England
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War breaks out in American colonies
In 1774, following the infamous Boston Tea Party the previous December, when residents had dumped a cargo of imported tea into the Harbour at Boston, Massachusetts, the British governor to the state had been ordered, using amendments to the Massachusetts Colonial Government Charter, to disband the locally elected councils in favour of members appointed by the Governor. In retaliation, a shadow patriot government, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was set up by the dissenters. They compiled their objections, the Suffolk Resolves, named so after Suffolk County, where Boston was the main city, to refuse to obey the Massachusetts Government act and threatened to boycott imported goods from Britain, unless the ‘Intolerable…
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Darwin’s tortoises
While visiting the Galapagos archipelago in 1835, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) encountered the giant tortoise and observed that, as with the finches, each island had its own unique types of tortoise. The most notable difference, it turned out, was in the shape of the shell – some giant tortoises were able to extend their necks higher than others depending on what food source was available to them. They had evolved to survive on each particular island. The giant tortoise was a staple part of the diet of the indigenous peoples and also a source of money and goods from sale and trade – Darwin ate giant tortoise on James Island. Forty…
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Mary I’s phantom pregnancies
Mary I of England was overjoyed at her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain. She had married a man of royal blood, the son of her adviser and cousin Charles V of Spain and had laid the foundation for the passing of the throne to a true born Catholic heir. There was only one fly in the ointment. She was thirty-seven years old, past the usual child bearing years of that time, and had erratic health. Few people believed that the Queen was capable of bearing children, but still they prayed with all their might for a prince. In September of 1554, it seemed as if their prayers had been…
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Second Act of Succession- Declaring Mary and Elizabeth bastards
Everyone knew there could not be a Queen of England alone on the throne. The last Queen Regnant of England was arguably Margaret the She Wolf of France or if you chose to disregard Margaret then Matilda of England. Both had periods of rule riddled with strife and open warfare. These were not pleasant memories for the people of England or their king Henry VIII Henry had a big problem. He had just moved heaven and earth to get rid of one wife, Katherine of Aragon, because she had not given him an heir. The only child that survived their union was a living daughter, Mary. In desperation, Henry had…
