The Spanish meet the Aztecs
On the 8th November 1519, the conquistador, Hernán Cortes, arrived in Tenochtitlan along with 400 Spaniards and around 1000 native troops. Who Was He? His full name was Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano,…
There were famous female pirates
We have a show about two famous female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. But first let me tell you about a few other women who became famous as pirates. Queen Teuta of Illyria In…
Was this the Start of British Democracy?
The Putney Debates The Putney Debates took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, and they were a series of discussions over how they would run the country should they, Parliament, win the civil…
The End of the Aztec Civilization
The Aztec Civilization was brought to an end by the Spanish. What was it? The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Then the Spanish arrived! It was left basically untouched…
The benefites of Republics over Monachies in the 17th Century?
In Dutch history, the year 1672 is referred to as the Rampjaar (The year of Disaster). In that year the Dutch found themselves at war with all their surrounding countries and even, across the North…
Odd sayings that come from The 1500s
Do you know where the tradition of the bride carrying a bouquet on her wedding day came from? It was because in the 1500’s people got married in June. They chose June because they took…
Henry VIII’s daughter takes her mother’s side!
It all happened because a daughter was unhappy because her dad left her mum! The Acts of Supremacy On the 3rd November 1534 the First Act of Supremacy was passed. It was meant to be…
How dangerous was Henry VIII court
It is estimated that 57,000 could have been executed during the reign of Henry VIII. I understand that this was over his 37 years on the throne, however, we must remember this is difficult to…
“Tulip Mania” a Dutch financial crisis
Tulip Mania discussed In the 17th century Holland had the highest per capita income in the world. This was because the Dutch Republic’s economic and financial system was at the time the most advanced and…
The 1620s European Financial crisis.
Yes, they even had them in Europe in the 17th Century, they called this one “Tipper and See-Saw Time”, that was the name given to a financial crisis during the start of the Thirty Years’…