194th anniversary of British Forces burning Washington DC down

Happy anniversary! I know that Blair apologised on behalf of every British person ever about this in 2002, but this is the trump card that British people have when they meet people from the Mid-West who end up saying "Hey, who won the War of Revolution?", and don't understand when you say "The French." Instead, we get to say, "Yeah, well tell me who burnt down the White House and Capitol Hill and Congress Library?" So be proud, British people, today is your day. Stand tall and reflect on what might had been had we not also been thrashing Napoleon at the same time in Europe and had been able to concentrate fully all the might of the world upon America...

228th Anniversary of the Gordon Riots

The Gordon Riots, beginning upon June 2nd, 1780 and lasting until June 7th were a popular uprising in London of between 40,000 and 60,000 people, as a response to the Government passing the Papal Act of 1778. The Papal Act sought to relieve "his Majesty's subjects, of the Catholic Religion, from certain penalties and disabilities imposed upon them during the reign of William III". The reign of William III ended in 1702, so these were quite old restrictions. The main restriction it over-turned was to enable Catholics to join the army (thinking of the time period, with the American Revolution and various wars occurring all around the world, this was a smart move to increase manpower).

Anyway, a Lord George Gordon began to try and overturn this Act in 1780, as he argued that the Act would ultimately lead to a return to absolute Monarchical rule, by way of the Catholics in the army turning on the English side the next time they were fighting a European power, and joining forces with whichever Catholic country they were fighting with, and conquering England. This whipped up a mob frenzy, and on June 2nd, the aforementioned 40,000 - 60,000 marched upon Parliament to say "No Popery".

This soon got out of hand. Newgate Prison was almost destroyed, the Clink Prison was destroyed, many Catholic churches and embassies were damaged, as was the Bank of England, Fleet Prison, King's Bench Prison and the home of the Lord Chief Justice. It got so bad that on June 7th the army was called in with orders to shoot at groups of 4 or more who failed to disperse when called upon. According to records, 285 were shot dead with many more injured.

Following the riots, there were some hangings for some of those involved, however Lord Gordon was acquitted in his trial. And the Act remained law.

577th Anniversary of the execution of Joan of Arc

Today marks the 577th year since English forces had Joan of Arc burnt to death for Heresy (not witchcraft as sometimes stated). Although Joan of Arc turned the Hundred Years War against England, if she were English I would think of her as a hero through her actions, so I recognise her as one.

You can attempt to justify the decision to put her to death in those times, as she was the only successful general the French had had at that time, and in times of war, the spirit of the enemy needs to be broken. But burning her was excessive and cruel (certainly by today's standards). She was a brave woman.