The Spanish meet the Aztecs
On the 8th November 1519, the conquistador, Hernán Cortes, arrived in Tenochtitlan along with 400 Spaniards and around 1000 native troops. Who Was He? His full name was Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, he was the 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca, his expedition caused the end of the Aztec Empire, which […]
There were famous female pirates
We have a show about two famous female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. But first let me tell you about a few other women who became famous as pirates. Queen Teuta of Illyria In the third century BC she was a queen regent of the Ardiaei, an area around Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia. After […]
Was this the Start of British Democracy?
The Putney Debates The Putney Debates took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, and they were a series of discussions over how they would run the country should they, Parliament, win the civil war. Basically, it was a discussion as to what they would do if they were in charge of the country […]
The End of the Aztec Civilization
The Aztec Civilization was brought to an end by the Spanish. What was it? The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Then the Spanish arrived! It was left basically untouched until 1517 when Hernandez de Cordoba visited and reported back to the Spanish Governor, Diego Velasquez, in Cuba, what he […]
The benefites of Republics over Monachies in the 17th Century?
In Dutch history, the year 1672 is referred to as the Rampjaar (The year of Disaster). In that year the Dutch found themselves at war with all their surrounding countries and even, across the North Sea, with England! They were fighting the French, in what was naturally called the Franco-Dutch War, at the same time […]
Odd sayings that come from The 1500s
Do you know where the tradition of the bride carrying a bouquet on her wedding day came from? It was because in the 1500’s people got married in June. They chose June because they took their annual bath in May, so they still smelt pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell a […]
Henry VIII’s daughter takes her mother’s side!
It all happened because a daughter was unhappy because her dad left her mum! The Acts of Supremacy On the 3rd November 1534 the First Act of Supremacy was passed. It was meant to be the only one, but it wasn’t. It was followed in 1537 when the Irish Act of Supremacy was passed by […]
How dangerous was Henry VIII court
It is estimated that 57,000 could have been executed during the reign of Henry VIII. I understand that this was over his 37 years on the throne, however, we must remember this is difficult to prove, but I do think it shows that being part of his court was dangerous. What happened after the Break […]
“Tulip Mania” a Dutch financial crisis
Tulip Mania discussed In the 17th century Holland had the highest per capita income in the world. This was because the Dutch Republic’s economic and financial system was at the time the most advanced and sophisticated ever seen in history. It is called the Dutch Golden Age. However, their sophistication in financial matters had its […]
The 1620s European Financial crisis.
Yes, they even had them in Europe in the 17th Century, they called this one “Tipper and See-Saw Time”, that was the name given to a financial crisis during the start of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). It occurred as the city-states in the Holy Roman Empire began to debase their currency, in order to […]