The money problems of 17th Century monachies against Republics.
This all goes back to Dutch history, and 1672, the year that in Holland they refer to as The Rampjaar (The Year of Disaster). It was the year when the Dutch found themselves at war with all their surrounding countries even, with the one across the North Sea, England! They were fighting the French, in […]
The History of Lotteries
Would you believe that England’s first recorded lottery started on January 11th, 1569, 450 years ago. Where did they start? Originally lotteries started in China around 200 BC, to fund major projects, such as building the Great Wall of China. However, to Romans lotteries were a game played at dinner parties. Well, that was until […]
The siege of Candiasiege of CandiaThe siege of Candia
The Nights of Malta captured one of the Ottoman Sultan’s ships. He was the most powerful monarch in the Mediterranean, then they realised what they had captured. Oh, what a mistake to make! They had captured Ottoman Sultan’s harem! It was composed of his wives, servants, female relatives and as well his concubines. They panicked. […]
The Great Fire of London
Shortly after midnight on Saturday 1st September 1666, a fire went rogue in Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane in the City of London. Therefore, it means that the date recorded for its start was in fact September 2nd. It spread to nearby houses, nearby lanes, then due to the strong winds, it continued west […]
Was Cardinal Richelieu a baddie or was it just a good plot?
Everybody has heard of The Three Musketeers, we’ve either read the book, seen the film, or watched the television series. Now in all these the Cardinal is made out as the baddie, but was he? When you start looking into the history, I don’t think Cardinal Richelieu was that bad, in fact, he was an […]
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 sophisticated ever seen in history. It is called the Dutch Golden Age. However, their sophistication in financial matters had its downside, it led […]
Is the Three Musketeers a true story or not?
Well, you have to decide, and to help we have made Alexandre Dumas’s famous tale The Three Musketeers into a rollicking foot tapping 50 minute musical so your children can enjoy performing as a year-end show. The story, which is set in France during the 1620s, is about chivalry, honour, and most of all […]
The build up to the Gun Powder plot
We have all heard of the Gunpowder Plot, we celebrate it every year on November 5th, but do you know why they felt they had to blow up the parliament? It all goes back to King Henry VIII and 1534. Henry’s Church In 1534 Henry started the English Church and for it to succeed he […]