The people of Cuba possess a revolutionary spirit, one of passion, selflessness, tenacity, and long-suffering, unlike that of many other nations. As of 2021, it has been 10 years since Fidel Castro resigned as the leader of Cuba. If anything, Castro’s legacy is contentious because the history of Castro is ultimately the story of a […]
When Pêro Vaz de Caminha arrived in Brazil on the 22nd of April 1500 aboard Pedro Alvares Cabral’s voyage of ‘discovery’, he was awestruck. The letter he wrote to the Portuguese King Manuel I is in stark contrast to those written by other explorers of the period. Caminha admired the innocence of the natives who […]
Your family has a well-document interest and passion for history and politics, was conversation around the dinner table dominated by these topics when you were growing up? The conversation at the table was very historical, very political. My mum’s a journalist, my aunt is Margaret McMillan who’s the head of St. Anthony’s College, she’s a […]
When contemplating what alcoholic beverages are truly British, nothing springs to mind quicker than a refreshing gin and tonic. Whilst this drink has strong historical roots in the British Empire, gin has not always been Britain’s favoured tipple. Though consumed widely today throughout the UK and having associations with all things British, gin’s roots do […]
The term ‘Little Ice Age’ was coined in 1939 and focused on environmental impact in the North Atlantic. It refers to a period of widespread glacial expansion and cooling from 1300-1850. While today’s environmental reality acknowledges climate change as global, most assessments of the Little Ice Age follow Western narratives. As European climates became colder […]
You would not expect to find those two words in the same sentence right? However, evidence has shown that the Fuhrer of the Third Reich shared the same (apparent) vision as the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden; a vision of a blazing New York City. According to officers in the Nazi party, Hitler had expressed […]
The myths and legends of Ancient Greeks and Romans are more than mere stories of supernatural events. They reflect the collective consciousness of societies deeply connected with their natural environment. The Greeks and Romans viewed the gods and divinities which populated their myths as anthropomorphised representations of natural forces, and throughout ancient literature they had […]
It’s 1758, the Duke of Bridgewater is having drainage problems with his coal mines in Worsley. The duke remains disgruntled by the inefficiency of turnpike roads, packhorse routes and the Mersey Irwell navigation to get his coal into Manchester. His response is to take inspiration from the Canal du Midi and Sankey Canal, carving an […]
First wave feminism, which was and is viewed as pivotal in the fight for women’s rights by giving around 8.4 million women the vote, only claimed the vote for two in every five women in the UK; similarly in the US, the Nineteenth Amendment of 1920 brought the vote for only white women. First wave […]
On 16 October, 1953, Fidel Castro gave an impassioned speech while on trial for his role in the Moncada Barracks attack. The speech was entitled, ‘History will absolve me.’ Having studied law at Havana University, Castro represented himself at the trial, and being a skilled propagandist, used this platform to spread his message of revolution against […]
Let’s take a step back into the sixteenth century, into a world where religious tensions between Catholic and Protestant nations are at the forefront of European life. The relationship between Elizabeth I and Philip II of Spain was cordial for the early years of their respective reigns, but by the late 1570s that cordiality began […]
In Episode 2, we spoke to Mollie Ramos, head of the Online Team about her article on ‘The Life of Rachel Carson’, featuring in Issue 32: Religion, Culture and Environment. Described as the “essence of gentle scholarship”, Rachel Carson’s most notable contribution ‘Silent Spring’ revolutionised the role of environmental protection and conservation, and as we […]
The transatlantic slave trade, also known as the Euro-American slave trade, was the process by which slave traders transported enslaved Africans to the Americas, mostly through the Caribbean. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, there was a regular slave trade that used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, which lasted until the end […]
The war in East-Africa was a war on far away soil. The large distance to Europe made communications hard so there was no clear direction or aim. Colonial rulers largely had to improvise their actions of war. Local troops could not expect any reinforcements from the motherland, as the European fronts claimed most of the […]