By Tim Lambert Saxon Government The Saxons laid The foundations of the English government. They divided England into shires. (The Normans called them counties). Each shire was divided into areas called hundreds. (Originally a hundred was one hundred families or one hundred hides, the amount of land needed to support a family). Hundreds were abolished… Continue reading A History of English Government
Category: Articles
A History of Marriage
By Tim Lambert Early Marriage Marriage occurred in all eras of history and all cultures. Polygamy (a man having more than one wife) was first mentioned in the Old Testament in Genesis. A man named Lamech married two women (Genesis 4:19). Later King David and King Solomon had many wives. Almost everybody in Ancient Israel… Continue reading A History of Marriage
A History of Newspapers
By Tim Lambert Early Newspapers Newspapers began circulating in the 17th century. The first real newspaper in England was printed in 1665. The first successful daily newspaper in Britain was printed in 1702. The first American newspaper was printed in 1690. It was called Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick. The first newspaper in Canada… Continue reading A History of Newspapers
A History of Money
By Tim Lambert Early Money At first, people simply bartered, that is they exchanged goods for goods. However, eventually, it became convenient to have one thing that could be exchanged for any goods. Before the Celts used coins they used iron bars as a form of currency. The Chinese used cowrie shells. However, finally, people… Continue reading A History of Money
A Brief History of the British Police
By Tim Lambert Early Law Enforcement From the Middle Ages, there were local officials in England called constables who were responsible for keeping the peace. Men took it in turns to take the post for one year and it was unpaid. Also if somebody witnessed a crime he was supposed to raise the alarm and… Continue reading A Brief History of the British Police
A History of the Population of England
By Tim Lambert About 650 BC a people called the Celts migrated to Britain. Then in 43 AD, the Romans invaded. It is impossible to accurately estimate the population of Britain before the Romans came. However, the population of Roman Britain was probably about 4 million. Roman towns would seem small to us. The largest… Continue reading A History of the Population of England
A Brief History of Brazil
By Tim Lambert INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN BRAZIL The first human beings entered Brazil after 10,000 BC. They were hunter-gatherers. Among other animals, they hunted manatees. They also fished in the rivers and near the coasts, they collected shellfish. The first Brazilians also collected plants. After 1,000 BC some people in Brazil were changing to a… Continue reading A Brief History of Brazil
A Brief History of Colombia
By Tim Lambert Early Colombia For thousands of years before Europeans arrived Amerindians lived in what is now Colombia. Some lived by fishing and hunting but some lived by farming. The first Spaniard to land in the area was Alonso de Ojeda in 1500. However, there was no permanent Spanish settlement until 1533 when Cartagena… Continue reading A Brief History of Colombia
A Brief History of Chile
By Tim Lambert Early Chile The first human beings arrived in Chile at about 12,000 BC. At first, people lived by hunting and gathering but in North Chile, they were farming by 2,500 BC. However, agriculture began much later in Southern Chile. The Incas conquered northern Chile in the 15th century but they were themselves… Continue reading A Brief History of Chile
A Brief History of Peru
By Tim Lambert The Chavin in Peru By about 2,500 BC people in what is now, Peru began farming. By about 1,800 BC they were making pottery. The first South American civilization was the Chavin. It arose in what is now Peru in about 900 BC. The Chavin did not invent writing but they were… Continue reading A Brief History of Peru