Bonnie Prince Charlie 1720-1788 (35)

 

1. Who was Bonnie Prince Charlie

Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart and grandson of James II (VII in Scotland) and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1766. During his lifetime, he was known as "the Young Pretender" and "the Young Chevalier" and in popular memory, he is known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Born in Rome to the exiled Stuart court, he spent much of his life in Italy. In 1744, he travelled to France to take part in a planned invasion to restore the Stuart monarchy under his father. When the French fleet was partly wrecked by storms, Charles resolved to proceed to Scotland following discussion with leading Jacobites. This resulted in Charles landing by ship on the west coast of Scotland, leading to the Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite forces under him initially achieved several victories in the field, including Prestonpans (September 1745) and Falkirk Muir (January 1746). However, in April 1746, he was defeated at Culloden, which effectively ended the Stuart cause. There were subsequent attempts such as a planned French invasion in 1759 but Charles was unable to restore the Stuart monarchy. With the Jacobite cause lost, Charles spent the remainder of his life on the continent, except for one secret visit to London. He lived briefly in France before he was exiled in 1748 under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. He eventually returned to Italy, where he spent much of his later life in Florence and Rome. He had a number of mistresses before marrying Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern in 1772. In later life, Charles's health declined greatly and he was said to be an alcoholic. However, his escapades during the 1745/46 uprising, as well as his escape from Scotland, led to his portrayal as a romantic figure of heroic failure. His life and the once possible prospects of a restored Stuart monarchy have left an enduring historical legend that continues to have a legacy today.

2. Why did he stop marching to London?

By November 1746 Charles had reached as far suth as Derby but the lack of English Jacobite and French support was unnervung as was the rumour that the government was amassing large forces. Charles had to admit to the Scots Jacobites that he had heard nothing from the English Jacobites since leaving France although he had claimed to have done so. This caused his relationship with some of the Scots to irretrievably break down. On December 6 the Jacobites and Charles left Derby and began their long march north back to Scotland.

3. How did Flora MacDonald help the prince?

Flora MacDonald 1722-1790 is best known for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. MacDonald was visiting Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides when the Bonnie Prince and a small group of aides took refuge there after the Battle of Culloden in June 1746. One of his companions, Captain Conn O'Neill from County Antrim, was distantly related to MacDonald and asked for her help. MacDonald of Sleat had not joined the Rebellion and Benbecula was controlled by a pro-government militia commanded by her step-father, Hugh MacDonald. This connection allowed her to obtain the necessary permits but she apparently hesitated, fearing the consequences for her family if they were caught. She may have been taking less of a risk than it appears, since witnesses later claimed Hugh advised the Prince where to hide from his search parties. Passes were issued allowing passage to the mainland for Flora and a party of eight, including Charles disguised as an Irish maid called Betty Burke. On 27 June, they landed near Sir Alexander's house at Monkstadt, near Kilbride, Skye. In his absence, his wife Lady Margaret arranged lodging with her steward, who told Charles to remove his disguise, as it simply made him more conspicuous. The next day, the Prince was taken from Portree to the island of Raasay, while MacDonald remained on Skye. They never met again. Two weeks later, the boatmen were detained and confessed; MacDonald and Kingsburgh were arrested and taken to the Tower of London. After Lady Margaret interceded on her behalf with the chief Scottish legal officer, Duncan Forbes of Culloden, she was allowed to live outside the Tower under the supervision of a "King's Messenger" and released after the June 1747 Act of Indemnity. Aristocratic sympathisers collected over £1,500 for her, one of the contributors being Frederick, Prince of Wales. She allegedly told Frederick she helped Charles out of charity, and would have done the same for him. Arrested and held in the Tower of London, she was released under a general amnesty in June 1747. She later married Allan MacDonald and the couple emigrated to North Carolina in 1773.

The Black Hole of Calcutta 1756 (36)

 

1. Calcutta

2. The Black Hole of Calcutta

The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, Calcutta, measuring 14 by 18 feet (4.3 m × 5.5 m), in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war on the night of 20 June 1756.  John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the British prisoners and an employee of the East India Company, said that, after the fall of Fort William, the surviving British soldiers, Indian sepoys and Indian civilians were imprisoned overnight in conditions so cramped that many people died from suffocation and heat exhaustion and that 123 of 146 prisoners of war imprisoned there died. Some modern historians believe that only 64 prisoners were sent into the Hole, and that 43 died there. Some historians put the figure even lower, to about 18 dead, while questioning the veracity of Holwell's account. Fort William was established to protect the East India Company's trade in the city of Calcutta, the principal city of the Bengal Presidency. In 1756 India, there existed the possibility of a battle with the military forces of the French East India Company, so the British reinforced the fort. Siraj ud-Daulah ordered the fortification construction to be stopped by the French and British and the French complied while the British demurred. In consequence to British indifference, Siraj ud-Daulah organised his army and laid siege to Fort William. In an effort to survive the battle, the British commander ordered the surviving soldiers of the garrison to escape, yet left behind 146 soldiers under the civilian command of John Zephaniah Holwell, a senior bureaucrat of the East India Company. once a military surgeon. Desertions of Indian sepoys made the British defence of Fort William ineffective and it fell to the siege of Bengali forces on 20 June 1756. The surviving defenders who were captured and made prisoners of war numbered between 64 and 69, along with an unknown number of Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians who earlier had been sheltered in Fort William. The British officers and merchants based in Kolkata were rounded up by the forces loyal to Siraj ud-Daulah and forced into a dungeon known as the "Black Hole". In memory of the dead, the British erected a 15-metre (50') high obelisk, now in the graveyard of St John's Church, Calcutta.

The Battle of Trafalgar 1805 (39)

 

1. Who was Napoleon?

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804.

2. What was Nelson's famous signal?

"England expects that every man will do his duty" is the signal sent by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October, 1805.

3. What happened at the Battle of Trafalgar?

Cape Trafalgar is on the Atlantic coast in Spain, between Cadiz and the strait of Gibraltar. The Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most famous naval battles in British history. Nelson led Britain to victory over a combined French and Spanish fleet, but was shot and died during the battle. The British captured 18 enemy ships, most of which sank in a storm the next day. They lost 449 sailors, with another 1,217 wounded. The French and Spanish had 4,408 killed, 2,545 wounded and 20,000 taken prisoner.

Croesyceiliog Juniors

This is the school where I first encountered Days of Glory. My class teacher was Mr Rees. This was in 1969 when the book was already a few years old. It first came out in 1961 and was republished in 1964. My book would have been stamped with the Monmouthshire County Council Education Committee stamp.

Contemporary Review

In 1962 a review of Days of Glory appeared in a Scottish Educational Journal. Interestingly, even by then the books were felt to be rather old fashioned.

Junior New View Histories. Books 1-4 (Books 3 and 4 in course of preparation) by Rowland W Purton. For Primary Schools: Book 1. Days of Glory; Book 2. Days of Adventure (Collins). 6 s each.

Junior New View Histories.

Book 1 Days of Glory.

Book 2 Days of Adventure.

By R. W. Purton.

Collins.

Intended as class texts, these books follow a theory of history teaching that is under severe attack. Book 1 is a series of unconnected biopraphies, chronologically ordered, thin in material, Young children will merely confuse the personages without learning their importance. Book 2 continues the biographies under the heading "Heroes and Heroines" the first is Caradoc and the last Tensing and briefly examines "Life in the Middle Ages" and "Homes Through the Ages". All in all, an old-fashioned approach.

Caedmon (17)

 

1. What happened to Caedmon in the cowshed?

He slept there and as he slept he dreamed. In the dream he was ordered to sing but he replied that he coud not. However, he was commanded to sing the creation and he found that when he tried he could. When he woke in the morning he found he could still sing.

2. Caedmon telling the Abbess Hilda how he came to sing

Abbess Hilda last night the most remarkable thing happened to me. When everyone was singing and in good spirits last night the harp was passed to me and I was unable to sing, as had always been the case, and so I left the company and went to sleep in the cowshed. As I slept I heard a voice that called on me to sing. I explained that I was unable to sing but the voice insisted I sing the creation and when I tried I found I could. Even since I woke I have found anew ability to do ths thing I never could before. Do you think it is a miracle from God?

3. What kinds of songs did Caedmon sing?

There is only one poem by Caemon that has survived and it is a piece of worship that focuses on the creation. Any other poems would most likely have been based on things found in the Bible. Bede rendered Caedmon's hymn thus: "Now we must praise the Maker of the heavenly kingdom, the power of the Creator and his counsel, the deeds of the Father of glory and how he, since he is the eternal God, was the Author of all marvels and first created the heavens as a roof for the children of men and then, the almightly Guardian of the human race, created the Earth."

St Patrick c 385-461 (13)

 

1. The story of Patrick

Despite being very much connected with Ireland, Patrick wsa probably born in Scotland or Wales. Exact dates are still uncertain but this was around the year 385 AD. His real name was Maewyn Succat. When a teenager, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold to an Irish farmer in County Antrim. Here, he was treated like a slave and forced to look after sheep and pigs on a lonely hill. He suffered hunger and neglect but eventually turned to God and to Christianity in his troubles. He was kept there for six years and turned to the Bible and prayer for comfort. One night, he heard God speak to him in a dream. He was told to escape the mountain and go to a harbour, where there would be a boat waiting for him to take him home. With his newfound faith, he trusted the voice and escaped on a ship heading back home. He continued to pray and eventually became a priest at a monastery in Tours, France, and eventually became a Bishop, before returning to Britain. At the time, Ireland was a Pagan country. Patrick wanted to change this, so he returned to Ireland to teach them about God and the faith. When he arrived in Ireland trying to spread the word, he was first met with a lot of resistance. Eventually, he managed to spread his teachings throughout the island. He recognised that there were many Pagan spiritual beliefs and practices that had taken hold across Ireland. He incorporated some of these rituals into his form of Christianity – many believe he introduced the Celtic Cross, for example, a combination of Pagan sun-worship symbology with the traditional Christian cross. He is also thought to have used the Irish shamrock as a parable, where each leaf of the Shamrock represents one person in the Trinity. For 60 years, Patrick travelled around Ireland, spreading the word of God. He consecrated over 350 Bishops during this time to help complete this work. He eventually died on March 17, 461 AD, supposedly in an area now known as County Down. Legend has it that patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Truth is Ireland never had any natural snakes. He did drive out Paganism from Ireland, however, and may be that is the point. Patrick is also said to have been tempted by the Devil while on a pilgrimage across Ireland. He refused to let the devil tempt him and God rewarded him with a wish and he wished that Ireland be spared Judgement day and that he himself get to judge the people of Ireland. Again, only a legend.

2. Why did Patrick want to go back to Ireland after he had escaped?

He wanted to tell the people abot Jeus and see them converted to Christianity

3. St Patrick's Day is on March 17