Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i History Extra

“It was 300 years ago this month that King George I appointed Robert Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury and chancellor of the Exchequer – positions he would retain for more than 20 years. Historians now see this as the beginnings of the office of prime minister, and Walpole as the first in a long line of incumbents stretching forward until Boris Johnson today. On the 300th anniversary of Walpole’s appointment, we’ve asked a group of political historians to compile a list of the 10 most accomplished prime ministers so far – you’ll End their choices on page 28. No doubt you’ll have your own views about this selection, so please do write in with your thoughts. While Walpole began a political dynasty, this month’s cover star saw hers…

EYE-OPENER Heritage at risk This ancient illustrated Bible, featuring lavish depictions of sacred scenes and written in the Amharic language, is stored in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in the Ethiopian city of Aksum. It’s among the artefacts at risk as war continues to rage throughout the Tigray region, in the north of the country. The conflict, between the regional government and federal troops, began in November. Shelling has taken place in towns and cities elsewhere in the region, including Mekelle, Humera and Shire. In February, international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch reported forces heading towards Aksum. The town is also of particular interest as the rumoured home of the Ark of the Covenant – the wooden casket said to hold the stone tablets upon which the…

A deadly trade Malcolm Smith’s article A Hatful of Horrors (February), which highlighted the use of feathers from exotic birds for the millinery trade of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was heartbreaking. It happened just a few generations ago and many of us will have had great-grandparents who wore feathered hats or perhaps were some way involved in the colossal trade in wild birds or their plumes. The image of thousands of ostrich feathers in the Cutler Street warehouses was a stark reminder of the past wrongs inflicted on the natural world by our forefathers. While researching my family history, I discovered that my great-great-grandfather and his son, my great-grandfather, who were merchants, regularly sold feathers from exotic birds at their auctions in the Commercial Sale Rooms in…

Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1554) is Cellini’s masterpiece. It was commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici to represent his family’s rule over Florence and was also designed to stand in the same square as Michelangelo’s David. Nearly a decade in the making and standing over 3 metres tall, the casting in bronze was an epic achievement. Perseus is shown slaying Medusa, with cast bronze mimicking her blood, in a political image of male dominance. As a fire threatened to burn down the studio, Cellini leapt into action and saved his casting by throwing pewter into the furnace Cellini’s life-size Crucifix (1556-62) is his last great artwork. Having mastered gold and bronze, his crucifix took on the medium favoured by Michelangelo: marble. Based on his vision of Christ while in…

Advances in archaeological excavation and analysis over the past three decades have blown apart long-held misconceptions about Neanderthals. This distinct species of human emerged around 400,000–350,000 years ago and existed until 40,000 years ago. During that time span, they coped not only with cold, but also dramatically shifting climates. They were just as much people of the forest as the tundra, surviving conditions warmer than we experience today. This ecological variety, combined with a vast geographic range, meant a diverse diet. Neanderthals were top hunters, whether of megafauna like mammoth or small game like rabbits or even tortoises. Neanderthals were a little shorter than us on average, with powerful, well muscled bodies, wider ribs, and differently shaped pelvic bones. But they walked fully upright. The front of their chinless face…

Aidan Dodson on Egypt’s sun queen, Nefertiti “Until fairly recently, Nefertiti has been regarded pretty much as a cypher. The beautiful bust of her found in 1912 has meant that she’s been seen as a kind of international glamour puss rather than an actual person with thoughts and influence. It hasn’t been until the last few years that we’ve started to realise there was rather more to Nefertiti and show that her career went beyond being simply a king’s wife.” Anna Malaika Tubbs on the mothers of civil rights leaders “Even before they had their sons, before they met their husbands, Alberta King, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin [the mothers of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and James Baldwin respectively] were incredibly talented, educated, passionate young women. They were already…

We asked our Twitter followers which history books captured their childhood imaginations… @Tostig1066 I loved the Ladybird books on English monarchs – though I’m not sure the history was always sound... @GrahamVincent91 Horrible Histories. If Terry Deary had illustrated the Irish curriculum’s texts on tenant farming in the 19th century, I probably wouldn’t have dropped the subject out of sheer boredom. @TessaArlen Everything by Rosemary Sutcliff: the Arthurian legends; The Eagle of the Ninth series. She was prolific and wrote wonderful historical novels. @emily_llou Where do I start! Anne Frank’s Diary, Last Train from Kummersdorf, The Night Watch, Goodnight Mr Tom! @Carolin35224088 At the local library I discovered a book about medieval Britain. It showed people emptying buckets into the street from windows and aspects of the Black Death. The…

What can you tell us about the real events that inspired your novel? In 1972, 80,000 Ugandan Asians were expelled from the country by Idi Amin and given 90 days to leave forever. Initially, most people thought the announcement was a joke. Ugandans were used to Amin changing laws on a whim. But it soon became apparent that the dictator and his army were deadly serious. How did people react to the upheaval? There was understandable anger and bewilderment, but in a country under military rule, fighting back was a dangerous option. Uganda was the only home many of these Asians had ever known. Now they were forced to leave homes and businesses behind, say goodbye to lifelong friends and see their families scattered across the world. Lots of families…

Your contribution to the series focuses largely on Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire [1757-1806]. Who was she? Georgiana Cavendish was one of the leaders of 18th-century society, and she really was put on this pedestal of beauty and grace. She played a huge part in influencing fashion but was also involved in politics and science. She was used, as celebrities are often used, to promote newspapers, clothing, even Wedgwood plant pots for people’s gardens. She had the status of someone like Kim Kardashian. How much money did she spend on her appearance? Georgiana’s hairdresser, Baptiste Gilbert, was one of the highest-paid servants in her London home. He was paid £52 10s, which is roughly the equivalent of £10,000 today. The fact that he was French brought an awful lot of…

1865-1958 IN PROFILE Colonel Candido Rondon was an army engineer who laid more than 4,000 miles of telegraph line through the jungles of Brazil. His expeditions into the Amazon included exploring the Western Amazon Basin, but his most famous was the Roosevelt-Rondon scientific expedition in 1913-14. In 1910, he was appointed the director of the Indian Protection Service (SPI). He encouraged the later creation of the Xingu National Park, a territory where both indigenous people and the environment are protected. In Brazil, Rondon is a national hero, and the state of Rondonia is named after him. “Cândido Rondon was as important as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. But nobody outside of Brazil really knows about him” How did you first hear about Candido Rondon? It was through reading about…

Alan Lester I co-wrote Ruling the World as Black Lives Matter protesters were highlighting the British empire’s racism. I wanted to see what the ideals of the men who actually governed the empire were. Alan tells the story of the men who ran the British empire on page 42 Joyce Tyldesley Cleopatra was the acceptable enemy who allowed Octavian to eliminate his rival Mark Antony. I am fascinated by the effect that her actions had on the development of the Roman empire. Joyce chronicles Cleopatra’s entanglements with three leading Romans on page 20 Shrabani Basu I love hidden stories about Asians in Britain through history – that’s what I do as a journalist. And I’m also a great Arthur Conan Doyle fan. This strange criminal case brought both of those…

Sometimes a Twitter user will pose a question that goes on to strike a chord with fellow social networkers. So it proved when Leeds Museums curator Lucy Moore (@curatorlucy) asked: “Pals. I hate the term ‘hidden histories’ increasingly and would much prefer ‘stories we discriminate(d) against… I bet I’m not alone? Or… is it good? Am I grumpy?” Among those sharing their thoughts was Alice A Procter (@aaprocter), who tweeted that “I have had so many rants about this. I’ve generally settled on ‘excluded’ rather than ‘hidden’.” Natalie Harrower (@natalieharrower) also favoured “excluded”, “as in ‘excluded from dominant narratives’”, while “marginalised voices” was the term that Georgia Grainger (@sniphist) used in her work on oral and feminist history. While agreeing, Ewan (@ewandwhoelse) made the interesting point that “the problem with…

It is the autumn of 34 BC and Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, is hosting a lavish celebration in her capital city, Alexandria. Seated on a golden throne, wearing flowing robes and an intricate crown decorated with a sun disk and cow horns, she is the living incarnation of the goddess Isis. Beside her sits her consort, the Roman general Mark Antony, dressed as the god Dionysus. Nearby, four lesser thrones have been provided for her son Caesarion – co-ruler of Egypt and, it is rumoured, son of Julius Caesar – and her three children by Antony: the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene and the young Ptolemy Philadelphus. At the climax of the ceremony Antony gives an astonishing speech that makes his ambitions clear. Cleopatra is recognised as queen…

The manuscript of Cellini’s autobiography, My Life, was largely forgotten following his death, possibly due to its criticism of his Medici patrons, and certainly because many of his artworks had either been destroyed or fallen out of fashion. It was first published in Italian in 1728, followed by an unreliable English version in 1771. A significant shift in appreciation of Cellini came when Goethe translated and published his autobiography in 1796-97, claiming: “I see the whole century far more distinctly through the eyes of this confused individual.” Goethe’s translation sparked a wholesale reassessment of Cellini’s personal and artistic reputation under the Romantic movement. Lord Byron, always quick to identify with a fellow reprobate, described Cellini in his poetic drama The Deformed Transformed (published in 1824) as “A famous artizan, a…

Loaf and master Our modern word “lord” can be traced back etymologically to an Anglo-Saxon one which literally means “guardian of the loaf”. The Anglo-Saxon hlafweard was contracted to hlaford and then, in the Middle Ages, mutated into the feudal term “lord”. Its origins reflect the responsibility tribal chieftains once had to provide bread for all their followers, and the central role bread played in their diet. Similarly, “lady” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hlaefdige, meaning “someone who kneads the loaf”. Kick up the backside A 1631 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream resulted in the actor playing Bottom sitting in the stocks for 12 hours, still wearing his ass’s head. In a time of increasing puritanism, the play had been performed on a Sunday, and religious zealots secured the…

“It’s no coincidence that the police seized on the odd-looking boy from the only Indian family in the village” Ellie Cawthorne: The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer tells the story of a bizarre crime which led to a major miscarriage of justice in Edwardian England. Can you introduce us to the case? Shrabani Basu: In 1903, a small mining village in the Midlands called Great Wyrley was suddenly subjected to terror. Horses and cattle were being mutilated in a gruesome crime that horrified the villagers – someone was slashing the stomachs of animals and leaving them in the field to die. This happened with increasing frequency for six months. The police didn’t have a clue why, or who was responsible. At the same time, strange anonymous letters were circulating, pointing…

Who can forget Joe Biden and Kamala Harris celebrating their victory in the 2020 US presidential race with a double fist bump? Has Covid finally killed off the handshake? Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist and stand-up comic, is confident that the evolutionary and symbolic importance of the handshake means it will see a comeback. Her book is a chatty but erudite romp through history, focusing on the biological function of handshakes as well as their cultural meanings. She has a comedian’s ability to cut through scientific pontification while retaining a scientist’s commitment to precision. Al-Shamahi sets out the main theories about handshaking (it turns out that it is not about demonstrating that you don’t possess a weapon). She also provides nerdy instructions on the “correct” way to shake. This is not a…

There is a battle going on in Hollywood; women directors are on the rise and they want Hollywood back. Film critic Helen O’Hara’s newest book is part of a wave of women-written work uncovering the forgotten histories and triumphs of women filmmakers throughout film history. Women vs Hollywood tells a story that establishes women as long-term creators rather than just objects of the cinematic gaze. It explores the contributions of hidden figures of American cinema, such as Tressie Souders (the first black female director of a feature film), Lois Weber (one of the most prolific silent movie filmmakers), and Ida Lupino (one of the most prominent female directors in 1950s Hollywood). “Once filmmaking became accepted as both an art and profession, men were quick to erase the contributions of their…

TRUE CRIME The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite (Profile Books, 432 pages, £16.99) Witness for the prosecution In 1910, Lydia Harvey stood up in court and caused a storm with a shocking testimony of trafficking and abuse. A major scandal ensued following media reports of how the young, working-class woman had been transported from her home in New Zealand to Buenos Aires and forced into sex work. Birkbeck historian Julia Laite traces Lydia’s ordeal, and the moral panic about “white slavery” it fed into. FICTION A Fine Madness by Alan Judd (Simon & Schuster, 256 pages, £14.99) Poet, playwright, student, spy At the heart of this spy novel stands the mercurial, enigmatic figure of Christopher Marlowe, whose premature death in a tavern brawl has proven an enduring mystery.…

TASTE Poached eggs in moonshine To modern sensibilities more accustomed to savoury egg dishes, the idea of a breakfast of sweet alcoholic eggs might seem a little unpalatable – but such fare was common among the well-to-do of 16th and 17th-century England. Although we now associate the term “moonshine” with illicitly produced, powerfully alcoholic drinks, its use here denoted the use of sweet, aromatic but much milder alcohol. Indeed, in this modernised version the alcoholic component is very much optional. Regardless, this is a delicious and indulgent treat. Difficulty: 2/10Cooking time: 10-15 minutes INGREDIENTS Two to four eggs 115g currants or raisins 30g butter Zest of half an orange A pinch of ground nutmeg 220-450ml sweet white wine Two to four slices of bread (for toast or “sippets”) METHOD 1.…

Subscription offer Get 10 issues for only £30* when you subscribe. Turn to page 58 for details *Available to UK Direct Debit orders only. For more information on the content in this magazine, scan the QR code (right) with the camera on your smart phone or tablet historyextra.com The website of BBC History Magazine is filled with exciting content on British and world history, and includes an extensive archive of magazine content The History Extra podcast Download episodes for free from iTunes and other providers, or via historyextra.com/podcast Our digital editions BBC History Magazine is available for the Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad/iPhone, Google Play and Zinio. Find us in your app store or visit historyextra.com/subscribe Facebook and Twitter twitter.com/historyextra facebook.com/historyextra Our special editions Discover our range of collector’s editions at…

“These latest ideas show how much we don’t know about Stonehenge” Not long ago, I was strolling in the rain around the old Song-dynasty capital of Kaifeng, China, one of my favourite historical townscapes. There, in a wooded park, I came across a small Ming-dynasty temple to Da Yu (Yu the Great), the legendary founder of Chinese kingship in around 2000 BC. As rain pattered on the roof, the temple custodian recounted the famous myth describing how Yu restored China after a great flood, assisted by supernatural companions, “Yellow Dragon, who used his long, powerful tail to create water channels, and Black Turtle, who pushed the river mud with his huge flippers to build up the dykes”. Of course, flood legends abound in many cultures. This one had been thought…

The American way? A New Low for US Democracy? (March) rightly held up a mirror to Americans who were quick to take comfort in their national identity by distancing themselves from the rioters on Capitol Hill [on 6 January] by saying “this is not who we are”. However, I disagree with Adam IP Smith’s article, which I believe misunderstands the American psyche. Smith argues that “there has always been a segment of the US population that has yearned for authoritarianism”. But surely it is militant libertarianism? The United States has never forgotten how it was forged with a battle cry of freedom. Their pride in this has coursed through their history. While we now find the Confederacy abhorrent, they fought for a perverse kind of freedom: the freedom to own…

70 or 69 BC The birth of Cleopatra VII is unrecorded, but Plutarch tells us that at the time of her death (12 August 30 BC) she was 39 years old. Her father is Ptolemy XII; her mother unknown. 51 BC Ptolemy XII is succeeded by Cleopatra and her brother (and perhaps husband) Ptolemy XIII. 47 BC The siege of Alexandria ends with Caesar victorious, Ptolemy XIII dead, and Cleopatra restored to her throne alongside a new co-ruler, the young Ptolemy XIV. c47 BC Cleopatra gives birth to a son (pictured below) whom she names Ptolemy Caesar. The people of Alexandria leap to the obvious conclusion and rename the baby Caesarion, or “Little Caesar”. 44 BC Caesar is assassinated on 15 March, and Cleopatra flees Rome for Alexandria. Soon after…

Matt Cook is professor of modern history at Birkbeck College, University of London. His books include Queer Domesticities: Homosexuality and Home Life in 20th-Century London (Palgrave, 2014) Channing Gerard Joseph teaches journalism at the University of Southern California, and is writing a book on the leader of the world’s first queer resistance organisation Jen Manion is associate professor of history at Amherst College, Massachusetts, and author of Female Husbands: A Trans History (Cambridge, 2020) Angela Steidele is a German freelance writer who has published several books on LGBTQ people, including Gentleman Jack: A Biography of Anne Lister (Serpent’s Tail, 2018)…

Accompanies Jerry Brotton’s 10-part BBC Radio 3 series Blood and Bronze BBC RADIO 3: Goldsmith, sculptor, poet, soldier, musician, murderer, necromancer, priest and lover – of men and women. The incredible life and times of Benvenuto Cellini, one of the Italian Renaissance’s most extraordinary but now neglected figures, provides a unique perspective on the period. Yet what his surviving art and writings reveal is less an idyllic “golden age” of harmony and beauty, and more a period defined by political turbulence, religious conflict and vicious artistic rivalries. Although Cellini is now largely overlooked as an artist in favour of his immediate predecessors Leonardo da Vinci (whose position he inherited in France) and Michelangelo (whom he revered), he left behind one of the first – and certainly most dramatic and intimate…

Nobody alive today remembers a time before we knew the Neanderthals. Yet their discovery happened very recently in the wider context of human history – barely five generations back. 1856 is the official Neanderthal “ground zero”, when bones materialised in a cloud of clay clods and black powder from the Feldhofer cave, near Dusseldorf in Germany. This was the first recognised find. Nearly three decades earlier, a Neanderthal skull-top had been discovered in a Belgian cave, but its unusual anatomy was less obvious because it was a child. In 1848 yet another skull emerged, this time from near the Forbes military battery on Gibraltar. This nearly became the “type” fossil for the species. But its true significance only became clear just after the Feldhofer find had been given a scientific…

Almost 500 years ago, a young woman in Antwerp painted a self-portrait and signed it with a simple message: “I Catharina van Hemessen have painted myself / 1548 / Here aged 20.” It was the first example of a self-portrait of an artist of any gender sitting at an easel. Although Hemessen bucked the trend and went on to become a court artist in Spain, few women of her generation ever made a living from painting professionally. Nearly a century later, in 1633, 31 artists were accepted as members of the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke. Membership enabled them to sell their work, open their own workshops and teach apprentices. Thirty of the guild’s accepted artists were men, while only one was a woman: Judith Leyster. Though greatly acclaimed during…

Ireland has long been a country of emigrants. In particular the 19th and 20th centuries saw a huge dispersal, with around 8 million leaving between 1800 and 1920 for new lives in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Most often the story of this diaspora is told as a collective history, with graphs and statistics illustrating the struggle of largely anonymous migrants and their descendants to make their way in a new society. Turtle Bunbury, however, takes a different approach. He looks back much further, to the early Middle Ages, and concentrates on a selection of individuals who, in one way or another, achieved fame or notoriety. Some of his subjects are important historical actors, like John McKenna, a key figure in the Chilean war of independence, or…

Across 1 Greek name for Khufu, the Egyptian pharaoh thought to have commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza (6) 4 Italian archbishop of Canterbury and trusted counsellor of William the Conqueror (8) 10 Australian city named after a 19th-century British Whig prime minister (9) 11 Jan____, South African statesman who played an important role in the establishment of the League of Nations (5) 12 Oscar Wilde addressed his De Profundis, written in Reading Gaol, to his lover, “____” (Lord Alfred Douglas) (5) 13 Location of the Jewry Wall, one of the tallest surviving sections of a Roman wall in Britain (9) 14 The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal is noted for assembling the world’s first systematically organised one (7) 16 Regent of Russia who, in 1689, was forced to step down in…

Operation Barbarossa Jonathan Dimbleby reflects on the titanic clash between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union The man who would be king Helen Carr revisits John of Gaunt’s doomed attempt to seize the crown of Castile in the 14th century Slimming clubs Katrina Moseley on how losing weight became a social activity in the mid-20th century Marcus Aurelius Shushma Malik examines the life and career of one of the most feted Roman emperors…