Sex worker card collection, Thomas SG Farnetti / Wellcome Collection, Creative Commons In the 1980s a change in the law meant UK phone boxes became noticeboards for business cards selling sexual services. As well as accumulating a cult following, these miniature advertisements tell us a lot about fluctuations and fashions in what was on offer.[…]
From the suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh to the Communist MP Shapurji Saklatvala: explore the lives of notable South Asians in 19th and 20th century British and Indian politics. By (left-to-right) Dr. Susheila Nasta, Dr. Florian Stadtler, and Dr. Rozina Visram Nasta: Chair in Modern Literature, The Open University Stadtler: Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literatures, University[…]
Exploring the role of Magna Carta in the politics and popular culture of modern America. From The Simpsons and Jay-Z to the American law courts and the ‘War on Terror’, discover the significance of Magna Carta in the USA today. By Dr. Matthew Shaw / 03.12.2015 Librarian Institute of Historical Research School of Advanced Study University of London[…]
The Magna Carta (originally known as the Charter of Liberties) of 1215, written in iron gall ink on parchment in medieval Latin, using standard abbreviations of the period, authenticated with the Great Seal of King John. / British Library, Wikimedia Commons From the early colony of Pennsylvania, to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill[…]
Many common remedies, as well as the more exotic experimental drugs, were taken throughout the 19th century, with more people than ever using them. What was the social and cultural context of this development? By Louise Crane / 04.28.2011 Picture Researcher Wellcome Collection There is something rich and romantic about the Victorians and their drugs.[…]
Print depicting enslaved people producing sugar in Antigua, 1823 / British Library, Public Domain After the Caribbean was first colonised by Spain in the 15th century, a system of sugar planting and enslavement evolved. David Lambert explores how this system changed the region, and how enslaved people continued to resist colonial rule. By Dr. David[…]
The contributions and influence of South Asian artists, poets, intellectuals and sportspeople within British arts, sciences, law, and sport during the colonial period in the 19th and 20th centuries. By (left-to-right) Dr. Susheila Nasta, Dr. Florian Stadtler, and Dr. Rozina Visram Nasta: Chair in Modern Literature, The Open University Stadtler: Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literatures, University of Exeter Visram: Author and[…]
On August 1, 1714, Queen Anne died, and the orderly succession of Hanover’s Elector Georg Ludwig proclaimed him King George I of Britain and Ireland as the closest Protestant relative of Anne. By Dr. Sanderson Beck Author and Historian Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. Attributed to Alexis Simon Belle, c.1712. / National Portrait Gallery, London, Wikimedia Commons In[…]
In the event of a nuclear attack on the UK, would the NHS cope or would it collapse? At the height of the Cold War, answering this question became increasingly urgent for the UK government and the medical community. By Taras Young / 11.01.2018 n 1958, an official government booklet, ‘The Hydrogen Bomb’, admitted that[…]
A combination of poverty and “plague orders” in 1665 trapped many in situations that meant almost certain infection and death. Weaver John New, like many confined with dying relatives, was denied the escape routes open to the rich. By Anna Faherty / 06.22.2017 Associate Lecturer University of the Arts London The City of London, 1665. As the[…]
Frontispiece, most likely by Robert Cruikshank, to The Life and Prophecies of Mother Shipton (1823) / Internet Archive Said to be spawn of the devil himself and possessed with great powers of prophetic insight, Mother Shipton was Yorkshire’s answer to Nostradamus. Ed Simon looks into how, regardless of whether this prophetess witch actually existed or not, the[…]
From the largest volunteer army to the secret agent Noor Inayat Khan, examining the contributions made by South Asians in World War One and Two. By (left-to-right) Dr. Susheila Nasta, Dr. Florian Stadtler, and Dr. Rozina Visram Nasta: Chair in Modern Literature, The Open University Stadtler: Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literatures, University of Exeter Visram: Author and Historian Introduction Asian[…]
Map of the Peterloo Massacre depicting the location and movements of protestors and soldiers at St Peter’s Fields, 1820. / British Library, Public Domain In August 1819 dozens of peaceful protestors were killed and hundreds injured at what became known as the Peterloo Massacre. Ruth Mather examines the origins, response and aftermath of this key[…]
At the dawn of the 17th century, early newspapers began to replace oral news. 10.28.2012 Theory behind the Emergence of the Newspaper At the dawn of the 17th century, early newspapers began to replace oral news by manufacturing natural events to fit a single page. Bolter (2001) would refer to this shift in communication as[…]
A section of the Antonine Wall at Rough Castle near Falkirk / Photo by Kim Traynor, Wikimedia Commons The Antonine Wall is an ancient and historical monument originating as imperial Rome’s one-‐‑time northwest frontier in modern Scotland. By Dr. Darrell Jesse Rohl Assistant Professor of History and Archaeology Calvin College Introduction The Antonine Wall is first,[…]
Chesters Roman Fort – View of the Barrack Blocks Securing the borders of the Roman Empire had become more important than expansion. By Heather Wake Location [LEFT]: Chesters Roman Fort – Commanders House [RIGHT]: Chesters Roman Fort – Remains of the HQ Building Hadrian’s Wall stretched across the North of England from one coast to the[…]
In the second half of the fourteenth century, petitioners hoping to secure royal grace began addressing the king in an increasingly obsequious and ostentatious manner. By Dr. Gwilym Dodd Associate Professor of History University of Notthingham Abstract In the second half of the fourteenth century, petitioners hoping to secure royal grace began addressing the king[…]
St George’s Day procession, with King James under a canopy attended by Knights of the Garter, chaplains, choirboys and others (ff. 43v–44r), Paintings of London in the friendship album of Michael van Meer, c. 1614-1615 / University of Edinburgh, Creative Commons The 17th century was a time of great political and social turmoil in England,[…]
Prince of Orange Landing at Torbay, engraving by William Miller after J M W Turner (Rawlinson 739), published in The Art Journal 1852 / Wikimedia Commons In England, Whigs opposed James II’s efforts to create a centralized Catholic state. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.13.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction During the brief rule of[…]
King George III / Wikimedia Commons The episodic insanity that earned him the nickname “Mad King George” had led to numerous assessments by doctors across England. By Dr. Romeo Vitelli / 10.07.2016 Psychologist and Historian The episodic insanity that earned him the nickname “Mad King George” had led to numerous assessments by doctors across England.[…]
Convictions under the Buggery Act 1533 were punishable by death / British Library, Public Domain Exploring three executions under the Buggery Act during the 1800s, looking at how they were reported in the media of the time. By Steven Dryden Broadcast Recordings Curator British Library The Buggery Act of 1533, passed by Parliament during the[…]
Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 11 June 1690, by Jan van Huchtenburgh / Rijksmuseum, Wikimedia Commons Fatherless, childless, and loveless, his marriage was dictated by reasons of State and Protestant rule was his only pursuit. By Winston S. Churchill FROM HIS EARLIEST YEARS THE EXTRAORDINARY PRINCE WHO IN THE general[…]
[LEFT]: ‘Police Work in the East End’ from The Graphic: This image of ‘police work in the East End’ from The Graphic (28 December 1895) depicts the unpopularity of the police who were viewed at times as a civilian army. / British Library, Public Domain [RIGHT]: Broadside on ‘The Dreadful Life and Confession of[…]
A 1297 copy of the Magna Carta on display in the Members’ Hall of Parliament House, Canberra, Australia / Wikimedia Commons One of the four surviving 1215 Magna Carta manuscripts was burnt in the Ashburnham House fire of 1731. Then a failed restoration attempt in the 1830s rendered much of its text illegible. In the charter’s 800th anniversary[…]
The Magna Carta (originally known as the Charter of Liberties) of 1215, written in iron gall ink on parchment in medieval Latin, using standard abbreviations of the period, authenticated with the Great Seal of King John / Wikimedia Commons Who were the key personalities in the history of Magna Carta? Find out more about King John, the barons,[…]
The Celtic tribes were each ruled by their own kings, queens, or chiefs, and were famed for their warrior class, culture, and ornate art, craft and jewelry. By Jim Dale / 01.31.2017 Programme Officer UK Chevening Before about BCE 6,500, Great Britain was still attached by land to mainland Europe. Any notion of England, Scotland,[…]
Edinburgh Castle / Photo by Becks, Wikimedia Commons The escheator was the local official responsible for upholding the king’s rights as feudal lord. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 07.26.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief The escheator was the local official responsible for ‘escheats’, that is broadly speaking for upholding the king’s rights as feudal lord, and[…]
The Fashionable Science of Parlour Magic / British Library, Public Domain Challenging the idea of the 19th century as one of secularisation, exploring the popularity of mesmerism, spiritualism and ‘true’ ghost stories in the period. By Dr. Roger Luckhurst / 05.15.2014 Professor of Modern Literature Birkbeck College University of London The 19th century is routinely thought[…]
Allstedt Castle catching the early morning sun / Photo by Andreas Vogel, Wikimedia Commons The rules of common law inheritance, or primogeniture, were largely settled by the end of the thirteenth century. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 07.26.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Inquisition Post Mortems (IPMs) are documents concerned with the inheritance of land. That inheritance[…]
Professor David Carpenter and Professor Nicholas Vincent discuss the reign of King John, the grievances of the barons and the circumstances in which Magna Carta was created in 1215. Exploring the medieval context in which the historic agreement at Runnymede was created, examining King John’s Plantagenet heritage, his loss of French territory and his relationship[…]