tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/british-history-8636/articles
British history – The Conversation
2024-03-27T13:27:05Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226044
2024-03-27T13:27:05Z
2024-03-27T13:27:05Z
Britain’s forgotten prison island: remembering the thousands of convicts who died working in Bermuda’s dockyards
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584033/original/file-20240325-25-ejtemv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C10%2C1016%2C466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An 1862 photo of a prison hulk docked in Ireland Island, Bermuda.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_America_%26_West_Indies_Station%27s_Grassy_Bay_anchorage_from_HMD_Bermuda_1865.jpg">Royal Navy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We think of Bermuda as a tiny paradise in the North Atlantic. But long before cruise ships moored up, prison ships carried hundreds of convicts to the island, first docking in 1824 and remaining there for decades. </p>
<p>Islands have long been places to deport, exile and banish criminals. Think of Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary in San Francisco, or Robben Island in South Africa, which held Nelson Mandela. The French penal colony Devil’s Island was immortalised in the Steve McQueen film Papillon, while Saint Helena in the Atlantic is still remembered for Napoleon’s exile. </p>
<p>You may be familiar with the story of British convict transportation to Australia between 1788 and 1868, but the use of Bermuda as a prison destination is less well known. For 40 years, British prisoners worked backbreaking days labouring in Bermuda’s dockyards and died in their thousands.</p>
<p>I research the lives of prisoners across the British Empire, and have a particular interest in notorious floating prisons known as hulks. I was surprised to discover that in addition to locations across the Thames Estuary, Portsmouth and Plymouth, the British government used these ships as emergency detention centres in colonial outposts across the 19th century, detaining convicts in Bermuda between 1824 and 1863 and Gibraltar between 1842 and 1875.</p>
<p>England has a long history of banishing its criminal population. In the 18th century, criminals were typically sentenced to seven years overseas in America. Many worked as plantation labourers in Maryland and Virginia, but the start of the American Revolution brought this practice to a halt. </p>
<p>Britain believed that the war with America would end quickly and in its favour, but as the war continued, prisons filled with people who had nowhere to go. There was no emphasis on reforming prisoners and releasing them back into society. </p>
<p>Britain found itself with a prison housing crisis, and turned to hulks to cope with rising numbers. Each could hold between 300 and 500 men, and they were nicknamed “floating hells” for their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780038.2021.1893917">unsanitary and dangerous conditions</a>.</p>
<p>Officials proposed several locations to send convicts, and ultimately settled on Australia. But the government felt that convict labour could be put to use in other colonies, and so began an experiment in 1824 to send men to Bermuda.</p>
<h2>Convict workers</h2>
<p>Bermuda had been colonised by British settlers since the 17th century, and was governed by various trading companies until 1684 when the Crown took over. Though only 20 miles long, the island was already extremely important to naval strategy. It was used as a refuelling station for British ships travelling to colonial outposts such as Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Caribbean. </p>
<p>But the naval dockyard needed modernisation, and rather than employ local workers, convicts – a cheap and easily mobilised workforce – filled the labour gap.</p>
<p>Bermuda didn’t have a large prison, so men lived on board the ships they had sailed on (seven in total). Local traders, shipbuilders and whalers objected, complaining in newspapers that the government was sending a “swarm of felons” to the island. The government offered a compromise: no convicts would remain on the island at the end of their sentences. Instead, they had to return home, or travel on to Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of convicts with two guards, the convicts are wearing white uniforms that say Medway, and flat, straw hats, very unlike the prisoners of today." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583505/original/file-20240321-24-fejj4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sketches from 1860 show British convicts at work in Bermuda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/Yezd7RM9/xeLdbzDz4KJ7e">Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Work on the island wasn’t without risk. Many were injured in the dockyards, others went blind from the reflected glare of the sun as they quarried white limestone. </p>
<p>Convicts were at the mercy of hurricanes which battered the ships and caused injuries. They were burnt by scorching temperatures and suffered sunstroke, and the island’s humidity caused respiratory problems and spread deadly fevers on board. </p>
<p>Rising tensions over work, religion and alcohol consumption led to fights between prisoners, their overseers and the militias that guarded them. Some attempted escapes by stealing boats and trying to board ships bound for America.</p>
<p>Bermuda also received people convicted in other British colonies, including Canada and the Caribbean. During the years of the great famine in Ireland (1845 to 1852), thousands of Irish convicts arrived on the island, many suffering from malnourishment. This diversity was striking when compared to prisons in England.</p>
<p>The experiment ended after 40 years, in 1863, when dockyard repairs were completed. The remaining hulks were scuttled or broken up for scrap, and convicts were transported to Australia and Tasmania, or home to England with their meagre pay in their pockets.</p>
<h2>Prison islands today</h2>
<p>Prison islands are naturally isolated and cut off from land – escape is virtually impossible. Then and now, they enable states to lay claim to land, facilitate trade and secure commercial ambitions. Islands have many strategic advantages and are frequently used as military bases. Now, many former prison islands are Unesco world heritage sites, and tourist destinations.</p>
<p>Bermuda’s history as a prison island has been largely forgotten, but this story shares parallels with today. Prisons are suffering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/11/prisoners-could-be-let-out-60-days-early-to-relieve-crowded-jails-in-england-and-wales">from overcrowding</a>, and governments still detain prisoners and others on islands and modified ships. </p>
<p>In Dorset, the Bibby Stockholm ship is housing asylum seekers, while the island of Diego Garcia, used as a UK-US military base is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68326365">detaining Tamil refugees</a> in the Indian Ocean. </p>
<p>The convicts who lived, worked and died in Bermuda are part of a larger global story of coercion and empire. The product of their labour was imperial strength, but for those sent thousands of miles from home and buried in unmarked graves, the brutalities of their experience should also be remembered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna McKay currently receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust, and has previously received funding from the Irish Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>
Convicts worked in the dockyards in Bermuda for 40 years.
Anna McKay, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow in History, University of Liverpool
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/221275
2024-03-25T13:05:18Z
2024-03-25T13:05:18Z
How Henry VIII’s grandmother used a palace in Northamptonshire to build the mighty Tudor dynasty
<p>Today, you would be hard-pressed to find any visible evidence that <a href="https://www.royalpalaces.com/palaces/collyweston-house/">Collyweston village in Northamptonshire</a> was once <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Elite_Female_Constructions_of_Power_and.html?id=w7_CvQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">home to a palace</a> presided over by Henry VIII’s grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. As a royal power base, the palace was an epicentre of Tudor power and propaganda in the 16th century and was a key stopping point for royal visits. This included two royal tours in 1503 and 1541, which were crucial to the making (and remaking) of the Tudor dynasty. </p>
<p>Margaret Beaufort acquired Collyweston manor after her son Henry VII ascended to the English throne following the battle of Bosworth in 1485. There, she set upon expanding the manor house into a palace befitting her status as king’s mother. </p>
<p>Beaufort’s presence at Collyweston formed part of a strategic plan, devised by mother and son, to exert royal influence both locally and nationally. Collyweston was in the heart of the country at a time when most of the royal palaces were clustered in and around London and the neighbouring county of Lincolnshire was the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/urban-history/article/vowesses-the-anchoresses-and-the-aldermens-wives-lady-margaret-beaufort-and-the-devout-society-of-late-medieval-stamford/7046EE13EA0E125BE58676150CAF34F3">epicentre of Beaufort’s influence</a>.</p>
<p>In the early years of the Tudor dynasty, Beaufort’s presence in the area was particularly important as Henry VII had spent much of his youth in exile in Brittany. His mother’s longstanding connections to the local area therefore helped proclaim his legitimacy. </p>
<p>The site was also close to the Great North Road (now partly occupied by the A1), making it an ideal stopping point for royal parties travelling between London and the north.</p>
<h2>Beaufort gets building</h2>
<p>While nothing remains above ground and no drawings of the palace survive, Beaufort’s <a href="https://thetudortravelguide.com/margaret-beaufort-and-the-palace-of-collyweston/">extensive works to the palace</a> over several years, are preserved in numerous volumes of <a href="https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/lady-margaret-beaufort-domina-fundatrix">household and building accounts</a>. </p>
<p>By the early 16th century, the palace was framed around three courtyards and boasted a chapel, great hall, rooms for Margaret and her household, a <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/jewel-tower/history/#:%7E:text=The%20Jewel%20Tower%20is%20a,much%20of%20the%20historic%20palace.">jewel tower</a> and library. Perched on the crest of a hill, the palace offered spectacular views over the Welland valley. The land falling westwards from the residence included a <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/gardens-landscapes/what-is-a-deer-park">deer park</a> of approximately 108 acres, along with ponds, gardens, orchards, summer houses and walkways.</p>
<p>Between 1502 and 1503, Beaufort commissioned significant building works, including repainting the chapel, new walkways through the grounds and a new accommodation block overlooking the deer park. This flurry of work anticipated the arrival of the first of two <a href="https://henryontour.uk/">Tudor tours</a>, known as progresses, which were to stop at Collyweston.</p>
<p>Progresses played a vital role in presenting the king (and his wider family) to his people, publicly displaying him as the people’s sovereign. They gave the king and his retinue an opportunity to hunt, engage with the localities and hear the grievances of the local elites and their people. </p>
<p>The 1503 progress notably celebrated the marriage of Beaufort’s granddaughter (Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret Tudor) to James IV of Scotland. For the fledgling Tudor dynasty, the event was a triumph, creating a political alliance in the form of a peace treaty between England and Scotland. </p>
<p>Beaufort recorded the event in a <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2011/08/the-beaufort-beauchamp-hours.html">prayer book</a> gifted to her by her mother, Margaret Beauchamp, along with other key dates relating to the dynasty’s successes. The wedding party stayed at Collyweston for two weeks, where they enjoyed feasting, hunting, entertainment and services in Beaufort’s repainted chapel.</p>
<h2>Fit for a king</h2>
<p>In 1541, approximately 32 years after his grandmother’s death, Henry VIII returned to Collyweston with his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, during their progress to York. </p>
<p>To travel as far as York was unusual. But Henry intended to secure the region after the Pilgrimage of Grace (a popular revolt that began in Yorkshire in October 1536) in much the same way his father had done in 1486, when he had taken a large force north to secure his reign after the wars of the roses. </p>
<p>Catherine also embarked on <a href="https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/catherine-howard-thomas-culpeper/">her ill-fated affair</a> with her husband’s friend, the courtier Thomas Culpeper, during the progress and met with him secretly throughout. </p>
<p>Henry VIII and Catherine stayed at Collyweston palace – the queen in rooms known to Margaret Beaufort and once occupied by Henry’s mother – on August 5, on the journey from London to York, and from October 15 to 17 on their return. They had departed from Westminster with their summer court of around 400 to 500 people and a group of 4,000 to 5,000 horsemen – a group larger than most Tudor towns. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The Field of the Cloth of Gold by Hans Holbein the Younger (1545)." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570069/original/file-20240118-15-2p9jdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Field of the Cloth of Gold by Hans Holbein the Younger (1545) shows the scale of Henry VIII’s progresses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/405794">Royal Collection</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The company was heavily armed, including at least 1,000 soldiers. The king and queen travelled in style, accompanied by an estimated 400 courtiers, officials, musicians and servants.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/22/henry-viii-tent-field-of-cloth-of-gold-reconstruction">Elaborate tents</a> and <a href="https://henryontour.uk/blog/sovereign-2023-royal-progress-1541">the richest tapestries, plates and clothes</a> were brought from London to furnish the royal court on the move. Collyweston would once again have been a hub of activity during the progress, albeit with a different purpose and tone from 1503.</p>
<p>The sleepy appearance of Collyweston village today belies its significance as a stage on which key events relating to the Tudor dynasty were played out. While the site has fallen into relative obscurity, for the Tudors, it was very much on the map as a place of security in the face of uncertainty.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Delman has been researching Collyweston Palace for over a decade. Her doctoral research on the site was funded by a full Arts and Humanities Research Council award at the University of Oxford and she continues to investigate the significance of the palace as a site of female power in early Tudor England. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keely Hayes-Davies receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council for "Henry on Tour", a research project exploring the progresses of Henry VIII. The project is jointly led by the University of York and Historic Royal Palaces in partnership with Newcastle University (henryontour.uk).</span></em></p>
Beaufort’s presence at Collyweston formed part of a strategic plan, devised by mother and son, to exert royal influence both locally and nationally.
Rachel Delman, Heritage Partnerships Coordinator, University of Oxford
Keely Hayes-Davies, PhD Candidate, Early Modern History, University of York
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226261
2024-03-21T13:23:08Z
2024-03-21T13:23:08Z
How seriously should we take a plot to replace Rishi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt? The answer lies in the Tories’ own recent history
<p>During John Redwood’s 1995 challenge to John Major’s leadership of the Conservative party, his campaign team came up with the slogan, “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/leadership/lead95.shtml">No change, no chance</a>”. It was sure to appeal to Tory MPs rightly fearing for their seats. </p>
<p>But, since a recent opinion poll had given Labour a lead of almost 40 points – and the only available instrument of change was Redwood, rather than someone electable – a more honest pitch would have been: “No chance either way, but let’s at least lose with a right-wing leader.”</p>
<p>Slogans can be used more than once, and if speculation about an <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/penny-mordaunt-replace-sunak-tory-leadership-b2513677.html">initiative</a> to replace Rishi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt is well founded, “team Penny” could be confident that they would be reviving Redwood’s refrain on behalf of a more plausible contestant. Whatever her political abilities, Mordaunt (unlike Redwood) seems to be personable, presentable – and pretty nifty with an oversized ceremonial sword.</p>
<p>Why, as an apparently balanced individual, would Mordaunt want this job? First, having served as prime minister for a few weeks is still a positive embellishment to the average CV. </p>
<p>Even being Conservative leader in opposition is probably helpful in the eyes of prospective employers. That would be enough to justify a temporary sacrifice of sanity before Mordaunt takes the plunge back into <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/penny-mourdant-splash-appearance-resurfaces-diving_uk_62d02ebce4b0eef119c33a75">reality television</a>.</p>
<p>The no change, no chance argument also makes sense for Mordaunt personally, since she is scheduled to <a href="https://theconversation.com/annihilation-in-the-red-wall-an-exit-for-a-top-leadership-contender-and-a-parliamentary-party-stuffed-with-southerners-and-oxbridgers-how-losing-the-next-election-could-shape-the-conservatives-206652">lose her seat</a> at the next election. Having to leave her current cabinet position of leader of the House of Commons would not cause her excessive grief.</p>
<p>Given the havoc which can be expected after the next general election, and the roster of far-right aspirants who have been limbering up to succeed Sunak, for Mordaunt it is almost certainly now or never. </p>
<h2>Would a change give them a chance?</h2>
<p>But would yet another change of leader help the Conservatives? In one respect, it almost certainly would. Sunak’s tenure was doomed not least because right-wing MPs were always determined to deny him the chance to establish governing authority.</p>
<p>If Mordaunt became leader at the invitation of the party’s ultra-nationalists, she would have a much better chance of creating an illusion of party unity. They’d all have to just keep quiet about the fact that she is essentially the same person the parliamentary party rejected two years ago, when MPs decided she was <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/20/tory-leadership-vote-truss-mordaunt-sunak-boris-johnson-pmqs/">less enticing</a> than Liz Truss. </p>
<p>Mordaunt’s family background, meanwhile, is sufficiently interesting to attract sympathetic media intrusion, without featuring any multi-billionaires. An additional advantage is that few people know what she stands for, and probably never will. </p>
<p>A Google of the would-be saviour’s name readily yields “Penny Mordaunt coronation” to commemorate her best-known service to king and country. Unfortunately, Mordaunt’s own coronation is a highly improbable scenario. </p>
<p>The Tories would first have to prise out the incumbent, which is likely to be a messy business since there is little sign of Sunak doing a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/20/leo-varadkar-step-downs-as-irish-prime-minister-in-shock-move">Leo Varadkar</a> and resigning.</p>
<p>Equally, even if Mordaunt proves to be a passable poster-person, she will have to choose a ministerial team. With heavy debts to pay on her right flank, the ensuing line-up could be unedifying. </p>
<p>Lord Johnson to displace Cameron from his Foreign Office haunt? <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/boost-liz-truss-penny-mordaunt-tory-leadership/">Truss at the Treasury</a>? Such prospects might inspire a dramatic switch in the UK’s net migration figures, but at an unacceptable cost.</p>
<h2>The heart of the problem</h2>
<p>Although the current speculation is not entirely far-fetched, the bottom line is that if the Conservatives go for Penny, they are still in for a pounding. After the next election, almost anything is possible from a party which is an unwitting gift to public entertainment, and can’t stop itself giving. By the end of the next parliament, the Tory leader could equally be Nigel Farage or someone who is currently at prep school.</p>
<p>When historians look back on the farcical unravelling of a once-great party, they will alight on 1997 as the time when it all started going wrong. <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01366/">One person, one vote</a> in leadership elections is a worthy idea in theory, but should never have been extended to a frivolous body of people like Conservative party members.</p>
<p>Even more alarming than the number of leadership contests is the post-1997 tendency of all Conservative MPs, however unqualified, to consider standing for a job which became impossible in 2016, if not before. Michael Howard – rejected in 1997 and acclaimed six years later – tried in vain to get rid of a system which had allowed the party faithful to elevate Iain Duncan Smith.</p>
<p>For the Tories, there is now no navigable route back to common sense. Even if the final choice of leader is once again entrusted to MPs, they will (as in the fateful instance of Boris Johnson) feel constrained to select the person who is most appealing to the grassroots.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Sunak, he cannot pass a vote of no confidence in his party and install a new one. Despite the speculation, as in the case of Major, they are probably stuck with each other until the electorate sends them on their (<a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mps-standing-down-next-election">very</a>) separate ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Garnett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Mordaunt is predicted to lose her seat at the election so it’s now or never for her – but the path to victory is laden with obstacles.
Mark Garnett, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Lancaster University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/225592
2024-03-19T14:07:40Z
2024-03-19T14:07:40Z
How we discovered the wreck of a torpedoed British ship after a 109-year mystery
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581637/original/file-20240313-18-d09lmt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1879%2C720&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The SS Hartdale is lying at a depth of 80 metres, 12 miles off the coast of Northern Ireland.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Roberts/Unpath’d Waters</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A British cargo ship which was torpedoed and sunk during the first world war has finally surrendered its 109-year-old secret. </p>
<p>The SS Hartdale was steaming from Glasgow to Alexandria in Egypt with its cargo of coal when it was targeted by a German U-boat in March 1915. The location of the ship had long been a mystery, but my colleagues and I have, at last, pinpointed its final resting place. </p>
<p>The old adage that we know more about the surface of the Moon and about Mars than we do about Earth’s deep sea may no longer hold entirely true. But the reality is that we still have a great deal more to learn. </p>
<p>Even our seemingly familiar shallow seafloors near the coast are relatively poorly mapped. Many people may think such areas are well explored, but there are still fundamental questions we can’t answer because detailed surveys haven’t been done.</p>
<p>The UK’s surrounding seas hold a vast underwater graveyard. Thousands of shipwrecks, from centuries of trade and conflict, litter the seabed like silent historical markers. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, even though we know where many wrecks lie, their true identities often remain a mystery. But the <a href="https://unpathdwaters.org.uk">Unpath’d Waters</a> project is now linking maritime archives with existing scientific data to help reveal some of these secrets. </p>
<h2>History meets science</h2>
<p>Scientists are using detailed sonar surveys from more than 100 shipwrecks west of the Isle of Man. Combining this underwater data with historical documents from around the world, researchers are piecing together a massive nautical jigsaw puzzle, finally revealing the true stories of these sunken vessels. </p>
<p>The first successful identification to be made as part of this work is that of the SS Hartdale. When the 105 metre long vessel was torpedoed at dawn on March 13 1915 by the <a href="https://uboat.net/wwi/boats/?boat=27">German submarine U-27</a>, two of its crew were lost and its final location remained unknown.</p>
<p>Researchers began by scanning known wrecks in the attack area, narrowing the possibilities down to less than a dozen. Then, they compared wreck details with official records and diver observations, eliminating candidates one by one until the SS Hartdale emerged as the perfect match. The vessel is lying at a depth of 80 metres, 12 miles off the coast of Northern Ireland.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An old longitudinal section drawing of a ship." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582797/original/file-20240319-18-d8akp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The original plans for the SS Hartdale from 1910, originally named Benbrook.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-w864-0026-p">The Lloyd’s Register Foundation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Important details about SS Hartdale are available online via the <a href="https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/benbrook-1910-hartdale/search/everywhere:benbrook/page/1">Lloyds Register Foundation</a>. This includes plans for the construction of the ship, formerly known as Benbrook, built for Joseph Hault & Co. Ltd in 1910. This information, together with eye-witness accounts reported in the national press at the time, have proved to be crucial in confirming the wreck’s identity. </p>
<p>The US historian Michael Lowrey also provided the project team with a translated copy of notes extracted from an official German account and scans of U-27’s official war diary made by its commanding officer, <a href="https://uboat.net/wwi/men/commanders/391.html">Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener</a>. These contained descriptions of the events leading up to the sinking, coordinates for the attack and the exact location on Hartdale where the torpedo struck its hull – a detail strikingly confirmed by the sonar scan data.</p>
<p>Armed with this compelling evidence, the research team reached a definitive conclusion. The only viable candidate for the SS Hartdale was a previously “unknown” 105 metre long wreck. It has been lying just a few hundred metres to the south of where U-27 launched its fatal attack.</p>
<h2>Unrestricted submarine warfare</h2>
<p>Following its attack on Hartdale, the U-27 went on to play a prominent role in how naval warfare developed during the rest of the first world war. This came during a period of escalating tension in 1915. </p>
<p>Following the sinking of the British ocean liners, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lusitania-British-ship">RMS Lusitania</a> in May, and the <a href="https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11110">SS Arabic</a> in August of that year by U-boats, the way the war at sea was being conducted became increasingly heated and controversial. </p>
<p>Shortly after the SS Arabic was sunk by a different U-boat, the U-27 was itself attacked and destroyed by the Royal Navy Q-ship <a href="https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/the-baralong-incident-29-january-1917/">HMS Baralong</a>. Q-ships were heavily armed merchant ships designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. </p>
<p>The surviving German sailors, including U-27’s commanding officer, were then allegedly executed by British sailors in front of American witnesses. It has since become known as the “Baralong incident”.</p>
<p>German outcry over this event combined with other factors contributed to the start of <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-u-boat-campaign-that-almost-broke-britain">“unrestricted submarine warfare”</a> by Germany in February 1917. This meant that warnings were no longer issued to merchant vessels prior to U-boat attacks and loss of life was significantly increased.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Roberts receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council </span></em></p>
The SS Hartdale was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915 and its final resting place had long been unknown.
Michael Roberts, SEACAMS R&D Project Manager, Centre for Applied Marine Sciences, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222298
2024-03-14T13:28:33Z
2024-03-14T13:28:33Z
How the Tudors dealt with food waste
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579929/original/file-20240305-24-2ojthy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1690%2C1295&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Baron Cobham and family around the dinner table, 1567.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Brooke_10th_Baron_Cobham_and_Family_1567.jpg">Master of the Countess of Warwick </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-11/WRAP-Food-Surplus-and-Waste-in-the-UK-Key-Facts-Nov-2023.pdf">ten million tonnes</a> of food is wasted in the UK each year. Leftovers perish in their plastic Tupperware tombs, supermarket bins heave with damaged but perfectly edible produce and fields are littered with spoiled harvests. Preventing good food from ending up in the bin is an important part of the global fight against climate change. </p>
<p>But what about the past? How did our ancestors deal with food waste? Surprisingly, given the pertinence of the issue in modern discourse, very little has been written about the history of food waste. My <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/leftovers-9781803281575/">new book</a>, Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation, addresses the topic across the last half a millennium, from the Tudor kitchen right up until the present day. </p>
<p>Tudor society was intrinsically religious. Henry VIII’s well-known <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Henry-VIII/#:%7E:text=Henry%20took%20matters%20into%20his,was%20forced%20to%20leave%20court.">divorce issues</a> ignited the English Reformation, the tumultuous transformation from Catholicism to Protestantantism, heightening religious fervour and shaping attitudes towards food across the country. </p>
<p>In Tudor eyes, food was the ultimate gift from God that literally sustained life on earth. And in the form of the bread and wine, it was food that Christ had chosen to represent his body and blood at the Last Supper. No wonder that wasting food was seen as sinful and immoral. “The least crum, which can be saved, be not lost,” commanded the puritan writer <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A15695.0001.001?view=toc">Ezekias Woodward</a>, “no, not a crum”. </p>
<p>Familiar to many of us today, clergymen taught their parishioners about the feeding of the 5,000. In the Biblical tale, when Jesus went to mourn the passing of John the Baptist, the large crowd that followed him were miraculously fed on just five loaves and two fish. According to the <a href="https://biblehub.com/john/6-12.htm">Gospel of John</a>, at the end of the meal, Christ told his disciples to “gather the pieces that are left over,” so “nothing be wasted,” and they collected 12 full baskets of leftovers.</p>
<p>In another Biblical parable, the rich man Dives went to hell when he denied the scraps of his feast to the poor man <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016%3A19-31&version=NIV">Lazarus</a>, who instead ascended to heaven. Like Lazarus, the Tudor poor waited at the gates of grand estates to receive the remains of lavish feasts. An almoner (a church official who was responsible for distributing money or food to the poor) collected leftovers but also the first slices of meat to be given in charity. </p>
<h2>Leftovers</h2>
<p>Even those from humbler backgrounds could donate surplus food. Instead of throwing it to the pigs, the whey left over from cheese making, for example, could become a nourishing summer drink for the labourers who toiled in the hot fields. </p>
<p>Charitable housewives who expressed their piety by distributing such leftovers to their poor neighbours would “find profit therefore in a divine place,” according to Gervase Markham in his popular <a href="http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book%201615%20huswife.htm">1615 cookery book</a>. </p>
<p>As well as being distributed to the poor, the leftovers from large Tudor households went to employees rather than going to waste. In Queen Elizabeth I’s <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Collection_of_Ordinances_and_Regulatio/yGxBAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">royal household</a>, workers who cooked meats in the “boiling house” received the “dripping of the roste” and even “the grease… in the kittles (kettles) and pannes” as a benefit for their labour. A waste product to those with plenty, these meat juices could be reimagined to add flavour and nutrition to sauces and gravies. </p>
<p>Still, those at the top of the social scale had access to far more than they could possibly eat. Elizabeth’s table overflowed with elaborate pies, roasted meats, sugar sculptures, imported wines and exotic fruits. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An old painting of a table filled with ornate looking food." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580382/original/file-20240307-20-o5bbbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Still life with turkey pie by Pieter Claesz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Claesz._-_Stilleven_met_kalkoenpastei_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">Rijksmuseum/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Waste and hunger</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, widespread hunger led to rioting across the country in the 1590s after years of devastating harvests. As wealthy landlords closed off their land to common pasture, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Worlds_Within_Worlds/A_odA1alLoYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">flour prices tripled</a> over the span of just a few years. </p>
<p>In the Bible, Ruth gleaned from the field of a wealthy man named Boaz, in accordance with the <a href="https://biblehub.com/leviticus/23-22.htm">Old Testament law</a>: “when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field…thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger”. With this example, the poorest in Tudor England collected the scraps from the harvest to feed themselves and their families. </p>
<p>Squaring these disparate images of plenty and want is not too hard when we consider that in the UK <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food-insecurity-tracking">9.7 million adults</a> experience food insecurity according to data from September 2022. Meanwhile the richest <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7484/">5% take home 37%</a> of the nation’s total disposable income. On a global scale, <a href="https://www.wfp.org/stories/5-facts-about-food-waste-and-hunger">a third of the food</a> we produce goes to waste while <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Waste_Free_Kitchen_Handbook/Y0IACgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">842 million people</a> are afflicted with chronic hunger. </p>
<p>Food waste today is a pressing environmental issue. But this foray into Tudor food waste reminds us that it is also a deeply moral issue that reflects the growing inequalities between the rich and the poor. In telling the so far untold history of food waste, my research reflects on our changing moral values, and our relationship with food, people and planet. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222298/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eleanor Barnett is the author of Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation (Head of Zeus, 2024). She receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Cardiff University. </span></em></p>
During the Tudor period, religious beliefs shaped people’s attitudes towards food and food waste.
Eleanor Barnett, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223254
2024-02-29T13:30:41Z
2024-02-29T13:30:41Z
Why Wales has no national memorial to its independent past
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574673/original/file-20240209-16-eku1yh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7227%2C4836&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/welsh-flag-dragon-symbol-flying-front-2353418585">Thomas Holt/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid the rush to erect historical and national memorials in late 19th century Europe, huge commemorations in honour of figures and events in the past were built. In England, public commemoration went through something of a <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/dlsg-commemorative-structures/heag110-commemorative-structures-lsg/">golden age</a>. A love of anything medieval and the cult of heroism, where great historical figures were revered for their achievements, created the perfect opportunity for a nationalistic commemorative boom.</p>
<p>Parks filled up with statues of the great men of history, and the death of Prince Albert and the jubilee of Queen Victoria kept sculptors busy. Scotland gained the <a href="https://www.nationalwallacemonument.com">National Wallace Memorial</a> in 1869, and a statue of Robert the Bruce ten years later, both commemorating Scotland’s history as an independent nation. In Wales, memorials for churchmen and industrialists sprang up, but the one thing Wales lacked was a national memorial to its history as an independent country.</p>
<p>In the 1890s, there was a sudden wave of interest in commemorating <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Llywelyn-ap-Gruffudd">Llywelyn ap Gruffudd</a> (1223-1282,) the last independent Welsh prince before the conquest of Wales by England’s Edward I. At the start of 1895, a group of the great and good met to organise their new Llywelyn memorial committee. It planned to raise funds and organise the commemoration of the prince. They decided on a public appeal, confident that the growth of <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4332170/4332174/29/%22much%20to%20learn%20from%20continental%20nations%22">nationalism</a> seen across Europe had something to teach Wales.</p>
<p>By spring, enthusiasm was growing. The committee members commissioned Welsh poet Sir Lewis Morris to compose a poem and distributed 5,000 free copies to drum up interest. But just as it looked like plans for commemoration would work out, things started to go wrong. </p>
<p><a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4332170/4332174/29/national%20disgrace%20memorial">The Western Mail</a>, the largest daily newspaper in Wales, attacked the “memorial movement” for achieving little, and claimed that people were already going lukewarm on the idea. It was “nothing short of a national disgrace”, they claimed, and greater efforts needed to be made. </p>
<h2>Ask the public</h2>
<p>The committee decided to organise visits to large groups of potential donors like the quarry-men of Ffestiniog and townspeople of Aberystwyth. “Llywelyn Saturday” was proposed as a special fundraising day to raise awareness of the committee’s aims.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Knight on horse stabs Llywelyn" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574676/original/file-20240209-22-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Illustration of the death of Llywelyn, unknown artist (1905).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Death_of_Llywelyn.jpg">National Library of Wales</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They also asked the public where to build the memorial, and gave them the <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3431006/3431010/62/%22llywelyn%20memorial%22">power to decide</a> how and where their donation should be spent. The idea of asking for thousands of small donations was aimed at giving Welshmen a voice, but it was also considered the best way to raise funds from the masses in a country where those interested in the memorial had very little cash. </p>
<p>After months of confusion, subscribers were asked to choose one of three sites for the memorial with their donation going to their preferred place: where Llywelyn was buried at Abbey Cwmhir, where he was killed outside Builth Wells, or an unspecified place in north Wales because he had been the ruler of Gwynedd.</p>
<p>Giving people a choice was admirable but completely impractical. Aside from the fact that the funds raised would be split across at least three sites, the committee had put no thought into the feasibility of their plans. Where in north Wales would be suitable? Was Llywelyn actually buried at Abbey Cwmhir? And if he was, had they <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4332170/4332174/29/the%20proposed%20llywelyn%20memorial">asked the landowner</a> if they could build on his land? (No, they had not). </p>
<p>Another popular idea among the committee was <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3249154/3249155/14/%22prince%20Llywelyn%22">Cardiff</a>, though this was not put to subscribers. Cardiff was not yet the Welsh capital but it was the largest urban area in the country. The memorial would be seen by a lot of people there, and visitors from England were considered more likely to know about it.</p>
<p>Even if a site could be chosen, the form of the memorial could not. The Marquis of Bute opposed a statue on the basis that no one knew what Llywelyn had <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4332197/4332203/87/%22llywelyn%20memorial%22">looked like</a>. That hardly stopped sculptors of other historical figures. Other options proposed were an <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3370557/3370561/98/%22llywelyn%20memorial%22">obelisk</a> or pillar, a “colossal cross”, or a simple tomb. As with the location, no one could decide.</p>
<h2>Abandoned plans</h2>
<p>In 1898, the closure of the committee was announced. No national memorial had been built. But the idea wasn’t quite dead.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The statue of Llywelyn in Cardiff City Hall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1256&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574675/original/file-20240209-26-tt1xg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1256&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The statue of Llywelyn in Cardiff City Hall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Llewelyn_Ein_Llyw_Olaf.jpg">Wiki Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That year, a colourful statue of Llywelyn was erected atop a drinking fountain in Conwy. Though this was not to commemorate Wales’ era of independence, but the arrival of the town’s municipal water supply. </p>
<p>In 1902, local landowner Stanley Bligh paid for an obelisk to be built at the place of Llywelyn’s death (which was replaced in 1956). And during the first world war, Llywelyn was memorialised in the Cardiff City Hall alongside other Welsh figures in its Marble Hall, the “<a href="https://journals.library.wales/view/1386666/1425397/132#?xywh=-2016%2C-208%2C6445%2C4136">Valhalla for Wales</a>”. None of these though was a national and public memorial.</p>
<p>Being unable to agree on a united national memorial shows just how disunited Wales had been, and still was. After all, Llywelyn had been briefly recognised as Prince of Wales, but never actually ruled a united country. The failure of a truly national memorial to the prince as a symbol of Wales’ independent past was perhaps the most fitting memorial of all.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Hurlock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Being unable to agree on a united national memorial shows just how disunited Wales had been.
Kathryn Hurlock, Reader in Medieval History, Manchester Metropolitan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/221060
2024-01-29T16:38:17Z
2024-01-29T16:38:17Z
Through Cable Street Beat, music became a potent antifascist weapon against the far right
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569832/original/file-20240117-19-rb5x8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C2%2C1552%2C1178&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Cable Street Mural by Dave Binnington Savage, Paul Butler, Ray Walker and Desmond Rochfort (1979 – 1983).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Cable_Street_Mural_(36609425822).jpg">Amanda Slater/Wiki Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1980s, Britain’s far right was on the rise. Fascist parties <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Contemporary_British_Fascism.html?id=DvyHDAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">fielded over 100 candidates</a> in the 1983 general election. And culturally, the far right was also making ground. </p>
<p>“White power” bands like Skrewdriver and Peter and the Wolf began drawing sizeable crowds and selling thousands of records. In 1987, Skrewdriver’s frontman founded Blood & Honour, a music network that soon <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Music_Youth_and_International_Links_in_P.html?id=maU2DwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">gained followers and branches throughout the US and Europe</a>.</p>
<p>Blood & Honour’s emergence caused tremors among the UK antifascist movement. Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), the dominant antifascist group of the time, struck back with their own musical network: Cable Street Beat (CSB). </p>
<p>This is the story of how music became a battleground in the 1980s and 1990s, as antifascists fought fascism with guitars and microphones.</p>
<h2>Cable Street Beat</h2>
<p>Cable Street Beat was named after the antifascists’ celebrated victory over Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts. Before the second world war, British MP Oswald Mosley had commanded a growing fascist movement that had been fiercely resisted by antifascists.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of Oswald Mosley" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569834/original/file-20240117-17-9ndz39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">British MP Oswald Mosley commanded a growing fascist movement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oswald_mosley_MP.jpg">National Portrait Gallery</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On October 4 1936, Mosley amassed his Blackshirts to march through the East End of London. However, around 100,000 militant antifascists gathered on Cable Street to oppose them, ultimately preventing the fascists’ march. </p>
<p>The first CSB gig was held on October 8 1988 at the Electric Ballroom in London. Newtown Neurotics, The Men They Couldn’t Hang and punk poet Attila the Stockbroker electrified a 1,000-strong crowd.</p>
<p>Crucially, the audience also heard a powerful speech from Solly Kaye, an antifascist veteran of the actual Battle of Cable Street five decades earlier. <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/cable-street-beat-issue-1.pdf">Kaye warned</a> the assembled concertgoers that fascist “songs” were “poison put into the minds of young people”.</p>
<p>Brendan, an AFA and CSB organiser and horn player with antifascist punk band the Blaggers, described to me how CSB was needed: “Firstly as a way to draw people who might be attracted to the far right into a more progressive type of politics … Secondly it was needed to bring people together from different cultures. Thirdly, just to stick two fingers up to the far right.”</p>
<h2>The power of punk</h2>
<p>CSB drew energy from the UK’s frenetic punk scene. Bands such as the Angelic Upstarts, Snuff and Yr Anhrefn all enthusiastically took up CSB’s cause. They shared the stage with antifascist activists who gave rousing speeches.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Punk poet Attila holds a microphone in one hand and beer in the other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569836/original/file-20240117-23-euyf98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Punk poet Attila the Stockbroker in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Attila_The_Stockbroker,_Calstock_10.jpg">Madchickenwoman/Wiki Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Punk, and in particular the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/tcbh/article-abstract/24/4/606/1671204">working-class focused, aggressive Oi! subgenre</a> and related skinhead subculture, was an area that the far right had long tried to colonise.</p>
<p>Blood & Honour wanted to believe otherwise, but the skinhead movement (which originated in the 1960s) had roots in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jsh/article/38/1/157/927064?login=true#no-access-message">Jamaican culture and reggae</a>. Indeed, few skinheads had any interest in white power. </p>
<p>“If far-right politics helped inform the identity of some within the … skinhead subculture,” <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uV0yDwAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">says historian Matthew Worley</a>, “then the vast majority resisted and rejected the substance of the fascist message.”</p>
<p>CSB gained considerable ground in this battle. High-profile bands like The Specials and The Selecter played benefit gigs. Multiple other bands – including The Oppressed, Knucklehead and Spy Vs Spy – put out AFA fundraising CDs. </p>
<p>Thomas “Mensi” Mensforth, the charismatic lead singer of the Angelic Upstarts’ (who sadly passed away in 2021), even narrated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9zvOU3JpV0">an AFA documentary</a> produced for the BBC in 1993.</p>
<h2>Unity Carnivals</h2>
<p>CSB’s most high-profile strategy was its Unity Carnivals. The first, held in Hackney Downs Park in 1991, attracted 10,000 attendees. This made it the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Beating_the_Fascists.html?id=gnNaKQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">biggest public antifascist event in a decade</a>. Bands including Gary Clail’s On U Sound System, The 25th of May and The Blaggers kept the vast crowds dancing all day under the banner of antifascism.</p>
<p>But the partying was punctuated with serious political rhetoric. Throughout the day activists gave speeches and handed out flyers. Brendan was part of the team that organised the carnival. </p>
<p>“It’s a cliché,” he told me, “but that carnival really did unite people. It brought a really diverse crowd together in Hackney and really got the political messages across.”</p>
<p>Two more carnivals followed: another in Hackney in 1992 and one in Newcastle in 1993, where The Shamen headlined with their chart-topping song Ebeneezer Goode.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YFJdUJg4wOk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ebeneezer Goode by The Shamen.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Freedom of movement</h2>
<p>CSB was wound down in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, music remained a central element of AFA’s activism. </p>
<p>By the early 1990s, electronic dance music had taken off in the UK. Antifascists immediately saw the potential and in Manchester local DJs and AFA set up the Freedom of Movement campaign in 1993 to mobilise these ravers. AFA’s magazine, Fighting Talk, <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/FIGHTING%20TALK%2007_0.pdf">declared Freedom of Movement’s aim</a> was to “politicise the previously apathetic dance club scene, raising issues of racism and fascism”.</p>
<p>From 1993 to 1996, AFA put on a series of antifascist club nights in cities from Edinburgh to London. They also released an AFA benefit album, This is Fascism, featuring prominent DJs and producers including Carl Cox, Drum Club and Fun-Da-Mental.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3dI6faXuvts?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Blaggers had close links to AFA, playing multiple benefit gigs.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fascism is on the march again. The far right in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63351655">Italy</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/who-is-javier-milei-argentina-new-president-far-right-what-does-he-stand-for">Argentina</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/26/far-right-normalised-mainstream-parties-geert-wilders-dutch#:%7E:text=Geert%20Wilders'%20Party%20for%20Freedom,issues%20of%20immigration%20and%20multiculturalism.">the Netherlands</a> have all recently experienced electoral victories. Many other countries – such as the <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/04/25/quantifying-the-rise-of-americas-far-right">US</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-64299892">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/india-hindu-nationalism-violence/">India</a> – have experienced explosions in far-right activity.</p>
<p>Findings from <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Cumulative_Extremism.html?id=kyEIyQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">my own research</a> and others’ demonstrate that fascists are adept at using culture to achieve their goals. It enables them to <a href="https://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/whitepowermusic">transmit their hateful ideology</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Riot-Story-Combat-18/dp/1908479795">generate money</a> and <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Music_Youth_and_International_Links_in_P.html?id=maU2DwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">forge networks across countries</a>.</p>
<p>But the successes of CSB and AFA provide us with valuable lessons. Music can send a powerful message and mobilise hundreds of thousands to resist racism. Its emotive nature can change listeners’ worldviews, and help create a shared culture that is antithetical to the far right’s divisive goals.</p>
<p>This is an area where antifascists can make real gains against their foes: uniting antifascism and music is a tried-and-tested method for winning over the hearts and minds of people against hatred.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Carter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
This is the story of how music became a battleground in the 1980s and 1990s, as antifascists fought fascism with guitars and microphones.
Alexander Carter, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/221191
2024-01-22T15:07:57Z
2024-01-22T15:07:57Z
It’s 100 years since Labour’s first prime minister – but Keir Starmer will want to avoid comparisons with Ramsay MacDonald
<p>There was a time when to ridicule – or condemn – the Labour leader of the day, a newspaper cartoonist needed only to append under their subject’s nose a luxuriant moustache. That was all that was necessary to suggest that whoever they were drawing was the “new <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp02872&displayNo=60">Ramsay MacDonald</a>”. </p>
<p>Writers needed only prefix the word “Mac” to the leader’s name with the same in mind. Popular memory is finite, however. “Keir MacStarmer” would be meaningless. </p>
<p>The Labour leader would nevertheless prefer for people not to draw comparisons with Macdonald, tempting though this may be in the year that marks a century since MacDonald became Labour’s first prime minister. There was a reason Starmer’s parents named him Keir, and not Ramsay. </p>
<p>Keir Hardie was the saintly founder of the party, almost too principled for power. Ramsay Macdonald was the man who betrayed the party he helped to found. </p>
<p>The first Labour government didn’t survive 1924, and the next, in 1929, MacDonald crashed after two years by joining the Conservatives in a national government. Economic crisis was his justification. But for many in the <a href="https://socialist.net/great-betrayal-national-government/">party he had abandonded</a>, personal weakness on the part of the man Winston Churchill dubbed the “boneless wonder” was a better explanation.</p>
<h2>History doesn’t repeat but it can rhyme</h2>
<p>One parallel that can be drawn between MacDonald’s Labour and Starmer’s is inexperience. In 1924, only a few Labour ministers – Arthur Henderson and J. R. Clynes – had been in government before, six years previously in the Lloyd George coalition. Those with ministerial experience who may assume office in 2024 – such as Yvette Cooper and Hillary Benn (whose <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw253764/The-Labour-Cabinet-1929?LinkID=mp57991&role=sit&rNo=4">grandfather was in MacDonald’s cabinet</a>) – will have been excluded from power for 14 years.</p>
<p>In the event of a Labour win in 2024, Starmer, like MacDonald, will have being prime minister as his very first experience in government. That is unusual, though less so recently: neither Tony Blair nor David Cameron had held any office before they held the highest of them all.</p>
<p>But Blair and Cameron also left office younger than MacDonald was and Starmer would be on assuming it. Becoming prime minister in their sixties meant that they had a past – the Conservatives aim to tar Starmer with his, as they did with MacDonald a century before. </p>
<p>Ramsay Mac had been <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/parliament-and-the-first-world-war/video-resources/ramsay-macdonald-opposing-entering-ww1/">prominently anti-war</a> during a period of lustful militarism. Though he was not a communist, his opponents found it easy to imply an <a href="https://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2022/9/21/the-red-menace-britains-communist-scare-of-the-1920s">association</a> with what was then regarded as an existential threat to the realm.</p>
<p>For those who wish to see it, therein lies peril: Starmer, for all his protestations that his was a working class background is also “Sir Keir”, the metropolitan barrister. Labour lore has it that McDonald all-too gladly accepted the aristocratic embrace when he went into government with the Tories, abandoning the working classes. At the following election Labour was smashed, and out of office – for 14 years.</p>
<p>With little else to hand, the Conservatives will seek to capitalise. No more provocative occupation could be wished for in red wall leafleting than “human rights lawyer”. A deep and raking dive into Starmer’s casework as a lawyer has <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/25290381/sir-keir-starmer-free-lawyer-save-baby-murderers/">already begun</a> by today’s tabloids, and an attempt to sow the seeds of a conspiracy theory already made in groundless claims about his role in the CPS decision to drop the case against sex offender <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60213975">Jimmy Savile</a>.</p>
<p>In 1924, the tabloid press sought to do similar with <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/archives_online/digital/russia/zinoviev/">MacDonald</a>, hoping to thwart his rise to the premiership by <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/archives_online/digital/russia/zinoviev/">falsely associating</a> him with Bolshevik politician Grigory Zinoviev.</p>
<h2>Different times</h2>
<p>The circumstances around the election that brought Labour to power in 1924 could hardly be more different from those that could do so in 2024, however. Conservative prime minister Stanley Baldwin, who had been elevated to the premiership without an election in 1923, did something Theresa May, also elevated to the premiership without an election, emulated in 2017. </p>
<p>He went to the country within a year of taking office, years earlier than he needed to, and lost his majority. May also called an election, narrowly won government again and was out within a couple of years.</p>
<p>Baldwin’s decision has puzzled historians (May’s was merely a mistake). One interpretation is that he most feared his era’s Boris Johnson: David Lloyd George. It was thought that the best way to ‘dish’ the dishonest, dynamic, divisive leader of the Liberals was for Labour to replace his party as the second party of government.</p>
<p>Another interpretation is that Baldwin felt it best to give the working classes a taste of power – to house-train Labour. With the kind of accommodation the British ruling classes usually displayed when faced with potentially uncontrollable threats, they acceded to sharing power – and maintained most of their privileges.</p>
<p>But today, Starmer has the most powerful of all campaigning messages: “time for a change”. Fourteen years of power is usually deemed enough for any party, and that’s without what even the government’s supporters would concede as being the chaos of the latter half of it.</p>
<p>Nevertheless the Labour prospectus of 2024 – to the chagrin of those to the left of the party, and to the fear of those to the right – is characterised by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/08/keir-starmer-labour-leader-edward-colston-statue">moderation</a>. To reach Downing Street for the first time in 1924, Labour had to overcome the public perception that it was extreme. Imagined though that perception might have been, it was potent. After all, no one knew what a Labour government might be like. </p>
<p>Labour in 2024 has to overcome imagined histories – the idea that Labour governments always lead to crises. The Conservatives, and their print and broadcast proxies, will seek to ensure that voters have a very certain sense of what Labour governments are like. And they may privately maintain what looks like an increasingly overoptimistic hope that no Labour leader named Keir should ever win power.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221191/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Farr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ramsay MacDonald was Labour’s first ever PM but he ended up being booted out of the party he helped found.
Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History, Newcastle University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220457
2024-01-04T15:44:32Z
2024-01-04T15:44:32Z
Spycatcher scandal: newly released documents from the Thatcher era reveal the changing nature of government secrecy
<p>I grew up in Tasmania in the 1980s. The capital city, Hobart, had a bit of a “living at the edge of the world” feeling in those days. It seemed about as far away from anywhere as you could get. So, I remember the thrill when the first hints of the “Spycatcher” scandal hit. A British spy had “secretly” been living only a few miles away in the sleepy town of Cygnet. To a child, it all felt impossibly adventurous.</p>
<p>The British National Archives has now released a <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/latest-cabinet-office-files-released/">slew of Cabinet Office papers</a> dealing with the extraordinary series of events surrounding this man and his attempts to publish Spycatcher, a memoir that promised to spill secrets on double agents and assassination plots. Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time, was so concerned about the book’s contents that the UK government launched multiple legal attempts to have it barred from publication. The most famous of these cases unfolded in Australia, where Thatcher had dispatched her top civil servant to fight the former MI5 operative Peter Wright in court.</p>
<p>The documents lay bare how fearful she was about the book. In communications between government officials, we see the intensity of briefings and updates flowing into Number 10 as the court case unfolded in Australia in late 1986. The government was determined to stand by the principle that security information must remain confidential. </p>
<p>The prime minister followed the exchanges closely, as revealed by her <a href="https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/release-2023-12/prem19-1952.pdf">handwritten comments across documents</a>. These ranged from brief scribbles like “Bad news” (on an update relating to potential revelation of sensitive documents in court), to noting that “the consequences of publication would be enormous” and commenting in frustration that “surely Wright himself is in breach of the Official Secrets Act?”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An archived government document discussing the Spycatcher scandal, including a margin note from Margaret Thatcher about the 'enormous consequences' of the book being released." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567825/original/file-20240104-17-2k1i9f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thatcher’s margin notes reveal her concerns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/release-2023-12/prem19-1952.pdf">National Archives</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The cast of characters in this saga is in itself rather breathtaking. It begins, of course, with the elusive Wright – in my mind’s eye in the 1980s, I had expected him to be a dapper figure in a pinstriped suit. The picture that hit the press at the time instead revealed an old man in a rather incongruous broad-brimmed hat, who did not exude the requisite level of mystery.</p>
<p>Thatcher herself also looms large, as does Robert Armstrong – the head of the civil service she sent across the globe to Sydney like a gun-for-hire, in an extraordinary attempt to prevent the book’s publication. In court, Armstrong would face none other than the up-and-coming Australian barrister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/14/malcolm-turnbull-spycatcher-lawyer-prime-minister">Malcolm Turnbull</a>, appearing for Wright’s publishers.</p>
<p>Turnbull would go on to be Australia’s prime minister 30 years later, but not before eliciting from Armstrong in court his infamous description of having been <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jlsocty16&id=217&men_tab=srchresults">“economical with the truth”</a> in a letter he had written that was relevant to the case.</p>
<p>What the papers released by the National Archives provide is something rather more than just a good story, however. They provide a rare window into how the British government worked in the 1980s. They offer a marker against which to measure what has changed and what has remained the same in the conventions and traditions that underpin the nation’s political system.</p>
<h2>That was then …</h2>
<p>In the 1980s, aspects of British government could remain shrouded in mystery without expectation of public scrutiny. Even the names of the leaders of MI5 were a closely guarded secret, never mind the workings of their organisation. It was simply not the done thing to discuss issues of national security in public. </p>
<p>The institutional settings of Whitehall and Westminster were built for “governing in private”. Advice was offered and arguments made behind closed doors and away from the public gaze. This applied not just to the security agencies but the civil service in general.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5803/ldselect/ldconst/258/25804.htm">British constitutional theory</a>, the civil service was an indivisible part of the executive government. It was not an independent creature of the parliament, or indeed the wider public. The job of civil servants was to serve ministers in non-partisan ways, based on deep reserves of mutual trust between the political and administrative leaders of government. Armstrong could be sent to the Antipodes knowing that he carried with him the total trust of the prime minister, and vice versa.</p>
<p>His goal, of course, was to stop Wright’s memoir from ever seeing the light of day. In the 1980s, it was still possible for government to believe it might be able to control the spread of information. In a pre-internet age, it still made sense to try very hard to prevent the publication of a book, knowing that its contents could potentially be stopped or contained. Such ideas seem dreamily quixotic in our modern digital age.</p>
<h2>This is now …</h2>
<p>Today, the luxury of being able to govern in private, to carefully consider actions with a degree of secrecy, has given way to far greater scrutiny. Modern expectations of transparency mean that governments are now governing in public, whether they like it or not. Where once the heads of MI5 had their identities protected, we now find them striding the public stage. Stella Rimington, the director general of MI5 in the mid 1990s, published her own <a href="https://shop.nationalarchives.gov.uk/products/open-secret">autobiography</a> in 2001. Her successors give regular public speeches and updates discussing perspectives on national security in ways that would have been unthinkable in the 1980s.</p>
<p>In theory, the status of the wider civil service has not changed – it remains an indivisible part of the executive government. But the bonds of trust have begun to fray. Few of Armstrong’s successors in the civil service could claim the complete trust of a prime minister. And amid the blame games of modern government, ministers and officials can now find themselves in public disagreement, teasing apart the threads of indivisibility that previously kept them in a mutual embrace.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most dramatic change is to the information environment. The relative futility of trying to prevent information from entering the public domain is self-evident. Information – both true and false – flies into the public domain like water through a colander.</p>
<p>A modern government rarely makes the mistake of drawing attention to a set of memoirs by going to great, public lengths to try and stop their publication. Wright died a millionaire. His book was a bestseller. The irony is that he had the British government to thank for boosting his sales. Their attempt to quash what turned out to be a rather innocuous book turned it into an international cause celebre.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A government document outlining concerns about the implication of allowing Spycatcher to be published." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567829/original/file-20240104-17-allyg3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scandal generates book sales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/release-2023-12/prem19-1952.pdf">National Archives</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Spycatcher saga is a reminder that the nature of British government has changed. It shines a light on the extent to which something seen as an extraordinary public scandal in the 1980s would be seen as far less remarkable today. Modern governments are far more used to the norms of governing in public – for good or ill – in our more transparent age.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dennis C Grube received funding from the Australian Research Council in 2013 (grant number DE130101131) for a previous project on the public face of government.</span></em></p>
Cabinet Office papers expose Thatcher’s anxiety over the famous book, and the difference between governing in the 1980s and the modern information age.
Dennis C Grube, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219274
2023-12-29T11:42:50Z
2023-12-29T11:42:50Z
What COVID diaries have in common with Samuel Pepys’ 17th-century plague diaries
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564815/original/file-20231211-21-68cd8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=319%2C275%2C5432%2C3328&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/halloween-holidays-leisure-concept-close-young-2023057376">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People keep diaries for all sorts of reasons – to record events, work through difficult situations, or manage <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-38706-001">stress</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19783166_Disclosure_of_Traumas_and_Immune_Function_Health_Implications_for_Psychotherapy">trauma</a>. The ongoing COVID inquiry shows diaries also have important political and historic significance. The UK’s former chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/20/how-patrick-vallance-explosive-diaries-exposed-covid-chaos-inside-no-10">diaries</a> have been a key source of evidence, exposing the chaos within government at the time. </p>
<p>In my PhD research, I’ve been exploring the COVID diaries of ordinary people, as well as diaries kept during the Great Plague of London in 1665-66. Though centuries apart, these diaries are full of insight into how people react to crises, and have surprising similarities. </p>
<p>From the first lockdown in March 2020, media outlets, archive centres and researchers encouraged people to record their pandemic experiences. Even BBC children’s entertainer <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000jsf3/at-home-with-mr-tumble-series-1-6-diary">Mr Tumble</a> urged young viewers to start a diary. </p>
<p>This has resulted in a large number of COVID diaries being made available in archive collections around the UK, plus many more online in the form of blogs or social media. I’ve been looking specifically at 13 COVID diaries donated to the Borthwick Institute for Archives and the East Riding Archives, both in Yorkshire. Most were originally private documents, offering a more spontaneous, honest and intimate portrayal of pandemic experiences than their online counterparts. </p>
<p>Diaries written during the Great Plague are not so numerous. Of the few available, the most valuable is that of naval administrator Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), whose exceptionally detailed and candid journals form by far the most comprehensive firsthand account of plague-stricken London.</p>
<p>I have been reading Pepys’s diaries alongside the modern COVID diaries, and have been struck by the common themes in how people navigated their pandemic experiences. </p>
<h2>Recording statistics</h2>
<p>Throughout the COVID pandemic, statistics of cases and deaths were everywhere, and were key to how we judged the impact of the virus. As diarist JF wrote on June 5 2020:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was time to watch the Corona Virus update and I was shocked to find that over 40,000 people have now died from the disease in this country and it’s not over yet!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Relatively accurate information was also widely circulated in 17th-century London via the “bills of mortality” – weekly lists of deaths according to cause and location. Pepys wrote on September 7 1665:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sent for the Weekely Bill and find 8252 dead in all, and of them, 6978 of the plague - which is a most dreadful Number - and shows reason to fear that the plague hath got that hold that it will yet continue among us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>All of the modern and historical diaries I have looked at include these statistics – some sparingly, others with meticulous regularity.</p>
<h2>The blame game</h2>
<p>As cases rose, restrictions were enforced and the effects of plague and COVID loomed large in the lives of our diarists, narratives shifted to confusion and blame. Pepys was largely sympathetic to the government’s handling of the plague and, in February 1666, criticised those who flouted the rules and endangered others: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the heighth of it, how bold people there were to go in sport to one another’s burials. And in spite to well people, would breathe in the faces … of well people going by.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>COVID diarists reacted to those who didn’t follow guidelines in a very similar way, as DR wrote in March 2020: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Not everyone is playing it very well, though, with panic-buying, one last night at the pub and a mass exodus to the coast. Stupid and selfish in equal measure.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The response and actions of the UK government, and individual members of parliament, also afforded much attention. An anonymous diarist wrote in May 2020:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People are being allowed out more but the illness is still out there & there’s no treatment or vaccine yet … There are fewer deaths because of social distancing. If they let everyone get on with the ‘new normal’ surely more people will get sick?</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Staying positive</h2>
<p>A more optimistic theme to emerge in the diaries was the ability to find positivity amid the chaos. Pepys and modern diarists were thankful for the blessings of health, family and security. They praised those who went the extra mile to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on those around them, despite the risk to their own health. An entry from New Year’s Eve in 1665 reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My whole family hath been well all this while, and all my friends I know of, saving my aunt Bell, who is dead, and some children of my cozen Sarah’s, of the plague … yet, to our great joy, the town fills apace, and shops begin to open again. Pray God continue the plague’s decrease!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>DW’s diary from April 2020 expressed appreciation for time out in nature, as well as sympathy for others living in more difficult situations:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was lovely walking through the wood. The air was filled with birdsong. It made me realise how lucky I am to live in a village where I can walk from my front door into fields and woods along defined paths. It must be awful to live ten floors up in a high rise block with two children, and not be allowed out except for once per day. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man sits on the ground in a forest writing in a journal" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564817/original/file-20231211-29-uswlqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping a diary can be good for wellbeing, as well as recording history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/focused-man-writing-journal-ideas-enjoying-2240364251">Vergani Fotografia/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Comparing COVID with historical events such as <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-ancient-plagues-pandemics-lessons-society">plague</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200302-coronavirus-what-can-we-learn-from-the-spanish-flu">the Spanish flu epidemic</a> and the <a href="https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/society/25315/expert-comment-the-reality-of-blitz-spirit-during-covid-19">second world war</a> was a core element of the pandemic narrative, and for good reason. History connects.</p>
<p>It is easy to look around us and see the vast differences between the world we live in now, and that which Pepys traversed almost 400 years ago.</p>
<p>But by exploring the innermost thoughts of people with an element of shared experience, we see that fundamental aspects of the human condition endure. When faced with uncertainty and upheaval, our instincts are to record, find answers, and reclaim joy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Rehman receives funding from University of Hull Doctoral College</span></em></p>
Keeping a diary has been a common pandemic pastime throughout history.
Mary Rehman, PhD Researcher, School of Humanities, University of Hull
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219852
2023-12-28T09:20:24Z
2023-12-28T09:20:24Z
A brief history of Britain’s obsession with the hot water bottle
<p>Last winter, UK retailers reported record sales of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/12/hot-water-bottles-sell-out-uk-cold-snap-heating-bills">water bottles</a> as consumers look to cut their heating costs as the average <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-energy-bills-jump-80-percent-ofgem-price-cap/">household energy bills soared</a>. </p>
<p>Boiling a kettle to fill a hot water bottle uses less energy than an electric blanket or turning on the heating and so is the <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/the-cheapest-way-to-keep-warm-in-bed-alwIf3N5e4G5">cheapest option</a> to keep you warm, according to consumer insights publication Which?. </p>
<p>This year, bottles have been spotted on the <a href="https://harpersbazaar.com.au/burberry-autumn-winter-aw-2023/">London runway</a> as even <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12792477/This-seasons-trendiest-accessory-hot-water-bottle-increased-demand-home-comforts-chic-covers-given-old-fashioned-heating-device-revival.html">luxury brands</a> are cashing in on their popularity.</p>
<p>Feeling the chill ourselves, we have dug into the history of the hot water bottle as part of a large research project on the global history of Boots The Chemists. </p>
<h2>The first hot water bottles</h2>
<p>Hot water bottles have been around in various forms for centuries. Early versions were made from materials such as <a href="https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co121472/hot-water-bottle-hot-water-bottle">metal</a>, <a href="https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co121335/d-shaped-hot-water-bottle-nottingham-england-1880-1940-hot-water-bottle">ceramic</a>, and glass. These bottles could lose heat quickly and were unpleasant, icy bed companions once cooled.</p>
<p>Refinement of the <a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-international-natural-rubber-market-1870-1930/#:%7E:text=In%201839%20Charles%20Goodyear%20improved,shoe%20soles%2C%20and%20other%20products.">vulcanisation process</a> in the mid-19th century was a revolution for the humble “hottie”. Advertisements for rubber bottles started appearing in UK newspapers by the late 1860s. In November 1867, for example, Thornton and Co. promoted their “India Rubber” hot water bottle in the Glasgow Herald, with claims that its product was a “great comfort to invalids”. </p>
<p>Rubber bottles were soft, flexible, and retained heat for longer. While the basic design has changed very little, the familiar flask shape is widely attributed to Croatian inventor <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2808054/">Eduard Penkala</a>. Newspapers trumpeted the importance of checking a bottle properly before use to avoid debilitating burns and scalds. Seasonal articles, much like today, encouraged people to invest in a new bottle every few years.</p>
<h2>Hot water bottles at Boots</h2>
<p>Although we cannot be certain when Boots stocked its first rubber hot water bottle, it was pushing them hard by the 1920s. In this decade, new manufacturing techniques widened rubber’s application and ease of production for a host of household goods, clothing, and footwear. The material’s waterproof, wipe-down qualities and its extreme malleability transformed approaches to home hygiene. </p>
<p>Rubber gloves, baby teats, home enema tubes, rubberised plasters and elasticated girdles are all examples of products invented or improved between the first and second world wars and had a huge impact on everyday health, comfort, and convenience. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649591/">Latex condoms</a> also date from this period, although given their Methodist origins, Boots refused to sell them. But they did stock a bewilderingly large range of rubber hot water bottles, carefully tiered by quality and price. </p>
<p>At the top-of-the-range was the “Regaid Super Red”, but customers could also buy the mid-priced model “Cumfy” (also in red), the lower-priced “Perfection” in grey, and a budget level “Primus”, marketed as a functional, if “drab” option for the budget conscious. </p>
<p>While varying in price, all Boots’ hot water bottles were touted to relieve pain as well as provide heat. A miniature version of the “Cumfy”, for instance, was sold as a handwarmer, a portable heat source for baby’s pram and as a relief for neuralgia (a shooting, stabbing nerve pain) or earache. </p>
<p>Housewives were given strict instructions on how to keep their bottle clean and to stop the rubber from deteriorating. Because very hot water might crack the rubber, Boots advised its customers to pour a cup of cold water into the bottle first. Then, after it was emptied, it should be hung upside down, with the stopper removed, in a “cool, dark place”.</p>
<h2>An uncomfortable history?</h2>
<p>Rubber transformed everyday comfort in Britain, but the industry has a complex history marked by economic exploitation, racial discrimination, and environmental abuses driven by European colonialism. Rubber plantation workers in <a href="https://kontinentalist.com/stories/rubber-race-and-colonial-exploitation">Southeast Asia</a>, for example, often endured harsh conditions to cultivate, tap, and process raw rubber sheets. On arrival to the manufacturer overseas, the rubber was <a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-international-natural-rubber-market-1870-1930/">poured over cotton</a> – another product of the British empire – to make the hot water bottle pliable, soft and strong. </p>
<p>In the 1920s, Boots staff magazine, The Bee, featured several articles explaining where rubber came from and how hot water bottles were made. Like many corporate communications of the time, these told a sanitised story of manufacturing success. When Boots celebrated the “ideal conditions” that helped British factory girls take “justifiable pride” in the bottles they made, it marginalised the exploitative conditions needed to produce cheap cotton and rubber. Ironically, hot water bottles were often shipped back to rubber-producing countries to help colonial ex-pats deal with the climate.</p>
<p>Today, the variety of hot water bottle models and price points seem endless. This beloved classic shows no signs of losing its appeal for British consumers. As a cost-effective and familiar staple, we will likely continue to tuck ourselves up in bed with one for many more winters to come. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Hornsey receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Greenwood receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilary Ingram receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)</span></em></p>
Hot water bottles have been used to heat beds for centuries but our modern rubber iterations only came about in the mid-19th century.
Richard Hornsey, Lecturer in Modern British History, University of Nottingham
Anna Greenwood, Professor of Health History, University of Nottingham
Hilary Ingram, Research Fellow, University of Nottingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215295
2023-12-01T16:05:53Z
2023-12-01T16:05:53Z
Exhibition explores how the Victorians are being reimagined in contemporary art
<p>As you enter <a href="https://www.lakesidearts.org.uk/exhibitions/event/5856/reimagining-the-victorians.html#:%7E:text=From%20taxidermy%20and%20photography%20to,the%20Victorians%20in%20their%20work.">Reimag(in)ing the Victorians</a>, a <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/887/887-h/887-h.htm">quote from Oscar Wilde</a> faces you from across the room: “The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.” Wilde’s statement draws the attention of visitors to two things. First, the fact that history is an ever-changing form of representation. And second, that it is form of representation produced by us.</p>
<p>One of the most significant – and perhaps unexpected – impacts of the Black Lives Matter movement has been an increased public understanding of history as a subjective representation of the past. The “contested history” debates that have raged over the past few years <a href="https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/suzannah-lipscomb/what-is-history-now/9781474622455/">are evidence of this</a>. And the vicious antagonism that they have provoked gives credence to the work of late 20th century writers like <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Rethinking-History/Jenkins/p/book/9780415304436">Keith Jenkins</a>, who argues that there is no such thing as an entirely “objective” version of the past.</p>
<p>Reimag(in)ing the Victorians, which is showing at <a href="https://www.lakesidearts.org.uk">Lakeside Arts in Nottingham</a>, explores how recent artists have engaged with 19th-century historical accounts, media and crafts. From hand-tinted colonial photography to contemporary taxidermy, the exhibition celebrates and interrogates the cultural afterlives of Victorian Britain. But by examining how we “remember” the Victorians, the exhibition also probes into how and why the past is visualised and represented in the present. </p>
<p>The first room of the exhibition explores how the colonial past is remembered, and what impact it continues to have on identities around the world today. Sculptures by British Nigerian artist <a href="https://yinkashonibare.com">Yinka Shonibare</a>, swaddled in brightly-coloured Ankara fabric (synonymous with west African fashion), stand alongside Andrew Gilbert’s <a href="https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/reimagining-the-victorians-in-contemporary-art-review-djanogly-gallery-nottingham">2020 installation</a>, Major General Andrew Gilbert Calls a Drone Strike on His Leek Phone, Magersfontein, 11th December 1899, Southern Africa.</p>
<p>A carnivalesque parody of how imperial events are “remembered” in fictional accounts such as the film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058777/">Zulu</a> (1964), Gilbert’s work draws attention to how colonial actions have been lionised in popular British culture. It also explores how deeply embedded this imagery has become in our collective historical imagination. </p>
<h2>An era of change</h2>
<p>Of course, the Victorians were not one thing or another. They may have overseen the largest empire in the world has ever seen, but activists including <a href="https://afropean.com/the-adventures-of-a-victorian-troublemaker-henry-sylvester-williams/">Henry Sylvester Williams</a> and <a href="https://blackplaqueproject.com/biography/alice-kinloch/">Alice Kinloch</a> also founded the Africa Association and fought for the civil rights of colonised people from the streets of London – the heart of the empire. In this way the Victorian era is composed of multiple generations and viewpoints. And it was an era that oversaw huge social and political change.</p>
<p>One of the furthest reaching of these changes was the industrial revolution, which not only led to the urbanisation of British society but also mass production and consumerism. But rather than stimulating creative interest in mechanised forms of production, this technological turn encouraged a rise in artisanal practices and a passion for the handmade. </p>
<p>From the <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-an-introduction">arts and crafts movement</a> to amateur decoupage and experiments with the photographic plate, late-Victorian creativity demonstrates a collective yearning for unique objects produced from tactile processes of making.</p>
<p>In the early-2000s, a similar return to handmade processes could be seen in the work of artists such as <a href="https://pollymorgan.co.uk">Polly Morgan</a>, <a href="http://www.tessafarmer.com">Tessa Farmer</a> and <a href="https://katemccgwire.com">Kate MccGwire</a>. Emerging alongside the rise of social media and an increasingly sophisticated digital landscape, their sculptures are meticulously constructed from animal body parts and found natural objects such as feathers and insect bodies.</p>
<h2>A moment in time</h2>
<p>Farmer’s 2007 installation <a href="http://www.tessafarmer.com/little-savages">Little Savages</a> depicts the destruction of an English fox by a swarm of skeleton fairies. These beings are microscopically composed from fern roots, insect wings and soil, and colonise their victim’s soft tissue to harvest their species’ eggs. In this way, her work subverts taxidermy’s most important function: to preserve the animal body from defilement and mutilation from parasitic organisms.</p>
<p>As a key 19th-century form of preservation, taxidermy has sometimes been <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41552477">compared to photography</a>. Both media operate by freeze framing their subject – by stopping time. Invented in 1839, photography runs through every room of this exhibition and includes the hand-tinted Valentine Days prints by <a href="http://www.ingridpollard.com">Ingrid Pollard</a> (2017) and Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett’s series <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dion-puett-ladies-field-club-of-york-87241">The Ladies’ Field Club of York</a> (1998-9). </p>
<p>Both works draw attention to overlooked accounts of history and their anonymous subjects. Pollard’s tender hand colouring of Black Jamaicans “captured” by the photographic lens in 1891, restores a sense of individuality and dignity to subjects originally photographed to sell a servile and idyllic Jamaica to British and American investors. And her approach to the medium echoes the work of Victorian works included in the exhibition, such as photographs by <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/julia-margaret-cameron">Julia Margaret Cameron</a>.</p>
<p>While it is crucial for us to agree that the past did exist – battles did occur, genocides were committed – how we represent it in “the present” is nevertheless a question of authorship. For the visual artists in this exhibition, the imagination and ideology involved in representing a past that no longer exists is embraced rather than denied: allowing them to explore the afterlives of the Victorians in original, powerful and poignant ways.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isobel Elstob does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The exhibition celebrates and interrogates the cultural afterlives of Victorian Britain.
Isobel Elstob, Assistant Professor in Art History, University of Nottingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216116
2023-12-01T12:34:49Z
2023-12-01T12:34:49Z
Why men in 19th century Wales dressed as women to protest taxation
<p>South-west Wales was reeling in the wake of social unrest in November 1843. There had been a series of protests over several years by farmers furious at taxation levels, mainly attacking tollgates. Often, the men involved dressed as women and were therefore known in Welsh as <em>Merched Beca</em> (Rebecca’s daughters). The events that unfolded came to be known as the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Rebecca_s_Children.html?id=7-ohAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">Rebecca riots</a> in English. </p>
<p>There has been speculation that the name “Rebecca” stemmed from a literal interpretation of <a href="https://biblehub.com/genesis/24-60.htm">Genesis 24:60</a> in the Bible, which refers to Rebekah’s offspring possessing the gates of their enemies. But the truth is, nobody really knows why the name was chosen.</p>
<p>Tollgates had been <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/transportcomms/roadsrail/overview/turnpikestolls/">introduced</a> in Britain from the late 17th century as a means of raising revenue to maintain public roads. They were regulated and maintained by the <a href="https://www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/transport/onlineatlas/britishturnpiketrusts.pdf">Turnpike Trusts</a>, individual bodies set up by parliament. </p>
<p>Tolls had long been regarded as a burden by the people. But complaints to magistrates about their unfair regulation were largely ignored. The tollgates therefore became regarded as symbols of oppression to be demolished by the Rebeccaites, with unrest largely concentrated across Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire. </p>
<p>The first recorded appearance of Rebecca was on <a href="https://www.peoplescollection.wales/content/rebecca-riots">May 13 1839</a>, when a tollgate at Efailwen in Pembrokeshire was demolished. Rebecca emerged again during the winter of 1842, with protests <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/rebecca-riots/">intensifying</a> throughout the summer of 1843. </p>
<p>The attacks targeted tollgates and private property, while toll-keepers and authority figures were also intimidated. These included the local gentry, who upheld law and order locally as magistrates and oversaw the administration of the tolls as members of the Turnpike Trusts.</p>
<p>Those who protested were predominantly young men who were tenant farmers, farm servants and agricultural labourers. But other protesters included non-agricultural labourers from industrialised regions of Carmarthenshire and neighbouring Glamorgan.</p>
<p>A striking element of the protest was the adoption of women’s clothing to conceal the identities of those involved. This was theatrically woven into the ritual of protest as “Rebecca”, the name given to the leader of the various protests, called on her children to tear down any gate that blocked their way. </p>
<p>However, the Rebecca riots were more than just a protest movement against the tolls. They were also a reaction to the socio-economic climate, to agricultural depression, failing harvests, rising levels of rent and the weight of various taxes. All these factors collectively placed substantial pressure on rural communities. </p>
<p>There was also widespread <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1834-poor-law/">criticism</a> of the administration of the new <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/19thcentury/overview/poorlaw/">Poor Law</a>, introduced in 1834, which ensured that poor people were housed in <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Victorian-Workhouse/">workhouses</a>, where families were separated, subjected to hard work and harsh living conditions.</p>
<h2>Escalation</h2>
<p>On June 19 1843, a procession in the market town of Carmarthen led to the storming of the <a href="https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/17651/">workhouse</a>. This signalled a turning point that saw the protests intensify, with attacks on private property in addition to tollgates. </p>
<p>There were reports of physical violence and use of firearms too, with one recorded death, that of <a href="https://historypoints.org/index.php?page=site-of-fatal-rebecca-riot-hendy">Sarah Williams</a>, the 75-year-old keeper of the Hendy tollgate in Carmarthenshire. Someone shot her while she tried to rescue her belongings from the burning tollhouse on September 9 1843.</p>
<p>Following the Carmarthen workhouse attack, The Times newspaper <a href="https://oro.open.ac.uk/78848/1/DE-WINTON_A329_RVOR.pdf">sent</a> Thomas Campbell Foster to report on “The State of South Wales”. His reports disseminated news of Rebecca and her daughters across Britain. </p>
<p>Even Queen Victoria was concerned by the events. She wrote in her <a href="http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/search/displayItem.do?FormatType=fulltextimgsrc&QueryType=articles&ResultsID=3399090357290&filterSequence=0&PageNumber=1&ItemNumber=1&ItemID=qvj03918&volumeType=PSBEA">journal</a> how she strongly advised the home secretary, Sir James Graham, to apprehend and punish the Rebeccaites. She feared events in Wales would spur on the movement in Ireland to repeal the laws which tied Ireland to Great Britain.</p>
<p>Into the autumn and winter months of 1843, Rebecca and her daughters appeared less frequently. Although a Carmarthenshire land agent, Thomas Herbert Cooke, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Land_Agent/dy5JEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">wrote</a> in late November how “an incendiary fire however occurs now and then to let people know that Rebecca is still alive, and sometimes awakes from her slumbers”.</p>
<h2>Government inquiry</h2>
<p>During this time, a government <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Report_of_the_Commissioners_of_Inquiry_f.html?id=W5Z7YgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">inquiry</a> was conducted into the causes of the riots, reporting its findings in the spring of 1844. Although the tollgates survived, the findings of the inquiry led to greater regulation of the Turnpike Trusts in Wales. New county police forces were also <a href="https://journals.library.wales/view/1386666/1423395/118#?xywh=-1917%2C-209%2C6097%2C3912">established</a> in the wake of the riots. </p>
<p>In total, around 250 tollhouses and gatehouses were <a href="https://museum.wales/stfagans/buildings/tollhouse/">destroyed</a> by Rebecca. In the aftermath, those captured and accused were punished by transportation to the penal colonies in Tasmania. Those such as <a href="https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/hughes/john/72743">John Hughes</a>, known as <em>Jac Tŷ Isha</em>, were never to return to their native Wales. Others took on an almost mythical identity among local people, such as <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/In_Pursuit_of_Twm_Carnabwth/irhAzwEACAAJ?hl=en">Thomas Rees</a>, or <em>Twm Carnabwth</em>, remembered as the leader of the first Rebecca attack at Efailwen.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A wooden sculpture showing a horse flanked by two women leaping over a gate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562391/original/file-20231129-19-8ksnxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wooden sculpture depicting the Rebecca riots in St Clears, Carmarthenshire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wooden-sculpture-depicting-rebecca-riots-1839-517024174">James Hime/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, Rebecca did not disappear entirely, and instances of protest and threatening letters sent in her name appear later in other parts of Wales. During the 1870s, Rebecca and her daughters appeared in protests concerning salmon poaching on the river Wye in mid Wales, <a href="https://journals.library.wales/view/1326508/1326739/35#?xywh=-1863%2C-216%2C6676%2C4285">described</a> as the “second Rebecca Riots”. </p>
<p>In the 20th century, the concept of Rebecca was invoked once more. In 1956, Welsh language newspaper, <em>Y Seren</em>, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Tryweryn_New_Dawn/zxn5zwEACAAJ?hl=en">inferred</a> that “the spirit of Beca” was once again needed to campaign against the flooding of Cwm Tryweryn in Gwynedd to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64799911">create a reservoir</a> to provide drinking water for Liverpool. </p>
<p>And Rebecca continues to resonate in Wales to this day, inspiring <a href="https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-village-to-stage-re-enactment-of-historic-tollgate-attack-that-sparked-rebecca-riots/">re-enactments</a> and community <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2721666-students-and-academics-take-cardiff-university-to-the-urdd-eisteddfod">engagement</a> – it shows that the fight for justice and the tradition of protest continues to play a powerful part in Welsh society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lowri Ann Rees does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The Rebecca riots saw Welsh farmers disguised as women destroy tollgates as a way of challenging what they believed was an oppressive taxation system.
Lowri Ann Rees, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218157
2023-11-24T12:15:36Z
2023-11-24T12:15:36Z
Doctor Who 60: show has always tapped into political issues – but never more so than in the 1970s
<p>Doctor Who hit television screens at a key period in British television history. It launched on <a href="https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b03jprm9">Saturday November 23, 1963,</a> at 5.15pm, being somewhat overshadowed by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/jfk-assassination-60-years-on-seven-experts-on-what-to-watch-see-and-read-to-understand-the-event-and-its-consequences-216203">assassination of US president John F. Kennedy</a> the previous day. </p>
<p>Set firmly within the BBC’s public service broadcasting ethos of informing, educating and entertaining, Doctor Who quickly became a mainstay of Saturday-evening viewing. <a href="https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php">By 1965</a>, it was drawing in around 10 million viewers. </p>
<p>Throughout its history, Doctor Who has tapped into political, social and moral issues of the day – sometimes explicitly, other times more subtly. During the 1970s, when the Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, there were a number of examples of this.</p>
<h2>Doctor Who in the 1970s</h2>
<p>The 1970s were a period of political and social divisions: relationships between the government the unions in the first part of the decade was strained, exemplified by the <a href="http://www.agor.org.uk/cwm/themes/events/1972_1974_strikes.asp">miners’ strikes of 1972 and 1974</a>. The political consensus that had dominated since 1945 was under pressure with talk of a break-up of the UK in the form of Welsh and Scottish Assemblies.</p>
<p>In his cultural history of Doctor Who, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=znJkigd6PIQC&q=doctor+who&redir_esc=y">Inside the Tardis</a>, television historian James Chapman argued that the 1970s painted “an uncomfortably sinister projection of the sort of society that Britain might come”. </p>
<p>It was never clear if Doctor Who storylines during this time were set in the present or at some point in the future. The fact that one of the lead characters, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of the United Nations Intelligence Task Force (UNIT), calls the prime minister “Madam” in a telephone conversation in one episode suggests the latter.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VeXVrBaLMWs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The opening credits for Doctor Who in the 1970s, with Jon Pertwee as Doctor.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As for some of the more politically engaged stories, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VKNM1lyWY8">The Green Death</a> (1973), or “the one with the giant maggots” as it is known by fans, certainly pulled no punches. Described by Chapman as an “eco disaster narrative”, it pitted corporate greed and capitalism against environmental activists (portrayed here as Welsh hippies) and their concerns for the planet. </p>
<p>In the episode, Global Chemicals, run by a faceless machine, is tipping waste from its petrochemical plant into a disused mine in the south Wales valleys (cue awful Welsh stereotypes). The green sludge not only kills people, but creates mutant maggots which also attack. As fears grew and the green movement gained momentum in the early 1970s, this story would have resonated with large parts of the audience.</p>
<p>When the Doctor visits the planet Peladon in <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Curse_of_Peladon_(TV_story)">The Curse of Peladon</a> (1972), the planet is attempting to join the Galactic Federation. There are those on the planet who argue for joining, while opponents are just as vociferous, arguing that joining the Federation would destroy the old ways of the planet. </p>
<p>Sound familiar? This is the time that Britain was negotiating to join the European Economic Community, as it did in 1973. Interestingly, the serial was broadcast during the time of the 1972 miners’ strike (leading to many viewers missing later episodes due to power cuts).</p>
<p>The follow-up story, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monster_of_Peladon_(TV_story)">The Monster of Peladon</a> (1974), is set against a backdrop of industrial strife and conflict involving miners.</p>
<h2>Tom Baker’s Doctor</h2>
<p>In what many consider to be one of the best classic serials, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Genesis_of_the_Daleks_(TV_story)">Genesis of the Daleks</a> (1975) Tom Baker’s doctor continued the tradition of raising complex political, social and moral issues. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t_Uoil_-eAc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Jon Pertwee’s Doctor regenerates to become Tom Baker’s.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sent back in time by the Time Lords to change the course of history, the Doctor at one point has an opportunity to destroy the mutations which form the “body” of the Dalek (inside their metal casing) and destroy the Dalek race forever. Holding two wires close to each other, about to create an explosion in the incubation room, he asks himself and his companions: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PXdwqlJ19U">Have I that right</a>?” </p>
<p>Having the ability to see the future, he says that future planets will become allies in fighting the evil of the Daleks. Had he the right to change the course of history? Given the symbolism used in the story (salutes, black outfits, references to a “pure” race) this was a clear reference to the rise of the Nazis. </p>
<p>The political allegories didn’t end in the 1970s. One of the most blatant can be seen in the 1988 serial, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Happiness_Patrol_(TV_story)">The Happiness Patrol</a>. The main antagonist, Helen A (played by Sheila Hancock), a ruthless and tyrannical leader is said to be modelled on Conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. The fact that Hancock appears to be impersonating Thatcher lends a certain degree of credence to this belief.</p>
<p>Anybody who argues that the revival of Doctor Who in 2005 saw a more political edge to the storylines need only look back over 60 years. Now that we can do this thanks to the BBC uploading more than 800 episodes onto iPlayer, it will become clear to all. </p>
<p>Doctor Who – especially during its Golden Age in the 1970s – <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/doctor-who-has-always-been-political-and-it-has-the-right-to-be">has always been political</a>.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Medhurst has received funding from The Leverhulme Trust, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the British Academy.</span></em></p>
Set firmly within the BBC’s public service broadcasting ethos of informing, educating and entertaining, Doctor Who quickly became a mainstay of Saturday evening viewing
Jamie Medhurst, Professor of Film and Media, Aberystwyth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214443
2023-10-31T16:47:03Z
2023-10-31T16:47:03Z
Great Fire of London: how we uncovered the man who first found the flames
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550395/original/file-20230926-21-irhyzf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C26%2C2506%2C1460&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Great Fire of London by Josepha Jane Battlehooke (1675).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Fire_London.jpg">Museum of London</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you had been in London on September 2 1666, the chances are you’d remember exactly where you were and who you were with. This was the day <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Great-Fire-of-London/">the Great Fire</a> began, sweeping across the city for almost five days.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/great-fire">The Museum of London</a> is due to open a new site in 2026. And in preparation for this, curators of the Great Fire gallery decided to examine the stories of everyday Londoners. </p>
<p>As I’d been working with the museum on a project about teaching the Great Fire in schools, I was asked by Meriel Jeater, curator of the Great Fire displays, if I could help research the lives of these Londoners. Top of our list for investigation were the residents of <a href="https://www.thehistoryreader.com/world-history/thomas-farriner/">Thomas Farriner’s</a> bakery in Pudding Lane, where the fire began.</p>
<p>There has been lots of excellent work on the Great Fire but, because of ambiguities in the surviving sources, historians have different conclusions about who was in the bakery. Farriner, his wife, children and anonymous servants were among the people mentioned in modern accounts. But it was quickly clear I needed to go back to the manuscript evidence to find answers.</p>
<p>Two types of official investigation into the fire’s causes were carried out in 1666: a parliamentary enquiry and the trial of <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2022/08/robert-hubert-and-the-great-fire-of-london.html">Robert Hubert</a>, a Frenchman who had falsely confessed to starting the blaze. While you might think Londoners would have a keen interest in who was there at the start of the fire, the surviving accounts of exactly who was present are fragmentary. </p>
<p>Full reports from the enquiries were not published. Meanwhile, most writers at the time were, understandably, much more concerned with the fire’s destructive power than describing its beginnings.</p>
<p>As a result, the clearest account of events in the bakery is in a letter from an MP, <a href="https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/harley-sir-edward-1624-1700">Sir Edward Harley</a>, reporting what he had heard. It’s now in the British Library, and was written in October 1666, when the two investigations into the fire were underway:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Baker of Pudding Lane in whose hous ye Fire began, makes it evident that no Fire was left in his Oven … that his daughter was in ye Bakehous at 12 of ye clock, that between one and two His man was waked with ye choak of ye Smoke, the fire begun remote from ye chimney and Oven, His mayd was burnt in ye Hous not adventuring to Escape as He, his daughter who was much scorched, and his man did out of ye Windore [window] and Gutter.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Narrowing down the suspects</h2>
<p>Other details in Harley’s letter suggested he was reliably reporting what he’d learned. The letter provides a list of bakery residents: Thomas Farriner, his unmarried daughter (Hanna), his “man” (meaning trained workman, aka journeyman) and his maid, who died. Other reports don’t mention the “man” or maid, but put Farriner’s son in the bakery.</p>
<p>A document in the London Metropolitan Archives provided more clues. This records the charges against Robert Hubert and – crucially – the names of seven witnesses against him. At the end were: “Thomas Farriner senior, Hanna Farriner, Thomas Dagger, Thomas Farriner Junior”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Painting of burning buildings in London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550396/original/file-20230926-15-orh761.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St Paul’s, artist unknown (c.1670).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Fire_of_London,_with_Ludgate_and_Old_St._Paul%27s.JPG">Yale Centre for British Art</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given that Thomas Dagger was sandwiched between the Farriners, Jeater and I suspected that he might be an unrecognised member of the household. Testing this theory, I was able to establish that the indictment’s list of names began with two men who had heard Hubert’s confession and a third who possibly had. The later names, starting with Thomas senior, appeared to be people who could testify to circumstances in the bakery.</p>
<p>This was exciting, because Thomas Dagger looked like a candidate for Farriner’s “man” in Harley’s account, potentially putting a name to the first reported witness of the Great Fire. Searching online archives, I could see there was a baker named Thomas Dagger running a business in Billingsgate after the fire and having many children. But we needed evidence to put Dagger in Pudding Lane.</p>
<h2>Sleuthing in the archives</h2>
<p>Fortunately, the Bakers’ Company records had not gone up in smoke like so many other guild documents did in September 1666. So I went sleuthing at the Guildhall Library, comparing Bakers’ company information on Farriner’s workforce to names on the indictment. </p>
<p>After much squinting at microfilms, this produced firm evidence for two young men. Thomas Farriner junior had joined the Bakers’ Company in 1669, claiming that right through his father. I was delighted to find Thomas Dagger had indeed worked for Farriner too. He came from Norton in Wiltshire and had been apprenticed to another baker in 1655 before serving out his apprenticeship at Pudding Lane. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign from the baker's guild marking the spot of the Pudding Lane bakery." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550397/original/file-20230926-15-w9motg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sign commemorating the starting place of the Great Fire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/memorial-plaque-showing-information-great-fire-720966694">Paula French/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That nine-year apprenticeship (unusually long), had ended in 1664, so at the time of the fire he’d stayed on, working unofficially as a journeyman. Of all the names on the indictment, Dagger most clearly matched the description of the man who first discovered the fire.</p>
<p>Continuing the 17th-century <a href="https://pepyshistory.le.ac.uk/who-discovered-the-great-fire/">investigations into the Great Fire</a> was intriguing, but it’s how the bakery residents’ stories are told that matters. One of the great things about having the life stories of people such as Thomas Dagger is that it will help make the history of London more relevant to young visitors. </p>
<p>For example, if you’re a school child from Wiltshire learning about the Great Fire, Thomas Dagger’s presence in the bakery suddenly makes that national history part of your local history.</p>
<p>As a low-status journeyman, Dagger’s name wasn’t memorable to people in 1666 – he’s barely mentioned in the sources. But the hope is that he and others like him might become memorable to visitors to the new London Museum. </p>
<p>The new research will enable the displays to better represent the Farriner household and provide a fuller understanding of this pivotal moment in London’s history.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Loveman received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for this research.</span></em></p>
Writers at the time were much more concerned with the fire’s destructive power than describing how it started in any detail.
Kate Loveman, Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture, University of Leicester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215563
2023-10-30T17:04:08Z
2023-10-30T17:04:08Z
Boudica: Queen of War reviewed by an expert in the real ancient British ruler
<p><em>Warning: this review contains some spoilers for Boudica: Queen of War.</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22688572/">Boudica: Queen of War</a> is a lively and violent retelling of the ancient British queen’s story. Written and directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0425364/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Jessie V. Johnson</a>, the film draws deeply upon Tacitus’ account of Boudica’s rebellion while also adopting Cassius Dio’s description of Boudica’s appearance and dress. <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-annals-9780192824219?cc=gb&lang=en&">Tacitus</a> was a Roman author writing in the late first century AD, while <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL083/1917/volume.xml">Dio</a> was a Greek author writing well over a century after the events.</p>
<p>Prasutagus (Clive Standen) is the leader of a peaceful people, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iceni">Iceni</a>, who live in East Anglia (now in England) and want to avoid conflict with Rome. Content to live at peace on the borders of the new province, Prasutagus and his wife Boudica (Olga Kurylenko) even employ a Roman tutor to teach Latin to their daughters. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nFwuqwVLCl8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Boudica: Queen of War.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Early in the film, Boudica visits a Roman city apparently quite close to where she is living and dresses as a Roman lady. Boudica has been portrayed in many other accounts (such as Miranda Aldhouse-Green’s <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Boudica-Britannia/Aldhouse-Green/p/book/9781032180083">Boudica Britannia</a>) as instinctively anti-Roman, so the depiction her pro-Roman family at the start of this film provides an interesting contrast. </p>
<p>The Britons are not all peaceful, however. The Iceni’s neighbours, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trinovantes">the Trinovantes</a>, want revenge on the Romans for overthrowing their oppidum (town) and building the Roman colony at <a href="https://www.visitcolchester.com/explore/colchesters-history/roman-colchester">Camulodunum</a> (now Colchester). The film takes on board an idea emphasised in <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/conquering-the-ocean-9780190937416?cc=gb&lang=en&">recent academic accounts</a> that the ancient peoples of Britain were not united in their actions and that resistance to Rome was piecemeal.</p>
<p>Johnson’s film addresses some of the complex identities of the ancient peoples of Britain and their variable approaches to contact with and conquest by Rome, but with some confusion over the ethnicity of those involved in the action.</p>
<p>For example, Boudica’s followers in her rebellion in this film include “Saxons”, led by a warrior called Wolfgar (Peter Franzén). The Saxons did not arrive in Britain until centuries after Boudica, so they couldn’t have fought against Romans in first-century AD Britain. Films always need to be given some leeway.</p>
<p>The Scottish “Celts” are also deeply involved in the action and appear to be the same people referred to in the film as “northern Britons”. The term “Celt” has sometimes been erroneously used to suggest that the population of Iron Age Britain formed a unified whole. </p>
<h2>Depictions of the Britons and Romans</h2>
<p>The Romans in Britain, by contrast to the British, are depicted as highly aggressive and deceitful. Catus Decianus (Nick Moran), the provincial procurator, arranges the ambushing and killing of Boudica’s peaceful and loyal husband. </p>
<p>Boudica herself is flogged and dispossessed of her territories, while the Romans kill her two young daughters. This is unclear until some way through the film, since the ghostly forms of the young girls appear in subsequent actions to advise Boudica on her campaign.</p>
<p>In rebellion, Boudica abandons her Roman apparel and dresses in a long cloak with a <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/how-do-you-put-torc">torc</a> (stiff gold necklace) around her neck. This costume choice draws on Cassius Dio’s description of her, which is the only detailed account of the appearance of an ancient Briton in the classical texts. </p>
<p>The Britons in the film are dressed in cloaks and trousers and do not fight naked (which I am sure is correct, though <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/%7Egrout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/miscellanea/geography.html">classical accounts of barbarians</a> often emphasised their nakedness). And, of course, as always, this Boudica has red hair – another detail drawn from Dio’s description. She is also given a bronze sword handed down from a warrior ancestor. </p>
<h2>A magical touch</h2>
<p>Boudica is challenged for her role as the war leader of the Britons by Wolfgar, who seizes this sword, bends it in two and throws it into a lake which is dangerous to swimmers. This ineffectual nature of this Bronze Age weapon, according to Wolfgar, symbolises Boudica’s unsuitability to lead the rebellion. </p>
<p>Jumping into the lake, Boudica retrieves her sword – remarkably restored to pristine condition – and amply demonstrates its magical properties with a straw dummy. The director seems to have added elements of the medieval legend of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Excalibur-Arthurian-legend">Arthur and Excalibur</a> to his tale of Boudica, but I think that there may be some other inspirations. </p>
<p>This sword reminds me of the ancient weapon drawn upon by Manda Scott in the first of her excellent Boudica novels, <a href="https://mandascott.co.uk/boudica-dreaming-the-eagle/">Dreaming the Eagle</a> (2003). I wonder if Scott, in turn, was influenced by <a href="https://colchesterheritage.co.uk/Monument/MCC1356">the Bronze Age palstave</a> (axe) found in the grave of a late Iron Age king at Lexden (Colchester).</p>
<p>Not all the Romans are depicted as horrid. Emperor Nero (Harry Kirton), who resides in the city of Rome, is a troubled figure who wants to be a musician and seems to abhor violence.</p>
<p>Olga Kurylenko plays a convincing Boudica, transformed from a loving mother into a violent warrior by the events of war.</p>
<p>I found the complex issues explored by the film interesting. I particularly appreciated the way the idea that Britons could change allegiance was used. We cannot assume that Boudica was instinctively deeply anti-Roman. As Tacitus – and Johnson’s film – indicates, she was probably driven to violent action by Roman aggression.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Hingley has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>
A lively and violent retelling of the ancient British queen’s story.
Richard Hingley, Professor of Archaeology, Durham University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212316
2023-10-12T17:11:41Z
2023-10-12T17:11:41Z
Senghenydd colliery disaster: how Britain’s worst mining tragedy revealed the true price of coal
<p>Miners working at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, south Wales, were in the middle of their morning shifts 2000ft below the ground when a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18610076">massive explosion</a> ripped through the deep pit at 8.10am. A spark from an electric bell had ignited a deadly mix of methane gas and coal dust, known to miners as “firedamp”. </p>
<p>The blast on October 14 1913 killed 439 men and boys, with another dying during rescue operations. It was, and remains, the <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/census/pandp/places/seng.htm">worst</a> coal mining disaster in British history and also the sixth worst in the world. </p>
<p>But disasters of this dreadful nature occurred with dismal regularity in the south Wales coalfield when the industry was at its height. South Wales was the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4582420/">most dangerous</a> coalfield in what was statistically the most dangerous industry in the UK at that time. </p>
<p>Only a few miles away from Senghenydd, 290 miners had died in an explosion at the <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/albion-colliery-mining-disaster-cilfynydd-16135285">Albion Colliery</a> in Cilfynydd in 1894. The Universal Colliery had itself suffered an earlier explosion, in <a href="https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/glamorganshire/universal-colliery-explosion-senghenydd-1901/">1901</a>, which killed 81 miners. </p>
<p>Everyone in Senghenydd lost family or friends in the 1913 disaster. It left 542 children fatherless and made widows of more than 200 women. Ninety boys and young men aged 20 or less were killed, with the youngest victims being just 14 years old. One chapel in the village reportedly lost 60% of its male members. </p>
<p>Although Senghenydd bore the brunt of the tragedy, its deadly effects were also felt further afield. A sizeable minority of the miners who were killed lived in the neighbouring village of Abertridwr and other nearby villages, while ten lived as comparatively far away as Cardiff. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ancestry.co.uk/c/uk1911census">1911 Census</a> shows a large number of families and individuals from every part of Wales living or lodging in Senghenydd. It also shows that many of those who were killed in the disaster had come to the village from England and some from Ireland.</p>
<h2>Justice?</h2>
<p>From the perspective of mining families, the official investigations into the disaster added insult to injury. The coroner’s inquest into the disaster returned a verdict of <a href="https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/glamorganshire/universal-colliery-explosion-senghenydd-1913/">accidental death</a>. </p>
<p>Following the inquest, the colliery’s manager was prosecuted for 17 breaches of the Coal Mines Act, while the company was charged with four breaches. But most of those charges ended up being dropped. </p>
<p>The manager was eventually fined a total of £24 and the company was fined £10 with £5 and 5 shillings costs. As the Merthyr Pioneer newspaper <a href="https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4000499/4000502/27/senghenydd%20disaster%201914">reported</a>: “Miners’ lives at 1s 1¼d each” –- the equivalent of 5.5p per dead miner in today’s money.</p>
<p>The Universal Colliery went back to work at the end of November 1913. It eventually closed in 1928 and the derelict site was demolished in 1963.</p>
<p>In 2013, on the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24506122">100th anniversary</a> of the disaster, the <a href="https://www.visitcaerphilly.com/en/senghenydd-national-mining-memorial-garden/">Welsh National Mining Memorial</a> was unveiled on the old colliery site, to commemorate miners killed in the Senghenydd disasters and also to remember the victims of the other 150 mining disasters in Wales. </p>
<p>Hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects and to view the unveiling of the memorial. The scale of the public turnout to the commemoration showed the extent to which the people of the south Wales valleys are still aware of the terrible toll of death and injury that the industry inflicted upon its workforce.</p>
<p>The memorial statue itself depicts a rescue worker helping an injured miner. Surrounding the statute is a walled garden, with tiles inscribed with the details of those killed in the two Senghenydd disasters as well as a “path of memory”, which marks other colliery tragedies in Wales.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yy72FYqG5Is?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Channel 4 news report from the 100 year commemoration.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the disaster was <a href="https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2013/10/11/the-mining-disaster-at-the-universal-colliery-in-senghenydd-south-wales-14-october-1913/">widely reported</a> at the time, it faded from memory for most people and is not well known beyond Wales by now. </p>
<p>It is possible that this was due to it being eclipsed by the outbreak of the first world war less than a year later. Or perhaps it was because there were just so many colliery disasters that memory of it merged into a broader, vaguer memory of death and danger in the coalfields. </p>
<h2>Remembering</h2>
<p>Although the collieries are all long gone now, mining disasters continue to retain a contemporary resonance in the folk memory of the south Wales coalfield region. </p>
<p>This was seen in <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/coal-spoil-tips-landslide-safe-17826953">popular responses</a> to a coal tip landslide in Tylorstown in 2020, which is just 11km away from Senghenydd. It was reflective of the visceral horror at the <a href="https://aberfan.walesonline.co.uk">Aberfan disaster</a> of October 1966, in which 116 children and 28 adults were killed when a coal tip slid downhill onto a primary school. </p>
<p>Such latter-day commemoration, as often as not via social media nowadays, is perpetuated by people who in many cases have no personal memory of these disasters –- yet nevertheless, we remember. The people of the valleys have never forgotten that coal was always stained with blood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Curtis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Four hundred and forty men and boys were killed in the Senghenydd colliery disaster, with the youngest victims aged just 14 years old.
Ben Curtis, Historian, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214529
2023-09-28T10:38:25Z
2023-09-28T10:38:25Z
Too often learning ‘British history’ means learning ‘English history’ – but overburdened schoolteachers are not to blame
<p>How much do you really know about the history of the United Kingdom? What passes for “British history” is, all too often, merely the <a href="https://theconversation.com/global/topics/british-history-8636">history of England</a> with bits of the histories of Scotland, Wales and Ireland tacked on when they affected events in England. </p>
<p>In a radio interview some years ago, the BBC presenter Nicky Campbell put it to me that, fun though the Romans or Tudors might be, only history nerds are interested in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Glorious-Revolution">Glorious Revolution of 1688</a>. “You say that because you’re in London,” I replied. “You wouldn’t say it if you were in Belfast.”</p>
<p>It only takes a short stroll through Belfast to see why. Unionist streets are famous for their colourful murals of the protestant hero <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-III-king-of-England-Scotland-and-Ireland">William of Orange</a> riding his white horse into battle above the words: “Remember 1690!” That was the year of his victory over the catholic <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/people/james-ii-king-of-great-britain-1633-1701#/">James II</a> at the <a href="https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/battle-of-the-boyne/">Battle of the Boyne</a>. </p>
<p>The events of 1690 are still a sensitive topic in Northern Ireland, but they’re largely unknown in the rest of the UK. Any Scot knows about the controversial passage of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Act-of-Union-Great-Britain-1707">Act of Union in 1707</a>, creating the joint kingdom of Great Britain – but very few people in England have even heard of it, because it is hardly ever taught in schools.</p>
<h2>School constraints</h2>
<p>Part of the blame lies with educational tradition. It is quite normal for any country’s educational system to give priority to its national history. This has remained central to government thinking ever since the introduction of the national curriculum at the end of the 1980s. But what counts as “national” in a composite country like the UK? </p>
<p>Teachers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have long tried to balance the history of these nations with that of England. But for teachers in England, the problem is compounded precisely because England dwarfs the other nations in size and population. Many history textbooks make use of examples from other parts of the UK to illustrate common themes, but it is unusual for English schools to spend much time studying Scottish, Irish or Welsh history in its own right.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sandcastle with the union flag in each turret" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C47%2C5206%2C3450&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550713/original/file-20230927-17423-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Too often ‘British history’ is really ‘English history’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/british-seaside-traditional-sand-castle-on-317546204">Claire Fraser/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Does this matter? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/26/uk-schools-should-teach-all-four-nations-histories-says-david-olusoga">According to the TV historian David Olusoga</a>, it does. He has promoted his new BBC television series, aptly named <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gd264g">Union</a>, by calling on schools to teach more about the histories of the other nations of the UK, especially if we want the union to continue. </p>
<p>With timetables heavily constrained, few history teachers will be able to rise to Olusoga’s challenge, especially with the requirement to balance the demands of British history with the need to teach about non-British and non-western themes. Many schools now spend <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/no-tokenistic-diversity-new-history-curriculum">more time on the history of India or China</a> than on the history of Scotland or Ireland. </p>
<p>In any case, most children in England <a href="https://www.history.org.uk/higher-ed/categories/912/resource/10557/school-history-faqs">drop history at 14</a>, and at GCSE and A level the choice of topic is determined far more by examination boards and by what teaching materials are available, than by ideals and aspirations. </p>
<h2>The role of broadcasters</h2>
<p>If people are to learn more about the different histories that make up the United Kingdom, it might be better to make more creative and extensive use of broadcasting and other media outlets rather than imposing yet another initiative on overburdened schoolteachers.</p>
<p>However, the ideal of a British history that gives a proper space to the histories of all parts of the United Kingdom is too important to be overlooked, especially at a time when there is much more of a drive to make history at school and university more global in its outlook. </p>
<p>At Anglia Ruskin, where I am a lecturer, we have for some years now taught a course on the Tudor and Stuart period which gives students a good grounding both in familiar themes from English history and in Scottish and Irish history. </p>
<p>Students learn about the flourishing of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Scottish-renaissance">Scottish renaissance</a> looking at Stirling Castle as well as Hampton Court, and about the doleful impact of English rule on Ireland, from the rebellion of “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Fitzgerald-10th-Earl-of-Kildare">Silken Thomas</a>” against Henry VIII, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zj7vrj6/articles/z2bgsrd">Ulster Plantations</a> and the harsh Cromwellian settlement, to the arrival of William of Orange and his victory in 1690. </p>
<p>It is not easy to fit everything in, but if history is to be of any use to those who study it, it ought to help them understand the nature of the country and society they live in. The <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9548/">Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol</a> and the continuing saga of <a href="https://theconversation.com/scottish-independence-what-has-changed-since-the-last-referendum-185985">demands for Scottish independence</a> remind us that these histories should not be of interest only to nerds: we all need to know them.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214529/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Lang is affiliated with the Historical Association. </span></em></p>
If history is to be of any use to those who study it, it ought to help them understand the nature of the country and society they live in.
Sean Lang, Senior Lecturer in History, Anglia Ruskin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210511
2023-08-07T12:01:08Z
2023-08-07T12:01:08Z
The strange history of ice cream flavours – from brown bread to Parmesan and paté
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539568/original/file-20230726-15-q9sqyp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1276%2C926&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Noblewomen eating ice cream in a French caricature, (1801).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Les_Glaces.jpg">Gallica</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>English Heritage is now selling what it calls “the best thing since sliced bread” at 13 of its sites – <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread--english-heritage-re-creates-georgian-brown-bread-ice-cream-this-summer/">brown bread ice cream</a>, inspired by a Georgian recipe. The announcement of the flavour mentions <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z-pIgKG27M">several more outlandish Georgian flavours</a> trialled by English Heritage before it landed on brown bread, such as Parmesan and cucumber.</p>
<p>English Heritage is not alone in its efforts to beguile visitors with historical treats. In Edinburgh, the National Trust for Scotland’s <a href="https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/gladstones-land/history-of-food-and-drink">Gladstone’s Land</a> features an ice cream parlour linked to the dairy which stood there in 1904. The property sells elderflower and lemon curd ice cream based on a recipe from 1770, and visitors can go on several <a href="https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/gladstones-land/highlights/tours">food-themed tours</a>. </p>
<p>While brown bread ice cream, praised for its caramel nuttiness, may be a more familiar flavour to contemporary eaters than other historical offerings, the iced delights eaten in Britain in previous centuries took a huge variety of flavours and forms. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/ice/marshall.htm">Agnes Marshall</a>, the authority on ice cream during the late 19th century, published two cookbooks specifically about “ices” (1885) and “<a href="https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/ice/marshall.htm">fancy ices</a>” (1894). They included flavours from an elaborately moulded and coloured <a href="https://archive.org/details/b21528068/page/42/mode/2up?q=spinach">iced spinach à la crème</a>, to <a href="https://archive.org/details/b29314501/page/130/mode/2up">little devilled ices in cups</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustrations of ice cream in the shape of pineapples and doves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1211&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1211&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539569/original/file-20230726-17-y7r11f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1211&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the different ice cream designs made by Agnes B. Marshall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fancy_Ices_ice_cream_illustration.jpg">Dominic Winter Auctioneers</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The latter consisted of a chicken pâté spiked with curry powder and Worcestershire sauce, egg yolks and anchovies, which was then mixed with gravy, gelatine and whipped cream, before being frozen in decorative cups and served “for a luncheon or second-course dish”.</p>
<p>Earlier texts contain even more outlandish flavours alongside the typical, sweet offerings. </p>
<p>French foodie <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5cSf963VtsNDsr3qj0qCVNV/8-scoops-on-the-history-of-ice-cream">Monsieur Emy</a>’s <a href="https://sotherans.co.uk/products/emy-m-lart-de-bien-faire-les-glaces-doffice-ou-les-vrais-principes-pour-congeler-tous-les-raffrichemens-la-manier"><em>L’Art de Bien Faire les Glaces d’Office</em></a> (1768) has recipes for truffle, saffron and various cheese-flavoured ice creams.</p>
<h2>The history of ice cream</h2>
<p>By the time Marshall was publishing, ice cream was far more accessible to the public than in earlier centuries. Prior to the 1800s, ice was collected from frozen waterways and stored in underground ice houses, largely restricted to large estates with the necessary land, wealth and resources. </p>
<p>From the 1820s, however, ice was imported to Britain from Europe and then the US and stored in ice wells and warehouses. The importation of larger stocks of ice reduced costs, while simultaneously, innovators were designing apparatus for mechanical freezing. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white advert for. round turn handle ice cream maker." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1199&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1199&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539570/original/file-20230726-27-srlzvl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1199&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An advertisement for Marshall’s patent freezer from 1885.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marshall%27s_patent_freezer.png">Robin Weir</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It would be a long time until ice was easily produced within the home, but cheaper ice made ice cream more readily available and implements were devised so it could be made at home. Both Emy and Marshall’s cookbooks depicting ice cream makers and Marshall’s patent freezer enlisted the same freezing technique as Emy’s <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/creating-new-europe-1600-1800-galleries/can-i-have-a-taste-of-your-ice-cream"><em>Sarbotiere et son Seau</em></a> (<a href="https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/Spring10/icecream.cfm">pot freezer</a> and bucket). </p>
<p>Ice and salt were placed around a bucket, within which a custard or water mixture was stirred or rotated until it froze. Marshall’s innovation was the shallow pan, which gave an increased surface area for faster freezing. Equipped with such a freezer (and perhaps <a href="https://archive.org/details/b29314501/page/246/mode/2up">Marshall’s patent Ice Cave</a>, for storing the ices), middle-class housewives could produce ice cream in their own kitchens.</p>
<h2>Ice cream and leisure</h2>
<p>Ice cream is well suited for engaging visitors at heritage properties today, not because of the history of how it was produced within the home but because of its holiday connotations. Whether it is a “99”, an “oyster” enjoyed at the beach, or the nearing jingle of an ice cream truck, ice cream has clear cultural and emotional links to recreation and enjoyment. This was also true in the past. </p>
<p>In 19th century Britain, street vendors (many of them Italian immigrants) began selling <a href="https://scarboroughmuseumsandgalleries.org.uk/object/penny-lick-glasses/">penny licks</a>, or “hokey-pokey” from stalls or carts in the streets. In contrast to the immaculately-moulded delicacies in Marshall’s cookbook – which required the purchase of several pieces of equipment – this ice cream was to be enjoyed while out and about. It was also cheap, as implied by “penny” in the title. </p>
<p>Customers would purchase their ice upon a glass “lick”, eat it and then return the lick to the vendor for reuse. With growing numbers of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/seaside_01.shtml#:%7E:text=Most%20of%20our,%27traditional%27%20summer%20holiday.">seaside resorts</a> and the rise of the leisure industry over the 19th century, ices were enjoyed while on holiday or daily excursions and at public events like exhibitions or fairs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Colourful postcard showing colourised picture of children surrounding an ice cream man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539571/original/file-20230726-21-gq406w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children surround an ice cream vendor in 1909.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_in_the_Ghetto_and_the_Ice-Cream_Man._Chicago_Ill._(FRONT).jpeg">Wiki Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is the portability of ice cream, as well as its culinary appeal, that has led to its lasting place in our leisure time – a delicious treat that can be enjoyed, one-handed, as part of a larger experience. The act of eating ice cream prepared from a Georgian or Victorian recipe therefore connects today’s visitors to a long tradition of enjoying ices recreationally.</p>
<p>While heritage properties are unlikely to embrace the more unsanitary ways ice cream used to be eaten, serving up historical recipes gives visitors a chance to savour a new sensory layer of the past. That taste can be linked into larger histories. From ice cream, we can learn about technological developments, changing attitudes towards sanitation, global travel, the availability of ingredients throughout time, trends, fashion and leisure habits. </p>
<p>Delving into the history of food – from the tins in our cupboards, to a cup of tea, or an ice cream at the beach – can bring new perspective to both the past and the present.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindsay Middleton's research was previously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>
Chicken pâté was mixed with gravy, gelatine and whipped cream, before being frozen in decorative cups.
Lindsay Middleton, Food Historian and Knowledge Exchange Associate, University of Glasgow
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204491
2023-06-21T09:04:52Z
2023-06-21T09:04:52Z
How the Windrush generation transformed music in Britain
<p>There was a black musical presence in Britain many centuries before the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush at London’s Tilbury dock. </p>
<p>In the Tudor period, it was fashionable for wealthy households to employ and enjoy black musicians, particularly within the royal courts. The most well known were royal trumpeter <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/john-blanke/#gs.v6cfco">John Blanke</a> and violinist <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-33211440">Joseph Emidy</a>.</p>
<p>During subsequent centuries spanning the Tudor, Stuart, Georgian and Victorian periods, there were many prolific black musicians in Britain. Composers <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/george-bridgetower">George Bridgetower</a>, <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/who-was-samuel-coleridge-taylor-what-famous-for/">Samuel Coleridge-Taylor</a> and <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/ignatius-sancho">Ignatius Sancho</a> were well known. But <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183gztr">there were also many street musicians</a>, known in the 1800s as “<a href="https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/12/the-war-against-noise">negro melodists</a>” and touring vaudeville performers, who were described by social historian <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/london-labour-and-the-london-poor-by-henry-mayhew">Henry Mayhew</a> in his writings on the London working class.</p>
<p>With Windrush, however, came <a href="http://kemetdevelopment.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paul-Gilroy-The-Black-Atlantic.pdf">new forms of music</a>, which were emerging from the music scene across the Atlantic. A dockside performance of London Is The Place For Me by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/lord-kitchener-empire-windrush">Trinidad’s top calypsonian</a>, Lord Kitchener, emphasised the commitment that Windrush arrivals had with the empire through its reference to Britain as the “mother country”. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This article is part of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/windrush-75-139220?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Windrush75&utm_content=InArticleTop">Windrush 75 series</a>, which marks the 75th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain. The stories in this series explore the history and impact of the hundreds of passengers who disembarked to help rebuild after the second world war.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>As well as Lord Kitchener, on board the ship were several well-known musicians. Singer and actress <a href="https://epicchq.com/story/mona-baptiste-the-windrush-passenger-who-settled-in-ireland/">Mona Baptiste</a> arrived from Trinidad with fellow calypsonian compatriots <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lord-beginner-mn0000280344">Lord Beginner</a> and the too-often-forgotten <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/lord-woodbine-the-forgotten-sixth-beatle-2015140.html">Lord Woodbine</a>. </p>
<p>After settling in Liverpool, Woodbine became a singer-songwriter, promoter and uncontracted manager for a short-lived band named <a href="https://beatles.fandom.com/wiki/The_Silver_Beetles">The Silver Beetles</a>, featuring two young lads named Paul McCartney and John Lennon.</p>
<p>The Windrush arrivals generally found it difficult to gather in established municipal spaces. Clubs and public houses legally operated <a href="https://camra.org.uk/learn-discover/the-basics/what-was-the-colour-bar-2/#:%7E:text=Pubs%20throughout%20the%20country%20used,not%20be%20served%20at%20all">colour bars</a> (which prohibited non-white patrons) well into the 1960s. </p>
<p>As a result, West Indians were forced to create their own alternative spaces for leisure. Churches, shebeens (illegal drinking establishments) or Blues parties were developed as spaces that were open to all local community members.</p>
<p>It wasn’t unusual to find Irish women in West Indian shebeens, as by the end of the 1950s <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/21265/bass-culture-by-lloyd-bradley/9780140237634">considerable camaraderie</a> existed between these two sets of often-despised arrivals.</p>
<p>These venues were turned into profitable business ventures that highlighted the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Black-Men-in-Britain-%20An-Ethnographic-Portrait-of-the-Post-Windrush%20Generation/Monrose/p/book/9780367647223">cultural and communal significance</a> of the newly arrived sound systems (powerful mobile speakers used to play music at events such as street parties and the collective of deejays, engineers and MCs that run them) in Britain. </p>
<h2>Rise of the sound system</h2>
<p>Sound systems transformed the way music was played and listened to in Britain. Thanks to soundmen (those who own or manage a sound system) such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/04/count-suckle">Count Suckle</a>, <a href="http://www.wakingthedead.org/duke-vin.html">Duke Vin</a>, <a href="https://sirlloydcoxsone.com/bio/">Lloyd Coxsone</a> and the recently deceased <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/12/jah-shaka-dub-and-reggae-pioneer-at-the-helm-of-london-sound-system-culture-has-died">Jah Shaka</a>, sounds became an important cultural possession for black people. They were one of the few manufactured commodities that were used to celebrate the aesthetics and creativity of black culture.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2k3KlE9649A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A short film on the history of the sound system in Britain.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-55161-2_3">Narratives from Beyond the UK Reggae Bassline</a>, sociologist Les Back explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Since the mid-1970s, the name Jah Shaka has become synonymous with Rastafarian roots music, dubwise and Marcus Garvey’s black consciousness … Shaka sound system was a vital part of London black life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Despite the rising tide of racism during this time, the music played on sound systems began to <a href="http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3342/">gather patronage</a> from both black and white youth subcultures. </p>
<p>In response to <a href="https://www.impressions-gallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/RAR-Info-sheet.pdf">racist comments</a> made by guitarist Eric Clapton at a concert in Birmingham in 1976, photographer Red Saunders and designer Roger Huddle organised the <a href="https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/the-bloomsbury-handbook-of-popular-music-and-social-class/ch4-it-s-up-to-you-class-status-and-punk-politics-in-rock-against-racism">Rock Against Racism movement</a>, which ran from 1976 to 1981.</p>
<p>Major record labels <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/life-death-and-afterlife-of-the-record-store-9781501384509/">seized the opportunity</a> to capitalise on the emerging marketability of reggae music and prompted moguls such as Richard Branson to form subsidiary record labels geared toward the genre.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People marching with Rock Against Racism banners in London, black and white photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523818/original/file-20230502-2540-1rui3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rock Against Racism event in Trafalgar Square, London, 1978.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_Against_Racism_1978.jpg">Sarah Wyld</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As producer Lloyd Coxsone said in a personal conversation with me: “Reggae has its roots in Jamaica but the business end of the music was in England.” </p>
<p>Sound systems were also pivotal in honing black British talent. They led artists such as <a href="https://www.tippairie.com/">Tippa Irie</a>, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lives-in-brief-smiley-culture-35k9xndv7vw">Smiley Culture</a> and <a href="https://maxipriest.com/">Maxi Priest</a> to become household names once their material charted.</p>
<p>As sociologist <a href="https://irgg.yale.edu/event/conversation-between-william-henry-michael-veal-what-deejay-said-critique-street">Lez Henry explains</a>: “Black youths in Britain, by way of the Deejay performance (via sound systems), created a living history that challenged their negative depiction.”</p>
<p>Former soundman <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315569482-8/men-cry-lisa-%20amanda-palmer">Dennis Bovell agrees</a> and suggests that the post-Windrush generation during the 1980s grew West Indian music into something distinctively British, seen in music such as Steve McQueen’s film <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/17/lovers-rock-review-steve-mcqueen-small-axe">Lovers Rock</a> for example.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/small-axe-what-steve-mcqueen-got-right-and-wrong-about-lovers-rock-151068">Small Axe: what Steve McQueen got right and wrong about lovers rock</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Men setting up a large array of speakers on a street in Notting Hilll." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523820/original/file-20230502-2540-zimc5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Setting up a sound system at Notting Hill Carnival, 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Notting_Hill_Carnival_2015_(20408408623).jpg">Adrian Scottow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A similar trend occurred with other subgenres, such as mod/boss reggae and two-tone in the 1970s and 1980s. It continued into the 1990s with the emergence of dubstep, jungle and more in recent times, grime.</p>
<p>In her book, <a href="https://repeaterbooks.com/product/terraformed-young-black-lives-in-the-inner-city/">Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City</a>, urban music researcher Joy White explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Grime’s sonic origins flow through the musical practice of the black diaspora, namely hip-hop, reggae (particularly dancehall) jungle and UK garage, whilst Jamaican and UK sound system culture and practice also had a significant influence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A further example of this is the impact of migrants from Africa, who have skilfully fused music from the continent into new and distinctive hybrids of black music such as Afro-beat and Afro-swing, which have become exceedingly popular in Britain.</p>
<p>The Windrush arrival transformed music in Britain, either by way of the savvy and sophisticated social commentary provided by calypsonians with their steel bands, or the sound systems and their deejays. </p>
<p>Their input assisted the development of the fertile British music scene of today and positively enhanced the cadence, rhythm and tempo of British culture.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can <em><a href="https://bit.ly/3DdOERY">download the e-book here</a></em>. Thank you for your interest.</p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204491/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenny Monrose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The arrival of Windrush brought new forms of music to Britain.
Kenny Monrose, Researcher, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/206255
2023-06-13T15:20:19Z
2023-06-13T15:20:19Z
Why medieval manuscripts are full of doodles of snail fights
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527819/original/file-20230523-12079-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=326%2C106%2C2504%2C1362&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Battle in the margins from the Gorleston Psalter (1310-1324).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_49622">British Library </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The doodles found in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-medieval-manuscripts-feature-doodles-and-what-they-reveal-190114">margins of very old manuscripts</a> are often just as interesting as the content of the manuscripts themselves. One such example is the frequently recurring – and extremely odd – image of knights warring against snails. </p>
<p>From the late 13th century through to the 15th century, images of knights fighting snails pop up in all sorts of unlikely places within the medieval literary world. And they reveal fascinating insights into what medieval people thought about the world around them.</p>
<p><a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/09/knight-v-snail.html">Images of knights fighting snails</a> first started to emerge in North French illuminated manuscripts (which are decorated with richly coloured illustrations) towards the end of the 13th century (around 1290). A few years on – although slightly less consistently – these same images started appearing in Flemish and English manuscripts.</p>
<p>Interestingly, in most cases these snail doodles appear to be unrelated to the adjoining illustrations of textual passages.</p>
<p>Often, the doodles depicted an armed knight confronting a snail whose horns were extended and pointing like arrows. In the manuscripts of the French folktale, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-de-Renart">Le Roman de Renart</a>, the weapons that the knights were depicted with varied between sticks, maces, flails, axes, swords and even forks. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A knight on horseback jousting with a snail." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527821/original/file-20230523-4359-o9bdq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extreme jousting from Brunetto Latini’s Li Livres dou Tresor, (c. 1315-1325).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=8128&CollID=58&NStart=19">Courtesy of the British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Snail assailants are almost always male knights. However, there is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2852357">one known instance of a woman opposing a snail</a> wielding a spear and shield. </p>
<p>As these snail combat doodles increased in popularity within manuscripts, they became an accepted element of medieval imagery. From here, they spread to other areas of medieval life.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A page from a manuscript showing a snail facing a monk in the footer. The monk is disarmed and on his knees." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527827/original/file-20230523-28-6opxah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A disarmed monk faces a snail opponent, from The Book of Hours (c. 1320-1330).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=8836&CollID=8&NStart=6563">Courtesy of the British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Decorative panels <a href="https://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/public/files/2006-transactions-volume-xvii-part-4-194995852.pdf">carved around 1310</a> on the main entrance of <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/locations/lyon-cathedral/">Lyon Cathedral</a> in France, for example, showcase a knight confronting a snail and another man threatening a dog-headed giant snail with an axe.</p>
<p>Despite travelling across the continent, the knights versus snails motif varied little from country to country, which suggests that it may have had a deeper meaning.</p>
<h2>Medieval satire</h2>
<p>Nobody knows exactly why battles between snails and knights were so popular throughout the middle ages. One theory is that these doodles <a href="https://www.gotmedieval.com/2009/07/whats-so-funny-about-knights-and-snails.html">added humour</a> to texts which were otherwise quite dry and serious. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A knight praying for mercy from a large hovering snail." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527823/original/file-20230523-19-muwv1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The gastropod conqueror from the Gorleston Psalter, 1310-1324.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_49622&index=0">Courtesy of the British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A reader could rest their eyes by taking a moment to laugh at the scene of snail combat before continuing with their reading.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rabbit and a snail sit on top of a pair of monkey's shoulders, jousting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527829/original/file-20230523-18640-r4nxs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rabbit, monkeys and snail jousting, from the Harley Froissart (c. 1470-1472).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_4379">Courtesy of the British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of the doodles show a knight dropping their sword or kneeling submissively before their diminutive shelled foe, which accentuates its satirical implications. There are also several representations of women pleading with knights not to attack the formidable beasts. </p>
<p>Other similarly lighthearted imagery includes a cat stalking a snail with the head of a mouse, as well as dogs, monkeys, dragons and even rabbits in fierce opposition with the molluscs.</p>
<h2>The meaning of the snail motif</h2>
<p>Snails were recognised in medieval times for their unusual strength, given that they were able to carry their home on their back. Confrontation with a snail, therefore, could represent a test of personal strength as well as mental fortitude. </p>
<p>Once <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2852357">a symbol of deceptive courage</a>, the snail became a creature to be hunted down and destroyed in a display of strength and bravery.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A knight approaches a large red snail, wielding a club." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527825/original/file-20230523-19-miwckg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A knight versus snail fight from the Smithfield Decretals ( c.1300-1340).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Royal_MS_10_e_iv&index=0">Courtesy of the British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like many other subjects popularised in marginal illuminations of the 1300s, the snail and knight duo gradually disappeared as time wore on. They experienced a brief revival, however, in medieval manuscripts towards the end of the 15th century. </p>
<p>And they haven’t completely disappeared from the common imagination. Today the pairing can still be enjoyed in the nursery rhyme, <a href="https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1509">Four-and-Twenty Tailors Went To Kill a Snail</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail,</p>
<p>The best man amongst them durst not touch her tail;</p>
<p>She put out her horns like a little Kyloe cow;</p>
<p>Run, tailors, run, or she’ll kill you all e’en now.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeleine S. Killacky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Snails were recognised in medieval times for their unusual strength, given that they were able to carry their home on their back.
Madeleine S. Killacky, PhD Candidate, Medieval Literature, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204880
2023-06-07T12:25:17Z
2023-06-07T12:25:17Z
Ivor Cummings: the forgotten gay mentor of the Windrush generation
<p>The most familiar version of the story of the Windrush generation excludes LGBTQ+ people. It describes how (presumed) heterosexual men from the Caribbean, seeking economic opportunity, arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush and later spawned – literally and figuratively – the generation of black Britons to follow.</p>
<p>But, that narrative leaves out an important figure: Ivor Gustavus Cummings. His influence and dedication made him the true spawner of the Windrush generation. And Cummings was an openly gay man.</p>
<p>Whitehall was informed of the imminent arrival of several hundred settlers aboard the Empire Windrush via a telegram from the governor of Jamaica, 13 days before the ship set sail.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528239/original/file-20230525-19-6vicuz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This article is part of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/windrush-75-139220?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Windrush75&utm_content=InArticleTop">Windrush 75 series</a>, which marks the 75th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain. The stories in this series explore the history and impact of the hundreds of passengers who disembarked to help rebuild after the second world war.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>This telegram was routed to the welfare department of <a href="https://history.blog.gov.uk/tag/colonial-office/">the Colonial Office</a> (the government department that oversaw the colonies of the British Empire). There it became the responsibility of the second most senior officer – 35-year-old Ivor Cummings.</p>
<p>Cummings replied with apprehensive determination: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although we shall do what we can for these fellows, the main problem is the complete lack of accommodation and being unable to put in hand any satisfactory reception arrangements.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A <a href="https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/tagdetails/884cc2aa-ee96-4896-a708-1bb1af677b41">paper trail</a> of telegrams, letters, reports and addresses – both typed and handwritten – documents Cummings’ dogged efforts to secure accommodations and resources for the “Windrushers” on a time crunch.</p>
<h2>How Cummings prepared for arrivals</h2>
<p>As the ship crossed the Atlantic, Cummings feverishly pieced together arrangements for the travellers’ reception. He was the point person, coordinating among multiple departments of the civil service and officials in England, Jamaica and on the high seas.</p>
<p><a href="https://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C3985252">It was Cummings</a> who, after all other options were exhausted, negotiated the use of a former <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44483090">air raid shelter</a> beneath Clapham Common for those in need of lodging. </p>
<p>This choice of location led to nearby Brixton <a href="https://brixtonblog.com/2018/06/windrush-a-post-war-subterranean-shelter/">becoming a destination</a> for other African-Caribbean newcomers and the rise of one of the most iconic black neighbourhoods in Britain. </p>
<p>When, on June 21, the Empire Windrush dropped anchor at London’s Tilbury docks, Cummings boarded the ship and greeted the hopeful migrants before they were cleared to disembark the following day, the 22nd, now celebrated as “National Windrush Day”.</p>
<p>“First of all,” <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/commonwealth-migration-since-1945/cummings-address-to-windrush-passengers/">he said</a> in his magisterial tone of voice (a 1974 BBC documentary, <a href="https://www.ravensbourne.ac.uk/bbc-motion-graphics-archive/black-man-britain-1974">The Black Man in Britain</a>, features interviews with Cummings), “let me welcome you to Great Britain and express the hope that you will all achieve the objects that brought you here”. </p>
<h2>Who was Ivor Cummings?</h2>
<p>Cummings was born in West Hartlepool, England, in 1913, to a white English mother and Sierra Leonean father.</p>
<p>His paternal line was distinguished – <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/who-was-samuel-coleridge-taylor-what-famous-for/">composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor</a> was a cousin. </p>
<p>Another relative was Constance Cummings-John, a women’s rights advocate who served as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/mar/02/guardianobituaries3">mayor of Freetown</a>, Sierra Leone. A historic first for an African woman.</p>
<p>Growing up in Croydon with his mother, Cummings was usually the only non-white person in his environment. This experience shaped his conviction to “help any person of colour”, according to the author of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ivor-cummings-1561396.html">his obituary</a>, Val Wilmer, who interviewed him once in his home and once at his bedside in hospital.</p>
<p>Cummings also mentored people who shared his other minority status – homosexuality. He lived openly and uncensored long before the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/relationships/collections1/sexual-offences-act-1967/sexual-offences-act-1967/#:%7E:text=The%20Act%20permitted%20homosexual%20acts,was%20far%20from%20being%20achieved.">Sexual Offences Act of 1967</a> decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales.</p>
<p>One of the more prominent queer men Cummings supported was <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Paul-Danquah-The-openly-gay-first-son-of-JB-Danquah-of-the-Big-Six-1742564">Paul Danquah</a>. The mixed heritage actor-turned-lawyer was the son of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-B-Danquah">J.B. Danquah</a>, a founding statesman of independent Ghana.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1642259404484476932"}"></div></p>
<p>Paul’s father had been absent from his childhood. In a speech Paul sent to be read at Cummings’ memorial service, he said that Ivor advised: “You must not disparage your father. Your father is a very important person and you have this heritage.” In the same speech, Danquah praised Cummings’ “regard for matters of style and rank”. </p>
<p>“He liked reprobates,” Wilmer said. “He liked highfalutin people, but although he had this [superior] way about him and talked in that manner, he was actually quite humble.”</p>
<p>In the 2015 book, <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520284302/black-london">Black London</a>, historian Marc Matera points to a rumour in the postwar period of a “homosexual clique” in the Colonial Office. </p>
<p>The welfare department chief, John L. Keith (a white Briton), was gay, for example. It was said any heterosexual man needed to be in their graces to “get ahead”. Such homophobia did not faze Cummings.</p>
<p>“He was a fastidious, elegant man, with a manner reminiscent of Noel Coward,” according to <a href="https://www.newbeaconbooks.com/black-british-non-fiction/windrush-the-irresistible-rise-of-multi-racial-britain">authors Mike and Trevor Phillips</a>. “He chain-smoked, using a long cigarette holder and addressed visitors as: ‘dear boy’.” </p>
<h2>Cummings’ later life</h2>
<p>Cummings resigned from the Colonial Office in 1958. He’d been offered a high-ranking post in the Colonial Service in Trinidad. However, he chose instead to accept an offer from Kwame Nkrumah, then prime minister of newly independent Ghana, to train diplomats for foreign service. He succumbed to cancer on October 17 1992, just shy of his 80th birthday.</p>
<p>Were there gay or bisexual men among the Windrush passengers that Cummings helped? We don’t yet know. Scholars have only recently begun to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mississippi-scholarship-online/book/30169/chapter/257114867">research queerness</a> in relation to the Windrush era.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/century/1940-1949/Story/0,,105104,00.html">Guardian article</a> about the Windrush settlers that ran the day after they had disembarked, asserted: “They are … as heterodox a collection of humanity as one might find.”</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533175/original/file-20230621-18-hw1fuf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can <em><a href="https://bit.ly/3DdOERY">download the e-book here</a></em>. Thank you for your interest.</p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204880/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Boston receives funding from the Research Foundation of CUNY; the Canada Council for the Arts. </span></em></p>
A paper trail, both typed and handwritten, documents Cummings’ dogged efforts to secure accommodations and resources for the Windrushers on a time crunch.
Nicholas Boston, Associate Professor of Media Sociology, Lehman College, CUNY
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205695
2023-05-22T17:13:36Z
2023-05-22T17:13:36Z
Curious Kids: who was the first person to speak English?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527535/original/file-20230522-25-475xbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C270%2C2696%2C1932&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anglo-Saxon village re-enactment event in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, 2008.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wirksworth-derbyshire-uk-07262008-anglo-saxon-1127082854">Simon Annable/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Who was the first person to speak English? – Grace, aged eight, Belfast, Northern Ireland</strong></p>
<p>The first speaker of English did not sound like you or me. That’s because language changes all the time. You have probably noticed that the language of your grandparents differs from yours. You can imagine then how very different English was when it was first spoken in Britain many centuries ago. </p>
<p>The earliest speakers of English spoke Old English. I am using the word “speakers” because there must have been more than one speaker: after all, we use language to talk to others. </p>
<p>Old English developed in a turbulent period of British history. This was just after the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqtf34j/articles/z2dr4wx">Romans had left Britain</a>, around 1,600 years ago. The Romans had colonised Britain but they abandoned the country in the fifth century because the Roman empire was collapsing all around them. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282267/original/file-20190702-126345-1np1y7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a> is a series by <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">The Conversation</a> that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskids@theconversation.com">curiouskids@theconversation.com</a> and make sure you include the asker’s first name, age and town or city. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our very best.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The Romans who ruled Britain spoke their language, Latin. But most of the people who lived in Britain when the Romans were there – and before that too – spoke <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_romans.shtml">a Celtic language</a>. This Celtic language was rather like Welsh, but again much older than the present-day Welsh language. </p>
<p>After the Romans left Britain, Germanic tribes who were on the move throughout Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries invaded. These tribes were the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/anglo-saxons/articles/who-were-the-anglo-saxons">Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes</a>. The language they spoke is known as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/413007">North Sea Germanic</a>. </p>
<h2>The first English speakers</h2>
<p>Once they settled in Britain it became <a href="https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/old-english">Old English</a>, which is also sometimes called “Anglo-Saxon”. From the Angles comes the word “English” and from the Angles and Saxons together comes the word “Anglo-Saxon”. I teach Old English to students of English at university. </p>
<p>So Old English or Anglo-Saxon is the oldest form of the English language that was spoken and written in England in the early Middle Ages, the period from roughly 450 to 1050. Very few Celtic words were taken over into Old English. The word “brock” (meaning “badger”) is one of the rare exceptions. </p>
<p>Do we know the names of the first speakers of Old English? Two names are mentioned in ancient legends that tell the story of how the Angles and the Saxons arrived in Britain. </p>
<p>According to these legends, the British (when they were still Celtic speakers) asked two Germanic leaders, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxsbcdm/articles/z23br82">Hengest and Horsa</a>, to come to Britain to help protect the country after the Romans had left. </p>
<p>Hengest and Horsa arrived in Britain with lots of other people from their tribe and conquered the land. We have no way of knowing if these legends are true, but if they are we have here the names of the two chieftains who brought their language to Britain. </p>
<h2>An Old English poet</h2>
<p>There is one other name that deserves to be mentioned, and <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-story-of-caedmons-hymn">that is Caedmon</a>. He is the first poet in English whose name is known. The story of his life is told by the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/bede">monk and historian Bede</a>, who lived in the north of England from around 673 to 735.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Manuscript in Latin and Old English" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527532/original/file-20230522-21-q2jmje.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A section of folio 129r of Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Hatton 43: a page from Book IV, chapter 24 of Bede’s Latin Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, with an Old English text of Cædmon’s Hymn added in the lower margin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/7850a308-0dd6-4d9a-b5b5-cbd6085b18dd/">© Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bede not only tells the story of Hengest and Horsa, but he also tells us <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whitby-abbey/history-and-stories/caedmon-poetry/">about Caedmon</a>, who was a cowherd. Bede wrote that Caedmon could not read or write and received the ability to compose beautiful poetry as a gift from God. The first poem that Caedmon was inspired to create is a poem in praise of God. The first two lines of this poem will give you a taste of Old English:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code> Nu sculon herian heofonrices Weard,
Metodes mihte and his modgeþanc
</code></pre>
<p>In modern English, this means: “Now we must praise the guardian of the heavenly kingdom, the Ruler’s might and his plan”. </p>
<p>You might think this is not really English at all. But we still use some of the words used in Old English – “and” and “his” are both in these two lines of poetry. Other words have survived too, though we often spell and pronounce them differently. See if you can spot the Old English words for “might” and “now” in these lines from Caedmon’s poem.</p>
<p>Caedmon looked after the cattle in a monastery in Whitby in Yorkshire. One of my university students studying Old English comes from Whitby and she told me that her school is named after our first named English poet: Caedmon College. His legend lives on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ad Putter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Hundreds of years ago, people spoke Old English – but it is very different to English today.
Ad Putter, Professor of Medieval English Literature, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204511
2023-05-05T07:53:05Z
2023-05-05T07:53:05Z
How British imperial history shaped Charles III’s coronation ceremony
<p>The coronation ceremony Charles III is about to go through reflects how monarchy has developed since Saxon times, but it still carries many vestiges of Britain’s imperial past.</p>
<p>In the 18th century, the royal title changed from “King of England” to “King of the United Kingdom”, as successive Acts of Union joined England, Scotland and Ireland into one political unit. However, the biggest change in the royal title came in 1876, when the <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100431780;jsessionid=947682D70DC974234F63E1EA761EF5E3">Royal Titles Act</a> made Queen Victoria Empress of India. This gave her authority even over those areas of India which were not formally subject to British rule. </p>
<p>To give this change of title a formal announcement in India, the British authorities staged what became the first of three <em>durbars</em> – ceremonial events held in the British Raj to formally proclaim the imperial title. Queen Victoria’s was held in 1877, the year following the act, but Edward VII’s and George V’s were held in conjunction with their coronations.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This piece is part of our coverage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/coronation-of-king-charles-iii-134594?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">King Charles III’s coronation</a>. The first coronation of a British monarch since 1953 comes at a time of reckoning for the monarchy, the royal family and the Commonwealth.</em></p>
<p><em>For more royal analysis, revisit our coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/platinum-jubilee-116056?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">Platinum jubilee</a>, and her <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/death-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-126761?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">death in September 2022</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The viceroy of India in 1877, Lord Lytton, concocted the original durbar from a mixture of Persian, Mughal and English ceremonial traditions, as a formal proclamation of the queen’s title. When her son became Edward VII in 1901, a bigger durbar was organised to proclaim his imperial title – although, like his mother, Edward remained in London.</p>
<p>In 1911, George V and Queen Mary travelled to India for an elaborately staged <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_kKAfRxPPs">coronation durbar</a>, where they would take centre stage. This raised tricky questions of protocol. George’s coronation in Westminster Abbey invested him with all his imperial titles, so what would be the impact of being “crowned” in India? Would it mean that his successors would not be emperors unless they held a durbar? And what did it mean for his predecessors who had not attended theirs?</p>
<p>The crown of England was not allowed to leave the country, so a special crown was constructed for George V to wear in India, while Queen Mary wore her “best diadem” – a heavily ornamented headband. They sat sweating under the Delhi sun in their heavy coronation robes, furs and all.</p>
<p>In the end, the Delhi durbar consisted of Indian princes paying homage to the king-emperor in a ceremony that owed as much to European feudalism as it did to Indian tradition. Plans for George VI to have an Indian durbar were postponed in the post-abdication sense of general exhaustion, and abandoned as war loomed.</p>
<h2>Coronation and the commonwealth</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf">1931 Statute of Westminster</a> formalised the evolution of some former colonies into self-governing dominions within a British commonwealth. Both George VI and Elizabeth II were crowned as monarchs over the UK and of territories overseas. The coronation oath, a legal requirement dating back to the Coronation Oath Act of 1688, has been amended on various occasions, taking account of former colonies which have become republics. </p>
<p>The oath Charles III will take has been amended slightly to cover his duties to his other kingdoms by agreement with their governments. Even so, for the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2023/04/thegovernment-of-canada-announces-details-of-canadian-celebrations-for-the-coronation-of-hismajesty-kingcharlesiii.html">king of Canada</a> to be crowned in London is a reminder that the modern monarch’s title still reflects the old empire.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white historic photo of the king and queen in full coronation regalia, surrounded by Indian princes and British Raj officials, under a ceremonial canopy, with ornate Indian-style mosaics on the ground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523784/original/file-20230502-1677-8uy8k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">King George V and Queen Mary at the 1911 Delhi durbar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-king-george-v-and-queen-mary-during-the-delhi-durbar-to-mark-the-coronation-106010641.html?imageid=BBB6E621-0FA3-4FBF-8B67-054F8B8C470A&p=308342&pn=1&searchId=1d5ff34c62f8cbdb327522cd0755dc7d&searchtype=0">PA Images/ Alamy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Elements of empire</h2>
<p>Even the medieval roots of the coronation have elements of empire built into them. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/king-charles-iii-coronation-what-the-controversy-over-an-ancient-stone-tells-us-about-historical-symbols-in-the-modern-age-202171">Stone of Scone</a>, which will be placed beneath the coronation chair, was removed from Scotland by Edward I as a symbol of Scotland’s subjugation to England. Scottish nationalists demanded the stone’s return to Scotland for years. </p>
<p>When John Major acceded to their wishes in 1996, it was on condition that the stone would return to Westminster for future coronations – a gesture some see as an unwelcome remnant of England’s imperial hold over Scotland, though others regard it as a symbol of unity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/king-charles-iii-coronation-what-the-controversy-over-an-ancient-stone-tells-us-about-historical-symbols-in-the-modern-age-202171">King Charles III coronation: what the controversy over an ancient stone tells us about historical symbols in the modern age</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In a nod to Welsh nationalist feeling, King Charles’s coronation will also include the <em>kyrie</em> (Lord Have Mercy) <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65287260">performed in Welsh</a>.</p>
<p>One item of the crown jewels is a stark reminder of empire – but it will notably be missing from the coronation ceremony. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-ordinary-diamond-how-the-koh-i-noor-became-an-imperial-possession-200473">Koh-i-Noor diamond</a> was taken by the British after their wars with the Sikh kingdom of Punjab, and presented to Queen Victoria in 1849. It was reshaped by Prince Albert and fitted into the crown jewels. Both Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary wore it at their coronations, though Queen Mary, tactfully, did not wear it for the 1911 coronation durbar. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-ordinary-diamond-how-the-koh-i-noor-became-an-imperial-possession-200473">No ordinary diamond: how the Koh-i-Noor became an imperial possession</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Seeing the diamond as symbol of British imperial acquisitiveness, the Indian government has demanded its return, though, historically, both Pakistan and Iran <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondand-why-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/">could also lay claim to it</a>. Camilla, the Queen Consort, has decided to be crowned in Queen Mary’s crown, from which the famous diamond has been removed. The controversy about the Koh-i-Noor will doubtless continue, but won’t intrude on this coronation ceremony.</p>
<h2>A new-look guest list</h2>
<p>The biggest move away from imperial tradition has been in the compilation of the guest list. In the past, the only rulers to receive an invite were those of British overseas territories, such as <a href="https://www.rosl.org.uk/rosl_news/517-from-the-archives-queen-salote-of-tonga">Queen Salote of Tonga</a>, who delighted the crowds in 1953 by braving the rain in an open-top carriage and scorning an umbrella. </p>
<p>Charles III has departed from precedent by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_guests_at_the_coronation_of_Charles_III_and_Camilla">issuing invitations to monarchs from Europe and the Middle East</a>, regardless of whether or not they had ties to the British empire. Some other heads of state are also attending, though the US will be represented by the first lady, Jill Biden, rather than the president.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-coronation-no-show-is-no-snub-more-telling-is-whom-he-sends-to-king-charles-big-day-202934">Biden's coronation no-show is no snub – more telling is whom he sends to King Charles' big day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>At a time when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/28/public-support-monarchy-historic-low-poll-reveals#:%7E:text=A%20survey%20by%20the%20National,important%20or%20not%20very%20important.">polling suggests declining support for the monarchy</a>, especially among the young, the coronation might seem an irrelevant, if colourful, distraction from more pressing concerns. </p>
<p>There has been similar indifference before other royal events. Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee in 1977 was preceded by <a href="https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/activism-solidarity/radical-object-stuff-the-jubilee-badge/">“stuff the jubilee” protests</a>, but still proved a popular success. The unexpectedly warm public responses to her subsequent jubilees, and especially to her funeral, might suggest that many British are <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/king-charles-coronation-polling-royalist-republican-popularity-uk-f8wwhqljd">secretly more royalist than polling would suggest</a>. </p>
<p>By inviting representatives of a wide range of ethnic groups and different faiths to participate in the ceremony, the king is turning his coronation into a reflection of his diverse and decidedly post-imperial kingdom. The coronation is still not entirely free of echoes of empire, but it represents an important stage in the modern monarchy’s move away from its shadow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Lang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The coronation will have echoes of empire, but represents an important stage in the modern monarchy’s move away from its shadow.
Sean Lang, Senior Lecturer in History, Anglia Ruskin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202870
2023-05-05T07:53:04Z
2023-05-05T07:53:04Z
King Charles III’s coronation oath is a crucial part of the ceremony – experts explain
<p>The <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/the-crown-jewels/in-detail-st-edwards-crown">crowning</a> is perhaps the most famous part of British coronations. Yet easily overlooked – and equally important – is the coronation oath, which has been a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830405?searchText=Coronation%20Oath&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DCoronation%2BOath&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad961c00b4b3653c8949381b19cd0d011">fundamental component</a> of the ceremony <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt13wzt9z?turn_away=true&searchText=Coronation%20Oath&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DCoronation%2BOath&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aa2e67f2786493c8c000c20a535">since medieval times</a>.</p>
<p>It is of such significance that the remainder of the rite cannot proceed unless it has been sworn. Why? The oath is the essential counterpart to the <a href="https://www.westminster-abbey.org/media/7143/coronation-service-guide-reading-list.pdf">recognition and acclamation</a>. </p>
<p>The recognition is the moment at the beginning of the ceremony when the monarch is presented to the people for approval. The acclamation is the moment in which the people accept the new monarch. </p>
<p>Together, these three acts establish a contractual relationship between sovereign and peoples. By public commitment to the promises and values enshrined in the oath, the monarch is forming a bond to the largely uncodified constitution (<a href="https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-committees/political-and-constitutional-reform/The-UK-Constitution.pdf">the UK’s constitution</a> has never been assembled into a single written document).</p>
<p>There has been <a href="https://www.etonline.com/king-charles-coronation-to-be-a-shorter-and-more-modern-ceremony-source-says-192346">talk of a shorter service</a> for Charles III’s coronation. But to omit these vital stages would amount to constitutional vandalism.</p>
<p>Before primogeniture (the law of firstborn inheritance), the British monarchy was elective. In Anglo-Saxon times, the witan (the leading nobles or council of the country) chose the new sovereign. And until at least the middle ages, a secular enthronement, preceded the coronation service. </p>
<p>Today’s acclamation comes from that tradition of electing a sovereign. This is when the officiant (usually the Archbishop of Canterbury), standing with the candidate in Westminster Abbey, asks whether or not the congregation recognises the candidate’s entitlement to be crowned.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The imposing building of Westminster Abbey in the sunshine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518179/original/file-20230329-16-7tpbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Westminster Abbey where the coronation will take place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-westminster-abbey-st-margaret-church-576153889">lunamarina/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Those present acclaim the person as their monarch, crying “God save the King/Queen”, representing the country. <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/charles-i-and-the-people-of-england-9780198708292?cc=gb&lang=en&">Some historians</a> contest the acclamation’s importance on the grounds that the respondents are unrepresentative of the people and unlikely to reject the candidate: “as if there was any choice in the matter”.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it is vital to what follows that they are asked at all. In Portugal, under the Avis dynasty, the acclamation assumed such supreme importance that the crowning withered away altogether. By contrast, Russian peasants were never asked for consent to recognise a new Tsar.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518785/original/file-20230331-28-8u26d4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This piece is part of our coverage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/coronation-of-king-charles-iii-134594?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">King Charles III’s coronation</a>. The first coronation of a British monarch since 1953 comes at a time of reckoning for the monarchy, the royal family and the Commonwealth.</em></p>
<p><em>For more royal analysis, revisit our coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/platinum-jubilee-116056?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">Platinum jubilee</a>, and her <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/death-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-126761?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Coronation2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">death in September 2022</a>.</em>_</p>
<hr>
<p>Following the acclamation, the candidate must commit to their side of the contract – the terms set out in the coronation oath. “Coronation oath” is a slight misnomer. It is actually a series of promises in question and answer form, sealed by an oath sworn “in God’s presence”. The text of the promises has evolved, but the core has remained.</p>
<p>In the version lasting (with tweaks) from 1308 to 1685, the candidate promised to confirm the laws of their predecessors, to maintain peace, to administer impartial justice with mercy and to preserve and enforce the laws that parliament would pass.</p>
<h2>The makings of a modern oath</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Glorious-Revolution">Glorious Revolution</a> of 1688-1689 ushered in a major change when a revised oath became statutory. The version used for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 had three essential parts and retained the oath’s medieval core.</p>
<p>Firstly, would she promise: “to govern the Peoples … according to their respective laws and customs?” Secondly, would she cause: “Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all … [her] judgements?” Lastly would she: “maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel” as well as “maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law”?</p>
<p>Afterwards, came the oath proper. Elizabeth II swore: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As this shows, the monarch swears to uphold certain key values: law, justice and mercy (although Charles has said he sees himself as a “defender of faiths” and the service is likely to reference other denominations and religions). </p>
<p>That obligation speaks to the nation, but also broadcasts a global message of what the United Kingdom stands for. </p>
<p>The coronation oath marks the moment the monarch’s actions and words correspond to the trust placed in them by the people when they recognised and acclaimed them as their king or queen. Together, the two stages form a contract on the basis of which the service can proceed to the crowning.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GFPg7hOz1s0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Queen Elizabeth II performing the coronation oath in 1953.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is a sense that uncrowned (and therefore unsworn) monarchs were, and are, not fully sovereign. Would Richard III have usurped the crown so easily had one of the princes in the tower been crowned? Might Lady Jane Grey (the nine-day queen) have seen off Mary Tudor if she had reigned long enough to undergo coronation? As it was, Mary I led the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4140130?searchText=Mary%20I%20succession&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DMary%2BI%2Bsuccession&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ab9c9985289c5b57545fd825ae185af28">only successful <em>coup d’état</em> of the 16th century</a>.</p>
<p>Writing of Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936, the late <a href="http://www.williamshawcross.org/index.php?page=queenmother">Queen Mother commented</a> that it was fortunate that “he was never crowned”. Clearly, an abdication post-coronation would have been more problematic because the coronation oath establishes accountability.</p>
<p>Breach of contract can, for a sworn monarch, have terrible consequences. The charge of flouting their coronation oaths was levelled against <a href="https://fourteenthcenturyfiend.com/2018/03/04/a-king-his-people-the-controversial-coronation-of-edward-ii-1308/">Edward II</a> (deposed and murdered), <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1864778">Richard II</a> (ditto), <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/westminsterhall/government-and-administration/trial-of-charlesi/">Charles I</a> (deposed and executed) and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2638744">James II</a> (deposed and exiled). Those kings could not be trusted because they had broken their sacred word.</p>
<p>The oath is at once a conduit for tradition, a constitutional pillar, a source of legitimacy and authority and a marker of national values. The coronation oath binds monarch to peoples and to the governmental system of the state, but it also communicates some of the principles – law, justice and mercy – upon which that governance rests.</p>
<p>Oaths are still an important part of employment in the British armed services, police force, parliament, privy council and law courts. Each of those oaths mentions allegiance, service or loyalty to the sovereign. How incongruous it would be if the person at the summit of the constitutional pyramid had no oath to swear themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The coronation oath speaks to the entire nation, but also broadcasts a global message of what the United Kingdom stands for.
David Crankshaw, Lecturer in the History of Early Modern Christianity, King's College London
George Gross, Visiting Research Fellow, King's College London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.