By Tim Lambert Early Epidemics At different times in history, terrible pandemics have swept parts of the world killing millions of people. The best known is the Black Death of the 14th century but epidemics were nothing new in Europe. In 430 BC Athens was struck by an epidemic of an unknown disease, which devastated… Continue reading A Brief History of Epidemics
Category: Articles
A Brief History of Silver
By Tim Lambert Ancient Silver From Ancient Times silver has been used for jewelry and for eating and drinking vessels. People have been mining silver since at least 3,000 BC. Silver was also used for coins. From about 400 BC silver coins were used in Greece. The Romans had a silver coin called a denarius.… Continue reading A Brief History of Silver
A Brief History of Shops
By Tim Lambert Early Shops In the centre of Roman towns was a rectangular space called the Forum. It was lined by shops and by a public building called the Basilica. Markets were also held on the forum. In a large Roman town, other main streets were also lined with shops. In Roman times shops… Continue reading A Brief History of Shops
A History of Slavery
By Tim Lambert Slavery in the Ancient World Slavery is the ownership of one human being by another. It has existed throughout history in many cultures and is not extinct today. In the distant past, people often slaughtered their enemies, but sometimes they were taken prisoner and used as slaves. In the Ancient World, slavery… Continue reading A History of Slavery
A Brief History of Towns
By Tim Lambert Celtic and Roman Towns The Celts who lived in Britain before the Roman invasion of 43 AD could be said to have created the first towns. Celts in southern England lived in hill forts, which were quite large settlements. (Some probably had thousands of inhabitants). They were places of trade, where people… Continue reading A Brief History of Towns
A History of English Society
By Tim Lambert Celtic Society At the top of Celtic society was a class of nobles headed by a king or chieftain. Below them were the craftsmen (of whom metalworkers were the most important). Then came the farmers who provided the food supply and also fought for the chief. The Celts were divided into tribes.… Continue reading A History of English Society
A Brief History of Unemployment
By Tim Lambert Before the Industrial Revolution unemployment was much less of a problem than it is now. It existed of course but there was no mass unemployment. In an agricultural society, the economy was usually stable and it changed little from year to year. However, from the 18th century, the British economy went into… Continue reading A Brief History of Unemployment
A History of the Welfare State in Britain
By Tim Lambert The Elizabethan Poor Law In the 16th century, society was faced with the problem of what to do with the poor. Eventually, the Elizabethan government realised they would have to introduce some kind of system to support them. By an act of 1601 overseers of the poor were appointed by each parish.… Continue reading A History of the Welfare State in Britain
A Brief History of the Right to Vote
By Tim Lambert The Right to Vote in Britain In the 18th century, only a small minority of men in Britain could vote (only those who owned a certain amount of property). But in 1832 the government introduced a reform but the franchise was only extended to about 14% of men. The working class was… Continue reading A Brief History of the Right to Vote
A Brief History of Coffee
By Tim Lambert The Discovery of Coffee The Ethiopians invented coffee. The coffee plant is native to Ethiopia. According to legend, coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goatherd called Kaldi around the year 800. He noticed that goats that ate certain beans became very lively. So coffee was found. Later, people added hot water to… Continue reading A Brief History of Coffee