The March of Time on Twitter strides boldly into the future, going where no one has gone before... to infinity and beyond. There are interesting milestones on the way. In May we did the 17th century:19.04 (1611) — the King James Bible hits the news stands... Great Date for literary/ cultural as well as theological history, surely?
20.04 (1612) — Edward Wightman, a Baptist Minister, is last person in England to be burnt at the stake. March of Namby Pambly Liberals begins, as staking ceases. Also the year of the Northampton Witch trials - woman plus four executed by dunking for bewitching pigs. Pendle Witch trials later that year. History doth not record whether bewitched pigs do that funny wiggle thing with their noses Samantha York used to do on TV, or fly.
21.04 (1619) — first meeting of Jamestown (Va) House of Burgesses (first representative assembly) of American colonies . First boatload of black indentured laborers delivered to America by Captain Jope, to be traded for food and supplies :-(
22.04 (1624) Oops! Oslo and Dunfermline burn down. Versailles started, as Cardinal Richelieu joins Louis XIV's government
23.04 (1638) world’s first movable type newspaper in Beijing; Swedes make Peace of Hamburg with French and found "New Sweden" in Delaware. We, the last generation to bother with movable type newspapers salute the pluck Ming Dynasty for the Beijing Gazette of 1638!
24.04 (1647) Civil War starts up again Parliamentarians raze Aberystwyth Castle, and ban Christmas. Lord Rochester the Restoration Rake born...
(3 R’s?) Also in 1647, Dutch West India Co appoint Peter Stuyvesant Governor of New Amsterdam (> NY): Face that launched a million Cancer Sticks
. Also, Rhode Island separate Church and State: Humans get the State and Poultry the Church?25.04 (1672) Synod of Jerusalem: Orthodox response to challenges raised by Western Protestantism. In UK Charles II Declaration of Indulgence tolerates Protestants along with booze, chocs & floozies: Parliament not impressed . Meanwhile in Dutch "rampjaar" of 1672 everyone, for different reasons decides to invade Holland simultaneously. Just one of those things. They got over it.
26.04 (1688) The Glorious Revolution — incl. Very exciting Battle of Reading where Dutch whupped the Irish. James II ran away soon after... not everyone realises there was a glorious revolution in England. King loses Crown, both literally and metaphorically. Subsequently English Monarchy goes Dutch, with William & Mary. Also in 1688, Turks besiege Vienna, & Edward Lloyd goes into Insurance business.27.04 (1690) Battle of the Boyne consolidates William III's position. The Pope was actually on the Dutch Protestant side, (Anti-French League of Augsburg). Also new in 1690 — Clarinet (Nürnberg), American Paper Money (Massachussetts), and the Planet Uranus (Titter ye not) sighted by John Flamsteed
28.04 (1700) What d/you get man with everything? Louis XIV gets Spanish Crown for nephew Philippe & triggers War of the Spanish Succession. Oops! Messy!
29.04 (1708) Queen Anne refuses to sign Scottish Militia Bill - last time a monarch witholds Royal Assent. J. S. Bach gets a job in Weimar...30.04 (1713) Treaty of Utrecht ends war of Spanish Succession; Philip d'Anjou gets Spain. British get Gibraltar & Menorca. Monkeys delighted...
3 comments:
Now that you have passed 2009 tweets, your imagination and predictive ability is going to be tested!
I would love to see some predictions regarding how you see Faith, the CofE and Church (Messy perhaps) developing over the next century as your tweets build up.
What a fascinating article - I'm bookmarking this one!
Thanks; I'll post a few years every now and then up to the future we've reached right now, just to log the thing. Not sure my crystal ball stretches too far into the future! It would be very interesting to try and scope future Church, though. Maybe we could do it together on the blog. Let's get to 2009 first, though.
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