One of the most enduring effects of the French and American Revolution in England was the governmental crackdown on ‘radicalism’, which was typically considered anything remotely resembling a call for sociopolitical reform. The government didn’t want a bunch of poor workers meeting and talking about inequality. The next thing you knew the poors would be… Read more The Peterloo Massacre
Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Emperor of the French and one of the greatest military leaders Western civilization has ever known, was born on 15 August 1769 in Ajaccio, the capital of the island of Corsica, to Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino. He was the fourth child the stork brought to Casa Buonaparte,… Read more Happy Birthday to Napoleon Bonaparte, the Corsican Who Transformed the Modern World
On 12 August 2017, a single white 32-year-old legal assistant and civil rights activist named Heather Heyer was murdered by a radicalized Christian white supremacist terrorist, James Alex Fields Jr, when he drove his car into a crowd of people who were peacefully counter-protesting the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, VA. A further 19 people… Read more The Slut Shaming of White Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Yolande of Aragon was born on 11 August 1384 to King John I of Aragon and his second wife, Yolande of Bar. She was not only a king’s daughter, through her mother she was also the granddaughter of King John II of France. As a well-dowered and noble bride, she was a marriage prize from… Read more Yolande of Aragon, Queen of Four Kingdoms and Preserver of France
When you research royalty in history, it is mostly about how desperately they needed to be fertile. The last thing a royal wanted was a way of preventing conception. The ideal was as many kids as fast as possible, with all-star standouts such as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (10 births/9 surviving), Queen Eleanor of Castile… Read more No More Crocodile Dung!
On 31 July 1492 the Alhambra Decree, which targeted the Jewish population for expulsion or death, went into effect in Spain. Jews were given three choices: they could convert to Catholicism, or surrender their goods and leave the country, or be executed horribly if they tried to remain in their homes and retain their religion. Tens… Read more The Alhambra Decree
This weekend my husband and I took the kids to Tenby, Wales to see some seals and some historical sights, and it was a richly rewarding experience on all fronts. As to be expected from a seafront village whose Anglicized name comes from the Welsh title Dinbych-y-pysgod, meaning “little fort of the fish”, there was… Read more Geniuses from Tenby, Wales!
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of King Edward IV, began his reign as King Richard III on 26 June 1483, although he wouldn’t have his coronation until 6 July. Richard III became king during one of the vicious times in English royal history. Seriously, it makes the fictional Game of Thrones look a… Read more Becoming Richard III
Contrary to popular belief, Henry VIII wasn’t a tyrannical monster who chopped off heads willy-nilly … until 1535. Prior to that year, Henry was reluctant to use the axe when other solutions were possible and the worst thing he had done was separate Katherina of Aragon from their daughter, Mary. Even that wasn’t just being… Read more The Bloodbath Begins: Henry VIII Turns to the Axe
Happy birthday to one of England’s most notable monarchs, King Edward I, who was born on 17 (or the early hours of the 18th) June 1239 to King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence at the Palace of Westminster. Edward’s moniker as king was Longshanks because he was so tall, but he could have justifiably been called Edward the… Read more Edward Longshanks, the Great and Terrible