In 1864, the first Contagious Diseases Act was introduced which aimed to tackle the rapid spreading of venereal diseases (VD) in garrison towns and ports in Britain. However, the legislation only policed women who were suspected of being prostitutes, forcing them to be sexually examined; if their tests came back positive, they could face legal […]
Manchester University may have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other non-Oxbridge city, yet we can also make a claim no less necessary in retaining the peace and happiness of the human race; the university has produced a veritable bundle of comedy greats over the last 30 years. Where would TV comedy be without […]
The History Channel would seem like the logical go to for any avid history fan who wanted to learn more about their interest. In reality anyone turning on the History Channel for any real historical insight will be sorely disappointed. However, if crackpot conspiracies, doomsday theories and programmes that have almost nothing to do with […]
It is widely argued that Oliver Cromwell was simply a ‘king in all but name’ and no better than the tyrannical regime he helped overthrow. His army credentials served to enforce the idea that the English Republic was a military dictatorship characterised by the banning of Christmas, strict Puritanism and widespread oppression, particularly in Ireland. […]
In today’s landscape of political uncertainty and daily protests, we might ask ourselves what the value of studying and analyzing the democratic polis of Athens is. Does it mirror our society today? Do we look at it as a model, an ideal to reach? The city-state has always been looked upon and thought of like […]
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” This often-misquoted reflection from Karl Marx on religion’s societal role criticises the masses’ self-generated addiction to religion, as a method of dealing with capitalist society’s brutal inequalities. As […]
Upon visiting Phong Nah-Ke Bang – a national park located in the middle of the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam – I was stunned to observe that exploration was not advised without a map marking the unexploded bombs of the area. Despite the war in Vietnam culminating over 45 years ago, the subject of unexploded ordnance […]
The 14th Century poem Inferno commits to hell the adulterous lovers, Francesca and Paolo, by the hand of her husband Giovanni. Their violent death in the name of love is typical of a crime of passion or crime passionnel (from the French). Although these crimes have typically been associated with France, they have always been […]
‘Christmas’, the term that conjures imagery of celebration and excess, derives from ‘Christes Maesse’, an Anglo-Saxon phrase first recorded in 1038, meaning the ‘mass’ or ‘festival’ of Christ. Although perhaps in the modern era the true nature of the holiday has been bypassed through its commercialisation, this was certainly not the case in the Middle-Ages. […]
Last month, the chief surgeon suggested that fat is becoming normal in our culture. Laura Robinson looks at the changing notions of fat over time. Cartography in the iconography of British imperialism portrayed the visual culture of the British Empire. The Empire came to cover huge swathes of territory and from the nineteenth century onwards, […]
Between the 8th and late 11th century, the Vikings ventured from their Scandinavian homelands and began their assault on the memory of Europe. The name Viking is thought to derive from vikingr (pirate). Indeed, we use the term ‘Viking’ with little discrimination and it is now a term with great historical and pseudo-historical baggage. Traditionally, […]
One of the most controversial episodes of October 2012 was the revelation that many multinational companies, including Starbucks, Apple and Google, have been evading corporate taxes in the UK through tax management schemes. Most strikingly, all of these schemes have been legal leading to suggestions that such companies have undue influence over politicians in this […]
With only a few weeks to go until the Easter holidays, we’re all trying to keep our heads up and smile through the pain of writing a million essays. The weather should be getting better, even though it isn’t really, but at least it doesn’t get dark at three o’clock in the afternoon! Get a […]
Media Secretary Becky Hennell-Smith updates us on the comings and goings of the History Society. Darren Davies interviews the new nineteenth century British History, Dr Henry Miller. Since it was founded two years ago, the Manchester Historian has grown and developed with each set of editors that has come to its helm. We have been […]