The wheel was invented before records began, as such, nobody can ever be certain when the first wheel was invented and by whom. In previous history, early academic sources had credited the invention of the wheel to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization between roughly 3500 BC - 3350 BC. But recent scientific evidence has emerged which indicates that the first wheel could have been invented in a part of eastern Europe, but this is a relatively new theory which has sparked a certain amount of controversy amongst current academics. The revolutionary wheel had initiated various inventions including horse-drawn carts and chariots, but in respect to precisely where and when the first chariots appeared, the best that scientists can determine are approximations. However, according to certain archaeological evidence, the first horse-drawn chariots date back to ancient times to between roughly 3,000 BC - 2500 BC, nevertheless, due to recent scientific discoveries relating to this topic, some modern academics are in disagreement as to whether or not the chariot was invented by ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran, China, or surprisingly, from a region within ancient eastern Europe. The first chariots were said to be very basic structured, light weight, open two-wheeled vehicles, that were drawn by one or two horses, and created to carry one or two standing passengers. It is widely thought by most historians that due to a chariot's swift and versatile steering manoeuvrability, they were used to revolutionize ancient warfare, additionally, chariots were once used in ceremonial processions during ancient festivals, and such vehicles were also utilized in so-called bloodsports, such as hunting wild and dangerous animals, alternatively, chariots were sometimes used within ancient gladiatorial arenas, where combatants once competed to the death, in the presence of frenzied and baying spectators.
The Greatest Chariot War Of Ancient Egypt
One of the greatest wars in Egyptian history occurred during the new kingdom of ancient Egypt, at the battle of Kadesh, in 1274 BC. The long-standing adversaries were the Egyptian Empire, which was led by Pharaoh Ramesses II, against the Hittite Empire, led by King Muwatalli II. The bold incursion into enemy territory, by Ramesses II, was an attempt to wrest Syria from the Hittites and reclaim the highly prized city of Kadesh, which at that time was the centre of lucrative trade deals and great wealth. The two armies engaged in one of the fiercest battles in the history of the Middle East, which had taken place along the Orontes River, close to Kadesh, a region that is now the present-day Lebanon-Seria border. According to Egyptian chronology, there were roughly 5,000 - 6,000 manned chariots utilized during the bloody battle, and this event is said to be the largest chariot battle in recorded history. In the midst of the conflict, King Ramesses II and his special troops was taken by surprise, when they were tactically outmanoeuvred and then surrounded by overwhelming forces of enemy soldiers, and in that pivotal moment, when death had seemed a certainty for the besieged Egyptian King, he gambled bravely, by leading a well-timed charge with his personal bodyguards, which momentarily breached the encirclement of Hittite forces, whereby, the king gratefully seized a rare opportunity to defy the grim reaper. Throughout that fateful day, the horrors of the war had persisted alarmingly, and ultimately, the conclusion was a stalemate, nevertheless, paradoxically, both kings had claimed an honourable victory, after which they commanded their armies to retreat. And over the ensuing years, on occasion, the Egyptian King would indulge his guests, by recounting the fascinating tale of how, once upon a time, against the odds, he had famously conjured a remarkable escape from the jaws of impending doom.
In the bloody aftermath of the Kadesh war, chaos and destruction could be witnessed everywhere, with ghastly scenes of dead decaying bodies strewn across the land, as far as the eye could see. After the Emperors had reflected upon the grim reality of their dire creation, both rulers decided to momentarily put asunder their bitterness and enmity towards each other and agree a truce, as if roused from a state of madness into the light. This remarkable event had led to the enactment of the world's first international peace treaty which was conceived in 1258, it was called the Kadesh Peace Treaty, also known as, the Eternal Treaty, and the Silver Treaty. It was perceived as an unprecedented agreement between the two renowned superpowers of that time, the Kingdom of Egypt, led by King Ramesses II, and the Kingdom of the Hittites, led by King Hattusilli III, who had superseded his predecessor Muwatalli II. This ancient accord was based on the principles of equality, and the pledges of the treaty included, non-aggression, long-lasting peace, mutual co-operation, and territorial integrity. The Treaty of Kadesh represented the cornerstone of diplomacy, and importantly, it marked the end of over two hundred years of wars and hostilities between the Hittite and the Egyptian Empires. In present day United States, a large prestigious replica of the Treaty of Kadesh adorns a section of a wall that is situated within the headquarters of the United Nations, in New York City, on Manhattan Island, where it is respectfully acknowledged by numerous esteemed guests as the first international peace treaty, and the earliest known surviving peace treaty in the history of the world.
Ancient Chinese Chariots
In China archaeological evidence of ancient chariots was found in Anyang city, Henan province, in 1933, and the artifacts that were discovered date back to the rule of King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty (1250 - 1200 BC). The ancient Chinese employed horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, and wheelbarrows as standard transportation vehicles, but also popular in that era were exquisitely designed passenger carriages that were a mode of transport for the Chinese nobility. Ancient China's use of chariots is thought to have reached its peak from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. Since horses was not native to China, originally, they were imported into ancient China from the Eurasian steppe, and then later from other nations, some of China's oldest equine breeds that were used to drive chariots, as well as other types of work, included, the Guoxia horse, Chaidamu horse, Jinjiang horse, the Chinese Mongolian horse, and the Hequ horse also known as the Nanfan horse. Ancient Chinese chariots were typically two-wheeled vehicles drawn by two or four horses harnessed to a single draught pole system, which later evolved into a more versatile curved shaft system that was easier for carriage horses to haul. Horse chariots were mainly used as a war instrument for attack and pursuit, starting from about the time of the Shang dynasty (1250 - 1200 BC). Interestingly, before the Han dynasty (206 BC - 202 CE), the power of ancient Chinese states and dynasties were determined by the quantity of chariots and horses that each state had accumulated, meaning, a dominion with hundreds of chariots was assessed as a medium powered state, whereas, a dominion which possessed several thousand chariots was classed as a highly powerful state. In ancient times, Chinese military chariots were named as attack chariots, gold chariots, and weapons chariots, respectively, and these vehicles had awarded military commanders with more versatility to mobilize their armies with greater efficiency, thus, the speed and mobility of chariots completely changed military strategy in that era. As chariots and horses played a pivotal role in ancient China, from early life many Chinese natives from that era, including aristocrats, employed much time and energy to become highly skilled charioteers. Moreover, the six ancient Chinese classical arts that were taught to privileged university students in that era, included, the rites, music, archery, riding, mathematics, and calligraphy, importantly, riding also referred to the art and sophistication of charioteering, which also comprised a long tradition of popular sporting events, such as chariot racing and hunting.
The Original English Stagecoaches
The era of stagecoaches originated in England around the 13th century. It is said that an English manuscript was discovered during the 13th century, which had depicted a basic blueprint of the very first stagecoach, a novel concept that was quickly seized upon, and ultimately revolutionized the streets of Britain. The first stagecoaches began to grace the ancient roads of England from about the early 16th century. They were designed with a fixed roof top and an internal chamber with seats to accommodate at least four people, the cabin had two windows and doors situated on the left and right-side sections, additionally, there was a conveniently positioned large luggage area at the back of the vehicle. The original stagecoaches ran on four wheels, the front carriage wheels were usually smaller than the two rear wheels, this was to facilitate better steering around sharp cornered roads, especially because in those days, the old roads in Britain were not maintained, and many road surfaces were very uneven and treacherous to journey upon. Stagecoaches were usually driven by four horses, sometimes referred to as a quadriga, a Latin derivative, meaning, a team of four horses. However, teams of six horse carriages also became popular, particularly over greater distances. The two horses harnessed closest to the coachman were called the wheelers, and their task was to stabilize the coach, these horses were usually the slowest, sturdiest and strongest of the team of six, meanwhile, the middle pair was called the swing team and they were best suited with circumventing difficult corners, finally, the front pair of horses were called the leaders, because they were the most agile or fleet-footed of the team, and during that era the typical speed of a stagecoach was roughly between 5 to 8 miles an hour.
Originally stagecoaches were predominantly built to provide a service for wealthy patrons, such as aristocrats and the upper classes, meanwhile, it was common for poor people or commoners to travel by horse and cart or else they endured a long and arduous walk to reach their destinations. The term 'stagecoach' was derived from coaches travelling in segments or stages over distances of between 10 to 15 miles, and the act of undertaking a stagecoach business, or journeying within a stagecoach was known as staging. The very first stagecoach route in England was constructed in 1610, running from Edinburgh to Leith, this historic event precipitated a steady creation of several stagecoach routes that extended across various regions of England. The early stagecoaches were unsophisticated vehicles that were built without suspensions, this resulted in a very uncomfortable experience for most stagecoach passengers. The first stagecoaches were notoriously time-consuming to undertake, in the year 1673, a typical stagecoach journey from London to Exeter, would have been expected to take about eight days to be fully completed. Meanwhile, along the difficult routes, regular scheduled stops had to be taken at different locations called stagecoach inns, and those buildings were designed with adjoining stables as part of the structure, by which a fresh team of horses were on standby to be interchanged with tired horses. Stagecoach inns or taverns were scheduled mandatory locations where travelling passengers could visit a lavatory, but also, such venues sold a variety of drinks and hot appetizing meals within a relaxing environment, where patrons could be seated to enjoy meals and beverages, before embarking on their continued journeys, in addition, stagecoach inns, sometimes referred to as station inns or taverns, had acquired licences so that they could offer their guests lodgings for the night. Meanwhile, following a gruelling work schedule by carriage horses, the adjoining stables was where the exhausted equines were taken to be hosed down, groomed, and then provided a wide variety of nutritious meals, such as parsnips, yams, turnips, potatoes, mangel-wurzel, carrots, grain and wheat. And finally, the retiring equines were rewarded for their labour with a comfortable box stall in the corner of the stable, to catch a slumber, in preparation for the relentless drudgery over the ensuing day.
The Turnpike Road Act (1706)
In Old England, the early road formations were crude structures with uneven terrain which were difficult to traverse across, but there was also the issue of increasing road traffic, and mountains of horse manure amassing upon the streets of Britain. As a result, the British parliament enacted a body of representatives from members of the elite classes called a Trust (not-for-profit organisation), and this new body was given the authority to build, maintain, and operate toll roads across Britain, this new law was called the Turnpike Act of 1663. The word turnpike originated from Old English, turnen, meaning, to cause to turn, and the word pike, meaning, a sharp-tipped object, the derivative, turnpike, later became standardized to define a large gate that partitioned a section of a road. The turnpike policy compelled horse carriage services to pay a fee or toll amount in order to travel over sections of roads across Britian. The first such Act, in 1663, turnpiked the Great North Road between Wadesmill in Hertfordshire and Stilton in Huntingdonshire. The next enactment occurred in 1695, between Shenfield and Harwich, and then several such Acts was enforced across Briton's roads over the ensuing years. The British parliament introduced the Turnpike Road Act, in 1706, which was a far more comprehensive policy to charge or levy tolls on road users and stagecoach passenger services. This tax was used for extensive maintenance, expansion, and improvements on roads across the United Kingdom. Prior to the advent of railways, the Road Act was acknowledged as an important first step towards the evolution of the complex transport network system that currently exists in Britain today.
The Dawn Of The Dreaded Highwaymen
The term 'highwayman' is thought to have originated in England in the year 1617. However, following the English Civil War (1642 - 1651), this word became ubiquitous, when royalist officers who were disaffected because they were unskilled in a trade and unable to find a suitable job, turned to robbing passengers who were travelling on stagecoaches in order to support themselves, as by this time, it was already common knowledge that stagecoaches harboured wealthy individuals. In that era certain people began admiringly alluding to such criminals as, knights of the road, and gentlemen of the road, but in reality, many highwaymen were far from honourable, on the contrary, they were seen as violent thugs, who preyed upon the weak. In Britain during the early 18th century stagecoaches were increasingly targeted by dangerous highwaymen, who were usually armed with pistols and concealed their faces by wearing black masks. Over the course of time, highwaymen became infamous for using the phrase, stand and deliver, and although many were said to be ruthless bloodthirsty individuals, on certain occasions, certain highwaymen had gained a reputation for demonstrating politeness and gentlemanly behaviour towards their unfortunate victims. Claude Du Duval (1643 - 1670) was a infamous French highwayman, who had resided in England and allegedly, he worked in the service of exiled royalists who had returned to England under King Charles II, but Duval was unconventional, in that, he chose to wear fashionable attire and had expressed uncommon chivalry towards many of his victims. On the other hand, one of the most infamous and ruthless highwaymen in history was an English criminal known as Dick Turpin, born Richard Turpin (1705-1739). During his early career, Turpin gained employment as a butcher, before eventually turning to criminality. In the early 1730s, Dick Turpin joined a violent group of robbers called the Essex gang, who were also known as the Gregory gang, and they became notorious for the trail of death and destruction left in their wake across the county of Essex, in east England. Ultimately, the gang members were hunted down and either ruthlessly killed or captured and then sentenced to death by the local authorities. After Dick Turpin's demise in 1739, due to his adventurous reputation, he became an object of romantic inspiration for many would-be creative writers, who had attempted to paint him as a semi-heroic figure.
The Golden Age Of Stagecoaches
Starting from about the end of the 18th century, there were said to be 42 coach routes for mail and passenger services linking most major cities within the United Kingdom. As lucrative stagecoach companies evolved and began to vigorously compete against each other to win more passengers, technological advancement in stagecoach manufacturing meant that stagecoaches were continually being upgraded and improved, with more advanced wheels and braking mechanisms, improved steel spring suspensions systems, and additionally, the interior chamber was designed to be much more comfortable and luxurious to travel in. Some of the improved interior features within the stagecoach included much better quality upholstered seats, and ostentatious interior designs and decorations on the walls and ceilings of the chambers. In Britain quite a lot of such innovations occurred during the so-called Regency era, when Prince George of Wales ruled the United Kingdom between (1811-1820). Prince George governed as Prince Regent or proxy, in the absence of his father King George III, who had been taken ill and subsequently deemed mentally unfit to rule during that period of time. In Britain during that era, there were not only rapid technological developments to the design of stagecoaches, but additionally, new vastly improved road networks were being constructed, meaning stagecoach journeys became a lot less time consuming and far more comfortable to travel in, as a result, there was a much greater demand for such services, and over the passage of time this era was eventually hailed historically as the Golden Age of stagecoaches.
American Stagecoaches
In the United States, the first recorded successful stagecoach journey took place on 13 May 1718, the journey was undertaken between Boston, in Massachusetts and Providence, in Rhode Island, and the stagecoach in question was owned by a man called Jonathan Wardwell. This historic event marked the start of a transportation revolution for passengers and mail services across the USA. The history of the stagecoach evolution in America became synonymous with the societal changes in people's travel habits, which then inspired technical innovations that had partly contributed to the industrial revolution, population growth and urbanisation. The first regular horse-drawn stagecoach passenger services were limited to New England, which is a region comprising six states that is situated in the northeastern corner of the United States, namely, Main, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. However, the nation's insatiable appetite for travel services increased exponentially, so that by 1756, a network of stagecoach road routs had developed across other major cities of America. As a result, by the late 18th century, post riders were replaced by mail coaches, as horse-drawn coaches had provided a more secure and better economical solution for mail and cargo deliveries across the United States.
The Concord coach company was an American horse carriage service that became one of the most successful stagecoach organisations in the United States. The Concord coach company was founded by coach-builder J. Stephen Abbot and Lewis Downing, in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1827. Over the same year, Concord dramatically changed the standards for stagecoach services, when it introduced a new system by way of leather straps or thoroughbraces which were constructed beneath stagecoach carriages, this innovation created a swinging motion whilst the pear-shaped carriage was in transit, and was scientifically created to absorb the sporadic shock action of carriages as they were in motion over uneven terrain, resulting in a far more pleasant journey for passengers. Importantly, Concord was the first US stagecoach service to successful combine and provide three types of public services, namely, stage coaching, mail coaching, and coaching inns. Before the advent of the railways people had very few choices by which to travel, therefore, Concord stagecoach services was perceived as the vanguard of travel services in the US at that time. In later years, other prominent American stagecoach and mail services emerged, such as, the Butterfield Overland Mail (1857-1861), founded by John Butterfield, and also, Wells Fargo, founded in 1852, by Henry Wells and William G Fargo, Wells Fargo originally began as a financial service (currently one of America's largest multinationals financial services companies), as well as a passenger and mail carriage service. Interestingly, years before John Butterfield started Butterfield Overland Mail, Henry Wells, William G Fargo, and John Butterfield got together and merged their businesses to form American Express, which began as a freight forwarding company, and in that era, its main source of business was the express delivery of packages, goods, and currency, with a combined network of railway express and horse carriage routes that extended from the East Coast to Minnesota, USA.
The Golden Age Of Coach Inns
Across the globe, particularly in Western nations, the late 18th century was considered the ‘Golden Age’ of coach inns, sometimes referred to as station inns, or taverns. Such establishments flourished significantly during this era, they became busy focal points where coaches arrived and departed, in other words, it could be said that those locations were the earliest emergence of the modern transport system. Coach inns offered multiple services, namely, hot meals and beverages, in addition to rooms to rent for overnight lodgings, and such venues accommodated connected horse stables for carriage horses, normally distinguished by prominent archways which allowed the stagecoaches to proceed through to a horse stable yard, normally situated behind the coaching inns that were maintained by hostlers, who were known as traditional stablemen. Ancient taverns and coach inns, eventually initiated huge purpose-built business complexes with shops and storage facilities, that were situated alongside major roads in towns and cities across the nation, those buildings were arguably considered to be the birth places of the first shopping centres. Importantly, since there were very few public places where ordinary people could venture out to visit in order to mingle together, taverns and coach inns served as social venues for locals, travellers, tradesmen, and academics, such as writers and politicians. Infact, during that age, coach inns and taverns were interim common meeting venues for people from various walks of life, a melting pot for different social classes, where important debates sometimes erupted contentiously between scholars and academics, as well as social bantering in abundance and story-telling by ordinary local people, normally delightfully reciprocated within a friendly atmosphere. Once upon a time, those establishments were a welcome abode for those who were seeking to revive their weary souls with spiritual sustenance or else in search of a temporary reprieve from the trials and tribulations within their daily lives. Also, such venues offered entertainment by way of musicians, vocalists, actors and dancers. According to historians, within the hierarchy of eighteenth-century socializing and drinking establishments, those societies once placed a greater value on taverns and coach inns as compared to pubs and alehouses.
The United Kindom was arguably the original home of ancient coaching inns, and some of the historic coaching inns or taverns that have endured the test of time are, the Black Lion inn, situated in Cardigan, Wales, founded in 1105, the Groes inn, in Conwy, North Wales, licensed since 1573. The Bear inn, it is said to be the oldest pub in Oxford, England, and has a chequered history with its name and location having changed several times over the years. The exact date the Bear inn was established is uncertain, academics claim it has a history that date back to 1242, and by the early 15th century it was trading as an inn called Le Tabard, and then finally in 1457, its name was changed to the Bear inn. The George inn, was founded in 1676, in Southwark, London, it is known to be the last remaining galleried inn, in London, it was a venue which had previously hosted a stage area for plays. The Jamaica inn, is probably the most famous inn within the United Kingdom, it is situated on Bodmin Moor, in Cornwall, England, originally it was built as a coaching inn, in 1750, and received its notability on account of the author, Daphen du Maurier's best selling novel, 'Jamaica Inn', which was first published in 1936. Meanwhile, in the United States some of the oldest inns still in operation are the Red Lion inn, which was established in 1773, in Stockbridge Massachusettes, it is an iconic New England inn, which is notable for hosting six previous American presidents, namely, William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt, in addition, the Red Lion had hosted numerous other prestigious dignitaries. Some other well-known inns in the United States are the Beekman Arms & delamater inn, which was built in 1766, in Rhinebeck, New York, and the John Rutledge House inn, established in 1763, in Charleston, South Carolina, once the home of John Rutledge, who was the former Governer of South Carolina, he is remembered as one of the founding fathers of the US Constitution.
Era Of The Working Horses
During the horse carriage age, equines were perceived as part of the essential mechanism that drove economies across the world. In many businesses owning good healthy horses was seen as one of the primary assets required for building a successful business and rewarded with a healthy profit. One pioneer of modern livestock breeding was a notable English agriculturist called Robert Bakewell (1725-1795), who is remembered as the first person in history to implement systematic selective breeding of livestock, importantly, Robert Bakewell became the first scientist to breed the black cart horse, also known as the shire horse, which is a British breed of draught horse, usually black, but they are also bay or grey in colour. A draft horse or draught horse, also known as carthorses, dray horses, work horses or heavy-duty horses, are large powerful horses that are bred specifically to be good working animals. There are numerous breeds of equines with varying characteristics, but all draught horses share common traits of exceptional physical strength, great stamina, patience, and possess a submissive or obedient temperament. Beginning from about the 16th - 19th centuries draught horses were utilized for a multitude of purposes including, hauling freight, carrying tubs of coal and rocks in old coal mines, undertaking various heavy agricultural tasks on farms such as ploughing, but also, these special horse breeds were ideal as stagecoach or carriage horses. In an era when horse-power was all the rage, some of the most popular breeds were the Percheron, Belgian Draught, Clydesdale, Dutch Draft, American Cream Draft, Suffolk Punch, and the Friesian horse.
The Life Of A Horse
Before four-wheeled vehicles eventually ruled the streets of modern cities across the world, and they began to cause excessive pollution to the atmosphere, once upon a time, in a bygone era, there was the all-too-familiar clickety-clack sounds of galloping horses' hooves in their various shoes, upon the olden and forlorn streets of many towns and cities across the globe. But their unfortunate lot was that they could not run amok through the woods at will, but instead, had to toil away their precious years at the behest of mankind, often from the crack of dawn each day until sunset, and often at the crack of a whip that lashed mercilessly across their bodies on a daily basis. The domesticated horse was born to breed and compelled to live a life in eternal servitude to mankind, sadly, never to experience running freely whilst in the midst of youthful vigour, gallivanting through forests and across prairies, or simply grazing contentedly without fear of being captured, and then saddled into the jaws of death as sacrificial pawns, in a bloody battle between human beings. The domesticated horse was doomed to be shackled to a plough, a cart, or to the ever-grinding wheels of a carriage, even whilst journeying over difficult and hazardous terrain, and enduring torrential rain or the most appalling weather conditions. There was not a glimmer of hope for salvation from oppression for them, with no smiles or smirks or sadness or expressions of outrage that could be detected upon their stoic faces, only the daunting prospect of forevermore in relentless servitude to mankind.
