A Brief History On November 17, 1810, Sweden declared war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever took place and there were no casualties! Digging Deeper Prior to 1810, Britain and Sweden were allies against Napoleonic France. In 1810, however, the situation changed. France and Sweden concluded The Treaty of Paris on January 6, 1810, forcing Sweden to join the Continental System, a trade embargo against Great Britain. Next, after The Swedish Crown Prince Charles August died on May 28, 1810, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshal of France and husband of Napoleon’s former…
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A Brief History On November 14th, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Theodora who once spanked a man after he talked trash about his own wife! Digging Deeper One of history’s most influential and significant empresses is Theodora (c. 500 A.D. – June 28, 548 A.D.). Her life is also among the more difficult imperial lives to get a clear picture of because to some she is revered as a saint, whereas to others she is remembered for having possibly worked in a brothel and being the daughter of a dancer and actress (not considered classy professions in those days).…
A Brief History On November 13, 1002, English king Æthelred II the Unready ordered the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice’s Day massacre. Digging Deeper When Æthelred became King of the English in 978, his realm had experienced repeated incursions by Danes. The situation was so bad that the English king even had to pay tribute to Denmark’s king starting in 991. Not surprisingly, Æthelred would eventually want some kind of way out of these humiliations. So, he decided to take decisive action on the feast day of a fifth century Bishop of Tours.…
A Brief History November 10, 1898 marks the beginning of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in United States history! Digging Deeper More famous events such as the Whiskey Insurrection (also known as the Whiskey Rebellion) of 1791 tend to receive greater coverage in history textbooks than what occurred in Wilmington in 1898. Nevertheless, as noted above, the Wilmington Insurrection has a unique place in American history, because these rebels actually successfully overthrew their legitimately elected government, whereas just about anything else dubbed an “insurrection” in American history (not counting the American…
A Brief History On October 28, 1919, The U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January and setting the stage for the eventual production of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Digging Deeper Without the almost difficult to fathom actions of Congress nearly a hundred years ago today, we would not be enjoying the tales of gangsters and corrupt politicians gracing our televisions on Sunday nights thanks to HBO. Yet, for as hard as it is for us in an age in which we are inundated constantly by beer and…