Category: Social and Cultural History

Hidden in plain sight: Finding working-class women in The National Archives

Hidden in plain sight: Finding working-class women in The National Archives

by | Mar 31, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 10 minutes
This article will make use of a particularly interesting case study of pit brow women in Lancashire, to explore the complexities and opportunities associated with archival work. The women’s lives can be revealed through analysis of documents from sources in the Copyright Office, and the Ministry of Power collections. By identifying strengths and weaknesses of records, they can be analysed with greater depth and nuance, so that they are used most effectively during an exploration of the past.

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April Fools! The History Behind the World’s Greatest Day of Pranks

April Fools! The History Behind the World’s Greatest Day of Pranks

by | Mar 27, 2025 | | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
The world loves a good April Fools’ Day prank – from telling your schoolmates it’s non-uniform to assuring a coworker the boss has definitely given everyone the day off, April 1st is a day of big and small pranks all around the world.
While mostly celebrated in Western countries such as Northern Europe, America, and other English-speaking countries like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, much of the world knows of and sometimes takes part in the light-hearted tradition of April Fools.
But where does it come from?

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Medieval Christians saw the lunar eclipse as a sign from God — but they also understood the science

Medieval Christians saw the lunar eclipse as a sign from God — but they also understood the science

by | Mar 10, 2025 | | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
This has been cited as evidence that some people believed that lunar eclipses were caused by magicians or moon-hungry monsters. However, it is important to remember this comes from a source written by an educated churchman who may have exaggerated evidence of superstitious beliefs in order to then condemn them. Yet even if we allow for these beliefs, the range of ideas surrounding lunar eclipses in medieval Europe reveal it was not the dark age of superstition and ignorance it is often assumed to have been.

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The 7 Largest Empires in History

The 7 Largest Empires in History

by | Mar 6, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 8 minutes
While very few exist today, the world’s history books are filled with hundreds of thousands of empires, ranging from a handful of islands to near-global domination.

A select few stand as the most infamous, such as the Roman Empire or the British Empire, yet many of history’s largest empires are less well-known. So, what were the world’s largest empires across history?

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Inuit folklore kept alive story of missing Franklin expedition to north-west passage

Inuit folklore kept alive story of missing Franklin expedition to north-west passage

by | Mar 3, 2025 | , , | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
The ships HMS Erebus and Terror, which sailed from England in the summer of 1845, were aiming to chart the north-west passage. They disappeared into what is now the Canadian Arctic. Stranded in the ice north-west of King William Island in the summer of 1846, the ships were abandoned by the surviving officers and men in the spring of 1848.

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Visions of Despair: 6 Artworks Capturing the Horrors of WWI

Visions of Despair: 6 Artworks Capturing the Horrors of WWI

by | Feb 27, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
The emotive styles captured both the physical destruction of war to humanity and the environment and its lasting emotional toll.
World War I, the first truly global conflict, impacted every facet of society and culture, including the art sphere. New forms of weaponry, casualties on an unbelievable scale, and changing political structures drastically reshaped the world and formed a new cultural landscape.

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Scientists at work: Public archaeologists dig before the construction crews do

Scientists at work: Public archaeologists dig before the construction crews do

by | Feb 17, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 8 minutes
I’m the director of the Public Archaeology Facility, a research center specializing in cultural resource management. Our mission is to identify, evaluate and preserve significant sites, train students to be professional archaeologists and share our results with the public. We can work on up to 100 projects a year. Since our inception in 1972, the center has discovered more than 3,500 archaeological sites.

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South Korea’s March to Democracy: from the Gwangju Uprising to the June Democratic Struggle

South Korea’s March to Democracy: from the Gwangju Uprising to the June Democratic Struggle

by | Feb 13, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
When did South Korea become a democracy? A quick Google Search may give you many different answers.
You may be wondering, what’s the real answer?                                                        As with most things, the truth is complex. More recent events with the attempted, and failed, political coup attempt from then-sitting President Yoon Suk-yeol in 2024 shows just how ingrained South Korea’s recent history of political turbulence is.
This is the history of South Korea’s democratic struggle.

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Glastonbury: archaeology is revealing new truths about the origins of British Christianity

Glastonbury: archaeology is revealing new truths about the origins of British Christianity

by | Feb 10, 2025 | , , | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
Many Christians believe that Glastonbury is the site of the earliest church in Britain, allegedly founded in the first or second century by Joseph of Arimathea. According to the Gospels, Joseph was the man who donated his own tomb for the body of Christ following the crucifixion. By the 14th century, it was popularly believed that Glastonbury Abbey had been founded by the biblical figure of Joseph. The legend emerged that Joseph had travelled to Britain with the Grail, the vessel used to collect Christ’s blood. For 800 years, Glastonbury has been associated with the romance of King Arthur, the Holy Grail and Joseph of Arimathea. Later stories connected Glastonbury directly to the life of Christ.

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“Delusive Quackery”: How a Brazen Medical Scam led to Real Scientific Advancements

“Delusive Quackery”: How a Brazen Medical Scam led to Real Scientific Advancements

by | Feb 6, 2025 | | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
As the eighteenth century came to a close, Dr. Elisha Perkins appeared poised for a truly successful career. He had served his young nation as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, and even established a private hospital in his own home. He was respected by his colleagues, and stood as a member of the Connecticut Medical Society, which his father had founded.
Still more exciting: in the 1790s, Perkins believed himself to have made an astonishing discovery. During tooth extractions, he noted that patients experienced a brief reduction in pain when their inflamed gums were touched with a metal instrument.

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Our savage history of fighting bushfires

Our savage history of fighting bushfires

by | Jan 20, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
Bushfires are tragically fought by families, neighbours, volunteers, and professional firefighters, all risking their lives. Facing a wall of roaring flames is a terrifying prospect, too often with the direst consequences. The deaths of these individuals must be honoured as continual reminders of the fragility of the human condition against nature, but also of the heroism that is often remembered posthumously.

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