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History, Page 7

Issue Roll, 6 June 1415

Thursday, 6 June, to Sir Thomas Tunstall, retained by the king by indenture made between the king and Thomas for one year to go with the king in person to parts of France or elsewhere, in money delivered into his own hands for his wages and those of five men-at-arms and 18 archers retained along with the said Thomas to proceed with the king towards the aforementioned area, by brief of privy seal amongst the orders of this term, as appears by the other part of an indenture, made between Thomas,... Continue reading →

Waterloo and Agincourt – Two ‘British’ Victories

Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, Monday June 17, 1816 On the 17th May, a highly gratifying military spectacle took place  on the plains of Agincourt – these plains, so celebrated for British valour, was the scene chosen to reward the gallantry of those modern heroes, who have again proved on the plains of Waterloo the invincibility of the British spirit. Continue reading →

What the Papers’ Say: Excavations at Agincourt, 1818

Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, Monday, May 25, 1818   It was sometime ago mentioned, in one of the English newspapers, that some of the officers attached to the British Staff of the Army of Occupation had been employing themselves in searching for reliques on the field on which the famous battle of Agincourt was fought on the 25th of October, in the year 1415 – We are very happy to learn that their labours have been crown with success far beyond their expectation, and the number of gold... Continue reading →

Only two years to go!

Image by: Anne Curry The battle of Agincourt was fought on Friday 25 October 1415. And today is Friday 25 October 2013. So, only two years to go before we celebrate the 600th anniversary of this fascinating battle. Only a kill-joy would mention the 12 days ‘lost’ in 1752 when Great Britain and Ireland caught up with Catholic Europe! In 1582 a bull of Pope Gregory XIII ordered Catholic states to adopt a reformed calendar. Continue reading →

Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 5 December 1792

At the end of 1792, Taylor wrote to tell Arcedeckne about his fear at the prospect of an end to the slave trade. The Jamaican assembly had produced a report, laying out their opposition to abolition and emphasising the economic value of the current slave system to the mother country. Such economic arguments were an important part of the proslavery defence of the slave trade, but as this letter also shows, constitutional arguments and claims about property rights were also important. Continue reading →

Simon Taylor to George Hibbert, Kingston, 29 August 1804

Taylor commented to George Hibbert on the failure of Wilberforce’s abolition bill to pass the House of Lords in 1804. By this time, he was fully aware that such a setback would be unlikely to deter future efforts by his political adversaries. He claimed, however, that if the British state were compelled to pay financial compensation to British-Caribbean slaveholders, on the basis of purported commercial losses, then abolition would be unaffordable and, therefore, impossible. Continue reading →

Simon Taylor to Simon Richard Brissett Taylor, 30 August 1806

Taylor’s letters reflect the dilemmas of slaveholding colonial planters with British identities who had, nevertheless, become disillusioned about their place within the empire. By 1806, Taylor was recommending his nephew, and principal heir, Sir Simon Brissett Taylor, who was by then aged twenty-two, to explore the possibility of moving the Taylor family and their investments to the United States. Continue reading →