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1450: The Rebellion of Jack Cade
Classic Pamphlet
‘When Kings and chief officers suffer their under rulers to misuse their subjects and will not hear nor remedy their people's wrongs when they complain, then suffereth God the rebel to rage and to execute that part of His justice which the partial prince will not.'
Thus did the Tudor...
1450: The Rebellion of Jack Cade
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The War of American Independence
Classic Pamphlet
In the two-hundredth year of American Independence, it is proper to ask: why did it occur? It need not have happened; it was the act of men, not immutable forces. But once the tensions became acute, the three thousand miles of ocean were a difficult chasm to bridge. The War...
The War of American Independence
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The Lords of Renaissance Italy
Classic Pamphlet
The Lords of Renaissance Italy: the signori, 1250-1500 Among the many city states into which Italy was divided in the late medieval and early modern period, the republics of Florence and Venice are comparatively well known. Republicanism was not, however, the most common form of government. This pamphlet deals with states...
The Lords of Renaissance Italy
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The Story of the African Queen
Historian article
Where fact and fiction intercept: the story of The African Queen(s) by C.S. Forester
When the Königin Luise was hull down over the horizon and the dhow was close in-shore the lieutenant left his post and went down to the jetty to meet his senior officer. The dhow ran briskly in,...
The Story of the African Queen
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Making sense of the eighteenth century
Teaching History article
Making sense of the eighteenth century
Pressures on curriculum time force us all to make difficult choices about curriculum content, but the eighteenth century seems to have suffered particular neglect. Inspired by the tercentenary of the accession of the first Georgian king and the interest in the Acts of Union prompted...
Making sense of the eighteenth century
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The true end of archaeology?
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Wow! The most magical words you can hear from a child. How do we get this wow factor? In my experience, archaeology is full of wow. It was Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1954 who wrote...
The true end of archaeology?
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The Origins of the First World War
Classic Pamphlet
The First World War broke out suddenly and unexpectedly in midsummer 1914, following the murder of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Hapsburg, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, at Sarajevo, in Bosnia, on 28 June. Since no war involving the European great powers had occurred since 1871, the possibility of...
The Origins of the First World War
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Ofsted and primary history
Primary History article
Firstly, I would like to introduce myself as Ofsted’s new Subject Lead for history.
Despite the many challenges of the past year, it is an exciting time for history education. I am very pleased that the number of primary history teachers who are now part of the HA community has...
Ofsted and primary history
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Strange Journey: the life of Dorothy Eckersley
Historian article
Meeting in Berlin
Three days before the outbreak of the Second World War, William Joyce, the leader of the British Nazi group, the National Socialist League, was in Berlin. He and his wife, Margaret, had fled there fearing internment by the British government if war broke out. Yet as war...
Strange Journey: the life of Dorothy Eckersley
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Polychronicon 152: Changing interpretations of the workhouse?
Teaching History feature
The workhouse has long held a negative reputation in the popular imagination as the dreaded destination of the destitute, an institution guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of the Victorian poor. This is partly owing to its design under the New Poor Law of 1834 as an explicit punishment...
Polychronicon 152: Changing interpretations of the workhouse?
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Disembarking the religious rollercoaster
Teaching History article
Sarah Jackson-Buckley and Jessie Phillips found themselves perennially dissatisfied with the outcomes of their teaching of the Protestant Reformation. Determined that students should take away a sense of the momentous political and social consequences of the Reformation, they turned to historical scholarship, and to the work of other history teachers on...
Disembarking the religious rollercoaster
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The Origins of the Second Great War
Classic Pamphlet
This pamphlet provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the outbreak of war in 1939, covering the various factors that played a role in the outbreak of war such as tension over Poland and the Spanish Civil War, as well as the nature and effect of diplomatic...
The Origins of the Second Great War
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Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (602–690)
Historian article
The remarkable career of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, shows how the political and religious turmoil in the seventh-century eastern Mediterranean had a direct impact upon the English kingdoms.
Asked to name the most significant archbishops of Canterbury, it is likely that few would name the seventh-century monk, Theodore of...
Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (602–690)
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Polychronicon 148: The Wars of the Roses
Teaching History feature
There are few periods in our history from which we turn with such weariness and disgust as from the Wars of the Roses. Their savage battles, their ruthless executions, their shameless treasons seem all the more terrible from the pure selfishness of the ends for which men fought, the utter...
Polychronicon 148: The Wars of the Roses
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The death of Lord Londonderry
Historian article
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, better known to his contemporaries and to history as Viscount Castlereagh, committed suicide on 12 August 1822, at the age of fifty-three, when Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. He was one of the great statesmen of his age: as Chief...
The death of Lord Londonderry
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Earth heroes: Etta Lemon, ‘The Mother of Birds’
Primary History article
In this article Ailsa Fidler considers Etta Lemon and her role in halting the plume boom, which saw many bird species driven to the edge of extinction, all in the name of fashion. Linking a study of Etta to the government’s policy on Climate Education, the article shows how Etta’s...
Earth heroes: Etta Lemon, ‘The Mother of Birds’
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The Amesbury Archer
Primary History article
One of the requirements for the Key Stage 2 history curriculum is that children learn about changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. In some ways this is a challenging period to teach – the evidential record is patchy, it is open to interpretation, and there...
The Amesbury Archer
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Opinion: Who was ‘the man of his time’?
Historian article
In this new, occasional section of The Historian, contributors share their thoughts on matters of public historical debate. We invite our readers to respond, either by writing to the editors at thehistorian@history.org.uk or by writing their own opinion piece. Here, Lorenzo Kamel shares his thoughts on why saying ‘he was a...
Opinion: Who was ‘the man of his time’?
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Maximising the power of storytelling in the history classroom
Teaching History article
James Hopkins’s Year 10 class had been excited by their course on medicine through time, but were less enthused about their new study of Norman England. They told him that the topic felt ‘distant’ and ‘not real’. Recalling his own experience as a student, Hopkins was interested in the ways...
Maximising the power of storytelling in the history classroom
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The new King
Primary History article
King Charles III acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022 on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. This article looks at the lives of the three kings named Charles and investigates how things will change with our new king. It includes activities and a timeline of British monarchs from Tudors to present...
The new King
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Crowdsourcing the heritage of the Second World War
Historian article
Stuart Lee, Ylva Berglund Prytz and Matthew Kidd introduce an innovative project to capture objects and the memories they hold.
Crowdsourcing the heritage of the Second World War
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Exploring the history of our place with very young children
Primary History article
Karin Doull considers how we can develop historical thinking in the Early Years in this article about locality and place. Karin offers helpful suggestions for developing historical vocabulary and assessing understanding.
How can we seek to encourage Foundation Stage children to engage with historical thinking and processes? What appears to...
Exploring the history of our place with very young children
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Exploring the Great Fire of London and Deaf history
Primary History article
Kate Loveman and James Harrod offer new insights into the Great Fire of London by focussing on the inclusion of Deaf history in this popular topic. They shares the online teaching resources created in their joint partnership between the University of Leicester and the Museum of London.
Each year thousands...
Exploring the Great Fire of London and Deaf history
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The role of takeaways in shaping a history curriculum
Teaching History article
Jonathan Grande explains how he and his department faced up to the paradox that teaching rich detail is vital for good historical learning and is vital for students to remember in the short term, but is not essential to remember for ever. This article sets out his exploration of why...
The role of takeaways in shaping a history curriculum
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Triumphs Show 192: Balancing micro- and macronarratives of the Holocaust
Teaching History feature
Lien de Jong celebrates her 90th birthday in September 2023. In lots of ways, her biography is similar to many Europeans of her generation. She was born, grew up and went to school in The Hague during the 1930s. She trained to work in a nursery. In the 1950s, she...
Triumphs Show 192: Balancing micro- and macronarratives of the Holocaust
