Sommaire pour Issue 167 de All About History

“Grace is said to have shaved her long red hair and dressed as a boy” Did you know there was a swashbuckling pirate queen who ruled the seas along the west coast of Ireland? There are few women who loom quite so large in Ireland’s history and folklore as Grace O’Malley, the powerful 16th century chieftain who led her clan. As a woman, her position was unusual for the time but during her lifetime powerful female rulers were emerging across Europe, including Mary I and Elizabeth I of England, Catherine de’Medici in France and Mary Queen of Scots among others. While Grace’s legacy is celebrated in Ireland, she is less well known than many of her female contemporaries. But in many ways Grace’s leadership of her people was more remarkable than that…

Director: Frank Pierson Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth Country: Germany Year: 2001 How closely does this film stick to the minutes of the Wannsee Conference? 01 The movie recreates the Wannsee Conference, which took place on 20 January 1942 in which a ‘final solution’ was discussed for the Jewish populations under Nazi control. Minutes, but not a transcript, of the meeting were taken, so the film’s dialogue is all conjecture. 02 The participants head to the Berlin suburb where the meeting is taking place, and many of them are unclear as to what the gathering will be about. We don’t actually have this information, and the topic of the meeting was likely clear to all who were due to attend. 03 Much of the early conversation in the…

30 March 1981 PRESIDENT REAGAN SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr outside the Washington Hilton in the capital. Hinckley fired six times, hitting Reagan as well as press secretary James Brady, secret service agent Timothy McCarthy and policeman Thomas Delahanty. The president underwent lifesaving emergency surgery, while Brady was left severely brain-damaged and died as a result of his injuries in 2014. Hinckley was charged for the attempted assassination but was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He claimed he had carried out the attack in order to impress the American actress Jodie Foster, with whom he was obsessed. 25 March 1969 LENNON AND ONO’S FIRST ‘BED-IN’ After marrying in Gibraltar on 20 March, Beatles star John Lennon and his new wife, artist…

“Looking handsome in your fine uniforms. Dressing up and doing the terrible, terrible things you do. It makes me ashamed” The words of Nathalie in John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas still ring true. The act of wearing a uniform often imbues the wearer with purpose; it welcomes them into a group and defines how others see them. The clothing of Nazi rule is recognisable across the world, linked forever to fascism’s rise and the bloody legacy of the Third Reich. Boys became monsters clad in outfits of brown and black, ‘Gott mit uns’ (‘God is with us’) across their belts and a swastika on their arms. CLOTHING THE PARTY The origins of these uniforms begin, as with much of the Third Reich, in the aftermath of the First…

Invariably, when talking about long-lost civilisations it can be difficult to ascertain the most basic information about even the most significant figures. Take Huayna Cápac, the 11th Inca emperor, sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and third Sapa Inca, alternatively known by assorted variations of ‘The Mighty One’. We aren’t even sure of his date of birth – suggestions range from 1468 to 1488. What we can be sure of is the fact that he presided over the Inca Empire when it was at its peak in terms of size. Born under the name Inti Cusi Guallpa, he was the child of Mama Ocllo and his predecessor, Topa Inca (a brother-sister union). His birthright as a future ruler was confirmed at a young age when he travelled with his parents to…

London has always been a city defined by its landmarks. From the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace to more recent structures like the Shard and London Eye, the city’s ever-changing skyline is a magnificent muddle of the old and new. In Panoramas of Lost London, historian Philip Davies has collated a selection of stunning black and white photographs of historic London, taken during a significant time of change, to bring the old city and its landmarks to life. From 1870 to 1945, the capital rapidly evolved and expanded on a monumental scale. In Davies’ new book, readers can explore London as it was seen by the people who lived and worked there many decades ago. The photographs, many of which feature buildings and landscapes that no longer exist, capture…

If you’re familiar with the story of Passover, then you may already know a little about the origins of matzo. So the story goes, as Moses led the Jews from slavery in Egypt they had no time to leaven their bread for the journey and instead ate matzo (sometimes also spelt matzah, matza or matzoh). The baking of matzo remains a common practice and tradition in Jewish households to this day. It’s believed that from the crumbs of matzo were used to make matzo meal, which could be used a little like breadcrumbs to make other dishes. Matzo ball soup likely came about partially as a result of the industrialisation of matzo production, allowing for matzo meal to be manufactured en masse. Then, influenced by Central European bread dumplings, the…

Crime and punishment is indelibly associated with our popular image of the Victorians. Consider the brutal murders of Jack the Ripper, the superlative sleuthing of Sherlock Holmes and even the darker aspects of Charles Dickens’ social realist novels. This is perhaps due to the fact that, to the Victorians, crime was not only a popular obsession but also a growing problem. By 1840, the crime rate in England and Wales quadrupled from around 5,000 incidents per year in 1800 to 20,000. Many attempts were made to try and quell this rise. In 1829 the Metropolitan Police (the ‘Peelers’) was established. And for those criminals who were captured, punishments could be harsh; from a sentence in one of the era’s notorious prisons to a one-way trip to the penal colony of New…

Did Julius Caesar ever get the sniffles? Was Elizabeth I prone to a sneezing fit? The ‘common cold’ has earned its moniker because it is so ubiquitous to our lives, but has this always been the case? In his new book, Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, David Miles explores the history and evolution of the cold, looking back at how this everyday malady has been treated and explained over the centuries as well as how it impacts the world today. We were delighted to chat with him to learn more. What are we actually referring to when we talk about the ‘common cold’? First of all, it’s not a technical term, even though it’s very widely used, including in technical circles. For the purpose of the…

Relations between Britain and its former colonies had been prickly ever since the United States won its independence, and there were many friction points between the two nations. Even so, a declaration of war in 1812 (the first time the USA had declared war on a foreign power) still seemed to catch both parties by surprise. There was little appetite for war and neither side was in much of a position to fight one. Great Britain had its hands full with the Napoleonic Wars, while the American armed forces were weak. The declaration itself appears to have been unexpected – President James Madison brought a list of grievances before Congress in June 1812 and they narrowly voted for war. With neither side fully engaged, the conflict meandered on for more…

ARCHBISHOP, CHANCELLOR, KINGMAKER A LIFE OF THOMAS ARUNDEL Meet the English archbishop who overthrew a king Author: Chris Given-Wilson Publisher: Yale Books Price: £30 Released: Out now In Archbishop, Chancellor, Kingmaker Chris Given-Wilson takes readers back to the Middle Ages to meet Thomas Arundel, who was ordained as bishop of Ely at the tender age of just 20. Withing 25 years he had risen to the post of archbishop of Canterbury, a role he would possess until his vocal opposition to King Richard II saw him exiled just a short time later. Yet Arundel refused to go quietly; instead, he and Henry Bolingbroke joined forces to start a revolution that would result in the overthrow of the king himself. It’s a remarkable story and at its heart is an equally…