1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So today's episode involves 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: a kooky scenario of a war being declared and then 5 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: paperwork regarding that war really dragging. But the whole thing 6 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: involves needing to have a big chunk of context about 7 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: the English Civil Wars. So we're going to talk specifically 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: about what is considered the first English Civil War today, 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: basically the beginning of that larger conflict, So just to 10 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: set expectations, not a comprehensive exploration of all the mechanisms 11 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: involved in that massive set of conflicts. So this one, 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: we'll talk a little bit about the Isles of Silly 13 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: in terms of their early history, and then we're gonna 14 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: do that context part and that will then lead into 15 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: explaining how this small set of islands ended up in 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: a centuries long war, and we have to put air 17 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: quotes around war there. The Isles of Scilly are southwest 18 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: of Cornwall, England, twenty five miles or about forty kilometers 19 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: from the mainland shore. Like the coast of Cornwall, these 20 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: islands are largely granite, but unlike Cornwall, the climate is 21 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: a bit milder than the rest of England. It tends 22 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: to be warmer. That's possible that the Isles of Silly 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: were once one large island, which likely separated off from 24 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: the mainland of England more than twelve thousand years ago. 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: That one large island was probably visited by humans as 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: far back as six thousand BCE. According to doctor Catherine Sawyer, 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: an archaeologist who offers guided tours of the islands, the 28 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: earliest people on the island during the Mesolithic air Bah, 29 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,919 Speaker 1: lived there seasonally. Over time, these part time occupants brought 30 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: livestock to the island, and by about two thousand BCE 31 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: there was a permanent settlement of a couple hundred people 32 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: living there. The settlement was referred to by the Cornish 33 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: word for great island, which is Enner. There have been 34 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: numerous archaeological finds indicating that there were people on the 35 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: island dating to the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano 36 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: British period, well after the island's initial settlement was abandoned. 37 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: The Isles of Scilly are believed to have experienced flooding 38 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: during sea level rise in the fifth century that separated 39 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: it by water from one land mass into several islands 40 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: comprised of its highest points, and there are now a 41 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: group of, roughly because it does change because counting them 42 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: is difficult, fifty small islands and dozens of islets. The 43 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,959 Speaker 1: number of total separated piece of land is often noted 44 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: as more than two hundred, but to be clear, some 45 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: of those are very small rocks, like you could maybe 46 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: stand on them, but not even turn around. They're little. 47 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: Five of the islands are named and have people living 48 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 1: on them. Saint Mary's is the largest and has the 49 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: biggest population. It's about six square miles and has about 50 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: eighteen hundred inhabitants centered around its main municipality of hugh Town. 51 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: The remaining named islands are Tresco, Saint Martin's, Briar, and 52 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: Saint Agnes. The rest of the islands in some cases 53 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: have little nicknames from the locals, but they do not 54 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: have formal names. The islands have changed hands and been 55 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: under a mix of leadership over the centuries since their 56 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: history has been recorded, and this is because as various 57 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: kings reigned, they granted and regranted lands to different people, 58 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: mostly men of the Church. Sometime around the reign of 59 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from ten forty two 60 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: to ten sixty six, monks lived on the modern day 61 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: island of Tresco, which at the time was known as 62 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: Saint Nicholas. They had been given portions of the various 63 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: islands that make up the Isles of Scilly. During the 64 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: reign of King Henry the First, which ran from eleven 65 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: hundred to eleven thirty five, the king granted those lands 66 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: previously held by the monks and hermits, plus all the 67 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: churches in their surrounding lands, to the Abbot of Tavistock. Then, 68 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: in eleven ninety three, the pope at the time, Celestin, 69 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: reasserted the land that the church held to the abbey. 70 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: In that same period, the Earl of Cornwall, Reginald, also 71 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: stated that any shipwrecks were also the property of the monks, 72 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: unless they were entire ships or wales. That's wales, not 73 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: the place the animal, Yes, not the place I was 74 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: imagining that people could I'd miss hear that one just 75 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: because of the context that we're talking about. Entire ships 76 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: or whales would have monetary value. In their whole states. Now, 77 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: all of this does not mean that the monks who 78 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: lived on the isles of Silly had autonomy. There there 79 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: were various secular land and titleholders who did things like 80 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: demand taxes on the properties where the abbeys operated, and 81 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: there were also men who governed the isles that were 82 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: not related to the church, and some did not hold 83 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: any property on the isles, but were given the title 84 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: of governor over the island chain as an honorific In 85 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: cases of property ownership, this often meant paying certain fees 86 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: to retain that land and thus that power. In one 87 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: particularly charming example, for a while, that fee was paid 88 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: in puffins. I feel like this is the most charming. 89 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: If you're imagining that they're going to a little puffin 90 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: sanctuary where they're going to have long and happy lives, 91 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: they're not. No. Uh. This is explained in a twenty 92 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: ten paper by R. D. Penaleric titled Ancient and Early 93 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: Medieval Coins from Cornwall and Silly. This paper notes that 94 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: there's a drop off in coinage use in the area 95 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: in the late medieval period, and it discusses the puffins 96 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: this way. Quote markets operate well enough through barter and 97 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: the dearth of Saxon coinage in Cornwall proves this. The 98 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: later medieval payment of rent in puffins maybe of significance. Here. 99 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: Margaret Midgley showed that on Silly payment in twelve ninety 100 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: six to ninety seven consisted of three hundred puffin annually 101 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: valued at six shillings eight pence. In thirteen thirty six 102 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: to thirty seven, John de Ellett agreed to pay Sir 103 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,479 Speaker 1: Ralph Blanchemister one hundred and fifty puff owes for his 104 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: land on Briar in Saint Martin's in default of which 105 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: payment was lawful at the rate of one pence for 106 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: three birds. Such payment may well date back to eleven 107 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: when Reginald de Dunstanville was created Earl of Cornwall and 108 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: silly because an annual cull of birds may have long 109 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: existed in the islands, in spite of a lack of 110 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: archaeological evidence to prove it. Similar payments in gulls are 111 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: recorded in Cornwall from the late sixteenth century to seventeen fourteen, 112 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: although then it reflected the Tudor predilection for gulls as 113 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: well as puffins for the dinner table. Through all of 114 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: this the Isles of Scilly were privately owned, but the 115 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: end of that status came from Thomas Seymour, first Baron 116 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: Seymour of Sudeley, who had inherited most of the estates 117 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: and owned them. When King Edward the sixth reigned. Thomas 118 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: was the brother of Jane Seymour, who was King Henry 119 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: the Eighth's third wife, and that made him the uncle 120 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: of King Edward the sixth, who took the throne in 121 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: fifteen forty seven. When Henry the eighth died, Edward was 122 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: only nine years old, so Thomas's Edward was made the 123 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: young boy's chief counselor, while Thomas became Lord High Admiral. 124 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: This did not please Thomas one bit, because he wanted 125 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: the same level of power as his brother, or more. 126 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: He would go on in the two years that followed 127 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: to basically be jealous of anyone who was charged with 128 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: advising the young king, and even considered kidnapping the king 129 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: in the guise of securing his safety. None of his 130 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: various efforts to expand his influence and power in regards 131 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: to King Edward the sixth really worked, and instead it 132 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: made him very unpopular with the people who were actually 133 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: in charge. Coming up, we will talk about some of 134 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: the scandals that defined Thomas Seymour's life and how they 135 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: led to the Islands of Silly becoming the property of 136 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: the crown. First, though, we will pause for a sponsor break. 137 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: There is so much drama and intrigue to Thomas Seymour's story. 138 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: For one, he married Catherine Parr, Henry the Eighth's widow, 139 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: after he failed to secure a marriage to the thirteen 140 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: year old Princess Elizabeth destined to become Elizabeth the First. 141 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: When Catherine Parr died after giving birth in fifteen forty eight, 142 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: there were rumors almost instantly that Elizabeth was going to 143 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,119 Speaker 1: become his wife, and it seems that Thomas Seymour himself 144 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: circulated those rumors, or at least he encouraged them. He 145 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: was also rumored to have killed Catherine with the intent 146 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: to use her death as a means to secure money 147 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: and power, and those Elizabeth rumors did not help his 148 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: image in that regard. Thomas and his brother, who was 149 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: officially recognized as the King's protector, argued constantly, and often 150 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: those arguments happened in public. All of Thomas's various machinations 151 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: and angling from more power eventually got him in very 152 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: deep trouble. He was arrested for treason in January fifteen 153 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: forty nine. Thirty three articles of treason were charged against him. 154 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: This was a unique case and that he should have 155 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: been tried before his peers, but the King's Privy Council 156 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,719 Speaker 1: had made arrangements to sidestep that process. A Bill of 157 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: attainder was introduced in the House of Lords on February 158 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: twenty fifth regarding what was to be done with Seymour, 159 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: and then it passed the House of Commons. It was 160 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: determined by vote on Seymour's accusations that quote the said 161 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: offenses of the Lord Admiral for diverse causes were in 162 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: the compass of high treason. That meant that with no 163 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: one willing to defend him against those charges, and if 164 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: the King approved, the Council could handle the matter as 165 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: they saw fit. Eleven year old King Edward did approve, 166 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: and on March twentieth Seymour was executed by beheading. And 167 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: all of this is Germane to the Isles of Scilly, 168 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: because when Seymour was executed, his significant landholdings on the 169 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 1: islands passed into the ownership of the Duchy of Cornwall. 170 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: The Duchy of Cornwall was established in thirteen thirty seven 171 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: by Edward the third. He had wanted to set up 172 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 1: an estate for his son and the heir to the throne, 173 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: Prince Edward, and the charter that created the duchy also 174 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: established that going forward the eldest son of the English 175 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: monarch and heir to the throne would inherit the Duchy 176 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: and would receive the income that the estate generates. That estate, 177 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: which still exists today, is only part of the County 178 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: of Cornwall, but in fifteen forty nine the Isles of 179 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: Scilly became part of the Duchy. From there the Isles 180 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: of Silly were leased to a series of governors who 181 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: paid a yearly rental fee on the land. In sixteen 182 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,239 Speaker 1: oh four, for example, that annual fee was twenty pounds 183 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: out published in eighteen fourteen by topographers and antiquarians Daniel 184 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 1: and Samuel License, they note of the islands quote except 185 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: what relates to their trading connections with the Phoenicians and Romans, 186 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: and the circumstance of their having been occasionally appropriated by 187 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: the latter as a place of banishment for state criminals. 188 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: The first mention we find of the Silly Islands in 189 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: history is in the tenth century, when they were subdued 190 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: by King Ethelstan. After this we hear nothing of them 191 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: till the time of the Civil War, when they became 192 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: of considerable importance. So the English Civil Wars took place 193 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: over the year sixteen forty two to sixteen fifty one, 194 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: and they boiled down in the most basic sense to 195 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: a conflict between Royalists and non Royalists, though there were 196 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:56,439 Speaker 1: multiple non Royalist groups involved coming from England, Ireland and Scotland. 197 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: The seeds of the English Civil Wars really were planted 198 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: some years earlier, with King Charles the First engaging in 199 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: conflicts with Scotland and Ireland. Charles the First took the 200 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: throne in sixteen twenty five, and at the end of 201 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: the sixteen thirties he became embroiled in a religious battle 202 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: with Scotland that became known as the Bishop's Wars. Scotland 203 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: at this point was largely Presbyterian and had developed a 204 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: political movement known as the Covenanters. The hierarchical structure of 205 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 1: the Scottish Church placed bishops in the position of leadership 206 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: and governance. While in terms of religious ideology Scotland's Presbyterian 207 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,559 Speaker 1: Church wasn't super different from the Anglican Church, the leadership, 208 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: structure and specific rights in practice were quite different, and 209 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: Charles the First wanted Scotland to adhere to the Anglican ways. 210 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:53,119 Speaker 1: The first implementation of this plan was the mandatory introduction 211 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,839 Speaker 1: of an Anglican prayer book in sixteen thirty seven in Scotland, 212 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: which led to riots and people organizing to resist Anglicanization 213 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: of Scotland's church. Charles was not particularly interested in hearing 214 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: Scotland out on all this, and instead decided it was 215 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: time for military actions, so he started marching on Scotland. 216 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: But this was not the best planned offensive. There really 217 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: wasn't money in the Royal coffers to pay for it, 218 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: and the military wasn't especially well prepared, so this resulted 219 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: in a peace treaty instead of combat. That treaty, known 220 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: as the Pacification of Berwick, ended what came to be 221 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: known as the First Bishop's War, and its terms included 222 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: things like Scotland releasing its English prisoners and Charles agreeing 223 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: to call a general assembly of the Church of Scotland 224 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: so they could work out all their differences. So though 225 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: this is called the First Bishop's War, there was no 226 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: actual combat. Yeah, it's more like the First Bishop's heated discussion. Uh. 227 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: But the peace over the matter did not last for 228 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: even a year. Charles was really heated over this whole 229 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: thing to begin with, and then he found out that 230 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: Scotland was talking to France about it, so he decided 231 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: that he had to invade Scotland. That's same money issue 232 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: still existed. It wasn't like he had magically conjured a 233 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: lot of extra income. So he called a meeting of Parliament, 234 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 1: a governing body that he had dissolved by the way 235 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: in sixteen twenty nine, and asked them to hash out 236 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: a plan and get the funding arranged. But that did 237 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: not go his way either. Once that matter was discussed 238 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: and examined, Charles the First did not get the backing 239 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: he had hoped for, so he kind of went rogue 240 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: and he dissolved the parliament again and he mounted an 241 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: attack on Scotland without support for most of England, and 242 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: as you can guess, it went really poorly. Charles's troops 243 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: were completely overpowered and Scotland managed to not only defend 244 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: itself but also took control of Northumberland and Durham in 245 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 1: northern ECAs. This Second Bishop's War left Charles the First 246 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: in such dilemma that he summoned another Parliament in the 247 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 1: spring of sixteen forty. He needed it to get money 248 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: for what had escalated into an ongoing war with Scotland. 249 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: This gathering, known as the Long Parliament, in contrast to 250 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: the Short Parliament, where he didn't get his way and 251 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: kind of stomped off, led to events that plunged England 252 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: into a civil war. Charles was in constant conflict with Parliament, 253 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: and when England also had to fight Ireland after the 254 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: sixteen forty one Ulster Rebellion, there was not only a 255 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: need for more money, but there were also arguments about 256 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: who would lead the military action against Ireland. The Ulster 257 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: Rebellion has come up a few times lately, so as 258 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: a quick recap, Charles was sending so called English settlers 259 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: to Ireland to shore up his support there, sometimes seizing 260 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: land to do so. This led to attacks on English 261 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,160 Speaker 1: Protestants in the area in sixteen forty one as part 262 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,479 Speaker 1: of a larger offensive, and demand for the return of 263 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: Catholic Land, as well as calls for Irish independence. With 264 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: the growing financial needs of military actions that were catalyzed 265 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: by Charles the First policies that were not especially popular 266 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: with Parliament in the first place, things got really tense, 267 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 1: particularly with the House of Commons. This was on top 268 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: of ongoing issues with the King's various policies and behaviors 269 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: since taking the throne in sixteen twenty five, and as 270 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:39,639 Speaker 1: sixteen forty one came to a close, politician John Pim 271 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: compiled a detailed account of all of the things that 272 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 1: he and several other politicians felt Charles had done wrong 273 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: in his sixteen years on the throne. This document, called 274 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: the Grand Remonstrance, was voted on by the House of 275 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 1: Commons and was able to get through the vote with 276 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: enough support to validate it, but it did not pass 277 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: to the House of Lords. Instead, it was brought directly 278 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 1: to Charles the First. He did not care for it, 279 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: and he decided that it was treasonous. That led to 280 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: the King entering the House of Commons on January fourth, 281 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: sixteen forty two, to arrest Pim and four of his 282 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 1: collaborators on charges of high treason. Believing that they were 283 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: collaborating also with Scotland. Those men were William Strode, John Hampton, 284 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: Denzil Hollis and Arthur Haselring. But the men were no 285 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: longer at the House of Commons, and the House Speaker, 286 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: William Lenthal, was questioned by the King as to their whereabouts. 287 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,439 Speaker 1: Lenthal did not give up the men, and his reply, 288 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: which is often quoted, was, may it please your majesty, 289 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:47,719 Speaker 1: I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak 290 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: in this place, but as the House is pleased to 291 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: direct me, whose servant I am here? I e? You're 292 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: not the bossomy in this building. Charles had made a 293 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: serious blunder. He had completely broken protocol and procedure by 294 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: entering the House, and his inability to take those five 295 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: men into custody also made him look weak. Then, as 296 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,680 Speaker 1: the year played out and Parliament made clear that they 297 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: wanted no part of a war with Ireland, Charles ignored 298 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: that he tried to go around them to create an 299 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 1: army by decree. By the late summer, England was officially 300 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: engaged in a civil war. So it was Charles the 301 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,679 Speaker 1: First and his Royalist supporters versus the Parliamentarians at home, 302 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,879 Speaker 1: the Covenanters of Scotland and the Confederates of Ireland. This 303 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,119 Speaker 1: set of conflicts is also known as the Wars of 304 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: the Three Kingdoms. We're going to talk about how that 305 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: played out after we hear from the sponsors to keep 306 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class going. Charles and the 307 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: Royalists did not farewell in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 308 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: and they slowly gave up ground in England. Eventually they 309 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 1: were sort of backed into the corner of the island 310 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: of Great Britain, with Cornwall as their last hold. What 311 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: the Royalists had in their favor at this point was 312 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 1: the Royal Navy, which meant that Royalist forces could retreat 313 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: to safety on the Isles of Scilly and still have 314 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: a pretty good chance of defending themselves from there. Roughly 315 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: one thousand troops occupied the Isles of Scilly as a 316 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: safe harbor, making use of a castle on the island 317 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: of Trusco as their base of operations. That castle had 318 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: been built almost one hundred years earlier in the fifteen 319 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: fifties when King Edward the sixth rained, and for a 320 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: time it had been the main stronghold of the islands, 321 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: though forty years later another castle was built on Saint 322 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: Mary's called Star Castle, which then became the main fortification 323 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 1: on the islands, and that also made the Trescoe Castle 324 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: somewhat obsolete, but it was very important to the Royalists 325 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 1: who took refuge there in sixteen forty eight. Though there 326 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: were Royalists ensconced on the islands, Charles the first was not. 327 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: He was captured by the Scottish Army in battle and 328 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,439 Speaker 1: then handed over to the parliamentarian forces led by Oliver 329 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:21,280 Speaker 1: Cromwell in sixteen forty seven. He was held in various locations, 330 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: then escaped and was recaptured in sixteen forty nine. He 331 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: faced a convoluted series of trials in which there were 332 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: arguments about exactly what to charge him with. The idea 333 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: of trying a king for treason had some fundamental problems, 334 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 1: particularly for people who believed in the idea that God 335 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,480 Speaker 1: granted monarchs their power, but he was ultimately charged with 336 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: treason based on the accusation that he had used his 337 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,439 Speaker 1: power to benefit himself at the cost of his people. 338 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: He was found guilty and sentenced to death. His execution 339 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: by beheading was carried out on January thirtieth, sixteen five 340 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: forty nine. At that point, Prince Charles, who was already 341 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,399 Speaker 1: staying on the Isles of Scilly, became ruler in the 342 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: eyes of the Royalists. The parliamentarians, of course, rejected the 343 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,840 Speaker 1: monarchy and established the Commonwealth of England. But the important 344 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,199 Speaker 1: part in regards to the Isles of Scilly was that 345 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 1: the governor of the islands was John Granville, first Earl 346 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: of Bath, and he was a Royalist who fortified the 347 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: islands as a safe haven for Charles the second. Grenville 348 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 1: also welcomed privateers willing to work for the monarchy, and 349 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: with them, combined with the remaining naval forces that the 350 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,479 Speaker 1: Royalists commanded, he was able to make a lot of 351 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: trouble for trade in the surrounding waters. Granville was consistently 352 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: able to disrupt trade by launching ships from the islands 353 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 1: to intercept ships that were sanctioned by Parliament. That was 354 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: a significant issue the trade that came through the Western Approaches, 355 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: those are the waters to the immediate west of Britain 356 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,919 Speaker 1: and Ireland. It was vital to the English economy in 357 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: disrupting it. The Royalists were able to really hurt their opponents. 358 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:12,360 Speaker 1: Enter the Netherlands, the Dutch had been engaged in their 359 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: own lengthy conflict, the Eighty Years War, with Spain. It 360 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: was over, among other things, Dutch independence. The Eighty Years 361 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 1: War had only just ended in sixteen forty eight with 362 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,120 Speaker 1: the Piece of Munster, in which Spain recognized the Netherlands 363 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,360 Speaker 1: as its own independent nation, and with its independence, the Netherlands, 364 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,199 Speaker 1: long an ally of England, had to choose a side 365 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: in England's civil war. Believing the Parliamentarians had the upper hand. 366 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 1: That's where the Dutch allied themselves. As part of that alignment, 367 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: the Netherlands sent its own naval resources to assist the Parliamentarians. 368 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,959 Speaker 1: That meant that the Dutch also suffered at the hands 369 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: of the fleet that launched ships from the Isles of Scilly. 370 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:02,640 Speaker 1: Several Dutch vessels were seized in this ongoing conflict, and 371 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: that is why in early sixteen fifty one, the Dutch 372 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: sent a dozen ships to the Isles of Scilly under 373 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: the command of Admiral Martin Trump, who had fought in 374 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: the Eighty Years War and had an excellent reputation as 375 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:20,120 Speaker 1: a naval commander. His mission was to demand reparations from 376 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:25,120 Speaker 1: the Royalists. The Netherlands had suffered significant losses in those 377 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: Royalist raids of Dutch ships, and they wanted their ships 378 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 1: and their cargo back. But the Royalists didn't really even 379 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: acknowledge this demand, and so Admiral Trump declared war on 380 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: the Isles of Scilly. It's a bit unclear whether he 381 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: actually had the authority to make such a declaration, but 382 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: he did it just the same. This also has the 383 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: complication of him declaring war on an entity that was 384 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: not a nation or an independent territory. But a few 385 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: months after the Dutch demand and war declaration, the Parliamentarians 386 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: sent to Admiral Robert Blake in Sir George Ayscue to 387 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,199 Speaker 1: capture the islands of Silly once and for all. The 388 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: Parliamentarians were able to gain control of Tresco and Bryer, 389 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: but Granville was dug in on Saint Mary's. Blake and 390 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: Ayscue fortified the islands they held and mounted their offensive. 391 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 1: Soon they also held Saint Mary's and the Royalist occupation 392 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: of the Isles of Scilly was over. By this time, 393 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 1: Charles the Second was already gone. He had left the 394 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: country well before any of these events in the sixteen forties, 395 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: Blake and Ayscue handed the Isles of Scilly over to Parliament, 396 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,119 Speaker 1: and a garrison of eight hundred Parliamentarian soldiers occupied the isles. 397 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: The Dutch, seeing that things were over, sailed for home. 398 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: So conflict done sort of, And now we're jumping to 399 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty five years later on April seventeenth, 400 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six, when Dutch ambassador Junkier Heydekoper traveled to 401 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:03,919 Speaker 1: the Isles of Scilly to formally end that war. That 402 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 1: ceremonial visit included the presentation of an old fashioned calligraphy 403 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: scroll which declared the war officially terminated. And this entire 404 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 1: event was catalyzed by a man named Roy Duncan. Roy 405 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: was a local historian who had served in leadership positions 406 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: on the Isles of Scilly since the age of twenty one. 407 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: When he was first elected to the Council of the 408 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:30,880 Speaker 1: Isles in nineteen eighty five, Duncan was researching the events 409 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: of the English Civil Wars as they related to the 410 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: Isles of Scilly, and he decided to hunt down information 411 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: on the local story that the islands were still at 412 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:44,399 Speaker 1: war with the Netherlands. There were apparently jokes on the 413 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: islands that Dutch tourists could technically be taken prisoner and 414 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 1: that the Netherlands could attack at any time. Duncan reached 415 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: out to the Dutch embassy for an assist, but that 416 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,480 Speaker 1: did not lead to the unearthing of any kind of resolution. 417 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: It turned out that while Trump had declared war, he 418 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: never followed up to file any sort of treaty paperwork. 419 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: After the Parliamentarian forces took control of the islands, and 420 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: once all of this was verified, plans were made to 421 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: rectify the situation and end the conflict, which, unlike most wars, 422 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:25,679 Speaker 1: involved no actual combat whatsoever and no lives lost. In 423 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: a statement to the press during the lead up to 424 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 1: the ceremony, Roy Duncan said, quote, it's all fairly lighthearted 425 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: and good fun, but it's all factual. Dutch holidaymakers are 426 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: amazed to learn they are officially at war with us. 427 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: During his visit to the islands, Ambassador Heydekoper joked in 428 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,640 Speaker 1: a statement, quote, I am extremely pleased to be able 429 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: to visit the islands and tell the people who live 430 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 1: here that the war is finally over. It must have 431 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: been awful to know we could have attacked at any moment. 432 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: While the end of the war didn't materially impact anyone 433 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: in either of the countries, it did get a decent 434 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: amount of press, which no doubt bolstered the Isles of 435 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:08,880 Speaker 1: Scilly's tourism industry. Today, the Isles of Silly remain part 436 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,640 Speaker 1: of the Duchy of Cornwall, and they are still primarily 437 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,960 Speaker 1: a tourist destination, with one hundred thousand people visiting annually. 438 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: According to the Duchy of Cornwall's website, Tourism is the 439 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: source of employment for seventy percent of the population of 440 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: the Isles of Scilly, and it accounts for eighty five 441 00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: percent of a local economy. Flowers make up a significant 442 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 1: part of the remaining fifteen percent of the economy, since 443 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: the island's mild climate compared to the rest of England 444 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: allows for longer growing seasons. And to end this story 445 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 1: with yet another interesting form of rent payment, the Isles 446 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: of Silly Wildlife Trust, which protects the wildlife of the islands, 447 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: pays rent to the Duchy of Cornwall, and that rent 448 00:28:54,720 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 1: costs one daffodil per year. Oh Isles of Scilly, Okay, 449 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: And then I have also some sort of fun listener 450 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: mail that's sort of fun. It's fun. Uh. This is 451 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: from our listener Erica, who writes, Hi, Tracy and Holly. 452 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: I listened to your podcast on the history of Christmas 453 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: decor and the behind the scenes you had asked if 454 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: anyone had any information about the supposed German pickle ornaments. 455 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: While I don't have any actual info on it, I 456 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: do have fun memories of them. In high school and college, 457 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: I worked at Peer one Imports. Every Christmas. We would 458 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: get in glass pickle ornaments to sell, and they did 459 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: come with a little tag saying they were a German tradition. 460 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,760 Speaker 1: My coworkers and I made our own tradition with the 461 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 1: pickles who found them first? When our Christmas stock came 462 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 1: in in September. Because it's retail, we'd get boxes of 463 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: ornaments to open and hang up for sale. The only 464 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: label on the boxes for the ornaments was just glass ornaments, 465 00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: so we never knew what would be in each box. 466 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: This is where the pickle ornaments came in. Whoever randomly 467 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: opened the box containing them was deemed the winner when 468 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: they got to loudly shout I got the pickles. No 469 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: one actually ever won anything except the bragging rights to 470 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: having found the pickles. It's a fun memory that I 471 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: think about when I decorate my Christmas tree, because I 472 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: had finally bought myself a pickle ornament the last Christmas 473 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: I worked at Peer Women. My children laugh at the 474 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 1: pickle each year, but we don't do the tradition of 475 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: getting an extra present if they find it. For my 476 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: pet tax I've included a photo of my son's fish 477 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: that he got this past Christmas, which he named dragon Bite. 478 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: I have horrible allergies to pet danders, so a fish 479 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: made the perfect pet. My son loves his fish, and 480 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: it's so wonderful to see him take ownership of his pet. 481 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,479 Speaker 1: Thank you for all the wonderful podcast episodes. Eric m Okay. 482 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 1: Dragon Bite is a very beautiful beta. I have a 483 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: soft spot for betas. I love them very much. I 484 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,800 Speaker 1: do not keep them um because we have kiddies and 485 00:30:57,880 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: one of our cats, who is no longer with us, 486 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: used to terrorized the fish by running full tilt like 487 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: a linebacker into the tank and just slamming against it, 488 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: and we're goodness fretting them all out, so we don't 489 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: do that. But Erica, thank you for this because it 490 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 1: enables me one to share a funny version. I love 491 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 1: the idea of retail making a fun version of the 492 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: pickle game. But two, we have gotten a lot of 493 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: listener mail about the pickles, many from people who grew 494 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: up in Germany or had parents that did. And I'm 495 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 1: actually surprised at the split that there are a lot 496 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: of them who are like, no, we didn't. I don't 497 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: know what the pickle thing is. That's clearly made up 498 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: by Americans. But there were some that were like, oh, yeah, 499 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: my grand my German grandmother's always done that. So that 500 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: makes me think it might be hyper regional. Yeah, I 501 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: was gonna say a very regional thing, like it might 502 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: be a very small pocket of somewhere in Germany. That. Yeah, 503 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,080 Speaker 1: some person from the US visited once and said, I 504 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,720 Speaker 1: can market this, make a lot of pickle ornaments. It's 505 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: my guess. Anyway. I love it all. Send me your 506 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 1: fish pictures, send me your plant picture, send me your puppet. 507 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,480 Speaker 1: Anything joyous. We need it. Uh. You can write to 508 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: us with that, your pickle ornament commentary, or whatever else 509 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,479 Speaker 1: you'd like to at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 510 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: You can also subscribe to the podcast. It's just as 511 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: easy as finding a pickle on a tree, probably easier. 512 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 1: You need that on the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you 513 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you Missed in History 514 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 515 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 516 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.