Author Archives: Michael Carver

Man Does Not Live on Beer Alone — Coffee

Coffee was most certainly a popular drink in the Americas in the 17th and 18th Centuries.  There are records of John Smith bringing coffee to the Jamestown Colony and even trading it with the Indians, but remember, the British were not the only colonial powers.  Coffee would not take on importance in the British Empire …

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Dueling in the 18th Century

Duels have a deep history in American History.  Alexander Hamilton was the most celebrated casualty of the dueling ethic, having lost his life in an 1804 feud with Aaron Burr on the fields of Weehawken, New Jersey, but there were many more who paid the ultimate price— congressmen, newspaper editors, a signer of the Declaration …

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Support your Regimental Brewmeister — Buy a Book

I have a new shipment of books and while you can order Beers and Beer Stories by the Regimental Brewmeister and The Fort Mifflin Bartenders’ Guide Book: A View into Colonial Era Spirits and Cocktails from Amazon, why not come to an event and take a copy home with you.  These books are my research …

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That Insignificant Dutch Colony of New Amsterdam becomes New York City

Wall Street was not always just the New York Stock Exchange, in the 1600’s, it got its name because it WAS THE CITY WALL protecting the Dutch West India Company’s colony of New Amsterdam.  In the 1600s, the English and the Dutch were major commercial rivals (Dutch West India Company vs English East India Company).  …

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The Scourge of Slavery (#5) — John Casor is Declared Slave for Life in America

John Casor was originally an indentured servant.  When he became a slave, it was through a contract of indenture, which obligated him to work for its holder for the period it set after which he was to set free.  Many of the early colonist in British North America came as indentured servants.  This was how …

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Grave Robbers

As science shifted from the “exact sciences” pushed forward by the church and based not on observation but on theological premise toward “empirical sciences” focused on observation, experimentation, and challenge, new problems arose.  Throughout antiquity, doctors need not sully themselves with knowing the form and structure of the body, they delt in elegant theories like …

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American Historical Mythology

If you hang around Fort Mifflin very long you will, no doubt, be regaled with stories of the supernatural and the pseudoscience that supports its existence. These are all good fun but let’s be clear, SOME people actually believe these things and even though the scientifically minded dismiss THESE beliefs, they are quick to then …

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