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 …
Category Archives: Ideas
Hire the Regimental Brewmeister in 2025
I am still actively planning events for 2025. If you want to book the Regimental Brewmeister, please contact me soon so I can block the calendar. I already have dates reserved for certain sites and my schedule fills quickly. If there is a date that you want to secure as a tentative booking, please do …
How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools — Using the Gunter’s Rule
Using the Gunter’s Rule So how was multiplication done in the 18th Century. Sure, you could and people did do long-hand multiplication just like you were taught in elementary school. For example, we can multiply 384×56. The number with more digits is usually selected as the multiplicand: The long multiplication algorithm starts with multiplying the …
Continue reading “How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools — Using the Gunter’s Rule”
The Other East India Companies
When we talk about 18th Century trade monopolies, the big three (British East India Company, Hudson Bay Company, and the Dutch East India Company). The era of Spanish hegemony in trade was well in the decline by 1700 but what about the other imperial powers. Let’s not forget that France, Austria, Demark, Sweden, and Portugal …
And Now for Something Completely Different.
Finnish Wife Carrying Competitions Rosov Ronkainen, a notorious Finnish man from the 1800s, is known for stealing both women and food from nearby villages. He required his accomplices to go through an obstacle course while carrying something heavy on their backs to be sure they could handle the stolen bounties. Now, Finland has both a …
Continue reading “And Now for Something Completely Different.”
Hire the Regimental Brewmeister for your Event or Site
Add excitement and authentic color to your special event, or create one for your site, with Philadelphia’s best Colonial Brewer and tradesman. Whether it is a reenactment, motion picture, a tavern night for a private event, or other endeavor, I can bring can bring a real sense of authenticity and fun to your event and …
Continue reading “Hire the Regimental Brewmeister for your Event or Site”
The German Society of Pennsylvania was Founded in 1764 in Philadelphia
Last night I spent the evening brewing with the president of the German Society of Pennsylvania, Mark McGuigan, at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. The synagogue and the German Society of Pennsylvania are working together to promote German Jewish (i.e. Ashkenazi) heritage in Philadelphia. One of the cool projects is traditional brewing. The German Society …
Continue reading “The German Society of Pennsylvania was Founded in 1764 in Philadelphia”
The Philadelphia Tea Party
We all know that on December 16, 1773 protestors boarded the Dartmouth, the Eleanor and the Beaver, ships of the East India Company, and threw their cargo of tea into the Boston Harbor but this story neither begins nor ends in Boston. The idea for the acts of defiance against the British Empire was birthed in Philadelphia at …
Lords a Leaping…
Social Stratification in English Society Under English Common Law, you are entitled (in some situations) to a “Jury of your Peers.” As Americans, we frequently misinterpret “peers” to mean people like us. This is because with the adoption of the US Constitution in 1787, we officially renounced all references to “peerage” and titles of nobility …
Chanukah in Colonial America
What religious story most resonates with the spirit of the American Revolution? Yes, there are many stories in many religions that people overcoming atrocities and oppression. But consider for just a moment the story of Judah Maccabee. In the late 6th century BCE, the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great let the Jews go home after …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 