The real Dick Whittington
Dick Whittington is a well known pantomime. Of the many versions of it, we at the History Portal have our own version, Daring Dick Whittington. https://educationalmusicals.co.uk/index.php/product/daring-dick-whittington/ In our version, Dick Whittington comes from a rich background. However, as he is not the first born son, he is not going to inherit any of his families […]
Santa Claus saves three sisters from Slavery
Santa Claus saves three sisters from Slavery Yes, the first Santa did just that and that is why today we hang up stockings at Christmas! Who was the first Santa? He was the Christian Bishop of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari. He was alive sometime around 300BC. Yes, a long time ago. He […]
St Boniface converts Pagans to Christians by cutting down a tree!
This happened in Germany 1300 years ago when St Boniface was trying to convince a group of pagans to become Christians. His problem was that they didn’t believe him, and he realised that he had to do something to convince them. To explain at this time in Northern Europe the people believed that the oak, […]
Where did Aladdin come from?
Originally it comes from the ‘Tales of the Arabian Nights’, but to be different the Pantomime Aladdin is based China. Would you believe that the first recorded performance of a show called Aladdin was as long ago as 1788? Of course, it wasn’t really a pantomime as we know it, however, over time it slowly […]
“Tulip Mania” a Dutch financial crisis
Tulip Mania discussed In the 17th century Holland had the highest per capita income in the world. This was because the Dutch Republic’s economic and financial system was at the time the most advanced and sophisticated ever seen in history. It is called the Dutch Golden Age. However, their sophistication in financial matters had its […]
The 1620s European Financial crisis.
Yes, they even had them in Europe in the 17th Century, they called this one “Tipper and See-Saw Time”, that was the name given to a financial crisis during the start of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). It occurred as the city-states in the Holy Roman Empire began to debase their currency, in order to […]
The story of Anne Bonny & Mary Read
On November 15th 1720 Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack were captured by Capt. Jonathan Barnet and brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica, for trial! Two Women Pirates! Anne Bonny and Mary Read were two amazingly successful women pirates, which is amazing, as at that time it was a hanging offence to even bring a […]
The Beginning of Pantomime
Let me tell you about the beginning of Pantomime. Pantomime today is a form of comic British theatre but it evolved from many different sources. In Roman times they had mime shows created by a single dancer who was known as Pantomimus which according to the records was performed in 467 BC by a dancer […]
Do your children know the history of the Christmas Tree?
There are many different stories, but by far the most popular the most popular one is the St. Boniface story, and even this one is open to several different endings. The basic story comes from Germany where to convince a group of pagans in Germany, who refused to believe his teachings, St. Boniface cut down […]
The Story of Snow White
We all know the fairy tale Snow White, one that has been made into a pantomime. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most famous fairy tales in the world As with all pantomimes, it is a story of good triumphing over evil. It has it all: The History Portal have created […]