Quicksilver Reading CompanionIn October 1685, Bob Shaftoe recounts his experiences during the Monmouth Rebellion and his subsequent journey to the Dutch Republic to Eliza.
“the big boss was a Peer, the Lord Lieutenant—in our case, Winston Churchill” — Sir Winston Churchill (1620–1688) was a Royalist politician and historian; he was the father of the 1st Duke of Marlborough and a staunch supporter of the Stuart monarchs.
“militia regiments once came together to form Cromwell’s New Model Army” — The New Model Army was a professionalized military force formed by Parliamentarians during the English Civil War, famous for its discipline and religious zeal.
“crossing the Cold Stream with a regiment under General Lewis” — This refers to George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, who famously marched from Coldstream to London in 1660 to facilitate the Restoration of Charles II.
“That regiment is called the Coldstream Guards” — The Coldstream Guards is the oldest regiment in the Regular Army in continuous active service, having transitioned from the New Model Army to the service of the Monarchy.
“King Charles created the Grenadier Guards” — The Grenadier Guards is an elite infantry regiment formed in 1656 by the exiled Charles II while he was in Bruges.
“He was far gone with the French Pox” — Syphilis was frequently named after rival nations; the English called it the “French Pox,” while the French often referred to it as the “Neapolitan disease.”
“Monmouth’s invasion-force was massing at Texel” — Texel is a Dutch island that served as a strategic naval base and a frequent gathering point for political exiles and military expeditions.
“John’s old comrade-in-arms from Siege of Maestricht days” — During the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, John Churchill and the Duke of Monmouth fought as allies on behalf of the French King Louis XIV.
“his wife Sarah is now Lady of the Bedchamber to the Duke’s daughter, the Princess Anne” — Sarah Churchill was a formidable political figure and the intimate confidante of the future Queen Anne, wielding immense influence at the English court.
“betray that Papist and bring a Protestant to the throne” — Violent Anti-Catholicism gripped England in the 1680s, fueled by the fear that James II would use his power to forcibly re-establish the Catholic Church.
“the school girls presented Monmouth with a banner they had embroidered for him” — This refers to the Maids of Taunton, a group of schoolgirls who presented Monmouth with colors; Stephenson’s annotation: “This actually happened to a number of Taunton schoolgirls,” many of whom were later imprisoned or fined.
“listening to the Imp of the Perverse” — The Imp of the Perverse is a metaphor for the irrational, self-destructive impulse to do something specifically because one knows they should not.
“As a mudlark” — Mudlarks were impoverished scavengers, often children, who searched the tidal mud of the River Thames for scraps of coal, iron, or other valuables to sell.
“John Churchill, the commander of my regiment” — John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough, was one of England’s greatest military commanders, though his early career was marked by complex political shifts.
“had to be opened up and aired out by a barber” — A Barber-Surgeon in the 17th century performed tasks ranging from hair cutting to amputations, bloodletting, and the dressing of war wounds.
“Supreme command was given to Feversham, who despite his name is a Frenchman” — Louis de Duras, Earl of Feversham, was a French nobleman and nephew of the great Marshal Turenne who became a naturalized English subject and loyal general to James II.
“To make room for it, the chirurgeons cut a hole in his skull.” — Trepanning is an ancient surgical practice of drilling into the skull, used in the 17th century to treat head injuries or relieve pressure on the brain.
“Grafton is one of Charles II’s bastards” — Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Grafton, was the son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers; he was a noted naval commander who eventually joined the side of William of Orange.
“huygens s house” — Stephenson’s annotation: “The house of the Huygens family stood where I have described it, but it no longer exists. A Dutch government ministry building now stands on the site.”
“I liked those rustic Nonconformists with their sickles and blunderbusses.” — Nonconformists were Protestants who refused to follow the practices of the Church of England; they formed the backbone of Monmouth’s rebel “pitchfork” army.
“King’s Own Black Torrent Guards… stationed at Whitehall Palace” — Stephenson’s annotation: “This regiment is fictitious… I have tried to make the story… plausible by patterning it after such real-world regiments.” Whitehall Palace was the primary residence of English monarchs until it burned down in 1698.
“established a Court of Assizes in that part of the country.” — The Bloody Assizes were the series of trials following the Battle of Sedgemoor where Jeffreys oversaw the execution or transportation of over a thousand people.
“Jeffreys has sold twelve hundred ordinary West Country Protestants into chattel slavery in the Caribbean.” — Penal Transportation was a common sentence for rebels, who were sent to the West Indies to work as indentured laborers, a fate often indistinguishable from slavery.
“canal that ran from the city out to the shore at Scheveningen.” — Scheveningen was a fishing village near The Hague that served as a vital link for travelers arriving by sea to the Dutch political center.
“the Hofgebied. Another few minutes’ walk would take them to the very foundations of the Binnenhof.” — The Binnenhof is a complex of buildings in The Hague that has served as the heart of Dutch political life and the meeting place of the States General for centuries.
“she could summon the St. George Guild from their clubhouse” — The St. George Guild was a schutterij, or civic guard, composed of armed citizens responsible for maintaining order in Dutch cities.
“William of Orange” — William III was the Stadtholder of the Netherlands and a pivotal figure in European politics who would later lead the Glorious Revolution to become King of England.
“like the Janissaries before Vienna” — The Battle of Vienna in 1683 was a turning point in history where a coalition of European forces defeated the Ottoman Empire, halting their expansion into Central Europe.
“all marching or dancing to the beat of swinging plumb-bobs.” — The Pendulum Clock was a revolutionary invention by Christiaan Huygens that allowed for unprecedented accuracy in timekeeping.
“You’re in the Dutch Republic. This is the financial capital of the world.” — During the Dutch Golden Age, the Netherlands developed the world’s first modern stock exchange and central bank, dominating global trade.
“little sock of sheep-gut” — Early modern contraception often involved the use of animal intestines, which were cleaned and treated for use as condoms.
“Vagabonding with Jack” — Vagabonding refers to the lifestyle of the “masterless men” or Vagabonds who wandered Europe without fixed employment or land, often viewed as a threat to social order.
“Monsieur Mansart may build kingly châteaux” — Jules Hardouin-Mansart was the lead architect for Louis XIV, responsible for the iconic Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
“Christiaan Huygens, Isaac Newton, Isaac’s little shadow Fatio, Robert Boyle, John Locke… Christopher Wren” — This list represents a “who’s who” of the Scientific Revolution, spanning physics, chemistry, philosophy, and architecture.
“purging you of imbalancing humours” — Humoral theory was the dominant medical belief of the time, asserting that health depended on the balance of four fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.
“Flamsteed will be doing it in a few minutes on top of a hill in Greenwich.” — John Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, tasked with mapping the heavens to solve the problem of determining longitude at sea.
“Later I taught myself how to grind lenses.” — Lens grinding was a foundational technology of the era, enabling the creation of the telescopes and microscopes that drove scientific discovery.
Original annotations by: pronoiac, stephenson