The Royal Navy are having fun off the coast of Yemen. And not for the first time.
Got me thinking to back to our first troubles in the Gulf of Aden in 1609.
Thread🧵 1609. The East India company had been sailing around the Indies for nearly a decade as they tried to work out how to make a profit. Trade with India wasn't straight forward. The Portuguese were always telling tales about them and the local politics was too complex to decipher.

Its July 4th. You know what means!!!!!!!!!

Yes! Its Happy Maida Day!!!! That wonderfully splendid victory. Maida is in the toe of the boot of Italy. Which is apt as that is what we stuck right up the backside of the French army! Wonderful stuff.

To celebrate. I Maida thread! This was during the in between years of our righteous campaign against ol Boney. Two other campaigns were going on in this period. Walcheren and Egypt II. We don't like to talk about them.

Rowley Birkin QC. Last Hero of the Empire

Watch one of the first three and the last at the least. Just to feel the Pathos.

Cairo Shanghai

Duelling in the Empire - A thread

Modern Duelling in the British Isles arose from Italian ideas on courtly behaviour. On how disputes and honour should be settled. Starting in the mid-1500s it harked back to the days of trial by combat and was taken up with gusto by the Elite. From there its popularity spread to the Army and thence to the general Hoi Polloi. The law frowned upon the practice from the very start but its influence was often twisted by Royal encouragement at court and Commoners enthusiasm in the courts.

Lookalikeys!

Clement Attlee - Patrick Stewart I

Mary 1st - Minder

The intermittent adventures of Henry Alleyne - 1868

I have found an account of the Boat action on the River Congo in which Henry Alleyne was wounded.
Heres the first part. Its quite long so like if you want more! Read it all Perti. Going to ask question at the end!

Right. Have been far too busy for wee Jimmy lately. Time consuming work sifting thru newspapers and t'internet.
However am ready to further on the story.
Next episode at 8pm. And there is sad news from India. 1896
Colour Sergeant Stuart. The tough old soldier who carried Jimmy across the Sudanese desert on his camel and led the sergeants delegation to stop Jimmy being sent to an orphanage died.

As its #welshhistorymonth we should carry on the story of the Princes of Deheubarth.

Cadell ap Gruffydd was the son of King Gruffyd (the aforementioned King who was murdered by his trophy queen).

https://twitter.com/DiariesEmpire/status/1331689703616221185

He took the throne in 1143 after his brother died of the murders. A most common complaint of the time.

Being a proud Welshman he carried on the family tradition of fighting Normans, stealing their castles and taking back their ancestral lands.

As monuments are being torn down i am going to create one. The work started last week when i re-homed a tatty old rescue sword. All week i have been tinkering. Yesterday i started the research.

This will be an ongoing thread for a bit.
#sword Time hadn't been kind. Must have been stored either completely damp or in a damp space. Active rust was having a go at the blade and guard leaving some quite deep pitting. Doubtful it was going to see another century.

An original Empire Scrapbook production -

Trouble on the Gold coast! 1806 - A very destructive war has broken out in Africa.
A mighty King has been dishonoured.
Tribes fight their neighbours and themselves. Empires play and get played.