The Great Storm of 1703 arrived from the southwest on 26 November (7 December in today’s calendar). In London, 2,000 chimney stacks collapsed. The New Forest lost 4,000 oaks. Ships were blown hundreds of miles off-course, and over 1,000 seamen died on the Goodwin Sands alone. News-bulletins of casualties and damage were sold all over England – a novelty at that time. The church declared that the storm was God’s vengeance for the sins of the nation. Daniel Defoe thought it was a divine punishment for poor performance against Catholic armies in the War of the Spanish Succession.
I am an ex-teacher having taught Ancient and Modern History, Social Science and Computing (weird combo ... hey) in the NSW (Australian) education system. I completed my degree at the same time as Maxx, but majored more in Modern History and Political Science before doing a Graduate Dip. Ed. and teaching. I have a strong interest in military history (all periods) but love reading about all aspects of history (you might call me a history junkie). I believe learning should be a life long pursuit and that the study of history is integral to the development of a mature, modern 'thinking' and 'questioning' society.
History Bytez 
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