In 500 BC, in a relatively obscure kingdom in Italy, a noblewoman was raped by the son of the king. 2,200 years later, the American Constitution was enshrined into law after the success of the American Revolution. If you believe in the butterfly effect, you may think that the latter might have never happened without the former.
In October 2023, when the cast of the iconic play Les Misérables performed at the Sondheim Theatre in London, they launched into their famous protest song, ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ as a part of their act. But what happened after that was entirely unscripted. The stage was abruptly taken over by activists from the Just Stop Oil movement as their t-shirts and banners proclaimed, while they chanted to the audience to ‘join the rebellion’.
The Haitian Revolution (1791) was the first successful rebellion of enslaved people against colonial rule. Haiti became the first country to be founded by formerly enslaved people, resulting in the end of slavery throughout the former French colonial empire in 1794.
Throughout history, women have often played a pivotal but underappreciated role in political resistance. Traditional gender norms of the mid-20th century placed women in less political roles; they were subservient housewives. In reality, many women have been crucial in the fight against totalitarian regimes, the Mirabals illustrating as such.
This article will argue that although there were many reasons for the Iranian Revolution, the main cause was fundamentally Shi’ite religion and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini in sustaining and succeeding with the revolution. There are other causes to consider when analysing the revolution. By the late 1970s, monarchies were fading around Europe and the Continue Reading
