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Look at the text below - there's a lot so you might want to copy and paste it else where! When you've got some questions ready... |
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 Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer. He first went to sea when he was 13 years old and became a skilled sailor. Columbus asked the King and Queen of Spain to support a new journey he was planning. He wanted to find a new, quicker route to India, Japan, China and the Spice Islands. He thought that if he could sail to the west, instead of going East and around the coast of Africa he would still reach the Far East countries. Columbus, however thought that the earth was smaller than it actually is. The Europeans did not know about the Pacific Ocean or the Americas. He set off with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the the Santa Maria. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean for 10 weeks. The crew believed that the earth was not round and that they would fall off the edge. They also believed that the sea was full of monsters and were getting frightened. At last they saw land. Columbus thought they had landed in Asia and called the natives Indians. They had landed in the South American Islands. |
 Samuel Pepys was a pupil at Huntingdon Grammar school. He then went to school in London before coming back to study in Cambridge. Pepys then lived and worked in London for the Admiralty and became a Member of Parliament. On January 1st 1660, Pepys began to write a private diary. He wrote his diary in a code called Shelton's Short Writing. He wrote in his diaries Pepys about the Great Plague of London in 1665 and 1666 when thousands of people died. He also wrote about the Great Fire of London which started on the 2nd September 1666 and lasted until the 5th, which destroyed the medieval City of London. In 1669 Samuel Pepys found that his eyesight had become so bad that he could no longer write. The last entry in his diary was made on 31st May 1669. His diaries were later translated and have helped us to understand life during these times. |
 William the Conqueror was the Duke of Normandy, a northern area of France. He believed that he was the rightful King of England after King Edward the Confessor, but Harold became the king in 1066. William invaded England and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and took his crown. William made many changes in England and had many castles, keeps and moats built. one of these was the Tower of London. He also ordered a special census to be recorded, known as the Dooms Day book. This time was known as the Norman Conquest and was the begining of the Middle Ages. |
 Edward the Fifth became King of England when he was 12 years old. He reigned for two months in 1483. As he was so young, his uncle Richard was to be the Protector of the throne. Richard sent Edward and his younger brother to live in the Tower of London. He said this was for their own safety. The two brothers were not seen in public again and Richard became King of England. In 1664, two skeletons were found at the Tower and were buried in Westminster Abbey as King Edward the Fifth and his brother. What really happened to the two brothers is a mystery but many people think that their uncle murdered them so he could be king. |
 Guy Fawkes became well known as a gunpowder expert. He was hired to join a group of men in the Gunpowder Plot. Their plot was to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the opening ceremony. This meant they would kill the King, the country's lords, bishops and judges and the future heir to the throne. In March 1605, the group hired a cellar beneath Parliament. Fawkes helped smuggle in barrels of gunpowder, firewood and fuses. The opening of Parliament was delayed until November 5th 1605. In October Thomas Percy told his friend Francis Tresham about their plan. Tresham wanted them to stop their plan. A letter was sent to one of the Lords warning him to keep away from the opening ceremony. He showed the letter to King James the First. The Houses of Parliament were searched and Guy Fawkes was arrested. On November 5th the people of London heard about the failed plot and lit bonfires to celebrate. Guy Fawkes was publicly hung, drawn and quartered as a traitor to his King. |
 Florence Nightingale was born in Italy in the city of Florence. Her family were rich and she was taught at home with her sisters. They wanted Florence to become a lady, giving grand parties and serving tea. Florence wanted to do something worth while. She liked caring for the sick and wanted to work as a nurse. Her family were very disappointed but her father agreed that Florence could go to Germany to study nursing. During the Crimean war, Florence looked after the injured soldiers. The hospitals were very dirty. Florence had them cleaned and walked around the hospital to check on the injured, carrying a lamp. The soldiers called her the 'lady with the lamp'. She became very famous and worked hard to make hospitals in England better and cleaner. |
 Henry Pu Yi was the last Emperor of China. He became Emperor before he was 3 years old. China was going through some difficult times and there was a rebellion. The Chinese government asked Pu Yi to resign. He continued to live in his palace in the Forbidden City and was still treated like royalty. No 'common' people were allowed in the Forbidden City and Pu Yi did not meet another child until he was 7 years old. When he was 13, a British Official went to teach Pu Yi English. Pu Yi wanted an English name and chose Henry from a list of kings. When Pu Yi was 25 years old he left the Forbidden City for the first time and was treated as an ordinary person which he said he really liked. |
 Elizabeth Fry was born in Norwich. When she was only 12 years old, Elizabeth's mother died and she had to bring up her younger brothers and sisters. Elizabeth decided to spend her life helping others. She collected cloths for the poor, visited the sick and set up a Sunday School in her home where she would teach local children to read. Elizabeth moved to London with her husband and decided to visit Newgate Prison. At the prison 300 women and their children lived in two wards and two cells. They slept on the floors and had to cook, wash and sleep in the cells. Elizabeth began to visit the prison regularly. She gave the women clothes and set up a school. She encouraged them to sew to earn money. Elizabeth was the first woman to give evidence at the House of Commons and helped to bring about the reform of the prison service. She also worked to improve the lives for the homeless and for hospitals patients. In 1840, Elizabeth Fry started a training school for nurses. Florence Nightingale took a group of Fry nurses when she went to the Crimean War. |
 Henry the Eighth became the second monarch of the Tudor times when he was 17 years old. He is particularely famous for having married six wives. Henry wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. As the Church would not allow it, he made himself the head of a new Church and allowed the divorce. His 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn, was executed and he married Jane Seymour. Jane died and so Henry married Anne of Cleves, who he then divorced just 6 months later and married Katherine Howard. 2 years later Katherine was executed for treason. Soon after, he married is 6th and last wife, Katheryn Parr who outlived Henry. By the time of his death, most people were very frightened of him. |
 Queen Hatshepsut declared herself Pharoah when her husband, Thutmose the Second died. His son was her nephew and thought that he would take the throne, but Hatshepsut's father was Thutmose the First and had named her as his true heir. She became the first female Pharoah. To prove her right to the throne she wore the royal clothes of a King. This included the traditional false beard. Queen Hatshepsut reigned for 20 peaceful years and during this time, Egypt was a very successful country. Hatshepsut had many temples built and ordered her own pyramid to be built in the Valley of the Kings. When her nephew became a man, he took his throne from her and had her name removed from all the temple walls. It is not known what happened to Hatshepsut. |