force sent to confront him
and led by Scipios father. This loss had far-reaching
consequences for the Romans. Having seen them
humiliated at the hands of the Carthaginians, and
having been treated quite poorly by the Romans, the
Gauls and many others in the area rallied to the side
FROM LEFT:
ABOVE Bust of Publius
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Hannibal
H a n n i b a l
a n d
S c i p i o
In spite of his resounding successes, Hannibal

remained unsure of his ability to take Rome directly.
With Rome rejecting all peace accords, over the next
five years, Hannibal set about ravaging the Roman
countryside, attempting to bring more allies to his
side for a direct assault on Rome.
Scipio, Son of Scipio

Rome was left at a loss as to what to do. Having
served bravely at earlier battles against the Romans
including saving his father, Publius Cornelius Scipio,
from near certain death at the Battle of Ticinus
Scipio Africanus heard of plans to surrender Rome to
Hannibal. Storming into the meeting, Scipio forced all
present to swear at sword point to never let it fall.
Seizing office, Scipio volunteered himself for the
command of the entire Roman forces. Others saw the
position as a death sentence, so he quickly had his way.
Scipio sought a different strategy than other
Roman commanders and took the war to the
Carthaginians. With Hannibal preoccupied with both
his conquest of Italy and rebellions at home, Scipio
invaded the Carthaginian positions in Iberia. After
scoring several resounding successesincluding his
most brilliant at the Battle of IllipaScipio arrested
It is the
part of a
fool to
say, I
should
not have
thought.
Scipio
BELOW Battle of
Zama by Cornelius
Cort (1533-1578)
BOTTOM Hannibal
Barca at the battle of
Cannae (216 BC) by
Heinrich Leutemann
(1824-1905)
control of Iberia from the Carthaginians. With Iberia

now firmly under Roman control, Scipio now sought
his ultimate goalan invasion of Carthage itself.
The Invasion of Africa

Following his successes in Iberia, Scipio returned to
Rome to great accolades, being elected unanimously
to Consul at the age of only 31. His successes,
however, did not translate into wide support for a
risky invasion of the African homeland.
Undeterred, Scipio pressed on with what he was
allowed and sailed for Sicily. Using Sicily as a training
ground, Scipio pulled together a well-disciplined
force. In spite of widespread opposition in the
senatemost notably from Fabius himselfScipio
was eventually granted permission to sail for Africa.
In 204 BC, he did just that. Landing near Utica,
Scipio was forced into a defensive position by the
Numidians. In one brilliant action, achieved by stealth
and surprise, Scipio routed the Numidian camp. The
resulting casualties (as many as 40,000 dead) led
Hannibals most trusted allies and best horsemen to
withdraw from the war. The Carthaginians were alone.
With Scipio now at the gates of Carthage, Hannibal
was ordered to return to its defense. Several attempts
were made at negotiations that might end the war in a
more peaceable manner. However, in spite of what
had developed into a mutual respect, even when
sitting face to face, Hannibal and Scipio were unable
to reach an agreement. The stage was set for their final
showdown.
The two great men finally met on the fields of
Zama. In a complete reversal of earlier successes,
Hannibal was tricked. Knowing now of Hannibals
tactic of using elephant charges to open holes that
could then be exploited, Scipio created designated
lanes among his formations. This way, when the
elephants charged, the lanes would simply open,
allowing them to pass through without causing any
harm. Once Hannibal attempted to press his
advantage behind the charging elephants, in a
complete reversal of roles, Scipio used his cavalry
stationed on the flanks to envelop the Romans, taking
the day with minimal casualties. The final battle of the
Second Punic War ended with Scipio victorious.
Following the battle, the Carthaginians asked for an

end to the war. Dictating unusually lenient terms,
Scipio not only allowed the city to remain standing,
but allowed Hannibal a position as one of its leading
statesmen. Both men remained incredibly respectful
of each other for the rest of their lives.
Scipio returned to Rome to great accolades.
However, following his retirement, for what were
likely political reasons, many in the senate turned
against him, accusing him of bribery, theft and even
treason for his generous behavior toward Hannibal.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Honor and Aftermath
H a n n i b a l
a n d
FROM TOP;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (2); THINKSTOCK
Scipio
He soon left politics altogether and retired to his
family estate far from Rome, requesting specifically he
never be buried near the ungrateful city.
Hannibal proved himself to be as brilliant a
politician as he was a battlefield tactician. In spite of
the punishing taxes levied on Carthagecreated to
make sure they could never again stand against the
might of Romewhen elected to the position of chief
magistrate, Hannibal made Carthage once again a
prosperous state.
Alarmed by Carthages rebound, led by the spiteful
Cato, Rome demanded Hannibal surrender.
Hannibal instead entered voluntary exile, acting as a
military advisor to other nations fighting Rome. After
being involved in numerous battles against the
Romans, he was finally betrayed to the Romans by
Prusias I in Libyssa (in modern-day Turkey). Rather
than fall into the hands of his hated enemy, Hannibal
instead took poison. It was rumored he had always
carried the poison with him, concealed in a family
ring, in case of such an eventuality.
Both men died around 182 BC. To this day,
militaries around the world study their stratagems
and methods. It is small wonder. In spite of sometimes
astounding odds, Scipio never lost a battle; Hannibal
never lost but to Scipio. R
ABOVE A stone
named after Hannibal

in the French Alps nod
to his costly and
arduous journey across
the Alps with army,
horses and elephants
in tow.
LEFT Hannibal's
Carthiginian war
elephants attack
Scipio's Roman troops
at the Battle of Zama.
Drawing by Henri-Paul
Cotte.
BELOW Ruins of
Carthage in presentday Tunisia.
THE FABIAN
STRATEGY
The Fabian Strategy
has been used to
great success for
thousands of years
after Fabius first
suggested it. Often
combined with
scorched earth tactics
such as in the
defense of Moscow
from Napoleon or the
Nazis, it was perhaps
most successfully
used by George
Washington. George
Washington was even
called the American
Fabius for his tactics
of constantly
harassing the British
invaders rather than
risk a pitched battle
likely to result in his
forces destruction.
S c i p i o
Prepare to fight
for, evidently, you have
found peace
intolerable.
PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK
Raiders14-118-121-Alaric the Visigoth2.PS 10/24/14 3:28 AM Page 118
Visigoth
THE BEGINNING OF THE END STARTED WITH ONE MAN AND HIS ARMY.
BY Daniel Bulone
ho would dream of taking

down an empire with one
million square miles of
territory and 500 years of
existence to its credit? Alaric
may not have been the first to think of it, but he
was the first to succeed in doing serious, irreparable
damage to the heart of the formidable Roman
Empire. His successful sack of Rome exposed a
chink in the empires armor, and the rest is history.
A Disillusioned Mercenary
As the Roman Empire grew, even its exorbitant
taxes could not support its armed forces. The
government came to rely on army irregulars known as
foederati. These were Germanic tribesmen who
retained their own authority and military structures
but were paid by Rome. Roman nobles thought it
impossible for a foreigner to pose a real threat to the
empire, as it was absurd to them that anyone but a
native Roman be declared Caesar.
However, it became clear to ambitious men like
Alaric that the foederati salary was merely a bribe to
dissuade them from attacking Rome itself. If they
unified under a strong leader, they could easily crush
the crumbling empire.
In 395, Emperor Theodosius died and split the
empire into eastern and western halves for his two
sons. Alaric saw this as an opportunity to rise through
the ranks and be put in a position of wider, imperial
import-ance. He was left with nothing, while others,
like the half-Roman general Stilicho, became
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Alaric I. Alaric is an
Anglicized version
of a title, not a
name. Alareiks
means All-King in
Gothic, a title to
which he was
elected. The name
by which he was
known personally
has been lost to
history.
DATES ACTIVE:
395-410
AREAS ACTIVE:
Greece and Rome

CLAIM TO FAME:
When Rome
opened its doors to
Alaric and his
army, it showed the
numerous
Germanic tribes
whom the Huns
had displaced that
the city and
surrounding
territory were ripe
for the picking.
military regents.
Dissatisfied with the lack of upward mobility
available to him as a soldier in the Roman army, Alaric
rejoined his people and was elected king of the Goths.
If the Romans would not hand him power, he would
take it. He set his sights on Constantinople, which at
the time was the prize jewel of the Eastern Roman
Empire. Situated between the Black Sea and the
Mediterranean, it sat on the gateway to the riches of
the Middle East and beyond, to India and China. He
was, however, unable to lay siege to the great city with
any success. He turned back west, crossing through the
pass of Thermopylae, where the famous 300 Spartans
had fought nearly 900 years before.
Alaric and his army went on to ravage the
countryside. They managed to make substantial
territorial gains, but they did not completely destroy
the city of Athens, which opened its doors to the
Gothic invaders. Other iconic cities, such as Argos,
Corinth and even Sparta fell to Alaric and his men.
Not only was Alarics marauding a way to find a
place for his people to settle after they had been
pushed from their eastern European homeland by
Hunnic invaders, but the plunder afforded to his
troops kept them loyal.
Alaric knew all too well that soldiers who were
not given enough to satisfy their greed or
ambitions would ultimately overthrow their leader.
This awareness was likely made all the more acute
by the fact that his reign as king was not inherited,
but given to him by other high-born Goths. Any
challenger could easily take that power away and
395-410
Alaric the
terminate his ambitionspermanently.
Eternal City No More

The Eastern Roman Empire gave Alaric a
governmental post that allowed him to resupply his
men from the imperial arsenal. But Alaric was still
not satisfied. He took his army, and possibly large
populations of his armys wives and children, with
him to Italy to arrange for a post with more power
and more proximity to Rome itself. However, in
408, the death of the young Eastern Roman
emperor caused the western government to pay
Alaric off in order to refocus their military
attention on potential unrest.
But the toxic political atmosphere of Rome
caused mistrust in the ruling military body.
Stilicho, Alarics half-Roman military rival, was
murdered, as were the wives and children of other
foederati in the Empire. It is possible that vast
numbers of soldiers who were only nominally
Roman flocked to Alarics side.
At this point, Alaric was in a position to demand
a vast swath of territory and the command of an
imperial army. After two sieges of Rome, he had
even set up a puppet emperor under his own
My voice
sticks in my
throat; and,
as I dictate,
sobs choke
my utterance.
The City
which had
taken the
whole world
was itself
taken.
St. Jerome in
a letter two
years after
Alarics sack of
Rome in 410.
control. It was possible that the ambitions of Alaric

seemed like a safeguard against the uncertainty of
the future: At least with him in charge, Rome was in
the hands of a competent general. However, the
political tides shifted, and Alaric found himself
besieging Rome a third time. It would be the last.
It is unclear how Alarics forces were able to take
the cityeither through some internal cooperation
or merely by virtue of the element of surprise. But
once within the walls of Rome, he and his men
exercised considerable restraint.
One possible factor in the lack of destruction is
the religious convictions of Alarics Gothic soldiers.
Though they adhered to the heretical Arian sect of
Christianity, they still respected the rights of
Romes inhabitants to sanctuary within churches
and left some valuable objects within places of
worship untouched. Compared to later invasions,
such as the Vandals only 45 years later, the material
depletion of Romes resources was unremarkable.
Yet despite oft-repeated examples of restraint,
the sack of Rome was still just that. Fires destroyed
various monuments, in which melted coins can still
be seen fused to the floor due to the attacks of
Alarics men. Urns that held the ashes of past
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ruins of the Telesterion, which Alaric and

his men destroyed, in Elesius, Greece.
Raiders14-118-121-Alaric the Visigoth2.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:32 PM Page 121
A l a r i c
t h e
AUGUSTINE AND ALARIC
In Alarics second siege of Rome, hunger was his chief

and most effective weapon. He and his men
surrounded the city walls. With no way in or out of the
city, the citizens within the walls could not refresh their
food supplies. Hunger finally caused the Roman
Senate to concede to Alarics demands. They paid
5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000
silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet and 3,000
pounds of pepper.
The World is Passing Away, the World is Losing its

GripAugustine, The City of God
The psychological effect of Alarics sack of Rome in
410 far outstripped any military or political
consequences. But the fact that the center of the
Roman world had been taken by a foreigner, albeit
briefly, shocked the civilized world. It had been 800
years since a foreigner had taken Rome, and it was
clear to anyone who knew of Rome that the empires
time in the sun was passing away.
Some took Alarics sack of Rome as divine
retribution for turning away from the old pagan gods to
Christianity. This was such a strong conviction among
the broader population that an African bishop,
Augustine of Hippo, published The City of God, a
Christian response to popular hysteria and a
theological take on the end of the world as he and his
contemporaries knew it. If it were not for Alarics
capture of the city, this classic of late antiquity would
never have been written.
emperors were overturned and many Romans were

taken captive.
While the sack only lasted three days, its effects
were enormous. From the lens of history, Alarics
sack of Rome clearly spelled that Rome as an
institution was done.
Alarics ascent also abolished the idea that those
people Romans called barbarians would never rule
over them. By the end of the fifth century, Goths
just like Alaric would be running what was left of
Rome. The diversion of troops to deal with Alaric
also deprived Britannia, Gaul and Spain of Roman
military protection, which paved the way for
influxes of tribes seeking a new homeland. Europe
owes much of its ethnic make-up to the ambitions
of a man who likely remembered being chased
from his own homeland as a child. R
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
DEATH OF ALARIC
After taking the city, Alaric died on the way to Africa,

where substantial grain resources would sustain a
prolonged Gothic occupation of the Italian peninsula.
His people moved on to the Iberian peninsula, where
they were able to establish a kingdom and prosper.
TOP Detail of Stilichos
sarcophagus depicting
Stilicho and his wife.
BELOW This steel
engraving of Alaric comes

from the early- to mid-19th
century, when interest in
the Roman Empire (and its
assailants)
was high.
LEFT This 1890 painting
of the Sack of Rome depicts

Alaric in the distance,
looking on with kingly
pride as his fellow Goths
make Rome theirs.
We are told that

Romulus and
Remus established
a refuge anyone
who fled there
was secure from
any harm the
destroyers of
Rome followed the
example of its
founders.
St. Augustine
describing Alarics
Christian soldiers
in The City of God.
v i s i g o t h
HUNGER AND PLUNDER
PHOTO BY PRISMA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Raiders-122-125-AtillaTheHun_2.JN 10/26/14 9:58 PM Page 122
Atilla the
THIS HORSE-MOUNTED WARRIOR WRECKED HAVOC ON ROME.
BY Daniel Bulone
Lasting Legacy
hile Attila never took Rome
itself, he was still a force to be
reckoned with. He destroyed
cities in Romes Eastern
empire, mounting attacks on
its capital, Constantinople. In the West, he tried to
claim the emperors sister for himself and was a
terror to the empires religious, killing bishops and
priests as he razed towns and desecrated churches.
Rome had to pull on its already-stretched
resources to fend this fighter off.
NAME:
Attila the Hun

(Attila was
probably not his
actual name but a
title whose
meaning is still up
for scholarly
debate.)
DATES ACTIVE:
c. 434-453
Recipe for Disaster
AREA ACTIVE:
masters of horsemanship in a world where armed

infantry had literally ruled the world.
The Huns very existence in Eastern Europe was
already trouble for the Roman Empire. As the
horse-mounted Huns made their way across the
belt of grassland from Mongolia to Hungary, they
conquered and subsumed the people groups they
met along the way. By the time they reached
Eastern Europe, the Huns had amassed large
numbers and frightened off Germanic and Celtic
peoples, forcing them to move westward. These
dislodged barbarians encroached on Roman
borders.
So not only were the Huns a scourge in and of
themselves, but their appearance caused
irrepressible pressure on the most powerful empire
on the face of the earth.
Spread across
The Roman Empire, which had once enforced a
Eurasia
brutal regime of peace backed by the terror of
imperial conquest, was disintegrating. No longer
CLAIM TO FAME:
able to support its formerly successful military
His mounted
program, the Empire relied on mercenaries recruited
cavalry threatened
from neighboring tribes. This would have been
and weakened the
Like a Good Neighbor,
brilliant if the mercenaries didn't outnumber the
Roman Empire.
Attila is There
Roman forces and weren't headed by warlords
Attila inherited control of the Huns at an
whose ambitions often included Rome itself on their
incredibly opportune time. By the time he
itinerary of must-conquer citieslike Alaric had 40 years earlier.
ascended the throne, the Huns had built military relationships by
What could go wrong?
playing the newly-formed Eastern and Western Roman Empires
Meet the Huns
Attila was the leader of a people group known as the Huns.
Unlike many of the Germanic tribes of the era, Attila was wholly
foreign to Rome in terms of his culture, religion, and likely his
physical appearance. He was the quintessence of the barbarian
threat as a pagan alien from the unknown expanses of the East.
Even the way he and his men fought was different. They were
off of each other.

By forging a renewed alliance with the Western Roman
Emperor through a military campaign through parts of modern
France, Attila was even able acquire the largely honorary title of
Magister Militum of the Western Roman Empire. Even though
this was a totally meaningless honor, it showed Rome was willing
to flatter any warlord with honorbecause ideally, people whom
you honor do not try to take over your homeland.
434-453
Hun
Attila Goes After

the Homeland
While fighting in the Roman province of
Gaul (roughly modern France,) Attila received a
letter from Honoria, the sister of the Emperor at
the time. She pled for Attila to help her escape a
loveless, arranged marriage to a Roman senator,
and she included her wedding ring with the
letter. It is unclear what Honoria actually
expected Attila to do with this information,
though it can hardly be expected that the actual
outcome was her intention. Attila interpreted it
as an invitation to marry Honoria, and he
demanded half of the Western Roman Empire
as a dowry. He gathered up his various tribes of
followers and turned on the Empire, causing the
Imperial forces to ally themselves with the
Visigoths, a group with as much potential for
danger and treachery as Attilas Huns.
Though the Roman-Visigoth alliance was able
to deter Attila briefly, he eventually turned his
attention toward the Italian Peninsula in 452 in
order to claim his bride. But by the time he
reached the River Po, disease and starvation
forced Attila to negotiate.
The previous year, Rome had been beset by a
famine, which meant that there was little to
Here you stand, after

conquering mighty
nations and subduing
the world. I therefore think
it foolish for me to goad you
with words, as though you
were men who had not been
proved in action. Let a new
leader or an untried
army resort to that.
Jordanes depiction of Attila
speaking to his army
ABOVE Gold and copper
Hunnish horse trappings
from just after Attilas lifetime. The large piece
would go over the horse's
eyes, the middle two over
the reins or bridle, and the
bottom piece is the
plunder as Attila and his army swept their way

across Italy. In addition, military pressure on the
Hunnic homelands to the east made it difficult for
him to command his men to fight in as far-off a
territory as the seat of the withering Western
Roman Empire.
handle of a whip.
Pope Leo Seals the Deal

When Attila negotiated with Pope Leo in 452, it
was not merely a whos-who of the fifth century; it
FROM TOP: PHOTO BY ART MEDIA/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Raphaels idealized image of Attilas meeting with

Pope Leo highlights Christian attitudes toward the
meeting of Roman and Hunnic Culture. Note Saints
Peter and Paul hovering above Pope Leo.
t h e
H u n
Death Conquers Attila

Some historians speculate that one of the reasons why Attila did
not march on Rome was superstition connected to the death of
Alaric the Visigoth who had, 40 years earlier, sacked Rome and died
shortly afterward. Even without attempting to make the Eternal City
his own, Attila did not long survive his time in Italy. In 453, he died
of indeterminate causes, leaving a legacy as one of Romes most
dangerous foes. R
Reenactors dressed as
horse-mounted Huns.
THE HORSE: ATTILAS KEY WEAPON
Attila and his Huns were adept cavalrymen. Their

mounted cavalry was a great tactical advantage
against the other organized militaries of the time, like
Romes, which depended on strong military discipline
to maintain phalanxes of heavily-armed infantry. This
required a great deal of money to finance armor and
weapons, in addition to paying the thousands of
soldiers that this tactic required.
Attilas people came from the Eurasian Steppe, a
grassland interrupted by mountains, where people and
horses had coexisted with few other workable
resources for thousands of years. Horses allowed them
to traverse the mountains and the otherwise flat
terrain. Horsemanship came naturally to Huns, which
was uniquely useful against soldiers whose training
had impressed on them the need to stand still and be
squashed by any oncoming onslaught.
ORIGIN STORIES
FROM TOP: PHOTO BY PRISMA/UIG/GETTY IMAGES; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (2)
From the city of Venice to Hungarian kings to Kaiser

Wilhelm, many want to claim a piece of Attila.
An origin story for Venice claims the city was begun by
those who were fleeing from Attilas attacks. After all,
why else would anyone decide to live in a sinking
lagoon? Long after Attilas death, Central and Eastern
European monarchs established legitimacy by claiming
genealogical connections to Attila. For instance, the
story of Pope Leo talking Attila out of sacking Rome is
said to involve Pope Leo promising one of Attilas
descendants a holy crown if he decided to pass over
the holy city. This holy crown was one of the trademarks
of the Hungarian monarchy.
In addition to this, Kaiser Wilhelms remarks of
admiration for Attila preceding World War I led to
disparaging portrayals and nicknames of the Germans
as Huns in anti-German countries during the war.
a t i l l a
Engraving of
Attila the Hun
was a bargain between civilizations. As the political and military

infrastructure of the Empire collapsed, the Roman Catholic Church
was the sole remnant of the unifying power of Rome. In the eyes of
the Empire, Leos conversation with Attila was a tremendous win: the
light of Christian reason prevailed over the bloodlust of
the Hun.
Of course this view disregards the numerous other reasons why
Attilas time in the Italian Peninsula was cut short. However, the
underlying prejudices of this storys popularity show why Attilas
fame persists as a world-class raiderhe was the alien who tried to
marry the Emperors sister and who turned his back on his
honorable title from the state. He wasnt just Romes enemy; he was
Romes perfect villain.
Roman villa in Gaul sacked by the hordes of Attila the Hun.

Illustration by Georges Rochegrosse (1910).
1524-1541
Raiders14-126-127-FranciscoPizarro.PS.qxp 10/24/14 2:25 AM Page 126
Francisco
Pizarro
A SPANISH CONQUISTADOR WHO DOMINATED PERU AND WIPED
OUT THE INCA EMPIRE.
BY Jenna Handley
Lasting Legacy
NAME:
Francisco Pizarro
AREAS ACTIVE:
South America
CLAIM TO FAME:
Famous for his

psychological
warfare against the
Inca, Pizarro
conquered Peru
and is responsible
for the destruction
of the Inca Empire
and culture.
Francisco Pizarro
pictured with his
sword, Spanish armor
and morion helmet.
MAIN: PORTRAIT OF FRANCISCO PIZARRO BY PAUL AMABLE COUTAN (1835) DE AGOSTINI/G. DAGLI ORTI/GETTY IMAGES;
1524-1541
PRISMA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
DATES ACTIVE:
Raiders14-126-127-FranciscoPizarro.PS.CX 10/27/14 11:34 PM Page 127
ith less than 200 men against a

mighty empire and its army of
80,000, Pizarro obliterated the
Inca Empire. Learn how he
surmounted these extraordinary odds.
Advanced Tactics
As he made his way through Inca territory, Pizarro
didnt have a large army to back him upinitially
just 160 soldiersbut that didnt stop him from
annihilating the opposing force, a feat he was only
able to accomplish because of superior weapons and
modern tactics. Pizarro often used firearms and
horses to frighten the Inca, and his army would then
massacre them.
One unplanned tactic that greatly aided Pizarro
was biological warfare in the form of smallpox. The
Europeans were mostly immune to the disease, but
the Inca had no immunity and it devastated their
communities. Smallpox killed the emperor Huayna
Cupac, which left the territory in civil unrest. As
Charles Mann said in 1491, "So complete was the
chaos that Francisco Pizarro was able to seize an
empire the size of Spain and Italy combined with a
force of 168 men."
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Pizarros Weapons
Spanish soldiers relied mostly on swords, crossbows
and harquebus (an early form of the musket) during
combat. The sword was their weapon of choice, as the
latter two were considered slower and more
cumbersome.
The Spanish were also heavily armored, encased in
steel from head to toe. The Inca had no native weapons
designed to pierce these protective shells, so it was
much harder to injure or kill them. Francisco Pizarro
and his soldiers also wore morions, the famous steel

helmet pictured on many Spanish conquistadors.
The Battle of Cajamarca

Pizarro and his small army ambushed the great
plaza of Majamarca, kidnapped Atahualpa, the Inca
ruler, and killed thousands of his counselors,
commanders and attendants during this battle in
1532. It marked the beginning of the conquest of the
Inca civilization. The battle began after Pizarro
invited Atahualpa to Cajamarca with the intention to
kidnap him.
Not knowing this, Atahualpa accepted and arrived
with about 80,000 men. Confident that his army had
nothing to fear from Pizarros small group of soldiers,
and in a show of goodwill, Atahualpa announced that
his men would abandon their weapons. Atahualpa
and about 7,000 unarmed men met Pizarro and his
soldiers in an open field.
The Spanish gave Atahualpa a Bible, but the leader
threw it on the ground. This angered Pizarro, and he
gave orders to attack. The Spanish then advanced on
horses, firing guns and ringing bells to scare the Inca.
They killed many of the men in the field, and, as the
survivors began to run away, the larger portion of
the troops, waiting not too far off, scattered as well in
a panic.
Battle of Cuzco
After Pizarro executed Atahualpa, he marched his
troops to Cuzco, the capital of the empire, in 1533. He
sent forty men ahead, and they successfully defeated
the Inca men protecting the city. Under the command
of Quizquiz, the rest of the troops withdrew during
the night and the Spanish plundered Cuzco. This
battle completed Pizarros conquest of Peru. R
This last expedition

was an ultimate
success for Pizarro,
but a disaster for the
Inca Empire. For
better or for worse, he
changed the shape of
civilization in the area,
instituting Christianity
and Spanish as the
official language.
Pizarro ruled for about
10 years before he
was assassinated in
Lima in 1941.
Choose.
You may
return to
the poverty
of Panama
or cross
this line
and come
with me
through
infinite
dangers but
eventual
wealth.
Francisco
Pizarro
to his soldiers
P i z a r r o
Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru

by John Everett Millais (1846)
F r a n c i s c o
PIZARROS
RESUME
Before destroying the
Inca empire,
Francisco Pizarro was
a Spanish-born mayor
in Panama City. He
had also previously
attempted two
expeditions to Peru in
1524 and 1526 after
hearing the tantalizing
tales of Corts's
success in Mexico.
These ultimately
failed, but after
obtaining permission
from King Charles I,
he made his third and
final expedition in
1530.
Raiders14-128-129-RaidersPopCulture 10/24/14 2:23 AM Page 128
Raiders in
Pop Culture
THESE GREAT MEN HAVE INFILTRATED MORE THAN BATTLEFIELDS
AND TREASURE CHESTS.
1 Charlton Heston
stars in Julius Caesar

(1950).
2 Bela Lugosi plays
the title role in

Dracula (1931)
3 Master and
Commander includes
Barbary pirates and
the British navy during
the Napoleonic Wars,
not too long after the
American Revolution.
4 Alexander the Great
(1956) is an American
epic film about the life
of Macedonian
general and king,
played by Richard
Burton.
4
3
1: PHOTO BY GIANNI FERRARI/COVER/GETTY IMAGES; 2: PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES; 3: PHOTO BY STEPHEN SHUGERMAN/GETTY IMAGES; 4: PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES
ame changers arent easily forgotten.

They fire our imaginations, and their
memory makes for the larger-thanlife drama fit for the silver screen,
symphony hall and athletic fields.
Raiders14-128-129-RaidersPopCulture 10/24/14 2:23 AM Page 129
R a i d e r s
i n
P o p
8
5 Omar Sharif in the
leading role of
Genghis Khan (1965).
6 Bobby Driscoll and
7 Tchaikovskys 1812
5: PHOTO BY COLUMBIA/GETTY IMAGES; 6: PHOTO BY WALT DISNEY/GETTY IMAGES; 7: PHOTO BY VISIONS OF AMERICA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES; 8: PHOTO BY WARNER BROS./COURTESY
OF GETTY IMAGES 9: PHOTO BY ADAM BETTCHER/GETTY IMAGES; 10: PHOTO BY ANDREW H. WALKER/GETTY IMAGES; 11: PHOTO BY ND/ROGER VIOLLET/GETTY IMAGES
Overture performed
with fireworks at the
Hollywood Bowl, Los
Angeles, California.
The overture memorializes Russias battle
with Napoleon.
C u l t u r e
Robert Newton
portrait for the film
Treasure Island (1950).
8 Actor Gene Wilder
(right) puts his arm

around Cleavon Little
in a still from the film,
Blazing Saddles
(1974). Little plays a
sherriff named Black
Bart, whose name is a
playful adaptation of
the real stagecoach
robber's alias.
9 Minnesota Vikings
introduction
performers pose
before the game.
10 HBOs series John
6
7
Adams (2008) shows

how feared the British
navy was at the time
of the American
Revolution.
11 The Count of
Monte Cristo (1918)
stars Leon Mathot as
E.Dantes. Dantes
troubles started when
he unwittingly
delivers a letter from a
disguised Napoleon
exiled on Elba to a coconspirator in France.
10
11
Raiders14-130-C3-Closing Spread.JN 10/24/14 2:19 AM Page 130
Raiders14-130-C3-Closing Spread.JN 10/24/14 2:19 AM Page C3
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious

is to die daily.
SCOTLAND FOREVER! BY LADY BUTLER (1881) DEPICTING THE CHARGE OF THE ROYAL SCOTS GREYS AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
Napoleon
Raiders14-BackCover.PS.qxp 10/24/14 2:16 AM Page C4
No man is truly great who is great only in his lifetime.

The test of greatness is the page of history.
William Hazlitt

Raiders of The World - Winter 2014 PDF

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Raiders of The World - Winter 2014 PDF

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Raiders2014-Cover 10/24/14 3:22 AM Page US_C1

Raiders of the World 2014

CONQUERORS, REBELS AND RENEGADES

EXPLORE HISTORY'S GAME CHANGERS

WAS DRACULA REAL?

BECKETT OUTDOOR WINTER 2014 $9.99 US

Engaged Media By Beckett

Raiders14-2-3-Editorial.JN 10/23/14 10:32 PM Page 2

Raiders14-2-3-Editorial.JN 10/23/14 10:32 PM Page 3

BATTLE OF ABUKIR FRANCE AGAINST ENGLAND BY ROBERT POLLARD (1798)

Vlad the Impaler

Discover the top 10 game-changing weapons

He wove a web of horror for his enemies and

Cyrus the Great

Strategy on and off the battlefield helped him

Alexander the Great

The man who did not believe in impossibilities

Gain a fuller understanding of these seafaring

Discover the History Channels inspiration for

These female pirates were every bit as fierce as

Sir Francis Drake

This royally-sanctioned pirate remained a

From the chaos of the French Revolution came

Poet by day, thief by night, this surprising

Rome was never the same after this ambitious

More territory to his credit than any other

William the Conqueror

The face of England changed forever after this

These plunderers of Mediterranean shores

This infamous outlaw and his gang were

The Wild Wests most prolific stagecoach

Raiders14-4-5-TOC.PS.JN 10/23/14 10:38 PM Page 4

Raiders14-4-5-TOC.PS.JN.CX 10/27/14 10:10 PM Page 5

An all-female regiment of Soviet night bombers in World

Mystical visions set this peasant on a mission,

At 21 years old, Washington honed his guerilla

A robber with a sense of justice turned revolutionary and

A motley crew, along with some help from

Hannibal & Scipio

Hannibal took aim at Rome, and Rome fought back with

Alaric the Visigoth

Gabe Frimmel - Ad Sales Director

John Bartulin - (866) 866-5146 ext. 2746

Gus Alonzo: Newsstand Sales & Marketing Manager

Attila the Hun

Destruction and danger came in this warriors wake,

Nathan Lee Adamus, Daniel Bulone, Corey Clark,

Irish immigrants in the US eager to fight for

Erin Masercola - Group Editorial Director

An abolitionist crusader dreamed up a plan

Reimagine the iconic raid in Bostons harbor.

Absurdly outnumbered, this conquistador still managed

22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Suite 200

SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES,

BATTLE OF HANAU BY HORACE VERNET (1824)

BOOKS, MERCHANDISE, REPRINTS

COVER DESIGN BY Kelly Lee

by Jacques-Louis David (1800)

Wikimedia Commons; Alexander and Porus, detail by

Nick Singh: Executive Director

RAIDERS OF THE WORLD | 5 |

Raiders14-6-9-Weapons-3 10/23/14 10:41 PM Page 6

eapons shape more than the battlefield.