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India was one of the largest and wealthiest empires in the world before the arrival of the British East India Company in the late 16th century. The East India Company used its military strength and financial resources to gradually expand its control over India, eventually colonising the entire country. This colonisation significantly impacted Indian society, …
In 1781 over 100 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard the Zong slave ship to allow the slave owners to collect insurance money on their human commodities. This is one of the most egregious acts of inhumanity in Black history. The slave trade brought vast wealth to British ports and merchants but conditions were horrific. Enslaved …
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an American white supremacist terrorist hate group founded after the American Civil War to suppress and victimise newly freed African American slaves. Over the decades, their targets have grown to include Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Catholics, Jews, atheists and Muslims, as well as immigrants and homosexuals. On 24 …
On 1 July 1962, the Commonwealth Immigrants Act came into effect, ending the automatic right of people of the British Commonwealth and Colonies to settle in the United Kingdom. The Act applied stringent restrictions on the entry of Commonwealth citizens into Britain. Only those with work permits (which were typically only for high-skilled workers, such …
The Opium Wars, also known as the First and Second China Wars, were a series of conflicts between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing Dynasty during the 19th century. These wars were primarily triggered by trade disputes, as British merchants sought to smuggle Indian opium into China, despite its illegality. The resulting conflicts opened …
The European colonisation of Southeast Asia was a significant historical event that drastically transformed the region’s political, economic, and cultural landscape. European imperialism in Southeast Asia spanned from the 16th to the 20th centuries. It was driven by various factors, such as the desire for trade, competition for power, and the ambition to spread European …
What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is observed annually on 19 June. It is also called Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day. The term Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. History of Juneteenth During the American Civil …
When the English took over the colonisation of Jamaica from the Spanish, they imported thousands of Africans as slaves to work on plantations of wealthy Englishmen. Like other colonised islands, the slaves rebelled regularly. The most well-known Jamaican slave rebellions are the 1831 Christmas rebellion, led by Samuel Sharpe and the Maroon Wars led …
The partition of India on 15 August 1947 resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan, two separate states divided along religious lines. This decision was made by the British government, which sought to withdraw from the region after centuries of colonial rule. However, the consequences of partition were dire, with widespread violence, displacement, and …
The Selma to Montgomery march was part of a series of civil rights protests that occurred in 1965 in Alabama, a Southern state with deeply entrenched racist policies. Death and discrimination Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in voting based on race, efforts by civil rights organisations such as the Student …
Brazil, the largest country in South America, is known for its diverse culture and rich history. The nation’s development has been shaped by centuries of colonisation, imperial rule, and eventual independence. The discovery and early colonisation of Brazil The arrival of the Portuguese The modern history of Brazil began in April 1500, when a fleet …
In February 1965, civil rights campaigner Malcolm X was in Britain to speak at the London School of Economics. Avtar Singh Jouhl, general secretary of the Indian Workers Association, invited him to speak at Birmingham University and visit Smethwick, a small town in the West Midlands, UK. Smethwick was a hotbed of racial tension. Just …
On Sunday 18 January 1981 a fire broke out in a house in New Cross Road, Deptford, South East London, killing 13 young people and marking a massive change for black people in Britain. Thirteen people died in the New Cross fire and another, committed suicide 18 months later in July 1983, aged 20, having …
0n 5 December 1492, European navigator Christopher Columbus came upon an island in the Caribbean that he claimed for Spain and called La Isla Española (“The Spanish Island”, later Anglicised as Hispaniola). Haiti colonised by Spain Spain colonised the island and enslaved the native Taino and Ciboney people. Forced to mine gold under brutal working …
Samuel Sharpe instigates a rebellion On 27 December 1831, the Christmas Rebellion began at the Kensington Estate in St James, Jamaica. Samuel Sharpe was the main instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion. Although he was a slave, he was also a leader of the native Baptists in Montego Bay. This enabled him to travel and …
Britain’s 1919 race riots started at the end of the First World War starting with an outbreak of violence in Glasgow in January, race riots happened around the United Kingdom until late in the summer, including in Liverpool, Hull, Cardiff, Salford, Newport and South Shields. There were several outbreaks in the East End of London, …
Charles Wotten was a 24-year-old ship’s fireman from Bermuda who was murdered by an angry white mob during the Liverpool race riots of 1919. What led to Charles Wotten’s murder? Since the 16th century, the Black presence in London and Liverpool had been noticeable but Liverpool’s Black population grew dramatically during the war as Black …
The Great Migration, also known as the Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration, was a significant event in American history that changed the demographic and cultural landscape of the United States. Between 1916 and 1970, this mass movement saw over 6 million African Americans relocate from the rural South to the North, Midwest, and …
Throughout American history, race riots have played a crucial role in moulding the nation’s societal, political, and economic fabric. These violent eruptions, frequently instigated by perceived injustices or disparities, have inflicted enduring wounds upon communities and emphasised the deeply ingrained issues of racism and discrimination that persistently plague the United States. We previously discussed the …
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a rich and complex history, marked by periods of remarkable prosperity and devastating conflict and human rights abuses. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the DRC’s historical development, from its earliest human inhabitants to its current political landscape. Early history and the emergence of kingdoms The …
The Notting Hill Race riots were the result of a campaign of attacks on the Caribbean residents in a bid to drive them out of their homes and ultimately out of Britain. Much like the 1919 race riots, the growing Black presence in Britain was a major factor in these events. Although dubbed the Notting Hill race …
A 32-year-old black man from Antigua named Kelso Cochrane was brutally murdered in a racist attack in the early hours of 17 May 1959. After receiving treatment at Paddington Hospital for a fractured thumb, Kelso Cochrane was walking home shortly after midnight when a gang of white youths surrounded him, called him derogatory names, beat …
Zionism is a term that has been used in many different ways over the years. At its core, Zionism is the belief that Judaism is a nationality as well as a religion, and Jews have a right to self-determination in their own homeland. The political and historical aspects of Zionism are complex, and there are …
Israel’s control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza has been referred to as an “occupation” for decades. Yet until recently, many people have not fully understood the significance of the historical event that led to Israel occupying Palestinian territory since 1967. The history of this conflict is long and complex, but understanding it …
