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Gallery 13

Fortunes from conquest and slavery

Power. The law it tested: title to taken wealth.

79 storiesPowerTitle to taken wealth
AI illustration: A chest of Inca gold and silver ingots beside a conquistador helmet and a sealed royal grant
Illustration made with AI for celebrity.estate.

What did these cases decide about title to taken wealth?

A bequest of the whole estate to an institution can send the money one place and the papers another. A will cannot carry out its gifts when the estate is insolvent; Jefferson's debts outranked every family he had. A gift from a government to a monarch splits into crown property and family property, and the family property passes by private will.

Stories
79
Years
1090 BCE to 2020
Main subjects
Native nations and islands, Literature and art, Egypt and Africa
Main regions
Europe, Latin America, North America
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in this gallery, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Thomas Jefferson: Rembrandt Peale - Thomas Jefferson title QS:P1476,en:"Rembrandt Peale - Thomas Jefferson "label QS:Len,"Rembrandt Peale 1826 · Monticello, Albemarle County, VirginiaThomas Jefferson's will freed his two youngest sons by Sally Hemings, and his debts sent 130 enslaved people to auctionJefferson owed about $100,000 in his last months. In February 1826 the Virginia General Assembly approved a lottery to raise money for him.nature.com and 4 morePatricia Highsmith: Patricia-Highsmith-19621995 · Locarno, SwitzerlandPatricia Highsmith left her whole estate, over $3 million, to the Yaddo artists' colony, and her papers went to the Swiss Literary ArchivesHighsmith died in a hospital in Locarno in 1995 and left her entire estate to Yaddo, the artists' colony in Saratoga Springs, New York.helveticarchives.ch and 3 moreRough cullinan diamond: The rough Cullinan diamond.1953 · Cullinan, Gauteng, South Africa; London, EnglandThe Transvaal bought the largest diamond ever found as a birthday gift for Edward VII, the cutter kept the smaller stones as his fee, and South Africans petition for its returnOn 26 January 1905 the surface manager Frederick Wells found a diamond of 3,106 carats at the Premier No. 2 mine near Pretoria. It was named after the mine's owner, Thomas Cullinan.UK Parliament, Hansard and 3 moreJack London: Jack London young1916 · Glen Ellen, CaliforniaJack London left nearly his entire estate to his wife Charmian in 1916; she kept the ranch, evicted a biographer, and her 1938 will turned it into a state parkJack London died on his Beauty Ranch at 40. His death certificate lists uremia following acute renal colic. He also had dysentery and alcoholism, and was taking morphine and opium. Older accounts called it suicide.parks.ca.gov and 3 morePaul Gauguin: Paul Gauguin Wearing a Breton Jacket1903 · Atuona, Hiva Oa, Marquesas IslandsPaul Gauguin died in the Marquesas with no will, the colony auctioned his paintings for a few francs, and his widow Mette got about 4,000 francsPaul Gauguin died at his house, the Maison du Jouir, in Atuona on 8 May 1903, aged 54.giquelloetassocies.fr and 3 moreAI illustration: An empty, broken-open mausoleum by the Wörthersee in Carinthia, 20082006 · Auen, Wörthersee, Carinthia, AustriaThieves stole the coffin of Friedrich Karl Flick, heir to a Nazi-era fortune, from his Austrian mausoleumFriedrich Flick's companies used an estimated 48,000 forced labourers in the Second World War.sueddeutsche.de and 6 moreMobutu Sese Seko: Mobutu (cropped)1997 · Rabat, MoroccoSwitzerland released Mobutu Sese Seko's frozen money to his heirs, and his body stays in RabatMobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, until rebels forced him into exile in May 1997. He built a palace at Gbadolite, his home town. He died in exile in Rabat on 7 September 1997, aged 66.swissinfo.ch and 7 moreEmiliano Zapata: Emiliano Zapata41919 · Anenecuilco, Morelos, MexicoAnenecuilco gave Zapata its colonial land titles in 1909; the man he left them to was killed in a land fight with Zapata's sonIn 1909 the elders of Anenecuilco elected Emiliano Zapata, then 30, president of the village council. The village kept colonial-era papers on its land to use against the sugar haciendas.inehrm.gob.mx and 2 moreAI illustration: A painting crated and sealed in a New York museum storeroom, 19981969 · LondonA Schiele portrait lent to MoMA was seized in New York as Nazi loot, and the Vienna museum paid the owner's heirs $19 million to keep itEgon Schiele painted Portrait of Wally in 1912. Lea Bondi Jaray, a Jewish art dealer in Vienna, owned it.The New York Times and 3 moreAlfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach: Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach1967 · Essen, West GermanyAlfried Krupp was convicted at Nuremberg, got his property back in 1951, and left the firm to a foundation instead of his sonAlfried Krupp became sole owner of the Essen arms maker in 1943. On 1 January 1943 the firm employed about 25,000 prisoners of war, foreign civilians and forced labourers; historians put the wartime total at 100,000 or more.krupp-stiftung.de and 6 moreCambodge-1223: Les vestiges du Prasat Krachap, un des temples du site de Koh Ker - Cambodge2020 · Bangkok, Thailand; Koh Ker, Cambodia; New York, USAA Bangkok dealer died under US indictment for selling looted Khmer statues, and his daughter gave the 125 pieces she inherited back to CambodiaDouglas Latchford lived in Bangkok and was for decades a leading supplier of Cambodian sculpture to Western museums and collectors. He published books on Khmer art and was feted by Cambodian officials.ice.gov and 4 moreAI illustration: Framed and unframed artworks stacked in a Munich flat, 20122014 · MunichA recluse found with 1,406 artworks in his Munich flat left them all to a Swiss museum, and his cousin said he was not of sound mindCornelius Gurlitt's father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, was a museum director and art dealer who sold Nazi-looted art. Cornelius inherited the collection after his mother died in 1968.Internet Archive and 4 moreGeneral Yamashita Surrenders: General Yamashita, Commander, Japanese forces, ‘Tiger of Malaya,” and his staff walk down the trail to U.S. forces in northern Luzon, occupied by Co ‘1993 · Baguio City, Philippines; Honolulu, Hawaii, USAA Baguio locksmith said Marcos's men seized his golden Buddha, and a Hawaii jury valued the gold he never got back at $22 billionRogelio Roxas was a locksmith and treasure hunter in Baguio City. He searched for the "Yamashita treasure", war loot that legend says Japanese troops under General Tomoyuki Yamashita buried in the Philippines in 1945.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 4 moreJohns Hopkins: Hopkinsp1873 · Baltimore, Maryland, USAJohns Hopkins left $7 million in railroad stock to found a hospital, the stock stopped paying, and records found in 2020 showed he had owned slavesJohns Hopkins died in 1873, aged 78. His will left about $7 million to found a university, a hospital and an orphanage for Black children, then the largest philanthropic bequest in US history.Smithsonian Magazine and 2 moreRichard Mentor Johnson1850 · Frankfort, KentuckyVice President Richard Mentor Johnson's daughter was ruled illegitimate, and a Kentucky court gave his estate to his brothersRichard Mentor Johnson inherited Julia Chinn, an enslaved mixed-race woman, when his father died in 1815.Library of Congress and 4 moreMausoleum of General Sani Abacha in Kano1998 · AbujaFour governments returned more than $780 million of General Sani Abacha's money to NigeriaA November 1998 report by the next military government said about $1.4 billion in cash had been moved out through national security adviser Ismaila Gwarzo and Mohammed Sada.justice.gov and 3 moreYves Saint Laurent: Graphite and Egg Tempera on Canvas2008 · Paris, FranceYves Saint Laurent signed a civil union days before he died, and his collection sale included two bronze heads looted from Beijing in 1860Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé founded his couture house and were partners for 50 years. Days before Saint Laurent died in Paris on 1 June 2008, aged 71, the two men signed a PACS, a French civil partnership, at his home.lalibre.be and 7 moreYves Saint Laurent: Graphite and Egg Tempera on Canvas2008 · Beijing, China; Paris, FranceBritish and French troops looted the Summer Palace in 1860; Yves Saint Laurent's estate auctioned two of its bronze heads, and the winning bidder refused to payTwelve bronze animal heads of the Chinese zodiac spouted water from a fountain in the European section of the Yuanmingyuan, the Qing emperors' garden palace outside Beijing. The Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione designed them.visualizingcultures.mit.edu and 4 morePatrice Lumumba, 1960: Portrait of Patrice Lumumba1961 · Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Brussels, BelgiumA Belgian police officer kept Lumumba's tooth after dissolving his body in acid; Belgium returned it in 2022, and the last suspect died before trial in 2026Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of independent Congo. In January 1961 he was killed in Katanga by a Belgian-backed secessionist group, with his allies Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.NBC News and 6 moreAI illustration: Opened and emptied safe-deposit boxes in a Budapest bank vault, 19451958 · Lausanne, SwitzerlandBaron Ferenc Hatvany came out of hiding in 1945 to find his Budapest bank vaults emptied, and a British panel recommended a looted Constable be returned to his heirsFerenc Hatvany, born in Budapest in 1881, built a collection of French and Hungarian paintings. After Allied bombing began in 1942 he put most of it in Budapest bank vaults.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk and 4 moreAI illustration: William the Conqueror's funeral at Caen, 1087, stopped by a man claiming the church stood on his father's land1087 · Priory of Saint-Gervais, RouenWilliam the Conqueror's funeral stopped when a man said the church stood on his father's stolen landWilliam was injured against the pommel of his saddle while taking the town of Mantes in July 1087.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 moreJoseph Emory Davis: Joseph Emory Davis1870 · Davis Bend (now Davis Island), Warren County, Mississippi, UJoseph Davis sold his plantations to the man he had enslaved, and his brother Jefferson Davis sued the family for Brierfield and wonBenjamin Montgomery was sold in 1836 to Joseph Davis, a lawyer and cotton planter at Davis Bend who reportedly enslaved more than 200 people. Montgomery kept the books, ran the plantation store and managed the property.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov and 3 moreLeopold II of Belgium: Leopold II, King of the Belgians by Alexander Bassano (1889)1909 · Laeken, BelgiumLeopold II owned the Congo personally, married his 26-year-old mistress five days before he died, and his daughters sued for the moneyFrom 1885 to 1908 King Leopold II ruled the Congo Free State as his own property. Forced labour for rubber caused millions of deaths. Under international pressure Belgium annexed the territory in 1908.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreAmanda America Dickson: Amanda America Dickson 0011885 · Hancock County, GeorgiaA Georgia planter left his estate to his daughter by an enslaved girl, and his white relatives lost their challenge in 1887David Dickson was one of the eight richest planters in Hancock County. When he was 40 he raped Julia Frances Lewis, a 12-year-old girl he enslaved. Their daughter, Amanda America Dickson, was born on 20 November 1849.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 3 moreArlington House, east front, June 28, 1864 LCCN20046801401857 · Arlington, VirginiaThe Lee family lost Arlington over a $92.07 tax, the Army buried soldiers on it, and the Supreme Court awarded $150,000George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington's grandson, died in 1857. His 1855 will left Arlington to his daughter Mary Custis Lee for life, then to her son G.W. Custis Lee.Cornell Law School, LII and 5 moreJohn McDonogh: Johnmcdonogh1850 · McDonoghville, Louisiana, USAJohn McDonogh left two cities a fortune for free schools, his heirs said Louisiana law voided the gift, and New Orleans pulled down his statue in 2020John McDonogh, born in Baltimore in 1779, built a fortune in New Orleans land and by his death owned over 600,000 acres in thirteen parishes. The people he enslaved rose from 16 in 1820 to 192 in 1840.law.resource.org and 2 moreThomas F. Mulledy signature 1838 articles of agreement p7: Signature of Thomas F. Mulledy, the Jesuit provincial superior for the Maryland province, on page 7 of the articles of ag1838 · Washington, DC, USA; Iberville and Ascension parishes, LouisThe Maryland Jesuits sold 272 people for $115,000 in 1838 to pay Georgetown's debts, and in 2021 the order pledged $100 million to their descendantsThe Jesuits of the Maryland Province owned plantations and the people enslaved on them. The province ran Georgetown College, which was in debt. On 19 June 1838 Thomas F.slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu and 2 moreA View of the Jesuits College and Church - Vue de l Eglise et du College des Jesuites , 1761: A View of the Jesuits College and Church1800 · Quebec City, Quebec, CanadaWhen the last Jesuit in Canada died in 1800 the Crown took the order's estates, and 88 years later the Pope divided the compensationUnder French rule the Jesuits received large estates and seigneuries to pay for schools and missions. After the conquest Britain held the estates, and the Pope suppressed the order in 1773.Dictionary of Canadian Biography and 2 moreAI illustration: Soldiers blast open the Qing imperial tombs at the Eastern Qing Tombs, 19281967 · Beijing, ChinaChina's last emperor kept his title and palace after abdicating, and soldiers blew open his ancestors' tombsPuyi became emperor at two in 1908. On 12 February 1912 the Empress Dowager Longyu signed his abdication.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreZheng Yi Sao: 鄭一嫂1807 · Canton (Guangzhou), ChinaZheng Yi's widow took command of his pirate fleets, married his adopted heir, and surrendered to the Qing in 1810 keeping her plunderZheng Yi Sao had worked as a prostitute in Canton before she married the pirate chief Zheng Yi in 1801. His confederation had six fleets under coloured flags, and he led the Red Flag Fleet of about 200 ships.worldhistory.org and 2 moreMap of Mexico, marked on the globe1560 · Xilotepec (Jilotepec), State of Mexico, MexicoMalinche's daughter sued her father's widow for the encomienda of Xilotepec, citing her mother's service to the Crown in the conquestMalinche, whom the Spaniards called Doña Marina, was an Indigenous woman given to Hernán Cortés in 1519 who became his interpreter through the conquest of Tenochtitlan.cambridge.org and 2 moreHenry Morgan: Morgan,Henry1688 · Port Royal, JamaicaHenry Morgan left his plantations and 131 enslaved people to his wife and nephews, and four years later his grave went under the seaHenry Morgan was born in Wales around 1635. In 1671 he marched across the isthmus and took the city of Panama, which embarrassed the English government.lbs.ucl.ac.uk and 3 moreYagan: Yagan Statue 20051833 · Upper Swan, Western Australia, AustraliaSettlers cut off Yagan's head for a £30 reward, it was shown in London and buried in a Liverpool grave, and Noongar elders buried it in the Swan Valley in 2010Yagan was a Noongar warrior near the Swan River Colony. His father Midgegooroo was captured and executed by firing squad on 22 May 1833. The colony offered a reward of £30 for Yagan, dead or alive.abc.net.au and 2 moreGeorge Washington: George Washington label QS:Les,"George Washington, primer presidente de los E.E. U.U."label QS:Len,"George Washington"1799 · Mount Vernon, VirginiaWashington's will freed 123 people, his heir sold 54 more, and the family sold Mount Vernon for $200,000In 1799, 317 enslaved people lived at Mount Vernon. George Washington owned 124 of them and leased 40. The other 153 were Custis dower slaves he could not legally free. His July 1799 will freed his valet, William Lee, at once.founders.archives.gov and 3 moreKingPhilip 1827 BenjaminChurch SamuelDrake04264001: Description according to the metadata delivered with the image by the John Carter Brown Library: Portrait of King Philip or Meta1676 · Mount Hope (Bristol), Rhode Island, USAPlymouth put Metacom's head on a pole for about 20 years and sold his wife and nine-year-old son into slaveryMassasoit, sachem of the Wampanoag, signed a treaty with Plymouth Colony in 1621 and died in 1661.apps.lib.umich.edu and 3 moreHernando de Soto: De Soto by Telfer & Sartain1542 · Guachoya, on the Mississippi RiverDe Soto's body was sunk in the Mississippi, and his widow governed Cuba and fought his business partner over the estate until 1546 to 1550Hernando de Soto returned from Peru in 1536 with about 18,000 ounces of gold. Charles V made him Adelantado of Florida and Governor of Cuba.revistascientificas.us.es and 3 moreTewodros II: Téwodros II - 21868 · Maqdala, Amhara Region, EthiopiaTewodros II shot himself at Maqdala in 1868, Britain auctioned his treasury and took his son, and in 2023 Buckingham Palace refused to return the son's remainsIn April 1868 a British army stormed Maqdala, the mountain fortress of Emperor Tewodros II. As the troops advanced, he shot himself with pistols that Queen Victoria had given him.archive.archaeology.org and 8 moreTipu's Tiger front view 2006AH4173: Tippoo's Tiger1799 · Seringapatam (Srirangapatna), Karnataka, IndiaThe British army broke up Tipu Sultan's gold throne to divide as prize money; his sword sold for £14 million in 2023 while descendants pulled rickshawsOn 4 May 1799 the East India Company's army stormed Seringapatam. Tipu Sultan was killed, and his body was found near the Water Gate.nam.ac.uk and 6 morePedro Arias Dávila: Pedro Arias de Avila1519 · Acla, Darién, PanamaPedrarias Dávila had Balboa, his son-in-law by proxy, beheaded at Acla in 1519 for treasonVasco Núñez de Balboa reached the Pacific in 1513, and in early 1514 he sent the Crown its fifth of the loot. The Crown then sent Pedro Arias Dávila (Pedrarias) to govern the colony over him.eldebate.com and 4 moreInterior of Oba's compound burnt during siege of Benin City, 1897: Interior of Oba's compound burnt during seige of Benin City (present day Nigeria) , with bronze plaques in the fo1914 · Calabar, NigeriaNigeria vested ownership of the looted Benin Bronzes in the Oba of Benin in 2023In February 1897 a British force of about 1,200 troops took Benin City, capital of the Kingdom of Benin in today's Nigeria.nms.ac.uk and 10 moreSol Plaatje 002: Photograph of Sol Plaatje from his 1915 book Native Life in South Africa.1913 · Orange Free State, near the Transvaal border, South AfricaUnder the 1913 Natives Land Act a farmer named Kgobadi was ordered off his land by sunset, and his baby died on the road and was buried at night in a stolen graveThe Natives Land Act, No. 27, was passed on 19 June 1913. It barred Africans from buying or hiring land in about 93 percent of South Africa and aimed to end sharecropping.Project Gutenberg and 2 moreExercierplatz Sans souci Haiti illustration Naturhistorische Reise nach der westindischen Insel Hayti Brasiliensium Ritt: Exercier-Platz in Sans-Souci auf Hayti. Illustration aus N1825 · Port-au-Prince, HaitiFrance made Haiti pay 150 million francs in 1825 to compensate its former slaveholders, and Haitians paid on the debt until 1947Haiti declared independence from France in 1804. On 17 April 1825 King Charles X issued an ordinance recognising Haiti in exchange for 150 million francs, payable in five yearly instalments.csmonitor.com and 3 moreMehmed IV: Mahomet IV. sonst Achmet genannt Türckischer Kaÿser1481 · Istanbul, TurkeyA Turkish court ruled in 2020 that Mehmed II's endowment deed still bound Hagia Sophia as a mosque, while an Armenian foundation could not recover its confiscated Istanbul innHagia Sophia was built as a church in the sixth century. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453 it became a mosque. A few years later Sultan Mehmed II made it part of his waqf, a perpetual religious endowment.harvardlawreview.org and 2 moreBoudica statue, Westminster (8433726848): Boudica statue, Westminster60 · Territory of the Iceni (Norfolk), EnglandKing Prasutagus left half his kingdom to Nero to protect his daughters, and Tacitus says Roman officers flogged his widow Boudica and raped his daughtersPrasutagus, king of the Iceni in eastern Britain, ruled as an ally of Rome. Tacitus says he named the emperor Nero co-heir with his two daughters, expecting that this would keep his kingdom and household safe.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 moreAI illustration: Counsel argue the Thellusson will before the Court of Chancery in Lincoln's Inn Hall, 17991797 · Plaistow Lodge, Bromley, KentPeter Thellusson locked his fortune away for three generations, and Parliament changed the law to stop anyone copying himPeter Thellusson came from a Genevan banking family, settled in London in 1761 and became a merchant and banker.lbs.ucl.ac.uk and 3 moreThomas Guy: Thomas Guy (1644–1724) title QS:P1476,en:"Thomas Guy (1644–1724) "label QS:Len,"Thomas Guy (1644–1724) "1724 · Southwark, London, England, UKThomas Guy sold his South Sea stock at the top of the 1720 bubble and left the profit to found Guy's HospitalThomas Guy opened a bookshop in Lombard Street in 1668. From 1679 he printed Bibles under licence from Oxford University. He sat as MP for Tamworth and became a governor of St Thomas' Hospital in 1704.kingspast.kcl.ac.uk and 2 moreMusterung-Welser-Armada: Gouverneur de:Georg Hohermuth von Speyer (rechts) und de:Philipp von Hutten (Mitte) anläßlich der Musterung der Welser-Armada in Sanlúcar de Barrameda vor 1546 · El Tocuyo, Venezuela, and Augsburg, GermanyCharles V gave the Welser bank Venezuela for its loans, and a Spanish governor had the head of the firm's son killed there in 1546Bartholomäus Welser (1484 to 1561) led the Augsburg trading house from 1518. The Welsers were among the largest creditors of Charles V.deutsche-biographie.de and 4 moreCudjoe: CUDJOE MAKING PEACE WITH COLONEL JOHN GUTHRIE1764 · Trelawny Town (later Maroon Town and Flagstaff), St James, JJamaica granted Cudjoe's Maroons 1,500 acres by treaty in 1739, then shipped them to Nova Scotia in 1796 and auctioned the landOn 1 March 1739 Cudjoe, leader of the Leeward Maroons, signed a treaty with the British colony of Jamaica.nlj.gov.jm and 3 moreVix krater: Châtillon-sur-Seine480 BCE · Vix, at the foot of Mont Lassois, Côte-d'Or, FranceThe Vix grave held the largest metal vessel of the ancient world, buried with a woman, and some scholars questioned whether the body was a woman'sIn January 1953 Maurice Moisson and René Joffroy uncovered a burial chamber at the foot of Mont Lassois, a fortified hilltop near Vix. It had not been robbed.musee-vix.fr and 2 moreNagarakretagama of Indonesian 14th century Majapahit manuscript: Nagarakretagama of Indonesian 14th century Majapahit manuscript1895 · Cakranegara, Lombok, IndonesiaDutch troops took a quarter tonne of gold from the Lombok palace in 1894, and with it the only manuscript of Majapahit's royal chronicleA Balinese dynasty from Karangasem ruled Lombok from the palace at Cakranegara and grew rich on the rents of the island's Sasak people. In 1894 the Netherlands East Indies sent an army.amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl and 4 moreLetter of Kenesary-sultan: Письмо Кенесары Касымова Оренбургскому военному губернатору. 22 февраля 1841 г. Подлинник. ЦГА РК. Ф. 4.1847 · Keklik-Sengir valley, KyrgyzstanKenesary Khan was beheaded in 1847 and his skull sent to Omsk as a trophy; in 2021 Putin promised to return itKenesary Kasymov was a grandson of Ablai Khan and a descendant of Genghis Khan. After 1821 the Russian empire abolished the khan's government on the steppe.rferl.org and 2 moreIgreja de São Francisco de Assis (Diamantina, Minas Gerais): Igreja de São Francisco de Assis em Diamantina, Minas Gerais1796 · Arraial do Tejuco (Diamantina), Minas Gerais, BrazilChica da Silva, born enslaved, made a will naming 14 children as heirs and divided enslaved people among themFrancisca da Silva was born enslaved near Serro about 1732, daughter of an enslaved African woman, Maria da Costa, and a Portuguese man. Her first owner, the physician Manuel Pires Sardinha, fathered her son Simão.tjmg.jus.br and 1 moreChristopher Codrington: James Thornhill (1675-1676-1734) (copy after) - Christopher Codrington (1668–1710) - ASC-034 - All Souls College (croppe1710 · BarbadosChristopher Codrington willed his Barbados plantations to a Church of England missionary society, which held enslaved people on them from 1710 to 1836Christopher Codrington was born in Barbados in 1668 and became captain-general of the Leeward Islands in 1697 on his father's death. He died on 7 April 1710.Wikisource (primary text) and 3 moreWager's Action off Cartagena, 28 May 1708 label QS:Len,"Wager's Action off Cartagena, 28 May 1708": The English painter Samuel Scott (1702-1772) specialised in marine painting and 1708 · off Cartagena, ColombiaThe galleon San José sank off Cartagena in 1708 with nearly 600 people, and Colombia, Spain, a US salvage company and a Bolivian people all claim its cargoThe galleon San José, built in 1698, carried gold, silver and gems from Spain's American colonies. On 8 June 1708 four Royal Navy warships attacked her off Cartagena.maritime-executive.com and 3 moreAI illustration: Rebels led by Pedrarias's grandsons land on the shore at Panama, 15501550 · near PanamaPedrarias's grandsons killed the bishop of Nicaragua and raided Panama in 1550 to recover their father's lost wealthMaría de Peñalosa was Pedrarias's daughter and Balboa's proxy bride. In 1524 she married Rodrigo de Contreras, and Pedrarias died in León, Nicaragua, on 6 March 1531. Contreras governed Nicaragua from 1535 to 1544.Project Gutenberg and 3 moreAI illustration: A mudflow from the Volcán de Agua sweeps over Santiago de los Caballeros, Guatemala, September 15411541 · Santiago de los Caballeros (Almolonga valley), GuatemalaPedro de Alvarado's widow took over his governorship of Guatemala and died in a mudflow two days laterPedro de Alvarado, conqueror and governor of Guatemala, was a widower of Francisca de la Cueva. In 1538, with a papal dispensation, he married her sister Beatriz in Spain.prensalibre.com and 3 moreDiego Velázquez de Cuéllar: DiegoVelazquezCuellar1538 · Cuzco, PeruDiego de Almagro willed his governorship of New Toledo to his mestizo son, Pizarro ignored the will, and the son's followers killed PizarroDiego de Almagro was Francisco Pizarro's partner in the conquest of Peru. In May 1534 the Crown granted him the right to conquer and settle the lands 200 leagues south of Pizarro's territory, the governorship of New Toledo.revista.agn.gob.pe and 2 moreErfurter Schatz, jüdischer Hochzeitsring: Jüdischer Hochzeitsring aus dem sog. "Erfurter Schatz", aufbewahrt im Keller der Alten Synagoge in Erfurt1349 · Michaelisstraße 43, Erfurt, GermanyA Jewish moneylender's silver lay under his Erfurt cellar from the 1349 massacre until archaeologists found it in 1998Erfurt's medieval Jewish community was one of the most prominent of its time. On 21 March 1349, as the plague spread, a mob attacked the Jewish quarter on the false claim that Jews had poisoned the wells.juedisches-leben.erfurt.de and 3 moreAristotle: Aristotle Altemps Inv8575322 BCE · Chalcis, Greece; Scepsis, Troad (Turkey); Athens and RomeAristotle's heirs hid his library in a trench to keep it from the kings of Pergamum, and Sulla carried it to RomeDiogenes Laertius preserves Aristotle's will. Antipater was executor. Aristotle's daughter was to marry Nicanor.perseus.tufts.edu and 2 moreAlexander Pope: Alexander Pope title QS:P1476,en:"Alexander Pope "label QS:Len,"Alexander Pope "335 BCE · Thebes (Thiva), GreeceAlexander razed Thebes and sold its people into slavery, but spared the house and descendants of the poet PindarPindar was a lyric poet of Thebes. In 335 BC Thebes revolted against Alexander. Alexander stormed the city. Plutarch says more than 6,000 Thebans were killed and more than 30,000 sold as slaves.livingpoets.awh.durham.ac.uk and 2 moreMap of Greece, marked on the globe370 BCE · Athens and Piraeus, GreeceThe freed-slave banker Pasion willed his widow and his bank to his own freed slave Phormio; his son Apollodorus sued and was finedPasion had been the slave of Archestratus and became a banker. A speech written for his successor says Pasion held about twenty talents in real property and more than fifty talents lent at interest.perseus.tufts.edu and 5 moreMap of Greece, marked on the globe404 BCE · Athens and Piraeus, GreeceAthens's Thirty Tyrants arrested rich foreign residents for their money, took Polemarchus's 700 shields and 120 slaves, and made him drink hemlockCephalus of Syracuse settled in Athens at Pericles's invitation. His sons Polemarchus and Lysias were metics, free foreigners without citizenship, and ran a shield factory in the Piraeus with 120 slaves.perseus.tufts.edu and 6 moreNicias: Nicias, p 105 (World's Famous Orations Vol 1)413 BCE · Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; Athens, GreeceNicias rented 1,000 slaves into Athens's silver mines, Syracuse executed him, the Thirty killed his son, and his nephew went to court to keep the family landNicias son of Niceratus inherited a large fortune and was one of the largest lessees at the Laurion silver mines south of Athens.perseus.tufts.edu and 5 moreSolon: Ignoto, c.d. solone, replica del 90 dc ca da orig. greco del 110 ac. ca, 6143594 BCE · Athens, GreecePlutarch says Solon's friends borrowed to buy estates before his debt cancellation, and Solon cleared his name by writing off five talents owed to himBefore Solon, poor Athenian farmers borrowed on the security of their own bodies. Debtors who defaulted could be enslaved, and some were sold abroad. Marker stones called horoi stood on the land of those in debt.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 moreWang Mang(Emperor of the Xin dynasty): Wang Mang, courtesy name Jujun, officially titled the Shijianguo Emperor, was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Xin dynasty23 · Chang'an (Xi'an), Shaanxi, ChinaThe Han shu records that Wang Mang took the throne from a Han child, declared all land the "king's fields", repealed it three years later, and his head was kept for 272 yearsWhen Emperor Ping of Han died in AD 6, the regent Wang Mang chose a two-year-old boy of the Liu clan as successor. He did not make the boy emperor. He called him "young prince" and himself acting emperor.zh.wikisource.org and 4 moreEmerald Buddha 1873: ms:Buddha Zamrud, Istana Mewah, ms:Bangkok, ms:Thailand1778 · Vientiane, Laos; Grand Palace, Bangkok, ThailandThe future Rama I took the Emerald Buddha from conquered Vientiane, and it has stayed in Bangkok for two centuriesThe chronicle of the First Reign of Bangkok tells the image's history. In 796 of the Chula era, 1434 AD, lightning struck an old stupa in Chiang Rai. Townspeople found a gilded Buddha inside and took it for an ordinary stone image.vajirayana.org and 2 moreBandaBesarIslandSeenFromFortBelgica: An Indonesian island of Banda Besar seen from Fort Belgica.1621 · Banda Islands, Maluku, IndonesiaThe Dutch East India Company executed 44 Banda chiefs in 1621 and gave the nutmeg groves to Dutch planters, and one planter family says it has held its grove for 13 generationsNutmeg and mace grew nowhere else in the world when the Dutch East India Company reached the Banda Islands. A cargo bought there could sell for up to 300 times its price in Europe.daily.jstor.org and 3 moreNezahualcoyotl Codex Ixtlilxochitl: Nezahualcoyotl Codex Ixtlilxochitl facsimile 115-1301472 · Texcoco, State of Mexico, MexicoThe chronicles say Nezahualcóyotl had his bride's betrothed killed in battle, executed their son for treason, and named a 7-year-old heir on his deathbedThis is the account of the 17th-century chroniclers Alva Ixtlilxóchitl and Torquemada, as assembled by José Luis Martínez. Nezahualcóyotl ruled Texcoco from 1431.docs.enriquedussel.com and 2 moreTezozomoc funeral: The funeral for the Tepanec ruler Tezozomoc.1426 · Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, MexicoTezozómoc named one son heir; another son took the throne and killed him, and the cities he had ruled destroyed AzcapotzalcoThis follows the Codex Xolotl and the colonial chronicles. Tezozómoc ruled Azcapotzalco for more than 50 years and made the lake cities pay tribute.isabelbueno.es and 2 moreCodex Zouche-Nuttall - Lord 8 Deer captures Lord 4 Wind of Huachino: Lord 8 Deer captures Lord 4 Wind of Huachino1115 · Tilantongo, Oaxaca, MexicoThe Mixtec codices record that Lord Eight Deer killed his wife's father to take Tilantongo, and that the boy he spared later killed him and married his daughterThe Mixtec painted books are genealogies and histories of royal houses, and they tell the same events from rival sides.famsi.org and 2 moreTomb of the Lord of Sipan: Tomb of the Lord of Sipan250 · Huaca Rajada, Sipán, Lambayeque, PeruLooters emptied a Moche tomb at Sipán in 1987, police shot their leader, and the archaeologist called in found the Lord of Sipán untouched below itIn early 1987 a gang led by Ernil Bernal tunnelled into a mud-brick pyramid at Huaca Rajada near the village of Sipán. On 6 February 1987 they ransacked a tomb and carried gold and silver out in rice sacks, smashing pots and bones.motherjones.com and 3 moreSeated Portrait of Emperor Song Huizong 宋徽宗坐像: Seated Portrait of Emperor Song Huizong 宋徽宗坐像1135 · Kaifeng, Henan, China; Wuguocheng (Yilan, Heilongjiang), ChiThe Jurchens took two Song emperors north in 1127; a 1142 treaty brought home the father's coffin and left the son, a crowned emperor, in captivity until he diedOn 9 January 1127 Jin forces took Kaifeng, the Song capital.zh.wikisource.org and 3 moreCheonghaejin jangdo: It is also called Janggun Island and is where the main camp of Cheonghaejin, established by Master Jang Bogo during the Unified Silla Dynasty, was located841 · Cheonghaejin, Wando, South KoreaJang Bogo ruled the seas between China, Korea and Japan, tried to make his daughter a queen, and was stabbed over wine by an envoy who said he had fled the courtJang Bogo was born, probably in 788, to a modest family on Wando off Silla's southwest coast. He served as an officer in the Tang army.worldhistory.org and 2 moreByzantine-style coinage of Khosrow II, minted in Syria: Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine. 610-641. Æ Follis (27mm, 9.91 g, 9h). Contemporary imitation of a Nicomedia mint issu660 · Babylonia (Iraq)The exilarch Bostanai married a Persian princess; after his death his other sons claimed her and her children as slavesBostanai was the first exilarch, the hereditary head of Babylonian Jewry, under Arab rule. The exilarchs claimed descent from King David.jewishencyclopedia.com and 3 morePhraataces and Musa: Coin of Phraataces and Musa from Parthia2 BCE · Parthian Empire (Iran and Iraq)A slave woman sent from Rome persuaded the Parthian king to send his four sons to Rome, then her son killed him and married herIn 20 BC Phraates IV of Parthia returned the Roman legionary standards to Augustus. In the same exchange he received an Italian slave woman, Musa. Josephus calls her Thermusa and says she was a gift of Julius Caesar.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 moreAttalus III: Attalid portrait at the Antikensammlung Berlin133 BCE · Pergamon, Asia Minor (modern Turkey)King Attalus III left his kingdom to Rome in his will, and a man claiming to be a royal bastard fought Rome for itAttalus III, last king of Pergamon, died in 133 BC without children. His will left his kingdom and treasury to the Roman people.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreCuneiform tablet: account settlement, Egibi archive: Babylonian; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed508 BCE · Babylon and Borsippa, IraqA Babylonian business house split its father's estate on one clay tablet, and its records stop when Babylon revolted against XerxesThe Egibi family ran a business house in Babylon for five generations. Its archive of about 1,700 clay tablets runs from about 602 to 486 BC. Itti-Marduk-balāṭu headed the house in the third generation.nabucco.acdh.oeaw.ac.at and 2 moreMap of Egypt, marked on the globe1090 BCE · Sepermeru, south of Herakleopolis (near Beni Suef), EgyptThe Adoption Papyrus says an Egyptian stable master adopted his wife as his daughter to keep his estate from his siblings, and the widow freed and adopted their slave's childrenThe Adoption Papyrus, now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (P. Ashmolean 1945.96), records two declarations from Sepermeru, a town south of Herakleopolis whose chief god was Seth.mediterraneoantico.it and 2 moreRose Hall (Jamaica): Rose Hall, the estate house of a former sugar plantation, in Jamaica.Legend · 1827 · Rose Hall, near Montego Bay, JamaicaJamaican legend says the mistress of Rose Hall murdered her husbands; the records say her husband died in debt and she sold her claim for £200The White Witch of Rose Hall is a legend. It says Annie Palmer, trained in witchcraft, murdered three husbands and enslaved men and was killed by an enslaved man, Takoo. The records tell another story.jamaicagreathouses.com and 2 more