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 1960s were a period of cultural radicalism. During the civil rights era, counterculture became prevalent. From the hippie movement to London’s Notting Hill Carnival, cultural expression emerged not simply as a means of voicing oneself but also as a form of protest. Civil rights and music culture in America were notably intertwined and expressed […]
Welcome to Issue 4! A big thank you to everyone who participated in the facebook event we used to give out articles – it was a huge success! We will be using this method for all future issues so if you missed out, become a fan at: facebook.com/themanchesterhistorian to subscribe to all future updates and […]
“Our BODIES, our LIVES, our RIGHTS, our FUTURE”, chants the website of the women’s rights organisation poignantly titled the Handmaid Coalition. Formed in response to the outcome of the 2016 American Presidential election, which, they claim, “changed us all”, this collective are “fighting to ensure fiction does not become reality”. But why would a modern […]
At the beginning of the 5th century BCE, a hodgepodge of political strife, imperialistic occupation, and territorial conflict spurred the Ionian Revolt, a bloody rebellion on the coast of Asia Minor, now modern-day Turkey. The revolt lasted six years, during which the powers of Ionia and Persia both sustained significant losses. By its end, however, […]
This article will feature in Issue 37: Oppression and Resistance It is hard to imagine what Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector from Austria who was executed for his refusal to pledge his allegiance to Hitler during The Second World War, had to go through. Bearing in mind that he had to sacrifice his large family’s […]
At the end of the 1960s, the world was witnessing one of the most volatile moments in American history. Accelerated by the unrest caused by the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, many movements had found support and power to rebel against America. On April 18, 2021, football was rocked to its very core. Amidst the turmoil […]
This edition is published in collaboration with students at Cedar Mount Academy (CMA) in Gorton. Brought together through Dr Kerry Pimblott’s AHRC-funded project, ‘Grassroots Struggles, Global Visions: British Black Power, 1964-1985’, we have been working with these students to think about ‘hidden histories’ of Manchester. Following talks and workshops, the students at CMA have produced […]
‘[Halloween] is thought to be a night when witches, devils, and other mischief-making beings are abroad on their baneful midnight errands; particularly those aerial people, the fairies, are said on that night to hold a grand anniversary.’ Robert Burns, Halloween, 1785 Although the entomology behind the word ‘Halloween’ is Christian – ‘quite literally, the popular […]
Issue 41 – Gender and Identity In Britain, the women’s liberation movement brought women’s history from the margins into the mainstream of historical thinking, seeking to trace both inequality and oppression through the past and to rediscover female experiences left out by traditional historiography. As the field developed, a gendered approach to history has provided […]
Primarily taken as a tincture to remedy everyday ailments such as menstrual cramps, diarrhoea, wind, and piles, opium was also used recreationally in the 19th century and has often been associated with Victorian writers. Before the Pharmacy Act of 1868, which restricted the sale of ‘dangerous’ substances to pharmacies only, opium was widely available from […]
Throughout the High Middle Ages, various people, groups, and ‘worlds’ expanded their global horizons. Art, trade, and scholarly interests changed as Christians and Muslims encountered the ‘other’ and their religious brethren. For the Christian European, the story of Prester John resonated with them, the idea there was a Christian state lying beyond the lands of […]
The Watergate scandal was a major political catastrophe, which created a constitutional crisis in America. It not only removed the trust between the American public and the political system, it also had ramifications across the world. Hence, why major crises now carry the suffix ‘-gate’, such as in the recent political fiasco featuring Andrew Mitchell, […]
On the 7th February 2012, Britain celebrated the bicentenary of the birth of one of the greatest literary figures; Charles John Huffam Dickens. Dickens’ work resonates throughout British popular culture; with Oliver Twist’s famous words of “Please Sir, can I have some more?” and the iconic character of Ebenezer Scrooge symbolising those who lack the […]
