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Plague, Fire and Beer: The 1660s  

The years from 1660 to 1669 represent an incredibly interesting period of history – this was, after all, a decade that saw devastating fire and plague, along with revolutionary scientific discovery and brutal retribution by a returning monarch.

The 1660s came after a period of intense political turmoil in England; the previous decade had seen the Civil War and execution of Charles I, the rule of Oliver Cromwell and the eventual restoration of the monarchy; and in many ways the 1660s were just as torrid. So, what were the key events that took place during this memorable decade?

1660: Pepys and his diary

One of the things that made the 1660s so remarkable is that the entire decade was recorded in the diary of Samuel Pepys. This document gives historians a unique insight into life in London over the course of these 10 years.

Pepys begins his diary on the 1st January 1660. On the 25th September he has his first ever cup of tea; he writes: ‘... we talked together of the interest of this country to have peace with Spain and a war with France and Holland. And afterwards I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I had never drunk before.’

At the time tea was still a relatively new drink, and one which only the aristocracy were able to afford.

1661: Brutal retribution

In a final act of retribution for executing his father and overthrowing the monarchy, Charles II ordered that the body of Oliver Cromwell (who had been dead for three years) be exhumed and subjected to posthumous execution.

1662: The Royal Society

On the 28th November the Royal Society is founded and holds its first meeting; the first president is William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker. The society would go on to become one of the foremost scientific institutions in the world.

1663: Navigation Acts

In 1663 the second Navigation Act was passed by Parliament. The Navigation Acts were laws which restricted foreign shipping; the second act required that all goods which were being shipped to the colonies had to be sent through English ports (thus allowing a tax to be collected).

1664: Kronenbourg

Although not an event which occurred in England, this is certainly an occasion of note; in 1664 Kronenbourg was first produced. The popular beer was first made in Strasbourg by Geronimus Hatt, who founded the Hatt Brewery (the name Kronenbourg comes from the area Cronenbourg, where the brewery was forced to relocate in 1850 due to the frequent flooding of the River Ill). The famous beer would, of course, eventually come to be known as Kronenbourg 1664.

Although wheat beer has been around of many years (and may even have been produced at the original Hatt Brewery), it wasn’t until much more recently that Kronenbourg produced their first wheat beer: Kronenbourg Blanc.

1665: First cells discovered

This was the year that Robert Hooke discovered the existence of cells. Using an early microscope Hooke discovered cells in cork; he would later discover them in living plant tissue. 1665 was also the year that the Great Plague of London began. The disease would last a full year and wipe out around 20 per cent of London’s population.

1666: On 2nd September the Great Fire of London began at a bakery on Pudding Lane. It spread rapidly and wasn’t stopped until Wednesday 5th September. Although the fire consumed most of the medieval City of London (inside the old Roman walls) it did leave several lasting legacies, not least St Paul’s Cathedral.

1667: Milton sells Paradise Lost

Famous author John Milton, blind and living in poverty, sells the copyright for Paradise Lost for £10.

1668: Newton’s telescope

Sir Isaac Newton designs the first reflecting telescope – a more powerful design of telescope than the refracting versions that were available at the time (this style of telescope still in use today).

1669: Diary ends

Samuel Pepys stops writing his diary as he fears he may be going blind (he never actually did). Pepys would go on to be elected President of the Royal Society and preside over a key period in its history.

Conclusion

Throughout the entire decade Newton investigated and wrote about optics, acoustics, the infinitesimal calculus, mechanism and thermodynamics. The breakthroughs contained in this research (which was published only years later), make this decade one of the most important in all of human history.