Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 152 i All About History

The popular idea of the Victorian school experience conjures up images of drab, featureless rooms with sturdy wooden desks. Of stern tutors who delivered harsh punishments for the mildest of offences. Compared to our modern, more progressive schools, it sounds like a horror story. But what was a Victorian classroom really like? Most Victorian schools were run by the Church. Compared to contemporary school timetables, the days for a Victorian child were long, typically beginning at 9am and lasting until 5pm. The day was broken up by a two-hour lunch break as the school didn’t provide the pupils meals and they returned home to eat. Boys and girls classes were segregated, and the separate entrances can still be found in some older schools. Lessons were taught mainly using repetition, the…

I magine you find yourself at the centre of the Tudor court as a minor member of the nobility. You are one of many. You want to be noticed, you want to make a fine marital match, you want to advance your position and you definitely want to please the monarch. So what do you wear? Well, English high fashion was ever-changing throughout the 118 years that the Tudors held the throne. During the reign of Henry VII (1485 – 1509) slim silhouettes, fur-trimmed outfits and gable hoods were the height of fashion, but by the time his granddaughter, the last Tudor monarch Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) was on the throne, corseted waists, voluminous skirts and ornate decoration were the preferred style. The royals themselves were at the heart…

A warning to any would-be rock stars, actors, TikTokers and influencers: be prepared to have your photo taken – lots of photos. From elaborately staged red carpet shoots to less-than-glamorous paparazzi snaps, pick your favourite celebrity and no doubt thousands of pictures can be found in a simple Google search. But some A-listers have had to get used to a very different image being shared online, one they would perhaps prefer you didn’t see – their mugshot. During the last century some of the most famous and widely recognised celebs found themselves arrested, placed in handcuffs and hauled in front of police cameras. From Cher, caught driving while only 13 years old, to Frank Sinatra, arrested as a young man for the offence of ‘seduction’, the crimes these A-listers found…

In February 1945, Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin meet at Yalta in Crimea. The resurgence of the Soviet war machine following such heavy losses – and almost defeat – against the Nazis had played its part in Hitler’s eventual downfall. Their prize, conceded to them by the Allies, was Eastern Europe. But out of collaboration and alliance was to emerge mutual distrust, rivalry and the uneasy stand-off of the Cold War. Stalin was perhaps not as satisfied with the arrangement as he seemed to appear. He’d made gains, but he was not a dog to be fed scraps by the West. He thought it was the destiny of the world to be socialist and he was determined to make it happen. At what point would an attack…

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Director: Anthony Mann Starring: Sophia Loren, Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer Country: Italy Year: 1964 Did golden-age Hollywood stick to the facts of this calamitous period? VERDICT: A lot of added melodrama and stretching of facts. NEW SPECIAL AVAILABLE NOW…

1 February 1960 GREENSBORO SIT-INS BEGIN Four young Black students (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson), inspired by the nonviolent Civil Rights protests of Martin Luther King Jr, decided to sit at a whites-only lunch counter at the Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and remain seated despite being refused service. Their sit-in continued for days and they were joined by hundreds of other students. Media coverage of the event inspired similar sit-ins across the USA, with an estimated 70,000 people participating over a number of months. As a result many businesses, including Woolworth, implemented desegregation. 3 February 1959 THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED After taking off from Mason City Airport in Iowa, a plane carrying musicians Buddy Holly, JP Richardson (The Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens…

Babylonian, 20 th – 16th centuries BCE The inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia wrote on wet clay tablets for all manner of tasks, such as letters, financial records and schoolwork. The example shown here was created by a student thousands of years ago while practising their cuneiform writing, demonstrating their knowledge of the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. Education was an incredibly important part of Mesopotamian culture, as described by historian Stephen Bertman: “Mesopotamia’s system of schools was founded upon the principle that no civilisation can prosper or long endure unless it draws upon the wisdom and experience of the past.” Education was primarily for boys and was long and arduous, lasting from dawn until dusk. Pupils were expected to fully devote themselves to their studies, which included reading, mathematics and writing. Students…

1 KING EDWARD VI SCHOOL STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARWICKSHIRE Given its location, it’s unsurprising that the King Edward VI School in Stratford-upon-Avon is best known for its links to the town’s most famous resident: Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare (c.1564 – 1616). The Bard is believed to have attended the school as a boy, though the school’s origins can be traced back even earlier to 1295 when the Guild of the Holy Cross established an educational institution to teach basic learning and religious rites to boys. In 1482 the school was endowed by Guild chaplain Thomas Jolyffe, then in 1553 it was re-endowed by King Edward VI as part of a Royal Charter, hence the school’s name. The Guildhall building from which the school operated during Shakespeare’s time still stands in the centre…

What’s the difference between a communist and a homosexual? None, according to the United States government during the time of McCarthyism. You may have heard of the Second Red Scare, an era of US history shortly after the Second World War that saw the nation gripped by an intense fear of communism. An onslaught of aggressive propaganda led citizens across the United States to become terrified of the idea of communism, anarchism and other extreme left-wing ideologies. Following the mania of the first Red Scare that took place after the First World War, the second entertained the idea that American and foreign communists were infiltrating the federal government to disrupt the American way of life. But with it came another moral panic that has largely been omitted from history. Known…

It can be a busy life, being a goddess. One day you’re expected to ferry the kings of the realm to the afterlife, then you have to help shepherd everyone. One day you’re looking after the creatures of the forest, the next you’re responsible for fate. And let’s not even get into the challenges of being a goddess of both childbirth and doomsday. Rather a lot to ask, even of a deity, we would suggest. These contradictions and conflicts in the realm of deities is something that Jasmine Elmer explores in her new book, Goddess With a Thousand Faces. We were delighted to chat with her about her book and what she learned walking in the footsteps of the divine. How did you go about selecting the goddesses in your…

In popular culture, Native Americans are often portrayed as a monolithic group, and often as a variant of Plains Indians – full headdresses, riding horses, nomadic, hunting buffalo. In reality, Native American groups at contact were incredibly diverse, estimated to be over 500 nations. Using a bird’s eye view of Native North America, we can identify around eight areas of similar cultural groupings to get a broad picture of Native North America before contact. When considering Native Americans at contact, it’s useful to keep in mind that different parts of the continent were contacted by different peoples at different times. Depending on the location, this can vary from as early as 1540 to as late as almost 1800 and can include French, Spanish, English, Dutch and Russian explorers and settlers.…

The Asuka period (592 – 710) was pivotal in the development of Japan’s culture and is regarded as the beginning of the country’s Classical Age. Japan’s modern name, Nippon, was first adopted in this time and shows an increasing awareness of the potential of Japan. Nippon, which means ‘the sun’s origin’ and is widely translated as ‘the Land of the Rising Sun’, set itself apart from the lands to the west where the sun set. MOVING POLITICS The Asuka period takes its name from the move of the imperial capital to the Asuka region in Yamato Province. Each time the emperor died a new palace was constructed and the capital moved, but during this period most remained in the Asuka region. We know much about Asuka politics because this was…

It’s not uncommon for both sides involved in a battle to claim victory. Desperate commanders terrified of disgrace, propaganda machines at home demanding success, even confusion in the aftermath of a battle can all lead to conflicting reports of the outcome. However, it is less common for both sides to have a valid claim to victory. The naval confrontation known as The Glorious First of June in Britain, and Bataille du 13 prairial an II in France, is one of the exceptions. Each side sailed away from a brutal, prolonged fight satisfied that they had done their duty, and each side was justified in their opinion. BACKGROUND In 1794, France was slowly starving. The upheaval of the revolution, coupled with bad weather, had led to meagre harvests. France’s enormous new…

WILLIAM TELL A rollicking retelling of the Swiss legend’s story of rebellion Certificate: 15 Creator: Nick Hamm Cast: Claes Bang, Rafe Spall, Ben Kingsley Released: Out now When history arrives on the big screen, there must always be a word of caution. The true story has almost certainly been somewhat reshaped or redirected, illuminating the subject matter in a manner that often veers from actuality. Timelines are abridged, important episodes rearranged, and the true complexities of any historic figure can be rendered opaque or biased. Biopics can sometimes bend towards the hagiographic, offering up a portrait of a saint and the narrative tantamount to their cinematic beatification. When it comes to William Tell, the Swiss legend who became an emblem of heroism and political rebellion who was later appropriated by…

This one will be well-known to our British readers, but perhaps less so elsewhere. It was sometimes referred to as ‘dead man’s arm’ or ‘dead man’s leg’, adding to the pantheon of unappetising food names from the UK such as ‘toad in the hole’ and ‘spotted dick’. Jam roly-poly originated as a steamed pudding made with jam and suet pastry, and the earliest recipes can be traced back to the early 19th century – although it’s possible it was made earlier. Jam roly-poly is made with a flat suet pastry spread with jam and rolled up into a log before cooking. As such it sits among a proud heritage in British cooking of steamed and boiled dishes. An 1845 recipe from Eliza Acton asked for jam, marmalade or mincemeat (meaning…