Lunar New Year

Tuesday 22nd January 2022 will be this year's start to the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival). Many will be celebrating on the eve of the New Year by eating large feasts, giving and receiving hongbao (red pockets) filled with money and watching lion dances on the streets; The celebrations and festivities are influenced by Chinese New Year, but Lunar New Year is celebrated in other East Asian countries - such as - Singapore, the Philippines and Tibet (countries with a large population of Chinese people). This year, it is the year of the tiger, which represents bravery and competitiveness.

 

The history of Lunar New Year can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC) in China, where there would be Winter sacrifices at the end and beginning of the year to the Gods and Ancestors, which would bring hopes of good crop harvest and prosperity in the new year. From 1046-256 BC (the Zhou Dynasty), the sacrificial ceremony became a social practice, and by the Han Dynasty in 202 BC-220 AD, there was a fixed date for Chinese New Year. However, it was only in the Wei-Qing Dynasty (220-1911) and onwards, did the celebrations become about the entertainment and social element, rather than about paganism.

There are many mysterious legends surrounding the beginning of Chinese New Year, and one of the most popular ones is the legend of "Nian". "Nian" was a beast that came every year to devour and destroy all the crops and properties in its way, and the name of the beast sounds like the word for year in Mandarin and Cantonese ('年'); to prevent the beast from demolishing everything the people would leave food outside their homes, so it would eat that food instead of the crops. Although this subdued the beast a little, it never satiated it fully and so it would continue devouring most of the crops, until a man discovered that "Nian" was scared of loud noises and the colour red. Therefore, people began decorating everything red every year and setting crackling fireworks off, to ward the beast away. Thus, the traditions of decorating homes with red banners, leaving lettuce on your front door, re-enactments of this legend and setting firecrackers off.

Another legend is of course the origins of the Chinese Zodiac signs that each represents a new Lunar Year: 'The Heavenly Gate Race' begins with The Jade Emperor wanting twelve animals to be his guards, and so he sent an immortal down to earth to announce this. In order for an animal to become a guard, they would have to be one of the first twelve to arrive at the Heavenly Gates. Once the news got around, the next day the Rat got up early and began to make its way, but when it encountered a river it jumped into the ear of another animal in order to get across; the other animal was the Ox, who did not mind that the Rat was using him to get across the river, despite it being a race. Yet, when the river bank was near enough for the Rat to jump off - it did - and was then able to get to the Heavenly Gates first, making the Ox come second. Meanwhile, the nimble Rabbit and the quick Tiger were close behind (the Tiger came third and the Rabbit, fourth). Coming in at fifth was the Dragon, but due to his handsomeness the Jade Emperor allowed sixth place to go to his son, sadly the Dragon left his son at home. Despite this minor discrepancy, the Snake posed himself as the Dragon's adoptive son, and thus made him sixth place. Next, the Emperor made the Horse and the Goat seventh and eighth place, because they both were so kind to one another, and the Monkey came ninth, even though it had fallen behind slightly. Finally, the last three positions went to the Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each animal becomes the symbol of each Lunar New Year. The tiger, in Chinese culture, symbolises being the 'King of Beasts', due to the way its stripes run along its body, creating the symbol '王' ("wang"), meaning 'King' in Chinese. The tiger can also be tracked back centuries in Chinese history, depicting it being worshipped and loved by the Chinese people. Each of the twelve animals are symbolic in different ways:

1. Rat

2. Ox

3. Tiger

4. Rabbit

5. Dragon

6. Snake

7. Horse

8. Goat

9. Monkey

10. Rooster

11. Dog

12. Pig

We wish everyone celebrating, or not, a Happy Lunar New Year, may you all be in good health and prosper!

 

Mary Queen of Scots Execution

Mary Queen of Scots' Execution

On February 01st 1587, Queen Elizabeth I signed the warrant for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary Queen of Scots, or otherwise known as Mary Stuart, was the only legitimate child of King James V of Scotland, but sadly her father passed away when she was six days old. During her reign herself and Queen Elizabeth I of England were always compared to each other, since Mary Stuart was the first female Queen of Scotland, meanwhile Elizabeth was the second Queen for England, but also due to their opposite demeanours: Queen Elizabeth I was seen as tactical, cynical and strong willed, whereas Queen Mary of Scots was seen as feminine, romantic and reckless. These two portrayals of the women, could be due to their upbringing, because Queen Mary of Scots had a pampered childhood, where she was at the centre of the most glamorous and sought-after court (the French Court), all the while, Elizabeth I was watching her father beheading her mother (Anne Boleyn) and future step-mothers. Despite Mary's lavish childhood, she was in France to keep her safe from the English trying to invade Scotland, and was betrothed to Francis, Dauphin of France (later he would die, and she would marry her half-cousin, Henry Stuart).

By no fault of her own, she was cousin to Elizabeth I, and so she did have a claim to the English throne. At this time, England was a protestant country, because of Henry VIII creating the Church of England, due to the Act of Supremacy in 1534. Many people wanted England to be Catholic again, and so they wanted Mary Queen of Scots to be Queen (the Act gave the power as the Head of Church to the monarch). Elizabeth I, seeing this as a threat, she locked Mary up, and later found her guilty for plotting an assassination against the Queen. Hence, on the 01st February 1587, Queen Elizabeth I, signed the warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and on the 08th February 1587 she was executed at Fotheringhay Castle.

 

This Week in History: First meeting of the United Nations

10 January 2022 marks a grand seventy-six years since the UN (then comprising of just fifty-one member states) convened for the very first General Assembly at Westminster Central Hall, in the heart of London. But what exactly had led to this historic moment? In June 1941, twenty-two months of war had already elapsed, with the great British capital becoming all too familiar to the constant wailing of air-raid sirens and upsurge of civilian casualties. A devastating 40,000 civilians had died in the seven-month period between September 1940 and May 1941- with nearly half of these being within the capital. Despite this tragedy, in both London and among other allied governments and their people, hope remained for victory and more importantly a pathway to a brighter post-war future. It was this common strive for recovery from which the roots of the UN soon emerged and so on 12 June 1941, representatives of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa as well as several exiled governments within Europe met at St. James’ Palace and signed a declaration to voice support for a new and improved post-war world.

An extract from the declaration gives us a key insight into the aims that any future international collaborative body should adopt:

‘That the only true basis of enduring peace is the willing co-operation of free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; and that it is their intention to work together, and with other free peoples, both in war and peace to this end.’

It is evident that this new body would be unlike any other, certainly in no way similar to the prior League of Nations (agreed upon within the Treaty of Versailles) which had been wholly unsuccessful in the long-term in preservation of ‘peace’ and prevention of ‘war’.

In August of that year, further developments were made towards this body, namely the signing of the Atlantic Charter between Franklin D. Roosevelt (US President 1933-45) and Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1940-45). The document directly referred to the need for ‘certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they [would] base their hopes for a better future of the world.’

The purposes and principles outlined here in the Atlantic Charter were further agreed upon by twenty-six states at war within the 1 January 1942, Declaration of the United Nations. This was the first direct naming of the body as the UN, coined by US president Roosevelt.

Notable members included the United States, United Kingdom, China and the USSR.  The number of states adhering to the declaration would later rise.

<![if !vml]><![endif]>In the years to follow, as WWII drew to a close, much deliberation occurred on par with the influence each global power held. This was seen out in the Tehran conference in 1943, where the ‘Big Three’ (Leaders of the US, UK and USSR) delved into how the UN would play out in the real world. They expressed clear determination to pursue the Atlantic Charter as well as recognising ‘the supreme responsibility resting upon [them] and all the United Nations to make a peace which [would] command the goodwill of the overwhelming mass of the peoples of the world and banish the scourge and terror of war for many generations’.

They further announced their intention to ‘seek the cooperation and active participation of all nations, large and small, whose peoples in heart and mind [were] dedicated, as [were their] own peoples, to the elimination of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance’ within a ‘world family of Democratic Nations’.

Today, the UN still highlights disarmament, peace and security as well as international law and justice as global challenges, suggesting the assembly is still very much involved within the parameters of which it was founded- in a post-war Britain.

However, the 21^st century has brought new items of discussion to the table- for example, dealing with the major humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan which has ironically escalated further since the de-escalation of US forces in August 2021.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi asked the European Union to take in more than 40,000 Afghan refugees over the next five years, but the plea failed to receive the backing of EU countries. This touches on how the nature of decision-making in the UN has changed from the voting systems present when it comprised only of 51 member states, in contrast to the current 193 states- requiring resolutions to be reached by consensus for the large majority of items.

Though the UN has retained its general aim of keeping peace, the 21^st century has brought an array of new challenges for the body to discuss and resolve- whereby possible.

TS

Bibliography [All accessed 10/01/2022]

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un/preparatory-years

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un/predecessor

https://www.un.org/en/global-issues

https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099112

https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/07/un-chief-asked-eu-states-to-take-in-more-than-40-000-afghan-refugees

https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/atlantic-charter?tmpl=component&print=1

https://www.un.org/en/model-united-nations/how-decisions-are-made-un

 

This Week in Russia - Romanov Family Executed

This Week’s Historical Theme: Russia 

16 July 1918 

A significant event throughout the history of Russia that occurred in July is the execution of the Romanov family. Tsar Nicholas II, crowned in 1896 after his father's death, was an incompetent and untrained ruler whose disastrous leadership led to the Russian Revolution. The failure of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-5) forced Russia to abandon its expansionist policy and led to a revolution in 1905. This revolution halted when Tsar Nicholas II promised constitutional reforms and a representative assembly (the Duma). However, he then contracted these concessions and dissolved the Duma when it opposed him, leading to growing support for revolutionary groups, such as the Bolsheviks, who were seen to properly represent the people. Discontent grew when Tsar Nicholas II led Russia into World War I in 1914, as food became scarce, and they faced devastating defeats.

In 1917, revolution broke out yet again. This time, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne and the Bolsheviks, led by Vladamir Lenin, seized power, and set about establishing a communist state. In 1918, civil war broke out an anti-Bolshevik forces advanced on Yekaterinburg, where Nicholas and his family were being kept. Fearing that the anti-Bolshevik army would free the Tsar and re-establish the autocracy, the Bolsheviks decided to kill him and his entire family. Late at night on 16 July 1918, they were gunned down, bringing an end to the 300-year imperial dynasty. The Crown Prince Alexei, and one Romanov daughter were not accounted for, fuelling rumours that Anastasia, the youngest daughter, has survived the execution.

Want to find out more about why the Romanovs were executed? Click here for more information, or here for more about Anastasia.

 

 

This Week in World War II - Enigma Key Broken

This Week’s Historical Theme: World War II 

 

9 July 1941 

 

A significant event throughout the history of World War II that occurred in June is the Enigma key on the Eastern front being broken. Enigma was the German's most sophisticated coding machine used to send secret information securely. The Enigma machine was invented in 1919 by Dutchman, Hugo Koch, and was originally intended for business purposes. However, the German army adapted it for their own use and deemed the coding system unbreakable. They were sorely mistaken as Dilly Knox, a former British WWI codebreaker, set up an Enigma Research Section at Bletchley Park. This is where Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman invented a machine, known as the Bombe, to significantly aid codebreaking. Here, the first wartime Enigma messages from the Western front were broken in January 1940.

 

With the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, the Allies needed to be able to intercept and interpret messages transmitted on the Eastern front. The first breakthrough occurred on 9 July 1941 when British cryptologists broke the key regarding German ground-air operations. Various keys continued to be broken over the course of the war by British codebreakers at Bletchley Park. The messages intercepted contained extremely important information, such as anticipating German anti-aircraft and antitank strategies against the Allies, as well as troop movements and planned offensives. Experts have suggested that the codebreakers at Bletchley Park may have shortened the war by as much as two years.

Want to find out more about the first Enigma codebreakers? Click here for more information, or here for more about Alan Turing. 

 

This Week in Argentina - Isabel Perón

 

This Week’s Historical Theme: Argentina

 

29 June 1974

 

A significant event throughout the history of Argentina is Isabel Perón taking office as Argentine President following her husband’s death. Isabel Perón was a former dancer and Juan Perón's third wife. Juan Perón was an army officer who joined a military coup in 1943 against Argentina's civilian government, establishing a military dictatorship. He continued to grow in influence becoming vice-president in 1944. Though he was ousted in 1945 by a subsequent coup and imprisoned, he was soon released due to mass worker organizations, which his mistress, Eva Duarte, helped organize. Following his release on 17 October, he married Eva, later known as Evita, much to his advantage as her immense popularity with the working class became a valuable political resource.

 

Juan Perón became president in 1946, winning widespread support with his vision of social justice and economic independence but became increasingly authoritarian, jailing his political opponents and censoring the press. Despite this, their immense popularity as a couple won him his 2nd term as president. However, when Evita died of cancer in 1952, support for him dwindled. Three years later he was ousted by yet another military coup. After 18 years in exile, he returned to Argentina in 1973 and won the presidency alongside his third wife, Isabel Peron, who was elected as vice president. In 1974, Juan died of heart disease, and she assumed the position as president, becoming the first female president in the world. Unfortunately, she was only president from 1974-76 as she inherited a nation suffering from serious economic and political strife and was not able to keep hold of power. Following a sharp rise in political terrorism, she was deposed by a right-wing coup d'état on 24 March 1976 and was imprisoned for 5 years on a charge of abuse of property. Upon her release in 1981, she settled in Madrid, Spain where she still lives to this day.

 

Want to find out more about Isabel Perón? Click here for more information, or here for more about Evita Perón.

 

This Week in Canada - Kim Campbell

This Week’s Historical Theme: Canada 

25 June 1993 

A significant event throughout the history of Canada is Kim Campbell being sworn in as Canada's first and only female prime minister. Born in British Columbia in 1947, Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell studied law and political science. She entered Canadian politics in 1986 when elected to the British Columbia legislature as a Conservative. In 1988 she was appointed minister of Indian affairs by Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (PM from 1984-1993), and in the same year she became Canada's first female attorney general. In this role she most notably aided the increase in gun control across the country. In 1993 she was appointed minister of national defence and veteran's affairs. Later that year, PM Brian Mulroney reigned due to the unpopularity of his economic reforms, giving Campbell the chance to run for Conservative Party leadership.

In a close contest, she was elected at a national conference on 13 June and took office on 25 June 1993 as the 19th prime minister and 1st female prime minister of Canada. Despite winning widespread public approval, she was forced to hold a general election in October the same year. Voters had become fed up with the Conservative Party due to the higher taxes and constitutional crisis under Mulroney. On 25 October, the Conservative Party's 9-year rule came to an end as they were reduced to 2 seats in the House of Commons. Campbell was discharged from office on 4 November 1993. Also having lost her seat, she retired from politics after her short 4-month tenure as the final Progressive Conservative prime minister.

Want to find out more about Kim Campbell? Click here for more information, or here for more about women leaders around the world.

 

 

This Week in The United States - Juneteenth

 This Week’s Historical Theme: The United States 

19 June 1865 

A significant event throughout the history of the United States that occurred in June is Juneteenth. This marked the day that Union soldiers arrived in Texas with the news that the American Civil War was over, and slavery was abolished. As a mixture of the words “June” and “nineteenth”, Juneteenth was coined as the day of commemoration for the end of slavery in America. Despite Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior in 1863, a lack of Union troops in the rebel states made it difficult to enforce. While some historians argue this delay was caused by poor communication in the time period, other historians believe the Texan slave owners purposely continued their practices.

On this day, 250,000 enslaved people were freed, many of whom left the state immediately in search of family members they had been separated from. For many African Americans, Juneteenth is considered an Independence Day. In 1979 Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday, followed by many others. On 17 June 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation officially declaring it a federal holiday.  

Want to find out more about Juneteenth? Click here for more information, or here for more about Biden's new legislation.

 

This Week in Word War II - Italy Declares War on France and Britain

This Week’s Historical Theme: World War II 

10 June 1940 

A significant event throughout the history of World War II that occurred in June was Italy's declaration of war against France and Great Britain. After withholding formal allegiance to either Germany or the Allies, Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, allied with the former, perhaps due to German occupation in Paris. While Hitler was sceptical of this sudden break from neutrality, stating “First they were too cowardly to take part. Now they are in a hurry so that they can share in the spoils,” Mussolini claims he wanted in before the German occupation in Paris. In actuality, Mussolini was wary of waging an all-out war against Britain and France due to Italy's limited supply of raw materials.

 

While this was a hindrance for the Allies who had been attempting to ensure Italy's neutrality with promises of land in Africa, the Italian troops, who were mobilized in France on 20 June 1940, were easily held at bay by French forces. All Italians between the ages of 16 and 70 who had lived in Britain less than 20 years were immediately interned and President Roosevelt publicly promised his support for France and Britain. By September 1943, Italy had surrendered to the Allies and Mussolini was deposed from power.

Want to find out more about the role of Italy in WWII? Click here for more information, or here for more about Benito Mussolini’s motives. 

 

This Week in the United States - The American Civil War

This Week's Historical Theme: The United States

2 June 1865

A significant event throughout the history of the United States is the end of the American Civil War. The American Civil War (1861-65) was a war between the United States, and the 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The conflict started because of the uncompromising differences between the free states and the slave states concerning their views on what power the government should have to prohibit slavery. When Republican Abraham Lincoln became president in 1860, he pledged to keep slavery out of the territories. Subsequently, 7 slave states in the deep South seceded from the Union forming the Confederate States of America. The Lincoln administration refused to recognise the legitimacy of secession fearing it would discredit democracy and fragment the United States into several small, conflicting countries.

On 12 April 1861, at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay, the Confederate army open fired on the federal garrison, claiming the fort as their own, and triggering the start of the Civil War. In response, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to quell the Southern "insurrection", and 4 more slave states seceded and joined the Confederacy. Four years later, on 2 June 1865, Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, signed the surrender terms offered by Union negotiators. Smith's surrender is generally regarded as the formal end to the American Civil War as the last Confederate army ceased to exist.

Want to find out more about how the American Civil War ended? Click here for more information, or here for more about the after effects.

This Week in Space Exploration - Mariner 9

 

This Week's Historical Theme: Space Exploration

30 May 1971

A significant event throughout the history of space exploration is the Mariner 9 departing for Mars. The U.S. unmanned space probe was launched to gather scientific information on Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. It is one of the greatest technological achievements in human history. The space craft was launched on 30 May 1971 and entered the planets obit on 13 November the same year. As the first spacecraft to orbit a planet other than Earth, Mariner 9 sent back more than 7,000 pictures of the "Red Planet" and succeeded in photographing Mars in its entirety.

It circled Mars twice each day for almost a year gathering data on the atmospheric and surface composition, density, pressure, and temperature. When Mariner 9 first arrived, Mars was completely obscured by dust storms which persisted for a month. Once these cleared, the space probe revealed the enormous volcanos and a gigantic canyon stretching 3,000 miles across the planet's surface. The probe also recorded what appeared to be dried riverbeds, suggesting the ancient presence of water and perhaps life on the planet. It also sent back the first close-up images of the Martian Moon. Its transmission ended on 27 October 1972.

Want to find out more about Mariner 9? Click here for more information, or here to find out more about the history of space exploration.

Nonsuch HP is 12!

 

Today is Nonsuch HP's 12th birthday. To celebrate this, the blog has been tidied up a bit and the the internet safety policy updated to reflect the substantial changes in the internet and social media that have taken place recently.

This also seemed a good opportunity to look back over the hundreds of articles that have been published over the years. Many still remain relevant and of interest, and can be found easily using the "tags" which you can find on the right hand side. Over time we will re-tag or highlight those articles that are particularly worth reading. Here are some tags that we recommend:

• Black History
• Cold War
• Middle East
• Tudors

We also recommend our "pages" on special subjects which you can see on the right hand side, in particular:

• Nonsuch Palace
• Historical Fiction (although this needs some serious updating)

Please let us know if there are any topics you think the blog should be covering in the next 12 years!

Nonsuch HP Internet Safety Policy

Updated: May 2021

Nonsuch HP is obviously very concerned about that its readers and contributors keep safe when using the internet and social media and recommends sites such as: 

Think U Know

Internet Matters

UK Safer Internet Centre

Net Aware from the NSPCC

These include the latest advice and guides on how to use social media safely and keep settings up to date.

We have therefore set up a Safeguarding Policy to protect our readers which is published below. Please take time to read it.

The Nonsuch HP Blog: Safeguarding Policy
nonsuchhp.blogspot.com

Since it was created in May 2009, the Nonsuch HP Blog has been very successful at creating interest in historical and political topics and sharing useful information and resources. Clearly as the blog is a public website accessible by all it is important to ensure the safety of everyone using it to prevent personal details being passed on to a third party. These are the steps we have put in concerning safeguarding:

1. We do not publish pictures or specific details of contributors or their names on the blog. If a contributor’s work is highlighted on the blog (such as a powerpoint or a poster) it will not contain personal information about its author.

2. We do not post articles focusing on individual contributors and their activities.

3. Anyone who makes a comment is published anonymously and must not include personal information about themselves.

4. All comments are read and can be deleted by the blog’s editors.

5. Comments should not reveal extra personal information about their authors.

6. Contributors are strongly encouraged not to reveal information about themselves to anyone who makes contact with them via the internet.

Clearly the internet is a continually-changing environment and we will continue to monitor and adapt the blog if further changes are required in the future.

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/nonsuchhp


Nonsuch HP has an occasional presence on Twitter. The steps mentioned above will also be applied to any posts or comments made where relevant. Furthermore…

1. We will accept followers to our Twitter feed, but will not follow personal accounts of students.

2. We will not use the Twitter feed to express personal or private opinions, but to raise awareness of historical or political issues.

3. We encourage users of Twitter and all other forms of social media to act responsibly and to refrain from making any comments that are derogatory towards other users

 

This Week in the Middle East - The Sykes-Picot Agreement

 

This Week’s Historical Theme: The Middle East 

 

19 May 1916 

 

A significant event throughout the history of the Middle East is the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The First World War was a turning point in the Arab struggle for independence against their Turkish rulers under the Ottoman empire. Turkey fought on the German side against Britian and its allies. As the British navy were beginning to make more use out of oil, they were afraid that their supplies of oil from Persia might be cut off by the Turks and also wished to protect the Suez Canal. As a result, they decided to encourage the Arabs to rebel against their Turkish rulers and seek independence. The British high commissioner in Egypt, Sir Herbert McMahon, exchanged several letters with Hussein, the sharif of Mecca, promising that if the Arabs fought against the Turks, the British would support Arab independence. As a result, in 1916 an Arab army was raised and led by Emir (Prince) Faisal, the son of Hussein. In 1917, British troops entered Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, driving out the Turks. 

 

Having fought for their independence from the Turks, the Arabs were determined to be completely self-governed. British and French colonial interests got in the way of this as they wished to maintain their power and influence in the Middle East. They had made a secret agreement in 1916 to carve up Turkey’s Arab lands after the war and share them out between themselves. This is known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement. After the conclusion of WWI, The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 gave Britain mandates to govern Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq, and France mandates to govern Syria and Lebanon. These regions were divided by the Sykes-Picot borders which divided the Middle East into spheres of influence with little regard for the problems this would subsequently cause. 

 

Want to find out more about the Sykes-Picot Agreement? Click here for more information, or here for more about Mandatory Palestine. 

 

 

This Week in Crime - The Queen of Poison

This Week's Historical Theme: Crime

11 May 1949

A significant event throughout the history of crime that occurred in May is the evidence found against French serial killer, Marie Besnard. On this day, the body of Leon Besnard was exhumed by the French authorities searching for evidence of poison. Marie had married Leon Besnard in 1928 and the couple resented that they lived modest lives compared to their rich relatives. When Leon's great aunts passed away, all their money was left to Leon's parents. The couple hatched a plan, inviting Leon's parents to live with them and shortly after, Leon's father died from eating a bad mushroom, followed by his mother's death 3 months later. The inheritance was split between Leon and his sister, Lucie, who shortly died after having supposedly taken her own life.

The Besnards then began looking outside their immediate family, targeting their cousins as well as boarders they had taken in. For years, the locals were suspicious of the couple as nearly their whole family mysteriously died around them. After Marie fell in love with another man in 1947, Leon was found dead. Early in 1949, law enforcement began to investigate Marie after the death of her mother and on 11 May Leon's body was exhumed by the authorities searching for evidence of poison. Traces of arsenic were found in his body. Arsenic was also found in the rest of her family's corpses but she managed to escape prison as trace evidence was lost. On December 12 1961, she was acquitted and "The Queen of Poison", as the French call her, got away with 13 murders.

Want to find out more information about the history of murder by poison? Click here for more information, or here to find out about 17th century professional poisoner, Giulia Tofana.

This Week in the United Kingdom - Election of Margaret Thatcher

This Week's Historical Theme: The United Kingdom

 

3 May 1979

A significant event throughout the history of the United Kingdom that occurred in May was the election of Margaret Thatcher. Her rise to power started in 1959 when she was elected to Parliament as Conservative MP for Finchley. During the 60s she rose rapidly through the party ranks and in 1970, under Conservative PM Edward Heath, she became Secretary of State for Education and Science. After the Labour Party returned to power in 1974, she replaced Edward Heath as leader of the Conservative Party. The May 3 1979 general election gave Thatcher a majority in Parliament and she became Britain's first female Prime Minister.

She served as Prime Minster from 1979 to 1990, with her 11-year tenure characterised by the privatisation of national industries; cutbacks to government expenditure; and reducing the rights of trade unions. A landmark of her career was the decisive British victory in the 1982 Falkland War with Argentina. This contributed to her image as the "Iron Lady" as she cultivated a reputation for her hard-line politics. Coming to the end of her tenure in 1990, she failed to receive a majority in the Conservative Party's annual vote to select a leader. She subsequently resigned and was made a baroness in 1993. Her three consecutive terms in office marked the longest continuous tenure of a British PM since 1870.

Want to find out more about Margaret Thatcher's political career? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Falkland War.

This Week in Women's Rights - 'A Bunny's Tale'

This Week's Historical Theme: Women's Rights

 

1 May 1963

A significant event throughout the history of women's rights that occurred in May was Gloria Steinem's publication of "A Bunny's Tale". After her brief but shocking time undercover as a Bunny in Manhattan's Playboy Club, feminist writer, Gloria Steinem published the first half of her landmark account, "A Bunny's Tale", in SHOW magazine on 1 May 1963. Steinem was commissioned by SHOW to apply for a job at the Playboy Club under a fake name and document her experience. The servers at the clubs were known as "Bunnies" and were made to wear a highly sexualised bunny uniform trademark of the Playboy brand. Her brilliant exposé stripped back the glamorous facade of Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire at the height of its influence, revealing the strife misogyny and exploitation of young women.

Steinem quickly learned the truth was far removed from the glamorous way in which it was depicted. Bunnies were paid far less than the advertised $200-$300 per week, the club took 50% of the first $30 they made in tips, and they had to comply to a harsh system of demerits which amounted to salary reduction. These demerits could be given for offenses such as refusing to go out with a customer in a rude way, or allowing the cotton tail on the back of their uniforms to get dirty. The Bunnies were also subject to constant harassment by the clientele and in some accounts, were pressured into going out with "Number One keyholders" who were exclusive members of the club. Though Hefner tried to take the exposé in his stride, claiming applications to work the Playboy Club had increased after its publication, it was merely the first of many feminist attacks on the male-centric Playboy lifestyle that exploited and objectified women.

Want to find out more about Gloria Steinem's exposé? Click here for more information, or here for more about feminism in the 60s and 70s.

Issues of Hijab in France - Macron’s ‘Anti-Separatism’ Bill

Conflict between the French state and French Muslims has been a key area of contention throughout the country's history. Indeed, France is notorious for its various bans against Muslim women's religious clothing in a bid to curb the growing influence of Islam in what they wish to be a secular nation. However, these bans have a longstanding history of leading to an onslaught of controversy and debate. Whilst those who support restrictions on the Islamic veil argue that it opposes the principle of laïcité- or religious neutrality- those against restrictions feel that they discriminate against, and even violate the rights of, Muslims in France, since they limit their freedom to practice their religion in public.

Nowadays, the discussion surrounding the hijab in France is constantly growing more heated; it is likely that this is due to the most recent laws that are being debated at this very moment. Last month, the French Senate voted to approve an amendment banning Muslim women under the age of 18 from wearing the hijab anywhere in public. A second amendment would ban parents from participating in school trips and activities with their children if they are dressed in religious clothing. The ban was proposed by a group of senators from the conservative Republican Party (LR) and the European Democratic and Social Rally group (RDSE). It is true that the ban is not yet law, with France's National Assembly required to sign off on it before it can take effect; however, opposition to the amendment arose instantly, with some suggesting the proposed rule amounted to a "law against Islam".

The French Senate's move comes as part of the country's push to introduce a so-called "anti-separatism" bill, which it says aims to reinforce the policies of secularism and religious neutrality. However, the bill faces widespread criticism from those who argue that it singles out the minority Muslim population. Police would effectively be given the right to harass Muslims- and virtually anyone- wearing clothing deemed inappropriate by the ambiguous wording of the bill. Whilst some say that the bill does not explicitly target the Muslim population- rather, it aims to eradicate all religious symbols from the public sphere- when President Emmanuel Macron first introduced the bill in October 2020, he spoke explicitly about tackling "Islamist separatism," which he described as the French Muslim community's lack of willingness to renounce practicing their religion in public.

Last month, Amnesty International warned that the proposed law posed a "serious attack on rights and freedoms in France", and called for "many problematic provisions" of the bill to be scrapped or amended. The organisation, along with a large number of French Muslims, strongly opposes the ban as it deems it rooted in anti-Islamic sentiment. Now, the issue of the ban is being talked about all over the world, with the hashtag #HandsOffMyHijab circulating widely on social media; Muslims are speaking out against a law that would restrict their rights to freedom of religious expression.

This Week in Space Exploration - Vladimir Komarov's Death

This Week's Historical Theme: Space Exploration

 

24 April 1967

A significant event throughout the history of space exploration that occurred in April was the death of Soviet cosmonaut, test pilot and aerospace engineer, Colonel Vladimir Komarov. Komarov was testing the spacecraft Soyuz 1 during the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. After 24 hours and 16 orbits of the earth, Komarov was scheduled to re-enter the atmosphere, but ran into difficulty handling the vessel. It took 2 more orbits around the earth before he could manage re-entry. When Soyuz 1 reached an altitude of 23,000 feet, a parachute was supposed to deploy and bring Komarov safely to earth. However, the lines of the chute had gotten tangled during the re-entry difficulties and there was no back up chute. Komarov plunged to the ground at 144km/h and was killed on impact. This was the first fatality of a space flight.

There was a vast public morning of Vladimir Komarov in Moscow and his ashes were buried in the walls of the Kremlin. Komarov's wife, Valentina, had not been told about the launch of Soyuz 1 until after Komarov was already in orbit and thus didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her husband. Earlier in 1967, the US experienced its own space related tragedy where 3 NASA astronauts in the Apollo program (Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chafee) were killed in a fire during tests on the ground. Despite the dangers, the US and the Soviet Union continued their space exploration program and 2 years later in 1969 the US landed the first man on the moon.

Want to find out more about Soyuz 1? Click here for more information, or here for more about the space race.