On December 12, 1543 Don Antonio de Medoza granted authorization to Alfonso de Herrera to build and operate a brewery in Mexico City. Truly a landmark event, it was the first brewery in all of the America’s. Want to have the Regimental Brewmeister at your site or event? You can hire me. https://colonialbrewer.com/yes-you-can-hire-me-for-your-event-or-site/
Category Archives: Ideas
Switchel
Switchel or “Haymaker’s Punch” is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with spices like ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses or brown sugar. Switchel originated in New England, and it became a popular summer drink in the American Colonies in the late 17th century. By the 19th century, it …
Historical Tidbits — Congress adjourns to Baltimore
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 12, 1776 Congress adjourns to Baltimore In mid-December 1776 Congress decided to move to Baltimore to escape capture by the advancing British. The time in Baltimore was a …
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The British East India Company
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 …
The Scourge of Slavery (#11) — Gradual Manumission, a small step toward Abolition
Perhaps in no other state did the ideals espoused during the American Revolution take hold as much as they did in Pennsylvania. The gradual emancipation act was just one example of Pennsylvanians attempting to follow through on Revolutionary promises but trying to abolish slavery outright was very difficult. The Pennsylvania legislature, however, suggested a gradual …
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And Now for Something Completely Different…
In the last decades of the 18th Century, in the south of England, there was a trend It was often referred to as a ‘shift’ or ‘smock’ marriages. These even went so far as to sometimes be puris naturalibus or naked marriages. It seems, in the tradition of Lady Godiva of Mercia, If a woman …
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Economic Crash — Tulip Mania
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 …
Curaçao
In 1499 the Spanish sent an expedition to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in an attempt to cultivate Seville oranges. Oranges were vital to naval operations in the region as they were used to fight scurvy. The Seville oranges, however, struggled under the island’s harsh equatorial sun, arid climate, and infertile soil eventually evolving into a small, bitter, …
Gov Franklin made each soldier brew their own beer.
On December 6, 1769 Governor of New Jersey William Franklin (son of Benjamin Franklin) worried about using the colony’s dwindling beer supply to provide British troops with rations. To address the crisis he issued a proclamation: ENACTED: That… in Lieu and Stead of Four Pints of Small Beer hereby allowed each man per day it …
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Mead was not Mainstream in Colonial America
Honey bees are not native to North America. They were originally imported from Europe in the 17th century. In a letter written December 5, 1621 by the Council of the Virginia Company in London and addressed to the Governor and Council in Virginia, “Wee haue by this Shipp and the Discouerie sent you diurs [divers] …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 