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. November 22, 1718 – William Teach (AKA Blackbeard) was captured and executed by the Royal Navy off the coast of North Carolina. His mythical buried treasure has not been …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
The Regent’s Punch
George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, was born on August 12, 1762 at St James’ Palace, the eldest son of George III and Queen Charlotte. When his father became incapacitated due to mental instability and ill health, he ruled for nine years as Regent (1811 – 1820) before becoming King upon his father’s death in …
History of Curry Powder
I truly love Indian food and I am not alone. I once asked an Englishman what the national dish of Great Britian was and his unreserved rely was “Curry.” While it’s not quite as ubiquitous in the USA, Indian food is common throughout the former British empire and the lasting reminder of the absolute power …
Turkey? Why Turkey?
For many a Thanksgiving meal is centered on turkey. Turkeys are indigenous only to parts of North America and Europeans only first came into contact with turkeys roughly 500 years ago. So how did turkeys (the bird) end up being named so similarly to Turkey (the country)? As far as we can tell, the first European …
Despite Today’s Politics, the Turkey was Never Considered as Our National Symbol
There is a myth that the turkey almost came to represent the United States. The story goes that after the Declaration of Independence was signed, Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to design a seal for our new nation. Since many of the Germanic nations, incorporate eagles into their pageantry, the eagle …
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The Scourge of Slavery (#8) — Thomas Jefferson, a Slaveholder, argues to end slavery in new United States
There were 87 edits to Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence. Most were trivial, shortened phrases here or word substitutions there, but there is one glaring omission. One entire paragraph highlighting perhaps the greatest CRIME committed by King George, Parliament, the various “companies” (like the East India Company) and other agents of British …
Dutch Courage — Gin
Gin comes to us from the Netherlands and took its current form in the sixteenth century. The predecessor to gin is Dutch ‘genever.’ There are two basic categories of genever, traditional ‘Oude Genever,’ (old style genever) with a high malt content for its base (15%-50%) and ‘Jonge Genever’, the newer style with only 15% malt …
“Beer” Recipe: Dutch East India Company Cider
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 as an official colonial agency. The company was given massive financial backing and the legal power to wage war, create overseas settlements, and uphold its own …
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How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – The Tools
Land surveys consist of six basic tasks: Determinizing your position on Earth using celestial navigation methods Measuring distances with a Gunter’s Chain. Measuring changes in elevation with a Range Pole Measurement of directions and angles using a Compass. Drawing the map on a Plane Table, and Computing areas with basic plane geometry In this series …
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The Economics of Brewing in Colonial America
The most enduring picture of Englishmen coming ashore in North America is the settlers of the Plymouth Colony. They did not come ashore where they had intended (Virginia) and they were not prepared for landfall in the harsh New England climate. Their choice of landfall was not by choice, but based upon the Mayflower’s dwindling …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 