The first recorded autopsy in America was in 1662 on an 8-year-old girl in Hartford, Connecticut. Autopsies were not common until the 1800s when there was more regulation of practices by medical examiners and coroners. Autopsies became more useful in tracing illness through the body, and they helped advanced medicine with better diagnostic skills, understanding of diseases, etc.
The candle making scene shows women rendering animal fat into tallow, Claire making wick anchors, and others dipping the wicks into the melted tallow to make tapers. This was the process to make candles for everyday use in the 18th century. Brighter burning and better smelling candles could also be made from bees wax or bayberries harvested from the wax myrtle shrub. However, making these candles were more labor intensive and materials were in short supply.
The practice of tarring and feathering was exported from Europe to the American colonies and was mostly a type of mob vengeance of public criticism and punishment. In this story the punishment is inflicted upon representatives of the British government by the Regulators in rebellion against inflated and unfair taxes.
When talking about medicine while making candles, one of the women wonders aloud if can you imagine a king being poisoned by a physician. There are several cases of doctors actually causing the death of Kings and other royals. King Charles II was killed by his physician, and King Louis who was character on the show was hidden by his nanny because the Royal physician had killed all the other royals and she feared for his life.
Judge Henderson mentions that William Hooper was also tarred and feathered. William Hooper was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician. Initially, Hooper supported the British colonial government of North Carolina. As deputy attorney general, in 1768 Hooper worked with Colonial Governor William Tryon to suppress a rebellious group known as the Regulators who participated in the War of the Regulation. The Regulators had been operating in North Carolina for some time, and in 1770 it was reported that the group dragged Hooper through the streets in Hillsborough during a riot. By 1773, Hooper had changed to support the Patriots, who were opposing the British, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His house is still in Hillsborough, North Carolina and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. His original grave is also in Hillsborough, though his remains were moved to the Guilford, North Carolina Courthouse National Military Park.