How Ancient Phoenicians Traded with Primitive Britain Using Bireme Boats to Travel the Seas and Collect Tin

Main areas of Phoenicians

The Phoenicians were a Mediterranean race of seafarers that travelled many seas in search of trade. They were among the first of the great cargo transporters developing complex international trade among the great and emerging civilisations of ancient times. The lands that these people came to occupy during their greatest era was Lebanon (mainly) but also parts of what is today, Israel, Palestine and Syria. The prominent times of the Phoenician sea traders were between 1200 BC and 800BC. After this time, the Phoenicians began to be swallowed up or ruled by other Mediterranean powers, though their seamanship skills were still hailed and used.

In their heydey; the Phoenicians sent out explorers to settle the various area and even went beyond the Mediterranean sea in search of trade. They were known to go along the west coast of Africa, Spain and France. It is also believed that some settled in Ireland too. There is also a strong belief that the Phoenicians began to trade with Britain for tin, which was abundant in Cornwall. Some historians believe that the tin was traded for in the north west of France as a secondary seller, acting for south west Ancient Britain - a sort of middle man. However, if a seafaring race like the Phoenicians know that tin can be got across a channel of water, it is very likely that seafarers would go directly to the source once known. I, therefore, believe that the Phoenicians and probably Israelites travelling with them might have come to Britain and traded for tin.

Phoenician Bireme used to travel across great seas

There are, of course, no written records in existence of Phoenicians visiting Britain because when Carthage fell, to the Roman Empire many of the historical writing of Phoenician explorers was lost in the destruction of the great city, long after the time of the great Phoenician trade routes and explorations.

Imagine what the Phoenicians might have thought of the Celtic Neolithic stones of Gaul, Ireland and Britain - especially Stonehenge, for I believe these Mediterranean traders would have seen such places. But then coming from lands of Pyramids and other great building feats of monumental achievement; perhaps the stones would not have been too amazing to such well travelled people.

I try to visualise the scenes of Ancient Britain through the eyes of a Phoenician sailor or Jewish trader looking for things of interest to buy and sell. The lands of North West Europe would have seemed very lush green and densely forested - a raw untamed view of mystical Celtic Britain via the eyes of a first time visitor.

   

Self Publish - Attract Buyers to Your Novel

The draft of your book is complete. You are very pleased with your achievement and rightly so. Now you are in a new realm of, perhaps, writing a worthy synopsis and trying to find a Literary Agent who, in turn, will try to champion your work to various good publishers. Maybe you can achieve this and if so, fine – I wish the very best for you and your book. You will not need to heed the rest of this because these things will be done by the worthy publisher and editors of their choice, who will be very good. For many of you, however, there will be the endless attempts at trying to get your work looked at and even when you do get a publisher to view your writing; it will most likely be a disappointing outcome. Sorry to be gloomy, but then one can always keep trying or maybe look at self-publishing.

To try and self-publish a book in this day and age is easier than it has ever been before. However, this is where the first problem will be; because you can get published easily, you really need to be careful not to become too lax due to over excitement with what you are presenting. Your work will not be worthy without proper editing. People are fussy so your editorial work being of good quality is an absolute must. This has got to be the first thing on your agenda before you go ahead with self-publishing. Generally readers will steer clear of amateur written work because most of the time it is sloppy and unprofessional. You will need an independent editor and the web is full of them. Again, there can be pitfalls here too, because anyone can advertise on the net as an editor. Therefore, look for an organisation that has an agency of editors on their lists. These might be editors from various parts of the world that are vetted and have portfolios about their work. I cannot stress the total importance of this because no matter how often you go through your work; there will always be glaring things that you will miss. I can remember working with my editor for one of my novels and some of the things that came back were very obvious, yet I had missed them time and again. Also there will be other less noticeable things that you’ll be grateful of too. When you go to a listing sight of editors; you’ll put your work up for tender and you’ll get various editors bid to do the editorial work for your book. If the novel is about 90,000 words, I think you might be looking at about UK £500 minimum for a basically good editorial job over all. If you are in another country; you’ll need to convert to your currency to get an idea of the outlay. Some might be more and others may be less. Less is not always a good sign unless it is a new editor to the agency books and he/she is trying to break into the sphere. It might be about £450, if it is less; I would be surprised against a word count of 90,000. Obviously if your work consists of about 50,000 words, then you would look at less expense. You might think that this is a lot to pay for editorial work, but I would stress that it is money well spent to get your writing flowing and trim for your readers. Always ask to see a sample and they’ll do one if they want to win your business. The sample usually comes in the form of two presentations. One attachment will be your work with all the corrections clearly plastered about it and suggestion in the right column. The second attachment will look as it does with all the corrections added. When you read this section, you’ll be encouraged by the flow of your work and discover it is usually better. You might get so many good examples, that it will be hard to choose which editor you want. Obviously, you’ll get particular editors that specialise in various different agendas and you’ll be able to choose one suited to your book’s subject matter.

http://www.freelance-proofreaders.co.uk/ (Check out this sight for editors)

At this point you might stop and reflect on self-publishing before you proceed. After all, now you have your work well edited, you might want to consider publishers and Literary Agents again, who might look at your work in a more favoured light. It is worth thinking about for some people. If not, then on with the notion of self-publishing.

Next might be artwork. Most of the publishers you come across will have artwork ideas for your book, but not all of these might be to your taste. You might want to go for an independent artist and once again there are on line agencies that have various artists for such work. This can be costly, so it is up to you.

http://www.freelanceuk.com/find-a-freelancer/art-directors (Check out this site)

As I have mentioned before; there are pit falls along the way and this can become a learning process. Because of the Internet and eBooks, the market is very versatile and there are many people you can reach all over the globe. The problem is trying to reach them because many of the publishers might be small concerns. They’ll get your novel up on the main eBook sights like Amazon, Fictionwise, Diesel etc. However, they will be among thousands and there will be punters sifting through many choices. You will need to attract shoppers to your story. Most of the small publishers don’t have an advertising program for your self-published book and this you must bear in mind. Therefore I would recommend a blog like the one you are reading now. Fill it with all sorts of things of interest and advertise your novel among other adverts. Try to advertise with subtle ways and write things in your blog that you enjoy doing. You’ll learn what type of things will attract people and build links to your blog via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Use AdSense and advertise other independent products with your own advert among them.

Again in short:

1.     You decide to self-publish (Get editorial work done properly. Do nothing until this is in order)

2.     Once editorial work is done (Stop, think in case you want to try Literary Agents and Publishers again)

3.     If deciding upon self-publishing (Remember you’ll have to try and plug your book too. Blogging with link to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter or other visited sights. If you know anything on SEO it will help to)

Tsushima Sea Battle - Imperial Russia's Monumental Mistake (1905)

The Battle of Tsushima (May 27 - 28, 1905)

The first and biggest battle of dreadnought battleships took place in the Sea of Japan in 1905. It was between the Imperial Russian Baltic Fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the large-scale encounter of Ironclad fleets and would be a disaster for the declining might of Royal Russia and her Tsarist rule. The Baltic fleet of the Russian Navy sailed all around the world towards the nation of Korea, where the armada aimed to destroy the Japanese fleet led Admiral Heihachiro Togo. This Imperial Russian venture had come about on the orders of Tsar Nicholas II – the monarch that would perish along with his entire family during the Bolshevik revolution thirteen years later.

The reason for sending the Baltic fleet was because the Japanese had gradually destroyed the effectiveness of the Russia’s original Pacific fleet that had been based at Port Arthur. This had come about during the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war (Feb 1904-Sept 1905.) Both of these Imperial powers were looking for territory in this part of Asia, mainly Manchuria and Korea. The Russians wanted a deep water port and Port Arthur in Manchuria was ideal for their purposes. Their home territorial port of Vladivostok was able to operate in the summer months only. Imperial Japan also wanted Manchuria and Korea for their Empire and went to war with Russia. With mines and torpedo attacks, the Japanese had inflicted serious casualties upon the Russian Pacific fleet and also in a fleet action in the Yellow Sea. By August 1904, Imperial Russia’s Pacific fleet could not confront Japan’s well-commanded navy.  Soon the great naval fortress at Port Arthur was under siege by Japanese land forces too. The Russians tried desperately to hold the much prized Port.

The Tsar of Russia (Nicholas II) gathered as many of his Baltic ships as possible. Among them were battleships built from a French design, coastal defence ironclads with low hulls, not designed for the open sea. There were also antiquated and outdated vessels too, including sailing rigs and a converted yacht. The Russian fleet looked a fine sight but was mostly inadequate to deal with the monumental task before them. This Baltic fleet became known as the second Russian Pacific fleet and set off on its journey with ill-deserved confidence to confront the highly organised Imperial Japanese fleet. The Russian Admiral of this fleet, Zinovy Rozhestvensky led the armada 18,000 miles into the North Sea and around Western France, Spain and Portugal. The Russian fleet had been refused permission to use the Suez Canal. Therefore, they continued around Western Africa and the Cape into the Pacific. On the second day of January 1905, Port Arthur fell, so the new objective was to reach Vladivostok and from here plan a campaign against the Japanese navy. The original plan to relieve Port Arthur was gone.

The Russian fleet tried to creep through the Tsushima strait between Korea and Southern Japan on route to Vladivostok. This ambition was dashed when the Imperial Japanese fleet came upon them on May 27.

The Imperial Japanese navy was a formidable fighting force with well trained and practised crews. In contrast, the Russian crews were comprised of convict labour and peasant conscripts that had little experience of seamanship. As the two fleets clashed the Russian lack of capability was dreadfully evident.

The Russian fleet gunners were lacking in experience and had only fired in practice once along the way. Before this was the foolish Dogger Bank incident when the Russian’s had opened fire on British fishing trawlers in the North Sea. They mistook the fishing vessels for Japanese torpedo boats.

Russian Fleet encounters Japanese Navy

The Japanese Fleet was waiting in complete readiness for the Russian ships because they had been spotted them a day before. As Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky led his Russian Fleet in two columns into the Tsushima Straits, Admiral Heihachiro manoeuvred the Imperial Japanese Fleet to cruise parallel with the Russian Fleet’s portside. The Russians began to fire at long range and scored a hit on Mikasa, but the damage was minor. Togo opened up with full broadside while the Russian Fleet’s firepower was halved. Also, the quality of seamanship was superior for Japan. It rapidly became a slaughter as the Russians were outmanoeuvred in every way. Accurate shells rained down upon the Russian Ships with deadly intensity.

The Russian sailors tried their utmost to return fire and showed great bravery in their efforts, but they were not on the same level as the more highly organised Japanese naval forces. The Russian crews were too raw with inadequate resources to match Japan’s more advanced ships.

Captured Russian Ship after the Battle of Tsushima

An hour into the battle saw the Russian crews struggling in wrecked and burning ships with dead comrades lying amid the fires of the torn and twisted metal. A Hell that was caused by their underperforming ironclads and the effective firepower of Japan's navy. Soon the Russian vessels were surrounded and within the developing route, Japanese ships pounded away at the many stricken Russian ships without mercy.

As dawn came the Japanese Fleet stood down, having sunk many vessels and badly damaging more. The Battle of Tsushima was all but over, though, on the next day, Admiral Togo led his fleet in a mopping up campaign which sunk many more ships and captured others. Imperial Russia’s ambitions in the Pacific were no more than a pathetic dream. Admiral Rozhestvensky was captured in a badly wounded state but was able to pull through, though a more subdued man for the remaining four years of his life. He was made the scapegoat for the disaster of the Russian Fleet. Japan had come of age in the new world of warfare and in the Pacific; she was the powerful new kid on the block. For imperial Russia, it was, perhaps, the beginning of the end.

Mikasa today (Survivor of the great Battle of Tsushima)

Prehistoric Monster Snake Once Terrorised This Planet.

The sheer size of Titanoboa meant it had no trouble devouring prey as large as alligators

 A recently discovered prehistoric monster snake provides answers about the past - and raises questions for the future.

Around 58 million years ago, a monstrous snake slithered out of the swampy jungles of South America and began a reign of terror.

Weighing more than a tonne and measuring 14m (approximately 50ft) the giant reptile could swallow a whole crocodile without showing a bulge. But a few years ago, scientists never even knew it existed.

"Never in your wildest dreams do you expect to find a 14m boa constrictor. The biggest snake today is half that size," says Dr Carlos Jaramillo, a scientist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and part of the team that made the discovery.

'World of lost reptiles'

 

Thought to be a distant relative of the anaconda and boa constrictor, the snake - named Titanoboa - was not venomous. Instead, it crushed its prey with the constricting force of 400lbs per sq inch - the equivalent of lying under the weight of one and a half times the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Start Quote

Changing climates and changing continents are the fuel of evolution. But things that happen very quickly can result in the types of change we might not view very positively”

End Quote Jonathan Bloch University of Florida

The fossils were exposed by excavation at the massive Cerrejon open-face coal mine in northern Colombia. In 2002, scientists had discovered at that site the remains of a tropical rainforest from the Palaeocene Epoch - perhaps the planet's first.

As well as fossilised leaves and plants, they unearthed reptiles so big they defied imagination.

"What we found was a giant world of lost reptiles - turtles the size of a kitchen table and the biggest crocodiles in the history of fossil records," says Jonathan Bloch, an expert in vertebrate evolution at the University of Florida.

They also found the vertebrae of a colossal snake.

"After the extinction of the dinosaurs, this animal, the Titanoboa, was the largest predator on the surface of the planet for at least 10 million years," says Dr Bloch. "This was a major animal in any sense of the imagination."

Search for skulls

 

But scientists needed the snake's skull to get a full picture of how it looked, what food it ate and how it might be related to modern species. Last year, a team set out to find it, with little expectation of success. Because the bones of a snake's skull are so fragile, few survive.

"Unlike our skulls, snake skulls aren't fused together. Instead they're connected with tissue," says Dr Jason Head, a snake specialist from the University of Nebraska.

"When the animal dies, the connective tissue decomposes and all the individual bones are generally dispersed. They're very thin and fragile too and often get destroyed. Because Titanoboa is so big and the skull bones are so large, it's one of the few snakes that do make it into the fossil record."

To their amazement, the team recovered the remains of three skulls from which the reptile could be accurately reconstructed for the first time.

Giant animals in history

• Blue whale: still swimming today, blue whales measure 30m (100ft) long
• Brachiosaur: this dinosaur measured 23m (75ft) long and 12m (40 ft) high
• Chan's Metastick: this stick insect, native to Borneo, measures 56.7cm, (22.3 in)
• Pterosaurs - this flying reptile had a wingspan of 5.1 meters (16ft)

Source: US Geological Survey, National Geographic, New Zealand Museum of Natural History

From that, they were able to get a better sense of how Titanoboa lived and looked. A life-sized replica is now on display at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, and will begin a nationwide tour in 2013.

Aside from the excitement of discovering a new and enormous species of snake, the reptile can tell scientists a lot about the history of the Earth's climate - and offer a glimpse of the possible effects of global warming today.

Snakes are unable to regulate their own temperature and depend on external heat to survive.

"We think the Titanoboa became this large because it was much warmer on the equator after the dinosaurs died 60 million years ago," says Dr Bloch. "We think that's why reptiles in general were larger.

That ability to thrive in a warm climate could be relevant in the event that global temperatures rise according to the projections of climate scientists, Dr Bloch adds.

"It's evidence that ecosystems can thrive at temperatures of the levels that are being projected over the next one or two hundred years."

Return of Titanoboa?

But the climate changes that produced Titanoboa took millions of years. Scientists are less certain about the effects of sudden temperature change.

"Biology is amazingly adaptable. Changing climates and changing continents are the fuel of evolution. But things that happen very quickly can result in the types of change we might not view very positively," says Dr Bloch.

Add caption

The Cerrejon open-face coal mine where the fossils were discovered

As well as being warmer, CO2 levels were also 50% higher during the period of the Cerrejon rainforest.

"One big lesson we are learning from the fossils in Cerrejon is that tropical plants and the ecosystem in general have the ability to cope with high temperatures and high levels of CO2, another major concern with the current trend of global warming," says Dr Jaramillo.

"Perhaps the plants and animals of the tropics today already have the genetic ability to cope with global warming."

Does that mean the Titanoboa could one day return?

"As the temperature increases, you have the probability they will come back," says Dr Jaramillo. "But it takes geological time to develop a new species. It could take a million years - but perhaps they will!"

Dynamic German Engineering - Monster Railway Tunnel Builder in London

Metal moles begin work below London

Tunnelling work is about to begin on a grand scale in London as the £16bn Crossrail project gets set to build 26 miles (42km) of tunnels beneath the capital.

The first of eight highly specialised Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM), which each weigh nearly 1,000 tonnes, is being positioned at Royal Oak in west London. From here it will begin its slow journey east, as it carves out a new east-west underground link. The scheme is currently the largest civil engineering project in Europe.

Continue reading the main story

Described by Boris Johnson as "voracious worms nibbling their way under London", the 150-metre long machines will take three years to build a network of tunnels beneath the city's streets.

Tunnelling will start from the newly-constructed portal at Royal Oak

While tunnelling the TBMs will operate 24 hours a day and move through the earth at a rate of about 100m per week.
Each one is staffed by a 20-strong "tunnel gang" and comes with its own kitchen and toilet.
The machines are monitored from a surface control room which tracks their positions using GPS.
Hydraulic rams at the front keep the 980-tonne machines within millimetres of their designated routes.
A TBM will set you back about £10m.
Once their work is finished, the machines will be sold back to their German manufacturer Herrenknecht and refurbished for further use.

The TBMs will have to navigate London's existing subterranean infrastructure, including sewers, some 10 Tube lines and the Blackwall and Limehouse link road tunnels.
At the deepest point the machines will be travelling about 40m below ground.

The Crossrail scheme was first proposed in the mid 1970s, although plans to build full-size railways through central London were also drawn up after World War II.
When complete by 2018, the line will pass through 37 stations and run 73 miles (118km) from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

The line is expected to carry about 200 million passengers per year and expand London's rail capacity by about 10%.
Unlike the Tube, the line's rolling stock will be the same size as mainline trains and some 1,500 passengers can be carried in each train at peak periods.

Other tunnel boring machines from all over the world:

Will the human race begin to live underground? Not on Earth but perhaps somewhere else? On asteroids as they are mined etc? Such machines above or below might be a start to such excavations in creating underground artificial environments in places that are less hospitable on the surface but with valuable ore or minerals to be mined.

Below are other such monster boring machines:

Steeleye Span - Saucy Sailor

I always had a soft spot for Steelye Span. I love their old world style combined with modern instruments. Many of their songs are old folk from all over the Isles and to listen to them often takes me back in time to a different world and way of life.

North Korean 75th Aniversary Parade - Old Style Communist Nation

North Korea celebrates its communist roots with a very spectacular parade. Yet the leaders of this nation seem to follow a more monarchy type rule. I know this might seem a bit rich coming from a Brit, who lives in a country where there is a queen. It is however, true of this communist nation. The leaders inherit the rule of this country upon father to son basis - yet they celebrate Socialism in a strange and bizarre way.  They also have a very different view of their history concerning the Korean war and don't seem to mention China's help during this conflict. The state controls everything including history that can be fashioned to what they decide it must be.

I think the parade looks spectacular but is this all that the nation has to look forward too? I've watched other communist nation's parades and with the exception of China; North Korea seems to be the most compelling. They really seem to pull out all the stops. I'm not sucked in by the prospect of living in such a place, however. They seem like robots. Not the soldiers, but the obedient audience. The commentator talks of joy under the glorious leadership of these strange (regal type) communist rulers. I wonder how other communist nations view North Korea.

Britain's Hit and Run Raider Ships of WWI - Lord Clive Class Monitor Ships

H.M.S. General Wolfe of Dover Patrol WWI

All sorts of new ships were designed during the 19th century - guaranteed for particular tasks and to deliver results. Battleships, Commerce Raiders, Coastal Defence and much more. The money was flowing in from the Empire and the health of the Royal Navy easy maintained this circumstance. New Victorian Coastal defence ships, like the Cyclops Class, were never proven because they were not put to the test against an advanced enemy. They became obsolete before the start of the First World War. However, new discovery and innovations were about. Among such; were the Lord Clive Class Ships. These ugly vessels looked like huge floating gun platforms that would sneak across a narrow strip of sea, like the English Channel, and unleash hell upon enemy positions - Britain's hit and run monitorships. This easy method of stealth attack gained results for Great Britain along a hostile coastline, where enemy forces had overrun much of the nation of Belgium.

Model of HMS General Wolfe

The image on the left is the World War One model of HMS General Wolfe - a coastal raider of Dover Patrol that attacked German-occupied Belgium. The model in the picture shows a view from the stern and there are other angles from the Models Gallery by Rob Kernaghan. It is a great example of what a Lord Clive Class monitor looked like.

To look at, the Lord Clive Class monitor was an ugly looking thing – a gun platform that ferried its way towards an enemy coast to bombard positions and then leave after spending its shells.

There were eight monitors of the Lord Clive class ship and they were used during the First World War for coastal raids. They were named after past British soldiers – one of them was called, Prince Rupert. He was a soldier of German origin – he had served with King Charles I as a caviller during the Civil war of the 1640s. Other monitors were named after General Wolfe of the Battle of Quebec, Lord Clive of India, Sir Thomas Picton who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo and various other heroes of Britain’s past. Some of these ships went to the Dardanelles to attack Turkish positions in the Mediterranean, while the remainder were in Dover patrol. These Lord Clive Monitors attacked the Belgian coastline where the German forces had overrun the area and set up their own defences.



HMS General Wolfe from another Angle

The low draft monitors had a crew of one hundred and ninety-four and a speed of 6.5kts. This speed was underpowered in real terms, but for raids across the channel, the need for speed was not too palpable for the task in hand. There were two anti-aircraft guns for defence against the German biplanes of the era – one three-pounder and another two-pounder. There was also a quick-firing twelve-pounder gun and turrets consisting of two twelve-inch guns. These guns were taken from pre-dreadnought Majestic class ships. Later, in 1918, two of the Dover patrol ships had their twelve-inch guns replaced with a single eighteen-inch gun. I think this was an open barbette - a huge great thing as one can see in the photograph below. These vessels were HMS General Wolfe and HMS Lord Clive. The new 18 inch gun upon the General Wolfe fired a shell almost twenty miles in 1918. It was during a raid off of German-occupied Belgium at a railway bridge four miles south of Ostend in a place called Snaeskerke.



The single 18-inch gun replacing the two 12 inch guns on HMS Lord Clive

I have a particular interest in the Dover patrol monitors because my first wife had a grandfather who lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. We visited him in 1982 and he was aged 82 at the time. He died in 1990 aged 90. We just referred to him as ‘Pop’ and he was very hard of hearing. I had to shout for him to hear me because he was almost deaf. I was looking at some very old photos of him that hung on his living room wall. He was young – just 18 years and in a navy uniform. He commented on my observation and began to mumble about the photos. Fortunately, my wife and Aunt Betty were able to translate. His Norfolk accent was very broad and quiet. He told me he was in the Navy during the First World War when the photo was taken. He was on board a gunboat firing at the Belgium coastline, though he did say it was close to Dunkirk which was in France on the Belgian border. His ship was hit by a shell fired from the coast and when he came to, all of his crewmates were killed and decapitated about him – among the dead was his brother. His hearing was shattered but he alone had survived the explosion during the coastal raid. I did not know what ship the eighteen-year-old ‘Pop’ was on, and I'm sure there were other British ships that attacked the Belgian coastline. However, it was 1918 that this happened to 'Pop' and I now wonder if he might have been aboard one of the Lord Clive Class monitors. His name was Fredric Franklin.



HMS General Wolfe

Lord Clive Class Monitor info

Rob Kernaghan Models Gallery

Other blogs on ships:
HMS Victoria Naval Disaster
First Successful Submarine Attack
HMS Thunder Child (Fictitious ship)
First Steam-Powered Battleship
Cyclops Class Coastal Defense Ships

    

Public Domain Clip Art: Orson Welles War of the Worlds H.G. Wells

Public Domain Clip Art: Orson Welles War of the Worlds H.G. Wells