In the early hours of December 16, 1811, the residents of New Madrid, a Mississippi River town once part of the Louisiana Territory, rushed from their homes as the ground rolled beneath their feet. Trees were uprooted and thrown to the ground. Huge chasms opened in the earth, and the Mississippi River ran backward! Somewhere …
Continue reading “America’s First True Disaster Area — New Madrid, MO”
On December 15, 1791, the new United States of America ratified the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, confirming the fundamental rights of its citizens. The Bill of Rights draws influence and inspiration from the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and various later efforts in England …
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. December 15, 1776 General Lee captured General Charles Lee left his army and rode to Widow White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, with a minimal guard. The following …
Continue reading “Historical Tidbits — General Lee captured”
Well, Tis the Season when many of you are in a Dickens of a mood so let’s talk about 18th Century debtors in England. Prior to the Bankruptcy Act (1869), missing even a small debt payment could lead to decades of imprisonment. If you are familiar with Charles Dickens’ novel Little Dorrit, originally published as …
Measuring how high a hill rises or whether a field is level involves the following equipment: A Jacobs Staff — a stick or pole with length markings. A set of chaining pins – markers that can be placed in the ground A Gunter’s Chain – a steel chain of 100 links exactly 66 feet long …
Continue reading “How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – Measuring Elevations”
While several of our military branches can be justifiably proud of over 246 years of service to our nation, one component of the military goes back much further! The National Guard is the direct descendent of America’s first militias. The oldest regiments drilled for the first time on the village green in Salem, Massachusetts, on …
Continue reading “On December 13, 1636 our First “Citizen Soldiers” were Mustered.”
Every year millions of people come to Philadelphia to see the “Liberty Bell.” This large bell was commissioned in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly to hang in the new State House in Philadelphia. At the time it was commissioned, there was no thought about Independence. Philadelphia was the third most important city in the …
Continue reading “The Scourge of Slavery (#12) — How the Liberty Bell got its name”
The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), better known as the Dutch East India Company was set up in 1602 and head-quartered in the Oost-Indisch Huis (East-India House) in downtown Amsterdam, which still stands today. The company was first company to officially issue stocks, which peaked during the Dutch “Tulip Mania”, a craze for tulip bulbs that …
The Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s is often cited as an example of greed, excess, and financial mania, with the prices driven by the fear of missing out and crowd psychology. Tulips were imported into Europe in the 16th century by the Dutch East India Company, arriving via the spice trading routes that lent …
Founded in 1600 by royal charter, the East India Company was established as a joint-stock trading company to exploit opportunities east of the Cape of Good Hope where it was granted a trade monopoly. Crucially, to conduct this trade, the EIC was permitted to ‘wage war’. Although the EIC did not hold sovereignty in its …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 