1600-1700
Time Traveller's Guide to Stuart
England![]()
All you need to know to survive the filthy, dangerous streets of Civil War and Restoration London and beyond.
Cities
and disaster
An examination of the calamities that befell seven cities: London (1666), Lisbon
(1755), Chicago (1871), San Francisco (1906), Tokyo/Yokohama (1923), Florence
(1966), New Orleans (2005).

- Monarchy
Dynamic timeline charts how England evolved from a land of warlords to one where dynasties could be built. - The British Slave Trade: A chronology
From the first British slave trader Sir John Hawkins to the Slavery Abolition Act and US Emancipation Proclamation. - The monarchs we never had
The death of the heir to the throne has had important consequences throughout British history – sometimes immediately, sometimes obvious only in retrospect. - Matt's
Old Masters: Rubens
One of the most influential painters of Baroque Europe, whose visual vocabulary for artistic message-making, classical mythology and allegory is sometimes difficult to appreciate. - The Search for the Northwest
Passage
From the 15th century, European mariners sought to find a seaway through the ice-bound Arctic to the Orient. This website examines attempts including the fatal Franklin expedition and Amundsen’s success. - Matt's
Old Masters: Velázquez
The first great Spanish painter and, for many major artists, the most inspiring and relevant 'old master' of all. - The Medici: A chronology
These Florentine bankers led a city-state, occupied the Vatican and married into many powerful European families. They also inspired and supported some of the greatest artists, thinkers and pioneers of the Renaissance. - Galileo Galilei
A brief account of the Italian scientist who challenged the Catholic Church and lost. - Galileo's Daughter
An extract from Dava Sobel's book about the relationship between Galileo and Sister Marie Celeste, his illegitimate daughter. - The
Worst Jobs in History: Stuart jobs
The period produces some exceptionally awful jobs, which fall to the unfortunate poor or the downright deranged. - Treason

The story of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and what might have happened if it had succeeded. - Gunpowder, Treason and
Plot: Interviews
Interviews with historians Ronald Hutton and Alison Weir on the Gunpowder Plot. - The Gunpowder Plot: Ask the
experts
Historians Ronald Hutton and Pauline Croft answer questions about the Gunpowder Plot. - The Gunpowder Plot: Filling in the gaps
Historical novelist Christie Dickason shows how the story of the plot isn’t as straightforward as we might have been led to believe. - Pioneer
House
Modern-day colonists striving to make it in 1628 America. The website reveals why the original pioneers left England, how they set up the first colonies and coped with their demanding daily lives, and examines their troubled relations with the Native Americans. - War

The story of the English Civil Wars and the controversy surrounding Cromwell. - The Legacy of the Levellers
Tony Benn remembers the contribution of the Levellers to British democracy and socialism. - Cromwell: New Model Englishman – Interviews
Interviews with historians Angela Anderson and Blair Worden on Oliver Cromwell. - Cromwell and the English Civil
Wars: Ask the expert
Historian Blair Worden answers questions about the Lord Protector and the Puritans. - Cromwell
Historian Blair Worden reviews the 1970 film. - The Devil in Essex:
Witch-hunting in Old and New England
Dr Malcolm Gaskill reveals how witch-hunts in Cromwellian England led to similar atrocities in the New World. - Witchfinder General
According to Malcolm Gaskill, this 1968 film set in Civil War England – a period-piece about love and loss, exploitation and vengeance – self-consciously manipulates the known facts. - Witchfinder General:
Interview
Interview with historian Malcolm Gaskill on various aspects of the witchcraft hysteria in 17th-century Essex. - Plague

The story of the Great Plague of 1665, plus an explanation of the disease and its spread in London and the rest of England. - The Great Plague: Interviews
Interviews with historians Justin Champion, Vanessa Harding and Carole Rawcliffe on the Great Plague of 1665. - The Great Plague: Ask the expert
Historian Justin Champion answers questions on the Great Plague of 1665. - Restoration
A fun film that, according to Justin Champion, gives a slightly more plausible account of the culture of Charles II’s court than many others. - Fire

The story of the Great Fire of London – and its legacy – and how its devastation spread. - The Great Fire of London:
Interviews
Interviews with historians Lisa Jardine and Simon Thurley on the Great Fire and the rebuilding of London. - The Great Fire of London: Ask
the experts
Dr Simon Thurley and the experts at the Museum of London answer questions about the Great Fire of London of 1666. - Cities and disaster
An examination of the calamities that befell seven cities: London (1666), Lisbon (1755), Chicago (1871), San Francisco (1906), Tokyo/Yokohama (1923), Florence (1966), New Orleans (2005). - Crime
Team: A parliamentary killing
The year is 1682. As MP Thomas Thynn rides in a carriage down Pall Mall, he is shot dead... - The Scots Detective
This website challenges historical accounts of the Scottish wars of independence, the Reformation, the Act of Union, Scottish exile and the Irish in Scotland (Channel 4 Learning).

