Slavery

1502 Slavery : The first African slaves brought to the New World arrive at the island of Hispaniola (present- day Haiti and Dominican Republic).

Prince Henry (Later King Henry VIII.)

1503 February. Prince Henry (later Henry VIII) Duke of York, Duke of Cornwall, created the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Henry VII appears to have given his son few tasks during his lifetime, perhaps weary of the death of his first son Arthur. after sending him to attend to his princely duties in Wales.It is believed that the young Prince Henry was strictly supervised (although to quite what extent is unclear, given that he spent much time in sports) and he did not appear in public.

1649 Tuesday January 30th. Execution of King Charles I

1649 Tuesday, January 30th. Execution: Charles Stuart his death warrant states, was beheaded:
Before the execution it was reported that he wore two shirts to prevent the cold weather causing any noticeable shivers that the crowd could have mistaken for fear or weakness.The execution took place at on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House, Whitehall. Charles Stuart was separated from the people by large ranks of soldiers, and his last speech reached only those with him on the scaffold, he declared that he had desired the liberty and freedom of the people as much as any," but I must tell you that their liberty and freedom consists in having government. It is not their having a share in the government; that is nothing appertaining unto them, subject and sovereign are clean different things".
Charles Stuart put his head on the block after saying a prayer and signaled the executioner when he was ready; he was then beheaded with one clean stroke. His last words were,"I shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be". Philip Henry records that moments after the execution, a moan was heard from the assembled crowd, some of whom then dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, thus starting the cult of the martyr king. However, no other eyewitness source, including Samuel Pepys, records this, Philip Henry's account was written during the Restoration, some twelve years after the event though Philip Henry was nineteen when the King was executed and he and his family were Royalist propaganda writers. The executioner was masked, and there is some debate over his identity, it is known that the Commissioners appro- ached Richard Brandon, the common Hangman of London, but that he refused, and contemporary sources do not generally identify him as the King's headsman. Ellis's historical Inquiries, however, names him as the executioner, contending that he stated so before dying. It is possible he relented and agreed to undertake the commission, but there are others who have been identified; an Irishman named Gunning is widely believed to have beheaded Charles Stuart and a plaque naming him the executioner is on show in the Kings Head pub in Galway, Ireland.
William Hewlett was convicted of regicide after the Restoration. In 1661, two people identified as "Dayborne and Bickerstaffe", were arrested but then discharged. Henry Walker, a revolutionary journalist, or his brother William, were suspected but never charged; various local legends around England, name local worthies. An examination performed in1813 at Windsor suggests that the execution was carried out by an experienced headsman. It was common practice for the head of a traitor to be held up and exhibited to the crowd with the words "Behold the head of a traitor!" Although Charles Stuart's head was exhibited, the words were not used. In an unprecedented gesture, one of the revolutionary leaders, Lieutenant-general Oliver Cromwell, allowed the King's head to be sewn back onto his body so the family could pay its respects.The High Court of Justice established by the Act consisted of hundred thirty five Commissioners but only sixty eight sat in judgement (all firm Parliamentarians); the prosecution was led by Solicitor General John Cooke. 

1646 Battle of Bovey Tacey.

1645. 1646  January, Battle of Bovey Tracy, the Town was the headquarters of Sergeant-major-general of Horse Thomas Wentworth (Baron Wentworth) commanded the Prince of Wales's regiment of Horse,Lieutenant-general Oliver Cromwell's troops are said to have surprised Royalist officers who were playing cards in Front-house Lodge in East Street.The Royalists threw coins out of the windows, leaving the poorly paid roundheads to fight over the money while they escaped by the back door, the Battle of Bovey Heath was fought the following day with Lieutenant-General Oliver Cromwell's army winning four hundred horses and capturing seven regimental colours. A section of Bovey Heath is a Scheduled Ancient Monument Site, important artifacts from the battle have been found there over the years. 
      

Thomas Langton elected Archbishop of Canterbury

1500. 1501  January 22nd. Thomas Langton was elected Archbishop of Canterbury.
      

1501 January 27th. Thomas Langton Archbishop of Canterbury. died of the plague before the confirmation
of the deed. He was buried in a marble tomb within 'a very fair chapel' which he had built south of the lady-chapel in Winchester Cathedral. Before his death he had given 10 shillings towards the erection
of Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge, and in 1497 a drinking-cup, weighing 67 ounces, called the 'Anathema Cup,' to Pembroke Hall. This is the oldest extant hanap or covered cup that is hall-marked. By his will, dated January 16th.1501, Thomas Langton left large sums of money to the priests of Clare Hall, Cambridge, money and vestments to the fellows and priests of Queen's College, Oxford, besides legacies to the friars at both universities, and to the Carmelites at Appleby-in-Westmorland. To his sister and her husband, Rowland Machel, lands (probably the family estates) in Westmorland and two hundred marks were bequeathed. An annual pension of eight marks was set aside to maintain a chapel at Appleby-in-Westmorland for a hundred years to pray for the souls of Thomas Langton, his parents, and all the faithful deceased at Appleby-in-Westmorland. 

Third outbreak of the sweating sickness

1517 Third outbreak of the sweating sickness in England; hits Oxford and Cambridge. Sweating sickness, also known as "English sweating sickness" or "English sweate" (Latin: sudor anglicus), was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. The onset of symptoms was dramatic and sudden, with death often occurring within hours. Its cause remains unknown. 

Henry VIII has an affair.1510

1510 It was reported that Henry VIII was conducting an affair with one of the sisters of Edward Stafford (3rd
Duke of Buckingham), either Elizabeth or Anne Hastings (Countess of Huntingdon). Chapuys wrote,"the husband of that lady went away, carried her off and placed her in a convent sixty miles from here, that no one may see her." 

Construction of Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey.

1502. 1503  January 24th. Construction of Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey begins in the perpendicular style, the final stage of English gothic art. The Henry VII Lady Chapel,now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by brass gates and a flight of stairs.The structure of the chapel is a three-aisled nave composed of four bays.The apse of the chapel contains the altar, and behind that, the tombs of Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York as well as of James I. of England VI of Scotland. There are five apsidal chapels. The chapel is noted for its pendant fan vault ceiling, and is built in a very late Perpendicular Gothic style, the magnificence of which caused John Leland to call it the orbis miraculum.The tombs of several monarchs including Henry VII, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, Mary I, James I, Charles II, and Mary, Queen of Scots are found in the chapel. 
      

1344 The Florin or Double Leppard.

1343. 
      
1344. 1344  The Florin or Double Leopard was an attempt by English king Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable
      for use in Europe as well as in England (also Half Florin or Leopard and Quarter Florin or Helm). It was 108 grains (6.99829 grams) of nominal pure ('fine') gold and had a value of six shillings (ie.72d).The (continental) florin, based on a French coin and ultimately on coins issued in Florence, Italy, in 1252, was a standard coin (3.5g fine gold) widely used internationally.Unfortunately the coins were underweight for their value, resulting in them
      being unacceptable to merchants, and the coins were withdrawn after only a few months in circulation in August,
      

1344 to be melted down to produce the more popular gold Noble (9g gold valued at 6/8 (ie. 80d). 


                                                 

              

Death of King George V 20th.January 1936.

King George V never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen. On the evening of 15 January 1936, the King took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he never again left the room alive. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Baldwin later said,

each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.^[

By 20 January, the King was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with words that became famous: "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that the King's last words, a mumbled "God damn you!",were addressed to his nurse when she gave him a sedative on the night of 20 January. Dawson wrote that he hastened the King's death by giving him a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine. Dawson noted that he acted to preserve the King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that the King's death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper rather than "less appropriate ... evening journals".

Trial of King Charles I.

1649 January 20th.Charles I's trial on charges of high treason and "other high crimes" began, Charles I refused to enter a plea, claiming that no court had jurisdiction over a Monarch; Charles I believed that his own authority to rule had been given to him by God and by the traditions and laws of England when he was crowned and anoin- ted, and that the power wielded by those trying him was simply that of force of arms. Charles I insisted that the trial was illegal, explaining: "Then for the law of this land, I am no less confident, that no learned lawyer will affirm that an impeachment can lie against the King, they all going in his name and one of their maxims is, the King can do no wrong". When urged to enter a plea, he stated his objection with the words: "I would know by what power I am called hither by what lawful authority?" The court, by contrast, proposed an interpretation of the law that legitimised the trial, which was founded on". The fundamental proposition that the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern 'by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise'. "Over a period of a week, when Charles I was asked to plead three times, he refused, it was then normal practice to take a refusal to plead as pro-confesso: an admis- sion of guilt, which meant that the prosecution could not call witnesses to its case. However, the trial did hear witnesses, fifty nine of the Commissioners signed Charles I's death warrant, after the ruling, he was led from St. James's Palace, where he was confined, to the Palace of Whitehall, where an execution scaffold had been erected in front of the Banqueting House Whitehall. 

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I January 15th.1559.

Elizabeth I became queen at the age of 25yrs. As her triumphal progress wound through the city on the eve of the coronation ceremony, she was welcomed wholeheartedly by the citizens and greeted by orations and pageants, most with a strong Protestant flavour. Elizabeth's open and gracious responses endeared her to the spectators, who were "wonderfully ravished". The following day, January 15th.1559, Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey and anointed by the Catholic bishop of Carlisle. She was then presented for the people's acceptance, amidst a deafening noise of organs, fifes, trumpets, drums, and bells. 

Plot to assassinate Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.

1656. 
      
1657. 
      
1658. 1657  January 8th.Levellers Plot:Miles Sindercombe and group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed in their attempt pt to assassinate Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London and arrested. Plotters: In Flanders Miles Sindercombe met another Leveller and anti-Cromwell plotter Edward Sexby in 1656. Miles Sindercombe joined his plot to assassinate the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell in hope of restoring the Puritan republic as they saw it. Edward Sexby supplied Miles Sindercombe with money and weapons. In 1656 Miles Sindercombe returned to England and gathered a group of co-conspirators, including renegade soldier John Cecil, apparent conman William Boyes and John Toope (member of Cromwell's Life-Guards. John Toope gave plotters information about Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell's movements.
      Assassination attempts: First Miles Sindercombe rented a house in King Street in Westminster where they intended to shoot Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell when he rode past in his coach. However, they noticed that it would be a difficult place to escape after the attempt, so they abandoned the plan. Next Miles Sindercombe rented another house near the Westminster Abbey using the name "John Fish". He intended to shoot Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell with an arquebus on his way from Westminster Abbey to Parliament on September
      17th.1656.However,when a large crowd gathered outside,William Boyes panicked and left,the attempt had to be abandoned. Miles Sindercombe's group then intended to shoot Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell when he left for  Hampton Court, as he customarily did every Friday.They intended to shoot at Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell's coach while it was going through a narrow passage. As it happened, the Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell changed his mind on that particular Friday, and the plotters waited in vain; the next idea was shoot the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell when he was walking in the Hyde Park.They broke the hinges of the park gates to facilitate their escape, and John Cecil began to follow Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell and his entourage. However, Oliver Cromwell became interested in John Cecil's horse and called him over, John Cecil lost his nerve and could not shoot him. He afterwards claimed that the horse was ill so he could not have escaped. Capture: After so many failed attempts, Oliver Cromwell's spymaster John Thurloe had noticed the would-be- assassins. He had already heard about the plot from his spies on the continent. Miles Sindercombe's next idea was to burn down Whitehall Palace and the Lord-Protector Oliver Cromwell with it. William Boyes made an explosive device out of gunpowder, tar and pitch and the group planted it in the palace chapel on January 8th.
      
      1657. However, John Toope, who had had a change of heart, had revealed the plan to authorities. When the plotters left, guards disarmed the bomb. John Thurloe gave an order to arrest the plotters. John Cecil was easily captured but William Boyes escaped. Miles Sindercombe fought the guards until one guard cut off part of his nose. John Cecil and Miles Sindercombe were sent to the Tower of London. John Cecil decided to tell all, with John Toope's aid, John Thurloe was able to reveal also Edward Sexby's part in the plot and present his findings to the Parliament.Trial & death: Miles Sindercombe remained uncooperative.
      1657 February 9th. Miles Sindercombe was found guilty of treason when both John Cecil and John Toope testified. 1657 February 13th. Miles Sindercombe did not want to face the humiliation of execution and committed suicide by poison in the Tower of London.

Trial of King Charles I .1649.

Trial of King Charles I
1649 January 4th. An Ordinance was passed to try Charles I for treason; the House of Lords rejected it, The House
of Commons then passed anʻActʼ by itself for the same purpose,
1649 January, in response to Charles I defiance of Parliament even after defeat, his encouraging the second civil
war while in captivity, the House of Commons passed an Act of Parliament creating a court for Charles I trial. After the first civil war, the Parliamentarians accepted the premise that the King, although wrong, had been able to justify his fight, and that he would still be entitled to limited powers as King under a new constitutional settle- ment, it was now felt that by provoking the second civil war even while defeated and in captivity, Charles I show
-ed himself responsible for unjustified bloodshed; the secret treaty with the Scots was considered particularly unpardonable; "a more prodigious treason",said Lieutenant-general Oliver Cromwell,"than any that had been
perfected before; because the former quarrel was that Englishmen might rule over one another; this to vassalise
 us to a foreign nation". Lieutenant-general Oliver Cromwell had up to this point supported negotiations with king Charles I but rejected further diplomacy,the idea of trying a king was a novel one; previous Monarchs

(Edward II, Richard II and Henry VI, Edward V) had been overthrown and murdered by their successors, but had never been brought to trial as Monarchs. Charles I was accused of treason against England by using his power to pursue his personal interest rather than the good of England. The charge against Charles I stated that the king. " for accomplishment of such his designs, and for the protecting of himself and his adherents in his and their wicked practices, to the same ends hath traitorously and maliciously levied war against the present Parliament, and the people therein represented...", that the "wicked designs, wars, and evil practices of him, the said Charles Stuart have been, and are carried on for the advancement and upholding of a personal interest of will, power, and pretended prerogative to himself and his family, against the public interest, common right, liberty, justice, and peace of the people of this nation." Estimated deaths from the first two English civil wars has been reported as 84,830 killed with estimates of another one hundred thousand dying from war-related disease, this was in 1650 out of a population of 5.1 million, (or 3.6% of the population). The indictment against the King therefore held him "guilty of all the treasons, murders, rapines, burnings, spoils, desolations, damages and mischiefs to this nation, acted and committed in the said wars, or occasioned thereby." The High Court of Justice established by the Act consisted of one hundred thirty nine Commissioners but only sixty eight ever sat in judgement (all firm Parliamentarians); the prosecution was led by Solicitor General John Cooke. 

Archbishop of Canterbury executed.

1645 January 10th. Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud is executed for treason on Tower Hill, London.
William Laud (October 7th.1573 – January 10th.1645) Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism.This, and his support for Charles I resul- ted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.  

1645 January 6th. Committee of Both Kingdoms. Established the New model army, and appointed Lord-general Sir Thomas Fairfax (Earl of Cameron). Captain-General and Sir Philip Skippon as Sergeant-major-general of foot. 

1010 Early attempt of flight

With the terrible weather causing flooding all over the country, Malmesbury was featured on the news as having been flooded.

In the early 11th century (possibly first decade), Eilmer of Malmesbury, an English Benedictine monk, attempted a gliding flight using wings. According to the Gesta Regum Anglorum, Eilmer travelled over a furlong (201 metres) through the air before falling and breaking both his legs, rendering him lame for the rest of his life.

Edward the Confessor died.

1066 January 4th. King Edward the Confessor died at Westminster Palace.

 The Witan proclaims Harold Godwinson as King Harold II of England.

1066 January 8th. Harold II is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. 

1066 January. William II Duke of Normandy hears of Harold Godwinson's Coronation

and begins to prepare to invade England by building seven hundred warships and 

transports at Dev-st-Mer on the 

Normandy coast.

The Chronology of the House of Tudor.

1510. 1511  January 1st. Birth of Prince (1) Henry Duke of Cornwall, at Greenwich Palace,18 months after his parents' wedding and coronation, and was the first son and first living child born to King Henry VIII and (m1) Catherine of Aragon, who had previously given birth to a stillborn daughter, on January 31st.1510. 
      
1511. 1511 January 5th.Prince (1) Henry Duke of Cornwall, was christened on in a lavish ceremony where beacons were lit in his honour. The christening gifts included a fine gold salt holder and cup weighing a total 99 ounces, given by Louis XII of France, his godfather. His other godparents were William Warham (Arch- bishop of Canterbury), and Margaret of Austria (Duchess of Savoy). At the christening, the prince's great-aunt Anne of York (Countess of Surrey) stood proxy for Margaret of Hapsburg (Duchess of Savoy), and Richard Foxe Bishop of Winchester stood proxy for Louis XII of France.
      Celebrations and Death. Henry VIII and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivaling that of their joint coronation for the birth of his son and heir, who immediately became Duke of Cornwall and was expected to become Prince of Wales, King of England and third king of the House of Tudor. The tournament at Westminster was the most lavish of Henry VIII's reign, and is recorded via a long illuminated vellum roll. Henry VIII carried (m1) Catherine of Aragon's favour in the tournament, riding under the banner of "Sir Loyal Heart" the relationship between the royal pair, already one of strong affection, had become even more of a love match because of (m1) Catherine of Aragon's success in providing a male heir. Known as "Little Prince Hal" and "the New Year's Boy", the prince was fondly regarded by Henry VIII's court.
      1511 February 23rd. The young Prince (1) Henry, Duke of Cornwall prince died suddenly. The cause of his death was not recorded. He received a state funeral at Westminster Abbey. It was another two years until (m1) Catherine of Aragon again became pregnant. There is no known picture of Prince Henry. 

Massachusetts

1642 September 8th. Colony of Massachusetts: Thomas Granger is executed by hanging at Plymouth, Massachusetts for confessing to numerous acts of bestiality. 

1st. English Civil War.

1642 Jan.4th.1st English civil war:Charles I attempts to arrest 6 leading members of Long Parliament,they escape. 

Happy new year everybody.

All the best for 2014 I hope you have a healthy and prosperous year