Do you know the story of Ignatius Sancho?
Ignatius was born on slave ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, his mother died not long after in the Spanish colony of New Granada, while his father took his own life rather than live as a slave. His father’s owner bought the two-year-old Ignatius to England, where he gave him to three unmarried sisters in Greenwich. Now he met […]
Was the Hanseatic League the forerunner to the EU?
When did it start? Would you believe that it started as early as the 12th Century when a group of Northern European medieval towns decided to trade between themselves. So, isn’t it interesting that the European Union wasn’t the first time European countries decided that there could be a benefit to all of them […]
The Galileo Affair
Galileo Galilei was an unknown, north Italian professor of mathematics, a lover of good wines with a razor-sharp wit until 1609, when he got a telescope. It changed his and our lives for ever. He learnt the world went round the sun! It led to “The Galileo Affair” that began in 1610 and ended in […]
The Moscow Fire
It was started on 14th September 1812, curiously the Fire of Moscow started just before Napoleon’s troops reached the city. The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on 14 September 1812, when Russian troops and most of the remaining residents had abandoned the city of Moscow just ahead of the French Emperor Napoleon’s troops entering […]
The Great Seal of Office
The “Great Seal” signifies that a document carries the force of the will of the Monarch. Interestingly, on December 11th 1688, while attempting to flee to France, James II threw his Great Seal into the River Thames, hoping that the machinery of government would stop. It didn’t. His successors, William III and Mary II just […]
What was the worst storm in Britain?
When asked this question most people say that the storm in 1953 was the worst peacetime weather disaster. It was one that claimed 307 lives in England and devastated parts of East Anglia.. However, the 1703 storm, caused by an extratropical cyclone that spread across the country and wiped out 1/3rd of our Navy! The […]
The Gunpowder Plot – a fool proof plan that wasn’t!
Let’s make history fun, this was a plan that the conspirators, pictured above, thought was fool proof, unfortunately it wasn’t! The Church of Egland had been formed 80 years before, but the conspirators were not happy, they wanted to bring the Catholic religion back to England, and it was obvious to them that James 1, […]
The Battle of Gravelines
in 1558
Have you ever heard of the Gravelines, and did you know it was the site of a decisive battle the Armada in 1558? First of all, where is it? Gravelines is at […]
Sweden hasn’t been in a war since 1818!
Would you believe that Sweden hasn’t been in a war since1818? This is an amazing story, which I think this is due to the Napoleonic wars. Background In February 1808, Russia occupied Finland, while at the same time the Swedish King, Gustav III, refused to block British trade in the Baltic. This led to a […]
Who was Anne of Denmark?
Anne of Denmark was the unknown Drama Queen of Scotland, who when her husband became James 1st of England, was Queen Anne of England. What didn’t help was that the people thought she was a catholic from Denmark and her husband a foreigner from up north, Scotland! This was a time when religious violence was […]