| History
| History
On 4th of July 1776 the Declaration of Independence, a document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and other ‘framers,’ declared that the 13 former British colonies now formed the first independent nation of the Western world. Alongside the Constitution, the Declaration…
Oh dear; dates are funny things aren’t they – as this series has already demonstrated. Just when you think that you have hit on a genuine ‘game-changer’ then you are forced to think again. And so it is with 1707.…
1688 is not the most visible of British constitutional landmarks. Especially in this 800th anniversary year, 1215 often gets more love, and Magna Carta is more often enthused about by politicians and historians alike than the Glorious Revolution. Likewise, 1649,…
In 1517, the Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. At least, that’s the story: in truth, this is probably a legend put around after the event, and the list of grievances against…
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. So goes the rhyme that many schoolchildren still learn in order to remember the date which has come to be thought of as the moment Europe ‘discovered’ North America. In truth, this is a lesson…