James Blake Wiener

James Blake Wiener is a world historian, Co-Founder of World History Encyclopedia, writer, and PR specialist, who has taught as a professor in Europe and North America.

Website: worldhistory.org

Switzerland's Jewish Queen of the Stage

James Blake Wiener 28.04.2026 The life of Rachel Félix was one of contrasting fortunes and artistic passions. Born into a family of impoverished Jewish peddlers in Mumpf, Rachel captivated theater-going audiences from New York to Moscow with her electric acting and stirring voice. She revived the fortunes of the Comédie-Française in Paris and received universal acclaim as the leading actress of her era before dying tragically of tuberculosis at the age of 36.

The Reformation in Val Bregaglia

James Blake Wiener 26.02.2026 Val Bregaglia (Bergell) has long been a crossroads, geographically and culturally, lying between Italian, Rhaeto-Romanic, and Germanic Europe. Characterized by trade routes, traditions of local autonomy, and religious ferment, the remote valley transformed into a unique refuge for Italian Protestants during the sixteenth century.

Val Bregaglia as seen from Piz Salacina: The valley emerged in the sixteenth century as a rare centre of Italian Protestantism within the Alps.

Mark Twain in Switzerland

James Blake Wiener 30.09.2025 Mark Twain (1835-1910) remains the most-celebrated humorist in the canon of American literature. The well-traveled and curious Twain made two personal trips to Switzerland, recording some of the happiest and most-solemn days of his life in and around the environs of Lake Lucerne.

Mark Twain zog es immer wieder in die Schweiz – besonders Luzern und die malerische Umgebung hatten es ihm angetan.

Flight of the Earls through Switzerland

James Blake Wiener 26.08.2025 On September 14, 1607, a group of prominent Irish nobles left Ulster and sailed out into European exile. Among them were Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Rory O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, and a scholar and writer named Tadhg Óg Ó Cianáin. Ó Cianáin’s travel diary reveals fascinating glimpses and positive impressions of early modern Switzerland as the exiles traveled through the country.

The escape of the counts had significant consequences for Ireland. Illustration by Marco Heer.

Swiss on the Final Voyage of the Empress of Ireland

James Blake Wiener 29.05.2025 On May 29, 1914, the RMS Empress of Ireland met a tragic fate in the freezing waters of Canada's St. Lawrence River. A heavy fog obscured visibility, leading to a catastrophic collision with the Norwegian collier Storstad. The disaster claimed 1,012 lives. Among those aboard were four Swiss citizens en route to Liverpool from Quebec City.

Illustration of the shipwreck from the Christian Herald, June 11, 1914. Expanded with AI.

The Battle of Bicocca

James Blake Wiener 24.04.2025 The Battle of Bicocca marked a turning point during the long Italian Wars (1494-1559). The inability of the French to control their Swiss mercenaries contributed to their loss, while the success of Spanish arquebusiers signaled the rise of Spain as a major European power. The battle additionally heralds the end of the era in which Swiss pikemen were the scourge of the medieval European battlefield.

A visionary of medieval architecture: James of St. George

James Blake Wiener 03.12.2024 Master James of St. George (c. 1230-1309) was a prolific mason and military architect who lived during the High Middle Ages. Responsible in part for the construction and refortification of imposing castles across what is now Switzerland, France, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, James of St. George is undoubtedly the greatest mason in Swiss history.

Chillon Castle is just one of the magnificent structures shaped by the hands of the visionary medieval architect James of St. George.

The Saracen Raids of Early Medieval Switzerland

James Blake Wiener 10.10.2024 During the tenth century, barbarian raids affected large parts of what is now Switzerland. Seizing control of the western alpine passes, Saracens from the Emirate of Fraxinetum dominated the crucial arteries of trade and pilgrimage between France, Italy, and Switzerland for nearly a century. Much of Switzerland fell under their sway.

The capture of Syracuse (877-878), the Byzantine capital of Sicily, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes.