All Posts

1819. Work. Maggie Jones was expecting the rabble outside. It was usual. But the commotion coming from the kitchen? Now that was intriguing. The maid had only ever known Manchester. Within her lifetime, the place had expanded beyond her knowledge of it, but the space she would forever see as home was relatively small. The two-bedroom flat near the railway; her mother and three younger brothers; the smell of the engines. That was home. Since Maggie was twelve, she had worked i

As many of you probably already know, the FIFA World Cup took place over the summer, with Spain lifting the trophy. And many of you who do pub quizzes probably know that the first one was held in 1930 in Uruguay with Uruguay winning. But for this article, I wanted to move away from these basic facts of the sport and look more into why a country would want to host this major event. It has historically cost countries billions to host the World Cup for little gains. Robert A. Ba

By the late twentieth century, the prospect of imperial domination and conquest within Africa, for European expansionist powers, were seemingly limitless. Surrounded by the atmosphere of ‘New Imperialism’,which stimulated a new, heightened imperialist period, the ‘civilised’ powers increasingly looked towards Africa for its lucrative natural resources. These same powers regarded the ‘dark continent’ as a location in dire need of aid from the ‘Enlightened’ Christian world. Jus

The sixteenth century saw France embroiled in a series of civil wars between the Catholics and the Huguenots (French Protestants) who resisted the persecution of the Catholic establishment. Henri II of France died in 1559, and soon after a regency was formed by the militantly Catholic Guise family. The same year, the zealous Protestant Jean Calvin published his Institutes of the Christian Religion. As the counter-reformation emerged, the Guise family intensified their persecu

Fashion, both historically and in the present, has symbolised much more than its practical function of clothing. Its visibility has enabled it to represent social, political and religious sentiments, acting as a form of personal autonomy and expression. However, the freedom to utilise fashion as a form of identity expression has not always existed, with early modern legislation across Britain and Europe regulating clothing, defining who could wear what in an attempt to preser

'I think I would be a very different person now if orange juice and milk and dinners at school hadn't told me, in a covert way, that I had a right to exist, was worth something' (Carolyn Steedman, Landscape for a Good Woman, 1986) TheEuropean Convention on Human Rights (EHRC), which became legally binding in 1953, outlines the continent-wide regulation for equality. Important articles, in the context of women, include those onequal partnership, protection for pregnant workers

Of all the civil conflicts to mark and shape Britain’s history, the period known as the Anarchy is perhaps the most overlooked. Officially beginning in 1135 with the death of King Henry I, second son of William the Conqueror, the Anarchy is often regarded as England’s first true civil war. It concerns the crisis of succession and usurpation that occurred between Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois. But to understand this conflict, we must first explore who these people were,

In the wake of yet another deadly outbreak of Ebola virus throughout Central Africa, with roughly 2,500 cases and 1,000 confirmed deaths, the systematic failures of much modern African infrastructure are clear. Since 1976, when the virus was first discovered, there have been approximately twenty-five outbreaks of Ebola, with fatality rates ranging from 25%, to as high as 90%, however, Western Africa’s 2014 to 2016 outbreak took more lives than all its other epidemics combined

The 1601 Poor Laws are often viewed as the beginning of organised welfare in England; however, their significance extended beyond the provision of poor relief. By institutionalising charity, while expanding systems of local oversight, thislegislation reveals how welfare became increasingly intertwined with the governance of poverty. Although the Poor Laws introduced greater responsibility for supporting those in need, they also reinforced existing assumptions surrounding work

Introduction Sat in the heart of the capital city of Lithuania (Vilnius) lays the Republic of Užupis; a district of the city that claimed independence from Lithuania on April Fools’ Day of 1998, although it has never been formally recognised as a separate nation. However, the small but momentous republic does come complete with its own border control, constitution, flag and governmental ambassadors, and plays an intriguing role in the history and culture of post-soviet Lithua

'They made many promises, but kept only one. They promised to take our land, and they took it.' – attributed to Red Cloud, leader of the Oglala Lakota. It is arguably common knowledge that English explorers colonised the 'New World', stealing the land from the Native Americans and marking it as their own. This is an accepted injustice for many people. It shouldn't have happened, but it did and there's nothing we can do about it now. Understandably, the Native communities, sti

The term ‘bubble’ is not a newfound modern concept, nor a term that has been left in the past. Present within economic history for some 400 years, such bubble events have become an entrenched aspect of free market economic systems, brought by speculation and optimism. As modern humanity strives for innovation, (and higher profits), it is often found that a rapid expansion of an up-and-coming industry will bring an overconcentration of efforts into that sector, as seen in the

In the fifth century, Solon – an Athenian archon (or statesman) – introduced a number of measures in response to rising instability which would revolutionise political structure forever by shifting authority into the hands of citizens and out of those of the elite in the existing oligarchic structures. These democratic structures were strengthened into the second century, before the rule of Roman autocracy after the fall of Corinth in 146 BC. This democracy, however, remained

Introduction Despite his tenuous link to royal blood, Henry Tudor claimed the throne of England by right of conquest after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. However, the country that he inherited had been ravaged by the Wars of the Roses, with the crown changing hands seven times in just thirty years. Given the state of England, and the kings that preceded him for that matter, it was necessary for Henry VII to consolidate his power and control of gover

Morning. The 7th of July 2005, an ordinary Thursday by all accounts. As per usual, I was running late for work. This time quite literally. My train was late into Luton and then again coming into King’s Cross. By the time the train finally pulled in, people were practically leaping out of their seats. Passengers racing and jostling, all elbows and shoulders. Moving toward their next destination like cattle. I was heading for South Kensington, the V & A. Back then I was doin

‘... the remarkable safety of ‘Distaval’ – the new non-barbituric sedative and hypnotic’ (Thalidomide: correspondence regarding the drug Distaval, 1960) Thalidomide was first developed in 1953 by CIBA, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, before being introduced to the market in the late 1950s by the German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal. Promoted as a safe and effective sedative capable of ‘warding off stress of physical or emotional origin,’ the drug quickly gaine

In exploring resistance and revolution, it's important to reflect on how resistance has evolved alongside the systems that seek to extinguish it. American history shows that state efforts to prevent dissent rarely succeed completely; governments keep adjusting how they manage unrest while protest movements constantly change their tactics. From the country's founding to today's technological age, the United States shows an ongoing back-and-forth where the state seeks stability

Ironically, the study of revolution remains dominated by privileged academics that have historically overlooked many of its most important contributors. Although the turn of the 21st century would have us believe that the struggle for female agency is complete, women continue to be marginalised in narratives of resistance. Women are characterised as passive victims of political upheaval, despite their central role in shaping liberation, not only for themselves but for their w

When Captain James Cook first landed in New Zealand in 1769, he marked the beginning of centuries of colonialist exploitation of the indigenous Māori population. Fascinated by a people they believed uncivilised and less than human, generations of Māori tradition and practice were appropriated and capitalised upon in the search for a trophy to commemorate this landmark British ‘discovery’. One custom that prompted significant curiosity was a practice named toi moko, which d

At the time of writing (6 March), Iran is undergoing significant bombing raids by the United States and Israel, with President Trump calling on Iranians to “take over your government. It will be yours to take.” It is a remarkable irony that Washington has called for Iranians to seize their own destiny, an identical call made in 1979 which initiated the Islamic Revolution in Iran. To understand the trajectory which Iranian politics may take in the long term, it is crucial to u