History Through Minecraft

Welcome to the History through Minecraft page! Every image here was created through Minecraft, including the paintings of the renaissance and the Tudor kings and queens too. You will have to use your imagination to picture what some of these events looked like in person, which I'm sure anybody can do!

Ancient civilization

Troy

Courtyard

Inside the Trojan horse

Greeks using Trojan horse to get into Troy

During the Trojan war, there was no clear end to the war until Odysseus came up with the idea of the Trojan horse. In this plan, the Greeks would hide inside the horse, acting as an offering of peace, and would escape the horse in the night when it was brought in the walls. This plan would go on to win the Trojan war for the Greeks and be remembered as Odysseus’, and Greece’s, greatest military achievement.

Battle of Hastings

Bayeux Tapestry

The bow and arrow which killed Harold

  • The battle of Hastings took place on the 14th October 1066

  • It was fought between William of Normandy and King Harold. They were fighting over the English throne!

  • It is said that Harold, was killed by being shot in the eye with an arrow according to legend.

The Tudors

Henry VII

Henry VII, the first Tudor, but often the most forgotten. King from 1485 to 1509. He defeated Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth, the final battle of the Wars of the Roses. His claim to the throne was very thin, he had many individuals attempting to claim the throne from him, some evening pretending to be one of the lost Princes (Edward V and Richard Duke of York). To secure his place on the throne he married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.

Henry VIII

Henry VIII, the most famous of all Tudor monarchs, never really should have been King. His older brother Arthur was clearly meant to take the throne but had died before Henry VII. When Henry VII passed away, Henry VIII took the throne in 1509. Henry is famous for having six wives, his punishments of beheading, and pulling away from the Catholic Church. Henry created the Church of England, claiming himself to be the Defender of the Faith and of the Church of England, and the current Queen, Elizabeth II, holds this title too. Henry created the Church of England because he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn, however the pope refused. Anne Boleyn was also a protestant, so Henry took on the protestant faith, creating the Church of England, divorcing Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn.

Edward VI

Edward VI, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour (Henry's third wife), became King at age nine. He wasn't king for long as he died at age fifteen of tuberculosis.

Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey, the Queen for nine days. Jane was the great-granduaghter to Henry VII, and cousin to Edward VI. Edward VI had passed his crown to Jane as she was a fellow protestant, unlike his sister Mary who should have taken the title of Queen . Unfortunatley for Jane, Mary was unhappy with this decision and mabaged to gather support to take the throne from Jane. Jane was executed as punishment on February 12, 1554.

Mary I

Mary I is famous for burning protestants. She was a devout Catholic and wanted to remove the protestant church her father had set up during her reign. She has gone down in history with the name "Bloody Mary" after burning hundered of protestants.

Mary never managed to have any children, so when she died in 1558 the throne went to her protestant sister.

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I, the last tudor monarch. She was known as the virgin queen, never having a husband. She claimed to be married to England, that was where he loyalties lied.

When she died in 1603, the throne was passed to James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots who Elizabeth had executed in 1587 for treason. When James VI of Scotland became James I of Great Britain, unifying Britain and Scotland.


Renaissance

The School of Athens

The Kiss of Judas

Mona Lisa

The Creation of Adam

  • The Renaissance was a period in European civilization where there was a surged interest in Classical scholarship and values

  • Renaissance art were inspired by Classical Greek and Roman art, and were known for their grace, harmony and beauty.

  • Famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael are considered the leading artists of the period.

Slavery in the Atlantic

Sugar

One of the first driving forces behind the Atlantic slave trade during the 15th century was the production of Sugar. This is because the wealthy countries, such as Britain, would use sugar for their coffee rooms which caused the demand for slavery to rise.

Industrial revolution

Side view of the factory

Front view of the factory


Slum cities in Victorian Britain

Glasgow

Overview of cramped slums

Shared well


Cholera in Victorian Britain

A woman drinking the contaminated water in the slum streets of London

Poor living condition and poor sanitation led to outbreaks of cholera, however it was not just the poor who contracted Cholera. There are four recorded epidemics of cholera that took place in Victorian Britain, the first in 1831, the second in 1848, the third in 1853, and the final epidemic in 1866. Cholera is a disease which if often contracted through drinking unsanitary water. Those who contracted Cholera would suffer with profuse vomiting and diarrhea, as well as the skin turning slightly blue in some cases due to thickining blood and capillaries rupturing. Cholera was sometimes called the "Blue Death", deaths were quick and painful. People initially thought Cholera came from bad air, until 1854 when John Snow investigated the outbreak of Cholera in Soho, London. Doctor Snow found that those who caught Cholera got their water from the Broad Street pump, showing that it the disease was not caused by bad smells in the air, but unhygenic water. In fact, in Victorian Britain it was better to drink Beer than drink water.

Women's rights during the 20th century

A campaign slogan to captivate regular folk

  • During the early twentieth century the fight for Women's Right become stronger and militant. Women had tried to peacefully protest to get the vote, but it had not been working. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst set up the Women's Social and Political Union, those suffragettes within this group would do anything to get noticed. They would tie themselves to railings, go on hunger strikes, and protest outside of parliament. Some women who went on hunger strike would get arrested and force fed, with tubes going in their noses to make sure they had food.

  • One suffragette known Emily Wilding Davison became a famous Suffragette when at the Epsom Derby she ran in front of Kings horse, and died from the clash. It isn't clear as to whether she wanted to put a badge on the horse that said "Votes for Women" or whether she intended to die for the cause, but this showed that women were willing to do anything to get the right to vote.

  • In 1918, women finally received the right to vote, as long as the were thirty-one and older, which was still unfair as men had the right to vote at twenty-one. Ten years later, voting was equal. In 1928 all could vote from the age of twenty-one.

World war one

Overview of no mans land

A close look at the dirty bunkers


Hyperinflation Germany during the 1920s

A famished German worker burning worthless money for warmth

Germany missed a reparations payment late in 1922 off a chain of events that included occupation and hyperinflation. In order to pay the striking workers the government simply printed more money. This flood of money led to hyperinflation as the more money was printed, the more prices rose.

World war two

D-Day Beach


Development of houses throughout the ages

Roman

The house would be typically made from bricks and marble and had exquisite architecture with the new introduction of bricks. Roman baths were a popular pastime for Roman settlers with new ideas such as hygiene and cleanliness becoming a new founding idea.



Viking

Viking houses were rustic and kept to a minimal size due to constant moving of villages and easier to migrate to other places. Some Viking houses were built into the ground/hill for sturdiness and stability within a non man made structure, others were built in upside down longboats to create a dominant presence within their village against pillagers.



Middle ages

Houses were not particularly pretty in the sense that not much financial stability was occurring in the middle ages. Wealth was held with royalty in castles whereas peasants lived in small town houses.



Tudors

The typical Tudor design of wood and thatch created this iconic look and can be seen today in old market town villages that have preserved its heritage.



Victorian

Houses were typically built with bricks as new ways of building became apparent. Structures were a lot more modern than previous eras and most Victorian houses are still around today.



Modern

Sleek designs are used in today's modern lifestyle. With architectures having new equipment and new ideas of modernizing houses in the 21st century.