Category History

Many castles were designed as homes for rulers rather than as fortresses. Many of the world’s most famous and fancy palaces were built hundreds of years ago.

The royal family of the United Kingdom lives at Windsor Castle when they are not in nearby London. William the Conqueror built a castle in that place about 1070 A.D. Since then, many kings and queens have added to the castle, which now covers 3.6 hectares. It has 15 majestic towers and a beautiful chapel.

Another famous castle lies on a hill in the city of Osaka, Japan. The elegant Osaka Castle was built during the 1500’s. Visitors can still see three of the original towers as well as the castle’s main gate.

A famous palace is in Versailles, France. The Palace of Versailles, France. The Palace of Versailles is more than 0.4 kilometre long and has about 1,300 rooms. It was built by the French King Louis XIV in the 1600’s.

To see a real fairy-tale castle, go to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. It has a walled courtyard, spires on its roof, and a blue arched ceiling decorated with stars. Built for King Ludwig II in the 1860’s, the castle is now a popular place to visit.

 

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Some of the world’s most amazing buildings were built for protection, not beauty. Hundreds of years ago, people in different parts of the world had many rulers. The rulers often fought each other. Powerful rulers built castles to live in with their family, helpers, priests, soldiers – and farm animals!

Many of the castles were made of stone. Often they were built around an open courtyard. They had high walls that could be built 10 metres thick to protect against enemies. Some castles had towers at each corner.

Sometimes the walls were surrounded with deep, wide ditches that were usually filled with water. These were called moats. To protect the castle, guards looked out from the towers and walked along the tops of the walls. They hid behind stone fences called battlements and shot arrows at attackers. When visitors came, the guards would lower a drawbridge so that people could walk or ride across the moat. Then they would have to pass a gatehouse.

Inside, there was a large room where people met and ate meals. A huge fire in the fireplace too away the chill. So did tapestries, or hanging cloths, placed around the castle walls. People spread sweet-smelling plants on the floors and changed them every month.

Castles had a kitchen, a chapel in which to pray, and rooms for the family. They also had a barracks, or sleeping room, for soldiers. Many had dungeons in which to keep prisoners.

In many places around the world, ancient castles still stand. One is the Tower of London on the River Thames in London, England. This group of stone buildings has a wall and moat surrounding it. The Tower of London was first built as a castle in the 1000’s. In later times, it was a palace and a prison. Today it is a museum.

The Loire River Valley in France is famous for its many castles, called chateaux in French. One of the oldest French chateaux is in Angers. Visitors can still see the remains of the 17 towers and the moat. This chateau as built in the early 1200’s.

In Syria, near the northern border of present-day Lebanon, is a castle called Krak des Chevaliers. This fortress was built by crusaders during the 1100’s.

 

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People have always had to work. Ancient people hunted animals and gathered plants. Some people fished. Later, they learned to farm. They made their own clothes, tools, and furniture. They swapped some of the things they made, grew, or caught for other things they needed. This is called bartering. Then people began to use money. Some people paid others to work for them. Workers used that money to buy what they needed, instead of making those necessities for themselves.

In some places in the world today, people still live as the ancient peoples did. They hunt, fish, or farm in small groups near their homes, and they make everything they need for everyday life.

In other places, people who farm or fish sell much of what they grow or catch. Some people make things for other people to buy. They are craftworkers and factory workers. Some people work as teachers, scientists, nurses, and doctors.

Year after year, people learn, discover, and invent things. As they do this, they find different kinds of work to do.

 

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No one knows exactly why – or when – people first wore clothes. But ancient peoples probably began to wear clothes for the same reasons that we wear clothes today. Clothes keep us warm and dry. Some people – nurses, police officers, priests, and many others – wear clothes that show who they are or what they do. And sometimes we wear clothes that make us look like part of a group or clothes that make u stand out in a crowd.

They no longer had much body hair, which had helped more archaic hominins keep warm at night and offered some protection from the heat of the Sun.

It is possible we started wearing clothes to compensate for the loss of fur, says Ian Gilligan of the University of Sydney in Australia.

Historical accounts suggest that other hunter-gatherer societies, such as the Fuegians from South America, wore simple clothes some of the time, but also walked around naked. Perhaps early humans only covered up when it was cold.

 

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The United Nations marked its 75th anniversary on September 21, 2020 with a high-level global meeting. The world leaders came together virtually amidst growing tensions of several nations with China and the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The theme for this year’s discussion was “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”. During the event, the UN General Assembly adopted a forward-looking declaration that called for strengthening the mechanism to combat terrorism, reformed multilateralism, inclusive development and better preparedness to deal with challenge like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked for comprehensive reforms in the United Nations. In this video address, the Indian Prime Minister started “We cannot fight today’s challenges with outdated structures. Without comprehensive reforms, the UN faces a crisis of confidence.” Modi vouched for reformed multilateralism, giving a voice to all stakeholders. He also called for changes that would address contemporary challenges and focus on human welfare.

Modi’s call comes at a time when India is ready to take up an elected non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council India’s two-year term will commerce on January 1, 2021.

Did you know?

The United Nations Day is celebrated on October 24 every year as on this day in 1945, the UN Charter came into force after being ratified by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, Russia, the U.S., the U.K., and France – and a majority of other signatories.

The UN Charter is the foundational treaty of the United Nations, drafted with the aim of maintaining world peace and upholding human rights.

 

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