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Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900
A seven-year-old English girl, washed up on the Wild Coast in about
1736, is adopted by the amaMpondo, grows up to become a woman of
surpassing beauty, marries the chief of the clan and becomes an
ancestor of many of the Xhosa royal families in the nineteenth
century. It sounds like the stuff of romance, but this is verified,
documented fact. Although her surname is unknown, in spite of a
persistent 19th-century story that she was the daughter of a
General Campbell, we do know that her name was Bessie. The
amaMpondo named her Gquma - 'The Roar of the Sea' - and she won
their affection for her compassion and generosity, and became
famous for her love of ornament, covering herself with necklaces,
beadwork, seashells and bangles. But she was no mere fashion-plate,
winning renown for her wisdom, becoming involved in the politics of
her adopted people and wielding an influence virtually
unprecedented among women of her time and place. Inspired by the
story of Bessie, in Sunburnt Queen, Hazel Crampton has delved deep
into the history of the castaways from the many ships wrecked on
this beautiful but perilous shore.;In a highly entertaining way she
tells their story, which became inextricably interwoven with those
of the people of the Wild Coast: whole clans, such the abeLungu
('the White People') trace their ancestry to castaways. The book
traces the lives of Bessie's descendants and those of some of the
other castaways whose names are known. Their stories are
intimately, often tragically intertwined in the sad history of
contact between the Xhosa-speaking peoples and the white settlers.
The author, although obviously a person of strong opinions, like
all the best historiographers, she presents people and events in a
non-judgmental way, allowing contemporary voices to pronounce on
the actions, good and bad, of the actors in this drama. If there is
a message to be gleaned from the story of Bessie it is this: South
Africans are far more alike than we are different, and we all have
so much more to gain by emphasizing our similarities rather than
our differences, and by cherishing our common heritage.
'James Crowden is Britain's best cider writer ... Cider Country is
the book we've all been waiting for.' Oz Clarke Join James Crowden
as he embarks on a journey to distil the ancient origins of cider,
uncovering a rich culture and philosophy that has united farmer,
maker and drinker for millennia. LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 ANDRE
SIMON FOOD AND DRINK AWARD Cidermaking has been at the heart of
country life for hundreds of years. But the fascinating story of
how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply
rooted in the nation's psyche has never been told. In order to
answer these questions, James Crowden traces an elusive history
stretching back to the ancient, myth-infused civilisations of the
Mediterranean and the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan. Meeting
cider experts, farmers and historians, he unearths the surprising
story of an apple that travelled from east to west and proved
irresistible to everyone who tasted it. Upon its arrival in
Britain, monks, pirates and politicians formed a pioneering and
evangelical fan base, all seeking the company of a drink that might
guide them through uncertain times. But the nation's love-affair
with cider didn't fully blossom until after the reformation, when
the thirst for knowledge about the drink was at its peak. This
infatuation with experimentation would lead to remarkable
innovations and the creation of a 'sparkling cider', a technique
that pre-dated Dom Perignon's champagne by forty years. Turning to
the present day, Crowden meets the next generation of cider makers
and unearths a unique philosophy that has been shared through the
ages. In the face of real challenges, these enterprising cider
makers are still finding new ways to produce this golden drink that
is enjoyed by so many. Spanning centuries and continents, Cider
Country tells the story of our country through the culture, craft
and consumption of our most iconic rural drink.
A startling and eye-opening look into America's First Family, Never
Caught is the powerful story about a daring woman of "extraordinary
grit" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). When George Washington was
elected president, he reluctantly left behind his beloved Mount
Vernon to serve in Philadelphia, the temporary seat of the nation's
capital. In setting up his household he brought along nine slaves,
including Ona Judge. As the President grew accustomed to Northern
ways, there was one change he couldn't abide: Pennsylvania law
required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency
in the state. Rather than comply, Washington decided to circumvent
the law. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south just
as the clock was about to expire. Though Ona Judge lived a life of
relative comfort, she was denied freedom. So, when the opportunity
presented itself one clear and pleasant spring day in Philadelphia,
Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Yet
freedom would not come without its costs. At just
twenty-two-years-old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt
led by George Washington, who used his political and personal
contacts to recapture his property. "A crisp and compulsively
readable feat of research and storytelling" (USA TODAY), historian
and National Book Award finalist Erica Armstrong Dunbar weaves a
powerful tale and offers fascinating new scholarship on how one
young woman risked everything to gain freedom from the famous
founding father and most powerful man in the United States at the
time.
Voltaire's turbulent relationship with the courts of law of ancien
regime France reveals much about his social and political thought,
but its representation in many studies of the philosophe is often
simplistic and distorted. In the first in-depth study of Voltaire
and the parlements James Hanrahan looks afresh at this relationship
to offer a new and challenging analysis of Voltaire's political
thought and activity. Through examination of Voltaire's evolving
representation of the parlements in his writings from La Henriade
to the Histoire du parlement, Hanrahan calls into question the
dominant historiography of extremes that pits Voltaire 'defender of
the oppressed' against 'self-interested' magistrates. He presents a
much more nuanced view of the relationship, from which the
philosophe emerges as a highly pragmatic figure whose political
philosophy was inseparable from his business or humanitarian
interests. In Voltaire and the 'parlements' of France Hanrahan
opens up analysis of Voltaire's politics, and provides a new
context for future study of the writer as both historiographer and
campaigner for justice.
The "superb" (The Guardian) biography of an American who stood
against all the forces of Gilded Age America to fight for civil
rights and economic freedom: Supreme Court Justice John Marshall
Harlan. They say that history is written by the victors. But not in
the case of the most famous dissenter on the Supreme Court. Almost
a century after his death, John Marshall Harlan's words helped end
segregation and gave us our civil rights and our modern economic
freedom. But his legacy would not have been possible without the
courage of Robert Harlan, a slave who John's father raised like a
son in the same household. After the Civil War, Robert emerges as a
political leader. With Black people holding power in the Republican
Party, it is Robert who helps John land his appointment to the
Supreme Court. At first, John is awed by his fellow justices, but
the country is changing. Northern whites are prepared to take away
black rights to appease the South. Giant trusts are monopolizing
entire industries. Against this onslaught, the Supreme Court seemed
all too willing to strip away civil rights and invalidate labor
protections. So as case after case comes before the court,
challenging his core values, John makes a fateful decision: He
breaks with his colleagues in fundamental ways, becoming the
nation's prime defender of the rights of Black people, immigrant
laborers, and people in distant lands occupied by the US. Harlan's
dissents, particularly in Plessy v. Ferguson, were widely read and
a source of hope for decades. Thurgood Marshall called Harlan's
Plessy dissent his "Bible"--and his legal roadmap to overturning
segregation. In the end, Harlan's words built the foundations for
the legal revolutions of the New Deal and Civil Rights eras.
Spanning from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement and
beyond, The Great Dissenter is a "magnificent" (Douglas Brinkley)
and "thoroughly researched" (The New York Times) rendering of the
American legal system's most significant failures and most
inspiring successes.
In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of
his career
In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France."
So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin
Franklin-seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and
possessed of the most rudimentary French-convinced France, an
absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was
embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame,
charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies,
French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the
Franco-American alliance of l778; and helped to negotiate the peace
of l783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as
Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most
revealing of the man.
In "A Great Improvisation," Stacy Schiff draws from new and
little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of
Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of
the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the
treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel
George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory
at Yorktown. From these pages emerge a particularly human and yet
fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of
how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's
bid for independence.
Jean-Louis Wagniere servit Voltaire en qualite de secretaire de
1755 a 1778 avant de defendre sa memoire jusqu'a sa mort. Ses
lettres assurent une importante mediation dans notre connaissance
de la vie et de l'oeuvre du grand philosophe. Dans cette etude
Christophe Paillard rassemble d'importants documents inedits qui
apportent des eclaircissements sur les oeuvres de Voltaire et ses
strategies epistolaires, ses rapports avec les editeurs,
l'installation de sa bibliotheque a Petersbourg et l'histoire de
l'edition de Kehl. Or, C. Paillard montre aussi que le temoignage
de Wagniere doit etre interprete avec plus de precaution que la
critique n'a eu tendance a le faire auparavant. Il fait voir que
l'attribution de certaines oeuvres ou les remarques sur l'edition
de Kehl doivent etre replacees dans le contexte d'une mise en
scene; on decouvre a quel point le 'petit scribe' a assimile et mis
en oeuvre les strategies litteraires de son maitre. Dans Jean-Louis
Wagniere, secretaire de Voltaire: lettres et documents Christophe
Paillard renouvelle l'etude de l'epistolaire et des methodes
d'ecriture de Voltaire. Il procure aux specialistes de Voltaire une
mine de documents inedits, et, de plus, il nous offre un moyen de
les lire.
The 1760s was a pivotal decade for the philosophes. In the late
1750s their cause had been at a low ebb, but it was transformed in
the eyes of public opinion by such events as the Calas affair in
the early 1760s. By the end of the decade, the philosophes were
dominant in key literary institutions such as the Comedie-Francaise
and the Academie francaise, and their enlightened programme became
more widely accepted. Many of the essays in this volume focus on
Voltaire, revealing him as a writer of fiction and polemic who,
during this period, became increasingly interested in questions of
justice and jurisprudence. Other essays examine the literary
activities of Voltaire's contemporaries, including Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Chamfort, Retif, Sedaine and Marmontel. It is no
exaggeration to describe the 1760s as Voltaire's decade. It is he
more than any other author who set the agenda and held the public's
attention during this seminal period for the development of
Enlightenment ideas and values. Voltaire's dominance of the 1760s
can be summed up in a single phrase: it is in these years that he
became the 'patriarch of Ferney'.
One of the most eclectic and enigmatic of the philosophes, Denis
Diderot left an intellectual legacy that has the capacity to
stimulate, perplex and even confound. Particularly challenging are
his writings on the natural sciences, an area largely neglected by
scholars over the past fifty years. In Diderot: natural philosopher
Kurt Ballstadt examines the entirety of Diderot's scientific works
from the Lettre sur les aveugles to the Elements de physiologie,
investigating his fascination with mathematics, experimental
physics, chemistry, natural history and medicine, and drawing out
the crucial points of contact between these disciplines. Diderot is
shown to have a well-constructed philosophy of science and an
integrated, sophisticated vision of how the world functions. We are
led away from the image of a radical Diderot, champion of disorder,
to an analysis of a more systematic thinker whose underlying search
for structure characterized both his attitude to the world around
him, and the way he wrote about it. Situating these writings on
natural philosophy in the intellectual landscape of the
Enlightenment, this book will engage Diderot scholars and
historians of eighteenth-century science alike.
This book: covers the essential content in the new specifications
in a rigorous and engaging way, using detailed narrative, sources,
timelines, key words, helpful activities and extension material
helps develop conceptual understanding of areas such as evidence,
interpretations, causation and change, through targeted activities
provides assessment support for A level with sample answers,
sources, practice questions and guidance to help you tackle the
new-style exam questions. It also comes with three years' access to
ActiveBook, an online, digital version of your textbook to help you
personalise your learning as you go through the course - perfect
for revision.
'I read the book with enormous appreciation. Tessa Boase brings all
these long-ago housekeepers so movingly to life and her excitement
in the research is palpable.' Fay Weldon: Novelist, playwright -
and housekeeper's daughter Revelatory, gripping and unexpectedly
poignant, this is the story of the invisible women who ran the
English country house. Working as a housekeeper was one of the most
prestigious jobs a nineteenth and early twentieth century woman
could want - and also one of the toughest. A far cry from the
Downton Abbey fiction, the real life Mrs Hughes was up against
capricious mistresses, low pay, no job security and gruelling
physical labour. Until now, her story has never been told.
Revealing the personal sacrifices, bitter disputes and driving
ambition that shaped these women's careers, and delving into secret
diaries, unpublished letters and the neglected service archives of
our stately homes, Tessa Boase tells the extraordinary stories of
five working women who ran some of Britain's most prominent
households. From Dorothy Doar, Regency housekeeper for the
obscenely wealthy 1st Duke and Duchess of Sutherland at Trentham
Hall, Staffordshire, to Sarah Wells, a deaf and elderly Victorian
in charge of Uppark, West Sussex. From Ellen Penketh, Edwardian
cook-housekeeper at the sociable but impecunious Erddig Hall in the
Welsh borders to Hannah Mackenzie who runs Wrest Park in
Bedfordshire - Britain's first country-house war hospital,
bankrolled by playwright J. M. Barrie. And finally Grace Higgens,
cook-housekeeper to the Bloomsbury set at Charleston farmhouse in
East Sussex for half a century - an era defined by the Second World
War. Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-GBX-NONEX-NONE
Empress Marie (1847-1928) lived one of the most dramatic lives of
any princess who sat on the Russian throne. Born Princess Dagmar of
Denmark she was betrothed to Tsarevitch Nicholas of Russia, a love
match on both sides, but he died months before the wedding. Out of
duty she married his brother who came to the throne as Tsar
Alexander III in 1881 on the assassination of his father Alxander
II. Her son was Nicholas II, the last Tsar. Everything she held
most dear was destroyed before her eyes. Her husband died in his
prime and two of her sons died young. During the First World War,
her advice unheeded, the Tsar took command of the army and she
could only watch as the country she loved was governed by her
daughter-in-law Empress Alexandra and Rasputin, with disastrous
results. Russia was engulfed in revolution, leading to the
destruction of the dynasty and the Church. After a period of house
arrest under the Bolsheviks, she escaped and was brought to England
on board a British warship. Her word was law among the emigres and
her influence was paramount among the Romanovs. She had truly
become Matoushka - the Mother of the Russian People. She died in
Denmark in 1928. This is the first major work in English, using
previously unpublished material from the Royal Archives and
information in Russian, Danish and Finnish not previously available
in English.
Exam board: Pearson Edexcel; OCR Level: AS/A-level Subject: History
First teaching: September 2015 First exams: Summer 2016 (AS);
Summer 2017 (A-level) Put your trust in the textbook series that
has given thousands of A-level History students deeper knowledge
and better grades for over 30 years. Updated to meet the demands of
today's A-level specifications, this new generation of Access to
History titles includes accurate exam guidance based on examiners'
reports, free online activity worksheets and contextual information
that underpins students' understanding of the period. - Develop
strong historical knowledge: In-depth analysis of each topic is
both authoritative and accessible - Build historical skills and
understanding: Downloadable activity worksheets can be used
independently by students or edited by teachers for classwork and
homework - Learn, remember and connect important events and people:
An introduction to the period, summary diagrams, timelines and
links to additional online resources support lessons, revision and
coursework - Achieve exam success: Practical advice matched to the
requirements of your A-level specification incorporates the lessons
learnt from previous exams - Engage with sources, interpretations
and the latest historical research: Students will evaluate a rich
collection of visual and written materials, plus key debates that
examine the views of different historians
In the age of empire, Victorians and Romantics over the long 19th
century faced issues of governance that no other society had faced
on such a massive level, causing socio-political questions that had
to be addressed based on sheer necessity but little governmental
experience. In an age in which there was a decade referred to as
"the Hungry Forties," and in which the Great Famine in Ireland
occurs as well, there are high rates of poverty across the whole
century in Britain and its colonies. At the same time that hunger
and famine were intractable issues, irresolvable across
nineteenth-century Britain, socio-political entities had little
stomach for solving the problem and few technocrats had economic
answers based on real world experience. This four-volume collection
of primary sources examine hunger and famine in Britain and its
empire across the long nineteenth century.
This collection gathers together 31 previously out-of-print titles
focusing on revolution - the political, economic, military and
social aspects of the overthrow of state power. Ranging from
nineteenth-century France to late-twentieth-century Caribbean,
these books analyse the forms of revolt and the aftermaths of
revolution, examining the types of government that result and the
reactions of international opinion.
London, 1716. Revenge is a dish best served ice-cold...The city is
caught in the vice-like grip of a savage winter. Even the Thames
has frozen over. But for Jonas Flynt - thief, gambler, killer - the
chilling elements are the least of his worries... Justice Geoffrey
Dumont has been found dead at the base of St Paul's cathedral, and
a young male sex-worker, Sam Yates, has been taken into custody for
the murder. Yates denies all charges, claiming he had received a
message to meet the judge at the exact time of death. The young man
is a friend of courtesan Belle St Clair, and she asks Flynt to
investigate. As Sam endures the horrors of Newgate prison, they
must do everything in their power to uncover the truth and save an
innocent life, before the bodies begin to pile up. But time is
running out. And the gallows are beckoning... A totally enrapturing
portrayal of eighteenth-century London, and a rapier-like crime
thriller, perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Antonia
Hodgson and Ambrose Parry.
The American experiment rests on three ideas-"these truths",
Jefferson called them-political equality, natural rights and the
sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, "on a dedication to
inquiry, fearless and unflinching", writes Jill Lepore in a
ground-breaking investigation into the American past that places
truth at the centre of the nation's history. Telling the story of
America, beginning in 1492, These Truths asks whether the course of
events has proven the nation's founding truths or belied them.
Finding meaning in contradiction, Lepore weaves American history
into a tapestry of faith and hope, of peril and prosperity, of
technological progress and moral anguish. This spellbinding
chronicle offers an authoritative new history of a great, and
greatly troubled, nation.
Armenia is the oldest Christian country in the world and there are
few countries which have made, for their size, such an outstanding
contribution to civilization as Armenia has, while yet remaining
virtually unknown to the Western world. The volumes in this set,
written and translated by an acknowledged authority on history and
religion in the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Georgia, as
well as Russia itself: Examine the role played by an 18th Century
Russian Radical in Tsarist Russia and his subsequent political
legacy. Provide a translation of a legend important for theologians
and scholars of comparative religion because through this legend
the life of the Buddha and the ascetic ideal he exemplified
significantly influenced the Christian West. Discuss the cultural,
philosophic, religious and scientific contribution Armenia has made
to the world. Provide a geographic and ethnic survey of Armenia and
its people.
Volume I of The Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars covers the
international foreign political dimensions of the wars and the
social, legal, political and economic structures of the Empire.
Leading historians from around the world come together to discuss
the different aspects of the origins of the Napoleonic Wars, their
international political implications and the concrete ways the
Empire was governed. This volume begins by looking at the political
context that produced the Napoleonic Wars and setting it within the
broader context of eighteenth century great power politics in the
Age of Revolution. It considers the administration and governance
of the Empire, including with France's client states and the role
of the Bonaparte family in the Empire. Further chapters in the
volume examine the war aims of the various protagonists and offer
an overall assessment of the nature of war in this period.
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