British history

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  1/10/20
  

  Boris Johnson Might Break Up the U.K. That’s a Good Thing.

  by David Edgerton

  It’s time to let the fantasy of the “British nation” die.

• 
• SOURCE: Time
  1/14/20
  

  Hundreds of Britons Volunteered for a Diary-Keeping Project in 1937. They Left an Invaluable Record of World War II

  The hundreds of unpaid volunteers who participated filled out a series of questionnaires and made regular diary entries. They wrote about the intimate details of their lives as well as their thoughts and feelings about the world around them. 

• 
• SOURCE: Telegraph
  1/7/20
  

  British National Archives to trial 12-document limit per day for visitors, as academics warn research could be affected

  The National Archives claimed the move was designed to increase efficiency - but faced an immediate backlash from historians who complained their work could become untenable. 

• 
• SOURCE: BBC News
  1/5/20
  

  Why fewer US students want to learn about UK these days

  Once a bastion of English and History departments, the British studies discipline is waning as American students increasingly put career goals over their love of Charles Dickens, writes James Jeffrey.

• 
• SOURCE: BBC History Extra
  12/30/19
  

  Sobriety, royal presents and Victorian-era musings on failure: an unexpected history of New Year

  Today, we associate New Year’s Eve with raucous and optimistic parties, followed the next day by hungover resolutions to change our ways in the months ahead. But New Year celebrations haven’t always been so.

• 
• 12/22/19
  

  Brexit and the End of the United Kingdom

  by Ed Simon

  Because of Boris Johnson’s ascendancy, it must be considered that it is not only inevitable that there won’t be a United Kingdom again, but that it’s necessary that there shouldn’t be. 

• 
• 12/19/19
  

  Reform or Revolution: England’s Lessons of 1688 for Today and Tonight's Democratic Debate

  by David Walter Leinweber

  As we go forward into the holidays, and then a contentious election, the English example in 1688 continues to provide an important lesson. We can cherish our history and institutions, while still being clear-eyed about necessary changes.  

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  12/1/2019
  

  Michael Howard, Eminent British Military Historian, Dies at 97

  A decorated soldier in World War II, he helped reshape the study of war and was knighted in 1986 for his academic work.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/19/19
  

  ‘The Crown’: The History Behind Season 3 on Netflix

  As in past seasons, the latest installment of Netflix’s show about the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II melds fact and fiction. Here’s how The Times covered events depicted this season.  

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  11/15/19
  

  The 1969 Documentary That Tried to Humanize Queen Elizabeth II and The Royal Family

  The idea was to show the royal family in their day-to-day lives. The results were mixed.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  11/18/19
  

  Fact-checking ‘The Crown’: Did Queen Elizabeth let a known KGB spy work for Buckingham Palace?

  In keeping with the show’s gripping use of history to personalize the queen and other royals, the episode exposes rumors and fears of betrayal among British government officials and leaders, including Winston Churchill.

• 
• 11/17/19
  

  The Princess and the Press

  by Georgie Blalock

  The more details people craved about the Princess, the more the press found ways to provide them, revealing both the good and bad about Princess Margaret's life and fame. 

• 
• 11/10/19
  

  The Boer War: The Opening Act in a Violent Century

  by David Carlin

  There is something darkly poetic in the timing of the Boer War. It offered a grim preview of warfare and the social conditions that would shake the world during the 20th century.

• 
• 11/7/19
  

  14 Ships' Figureheads Weighing Over 20 Tons Arrive at UK's Newest Museum, The Box

  by Orbis Conservation

  In what is the most ambitious sculpture conservation project currently taking place in the UK, 14 monumental 19th century naval figureheads have been saved from decay for the nation. 

• 
• SOURCE: History Extra
  11/4/19
  

  As racism row rumbles on, is it time to retire the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’?

  by Michael Wood

  The history world has been afire with a debate about Anglo-Saxon studies. 

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/5/19
  

  The History Behind the Guy Fawkes Masks and Protest

  by Sara Barrett

  All around the world, protesters wear Guy Fawkes masks to conceal their identity in service of a cause.

• 
• SOURCE: CNN
  11/2/19
  

  New research sheds light on largest-ever Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard

  The impressive find is now thought to include artifacts captured from kingdoms in East Anglia and Northumbria -- something researchers say "offers vivid confirmation of the widespread and brutal events" between warring English kingdoms, which have been described in near-contemporary sources from the period.

• 
• SOURCE: The Guardian
  10/20/19
  

  Have you heard of the catastrophic men theory of history? Step forward Boris Johnson...

  by Nick Cohen

  Self-interested and reckless leadership defines too much of our past – and present.

• 
• 10/20/19
  

  Trump and the Divine Rights of Kings

  by Ed Simon

  Nobody feels sorrier for themselves than a monarch who discovers that their divine right is an illusion; nobody is more liable to lash out and project the blame for their predicament.

• 
• SOURCE: The Guardian
  10/13/19
  

  Climate protests have roots that go deep into the rich history of British social change

  by Lucy Robinson

  Extinction Rebellion draws on a radical lineage that brings together a range of beliefs and ages.