Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 29, 2025

Following several national debt defaults (in 1557, 1575, and 1596), on November 29, 1596, King Philip II ^[1] of Spain ordered the devaluation of the country’s silver coinage.  This included the famed Spanish Ocho Reales de Plata (“Pieces of Eight”) silver coin. By the 1630s, most coin mintings had 20 to 30% less silver than previously required. This debasement, combined with their sovereign debt, eventually led to the decline of the Spanish empire.

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On November 29, 1890, the first US Army – US Navy football game was played, at West Point. The score: Navy 24, Army 0.

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Today is the birthday of writer Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis ^[2], who was born in 1898 and died 22 November 1963.

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Today’s feature article is by JWR.

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We need entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ^[3]. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 begins on December 1st, so get busy writing and e-mail ^[4] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics ^[5]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.