The Library Ghost

    The 1600s in North America covers a number of European colonial enterprises, including Dutch, French, English, and Spanish interests in the "New World."  Wars of trade and conquest span both sides of the Atlantic, and traditional lifestyles are disrupted by new technologies as well as a growing trans-Atlantic slave trade.      Note that the Hearth Cooking video has windy background noise, but it's otherwise good. General information      American Experience | PBS. " Chapter 1 | The Pilgrims | American Experience | PBS ." YouTube . Posted November 19, 2020.      JYF Museums. " The Jamestown Starving Time of 1609-10 ." YouTube . Posted January 12, 2022. Architecture and engineering      Historic St. Marys City. " Historic St. Mary's City - Woodland Indian Hamlet: Rawhide ." YouTube . Posted October 15, 2021.     JamestownRediscovery. " Archaeology of the Jamestown Church Tower ." YouTube . P...

    Traditionally, the Tudor era runs from Henry Tudor's defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.  In practice, most "Tudor" media pieces focus on the reign of Henry VIII (he of the six wives) or on that of his second daughter, Elizabeth.     NB : Amanda Hallay has a few unusual ideas as to the why of fashion, some of it totally unsupported by textual evidence; however, she does a good overview of the what of fashion, so I've elected to keep her video in the lineup. General information      Hallay, Amanda. " THE ULTIMATE FASHION HISTORY: The Elizabethan Era ." YouTube . Posted November 28, 2015.     HistoryExtra. " How CLEAN were the Tudors? Ruth Goodman on 16th-century hygiene ." YouTube . Posted December 30, 2025.      Marchant, Katrina. " Sumptuary Laws: A History of What Not to Wear ." YouTube . Posted May 16, 2025.      Voorhies, ...

      The mid-nineteenth century in Britain covers the first three decades of the Victorian era.  The United States struggles through the American Civil War, while France endures the fall of the Second Republic, followed by the brief Second Empire .  Further east sees the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire's loss in the Crimean War, and the unifications of both Germany and Italy.  General information      Durbin, Holly Poe. " Crinoline Era Consumerism ." YouTube . Posted October 18, 2020.     English Heritage. " Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians ." YouTube . Posted February 9, 2023.     Glasscock, Jessica. " Nineteenth-Century Silhouette and Support ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.      Oshinsky, Sara J. " European Revivalism ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolit...

    The Victorian era in Britain and Ireland covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901.  During that time, fashions changed dramatically as Britain became a global empire, with control of Egypt, India, Canada, Hong Kong, and parts of the Caribbean.  As immigration soared and London became the largest city in the world, anxiety about non-English "colonials" polluting English culture or bloodlines was at an all-time high.  Industry moved from small family businesses run out of the home to mass manufacturing in urban factories.  Handcrafts waned during the middle of Victoria's reign, only to return in romanticized "vintage" or "authentic" forms at the end of the century. General information      BBC Archive. " 1970: VICTORIAN TEENAGERS reminisce | Yesterday's Witness | Voice of the People | BBC Archive ." YouTube . Posted April 30, 2022.     HistoryExtra. " Child labour and BREADWINNERS | Ruth Goodman on family lif...

     I would like credit for limiting myself to *only* six cooking videos by Townsends.  It was very difficult and I deserve a sticker.  Also, for some reason the virtual tour of the Irish farm needs to be watched at 1.25x normal speed; all the others seem fine. General information     Fairfax Network - Fairfax County Public Schools. " Life of a Colonial Slave ." YouTube . Posted September 19, 2014.      Smarthistory. " The making of an American myth: Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians ." YouTube . Posted February 9, 2020.     Townsend, Jon. " Lighting Then VS Now: Fire Before Electricity ." YouTube . Posted January 14, 2024.      Townsend, Jon. " Winters in Colonial America ." YouTube . Posted December 7, 2017. Architecture and engineering      Colonial Williamsburg. " 18th-Century Brickmaking ." YouTube . Posted January 28, 2026.     Colonial Williamsburg. " ...

    The 1500s in England saw Henry Tudor die; his second son take the throne as Henry VIII; and his daughter Margaret Tudor wed to James IV of Scotland.  Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess, married Arthur, Prince of Wales; upon his death, she married then-prince Henry and bore his first daughter, Mary Tudor.  After Henry VIII established the Anglican Church and annulled his marriage to Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn, who bore the future Elizabeth I before being executed in 1536.  Henry would go on to have four more marriages, only one of which produced a son: Edward.      Henry oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries as part of his break with Rome, seizing church relics and treasures before turning the land over to his supporters.  After his death in 1547, a young Edward VI briefly became king, then died in 1553.  Mary took the throne and wed Phillip II of Spain in 1554, although Phillip took no part in ruling England and...

    The Dynastic Period in Egypt is usually dated from the unification of Egypt around 3000 BCE to the Greek conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE.  During this time, the region was ruled chiefly by native families, as well as neighboring groups such as the Hyksos, Kushites, and Persians.  Located at the crossroads of Asia Minor and Africa, Egypt was part of a vast network of material and cultural exchange that would last for thousands of years.      NB : Uniquely Madison's video should be watched at 1.25 times normal speed.  Just click the gear icon at the bottom of the video and select "Playback speed" to change it. General information      Allen, James, and Marsha Hill. " Egypt in the Late Period (ca. 664–332 B.C.) ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.      Oppenheim, Adela. " Egypt in the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 B.C.) ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of A...

    This post mainly covers the period from 800–1100, during the so-called Viking Age in Europe.  This period is also called the Early Middle Ages or the Dark Ages in western Europe.  I can find surprisingly few museum-quality videos about Viking-era medicine and toys, but I will persevere! General information      Banijay History. " Norman Conquest: The Real Impact - Britain's Most Historic Towns ." YouTube . Posted October 2, 2024.     Cambrian Chronicles . " The Prince of Wales: What Everybody Gets Wrong ." YouTube . Posted October 17, 2022.     National Museum of Ireland. " Viking Ireland 4 What was Daily Life like in Viking Ireland? " YouTube . Posted November 16, 2020.     SCC Archaeology. " Anglo-Saxon Daily Life ." YouTube . Posted August 16, 2021.     Smarthistory. " Charlemagne and the Carolingian revival ." YouTube . Posted June 14, 2013. Arts and architecture    ...

    This post mainly covers the period from 1100 CE to 1400 CE, when the Italian Renaissance escapes containment.  Strangely, there is not a lot of material out there from historians or living history organizations...  A lot of these links are from the Met and other art history sources. General information     Cambrian Chronicles . " The Prince of Wales: What Everybody Gets Wrong ." YouTube . Posted October 17, 2022.      HistoryExtra. " Why medieval peasants were REVOLTING | What really caused the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 ." YouTube . Posted March 10, 2025.      History Hit. " What Was Everyday Life Like In Medieval Britain? " YouTube . Posted July 6, 2022.     Norris, Michael. " Feudalism and Knights in Medieval Europe ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. Architecture and engineering     CBS Sunday Morning. " Building a medieval castl...