One of the first History courses I took in High School was Canada in the 20th Century. Most Canadian history texts that are used in schools start at this point. And there’s no surprise. As a nation, Canada came into its own in the 20th Century. Many point the crucible of World War One as the focal point. Others state the post World War Two era leading up to the 100th Anniversary of Confederation. But everything that happened in the 20th Century built on what happened before and the sins of the past were going to come back to haunt. As Canada emerged from theRead More →

In the years preceding the first world war, a new sort of arms race was looming, the battleship. One specific battleship, HMS Dreadnought, was the first big gun battleship in the Royal Navy. Soon all other powers were scrambling to match the size, armour, and armament of the Dreadnought. The United States Navy was not immune to this new global arms race. Sadly today, most of these awesome displays of naval power are long gone, including the lead ship, the Dreadnought herself, but one remains. The New York Class Battleship USS Texas. Construction of Texas began in 1911, launched in 1912 and commissioned as BB-35Read More →