The Macabre Execution of the Duke of Monmouth
On July 15, 1685 the illegitimate son of King Charles II was beheaded in one of the more gruesome executions ever to take place...
How To Marry An English Lord: The Uniting of British Lords and American Heiresses
Winston Churchill was, among other things, an accomplished historian and writer, writing several books during his lifetime. Four of these: his four-volume A History...
The Boer War (1899-1902): Britain’s Wakeup Call
In 1886, gold was discovered in the Transvaal region of South Africa, an area then populated mostly by Afrikaans speaking Boers, descendents of the...
Lloyd George’s “People’s Budget,” and the Parliamentary Act of 1911, Part 2
As a result, Parliament was dissolved and the General Election was set for January 1910. The Liberals, before the crisis somewhat divided, went to...
A Crusade For Peace: George Lansbury’s Worldwide Trip for Peace, 1936-37
George Lansbury was perhaps the greatest idealist of his generation. He was an absolute pacifist who believed sincerely that war was the greatest evil...
Women in the 19th Century – Life in Regency England, Part 1: Society
Life in high society during the Regency was a glamorous round of balls and parties, governed by strict rules of etiquette. Members of society,...
“A Prophet Before Her Time:” Beatrice Potter Webb, Part 1: Beatrice Webb’s Life Up...
Few political thinkers have influenced British society and politics in the 20th Century as much as Beatrice Potter Webb. She was a prodigious scholar,...
The Exhumation and Posthumous Execution of Oliver Cromwell
After leading republican forces to victory in the English Civil War, Cromwell became Lord Protector. After the Restoration, his body was exhumed and hanged.
Oliver...
Lloyd George’s “People’s Budget,” and the Parliamentary Act of 1911, Part 1
In December 1905, James Balfour, the Conservative prime minister (PM), suddenly resigned. (1) King Edward VII called upon Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Leader of...
The Glorious Revolution and the Reign of King William III
The bloodless revolution in England in 1688-1689 led to constitutionalism and greater Parliamentary control over the monarchy.
On January 22, 1689, William of Orange convened...