{"id":15855,"date":"2022-07-01T14:44:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T12:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=211017"},"modified":"2022-07-01T15:00:09","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T13:00:09","slug":"1-july-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/1-july-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"1 July: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 01 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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1 July 1569<\/h3>\n

In Poland, a joint assembly of Polish and Lithuanian notables agrees the Union of Lublin, creating the largest state in early modern Europe: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

1 July 1690:\u00a0James II flees from the battle of the Boyne <\/a><\/h3>\n

The deposed monarch fails to put up much of a fight against William of Orange in an iconic clash of kings and religion<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On the first day of July 1690, two royal armies faced each other across the river Boyne, north of Dublin. On the southern bank was James II (and VII)<\/a>, until recently king of England, Scotland and Ireland, who had been deposed two years earlier in the Glorious Revolution<\/a>. On the other side stood William III (and II), Prince of Orange, who had taken\u00a0the crown at the request of England\u2019s Whig political elite. This was a clash not merely of kings but of religions: James was a Catholic, William a Protestant. Thanks to his cousin Louis XIV, James had some 6,000 French cavalry, but most of his infantrymen were ill-trained Irish peasants, many armed only with scythes.<\/p>\n

William\u2019s most reliable troops, meanwhile, were his Dutch and Danish veterans. He had little faith in his English and Scottish soldiers, but his most colourful recruits were his Ulster Protestant \u2018skirmishers\u2019. They were \u201chalf-naked with sabre and pistols hanging from their belts,\u201d an army chaplain wrote, \u201clike a horde of Tartars\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ironically, given its reputation, the battle was something of a damp squib. William\u2019s chief objective was the ford at Oldbridge, where he hoped to get his men across, but for four hours the Jacobites held them up.<\/p>\n

Casualties were surprisingly light;\u00a0out of perhaps 50,000 men, only 2,000 died. The end came when James ordered his army to fall back towards Dublin, handing his opponent a moral victory. Many Jacobites promptly deserted, William took Dublin just two days later, and James, who never had much appetite for the fight, retired to France. Neither could have known how important the battle would become in the collective imaginations of Ireland\u2019s Protestant and Catholic communities. | Written by Dominic Sandbrook<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 July 1863<\/h3>\n

The first shots were fired in the battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest clash of the American Civil War<\/a> and a decisive victory for General George Meade\u2019s Union forces over Robert E Lee\u2019s Confederates.<\/p>\n

1 July 1912<\/h3>\n

The first Royal Command Variety Performance was staged at London\u2019s Palace Theatre in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. Performers included Harry Lauder and Anna Pavlova \u2013 but not the racy and controversial Marie Lloyd.<\/p>\n

1 July 1961<\/h3>\n

Birth in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk of the Honourable Diana Frances Spencer<\/a>, the youngest daughter of the future 8th Earl Spencer and his first wife, Frances.<\/p>\n

Browse more\u00a0On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n