Tag: history

An evaluation of the transition from European indentured servants to African slaves on the plantations of mainland America and the British West Indies.

Before the widespread use of slavery in mainland America and the British West Indies, the predominant form of labour was that of white indentured servitude. These were mostly unskilled workers who had emigrated from Britain and Ireland who entered into a contract usually lasting between 2 and 10 years of labouring in the colonies. First… Read More An evaluation of the transition from European indentured servants to African slaves on the plantations of mainland America and the British West Indies.

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To what extent did Franco impose a ‘Fascist’ state and identity on Spain?

On 17 July 1936, leading generals of the Spanish military launched a rebellion against the newly elected Popular Front government of the Second Republic. It would fail as a coup d’état, but instead provoked civil war. The rebels were joined by the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS),… Read More To what extent did Franco impose a ‘Fascist’ state and identity on Spain?

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Winston Churchill and the Rise of Bolshevism 1917–1927

Winston Churchill and the Rise of Bolshevism 1917–1927 The period 1917 to 1927 was one of significant social and political upheaval and revolution across the world, but nowhere so much as in Russia, when on 7 November 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution took place. Power was transferred to the soviets across the country, ousting the Provisional… Read More Winston Churchill and the Rise of Bolshevism 1917–1927

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Why was masturbation such a medical concern in the 19th century? 

Before the 1700s, masturbation had been condemned on specifically religious grounds. It was considered sinful because it ‘denied the “natural” function of sexuality’, i.e. procreation. As A. N. Gilbert writes, ‘[a]s a sexual act, it meshed easily with the traditional Christian distrust of sensuality and bodily pleasure.’ But by the nineteenth century onwards, doctors had… Read More Why was masturbation such a medical concern in the 19th century? 

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The October Revolution: A Coup D’état?

(Initially written around October 2013) The October Revolution of 1917 was the most significant event of the twentieth century. It saw the transfer of power in Russia from the Provisional Government to the soviets led by the Bolshevik Party, creating the world’s first socialist state. However it’s commonly referred to as a coup d’état, particularly by anticommunist historians… Read More The October Revolution: A Coup D’état?

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