Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i History Extra

Seventy-five years ago this month, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, bringing to a close the European war. VE Day witnessed an outpouring of joy across the UK, although emotions were mixed as many were reminded of the sacrifices that had been made and the uncertain future that awaited. In this month’s VE Day special supplement, we explore the moment of victory from several perspectives. What were the most crucial factors in Allied victory? How were the final months of battle experienced across the continent? And, what did it mean for Britain to fight a war whose conclusion was so hard to predict? Plus, relive the moment of victory itself, told through the voices of soldiers and civilians who experienced it. If May 1945 was a time of uncertainty, then…

In the midst of the great global challenges of the present, sometimes pondering the past offers welcome relief, if not its own controversy. And so, when Eleanor Rycroft (@EarlyModernista) asked: “What’s your favourite year of the 16th or 17th century and why?”, Twitter keenly went time travelling. Greg Walker (@gregmw4), who has written widely on Tudor literary culture, was quick off the mark, writing: “1529... The year in which it all kicked off – and [John] Heywood wrote three plays about it all.” Soon afterwards, Andrea Zuvich (@17thCenturyLady), whose Twitter handle clearly demonstrates a strong early modern bias, declared that her favourite year was 1677 due to the “fabulous fashion, good music, good theatre” and the royal wedding of William of Orange and Princess Mary. Some suggestions were perhaps unsurprising,…

During the early stages of this year’s Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders emerged as a serious contender for victory – and in the process gave democratic socialism a visibility it has not enjoyed for years. The Vermont senator’s proposals include healthcare that’s free at the point of delivery, free tuition at public colleges and a ‘Green New Deal’ to convert electricity and transportation to renewable energy within 10 years. And – as his emergence as one of the leading contenders to win the nomination has proved – it is a manifesto with considerable appeal. Sanders has built his success on the backing of millennials, whose political consciousness was shaped by the failure of capitalism in the 2007–09 financial crisis, and on the Democratic left’s growing conviction that only radical measures can…

Many thanks for another issue of BBC History Magazine. Always a great read! I appreciated the article on Queen Mary (Mary: Brutal but Brilliant, April) in that Alexander Samson set out all that could be said in favour of Mary: a helpful yardstick against which to measure other views. But in my opinion, he unearthed little. He concludes: “Surely we should recognise that Mary wasn’t just ‘bloody’, but also saintly and wise.” Yet what kind of a ‘saint’ has such blood on their hands as Mary? Alexander argues Mary had high ability, a happy marriage and a sense of humour. I can think of several 20th-century dictators possessing these three characteristics, especially the first, but all were paranoid or insanely bigoted. Granted, Elizabeth I didn’t shine in her treatment of…

Leading from the front When the Boers defeated the British at Spion Kop in January 1900, three future national leaders were present at the battle. Louis Botha, who led the Boers, would go on to become the Union of South Africa’s first prime minister in 1910. On the British side, meanwhile, were both Churchill and Gandhi. Churchill, who had come to South Africa as a war correspondent, served as a courier during the fighting. As for Gandhi, he was in command of the Indian ambulance corps that he had personally raised. Too much horsing around In 1894, Queen Victoria was anything but amused when she arrived at London’s Horse Guards in her carriage to find the guards there drinking and gambling while on duty. As a punishment she ordered that,…

Ellie Cawthorne: First of all, why did it matter who Charles II was sleeping with? Linda Porter: Charles’s love life was a reflection of the luxury and glamour – but also the corruption – of the royal court at the time. The extramarital relationships that he enjoyed so unashamedly are important because they show that the king cared very little for public opinion. He avoided the general public like the plague, and really wasn’t embarrassed at all about what people might think of these women or their role in his life. Charles’s reign was a time of wars and disasters – plague, the Great Fire of London, a mini Ice Age – and through it all, his continued consorting with women was both a distraction and a way of bluntly…

Four years ago, the BBC aired a deeply disturbing documentary called My Nazi  Legacy. It followed the journey of Horst Wächter, the son of notorious Nazi leader Otto Wächter, as he visited the places in eastern Europe where his father had presided over the Holocaust. Throughout the documentary, Horst was presented with evidence of his father’s crimes. And yet, while he was ready to denounce the Nazi system, he could never bring himself to admit his father’s personal responsibility. The presenter of that documentary was Philippe Sands, whose own family included people murdered by SS troops in the region governed by Otto Wächter. What made the film so engrossing was Sands’ friendship with Horst. He was obviously disturbed by the astonishing levels of denial that Horst seemed capable of –…

For more than four decades, Paul Preston has produced voluminous and incisive work on the history of Spain. As the leading British historian in the field, he has written on the Second Republic (1931–36), the Civil War (1936–39), the Franco dictatorship and the late 1970s transition to democracy. His latest contribution to the analysis of Spain’s past is a comprehensive political and social history spanning from the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1874 to the present day. Preston’s main thesis is that corruption and political incompetence have had a corrosive effect on Spain’s political and social cohesion since the late 19th century. This argument could be seen to strengthen the stereotypical British view of Spaniards as naturally inclined to corruption and authoritarianism. The book does not, however, adopt a…

“Cecil Beaton essentially did the same job for our queen as Hans Holbein the Younger did for Henry VIII” What story does the documentary set out to tell? The programme makes the case that it’s photography that has been essential to the British monarchy’s extraordinary survival over the last 200 years. Creating and releasing images has created a sense of connection and indeed affection between sovereigns and people. How aware were the royals of the potential of photography from its earliest days? Queen Victoria and especially Prince Albert were ‘early adopters’. They even had their own dark room at Windsor Castle. At first the images they had taken were for private consumption, but soon the pictures started to slip out into the world, and they began to realise that they’d…

Harold Wilson 1916–95 When did you first hear about Harold Wilson? I remember seeing him on our telly when I was a child. My mother was a Labour supporter and would have voted for him, but even as a boy I was aware that he divided opinion. Playing him in The Crown, and getting to revisit that era, was pretty fascinating. What kind of person was he? He was very different to the previous two prime ministers, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home, who were almost figures from the 19th century. He was a working-class, grammar school-educated boy who cut a much more modern figure; he had a quick wit, courted the Beatles and was a good media performer. He also had a warmth which made him the housewives’ choice. But…

“I just wanted to see my parents again. I just wanted to go home” One of Vera Schaufield’s most vivid memories of VE Day was of getting into trouble with her schoolteacher. Six years earlier, Vera had bid her parents goodbye and become one of the 669 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia evacuated to England on the Kindertransport, organised by the British humanitarian Nicholas Winton. She was now a refugee suffering from homesickness. She had more reason than most to look forward to the end of the war. “We were sitting in the classroom and the teacher was reading,” she recalled. “Someone came into the room and spoke to her and she said: ‘I have something to tell you: the war is ended!’ I said: ‘Hooray!’ She sent me out for…

Linda Porter Of course Charles II wasn’t the first monarch to have had mistresses, but his tally far outweighs that of Henry VIII, for example, as does his tally of children. You have to hand it to him: he really didn’t care what people thought. Linda discusses Charles II’s mistresses on page 52 David Nash My research into irrationality after the First World War has revealed that manners, behaviour, belief and culture were questioned by the populace at large, with some surprising results. David charts the allure of spiritualism following the First World War on page 39 Catherine Rider Reading the King Arthur stories as a child sparked my fascination with medieval magic. I’m particularly interested in how beliefs about magic that often seem outlandish to modern eyes made sense…

Skeletal remains found hidden inside a Folkestone parish church “almost certainly” belonged to the town’s patron saint, experts have confirmed. Following months of analysis, archaeologists are now confident that bones from the church of St Mary & St Eanswythe are those of St Ean- swythe herself – an Anglo-Saxon princess who established one of England’s first monastic communities. As well as belonging to a young woman who died in the seventh century, the results also indicate that the deceased enjoyed a diet typically eaten by someone of high status. The bones were first discovered inside the north wall of the church in 1885, presumably having been hidden to avoid the widespread destruction of relics during the Reformation. However, suspicions that the bones were medieval fakes persisted for more than a…

“Songs distil the essence of how things were, what people really felt” Strange days! Sitting here in my kitchen thinking about family, friends and neighbours, as it slowly dawns on me that all the events, book festivals and talks I was due to do over the next four months have been cancelled. One of them was a gig at Cecil Sharp House in London, about the English radical song tradition. I was going to do it with the great singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and his band Show of Hands. It was to be an evening of songs from the 14th to the 20th century, from the Peasants’ Revolt to the Diggers and Levellers, to the Chartists, suffragettes and beyond – a kind of people’s history through song. And, of course, most…

“Before oil, another resource made and broke fortunes: guano” There are a handful of natural resources that have profoundly shaped the world. The 20th century is often thought of as the Petroleum Age. Oil and access to it served as the foundation for whole economies, sparked wars and led to the drawing of political boundaries. Yet around the time that the Petroleum Age was beginning, and the first oil wells were being sunk, another natural resource was entering its heyday. Now all but forgotten, this resource transformed the economies of several South American nations and revolutionised agricultural output in countries as far apart as Britain and New Zealand. Tens of thousands of men from both sides of the Pacific Ocean toiled to extract it, often working themselves to death for…

“Wheresoever men tilled, the earth bare no corn, for the land was all ruined by such deeds; and they said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep. Such and more than we can say we endured 19 winters for our sins.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle paints a bleak picture of King Stephen’s reign from 1135–54, during which magnates “oppressed greatly the wretched men of the land with the making of castles; when the castles were made, they filled them with devils and evil men”. The anonymous author of the Gesta Stephani (The Deeds of Stephen) offers an equally cataclysmic portrait. “England, formerly the seat of justice, the habitation of peace, the height of piety, the mirror of religion, became thereafter a home of perversity, a haunt of strife, a training-ground…

For 30 years in the first half of the 19th century, Britain was obsessed with the price of bread. Waves of unrest swept the country as bad harvests, food shortages and dire living conditions stalked the poorest in society. Calls for parliamentary reform grew ever more insistent as citizens demanded that politicians be more responsive to their hardships. The first modern pressure groups – among them the Chartists – hounded the government regularly. At the heart of this political and social turbulence was a growing row over the cost of food – an imbroglio we now know as the Corn Law crisis. On one side of the argument stood those who argued for strict tariffs on the import of foreign cereals into Britain; on the other were those who contended…

In 1517, the pope received a report from his emissary at the English court. The missive was so full of praise that its author almost ran out of superlatives. “The wealth and civilisation of the world are here,” he enthused, declaring the “invincible king” excelled “all who ever wore a crown.” This was exactly what Henry VIII had intended. He invested huge care, attention and expense in creating a court so magnificent that it would be the envy of the world. Although he revelled in all the delights that his palaces provided, this was about more than excess and enjoyment. The greater the court, the more invincible its king. There have been numerous biographies of Henry VIII, but Weir’s sets him firmly in the context of his court – which…

What inspired you to embark on two major series of crime books set in ancient Rome? What could be better than life in colourful streets, with the sun shining? The people have wine, streetfood, attractive personalities and rampant ambition. But criminal impulses know no historic boundaries, so then there are pathological serial killers. Up against them are the forces of law and order, which in my Rome means the overworked, underfunded fire brigade bedevilled by an official ‘consultant’ who knows nothing. The Senate contains rich inadequates, collectables are mainly faked and the emperor is barmy. It’s all so familiar you have to love it. Where does this latest instalment take your main character, investigator Flavia Albia? “Don’t go to the Grove”, Albia is told – so of course she heads…

Harold Wilson was a Labour party leader who served as prime minister from 1964–70 and 1974–76. Born in Huddersfield, he studied at Oxford and became a Labour MP in 1945. He was made Labour leader in 1963 and went on to win four of the five general elections he fought. His first government, in particular, is remembered for its legislation advancing social justice. He resigned as premier in 1976 and his later years were blighted by Alzheimer’s. His wife Mary only died in 2018, aged 102.…

Even as Britain reached peak military power, its ability to shape the peace fell away On 7 December 1943, the men in charge of the Anglo-American alliance dined in a Cairo hotel. It had been an exhausting few weeks: ill-mannered discussions with the Chinese leader, Chiang Kai-shek, in the Egyptian capital; a tense conference with the Soviet leader, Josef Stalin, in Tehran; then back to Cairo to finish their own disputes. Stage-managed by the Americans to avoid any British challenge, the conferences had demonstrated to the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, how calamitously his country’s international power had declined. As the prime minister put it: “A bloody lot” had “gone wrong.” Having got what he wanted, the US president, Franklin Roosevelt, had left that morning. The remaining participants – including…

An 18th-century dolls’ house has returned to the country mansion that inspired its creation following a £100,000 restoration project. The artefact, modelled on Nostell Priory in West Yorkshire, was repaired by specialists from the National Trust’s conservation studio. As well as cleaning the house’s intricate figures and furniture, experts also uncovered several hidden features, including a servants’ bell. The restored dolls’ house was unveiled in March, but the Nostell estate has since closed along with the rest of the Trust’s properties due to the coronavirus pandemic. Have a story? Please email Jon Bauckham at jon.bauckham@immediate.co.uk…

10 MAY 1768 Anti-royal protest turns bloody Soldiers fire on supporters of radical John Wilkes in London In early May 1768, crowds began to gather at St George’s Fields, London. After producing increasingly fierce criticisms of George III and his government, the radical journalist John Wilkes had been arrested and imprisoned. To his supporters, it was an outrage. And since St George’s Fields were next to the King’s Bench Prison, this was the obvious place for a protest. By mid-morning, the crowd was 15,000 strong, chanting “Wilkes and liberty!”, “No liberty, no king!” and “Damn the king! Damn the government!” The atmosphere became steadily more aggressive. The justices of the peace called for troops, and a unit of horse grenadiers took up a position in front of the prison. Some…

Misleading impression? If the interview with Simon Jenkins in your March issue (A Welsh Tragedy?) is anything to go by, I suspect his recent Radio 4 documentary – controversially entitled Wales: A Twentieth-Century Tragedy? – was largely based on flimsy anecdotal evidence. For example, when Mr Jenkins’ father left Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil around 1932, he may have observed that the streets were infinitely nicer to live in than those in northern England, but at the time the unemployment rate in Dowlais was 80 per cent. Many of the houses there were demolished within 40 years of his leaving. On visiting Dowlais in 1936, the Prince of Wales famously said, “Something must be done.” This does not suggest the “classy place” described by Mr Jenkins. Mr Jenkins states that wealth stayed…

Of all the British ministerial positions that no longer exist, which were the most important? To start with, how about the postmaster-general? The holder of this position, which originated in the 17th century, was responsible for all postal communications, and later telegraphs. Maintaining modern and efficient communications was an important part of the role, but so was maintaining the government’s ability to control (and read!) them. The British empire saw the creation of numerous cabinet-level offices which don’t exist anymore, though the Board of Trade, whose work often related to colonial commerce, still exists as part of the Department of International Trade. Most now-defunct ministries were 20th-century creations, many formed to tackle the demands of the two world wars. The Ministry of Supply (1939–59) was sort of responsible for providing…

Sir Robert Peel’s family made a fortune from calico cloth printing in Lancashire, though Peel (1788–1850) never worked for the company. Profits of £70,000 a year enabled his father – also Sir Robert – to buy a 4,000-acre estate near Tamworth, Stafford- shire in the 1790s and to send his son to Harrow and Oxford, where he was the first student at the university ever to be awarded a double first, in mathematics and classics. Aged 21, Peel became MP for Cashel, an Irish rotten borough. He was regarded as brilliant, but cold and arrogant: “an iceberg with a slight thaw”. By 24, he was chief secretary for Ireland, recognised as a rising Tory star. In 1822 he became home secretary, reforming the criminal justice system and introducing a professional…

1 Ward off evil spells According to the 13th-century physician Peter of Spain: “If coral is kept in the house, it breaks all evil spells.” Many Renaissance paintings of aristocratic children show them wearing coral jewellery for the same reason. Other substances that warded off evil magic, according to Peter, included lodestones and the plant St John’s wort. 2 Heal the sick The preacher John Bromyard tells us that this healing charm was recited over sick people: “St Mary enchanted her son [Jesus] against the bite of elves and the bite of men, and she joined bone to bone, and blood to blood, and joint to joint, and so the boy recovered.” Bromyard did not say what the charm was for, but later versions of it were said…

Hadley Freeman on uncovering her family’s history “I grew up hearing vague stories – for example, that my grandmother had come from France to America to escape the war. So I always had an idea there was a story in the background. But then I went to her old apartment and found this shoebox filled with letters, photos and other keepsakes that didn’t make any sense. And then, at the bottom, a drawing by Picasso.” Priyamvada Gopal on resistance in the British empire “The history of the British empire is also almost entirely the history of resistance to the British empire. In India, for instance, there was constant rebellion, constant revolt. The empire was challenged almost from the very beginning, and therefore any history of empire that doesn’t take on…

Liz Williams’ friendly and authoritative history of paganism gets quickly to the point: paganism is defined on the first page of the introduction as a religion that is outside the mainstream of recognised “world religions” and sometimes focuses on a broadly defined “nature worship”. We could argue about that all day, but that is where Williams starts her journey. However, her book also attempts to deal with the wider field of magic. This is defined as a debatable power of influencing events by using mysterious forces – even more controversy lies down that path! A book of only 350 pages that engages with both paganism and magic is setting itself a hugely ambitious task. But Williams does a good job, largely because she adopts a get-on-with-it approach. She acknowledges areas…