Empress Dowager Cixi is a figure of Chinese history who is an incredibly interesting, influential and controversial woman. This controversy stems from the fact that in practice she ruled China for forty seven years until she died in 1908. Chinese society from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty was based upon the […]
As historians I think we can all remember our childhood bookshelves filled with Horrible Histories; from the Rotten Romans to the Shocking 60’s. We enjoyed them because they made history accessible beyond the classroom, free from homework and nagging teachers! Now, a new generation of historians can merely sit back and gain some of this […]
Olive Elaine Morris (b.1953) was a grass-roots and radical Black feminist, likely known for her constant resistance to racism, sexism, and class oppression. Olive campaigned against racism, and in support of both women’s rights, international rights, and squatters’ rights. It is clear that she sought to unpick the interconnected systems which upheld the discriminatory structures […]
Recently students across Manchester united in an empowering march for Reclaim the Night’s forty-fifth anniversary. Attendees protested in solidarity for women, sex worker, trans and non-binary victims of violent misogyny. Speakers talked of their experiences furthering the campaign for safer streets and for GMCA to cut ties with organisations harming women and sex workers. This […]
When Thatcher came to leadership on the 4th of May 1979, she said “where there is discord, may we bring harmony;” in her leadership speech. Although it wasn’t exactly the ‘harmony’ she had in mind, the British public grouped together to form their own, home-made ‘harmony’ in the form of illegal raves backdropped by the […]
The story of the Battle of Agincourt follows the age-old narrative of the beloved underdog rising against the odds. A legacy of victory and glory would become synonymous with Henry V after this epic episode in medieval history. An idyllic tale of knights, courage and king; it is recounted even in modern memory, but how […]
Hi Sarah. What brought you to the University of Manchester? I was lucky enough, in 2011, to be offered a position working on an ESRC [Economic and Social Research Council] project led by Julie-Marie Strange and Bertrand Taithe. What first interested you in history? There’s the standard answer, I suppose, that it was always my […]
We have retold the stories of the Second World War without pause since it drew to a close in 1945. Films are an increasingly important way in which we remember the Second World War. But yet, these films, while engrossing in character and wildly popular, do not always reflect how the Second World War actually […]
Winstanley Hall, built in the 1560s, is one of only three Tudor buildings in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. It was originally built for the Winstanley family, who had been the Lords of the Manor since c.1252; however, only three decades later in 1596, the estate was sold in its entirety to James Bankes, a […]
The Reign of Terror is a haunting and unforgettable chapter in the annals of the French Revolution; characterised by political radicalisation led by Maximillien Robespierre, it saw the relentless blade of the guillotine and the infamous executions of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. This tumultuous period prompts compelling questions about how the revolution transformed into […]
The disregard which the American government has always had to Native American reservation and tribes is continually shocking, especially since they represent some of the most important remains of traditional culture left in the USA. They have already lost 99% of their land which they had originally. There is a remaining importance to make sure […]
HS2 phase 2 is the high-speed train line that will connect Manchester and Leeds to Birmingham and on to London. Promoted as an attempt to bring ‘the UK’s Victorian railway infrastructure dramatically into the 21st Century,’ the Government expects to spend billions in a plan set to transform North-South transport infrastructure, encourage business, boost employment […]
On April 18, 2021, football was rocked to its very core. Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs suddenly announced their intention to form a new, breakaway continental competition in a move that would shock the world, giving birth to the deeply controversial and ill-fated European Super League. England’s […]
The history of the burgeoning counterculture in Britain often centres around London, with underground magazines and newspapers such as Oz, Frendz and the International Times being identified as the alternative press of the day. Although London was a countercultural epicentre, the existence of Grass Eye and Mole Express in Manchester illustrate the countercultural movement in […]