Tag: History

When Orkney was Bartered for the Treaty of Union

The collage features all the main elements of the story and above them all the masonic eye

Many readers will be aware of how Orkney came to be annexed to Scotland in 1472 as part of an unpaid debt – the dowry arrangement of 1468 between  the Norwegian King Christian I and James III King of Scots. Much less is known or understood about how Orkney became part of the bargaining process for supporting the Treaty of Union in 1707 between Scotland and England.

The Church in Stronsay Part 6

the workmen on the site

Ian Cooper – “This photo would probably have been taken sometime in 1953/54 as the Church was opened in May 1955and shows some of the workmen who were involved in the building of the new Kirk having a break, Note the machinery in the background – I have a feeling that Health and Safety regulations may not have been quite as strict then as they are today! Standing: James Mowat, Johnno Miller, Tom Carter, James Work Snr, George (Dod) Burghes, Ernest Firth, (contractor) & Sammy Reid. Sitting: Ronnie Garson, Edward Dunnet, Frances Craigie, John Miller, John Pottinger. “

Scurvy, Smallpox, Syphilis: 18thC Living Conditions, Part 4

a person's body cover in the small pox spots

It has been estimated that smallpox was killing as many as 400,000 people per year in Europe by the end of the 18th century. Sadly, the majority of these deaths were children, as it was “chiefly a disease of infancy and early childhood”. However, even if some of the population survive the disease itself, they may well succumb to secondary infections such as bronchopneumonia and streptococcal septicaemia.