Reenactors seem to revel in the debate over historical accuracy. We either passionately focus on authenticity or we bristle at those who do. Colonial brewers are reenactors and we run the gamut from casual historical entertainers to passionate academic historians. There is a place for everyone but we need to acknowledge the range of expression …
Continue reading “Basic Colonial Brewing #3 — What is a “Colonial Beer?””
Between 1626 and 1664, the main town of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was New Amsterdam, now called Manhattan. Peter Minuit, Director of the Dutch West India Company, met with Indigenous peoples and purchased Manhattan for trinkets equivalent to several thousand dollars today. The land was quickly settled. The colony of New Netherland extended …
Continue reading “New Amsterdam (present-day New York) becomes a city (2/2/1653)”
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. February 2, 1790US Supreme Court meets for the first time under the new US Constitution at the Merchants Building in New York City. The Supreme Court was established in …
Continue reading “Historical Tidbits — US Supreme Court meets for the first time”
We all know the story of the Sons of Liberty boarding the Eleanor, Dartmouth, and Beaver on December 16, 1773 and dumping their cargo of 45 tons of East India Company tea in to Boston Harbor. What you might not know is that this simple act of civil disobedience and the then decade old Nonimportation …
Breeches are a bifurcated garment covering the lower body from waist to knees or just below the knees. These garments were standard everyday attire for European and American men from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Breeches were worn for both evening wear and day wear. They might be made of leather or buckskin for laborers …
Continue reading “Evolution from Breeches to Gaitered Trousers”
Does “Freedom of Speech” mean you can say anything you want about anyone you choose? Our Founding Fathers would certainly not agree! You can, of course, say anything you want but there must be consequences for malicious defamation of individuals and even in revolutionary America libel and slander laws were enforced. There is, however, one …
Continue reading “A Colonial Orator: True Revolution is Fought with Words not Bullets”
For those of us involved in 18th Century reenactments, men in knee breeches are de rigor. Outside of formal equestrian events, however, you rarely see such garments today. Similarly, pants were considered foreign attire, even uncouth attire before the 14th Century in Europe. Many names have been used for men’s leg coverings through history: Latin …
Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot… Everyone remembers the infamous day (or should) when Guy Fawkes attempted to violently overthrow King and Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder and a lit fuse. Few people remember that this was the beginning of Fawkes demise not the end. He and his conspirators, Robert …
Continue reading “Guy Fawkes is Executed January 31, 1606 (Julian Calendar)”
Insurrections often are propagated upon misinformation. So too are the most recent band of domestic terrorist who like to hide behind our most sacred American institutions. In this series, I want to explore the Bill of Rights and why some of the hype and hyperbole thrown around by the extremist is not just wrong but …
When taking a sight with a celestial object, the observer uses the natural or sea horizon as the line of departure. When, however, that horizon is obscured by darkness or inclement weather such as fog, an instrument known as an “artificial horizon” is used to serve as an alternative to obtain accurate altitude readings. Just …
Continue reading “How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – The Artificial Horizon”
