by David Tollen | Apr 15, 2022 | The Early Modern Age, The Recent Modern Age
Revolutionary France had a Black general. His name was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, and he was born a slave in Haiti — then a French colony — the son of a French nobleman and his African slave. Dumas’ father had little money and actually pawned the boy in...
by David Tollen | Mar 13, 2020 | The Recent Modern Age, Geography
This week in 1804, the Louisiana Territory transferred from French to U.S. sovereignty, with the change marked by a ceremony in St. Louis. The territory had actually changed hands before, from France to Spain and then, as late as 1800, back to France. France’s First...