Mary I is often seen in public memory as a cruel tyrant leading religious reform while Sir Arthur Harris is remembered as a cold calculated advocate of mass slaughter through aerial bombing. The truth, as always, is more complex and the legacies of both historical figures have been forged for a variety of reasons, such as political gain, cultural influences, or the need for historical “scapegoats”. Though “Bloody Mary” and “Bomber Harris” are separated by centuries, their stories have uncanny parallels and reveal how little the manipulation of historical memory has changed in 400 years, especially when these figures have lost the ability to speak for themselves. Johanna Strong and James Jefferies examine the part that memory played – and continues to play – in creating the legacies of these two controversial historical figures.
By the time the Spain’s Southern American Empire fell in 1825 it had survived uprisings, economic crises and weathered many geopolitical storms from the end of the Spanish Hapsburgs to the upheaval of the American War of Independence. As late as 1800, despite its many problems, it seemed largely ...
Chris Walklett will examine events between ’84 and ’94, during which time the government seemingly pitted itself against the British people, particularly the youth. It will cover events including: Orgreave, the Greenham Women, the free festivals, acid house & the so-called Summer of Love and ...
Andy Silen-McMillin has been mapping and examining the financial patterns associated with the queen’s lands of consort queens from the Elizabeth of York to Anna of Denmark. One of the focus points has been the impact of various policies brought out by Henry VIII and his dissolution of the monaste...
