Some historical events have cemented themselves into popular culture and are often the topic
of youtube videos or podcasts, but sometimes there are historical events that fly under
the radar.
5 - Removal of Christians from Japan According to a 2017 study, Shintoism and Buddhism
are the two most popular religions in Japan, with 70% of its population adhering to Shinto
teachings and 69% adhering to Buddhist teachings.
But did you know that this could have been very different?
In modern times, only 1% of Japan considered themselves Christian, however in the 1600s
Christian missionaries made a huge breakthrough.
The missionaries arrived on Portuguese boats with most of them being Portuguese, there
were some Spaniards and Italians on board too.
According to historical texts, their sole mission was to show people the word of God
and convert them to Christianity and “save souls for God.”
These missionaries also had an ulterior motive, once they had successfully converted the Japanese
people to Christianity, they would be able to gain power and expand their territories.
The missionaries were very successful in their work, they set up printing presses and had
the Bible along with other Christian texts translated into Japanese.
They didn’t just hand these books out in the street either, because they had such a
stronghold on Japan, they were able to distribute the books via the mail, furthering their reach.
The Christianity movement spread like wildfire and prominent figures such as feudal lords
had been converted which in turn, brought along more followers.
At the height of its popularity, there were said to be at least 500,000 Christian converts
in Japan.
Over time, the movement began experiencing problems and as more members joined, uprisings
and rebellions began happening.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate was becoming increasingly concerned
at the power the new Chrisitan converts held.
He believed that they posed a threat to the government and in 1614 Christianity was officially
banned in Japan.
The missionaries that had first arrived in Japan in the early 1600s were deported and
told never to return or they would suffer the consequences.
Following the ban, the government began forcing Japanese citizens to denounce their faith;
if they refused, they would be arrested and imprisoned.
The Tokuwaga Shogunate went one step further and forced all citizens in Nagasaki (a prominent
Christian city) to trample and stamp on images of Christ and Mary.
Martin Ramos, a professor of Japanese Studies told the BBC ``It was quite well thought out
because at the time, Chrisitans relied a lot on images.
People prayed in front of an image - Mary, Jesus etc - so many thought that part of the
God was inside the image.
It was a link to the divine… for them to tread upon this, was something very fearful.”
During this time, the Tokugawa Shogunate shut Japan off from the world, isolating them completely
and preventing them from forming alliances and friendships with prominent powers.
Not only could it have shaped world history, but it may have shaped Japanese culture too.
4 - Great Molasses Flood For many, the great Molasses flood of 1919
has become a blip on the radar of world history, however for the residents of Boston, Massechetsus,
it’s an event that they will never forget.
On the surface, the great molasses flood seems like a harmless and jovial event.
Images of waves of molasses running down hills and flooding into residential areas sound
like something from a children's film but for the residents of Boston, it was anything
but.
Molasses wasn’t just used to make sweet treats in the 1910s, companies had figured
out that it could be distilled into alcohol and make ammunition and dynamite.
With the onset of World War I, the USA was importing molasses by the ton and trying to
process it as fast as possible to help the war effort.
Once the molasses had been imported it was sent to Boston’s North End where it would
be distilled and distributed.
Since they were trying to expedite the end product, several corners were cut which would
lead to one of the worst industrial accidents in Boston’s history.
The tank was designed to hold 9.5 million litres of molasses, but the tank’s design
and safety aspects had been largely overlooked.
The tank was constructed hastily to speed up production and as a result, molasses would
leak from the sides and workers would complain that the tank made a loud rumbling sound.
Their reports were ignored and the USIA (United States Industrial Alcohol) who were overseeing
the Boston site continued as normal, that was until July 15th 1919.
At around 1 pm the residents of Boston’s North End realised that something was very
wrong, according to the Boston Post residents heard “A rumble, a hiss, a boom and a swish
and the wave of molasses sweeping out.”
The poorly constructed tank that stood 15 metres high and 27 metres wide had finally
given way, sending a wave of molasses cascading throughout Boston’s North End.
The Boston Post reported that the wave was 15 feet high,160 feet wide and travelled at
35 miles an hour, swallowing up anything in its path.
People, horses and homes were obliterated by the gigantic wave of molasses and there
was little anyone could do to stop it.
Martin Clougherty, a resident of Boston’s North End told the Boston Globe “I was in
bed on the third floor of my house when I heard a deep rumble.
When I awoke, it was in several feet of molasses.”
Firefighters and Police Officers scrambled to the scene, trying to make sense of what
had happened and rescue any survivors.
Once the initial chaos had died down it was concluded that 21 people had lost their lives
and a further 150 people had been injured.
An inquiry into the flood found that the tank had been made from nothing more than curved
steel plates held together by rivets.
The inquiry also found that the tank had not undergone testing, instead, the USIA had filled
it with water and had deemed it safe.
The great molasses flood of 1919 remains an obscure historical event with a dark side
to it.
3 - 1904 Marathon Running a marathon is no easy feat and it
is a challenge that many people set themselves every year but in 1904, runners were met with
a different kind of challenge.
There was a great buzz in St. Louis in 1904, they had been selected to host the first American
Olympics and residents were waiting for their chance to catch a glimpse at some of the worlds
finest athletes.
From the get-go, the Olympics had been somewhat of a disaster, St. Louis was also hosting
the World’s Fair that year and had failed to manage their resources adequately.
Whilst many of the events were filled with controversy, the marathon quickly became the
centre of attention, not for its display of endurance but as an example of what not to
do.
The marathon was touted as “the signal event” and was held in an homage to ancient Greece
and the origins of the Olympics.
On the day that the marathon was held the weather was a sweltering 32-degrees C and
despite pleas from experts and doctors, the race went ahead.
The competitors were forced to run in the extreme heat and on dusty, unpaved roads.
As they ran, large clouds of dust formed, getting into their eyes and their mouths,
causing runners to choke.
The conditions were made worse for competitors as there was only one water station for the
entire race.
The organiser, James Sullivan wanted to explore “purposeful dehydration” as he believed
it would help runners and give them an extra edge (spoiler, it didn’t).
As a result, only 14 of the 32 athletes finished the race, one of the athletes had collapsed
after inhaling too much dust with one expert commenting “He had ingested so much dust
that it had ripped his stomach lining.”
Those who finished suffered both long and short term effects as a result of being purposely
dehydrated and many of them were angry that they had been unwilling participants in such
a study.
That wasn’t the only controversy to befall the 1904 Olympic marathon, after the race
was finished it was revealed that the winner, an American had ridden in a car for 11 miles
of the race after he had suffered from cramps.
It was also revealed that one athlete had lost 8lbs during the race due to severe dehydration
and despite these findings, the practice of restricting water continued at other Olympic
games.
Thankfully, this practice has long been banned and athletes are provided with adequate food
and water to complete in the race.
2 - 536 AD Dust It is still up for debate which has been the
worst period in human existence, for many, 2020 and 2021 has been a period filled with
fear and dread but according to experts there is a period that was worse than 2020.
Experts have listed 536 AD as the worst time in human history and here is why.
For 18 months between 536 AD and 537 AD the skies of Europe and Asia, Africa and much
of the world were filled with a thick fog that blocked out the sunlight, plunging countries
into a period of darkness.
A historical text written by a man in Syria read “The sun became dark and it’s darkness
lasted for one and a half years.
Each day it shone for about four hours and still this light was only a feeble shadow.
The fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes.”
Another account from a man named Prokopis who lived in both Africa and Italy was similar
saying “For the sun gave its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole
year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not
clear nor such as it accustomed to shed.”
As a result of the great fog and darkness, crops failed, temperatures plummeted and the
people that lived in the affected areas suffered greatly.
The fog appeared almost overnight, leaving thousands of people unprepared for the harsh
conditions that lay ahead, overnight, temperatures plummeted and crops quickly began to fail.
Centuries later scientists found that the event had been triggered by a volcanic eruption
in Iceland.
Since the great fog of 536 AD, there have been many volcanic eruptions that have left
behind the same conditions.
When the volcano erupted in Iceland in 536 AD the winds had been blowing southeastward,
taking the thick fog with it.
Scientists have speculated that all it takes is another case of volcanic activity and the
right wind patterns for an event such as this to happen again.
1 - Nuclear War Close Call On June 3rd 1980 the world came alarmingly
close to Armageddon yet very few people know about it and even fewer know the full story
behind it.
At around 03:00 am on June 3rd NORAD (North American Air Defence Command) detected an
imminent threat.
The technician saw on the radar that the Soviet Union had launched several hundred nukes and
that they were headed straight for the USA.
As the emergency alert system blared out, pilots rushed to the planes with their crew
in tow, looking for any Soviet aircraft or activity in the area.
As they scanned the skies, the then President, Jimmy Carter was awoken to the horrifying
news that 220 missiles were headed straight for the USA and that he had just minutes to
decide on what to do.
Carter’s military advisor told him to send a retaliatory strike ASAP and to prepare a
speech to address the American people, should anyone survive.
Carter sat in his bed in Washington D.C, as the seconds ticked by he realised that his
decision would impact the world forever.
As he was deep in thought, he received another call from a very sheepish advisor telling
him that the whole event had been a false alarm.
Carter was both relieved and angry and ordered an inquiry into the matter.
It turns out that a computer chip had malfunctioned and had shown that 220 missiles were headed
straight for the USA.
More alarmingly, the chip that had caused the malfunction had caused just 46 cents,
following this false alarm, the chip was upgraded and replaced.
This was one of history's closest calls, had Carter ordered the retaliatory strike, who
knows how the world would look like now.