We Make History: The Cavaliers' Ball

Surely the 17th century has few if any peers in regards to fascinating personalities, extraordinary events, grand adventures and feats of derring-do.

The call to Grand Adventure was on! The Age of Discovery was still at hand! The Leadership of a talented and determined individual could still help determine the fate of nations and continents.

A number of great powers vied with another in Europe and increasingly around the globe. England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Russia and Ottoman Turkey all raced neck and neck for supremacy in a high stakes horse race that saw the lead apparently change a number of times and which at the end of the century was still too close to call.

England began the century as a respected but still second rate power, though fresh from victory over the Spanish Armada. Under the leadership of King James I, King Charles I and many, many courageous individuals large and small, England began to seriously stake her claim to the New World. By 1640 small but successful colonies thrived in Virginia, at Plymouth Plantation, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, New Hampshire, Connecticut. New Haven, Rhode Island and Maryland competing well against their neighbors, the colonies of France, Holland, Sweden and Spain.

By 1642 all was at a crisis. The English Civil War was if anything much more complex than either of the other momentous conflicts to occur later between English speaking peoples, the American Revolution and the American Civil War. In fact the English Civil War would have repercussions that effected each of these later conflicts and that one could argue still echo into modern times.

Supporters of the King came to be known as "Royalists" or "Cavaliers" while supporters of Parliament were termed "Parliamentarians" or "Roundheads". Political, economic and religious questions as well as regional differences, class struggles, radical ideas and foreign influences were all thrown into the mix to create a highly volatile situation which changed appearances a number of times and in which some changed sides more than once as well. The nobility, country gentry and common folk were all quite divided. Good men of conscience and conviction were to be found on each side ... as were baser sorts intent on pillage and plunder. The majority of Puritans sided with Parliament but some notable Puritans leaders staunchly defended the King. Likewise, the majority of aristocrats probably supported the King yet a number of high rank went with Parliament. Even the Scots were separated, some fighting for and others against King or Parliament. Every section and class of English society was divided.

Americans became involved too with New Englanders mostly supporting Parliament while Virginians mostly supported the King. In fact it was due to Virginia's loyalty throughout this period that King Charles II later elevated her to the position of "royal dominion" along with England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Thus the origins of the term "The Old Dominion" used in reference to Virginia to this day.

The Cavaliers' Ball: We Make History's 7th & 50th Anniversary Party!

We Make History's is celebrating our 7th Anniversary since our first historic Ball. And the Cavaliers' Ball will be our 50th here in Arizona and 51st overall! Amazing isn't it? What a journey we have had! And there is so much more good to come. We publicly thank God for this vision and all the good that has been and will be accomplished through it.

Come out and celebrate with us!

When: On the evening of Saturday, May 3rd guests shall be welcome at 6 for a social hour and photography. The Ball shall commence at 7.

Where: We have secured the use of a spacious facility in central Mesa convenient to both the 101 and US60. Directions shall be sent along with your passes.

What to Wear: As this is We Make History's 7th & 50th Anniversary Party you may wear attire from any of the historic periods We Make History represents. But if possible, dress as per the 1600s - in Jacobean, Restoration or Baroque styles - or even as per Elizabethan styles of the late 1500s. Cavaliers, Roundheads, Puritans, Pilgrims, Colonists, American Natives, Highlanders, Buccaneers and members of Europe's Royal and Aristocratic Families are all welcome! Alternately, modern evening wear (tuxes, suits with ties and jackets, evening gowns) is welcome as well. Please see our House Standards below.

Participation is open to well mannered persons of grace and respect. Young people ages 10 and up are welcome to attend this Ball if their parents deem them to be of suitable maturity. It is expected that all attending shall read, agree to and abide by our House Standards. (See below.) Perusal of our Etiquette & Expectations page is recommended as well.

Passes: Available at the door - $30 each.

Jacobean?

The term Jacobean deals particularly with the 17th century, that time when the House of Stuart reigned over both Scotland and England. A little history and a little Latin shall explain.

King James VI of Scotland had been king over that nation since 1567. King James was a member of the House of Stewart/Stuart which had ruled Scotland for several centuries and which was now to rule England for over a century as well. In 1603 Queen Elizabeth of England died and James inherited the throne of England where he was crowned King James I. From that point in time he ruled over both nations until his death in 1625. Notable events during the reign of King James I included the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the founding of the colonies of Virginia in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620. He is most remembered however for desiring and authorizing a new translation of the Bible into English. This "Authorized" version was first published in 1611 and has been popularly known as the "King James" version ever since. It was during the reign of King James I that the Thirty Years War broke out in Europe (1618-1648). But though many English and Scottish officers gained valuable military experience as volunteers fighting for other nations, particularly in the Swedish Army of King Gustavus Adolphus, yet on a national level England and Scotland stayed clear of the struggle.

After the reign of King James I came that of his son King Charles I who reigned from 1625-1649. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded during his reign as well as the colonies of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maryland. The English Civil War began in 1642 with "Cavaliers" or "Royalists" supporting the King and "Roundheads" supporting Parliament during this complex but colourful struggle. The "Roundheads" were victorious in the end, Charles was executed in 1649, and his son, the future Charles II found refuge on the European Continent as Oliver Cromwell and Parliament took the reigns of power.

During the "Commonwealth" (1649-1660), the period of rule by Cromwell and/or Parliament, there was no reigning king, thus these years are also known as the "Interregnum" (Latin for "between kings"). To this day "Lord Protector" Oliver Cromwell is the most debated figure in British history. These years saw the exodus of many Royalists (Cavaliers) to America, most notably to Virginia which had been very sympathetic to the royal cause in the late Civil War whereas the colonies of New England had been very sympathetic to the cause of Parliament. (The whole polarized north-south thing in America goes way, way back!) This period also saw the beginning of the intermittent but enormous naval struggles known as the Anglo-Dutch Wars.

In 1660 the "Restoration" occurred when Charles II was invited to return from exile and assume the throne. But even previous to this point a representative had been sent to Charles by Virginia asserting that Virginians still recognized him as the Stuart heir and thus the rightful king and inviting him to come and reign as king in Virginia until the rest of his realm could be restored. Though he did not follow through on the offer, the crowns being reclaimed shortly afterwards, yet due to his appreciation of the loyalty of Virginia, once the "Restoration" was complete King Charles II honoured Virginia by naming her a royal "Dominion" along with England, Scotland and Ireland. Thus Virginia has had the honour of being known as the "Old Dominion" to this very day. King Charles II also authorized the establishment of a colony to the south of Virginia which was named Carolina in his honour, Carol being Latin for Charles. The settlement which was to become the colony's capital was also named in his honour. This was Charles Towne, which is today's Charleston, South Carolina, the colony having later been divided into North Carolina and South Carolina. King Charles II ruled from 1660-1685.

Next in line was King James II (younger brother of Charles II) who assumed the throne from 1685 until the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688. Before becoming king this James held the title of Duke of York. When the English captured the town of Nieuw Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664 it was renamed New York in his honour.

In the Latin language "James" is translated as "Jacobus" thus the period from the reign of King James I through that of King James II is often known as the Jacobean era. After King James II was overthrown William and Mary came to power. But those who continued to support the claims of direct succession of the House of Stuart to the crowns of Scotland and England became know as "Jacobites". Repeated efforts to restore this family line to the thrones of Scotland and England were very much a part of European power politics until the defeat of Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie"), grandson of King James II, at the battle of Culloden in 1746.

But what of Jacobean Fashion?

The Jacobean era of the 17th century covers a number of fashion changes. Even very early in the period men were wearing breeches. The breeches of the period were fly front and a looser fit than the future 18th century variety. Around 1600 they were often ballooned in the upper part but this soon passed and a more symmetrical shape was adopted. Sometimes breeches fastened snugly below the knee and sometimes they simply hung loose, perhaps being decorated by a lace fringe around the bottom of each leg opening. The ruff of the early part of the era gave way to the "falling bands" type collar that one tends to associate with the Pilgrims. Misleading stereotypes of Puritans in drab garb notwithstanding, this was undoubtedly the most colourful and ostentatious era in all of history for men who could afford to be fashionable. Bright colours, ribands (ribbons), frills, lace, large hats of varying styles and large plumes were all worn as was ostentatiously long hair. In fact it was during this period that wigs came into fashion for men. Poor King Louis XIII of France went prematurely bald at a time when it was fashionable for men to wear their hair down far below their shoulders. The King of France must be fashionable - so he has a large, long wig made. Others quickly imitated him and wigs in various forms would be fashionable for men for the next 175 years or so. This was also a period when men went about wearing the type of sword known as the rapier. It is the era of the "Three Musketeers" of "Lorna Doone" and of the first golden age of Caribbean piracy.

Ladies' fashions transitioned from the Elizabethan look with its "farthingale" corset, barrel shaped petticoat and large ruff to a high-waisted gown worn with short, curled hair at the time of the English Civil War and then back to a very long-waisted gown and long, flowing hair. All ladies wore stays (corsets) though the shape and length changed through the period. Necklines could be square or oval in the early and middle parts of the era though oval much predominated in the latter part.

The Puritans are worth a mention here as they played a large role in the early English settlements in America and were thickly involved in the political and religious debates that preceded and followed the English Civil War. History has often unkindly stereotyped the Puritans as being drab in their attire and dour in their countenances. Some did fit this pattern but overall the classification is unfair as many more did not. Puritans believed in modesty within the context of whatever social level to which they believed that God had assigned them. Puritan members of the nobility dressed in finery but perhaps not to the extent of some of their more splendidly garbed fellow aristocrats. Puritan commoners wore a number of colours (not just black and white) but were modestly fashionable within their means and social level. Puritan men tended to wear shoulder length hair - which was after all shorter than the length at which many men wore their hair through the last 3/4 of the 17th century - and some even cropped it up around their ears, thus engendering the term "roundhead". In summation, the Puritans dressed just as other people except that for modesty's sake they tended to be toned down (according to their respective social levels) in terms of ostentation and finery. (The words "modest" and "modesty" had almost completely different connotations then than now ... but that as they say ... is another story.) But did Puritans dance? Why yes! John Playford, the most distinguished dancing master of the period - was a Puritan!

The best simple visual Jacobean Fashion resource we know of for laymen is actually a colouring book! Go to your favourite online bookseller and type in a search for ISBN #0486433331.

For those desiring to sew Jacobean attire be warned that good patterns are almost non-existent. However, we have discovered a few offerings representing this era. Write for details.

Also and otherwise .... Study period artwork from the reign of King Charles I and the English Civil War or go a bit earlier to the time of King James I or the reign of Elizabeth I or a bit later to the "Restoration" era of King Charles II - and then go freestyle, designing if you have the skills to do so. The movie "Cromwell" has some very good costuming circa the 1640s, right in the heart of the Jacobean era, and might be a good source for ideas. Polish your language skills as well. 17th century English is beautiful! The King James Bible, Pilgrim's Progress and the works of Shakespeare are excellent sources.

House Standards for Historic Balls

We are grateful to our wonderful guests who make the effort with us to create a special ambience and atmosphere of respect. We uphold these standards out of regard for our much-appreciated friends and for the sake of the integrity of our events.

1. The use of either tobacco or alcohol is prohibited.

2. Videotaping is not welcome other than by our house videographer. We work hard to create a special and comfortable historic ambience that all will enjoy. Discreet photography is welcome but please leave video equipment at home.

3. No unauthorized distribution of literature is allowed. Nor is this event an opportunity to recruit persons for purposes either modern or historical. Please allow all of our guests to enjoy the evening in peace. That is why they came.

4. These are historic balls and we ask that even those dressed modern conform to certain historic standards. All clothed in modern attire must be at least at a semi-formal level. Modern gentlemen need to be wearing tuxes or suits. As per historic standards, jackets and ties need to be on at all times. Modern ladies should wear long gowns, preferably at or near ankle length - not short dresses or skirts and blouses.

5. Appropriate footwear is required. (i.e. historic footwear, dress shoes, dancing slippers, ballet flats, etc.) Please no sandals, flip-flops or athletic shoes. For the sake of your safety as well as event ambience dancing barefoot is impermissible.

6. We ask that one not enter to be an observer, chaperone or curiosity seeker without having a ticket and being properly attired.

7. Please either order advance tickets by the publicized cut-off date (in time to be mailed back to you) or be prepared to obtain your tickets at the door (if available) for a higher amount. These events are publicized far in advance in order to serve you well. They do sometimes fill up early.

8. We do not offer refunds or exchanges.

9. Our standard age policy is that ages 13 and up are welcome to participate and that ages 10-12 may participate if parents deem them to be sufficient in manners and maturity. The dress standards for these young ladies and gentlemen are the same as those for adults. (Please see #4 above.)

10. Gracious and respectful conduct & conversation are expected of all, to all and at all times.

11. We desire to be good stewards of the facilities we use, to treat them with care and to leave them in at least as good of condition as when we arrived.

12. For the good of all, any who might consider themselves exempt from any of the above may be asked to leave.

Please also see our “Etiquette & Expectations” page as well as our "All About Us" page.