Q&A

The capture of the pirate Blackbeard, 1718. Painting by JLG Ferris. One of history’s most notorious pirates, Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach almost certainly had a West Country twang because he was born in Bristol in around 1680. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

Q&A Did most English pirates really talk with a West Country accent?

Baked loves of bread

Q&A Why are there 13 items in a Baker’s Dozen?

Ballerina Margot Fonteyn in a tutu

Q&A Who invented the tutu?

How did England react to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1751? (Illustration for BBC History Magazine)

Q&A What was England’s reaction to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1751?

A game of real tennis, also called royal tennis

Q&A Did the Tudors play tennis?

A portrait of Queen Victoria and her family

Q&A Who were Prince Albert’s family, the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas?

A young girl in an ancient Roman fresco

Q&A Were girls educated in ancient Rome?

The Popes Palace, or Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France.

Q&A Why did the papacy move to Avignon in the 14th century?

The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&A What was Greek fire?

The siege of Sevastopol

Q&A Why did Britain fight the Crimean War?

American business magnate JD Rockefeller sits at a desk

Q&A Who was the first billionaire?

Men play kemari ball game

Q&A Who played the sport of kemari?

The card game cribbage

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say ‘level pegging’?

Bottles of snake oil

Q&A Did salesmen really sell snake oil?

Queen Victoria, her husband Prince Albert, and their nine children.

Q&A Could Queen Victoria have prevented World War I?