Burkina Faso Until the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated by the empire-building Mossi, who are believed to have come from central or eastern Africa sometime in the 11th century. For centuries, the Mossi peasant was both farmer and soldier, and the Mossi people were able to defend their religious beliefs and social structure against forcible attempts to convert them to Islam by Muslims from...

Bullfighting Bullfighting is a sports spectacle involving a bull and one or more contestants. It is fought in an outdoor arena and is done according to certain rules and procedures. Traditionally, the bullfight is a combination of ritual and mortal combat. The purpose is to maneuver the bull gracefully and kill it in a manner both courageous and extraordinary. Although bullfighting is mainly confined to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries in the...

Buddhism Although Buddhism was a major influence on both Chinese and Japanese history, key political and social circumstances led to the rise and rapid decline of Buddhism in China, while it remained a dominant religion in Japan. There are many political and social reasons that help explain why the period of history in China between 500 and 1200 was not compatible with Buddhism influences on Japan. In China, the periods of...

Buddha and His Teachings   The Buddha and His Teachings Buddhism was founded he Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama was born around 566 BC where he began life as a Kshatriya Prince. When he was young, he lived a more sheltered life; not seeing the sickness and poverty he was surrounded by outside of the kingdom. When his charioteer drove him around one day he saw, for the first time, illness, old age,...

British in India Probably, the best example of Imperialism in action was the British conquest of India or the Raj as it came to be known. It arose from the work of the British East India Company with only occasional assistance from the British Government. In 1784, however, the British Parliament established a system of joint control by the British Government and the Company. As the British grip of India increased,...

Brain and Mind The brain hardware is truly phenomenal and the mind is direly intense. However, the brain and the mind are in one package. So, where in the brain’s hardware is the mind found? Supposedly, it is found in the frontal lobe of the brain. The frontal lobe is involved in paying attention, planning, behaving emotionally, interacting socially, making decisions and organizing plans. The relationship between the mind and the...

Boston Tea Party Throughout the course of history, there have been many events leading up to the independence of America. Some of them were small, whereas others were much more significant. One of the more important events was the Boston Tea Party. This was when the colonists, in anger, boarded a ship carrying many chests of fine teas, and hurled them overboard. The Boston Tea Party marked the first act of...

Bonsai Trees The transplantation of small trees into pots is called Bonsai. Bonsai is a Japanese word; in Chinese it is called ‘Penjai’. A thing such as tray is called bon, which helps in the growth of the bonsai tree. Their growth is sustained and maintained carefully. In bonsai, only the branches are important. The rest of the parts are cut and kept aside. Their roots are kept in a small...