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. May 10, 1773 – TEA ACT The Tea Act of 1773 was one of several measures imposed on the American colonists by the heavily indebted British government in the …
Category Archives: General history
WMD — Weapons of Musical Destruction
From 1745 to 1996, the Kingdom of Great Britain considered the bagpipes weapons of war, not instruments played in battle, like the fife and drum that is used to direct troops, but an actual physical weapon, like a sword or a musket. Those of you who have heard bagpipes may not be completely shocked, but …
Historical Tidbits — Pontiac’s Rebellion
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. May 7, 1763Pontiac’s Rebellion begins when Ottawa Indians attach Fort Detroit. After the conclusion of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Chief Pontiac (Ottawa) led a loosely united group …
Vive la France
Today we celebrated the French Alliance with our new nation. Born of difficult negotiation by Benjamin Franklin with King Louis and his court, the US alliance with France is one of the oldest relationships between our country and another nation. In fact, it is hard to imagine how the underarmed, undermanned, and frequently defeated Continental …
Peace or War? What ARE we talking about?
Almost all of the Abrahamic religions have a huge focus on the idea of peace. In fact, common greetings in Hebrew (שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם — shalom aleichem) and in Arabic (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ — as-salamu alaykum) quite literally mean “peace be upon you.” In the Anglican Church ceremony celebrating the French Alliance yesterday they opened their proceedings with …
Historical Tidbits — Rhode Island declares independence
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. May 4, 1776 Rhode Island declares independence. Rhode Island, the colony founded by the most radical religious dissenters from the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony, becomes the first North …
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What is the Artist Doing Here?
I have all these 18th C portraits that cycle through my PC desktop wallpapers. I am not sure why but today, this one caught my attention. Let me draw your attention to the man in the middle… Now those are either extraordinarily tight fitting breeches or this man is “Mooning” the British Regulars. Its something …
There was no SPCA in the 18th Century – Fox Tossing
Der Vollkommene Deutsche Jäger (The perfect German hunter) describes a game called Fuchsprellen or “fox tossing.” Fox Tossing was a competitive sport mostly practiced by members of the upper classes. The sport was held on a closed patch of land where people threw live foxes and other animals up high using slings, with a person …
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Sale of Chametz
Well we’ve reached Pesach and, of course, the dilemma that creates for all Jewish brewers. I could go the route of destroying all my chametz as we are instructed. The problem with that is that beer really doesn’t burn so i would have to have one hell of a party… I had eighteen bottles of whiskey …
Historical Tidbits — The Midnight Ride
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 18, 1775 The Midnight Ride of William Dawes and Paul Revere. Thanks to Longfellow, hardly a scholar or school child alive does not know the name of Paul …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 