While the Continental Congress made over 86 changes to Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence, one major change stands out. Jefferson enumerated 28 abuses and usurpations by King George and Parliament but the Congress kept only 27. They debated and ultimately deleted the following paragraph entirely: “[He] waged cruel War against Nature …
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When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. April 30, 1789Washington sworn in as 1st President of the United States under the US Constitution On April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City, the first …
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The wooden barrel was created around 300 BCE. To understand why brewers, vintners, and distillers use barrels; you have to look back to the Celts, those northern Europeans who lived around the Alps or what is current France and Germany before conquest by the Roman Empire. Northern Europe had timber in abundance and as these …
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. April 28, 1789 Mutiny on the HMS Bounty The HMS Bounty had left England in 1787 on a mission to collect and transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to …
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When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. April 28, 1777 Sybil Ludington’s night ride On April 26, 1777, Colonel Ludington received word from a rider that the nearby town of Danbury was under attack by British …
Okay, so this week I broke down and used the GPS feature of my phone and was sorely disappointed. Every time I use a terrestrial GPS, I am reminded that Magellan was such a great navigator that his crew abandoned him on the battlefield and left him to be eaten by cannibals. In 1494, Portugal …
Yes, I can help you find the Holy Grail. To the north there lies a cave, the cave of Caerbannog, where in carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Olfin Bedwee of Rheged. Make plain the last resting place of the most Holy Grail. “Follow…. “But ! … Follow only if …
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. April 24, 1800The Library of Congress is formally established in the new US Capitol Building. The Library of Congress was established as the fledgling legislature of the new Republic …
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Summer in Philadelphia can be hot and muggy. Not a time to be locked in a sealed room with locked doors and windows and 55 other delegates from all over the country trying to fix a system of government that was failing but in the summer of 1787 it had to be done. Something HAD …
By 1720, approximately 15% of all imports into England came from India and the British East India Company was responsible for almost all of this trade. Furthermore, the British East India Company grew so large and influential that by the 18th century it faced almost no competition for trade between England and India, that it …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 