Fortune of War
As the government prepares to bring casinos to our high streets, John Childs looks at a gambling craze of the 1690s.
The British will bet on virtually anything from the size of marrows, through slug racing, to how long it takes to run round the quadrangle of an Oxford College. Between 1569 and 1826 it was also possible for Britain’s wealthier inhabitants to purchase tickets in state lotteries; during the 1790s a ticket cost £16. (Since 1994 the national lottery has become a more plebeian affair with tickets costing a mere £1.) The earliest state lotteries had been organised in France in 1520. A plate lottery was held in England in 1663 to provide compensation for old Royalist soldiers while, in 1680, there was a major lottery to raise funds for improving London’s water supply. Government loans floated in 1694 and 1697 additionally allowed purchasers of stock to enter lotteries.
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