1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: a show that pulls a winning number from history every 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: day of the week. I'm Gave Louizier and today we're 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: testing our luck with the story of England's first national lottery, 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: which gave citizens the chance to win cash, legal immunity, and, 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: if they were really lucky, a life changing amount of 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: good cloth. Linen to The day was January eleven, fifteen 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: sixty nine. In a public square outside Old St Paul's 10 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: Cathedral in London, the drawing began for the first state 11 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: run lottery in English history. Although the event wasn't as 12 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: popular as expected, each of the forty thousand or so 13 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: entries had been gearing t to prize, so the drawing 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: process dragged on for almost four months. The idea of 15 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: holding a national lottery had been proposed by Queen Elizabeth 16 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: the First nearly three years earlier. She had needed a 17 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: way to raise money for several large scale public projects, 18 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: including the reconstruction of most of the nation's docks, harbors, 19 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: and coastal defenses. Her father's reign had saddled England with 20 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: an enormous amount of debt, so if Elizabeth wanted to 21 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: repair the crumbling infrastructure, she would have to think outside 22 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: the box to find the funding. She essentially had two options, 23 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:45,279 Speaker 1: increased taxes and risk upsetting the populace, or hold a big, 24 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: fancy prize draw and raise the money from ticket sales. Wisely, 25 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: the Queen chose the latter option and began making plans 26 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: for England's first state lottery. The Queen of England wasn't 27 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: the first ruler to use a now national lottery to 28 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: raise money for government projects. The strategy dates back to 29 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: ancient civilizations like the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty 30 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: of China, which reportedly used a type of lottery called 31 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: Keno to raise some of the funding for the Great Wall. 32 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: Smaller scale lotteries had been held in Western Europe for 33 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: at least a hundred years before England's first drawing. Selling 34 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: tickets for a chance to win a prize was a 35 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: reliable way for merchants to unload expensive merchandise that had 36 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: otherwise failed to sell. For England's first national lottery, the 37 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 1: stakes were much higher. First prize was of five thousand 38 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: pound prize package, the equivalent of more than a million 39 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: pounds today. The jackpot consisted of three thousand pounds cash 40 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: and an array of luxury goods ranging from tapestries and 41 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: wall hangings to gold and silver plate, as well as 42 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: an undisclosed quantity of quote good linen cloth. Second prize 43 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: was thirty five hundred pounds worth of cash and items, 44 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 1: and a diminishing value of similar prizes was offered for 45 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: any ticket drawn in third to eleventh place. However, all 46 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: other tickets were also guaranteed a prize of some sort, 47 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: and if that wasn't enough, the Queen added one extra 48 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: incentive to sweeten the pot. She decreed that any person 49 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: who purchased a ticket would be granted one week of immunity, 50 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: during which time they could not be arrested for any crime, 51 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: with the exception of murder, piracy, treason, and other serious felonies. 52 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: Despite the added draw of what was basically a get 53 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: out of jail free card, the lottery tickets didn't sell 54 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: as well as the Queen had hoped. That was mostly 55 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: due to the high cost of the tickets, which were 56 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: priced at ten shillings each the equivalent of about a 57 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty pounds today. It was too steep a 58 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: price for most ordinary citizens, meaning that unlike the state 59 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: lotteries of today, which tend to target those with lower incomes, 60 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: the lottery of fifteen sixty nine was aimed squarely at 61 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: the wealthy. That high cost of entry proved to be 62 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,679 Speaker 1: a mistake, as it greatly hindered the lotteries mass appeal. 63 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: Most people simply couldn't afford to gamble with that much money, 64 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: and many of those who could would have rather bought 65 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: their own good linen instead of waiting around in the 66 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: winter cold to see if they could win some. In 67 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: the end, it's believed that only about ten percent of 68 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:46,159 Speaker 1: the four hundred thousand allotted tickets were ever sold. The 69 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: tickets themselves were specially printed slips on which a player 70 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: would write their name and a short note or phrase 71 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: known as a device. The idea was to write a 72 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: biographical sentence, or maybe a favorite max him or Bible verse, 73 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: something unique enough that the player could identify it as 74 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: their own if they heard it. For example, one of 75 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: the few tickets to survive from the fifteen sixty nine 76 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: lottery was a personal prayer from a cash strapped family man. 77 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: It read quote, God send a good luck for my 78 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: children and me, which have had twenty by one wife. Truly. 79 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: The system for drawing the prizes was straightforward, if not 80 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: a little bizarre. It consisted of two large urns, one 81 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: containing all of the players tickets and the other holding 82 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: an equal number of prize slips. To ensure there was 83 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: no cheating, the drawing was done by an impartial party, 84 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: which in this case was a blindfolded child. The child 85 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: simply picked a lottery ticket from one urn and then 86 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: paired it with a prize slip drawn from the other urn. 87 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: For the sake of privacy, the name of each winner 88 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: wasn't revealed at the drawing. Instead, the unique device written 89 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: on a ticket was read aloud, and whoever recognized it 90 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: could then go and collect their prize. This process was 91 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: repeated over and over until all forty thousand or so 92 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: prizes had been awarded. According to some accounts, the drawing 93 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: continued without pause, day and night from January tenth all 94 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: the way until May the six. It's a good thing 95 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: they only sold ten percent of the tickets, or else 96 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: they'd probably still be drawing prizes. As for who won 97 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,479 Speaker 1: the jackpot, we sadly don't know. There's no record of 98 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: the names of any of the winners, but for my part, 99 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: I'm hoping the grand prize went to the guy with 100 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: twenty kids to feed. The lottery wasn't a roaring success, 101 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: but it still earned enough money to jump start those 102 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: much needed repairs to Lynn's infrastructure, and that came not 103 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: a moment too soon either, as less than twenty years later, 104 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: England's defenses would be put to the test by an 105 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: invasion of the Spanish Armada. Still, England's first lottery was 106 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: a bit of a letdown overall. For the next four 107 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: hundred years, the system fell in and out of use, 108 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: depending on who was in power. Unlike Elizabeth the First, 109 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: some rulers chose to skip the lottery and just raise 110 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: taxes instead. The current incarnation of the British National Lottery 111 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: was established by the administration of Prime Minister John Major. 112 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: It officially launched in and it's still going strong today. 113 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: The winning tickets are no longer chosen by a blindfolded child, 114 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: but really that's probably for the best. I'm Gay Bluzier 115 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 116 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed today's episode, 117 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 118 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: d i HC Show. You can also rate and review 119 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcasts, and if you have any 120 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, you can always send them my way 121 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: at this Day at i heeart media dot com. Thanks 122 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you 123 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 124 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: another day in History class. For more podcasts from I 125 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 126 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.