Proletarian colloquial expressions in English
“You could’ve knocked me darn wiv a fevver! Like all languages, the English of the lower orders is filled with expressions, usually of surprise at events. Most first appeared in the eighteenth or [...]
Ludovico, the most significant member of the Sforza family
The Sforzas were an Italian family prominent in the 15th and 16th centuries. They stem from one Muzio Attendolo (1369 – 1424), a forceful condottiere of the period, indeed, he adopted the name from the [...]
The Stuart Dynasty
Fanciful images of Robert II of Scotland / celticjessica.blogspot.com Stuart, originally Stewart, is the family name of Scottish kings and queens from nearly the end of the fourteenth century until 1714 – [...]
Sturdy Beggars
Whipping a beggar throughj the streets / aworldelsewhere-finn.blogspot.com In the so-called ‘developed’ societies since the end of the Second World War many children are brought up by unthinking parents to believe that [...]
Whoops! Ricardo de la Cierva can make mistakes too . . .
/ diarioya.es De la Cierva is a historian and politician and the writer of many works of history. He was born in 1926 and at the time of writing is still alive. [...]
Three de Medicis
Catherine de Medici, Queen of Henry II of France / heritage-history.com Catherine de Medici was Queen of France despite her distinguished Italian name. She was born in 1519 and became the wife of [...]
A classic Anglo/American sports car, almost forgotten
The original Jensen Interceptor / joc.org.uk The Jensen Interceptor came in two phases; Jensen made the original Interceptor between 1950 and 1957 at the Carter’s Green factory in West Bromwich in the [...]
SPAIN today: a prediction and some questions
Morning, noon and night it is predicted by the Spanish news programmes that Mariano Rajoy may resign and take his Popular Party with him. The reason, we are told, is that an ex-treasurer of the [...]
Russians versus the Japanese (1904) & the Turks (4 times in the 19th century)
Marshal Kutuzov / en.wikipedia.org The fight between the Japanese and Russia was (and is) significant because it was all about control of both Manchuria and Korea. The Japanese launched an unexpected and unheralded [...]
Lancastrians and Yorkists
Edward IV (York) King of England / en.wikipedia.org There is more to the intense rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire than mere cricket, though one has to admit that these two large northern English [...]
SPAIN: from black comedy to farce
Not even the Monty Python team could have invented the present situation in the democracy with a monarchy, Parliament, and civilized population called Spain. The Marx Brothers might have shaken the head and said, [...]
Post-War poverty in Socialist Britain (1945 – 51)
Winter queues 1948 / telegraph.co.uk It was a surrealist time to be British. Six years of total war had left the people with their men and womenfolk dead, wounded and crippled as [...]
Feminism – a 20th century phenomenon?
A young Suffragette throws herself under the King’s horse at the Derby / scotsman.com There will I suppose be frenzied and furious cries from members of the ‘gentler sex’ after (not) reading this [...]
Two bad men
Today we will concentrate on two bad men whose names constantly crop up in history. One, the first, was a Nazi leader in Germany, the second was a German-born President of a Latin American [...]
The Peninsula War (1807-14)
Joseph, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte /fuenterrebollo.com Napoleon Bonaparte decided he would imitate the Roman emperors. Instead of listening to his better senses, he invaded the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, causing one of [...]
The Nine Years War
William III / livius.org Of all the wars known by duration in years, the least well-known is the Nine Years War (1688 – 97). Nevertheless this conflict has its important side, as [...]
The Percy family, marching with English history
Alnwick Castle in Northumberland / tumblr.com This is more usually a first or Christian name, and sometimes encourages unfair laughter: “Come on Percy, show ‘em wot you got!” As a surname or [...]
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