Today in 1557 the first Russian ambassador, Osep Gregoriwich Napea arrived in London. Trade with the Russians had been going on for several years since the first voyage of discovery searching out a northeast passage didn’t make it to the Indies but instead found a route to Russia.
The ambassador made it to London after a harrowing journey in which several members of his entourage, including the English captain Richard Chancellor, died off the coast of Scotland in a storm. When he arrived near London today, he was greeted by 80 merchants, all on horseback, with chains of gold. The Lord Mayor received him and escorted him into London, and he was presented to the Queen.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th-century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on trade with the Muscovy company.
Suggested link:
Episode 170: A Year in the Life – 1561 (trade with the Muscovy company)
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.