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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

Many contemporaries and historians have argued that the revolution was, in part, a direct response to the policies of Klemens von Metternich, whose system of governance epitomised conservative repression. Metternich’s extensive use of censorship and a sophisticated network of surveillance curtailed political expression and stifled reformist ideas across the Austrian state. His determination to preserve absolutism ensured that dissent was not only discouraged but actively supp

Whilst today it may be hard to imagine a Fascist Britain, to the people of 1976, the threat was a very real one. As Britain further retreated into decline, the National Front offered the easy solutions for the nations’ recovery, and as such it seemed that Britain was on the brink of embracing fascist politics. By 1976, the NF was at the height of its popularity: having appropriated the populist racism of Enoch Powell, the Ugandan Asians crisis of 1972 provided the party wi

The study of enslaved resistance has often focused on acts of armed rebellion as evidence of enslaved agency and violent opposition to slavery. However, resistance against colonial authority was not always collective or dramatic. For the majority of enslaved people in America and the Caribbean, it took the form of acts of everyday resistance, which undermined slavery from within. Labour Resistance As enslaved populations were relied upon for their labour to produce cash cro

The Cambridge dictionary defines the word ‘revolution’ in a political context as "a change in the way a country is governed, usually to a different political system and often using violence." By this definition, the Reformation fundamentally does not qualify as a revolution. Nonetheless, the second definition frames it in a cultural context: "a very important change in the way people do things." Discussions of the Reformation's revolutionary nature become more complex. So why

The printing press should be considered a revolution. The invention marked the departure from the rigid Middle Ages that centred around the Catholic Church, to an ever-expanding, modernising world that began to prioritise the importance of literature and knowledge. The printing press began to spark ideas of revolution, most notably fuelling the Protestant Reformation, where Martin Luther’s 95 Theses directly challenged papal authority and the use of indulgences by the Church

Scotland renounced Catholicism in 1560, dismantling church hierarchies and replacing royal appointment of bishops with elected ones. The Kirk modelled a Presbyterian society on John Knox’s experience of Calvin's Geneva. With James VI becoming king of England in 1603, he aimed to unify the churches, but Charles I pushed further than his father had with reforming the Scottish church. In 1636 Charles, with encouragement from Bishop Laud, imposed the Book of Common Prayer on Scot

In 1649, England was in the midst of the greatest political upheaval in its history. The King was dead, the monarchy had fallen, and all the old certainties lay in ruins. As the nascent Commonwealth tried to assert its authority, radical movements with new ways of imagining England’s future began to emerge upon the fringes of the Revolution. The most radical of these were the Diggers who, led by Gerrard Winstanley, proposed fundamental economic change. Two hundred years befor