When the going gets tough, some individuals step up to get the job done.
Click start to play today’s Spell It, and create the word “rebel” with the letters provided.
Rebels with a cause are scattered across the ages, taking a stand in their small corner of the world, and vowing to make a difference. Many of them succeeded, and here, we shine a light on a few:
1. Zhu Yuanzhang
Experiencing a rags-to-riches tale like no other, Yuanzhang was a Chinese soldier from a poor village, who personally faced the harsh difficulties that all citizens were subjected to, in the Yuan Dynasty. He lived in a monastery for four years, where he learned to read and write. When the monastery was destroyed in 1352, Yuanzhang enlisted in a rebel army and successfully played his part in the rebellion. He climbed the ranks swiftly, proving his mettle over and over again. In 1357, the capital Nanjing fell to the rebels, and Yuanzhang became emperor, by the name of Hongwu. He founded the Ming Dynasty, and launched an important era in China’s evolution as a prosperous country.
2. Pancho Villa
Mexican general Doroteo Arango, later known as Pancho Villa, came from humble beginnings. At age 16, he shot Lopez Negre, an owner of his family’s estate, because he tried to rape Villa’s sister. Villa ran away and joined a group of bandits, and later, became the head of a large army in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. He emerged as a powerful leader, fighting back against a government that allowed rich landowners to exploit peasants with the high cost of food and mistreatment. Villa became a sort of folk hero, and even while he was alive, many Hollywood filmmakers and newspaper photographers flocked to Mexico to record his battles.
3. Galileo Galilei
A prominent figure in the scientific revolution, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei stood for his convictions that scientific inquiry should be pursued, even if what it reveals is uncomfortable. Before he pioneered the use of the telescope to observe the night sky, people generally believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe, and that the Sun revolved around it. His proof of the opposite – heliocentrism – was met with scorn and hostility, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his ‘heretical’ notions.
From India’s Mahatma Gandhi to the US’s Martin Luther King, there are hundreds of people who made an impact with their beliefs and actions.
Who is your favourite historical rebel? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
