Table of contents for Issue 168 in All About History

Known as ‘the city of darkness’, the walled city of Kowloon is almost unique in history. A disputed territory, by the mid 1980s it was home to a ramshackle collection of high-rise buildings housing 35,000 inhabitants. Yet despite its high crime rate and the lack of electricity and running water, a vibrant sense of community was fostered within its walls. The city began as a fortress and remained under Chinese rule even after the Kowloon territories were ceded to the British in 1899. Despite the British capturing the city a year later, the Chinese government never formally relinquished control and, until the handover in 1997, ownership of the territory remained contested. During the Second World War the area was occupied by Japanese forces. Kai Tak Airport had been built close…

What can you tell us about the origins of the Hong Kong film industry? In the 1920s, when film began to make its mark in Shanghai (whose citizens spoke Shanghainese and Mandarin Chinese, the dominant dialect on the Mainland), Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong was a cultural backwater. As a British colony it had little impact on greater Chinese culture and most of its intelligentsia and creative class spoke English. At this time, Hong Kong also had little industry and a population under one million. Yet there was a large Cantonese-speaking population in Guangdong (Canton) and pockets of Hong Kong emigres in Southeast Asia and North America. These, along with Shanghai entrepreneurs, would prove crucial to the development of a Cantonese cinema. It was the famous Shaw brothers who helped develop the…

Alexander the Great is one of the most well-known figures from the ancient world. As king of Macedon, a powerful state in the Mediterranean, in just 13 years he amassed a mighty empire that stretched across three continents and was home to up to 50 million people. He was a skilled military leader whose ambition knew no bounds. But would Alexander have been capable of achieving all he did without those that stood beside him? One of the most prominent supporters and advisors was his mother, Olympias of Macedon: a woman who would prove to be one of history’s most dedicated mothers and one of antiquity’s most fascinating and formidable political players. QUEEN OF MACEDON Olympias of Macedon did not start her life with this famous name. She was born…

Change was in the air in the Land of the Rising Sun. By the mid-1860s, Japan had been ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate for more than two centuries, but its time was coming to an end. The country was led from the capital, Kyoto, but the nation was regionally divided into a feudal system of hans where local samurai governed their own territories. It was a new breed of ambitious young samurai who orchestrated a coup d’état on the government and its leader, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. He was to be the last shogun of what is now regarded as the final era of traditional Japan. A desire to overthrow the shogunate had been growing for years. The aim was to build a modern, united nation state and to increase Japan’s influence…

Director: Jesse V Johnson Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Peter Franzén, Nick Moran Country: UK Year: 2023 Why does this biopic of a legendary queen veer off so far into myth? 01 Boudica (at first unnamed in the film) inherits the Iceni kingdom after her husband Prasutagus is betrayed and killed. In reality we don’t know how Prasutagus died, but he left his kingdom to his daughters and Nero. Rome simply ignored his wishes. 02 Boudica’s coronation is deemed illegal and she is tortured and left for dead. It’s later revealed her daughters were killed (appearing as ghosts from then on), but Tacitus claims they were alive during the rebellion, albeit the victims of rape by the Romans. 03 The Trinovantes name her ‘Boudica’, a queen supposed to free them from bondage.…

28 April 1947 KON-TIKI EXPEDITION SETS SAIL In an attempt to prove the theory that South Americans sailed to and settled in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times, Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl built a primitive raft to determine if such a vessel could have made the journey. Modelled on ancient Inca designs, it was made of balsa wood, bamboo and hemp, and was named Kon-Tiki after an ancient Inca god. With a crew of five others, Heyerdahl departed from Peru and sailed to Polynesia in three and a half months. The raft is now on display in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo. 30 April 2013 QUEEN BEATRIX ABDICATES Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated in 2013 after a 33-year reign and, as Dutch tradition dictates, the title of monarch passed to her…

The streets of Hong Kong were illuminated by thousands of neon signs advertising restaurants, bars and shops. These eye-catching displays were first introduced during the 1920s and quickly became popular, with the first factory dedicated to their production opening in 1932. By 1975 there were over 70,000 of these signs – 26,000 on Hong Kong Island and 45,000 in the area of Kowloon, all made by dedicated craftspersons. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Hong Kong experienced what was described as a ‘neon age’. However, over recent years this neon heritage has been slowly disappearing, with fewer than 500 signs remaining. In 1978, the steakhouse Sammy’s Kitchen commissioned a large sign in the shape of a cow, which soon became one of the most recognisable in Hong Kong. Until its closure…

1 HONG KONG HERITAGE MUSEUM 1 MAN LAM ROAD, SHA TIN First opened in 2000, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum is one of the most impressive of all museums in the city, with its vast collection housed across a number of buildings constructed in the traditional Chinese style of siheyuan. The picturesque complex, which contains an impressive 7,500 square metres of exhibition space, is laid out around a central courtyard and is made up of 12 galleries in total – six permanent exhibitions and six display areas that are used for temporary exhibits. Within the museum’s permanent collection are objects and artefacts from both Chinese and Hong Kong history, as well as an impressive inventory of artwork. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum declares its mission is “to preserve, study, present…

Known to some as the Springtime of Nations, 1848 was a year of change. Revolutions surged across Europe as people cried out for a new liberal future in which they would sweep away the antiquated structures of monarchy. No longer willing to accept the ‘divine right’ of kings nor the monarchical structures that promoted them, they called for a continent of nation-states, ruled over by democracy. Tired of having little to no say in government, and with social conditions growing increasingly worse for the poor, including famine caused by crop failures, the time had come for change. Beginning with the revolution in Italy in January, a tide of revolt engulfed Europe, with more than 50 countries affected. With the middle and working classes – and even some of the upper…

The human capacity for creativity is extraordinary, but unfortunately throughout history it has often been directed towards cruelty and barbarism as much as progress and community. You don’t need to look too far into the history of torture and capital punishment to see the horrific evidence of this. The ways in which we have found gruesome methods to inflict pain, suffering, humiliation and death can be chilling. Here, we chronicle some of the strangest forms of torture and execution, as well as debunking some of the most infamous examples of cruel and unusual punishment. GUNGA RAO INDIA & SOUTHEAST ASIA ANCIENT – 19TH CENTURY As gruesome forms of execution go, there are few as basic and visceral as being crushed under the weight of an elephant’s foot. That was the…

When someone dies, where and how do we lay them to rest? Some people have grand funeral processions and are buried in traditional cemeteries or mausoleums, some are interred in fields and meadows or under trees, and some are cremated on funeral pyres or in crematoriums. Across the world, different races, religions and cultures all have their own customs and traditions on how to bury and commemorate their loved ones. In a poignant and intriguing new book, the histories of death rites from around the globe have been collected and interrogated to understand how we, and our ancestors, have lived alongside the dead. Graveyards: A History of Living with the Dead by Roger Luckhurst, a professor of 19th-Century Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London, is split into three parts.…

Fried chicken is a staple of modern fast food, exemplified by the global giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it has a rich and varied history. Its modern roots are firmly planted in the Southern United States, largely developed by enslaved communities. However, records and recipes from the 18th century suggest that some early forms of fried chicken actually got their start in Scotland. It’s likely that the recipes of Scottish slaveholders mixed with the fricassee of African communities to develop into what we now recognise. Today fried chicken is one of the most common food items to be found on an American fast food chain menu, with it served for breakfast (often with waffles), lunch and dinner. And while variations of fried chicken can be found just about everywhere in…

1941 JAPANESE OCCUPY HONG KONG Over two weeks of bitter fighting sees Governor Sir Mark Young surrender Hong Kong to the invading Japanese forces. The Japanese remain occupiers of the island for three years and eight months, during which time atrocities are committed against POWs and civilians. 1967 COMMUNIST RIOTS Large violent protests against the continued British rule take place across the island. Disorder breaks out, with bombs being planted across the city. The carnage only dies down when Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai demands it must end. 1973 ENTER BRUCE LEE The release of Bruce Lee’s breakout film The Big Boss in 1971 cements him as a global superstar. By the time of the US release of his film Enter the Dragon in 1973, the kung-fu genre is a global…

Elsie Tu Activist, 1913 – 2015 Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK, Elsie Tu (née Hume) moved to Hong Kong in 1951 following a number of years spent in China with her Christian missionary husband. In Hong Kong, Tu established the Mu Kuang English School in 1953 to serve the poor children of the area, and worked locally to fight for justice and equality. In 1963 she was elected to the Urban Council, eventually becoming its vice-chairperson. Tu spent the rest of her life working in activism, and following her death at the age of 102 she was remembered as a champion of the disadvantaged. EUNICE LAM NOVELIST, 1943 – 2018 A novelist, columnist and socialite, Eunice Lam Yin-nei began her career in television as a presenter, news…

Elizabeth I, who became queen aged 25 in November 1558, presided over a golden age in English history, taking her kingdom from political backwater to an emerging European power. She ruled for more than 44 years from the centre of her glittering court. The men and women of her household and council lived out their lives in Elizabeth’s orbit, with love, betrayal and adventure never far from the surface. Just what was life like for the people who served this powerful, influential but often capricious queen? When she became monarch, Elizabeth employed a household of approximately 1,000-1,500 people at any one time, from her privy council at the very top to the kitchen staff and launderers at the bottom. Her court was highly mobile, with the queen spending a few…

“He discovered he could create succulent fried chicken in just 10 minutes” “I could see it wasn’t going to be easy. I couldn’t give a franchise to any old greasy spoon. And I knew the chicken had to be cooked the way I told them to cook it if it was going to be as popular as it could be”Colonel Harland Sanders The white-haired, white-suited image of Colonel Sanders has become a modern marketing icon. Depictions of this smiling figure can be found on boxes and buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken in his fast food restaurants across the globe. So much so, it’s hard to believe that Colonel Harland Sanders was once a real live human being, let alone the inventor of the product that still bears his name. The…

Germany went to war in September 1914 concerned about the dangers of fighting on two fronts. Their offensive strategy, named the Schlieffen Plan after its architect Count Alfred von Schlieffen, therefore called for a lightning offensive against France – knocking them out of the war before the slow-moving Russian military machine could crank into life. In response, the French planned a gallant assault, putting their trust in their esprit de corps. Their attack would be supported by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which would occupy the left flank of the Allied line. Mobilisation had begun in Britain on 4 August and the first troops had left just three days later. The BEF was a small but heavily mechanised professional army. It comprised just four infantry divisions (two divisions were kept…

DYNASTIES THE NOBLE FAMILIES OF ENGLAND A clear and comprehensive overview of England’s influential aristocratic households Author: Patrick Coleman Publisher: Amberley Publishing Price: £22.99 Released: Out now If you’ve ever found yourself rooting through a book on English history and trying to decipher the identities of the numerous noble Stanleys, Howards, Percys and Spencers, then this is the book for you. Dynasties: The Noble Families of England aims to provide the background history of the aristocratic households that have been at the centre of some of England’s most important events but whose individual members are sometimes lesser known. As author Patrick Coleman says in his introduction: “Dynasties is an attempt to provide the book I wish I’d had while intrigued by questions about the origins of figures like the Duke…