Modern British History
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Building a New Jerusalem?: Labour in Power 1945-51, Part II
The post-war Attlee Government (1945-1951)--the first Labour Government to have a working majority--was one of the more important Governments of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, there is great debate among British historians over the level of this importance, and the degree of change the Government effected. This two-part essay illustrates the basic arguments in this extended debate by looking at books by Corelli Barnett, Jose Harris, Kenneth Morgan and David Vincent.
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Building a New Jerusalem?: Labour in Power 1945-51, Part I
The post-war Attlee Government (1945-1951)--the first Labour Government to have a working majority--was one of the more important Governments of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, there is great debate among British historians over the level of this importance, and the degree of change the Government effected. This extend essay illustrates the basic arguments in this extended debate by looking at books by Corelli Barnett, Jose Harris, Kenneth Morgan and David Vincent.
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Napoleon's Irish Army (book review)
Book review of John G. Gallaher's Napoleon's Irish Legion,, a book about a legion initially set up in 1802 for a proposed invasion of the British Isles and later used in numerous Napoleonic campaigns.
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The British Labour Party and Foreign Policy, 1900-31, Part II
Part II of a four-part series examining the development of the Labour Party's foreign policy from its founding in 1900 to the the formation of the National Government in 1931. Previous articles of mine discuss the development of the Labour Party's foreign policy during the 1930s in reaction to fascism.
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The British Labour Party and Foreign Policy, 1900-31, Part I
Part I of a four-part series examining the development of the Labour Party's foreign policy from its founding in 1900 to the the formation of the National Government in 1931. Previous articles of mine discuss the development of the Labour Party's foreign policy during the 1930s in reaction to fascism.
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An English Lady in the French Colonies, Part V
A great many female European travelers visited places in the various European empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and wrote travel accounts of these places. It has been argued by feminist scholars that many of them wrote differently than their male counterparts, in particular showing more empathy for the individuals they met and including more "feminine" topics. Gabrielle Vassal, and English lady married to a French colonial physician belies this model, and in this 5 part series, I show how she complicates the history of gender and colonialism. Part 5 of a 5 part series.
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An English Lady in the French Colonies, Part IV
A great many female European travelers visited places in the various European empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and wrote travel accounts of these places. It has been argued by feminist scholars that many of them wrote differently than their male counterparts, in particular showing more empathy for the individuals they met and including more "feminine" topics. Gabrielle Vassal, and English lady married to a French colonial physician belies this model, and in this 5 part series, I show how she complicates the history of gender and colonialism. Part 4 of a 5 part series.
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An English Lady in the French Colonies, Part III
A great many female European travelers visited places in the various European empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and wrote travel accounts of these places. It has been argued by feminist scholars that many of them wrote differently than their male counterparts, in particular showing more empathy for the individuals they met and including more "feminine" topics. Gabrielle Vassal, and English lady married to a French colonial physician belies this model, and in this 5 part series, I show how she complicates the history of gender and colonialism. Part 3 of a 5 part series.
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An English Lady in the French Colonies, Part II
A great many female European travelers visited places in the various European empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and wrote travel accounts of these places. It has been argued by feminist scholars that many of them wrote differently than their male counterparts, in particular showing more empathy for the individuals they met and including more "feminine" topics. Gabrielle Vassal, and English lady married to a French colonial physician belies this model, and in this 5 part series, I show how she complicates the history of gender and colonialism. Part 2 of a 5 part series.
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An English Lady in the French Colonies: Gabrielle Vassal, Part I
A great many female European travelers visited places in the various European empires during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and wrote travel accounts of these places. It has been argued by feminist scholars that many of them wrote differently than their male counterparts, in particular showing more empathy for the individuals they met and including more "feminine" topics. Gabrielle Vassal, and English lady married to a French colonial physician belies this model, and in this 5 part series, I show how she complicates the history of gender and colonialism. Part 1 of a 5 part series.
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Labour and Hitler's Rise to Power, 1933-34
Hitler's rise to power in Germany and the consolidation of his regime between Jan. 1933 and July-Aug. 1934 was a source of much consternation among left parties and political organizations throughout Europe. This article examines the impact Hitler had on the British Labour Party, and how it led to, regarding the party's foreign policy and outlook, some movement away from pacifism.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part XIII
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 13 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part XII
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 12 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part XI
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 11 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part X
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 10 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part IX
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 9 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part VIII
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 8 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part VII
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 7 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part VI
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 6 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part V
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 5 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part IV
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 4 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part III
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 3 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part II
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 2 of a 13 part series.
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The Fabians and the British Empire, Part I
The Fabian Society was an important group of middle-class British socialists which was founded in 1884 and still exists today. Among the more famous members included the playwright George Bernard Shaw, the novelist H.G. Wells, and the social investigators Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Some less known members were Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, and James Ramsay McDonald, future Labour Party prime minister in 1924, and 1929-35. This 13 part series discusses the Fabian Society--a group mostly known for their work on domestic policy--and their relationship and attitudes to the British Empire. Part 1 of a 13 part series.
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Margaret Thatcher's Revolution of 1979? (book review)
Margaret Thatcher was one of the more important Prime Ministers of the twentieth century, particularly the second half. While it is too early to fully assess or begin to assess (in my opinion) the effect of her premiership, this extended essay of books by Kenneth Harris, Hugo Young, Kenneth Minogue and Michael Biddess, and Peter Jenkins offers a starting point for what is now a very tentative and incomplete historical account, but what will eventually be further completed by historians.
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Were the Interwar Years Truly a Slump?, Part II (book review)
Part 2 of a two part essay looking at the Interwar period-- the period between WWI and WWII-- in the context of Britain's society and economy. I look at four historians who debate the question of whether the period should be considered a "slump."
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Were the Interwar Years Truly a Slump?, Part I (book review)
Part 1 of a two part essay looking at the Interwar period-- the period between WWI and WWII-- in the context of Britain's society and economy. I look at four historians who debate the question of whether the period should be considered a "slump."
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Colonial Medicine (book review)
Colonial medicine is often seen as a major "tool of empire." Yet, as historian David Arnold shows us, in many ways, this aspect of the British "civilizing mission" was an abominable failure.
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Roy Jenkin's Gladstone (book review)
William Ewart Gladstone was arguably the greatest political leader of the nineteenth century. He served as Prime Minister an unprecedented four times, and more than its namesake, embodied the Victorian Era. This is a review of the recent biography by Lord Roy Jenkins, a prominent 20th century politician and historian.
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Europe's Second Dark Ages? (book review)
Mark Mazower, in his new book, DARK CONTINENT: EUROPE'S 20TH CENTURY, offers a pessimistic, yet quite compelling, survey of the history of twentieth-century Europe.
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A Decision to Abstain: Labour vs. Hitler, 1936-7, Part II
Between 1935 and 1937, a major transformation took place within the Labour Party regarding its policies toward rearmament, Appeasement and Hitler. During this time, the Party jettisoned its prior policies of disarmament and collective security through the League of Nations and instead, by 1937, accepted the fact that rearmament was needed if Britain were to stand up to Hitler. Part II of a two part series.
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A Decision to Abstain: Labour vs. Hitler, 1936-7, Part 1
Between 1935 and 1937, a major transformation took place within the Labour Party regarding its policies toward rearmament, Appeasement and Hitler. During this time, the Party jettisoned its prior policies of disarmament and collective security through the League of Nations and instead, by 1937, accepted the fact that rearmament was needed if Britain were to stand up to Hitler. Part I of a two part series.
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War and Responsibilty: Ferguson's PITY OF WAR (book review)
Niall Ferguson's latest book THE PITY OF WAR has caused a firestorm of controversy among academics and others and has profoundly affected the debate about World War I. "The A.J.P. Taylor" of his generation, Ferguson's book is fun, historically entertaining and interesting, as well as extremely controversial and often wrong. This extended essay offers a thorough synopsis of the author's arguments as well as my assessment of the book.
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How Great Was the Great War? (book review of 3 books)
The Great War has traditionally been seen as a great event of the twentieth century, particularly for British social history. This essay reexamines this issue, looking at some old "classics" as well as contemporary work on the subject.
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Gender and Class in Victorian England, Part II
Part II of an extended book essay discussing the work that historians Anna Clark, Jane Lewis, Joan Perkin, and Judith Walkowitz have done on the twin issues of gender and class relations in Victorian England.
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Gender and Class in Victorian England, Part I
Part I of an extended book essay discussing the work that historians Anna Clark, Jane Lewis, Joan Perkin, and Judith Walkowitz have done on the twin issues of gender and class relations in Victorian England.
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Sir William Jones (1748-1794): The "Good" Orientalist?, Part III
Part III of a three-part series, that discusses the modern historical debate about the British Orientalists, a group of late 18th century/early 19th century century scholars who went to India to study its languages, cultures, histories and societies. This effort has come under scathing criticism over the past 20 years as being fundamentally a racist and colonial enterprise. This series of essays explores the debate over the role of these scholars, focusing mainly on Sir William Jones, the noted philologist and linguist who discovered that Sanskrit, Ancient Greek and Latin were part of the same language family, the "Indo-European" language family. I seek to examine whether there can be a bridging of this debate; whether there can be such a thing as a "Good" Orientalist.
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Sir William Jones (1748-1794): The "Good" Orientalist?, Part II
Part II of a three-part series, that discusses the modern historical debate about the British Orientalists, a group of late 18th century/early 19th century century scholars who went to India to study its languages, cultures, histories and societies. This effort has come under scathing criticism over the past 20 years as being fundamentally a racist and colonial enterprise. This series of essays explores the debate over the role of these scholars, focusing mainly on Sir William Jones, the noted philologist and linguist who discovered that Sanskrit, Ancient Greek and Latin were part of the same language family, the "Indo-European" language family. I seek to examine whether there can be a bridging of this debate; whether there can be such a thing as a "Good" Orientalist.
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Sir William Jones (1748-1794): The "Good" Orientalist?, Part I
Part I of a three-part series, that discusses the modern historical debate about the British Orientalists, a group of late 18th century/early 19th century scholars who went to India to study its languages, cultures, histories and societies. This effort has come under scathing criticism over the past twenty years as being fundamentally a racist and colonial enterprise. This series of essays explores the debate over the role of these scholars, focusing mainly on Sir William Jones, the noted philogist and linguist who discovered that Sanskrit, Ancient Greek and Latin were part of the same language family, the "Indo-European" language family. I seek to examine whether there can be a bridging of this debate; whether there can be such a thing as a "Good" Orientalist.
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Overview of 19th c. British Social History (book review)
Jose Harris is one of the top social historians of Modern British history. Her latest book, reviewed in this essay, reexamines the social history of Britain during the near half century before the First World War, arguing that that, rather than the war, was the chief defining moment in British historical development.
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The British Empire (book review of 2 books)
The history of the British Empire is elegantly captured in the recent surveys written by Lawrence James and noted historian Denis Judd. This article examines both books and the subject of the general history of the British Empire.
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The Irish Potato Famines of 1845-49: A British Genocide?
As we Irish [and all others--remember everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day] get ready to celebrate St. Patrick's Day again with all of its gaieties, we should bear in mind the horrors of the last famine in Europe, the Irish potato famines of 1845-1849. Over 1 million Irish men and women lost their lives between 1845 and 1849, and a further million [the ancestors of the vast majority of Irish living in North America today]were forced to immigrate. This essay tries to examine whether the British actions in response to the famines amounted to genocide.
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"The Sun Never Sets....": An Overview of the British Empire
The British Empire was the modern version of the classical Roman Empire--in fact, according to some it "...was more extensive, more populous, and arguably more influential..." The next series of articles will devote their attention to the fascinating topic of the British Empire.
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A League of Nations, For Nations? Part II
Part II of a two-part series about the pivotal 1935 Labour Party Annual Conference, held at Brighton, England, where the parliamentary leader, George Lansbury, an absolute pacifist was ousted from leadership, and pacifism was thoroughly rejected as party policy.
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A League of Nations, For Nations? Part I
Part I of a two-part series about the pivotal 1935 Labour Party Annual Conference, held at Brighton, England, where the parliamentary leader, George Lansbury, an absolute pacifist was ousted from leadership, and pacifism was thoroughly rejected as party policy.
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How The Greatest Person of the 20th Century Overcame A Ghost
Winston Churchill is often depicted as the greatest person of the 20th century. What many don't realize is that he suffered numerous bouts of depression and doubted several times whether he would "make it." One of the causes of this was the ghost of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, which haunted Churchill his entire adult life.
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The History of Ultra
First article of a four-part series on Britain's main contribution to Allied victory during the Second World War: Ultra.
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The Boer War (1899-1902): Britain's Wakeup Call
The Boer War was the major colonial war of British Empire history. Fought between 1899 and 1902, it was a major turning point between the 19th and the 20th centuries. Not only was the Boer War the first war for a combatant [Britain] to use concentration camps, but it also lead to much ado about the health and fitness of British soldiers. This article talks about the war itself and its impacts on British history and society.
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