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With a top prize of \xa35,000 and a celebrity backer in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, England embarked on its first ever national lottery draw at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral on 11th January, 1569.\nThe results continued to be announced, day and night, for four months; a particularly prolonged process due to the fact that the prizes had to be divided into twelve, as the organisers had only sold a twelfth as many tickets as had been predicted.\xa0\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cost of entry had been set so high (a year\u2019s salary for a working class labourer); reveal the desperate \u2018get out of jail free\u2019 tactic to flog more tickets; and ask whether, despite its apparent failure, the event was, at least, proof-of-concept for the state funded lotteries we still know today\u2026\nFurther Reading:\n\n\u2018It Could Be Ye: England\u2019s first lottery\u2019 (The History Press, 2019):\xa0https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/it-could-be-ye-england-s-first-lottery/\n\n\n\u201811 January 1569: England holds its first lottery draw\u2019 (MoneyWeek, 2021):\xa0https://moneyweek.com/421338/11-january-1569-england-holds-its-first-lottery-draw\n\n\n\u2018January 11 - The first recorded lottery\u2019 (The Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society, 2020):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-XqukRpgk\n\n\n\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#1500s #Royals #Inventions #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices