The Number 10 Podcast

Today we’ve got a bit of a  special episode for those of you kind enough to  post a question to the show about anything really, but most were about what we’ve covered so far.

We’ll also be going through what’s coming up next in episodes, as well as some shout outs to our awesome listeners.

Today we’ll be hearing the text of the Invitation to William written by the Immortal Seven that we spoke about last week.

On

the 30th of June 1688, William of Orange received a letter in the Netherlands

from seven Englishmen, asking him to intervene with the Catholicisation of

England and restore a protestant reign. They were Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of

Devonshire, Earl of Danby, Lord Lumley, Bishop Henry Compton, Edward Russell

and Henry Sydney, whom actually wrote the letter.

The

letter was brought to William in the Netherlands by Rear Admiral Arthur

Herbert, who had disguised himself as a sailor as to not be noticed. As we

discussed last week, he had also been wronged by James who dismissed him from

the Navy for not voting to repeal the Test Act

Today we talk about the penultimate Stuart monarchy in the UK and what some say is the last successful invasion of the British Isles.

If you remember we spent some time talking about Charles II a few episodes back who had become increasingly unpopular during his reign, with plots, assassinations and a rowdy parliament being a thorn in his side.

James, had also become increasing unpopular through Charles’ reign, but Charles was now dead and James was still unpopular… and now King as well.

On the eve of her departure, we look back on Theresa May’s achievements, disasters and what her legacy is going to be. A hard working MP and Home Secretary who was responsible for the vans telling illegal immigrants to go home and the woman who failed to get the UK any further to Brexit. The second female prime minister who had so much planned but ended up as a meme for her bad dancing and naughty wheat field running.

But what could she have achieved if it weren’t for her rebellious MPs? What will we remember her for? Will history have any sympathy for the leader who achieved so little in her two year premiership? Was she an old school politician taken apart by a newer, crueler political world?

All this and more,

on a special bonus episode of The Number 10 Podcast.

Today we talk about

probably the greatest English diarist of all time, Samuel Pepys.

He’s probably one of the greatest witnesses to the second half of the 17th century. Not only was he present, but actively involved, experiencing first-hand the events that occurred in London from 1650 to 1700, some of which we’ve discussed in detail and others that will be a throwback to secondary school history in the UK.

To read more of the diaries, head to https://www.pepysdiary.com/ .

For info on the Museum of Greenwich, head to https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum

Now you’d think, with assassination attempts, and parliament trying to limit your ability to sit on the throne, James was going to come into a pretty bad time of it. That, bizarrely, was not the case.

It was a pretty incredible thing that James was incredibly well received across the dominions when he came to the throne. It was as if the Whole nation was in a vice of Loyalty according to one Anglican priest. In Edinburgh, 30,000 came to the streets and lit jubilant bonfire across the city.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to get excited when there was a new King, but the real evidence is from 439 congratulatory announcements he had from across the kingdom, mainly from corporations, local authorities, societies, clergy and other important people.

The main theme of the messages were, Congratulations on King, good job that exclusion thing failed.

This week we’ll be doing a group chat in one of our new segments called “This House Believes” or THB for short. We’ll be talking about unions and whether they are a force for good or bad in regards to the economy and society.

Starting around

1824, where factory workers joined associations to achieve better wages and

working conditions, they grew into national general unions and have plated a

large part in many historical events through our history including Merthyr

Rising in 1831, the London Dock Strike of 1889 and the various actions through

the 1960s, 70s and 80s that lead to the three day working week in 1973.

Are unions a force for good, protecting workers and enacting change to benefit those who have no power on their own, or are they organisations that take society hostage that everyone else then needs to pay the bill for?

Thanks to the magnanimous Ryan for coming on and having a great chat.

Last time we went on a whirlwind journey through the 16th and 17th century and looked at the rising religious tensions between the Protestant majority and the non-conformist and Catholic minorities. We saw monarchs abusing their power  in regards to spending and appointing poor choices to make big decisions on their behalf.

This time we explore the Charles’ Catholic sympathies, the Popish Plot, Exclusion Crisis and the Royal assassination attempt at Rye House.

A reading of the important weights and measures memo from the 14th century.

Photo behind player is of the Royal Observartory display of standard measurements in the 19th century and is courtesy of Zlatko Krastev, November 2005 ; Автор: Златко Кръстев, ноември 2005 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=404816

A look back over the 16th and 17th Century in the run up to our first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.