Category Archives: History

Margaret Thatcher on Ronald Reagan

Posted on October 1, 2018 by

Shortly after he was inaugurated, Thatcher and Carrington [Foreign Secretary] were talking over a drink one evening in Downing Street when the conversation turned to the new president, at which Thatcher tapped the side of her skull and said: “Peter … Continue reading →

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Two Peace Treaties: Brest-Litovsk, March 1918 and Versailles, June 1919

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

The Brest-Litovsk and Versailles peace treaties were two sides of the same coin for Germany. Germany imposed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on the Soviets and then had onerous conditions imposed on them at Versailles. There are remarkable similarities in the two … Continue reading →

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The Times obituary of Lord Carrington says:

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

More commonly, he found himself sleeping in a hole beneath his tank with his four crew who came from poor backgrounds and had suffered hardship during the pre-war years. The experience shaped his politics, he said later. “You could not … Continue reading →

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State Sponsored Kidnapping: Britain, Israel and the USA

Posted on August 2, 2018 by

1 Britain: Conscientious Objectors1 The British army was a volunteer force in 1914 until the war lost its popularity. The actuality of slaughter reduced the numbers of men volunteering. The government passed the Military Service Act in January 1916 to … Continue reading →

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Bertrand Russell in Brixton prison, 1918

Posted on July 20, 2018 by

For the first two months of his sentence, life at Brixton prison suited Russell perfectly. Freed from the demands of both political campaigning and romantic attachments,* he was able to live precisely the kind of cloistered, contemplative life he craved. … Continue reading →

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Henrietta Maria: the Heretic Queen of England 1625-49

Posted on July 20, 2018 by

When Henrietta Maria married Charles the First, England’s vicious anti-Catholicism made her a hate figure. She was a child-bride of fifteen when she married the 25 year old Charles. Her brother, Louis XIII, agreed marriage articles with Charles, which were … Continue reading →

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The Anatomy Act, 1832: the Criminal Antecedents

Posted on June 28, 2018 by

Prior to 1832, dissection used corpses direct from the gallows. These corpses were the only legal supply of bodies for medical schools. Dissection of executed murderers was uncontroversial as they’d lost all of their rights. Britain’s ferocious penal code provided … Continue reading →

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