Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall is centred around Thomas Cromwell, a man widely hated in his lifetime and distrusted by his peers. He served as a high-ranking advisor to Henry VIII and played an important role in Henry’s break from Rome and both the rise and downfall of Anne Boleyn. Mantel, despite this,still attempts to portray Continue Reading
The Divine Rights of Kings
Do Monarchs possess unique,supreme powers compared to ordinary human beings? Does being a King or Queen enable one to perform extraordinary and supernatural acts in order to benefit subjects? Although these questions may seem absurd when examining modern Kings and Queens, in the past, the idea that aMonarch had supernatural abilities was very common Continue Reading
Henry VIII
Arguably the most famous Tudor monarch, the legacy of Henry VIII is famous – or infamous, as some would argue. In schools up and down the country, children are often taught about his gluttonous lifestyle, and the rhyme “divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived” is relatively common when it comes to remembering the fates of Continue Reading
Issue 17! Christmas!
Is that time of year where the essays are piling on, nights in the library are getting longer and exam revision is looming. But the end of the semester does lead to one good thing: Christmas. To whet your Christmassy appetites we have been looking at the history behind London’s Trafalgar square tradition that we Continue Reading
Battle of Ulundi 1879
On 4th July 1879, the British Empire fought the Zulu’s at the Battle of Ulundi, the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu war; as part of their imperial expansion campaign in South Africa.They imagined a confederation of states in South Africa, where cheap black labour could be exploited for British sugar plantations and minesfor diamonds Continue Reading