There are no deep coal mines left in Wales, hence the deprivation in parts of the south.

There are no deep coal mines left in Wales, hence the deprivation in parts of the south.

Cape Breton Island has coal mines going out 6 or 7 miles into the Atlantic and there are places in the town of Glace Bay where there are underground fires which has been burning since 1918 when those mines closed. Every so often a sink hole opens and what ever is above caves in and has been dangerous to town and tourists alike.

The people of Cape Breton have a slang word which is used a lot for any thing that is distasteful or they don't like. They say that's the pits which comes from having to work  in the coal mines to make a living. Beautiful place to site see though and watch the whales and go deep sea fishing or just see the beautiful seascapes and it draws millions of tourists from all over the world each summer. One of those places in Canada where if to stop someone and ask for directions it's not uncommon for them to invite you and your family to their home for supper.

2 January 1492 - The Spanish entered Granada, the end of Muslim rule in Western Europe.

The Moorish kingdoms that once covered all of the Iberian peninsula and even extended into France had been steadily pushed back until by the 1480s only the Kingdom of Granada in the far south remained. The final push by the combined forces of Castile and Aragon began in 1482 and by 1491 only the city of Granada itself held out.

After a seven month siege the Muslim ruler Muhammad XII agreed to a ceasefire at the end of November for surrender talks to begin. The result was the capitulation of the city on 2 January 1492 under very generous terms with Muhammad himself riding to the Spanish camp and personally surrendering to Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Isabella, Queen of Castile. Muslim rule in western Europe was over.  

3 January 1777 - The Battle of Princeton.

A victory for the American rebels under George Washington over the British commanded by Charles, 2nd Earl Cornwallis. The only major casualty was the American second in command Hugh Mercer who died of his wounds nine days later.

4 January 1951 - Chinese and North Korean troops occupy Seoul.

This was the second time in little over six months that the South Korean capital had fallen to invaders. The first was in June 1950 just three days after the North Koreans crossed the border. They were driven out in September by a combined UN force. But in October the Chinese joined in and Seoul was evacuated on 3 January with the Chinese and North Koreans entering the city unopposed the following day. It was retaken two months later.

Yes, sandwiched between World War II and Vietnam. And yet the USA lost 36,500 dead, GB lost 1,078.  

5 January 1477 - The Battle of Nancy. Charles, Duke of Burgundy killed.

The Duchy of Burgundy, located between France and territories of the Holy Roman Empire, had risen to become a significant power in western Europe by the 15th century. In 1475 Duke Charles overran Lorraine taking the capital Nancy. This proved a step too far for his other neighbours who combined to bring him down. 

Nancy was retaken by Lorraine the following year with Duke Charles suffering two serious defeats on the battlefield. He retaliated by marching yet again on Nancy and placing it under siege. The Duke of Lorraine allied with the Swiss Confederation marched to the relief of the city arriving on 5 January 1477. The Burgundians were defeated and Duke Charles killed along with most of his army.

With no male heir the Burgundian Crown passed to Charles' daughter Mary who could not prevent the bulk of her territory from being overrun by the French who annexed it to the Kingdom. She was able to save a portion by marrying Maximilian of Austria, but in effect Burgundian independence was lost for ever as it was absorbed into the Habsburg empire. 

6 January 1781 - The Battle of Jersey.

Just 14 miles off the French coast Jersey is the largest of the five Channel Islands that have been under the British Crown for nearly 1000 years. In 1781 GB and France had been at war for three years, aware that the island was a tempting target for the French its defences were strengthened with the construction of a number of forts at strategic landing places and extra soldiers were deployed to boost the local militia bringing the total of men able to defend the island up to around 6250.

A first attempt at an invasion in 1779 failed when gunfire from onshore prevented any landing of troops. The second two years later saw 1400 French soldiers under the command of Baron de Rollecourt land at three separate locations on the evening of 5/6 January. With the element of surprise they were able to take up positions in the square in the centre of the capital St Helier and capture the island's Governor Moses Corbet. However the garrison in Elizabeth Castle contained far more men than the French in the town below, so 2000 of them marched out and attacked the French in the town square. They were quickly overwhelmed, but in a relatively small battle both the French and English commanders de Rollecourt and Maj Francis Pierson were killed. 

The other smaller bodies of French were also rapidly defeated, total casualties amounted to 78 French killed to 15 British. The French prisoners were shipped to England. 

True up to a point, By 1781 GB was fighting multiple enemies - France, Spain, The Netherlands and the American rebels. We concluded that something had to be given up and it was the 13 colonies we sacrificed in favour of keeping the more valuable sugar plantations of the Caribbean islands. The remarkably generous peace settlement was a reflection of GB's power at the time. 

7 January 1558 - The French capture Calais.

Calais, the port across the Channel was the last remnant of the once huge English territorial possessions in France. Upkeep of the city and surrounding area was vastly expensive, but it was considered of vital importance as an entry point into the continent and as a trade port. 

In 1557 France was at war with Spain and had suffered a serious defeat in August. Fearing English intervention (Queen Mary was married to the King of Spain) the French decided to launch an attack on Calais to forestall any landing of English troops. Under the Duke of Guise the French easily overran all but two of the outer forts leaving them isolated. With no reinforcements forthcoming by sea the Governor of Calais Lord Wentworth surrendered the city on 7 January. The two remaining forts were compelled to surrender days later. An English presence in France was over.

Very much allies, England's Queen Mary was married to Philip II of Spain. The English garrison at Calais only numbered around 2500 so it was no immediate threat to France, but as a landing point it was feared that Mary would send thousands more troops across, so to prevent this the French decided to take Calais. They had long wanted to but never got round to it.   

Yes, the high point came in the 1420s with the English occupying about 45% of French territory, including Paris and even having the boy King Henry VI crowned King of France at Rheims in 1429 with the real King Charles VII unable to be crowned seven years after his succession. 

The end came swiftly though, in a matter of a few years in the late 1440s/early 1450s all but Calais was lost.   

No, I'm not going to talk about the Battle of New Orleans, 8 January 1815, no-one wants to read about that, instead -

8 January 1806 - The Battle of Blaauwberg.

In 1795 the United Provinces of The Netherlands was invaded and annexed by France, it was renamed the Batavian Republic, in effect a puppet state of France. Anxious that the Dutch Cape Colony at the southern tip of Africa should not also fall under French control a British force invaded and expelled the Dutch settlers. However one of the terms of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens was the return of Cape Colony to the Dutch. Again fearing French control the British decided to seize the Dutch Cape Colony once more. 

The colony was poorly defended and the first British troops landed, meeting only slight opposition, north of Cape Town on 5 January 1806. On 8 January the British numbering around 5400 under the command of Gen. David Baird encountered a force of 2060 Dutch and French led by the Dutch Governor Jan Janssens blocking their way as they marched on Cape Town at Blaauwberg.

The British soon overwhelmed the Dutch/French suffering just 15 killed to the enemies losses of up to 200 dead. Two days later Cape Town surrendered without a shot fired.