The Anglo-Zanzibar War 1896 - The 40 Minute War

When it comes to the length of a war, none takes the title of a Shorter War than the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, which was part of the greater Scramble for Africa by the European Empires , it lasted all of 38 minutes.

Zanzibar is an Island in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika, today it forms part of the Tanzania. The main Island, Zanzibar, is under the nominal control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698. Prior to this, Zanzibar was a Portuguese colony from 1499.

The Island of Zanzibar and the United Kingdom, were allies in the Scramble of Africa, as the British had recognized the sovereignty  of the Island state in 1886, and were using it as a refuelling depot. The main challenger for East Africa to Britain was Germany. Sultan Khalifah granted the British land rights in Kenya and granted the Germans land rights in Tanganyika. This resulted in some unrest between Britain and Zanzibar. The Germans who did not show their respect of the Zanzibar Sultanate, refused to fly the Sultanate flag over their territory leading to armed unrest between German troops and local populations.

In 1890, Sultan Ali declared Zanzibar a British protectorate and appointed a British first minister to lead his cabinet.  This position gave the British a veto vote over any future appointments of sultans. The same year, a spheres of interest in East Africa, causing more unrest between the British and Germans. In 1893, Ali's reign as Sultan was over and Sultan Hamad was appointed Sultan, and was very pro-British.

On August 25th 1896, Sultan Hamad died suddenly, and his nephew Khalid bin Bargash, was pro-German and was suspected by some as assassinating Hamad. Barhash moved into the palace complex in Zanzibar, without British approval. The British preferred Hamud bin Muhammed over Barhash. The British issued an ultimatum to Barhash to leave the palace and respect the Treaty of Ali. At the same time the HMS Thrush anchored itself off the coast of Zanzibar to show British force in the area.

On August 26th, to increase the British presence off the island, the HMS Racoon, St. George, and Philomel anchored  with the HMS Thrush. The Sultan took posession of the HHS Glasgow and sent it out to sea to attempt and show his power, but just became surrounded when the HMS Sparrow arrived and the British increased their ultimatum to war if Barhash did not leave the Royal Palace.



On August 27th, the Ultimatum expired at 9am local time and General Lloyd Mathews ordered the British ships begin their bombardment of the island. At 9:02, HMS Racoon, Thursh and Sparrow opened fire at the Royal Palace.  At 9:05, the Glasgow engaged the St. George which was futile, and once the St. George retaliated, the Glasgow sank.

38-Minutes after the battle began the British with 1000 troops  controlled the town and had installed Muhammed as Sultan. The British removed many of the powers the Sultan had prior to this conflict.

In the end more than 500 Zanzibarians were killed, 1 Royal Yacht was sunk, 2 other boats were sunk, and 1 shore battery gun was destroyed. The British casualty list included 1 wounded. This odd conflict was over as quickly as it started.

Remembering History - The Anglo-Zanzibar War 1896 - The 40 Minute War

Killing from a Distance - The Best Snipers

With the death of Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history earlier this month, and after watching "Enemy at the Gates" yet again, I decided to put together a list of the deadliest snipers in history.

Robert Furlong



Currently a Police Officer, Furlong, a former Canadian Forces sniper, as a member of the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry.  Furlong is known for his record breaking sniper kill in 2002 during Operation Anaconda, during the War in Afghanistan. Furlong, armed with a .50 Caliber McMillan Brothers Tac-50 Sniper Riffle. He killed a Taliban fighter at a distance of 2,430 meters.  Furlong held the record for the longest confirmed kill, from 2002 to 2009.

Craig Harrison 



Harrison, a Corporal of Horse (CoH) for the Blues and Royals of the British Army holds the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat history. In November 2009, Harrison killed 2 Taliban fighters in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan at a distance of 2,475 meters. Harrison was armed with a L115A# Long Range Riffle.



Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney

Mawhinney in action during the Vietnam War 

Charles Mawhinney joined the U.S. Marines in 1967 and served the Corps during the Vietnam War. He holds the record for number of confirmed kills, at 103, for Marine Snipers. His kill rate, exceeds that of legendary Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock. In his 16 month deployment he killed 103 enemies, and another 216 kills were never confirmed.  The average sniper kill was 300-800 yards during the war, Mawhinney have several confirmed kills over 1000 yards, making him one of the most accurate snipers in the Vietnam War.


Adelbert F. Waldron 




Waldron is on this list as he held the highest number of conformed kills for any American Sniper in history until the deployment of Chris Kyle. With a 109 Confirmed Kills, Waldron is also one of the most accurate Snipers ever deployed. Waldron served during the Vietnam War in and around the Mekong River. His most impressive kill came while aboard a Tango Boat where he killed a Vietcong Soldier hiding in a coconut tree with one shot over 900 meters away while in motion.

Carlos Norman Hathcock II ("White Feather")



With 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War, Hathcock was hated by the Vietnamese. The Vietnam Army put out a $30,000 bounty on his life for killing so many of their men, and officers. Compared to other bounty's for other U.S. snipers offered by the Vietnamese, were typically around $8. Hathcock was known for his extremal accurate shot, known for rarely missing and requiring a second shot.  He is most famously known for his kill where he killed an enemy sniper, where his bullet went through the scope of the enemy sniper.  Hathcock also spent 4 days crawling through a meadow to kill a Vietnamese General who was commanding officer of the Vietnamese Army.

Francis Pegahmagabow 



Although virtually forgotten once he returned to Canada after World War I, Pegahmagabow had 378 confirmed kills and lead to the capture of at least 300 Germany soldiers. He was an Ojibwa Warrior fighting for Canada during various battles including the Second Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Second Battle of Passchendaele, and the Battle of Scarpe. Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal three times and seriously wounded twice during the war. He also volunteered to run through enemy fire to get more ammunition when his unit was running low. After the war Pegahmagabow served a political life.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko 



Pavlichenko was 24 years old when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. She was one of the first volunteers when Russia asked for women to join the infantry. She was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. With her shooting accuracy, she became one of 2000 female snipers in the Soviet Union. With 309 confirmed kills, she is the most successful female sniper in combat history. Her first deployment was during the conflict in Odessa, and after 2 months in combat, she had killed 187 Germans.  She spent another 8 months in the Crimean Peninsula, where she recorded another 257 kills. Of her 309 kills, 36 were enemy snipers.


Chris Kyle 



Kyle was a U.S Navy SEAL and was the most lethal sniper in American Military history. He had 160 confirmed kills, with another 95 unconfirmed. Kyle was deployed during the Iraq War, specifically the Second Battle of Fullujah. He was awarded 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, 2 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, A Purple Heart, and other operational medals.  After leaving the military Kyle was helping former soldiers who were struggling with PTSD, and was killed in a Shooting Range shoot-out in February 2013.


Vasily Zaytsev 



Probably one of the best known snipers in history thanks to Hollywood and the film, "Enemy At the Gates." Although it is a fantastic film it is not entirely true, or at least cannot be confirmed. With 242 confirmed kills Zaytsev became a Russian hero and sign of hope during the Battle of Stalingrad. In his memoir, Zaytsev claimed to have spent 3 days hunting, and being hunted by German sniper Erwin Konig (also thought to be Heinz Thorvald). There is no official record of either existing or being present during the Battle of Stalingrad. The book "War of the Rats" by David L. Robbins portrays the battle between Zaytsev and Thorvald, while the film chooses Konig. It is most likely that the event was Zaytsev hunting multiple snipers, not one elite sniper. However, Zaytsev remained firm that he was it was Konig he fought with. Zaytsev was responsible for training numerous other Soviet snipers, who where responsible for more than 3,000 kills.  Zaytsev's kills came between October 1942 and January 1943. As many as 250 kills went unconfirmed, making him one of the deadliest snipers in history.

Simo Hayha 




Hayha was nicknamed "White Dead" as he was responsible for 705 confirmed kills, 505 of which came from his sniper riffle. He was armed with an Iron Sighted Bolt Action Riffle...no fancy scope like all the others on this list. Hayha was active during the Winter War 1939-1940 between Finland and Russia, where Hayha lived outdoors with temperatures dropping to -40 degrees Celsius. In less than 100 days, he had 505 confirmed kills, and another 542 unconfirmed kills. He was later credited with 200 kills using a Suomi KP/31 Sub-machine gun. Hayha was a master of winter camouflage, doing various things to hide his location, including keeping snow in his mouth so that his breath would not reveal his position. He was shot in the face in March of 1940 but survived, and was in hospital when peace was declared.

Remembering History - The Best Snipers

The Pig War - 1859 to 1874

The Blue line follows the Haro Straight, followed by the Americas.
The Red Line follows the Rosario Straight, followed by the British.
The Green Line was the San Juan Channel, was a compromise proposal.
In the end, the Americans won, and the Haro Straight became the official boarder.

In today's post, we will explore the explosive Pig War of 1859, also known as the Pig Episode, Pig and Potato War, San Juan Boundary Dispute, and finally, Northwestern Boundary Dispute.

 The British and United States where not the best of friends during the late nineteenth century, and have had their fare share of clashes. The West Coast of North America has always been a touchy issue. Despite the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War, which established the boarders of the United States, and British North America at the 49th Parallel. This did not settle Vancouver and the islands in-between the mainland of what is modern Washington State and British Columbia.  

In 1859, The U.S. and the British Empire began to fight over the San Juan Island. After the Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846, which ended the Oregon Boundary Dispute, which divided Oregon Country and the Columbia District along the 49th parallel, further cementing the Treaty of Paris. However, it caused uncertainty about the geographic location of the San Juan Islands. Most people believed the border was through the Haro Strait, whole others believed it was on the Rosario Strait. 

To help solve the problem, the British established a Boundary Commission, despite the commission, progress was extremely slow in finding a solution. On June 15th, thirteen years after the Oregon Treaty, the confusion left to a conflict. Lyman Cutlar, an American Farmer moved onto one of the islands claiming the right to live there under the Donation Land Claim Act. On the 15th, he found a pig eating in his garden, and Cutlar, upset at the destruction caused by the pig, he shot it, killing it.

The pig in question was owned by Irishman Charles Griffin who was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, running a sheep ranch on the islands. To solve the problem, Cutler offered to pay $10 for the pig, an offer Griffin took as an insult and demanded $100.  As the conflict continued into a War of Words, the British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar, the American settlers on the island called for military protection. 

Immediatly Brigadier General William S. Henry was dispatched with 66 American soldiers, with Captain George Pickett. Their intention was to prevent the British authorities from landing on the island. To counter the American deployment, the British sent three Warships under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby. Captain Pickett viewed the British Warships as a direct threat to American sovereignty  and threatened to fortify the island, putting the small issue on centre stage for the entire nation. By August more than 400 Americans and 14 cannons were stationed on the island under the command of Colonel Silas Casey, who were opposed by 5 British Warships, housing 70 guns, and more than 2000 troops. During the coming weeks, no shots were fired. 

At the end of August, the governor of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, demanded that the British land its marines on the island and engage the American soldiers.  Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes of the British Navy  decided that the two great nations starting a war over a dead pig was foolish, and called for a resolution.  

While negotiations were ongoing, both the British and Americans agreed to jointly occupy the islands. Both sides agreed to leave no more than 100 troops. The British took the north end, while the Americans took the south end.  For the next 12 years, joint military occupation occurred.  In 1871, Britain and the U.S signed the Treaty of Washington, which dealt with a number of differences between the two countries, but not specifically with the Islands of San Juan. As the Americans we busy with their Civil War, the issue was sent to international arbitration. Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany was to act as the arbitrator. Wilhelm referred the case to Geneva, and a year later on October 21, 1872 favoured the U.S. claim on the islands.  The boundary was set at the Haro Straight. 

On November 25, 1872 the British withdrew their Royal Marines from the camp. The Americans removed their military presence in July of 1874. Canadians were offended by the British lack of interest in Canada's best interest and sought more international autonomy. 

Today the Union Jack still flies where the British Camp was located. It is raised and lowered daily by park rangers. It is one of few places in the U.S. without diplomatic status where the U.S. employees regularly hoist the flag of another country. 

The Pig War ended with the only casualty being a pig. 

Remembering History - The Pig War - 1859 to 1874. 

History of the French Language

While this longer than some other posts, I was required to  assembled this Language Profile for  a course I was completing. If the development of language interests you, take some time to read this...it will surprise you how long it took for Modern French to develop.

French Language Profile

History and Geography

As a language goes, the evolution of French is not a simple or direct one. Starting in the 5^th Century B.C.E. the Celts populated Spain, Northern Italy and Western Europe (what is now modern France). In Western Europe the Celts became known as the Gauls, who had no central authority and were a mixture of hundreds of city states. The Gauls spoke a vast variety of Celtics languages. There would continue to be no centralized language until the Romans began occupying of mainland Europe between 58 and 50 B.C.E. Julius Caesar conquered all of the Gaul territory and ignored all the “barbaric” (as the Romans saw them) Celtics languages and made it so that Latin was essential.

To enjoy a simpler life under the Roman occupation, Gauls began to seek Roman citizenship, which meant adopting Latin as their main language. Like the Romans with their continuous marching armies, the Gauls, a militaristic people, used their armies to continue the spread of Latin throughout Europe. With the implementation of schools with Latin traditions have a boost to the Roman alphabet, and created a written tradition in Europe, where there previously had been none. This resulted in the oral Gaulish tradition as obsolete.

The Latin that spread throughout Europe was not that of Caesar, but the broke Latin of servants, soldiers and Roman settlers. This spoken Latin was very distinct from the classical Latin. This Latin has become known as “Vulgar Latin.”

By 375 C.E., the Germanic invasion had begun in Europe, and the fall of the Roman Empire was in its final stage. The Germanic Franks took control of the Gaul territory and what is modern northern Germany. By the end of the 5^th Century C.E. Europe was divided into hundreds of Germanic Kingdoms with still no centralized language.

The Franks began to centralize under Charles I (known as Charlemagne) who imposed Catholicism, but “Vulgar Latin” was still used and was being fragmented constantly. As “Vulgar Latin” became too complex, a central Germanic language of Romanic began to form around those in political office and the various monarchs. The Franks who choose to undergo their own transition, began speaking Frankish, but it was only used by the aristocracy.

During the time of Charlemagne, the Franks went through a period of bilingualism with Romanic. This continued for several centuries before the Franks were forced to adopt the Romanic language due to the surrounding nations acceptance of Romanic. Even today, only 544 Frankish words have survived to modern French, according to French linguist Henriette Walter.

The transition from Frankish to Romanic resulted in massive changes to phonetics, morphology and syntax. The Germanic [w] was treated like the Latin [v]. Latin words that began with [h] owned their new pronunciation to the new Germanic traditions. Syntax, such as placing the subject after the verb when an object or adverb proceeded it was developed during this transition. However, despite these changes to the Romanic language, Latin continued to dominate as a written language. This would remain the case until the 10^th Century C.E.

Over time, what would become the French language, divided into three Romanic groups that are still largely visible today in France:

·         In the north – Langues D’Oil

·         In the south – Langues D’Oc

·         French Switzerland – Franche-Comtmé

Modern French is most often associated with Langues D’Oil, as it included the highest echelons of society in Paris. Yet oddly enough the Kings of Franks still continued to speak Frankish.

In 987 C.E., Hugues Capet was elected and crowned King of the Franks, and was the first sovereign to speak the Romanic vernacular that would later become known as French. It was not however, until 1119 C.E. when Louis VI proclaimed in a letter to Pope Calistuss II that he was the new King of France (not the King of the Franks). This was the first written reference made to France, from which the word Français is derived.

The word at the time was François (pronounced Franswè). The aristocracy, clerks, jurist and middle class began to use this form of French, however unification would not occur until Louis IX ascended to the throne in 1226 C.E.  Louis IX achieved a first stage of French centralization, but only enough to secure the survival of French through centuries of turmoil. This was accomplished through Louis IX’s numerous Royal Military victories, where French made headway in all major cities, and the language became associated with France.

In terms of phonetics, the French of this period was very complex. This was expecially true with its vowels. 13^th Century C.E. French included some 33 vowels (9 oral, 5 nasal, 11 oral diphthongs, 5 nasal diphthongs, and 3 triphthongs). Consonants had three strict modifiers making French a very difficult to understand and learn.

For anyone who speaks French today, they would have a great deal of difficulty with 13^th Century French, as all the letters were pronounced, including those that we understand as silent today.

In terms of grammar, 13^th Century French, it remained very backwards, as word order was free in sentences. This form of French became known as “Old French.” This form of French was a mix of Romanic, Occitan, Germanic, and Arabic words, and used Latin for its phonetics.

Despite its far reaching roots, French was still not recognized as an official language. It was grounded as a vehicular language. This was because it was in use throughout the upper levels of society and was used by the Royal Army which carried French to Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Syria and Jerusalem through the Crusades. As the language expanded around the world, the written form began to catch up. The only problem was the coming centuries would not be easy for the French language.

Between the 14^th-16^th century French underwent a number of changes from the globally spread “Old French” to “Middle French” to “Modern French” as we know it today.

When Philip IV was King of France, he began using French for all official documents and was required it to be used in all regional parliaments. By 1300 C.E. French was rivaling Latin, and Roman and Greek philosophers were being translated into French to allow for a wider audience.  As a result, written French went through a Latinization.

In 1328 C.E. Charles IV died without an heir to his throne, and the English asserted its claim to the French throne. Edward III of England was French and Philippe VI ( a French Prince) began the long fight, known as the 100 Years’ War.

The conflict not only created a rift among the French monarchy, it also divided the French provinces. It would not be until 1453 C.E., under Charles VII that France would prevail, and regain control of all its former provinces.

The French victory cost the French language dearly. England replaced French in the Parliament of London earlier in 1363 C.E., and Henry V of England began to use English in his official documents.

It was argued by linguist Walter, that, if it were not for the intervention of Joan of Arc, the English would have fully adopted the French language. Forever altering the world as we know it today. Canada, the U.S. and all of the former British Empire might have been French.

Following the 100 Years’ War, France remained very unstable. This instability, led to a simplification of the entire “Old French” system. The numerous diphthongs and triphthongs were eliminated, turning to simple vowels in spoken French. In a reaction to this change, scholars looked to preserve the complex written rules. This resulted in the remaining pronunciation rules, on various words, like “oiseau” (pronounced wazo).

Due to the Latinization of the French written system, scholarly Latin continued to invade France and began to appear in the French vocabulary. This is very similar to the Anglicisation of French seem today.  This caused doublets to appear in the French language, the words like hötel and hôpital are examples of these doublets. They are both derived from the Latin word hospitalis, which evolved as a short form (hötel) and a long form (hôpital) into different meanings. The first, means hotel, while the second, hospital.

Other examples of these doublets are:

·         acer > aigre/âcre ·         masticare > mâcher/mastiquer ·         senior > sieur/seigneur ·         capsa > châsse/caisse ·         ministerium > métier/ministère ·         scala > échelle/escale ·         causa > chose/cause ·         porticus > porche/portique ·         simulare > sembler/simuler ·         operare > oeuvrer/opérer ·         strictum > étroit/strict ·         potionem > poison/potion ·         frictionem > frisson/friction ·         tractatum > traité/tract ·         pedestrem > piètre, pitre/ pédestre

·         rigidus > raide/rigide ·         parabola > parole/parabole ·         fragilis > frêle/fragile ·         pendere > peser/penser ·         integer > entier/intègre ·         legalis > loyal/légal ·         liberare > livrer/libérer ·         fabrica > forge/fabrique ·         auscultare > écouter/ausculter ·         absolutum > absous/absolu ·         capitalem > cheptel/capitale ·         captivum > chétif/captif ·         claviculum > cheville/clavicule ·         advocatum > avoué/avocat ·         singularis > sanglier/singulier Source: UOttawa Language Management Canada http://www.slmc.uottawa.ca/

The Renaissance also had a dramatic impact on the French language. During this period 99% of the French population did not speak French, they continued to speak a number of regional dialects. French was only spoken in and around Paris, where the upper members of society lived. Just as Frances 13^th Century military helped spread French around the world, the Italian domination during the Renaissance (the 16^th Century) lead to more Latin entering France. The Italian Wars, which took place between 1494-1559 C.E. led to a strong relationship between France and Italy. This relationship, and the influx of Latin, brought more refinement to the French language.

By 1510 C.E., Louis XII decreed that all judicial proceeding conducted in France, so that the official language in France would become more centralized. In 1539 C.E., the Royal degree of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts required every Paris in the Kingdom to keep all birth and marriage records in French instead of Latin. This made French the official state language. Although Rome did not agree, by 1520 C.E. the Bible and Gospel were being translated into French, and Calvinists in both France and Switzerland, continued to spread French throughout Europe.

The French written language became overly complicated again during the 16^th century. This was because printers were paid by the length of a document. Scholars and leading minds were unsure about the rules and complications of the language, so they left it up to the typographers to decide what was right and wrong. As a result they added the cedillia, the apostrophes, and the numerous accents that appear on all vowels in the French language, each that change the vowels pronunciation. Written French became as complicated as was spoken French in the 13^th Century. The upper echelons of society could ignore these changes, but specialists were now obligated to follow the obscure rules.  This resulted in the same difficult rules with modern French writing.

Louis XIII tasked Cardinal Richelieu to keep watch over the French language and its development. Richelieu created the Acadèmie Françias in 1635 C.E. which would later create the French dictionary, grammar rules, rhetoric, and poetics.

This centralization resulted in French becoming an international legal language. It would be used for the first time internationally in the Treaty of Rastdatt in 1714  C.E. (which ended the Wars of the Spanish Succession) and would remain the official diplomatic language on treaties until World War One.

Despite its international status, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution would weaken the French language development. Even with the numerous centralization efforts, by the late 17^th and early 18^th Century C.E. only 3 million of the 25 million living in France could speak and understand French. A high number still spoke varied forms of Patois, which had existed since the Romanic times. The French language also lost ground internationally after it lost Canada to Britain in 1760 C.E. and the American War of Independence, which isolated Louisiana.

By the mid-18^th century C.E. the language began to make headway in France itself. As factories became more centralized as a result of the Industrial Revolution, workers were required to travel into Paris and other major city centres and required French to work. However, workers would be one of the main culprits of the French Revolution, which would cause more turmoil in the evolution of the French language.

The French Revolution saw a simplification of the language.  During the outbreak, 80% of the population still did not speak French. This simplification was as a result of revolutionaries looking for more national sentiment, including language. For the first time there was a direct correlation between language and nation. The motto of the revolution was “Fraternité, Liberté, Egalité” (Fraternity, Freedom, Equality) For this to be possible, everyone needed the same language. If the language was made easier, more people could learn it. However, with the end result of the revolution resulting in the execution of Louis XVI in July of 1789 C.E., this left France open to new political ideologies.

Three major political periods remained before modern French would appear. The first was under the rule of Charles-Maurice Talleyrand, who imposed language laws, requiring French to be taught in schools and spoken in Church. This period has become known as the “Linguistic Terror,” and the laws remained until the execution of Robespierre in July of 1794 C.E.

The next period of political change was under Napoleon Bonaparte. He kept France in an eternal state of war throughout his reign, which required as much financing as possible. As a result of this, Napoleon allowed schools to return to teaching Latin, as it was cheaper and easier, meaning it required less resources. Unlike every French leader before him, he was from the lower nobility, and spoke Corsican (an Italian dialect) and put an end to all French promotion efforts.

Napoleon’s opinion of the French language came at the turn of the 19^th century. The world began to look to science more closely, and Napoleon wanted France at the centre of the stage. Napoleon reopened the Acadèmie Françias, and it returned to its work on preserving the French language.

Despite new French research, the world still revered the French and its language because of Napoleon’s continuous expansion on Europe. Europe developed a very anti-French sentiment. Napoleon also decided to sell Louisiana to the U.S. in 1803 C.E., ending the last France French outpost in North America.

After Napoleon’s death, the new government made major strides in establishing the French language. In 1830 C.E. they created the national elementary education system, while at the same time had the intention of simplifying the French language. As a result of this effort, Parisian middle class pronunciation spread through France, resulting in what is modern French today.

With continued political division, the rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (commonly known as Napoleon III) promoted himself as the protector of the lower class, who were still struggling with the adaptation of the French language. Napoleon III returned France to a short period of Latin domination. For the benefit of France, this period lasted between 1851-1871 C.E. when Napoleon III was forced to surrender in his war with Prussia, resulting in the end of his rule.

By the 19^th Century C.E. French was basically as it is today. They biggest change would continually be the increasing number of English words entering the language. The bloodiest war in history (World War One) would combine men from all over France. This destructive war solidified the survival of French, as it was the last stage of centralization. Men from the various regions were forced to modify their understanding of French to understand their comrades. Up until this period in history, French had never borrowed from the English language. In the 17^th Century, only 8 English words were in the French vocabulary. By the 20^th Century, more than 2,500 English words were present. As a result of this borrowing, French one again became an international language, borrowing words from more than 120 languages, including more than 1,000 from Italian and hundreds from Spanish. This allowed French to reach all levels of society.

In Canada, the ESL learners we will most likely encounter will be students from Quebec. This causes its own issues as Quebec French and French French are extremely different. The same can be said for African and Asian French.

There are similarities, such as the grammar rules, but there are vernacular changes. This is as a result of Frances rocky history. The French that we know in Canada is closer to 17^th-18^th Century French. This is because when New France was established from people from various French regions (which all spoke a different level and type of French). After the British conquest, Quebec was sheltered form the continued modifications to the French language in France. There is also a reason for the varied French in Quebec, from the French in New Brunswick. Those who settled in Quebec where predominantly from northern France, while those who settled in Acadia (NB) where from Southern France.   The French spoken in Canada, has been subject to the English spoken surrounding it for nearly 5 centuries. The most common pronunciation differences in Quebec are “moé” (supposed to be moi) and “toé” (supposed to be toi). With the development of social media and the internet the gap between Quebec French and France French, the same can be said for many of the former French colonies. 

The Rif War 1920-1926

French and Spanish troops holding a defensive line (1924)

Spanish Officers inspect the remains of its Garrison after  the battle of Annual. 

After a long absence, I return with a look at a lesser known conflict, the Rif War fought between Spain with assistance by France against the Republic of the Rif.  The War is also known as the Second Moroccan War.

 As a result of the earlier Treaty of Fez (1912), Spain gained possession of Melillia and Ceuta, both are autonomous Spanish cities in Northern Africa. To ensure the safety of the two cities, General Damaso Berenguer, the Commission of the Spanish cities, decided to conquer territory to the East, which was occupied by the Jibala tribes. The minor classes resulted in little success. The worst of the casualties were taken by Spain itself when its Army was was almost entirely defeated on August 9, 1921, by forces of Adb el-Krim.

The Battle of Annual, as it has become known, led the Spanish to implement colonial policies towards the Rif.  At the end of the battle, 13,363 Spanish were dead and another 7,000 were wounded.

Powered by their victory over the Spanish, the Rif continued to push the Spaniards back. By the end of August, Spain had lost all its territory gained since 1909, and only in control of Melilla. Despite the Rif having Melilla surrounded, Abd el-Krim ordered his troops not to attack the city because of the 14,000 strong Spanish Garrison. el-Krim also worried that other European powers would intervene if their cities where harmed. Melilla, was the centre of Europeans living in Northern Africa.

The low point of the war came in 1924, during fighting at Dar Aquba, when the Spanish military used chemical weapons. It is the second recorded use of mustard gas in warfare. It was previously used in 1915, during the Battle of St. Julien, part of the Second Battle of Ypres. The attack lead to the deaths of 10,000 Rif warriors.

In May of 1924, the French Army fortified the Oureghla River. They worried the Rif War would spill over into its African territory. Eleven months later, the Rif decided to attack the French lines, and show the European powers their true strength. Within two weeks, 40 of the 66 French outposts along the river were stormed and abandoned. The result was 1,000 French soldiers dead, 3,700 wounded, and another 1,000 missing. The loss represented a 20% casualty rate of all French forces in the Rif.


France did not take lightly to the attack by the Rif. They intervened on the side of Spain, and deployed 300,000 well trained and modern equipped soldiers from Metropolitan North Africa, Senegalese and Foreign Legion troops.

Spanish troops landing in Alhucemas Bay, 8 May 1925. 

The Final attack of the War came on May 8, 1925. The French and Spanish mounted a 123,000 strong fighting force, supported by 150 aircraft against a force of 12,000 Rifians. As in many Colonial wars, superior numbers and technology would favour the Colonial powers. The French troops attached from the South, while the Spanish force attached the Alhucemas Bay, employing tanks (M48 Patton) the  in an amphibious assault for the first time. The Spanish attack coming from the north, would pin the Rifians between two massive armies. After a year, and a continuing bitter resistance, el-Krim surrendered to French authorities, and Spanish Morocco was re-established.

Remembering History - The Rif War, 1920-1926