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 C NTENTS ISSUE 135

ALL ABOUT…
12
Key Events
Timeline of the Kingdom of Kush

Inside History
14
The Meroë pyramids

Anatomy
16
A Kushite archer

Historical Treasures
17
Kushite ceramic jar

Hall Of Fame
18
Kushite kings and queens

Q&A
20
Stuart Tyson Smith discusses Egypt’s influence on Kush
12
Places To Explore
22
Amazing archaeological sites

FEATURES
26 The Psychology of Salem
Why this Massachusetts community became witch obsessed

36 Ancient Royal Scandals

Schemes, murders and affairs that shocked antiquity

42 The AIDS Crisis

How pandemic turned to panic and prejudice

48 Black Prince of Florence

How Alessandro de’ Medici came to rule the Renaissance city

54 The Other SAS

Discover the special WWII unit led by the other Stirling brother

48
58 Who Was Mary Seacole?
Uncover the life of Britain’s Caribbean nursing heroine

REGULARS
Subscribe
Defining Moments
06
Photos with amazing stories
and save!
Greatest Battles
64
Henry IV takes on the Hotspur rebels at Shrewsbury

What If
70
Russia had kept California?

Through History
74
Evolution of Chinese fan designs

Reviews
78
Our verdict on the latest historical books and media
age: © Getty Images

History Vs Hollywood
81
Does Call Northside 777 report the whole truth?
64
82
Main image:

Recipe Di l i
Discover our exclusive
How to make gingerbread cake
offer for new readers
on page 24
4
 DEVICE
WALLPAPERS
Download
Do now at
bit.ly/AAH135Gifts
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26

SALEM
How fear, fanaticism and vengeance
fuelled the brutal witch trials
 Defining
Moments

6
 14 October 1964
MARTIN LUTHER
KING WINS THE
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
On 14 October 1964, Martin
Luther King Jr was announced
as the recipient of the Nobel
Peace Prize “for his non-
violent struggle for civil
rights for the Afro-American
population”. King was awarded
the Prize just a year after
he gave his famous I Have A
Dream speech at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington DC
to 250,000 people. King
was presented the Prize in
© Getty Images

December 1964 at a ceremony

in Oslo, Norway.

7
 Defining
Moments

30 October 1974
MUHAMMAD ALI
KNOCKS OUT GEORGE
FOREMAN
The Rumble in the Jungle took
place in Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo (at the
time Zaire). The heavyweight
boxing match saw Muhammad
Ali face George Foreman, who
before the fight was unbeaten.
Described as one of the greatest
sporting events of the 20th
century, the match ended in the
eighth round when Ali knocked
out Foreman. The two greats
never faced each other in the
© Alamy

ring again.

8
9
Uncover one of the great lost powers of ancient Africa that once
ruled over Egypt, but eventually receded into the desert sands

14 16 18 20
Main image: © Getty Images

INSIDE A ANATOMY OF A KINGS AND QUEENS KUSH AND

MEROË PYRAMID KUSHITE ARCHER OF KUSH THE EGYPTIANS
Written by Emily Staniforth, Callum McKelvie, Jonathan Gordon, Jackson van Uden
11
 Key Events The
pharaohs of
this period claimed
to be sons of the
god Amun, looking
to reunite his
domain.

690
BCE
NILE RENAISSANCE
Under Piye and then
Taharqa a golden age for Kush
and Egypt is created. Work is
1070
BCE
KUSH BREAKS AWAY done to restore many of Egypt’s
The death of Ramesses temples and buildings as well
XI ends the New Kingdom in as build new monuments and
Egypt and sees Kush regaining pyramids. Religion and art
its independence. It centres itself flourish as the region becomes a
around the city of Napata. While major power again.
this new power base is further south
than Kerma, many Egyptian customs
and culture remain influential.

EARLY CIVILISATION KUSH IS NAMED KKERMA FALLS

KE
c.3500 BCE c.2000 BCE c.1500
c.1
1 BCE
People moving from what is now The first reference by Egyptians to the Egy is back on the rise thanks to
Egypt
the Sahara make their new home on Kingdom of Kush comes in records of its new pharaoh, Thutmose I, who
the Nile, transitioning from hunting the campaigns of Mentuhotep II who ho leads a series of campaigns south
lea
to being farmers and fishermen is said to have fought them in the to Nubia and attacks Kerma,
into
thanks to the water source. 29th and 31st years of his reign. ending its control of the region.
en
end

C.1352- 1070
36 BCE BCE

KKERMA CULTURE KUSH ON THE RISE A NEW DYNASTY

c.2500 BCE
c. c.1700 BCE c.790 BCE
Th centre of early Kush culture
The As Egypt goes through what is Alara, a prince of Kush, becomes the
is Kerma, a settlement that is known as the Second Intermediate first king of a new dynasty based
partially fortified. Surviving pottery
pa Period, the power base of Kerma out of Napata. He is believed to have
from the period is notable for its
fro begins to gain strength, becoming unified the region from Meroë to the
fine detail work and colouring.
fin a military power in its own right. Third Cataract of the Nile.

C.1352- GREATER EGYPTIAN C.727

BCE
LIFE OF PIYE
36 BCE King Piye
INFLUENCE builds on his father’s
Under Akhenaten’s reign, the city successes and conquers
of Sesebi is founded, building all of Egypt, first taking
up a region that had already Thebes and then the
seen considerable activity. In Delta, creating an
this period Egyptian cultural The empire from the Sixth
influence becomes more communities Cataract in the south to
of ancient Nubia
dominant in Nubia, evidenced the Mediterranean in the
are thought to have
in its pottery designs that made some of the north. The new dynasty
have been excavated since. most beautiful looks to reconnect Egypt
pottery on the to its cultural roots.
Nile.

12
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH

590
BCE
PUSHED SOUTH
Psamtik II sacks the city of
Napata, once the great stronghold of the
Kushite Kingdom. Under King Aspelta,
the kingdom is relocated south to the city
of Meroë. This new location is beneficial,
opening up trade via the Red Sea rather
than reliance on the Nile.

RULERS OF EGYPT HOT WAR 674 BCE A NEW THREAT 350 BCE
c.750 BCE The Assyrians invade Egypt, The rise of new kingdoms and
Picking up from his brother, King looking to push the Kushites out powers in eastern Africa and on
Kashta conquers Upper Egypt after years of interference and the Arabian peninsula begins
and claims the office of pharaoh, conflicts across their border. King to draw wealth away from the
marking the beginning of the Esarhaddon begins the campaigns, Kushite cities, making the region
25th Dynasty of Egypt. followed by Sennacherib. more competitive.

C.727
BCE
690
BCE
590
BCE
24
BCE
C. 350
CE

WAR WITH ASSYRIA KUSH CRUSHED 664 BCE FINDING ITS ROOTS
c.720 BCE Initially installed as governor by 2ND CENTURY BCE
Piye attempts to expand his empire into the Assyrians, Psamtik I becomes In the ongoing post-Egypt transition,
Assyria, taking what had been lost to pharaoh with aid of Lydia in Kush reverts to its African cultural
the Middle Assyrian and Hittite Empires, western Anatolia and pushes out roots with lion-god Apedemak
but is pushed back by Shalmaneser V Kushite remnants, beginning the becoming prominent in their art
and later by Sargon II. 26th Dynasty. alongside some Egyptian influence.

24
BCE
THREAT OF ROME C.350 FALL OF MEROË
Ruling between CE
40-10 BCE, Queen The Kingdom of
Amanirenas is the second Aksum looks to take out
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images, © Shutterstock

queen of Kush when Rome’s the heart of what is left

Emperor Augustus defeats of the Kushite Kingdom
the Egyptians. Amanirenas and destroys Meroë.
defends Kush from the Stele are left behind by
Romans, launching a surprise Amanirenas the invading forces to
attack and then mounting is believed chronicle their victory.
to have fought The city will not be
three years of defence ending alongside her people
in a peace treaty. as a masterful rediscovered by Western
archer in her archaeologists until 1821.
own right.

13
 Inside History CHAPEL WALLS
According to National Geographic, the

MEROË
carvings within the chapels differ to
those in their Egyptian counterparts as
the figures of the kings stand taller and
larger than those of the gods. In one of the
pyramids, dedicated to an unknown king,
one wall is used to portray images of the

PYRAMID
ruler during their lifetime while the other
depicts them in the afterlife, sitting beside
the gods. An example of a chapel wall
removed from a pyramid can be seen in the
British Museum.
Relief from the chapel
of Amanitenmemide at
Sudan Neues Museum, Berlin

c.300 BCE-300 CE

INSIDE THE
PYRAMID
O nce the capital of the Kushite Kingdom,
the archaeological remains of Meroë are
often unfairly overlooked. In particular,
the vast burial sites, dotted with their unique
Unlike their more famous
Egyptian counterparts, the
Nubian pyramids are not
hollow on the inside. Instead
pyramids, are far less known than their Egyptian
counterparts. There are over 200 pyramids located
CONSTRUCTION the triangular shell was
filled with rubble and dirt.
The pyramid was built out of According to FW Hinkel in an
in Meroë, a significantly greater number than the bricks, covered in plaster. From essay in the groundbreaking
118 located in Egypt and the largest congregation evidence found within four of Encyclopedia Of The
of such structures in the world. the pyramids they likely used a Archaeology Of Ancient Egypt,
shaduf, a hand-operated lifting the rubble found inside some
Built between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago, the
device for construction. All of the of the pyramids has provided
Meroë Pyramids were constructed solely for those pyramids at Meroë are between clues to their construction,
with royal blood, though Archaeology magazine 30 and 100 feet tall, with the as cedar poles found in four
states that later this rule was relaxed somewhat. more famous pyramids found in suggest the use of a shaduf.
Smaller than those to be found in Egypt they pale Cairo being around four times
that size.
in comparison to the colossal size of Giza’s great
pyramid, a vast 481 feet tall and 755 feet along its
sides. The pyramids’ close placement is believed
to have been due to their construction aligning
with stars. The designers of the pyramids were
believed to be Kush’s rulers themselves, who
constructed their own burial monument during
their respective lifetimes.
Another unique difference between the
pyramids at Meroë and their Egyptian
counterparts is the fact that the burial chambers
are not located within the structure, but hidden
beneath. In this respect, the Nubian pyramids
have been described as being more akin to burial
headstones in their purpose.
Unfortunately, in the 19th century irreparable
damage was done to the site by one Giuseppe
Ferlini. A soldier, doctor and treasure hunter,
Ferlini raided the tombs at Meroë in his search
for hidden riches. In the process he blew up 40
MEROË
of the ancient pyramids, destroying priceless
archaeological evidence in the process.
Meroë itself was the capital
of the later Kushite empire,
CHAPEL
The walls of the chapel were exquisitely
However, in the years since other archaeologists located in what is now Sudan
decorated with art that echoes that found in the
on the banks of the Nile and
have investigated Meroë with far more care. ancient Egyptian pyramids. In these chapels
was historically called the
One such archaeologist, George Reisner, solved offerings would be left for the dead ruler. On
Island of Meroë. The city
the mystery of their burial chambers’ location the wall of one of the chapels, archaeologist FW
would eventually recede in
Hinkel found an architectural drawing for the
when he speculated that the tombs were in fact power following a war with
pyramid of Aminkhabale, an early example of
located beneath the pyramids. Reisner was also the Roman Empire. The
architectural planning.
excavations of the city first
the first person to create an archaeological based
began in 1902.
chronology of the Kingdom of Kush’s rulers.

14
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH
CAPSTONE
The pyramids at Meroë,
unlike those at Giza, are often
flat at the top. Partially this
is due to their construction
by shaduf, this method only
able to produce pyramids in
a truncated form. Secondly,
capstones discovered at the
site may have been placed atop
the pyramids and possibly
used to place a sun disk atop.
MORTUARY CULT
The chapel would have
functioned as the base for
the ruler’s mortuary cult.
Not unique to the Kushite
kingdom, mortuary cults
were religious groups
that kept the memory
of the deceased person
alive and presented them
with offerings. As such an
offering table would have
been located inside the
chapel and would have been

BURIAL CHAMBER DECORATION adorned with all manner

of offerings, including food
The walls of the burial chamber were beautifully and drink.
decorated floor to ceiling with exquisite paintings
and hieroglyphics. The burial chamber would be
split into two rooms, an antechamber and the main
burial chamber. Compared to other sites, the burial
chambers at Meroë are remarkably well preserved.

BURIAL CHAMBER
The burial chamber would have
been designed and built during a
ruler’s reign. Once they passed, it is
suspected that it was the duty of their
successor to then construct both the
chapel and pyramid structure above
ground. The entrance to the burial
chamber would then be closed and
sealed off, the staircase buried.

BURIAL CHAMBER ENTRANCE

Nubian pyramids were built on top of the burial
chambers and as such the entrance to the burial
Illustrations by: Adrian Mann

chamber was located elsewhere. The burial chamber

Chapel inset: © Alamy

could be reached via a small flight of stairs that would

lead to a small doorway. This doorway would be
sealed off and beyond it would lie first a tunnel and
from there the burial chamber itself.

15
 Anatomy TA-SETI
Nubian archers were

KUSHITE
renowned for their
deadly skill with
the bow and arrow.
According to the
Institute for the Study
of Ancient Cultures,

ARCHER
the Egyptians referred
to Nubia as Ta-Seti,
meaning “Land of the
Bow”. The origins of
the Kushite warriors’
use of the bow appears
to come from ancient
Sudan hunting practices.

780 BCE -
350 CE

MERCENARIES
Due to their skill with the bow, Nubian archers
were often employed as mercenaries to the
Egyptian armies. Depictions of Nubian archers
can be found in Egyptian art and a model of some
has been found in the tomb of Prince Mesehti.
BRACELET
According to Toby Wilkinson in his book The Kushite warriors’
Tutankhamun’s Trumpet the bow thus remained skilful art involved them
a symbol of a subject people. resting their arrows on
the thumb of the hand
using the bow. As such,
in order to protect the
hand, bracelet gloves
would be worn. This
would have been

POISONED ARROWS
particularly important
were the bowman using
The Kushite bowmen were known to poisoned tips.
use arrows dipped in deadly poison. Any
unfortunate soldier hit by such an arrow,
even if the wound was not fatal, would
suffer an agonising death. Other arrows
were barbed meaning they were difficult to
remove and likely to cause further damage
should an attempt be made to pull them free.
LONGBOW
The Nubian longbow was described by the
Greek historian and geographer, Herodotus.
This bow has often been compared to the
traditional English longbow and was crafted
from a single piece of wood. One difference
is the curved tips at either end of the bow.
According to Herodotus the bow was roughly
200cm in length.

QUIVER SKIRT
A quiver is the name given to Nubian archers are often depicted wearing
the holder archers use to contain a skirt, popular at the time and according
their arrows. According to Łukasz to Łukasz Zieliński are well known from
Zieliński in his paper New Insights contemporary art. The famous figurines of
Into Nubian Archery, one example Nubian archers found in Prince Mesehti’s tomb
found suggests that the quiver depict them as wearing cloth skirts red and
would have been worn not on the white in colour.
back but at the side or front. They
Illustration by: Kevin McGivern

likely would have been made from

rawhide or leather.

16
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH
Historical Treasures

CERAMIC JAR
The Kingdom of Kush was known for its exquisite pottery
Sudan, 100 BCE - 300 CE

T he Kingdom of Kush was famous for

its beautiful pottery and according
to archeologist Mahmoud Suliman
Bashir, “pottery is one of the main cultural
artefacts of Meroitic society usually found at
beakers are the most famous examples of
Kerma ceramics. According to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art these would have been
produced in a temperature controlled kiln.
They are known for their red colouring at the
Meroë was created both for domestic use
and also for artistic purposes. Potters would
make use of wood-burning kilns in their craft,
and these kilns gave the artists the ability to
control the temperature and create some truly
archaeological sites.” Some of this pottery is base that bleeds into black colouring at the rim. exquisite works.
believed to have been imported to Meroë from When Kerma culture vanished it is possible While some artefacts have intricate
lower-Nubia. According to Samia B Dafa’alla in that Kush emerged from its ruins, inheriting geometric designs, others feature floral
an article for the Penn Museum’s Expedition their secrets of pottery making. decorations, animals or anthropomorphic
magazine, these markets often saw the import The majority of Meroitic pottery is painted figures. A popular figure included in numerous
of a lot of Greco-Roman pottery and explains and this allows archaeologists to discern examples is that of a crocodile. In this way
the obvious Mediterranean influences on some similarities in some of the works, suggesting Meroitic pottery differs greatly from Egyptian
Meroitic works. that they were produced by the same artist. pottery, which in many cases is more simplistic
One possible origin point for the Kingdom According to the Metropolitan Museum of and less decorated.
of Kush is the Kingdom of Kerma. This Art, this implies that either the artists moved The example of Meroitic pottery shown
civilisation, active from roughly 2,500 BCE around frequently, or that Meroë was at the here is a spherical jar, currently among the
to 1,500 BCE, was similarly renowned for centre of a booming ceramics industry. Indeed, collections of the Metropolitan Museum, New
its exquisite pottery. The so-called Kerma it is suspected that the pottery produced at York and purchased in Luxor, Egypt in 1908.

FIRING PROCESS FLORAL AND

According to the Institute for
the study of Ancient Cultures, ANIMAL MOTIFS
immense effort was put into Meroitic pottery is known for
the decoration of the pot. Once being highly decorative. Some
painted, the potter would use even have three-dimensional
a small pebble to brush the decoration; unusual examples
ceramic until it was smooth include an impression of a
and ready for firing. The firing face on a plaque found during
process would leave the inside John Garstang’s excavations
of the pot a dark black. of Meroë, and a spiked vase.

COLOURS
According to a
MEROITIC STYLE chapter in Peter L
Shinnie and Julie R
According to the
Anderson’s edited
Metropolitan Museum
volume The Capital
of Art, although pottery
Of Kush, the colour on
from the Kingdom
Meroitic pottery was
of Kush does have
© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

due to the use of red

influences, particularly
and black iron oxides.
Egyptian, a distinctive
These oxides could
style was developed.
produce a variety
Some of the pottery from
of colours including
this period is known
yellow and maroon.
for being very thin and
has been nicknamed
eggshell pottery.

17
 Hall of Fame

KUSHITE KINGS AND QUEENS

A selection of some of the Kingdom
of Kush’s most important rulers

Amanirenas Aspelta
elta
Reigned: c.40 BCE – Reigned:
ed:
c.10 BCE c.600 BCE –
The second of the eight Kandakes of Kush, c.580 BCE
Amanirenas ruled over the kingdom at the
same time as Cleopatra and Mark Antony King Aspeltata is well
were reigning over Egypt. However, when known by historians
the Roman Emperor Augustus seized power ologists
and archaeologists
in Egypt, Rome also made their claims to hite
of the Kushite
Nubia. Amanirenas, who lost her husband kingdom due ue
in a battle against the Romans in the early to the wealthth
stages of the Roman occupation, led troops of artefacts
in attacks on cities in Roman-occupied Egypt linked to himim
in order to defend Nubia’s sovereignty. The gn
and his reign
war between Rome and Kush finally ended that have beeneen
when Amanirenas helped broker a peace discovered
treaty that established the kingdom’s ongoing The victory stele of King Piye at various
independence and autonomy. ta’s
sites. Aspelta’s

PIYE
REIGNED: C.744 BCE – C.714 BCE
tomb was
the second
he
largest at the
Amanirenas was Piye, also sometimes referred to as Piankhi cemetery
reported to have or Pankhy, was the third King of Kush. He is at Nuri and
lost an eye in credited with consolidating Kushite rule in contained a
battle against the Egypt and is considered the founder of the ove
treasure trove
Roman forces. 25th Dynasty of the Kush Egyptian Pharaohs. of historicall
During his reign, Piye travelled through Egypt, objects.
defeating local princes and obtaining tributes His granite
from those who surrendered to his forces. sarcophagus,us,
Piye did not remain in Egypt, however, and now held att
returned to Napata to continue ruling over the Boston
Kush. His victories in Egypt were recorded on a Museum off Fine
magnificent stele that was discovered at Jebel Arts, standss as an
Barkal. Three of Piye’s sons succeeded him as incredible example
kings of Kush and Egypt. of Kushite burial
traditions. Aspelta’s
reign was also recorded

ALARA
REIGNED: C.790 BCE – C.760 BCE
by several stelae that
ved
have survived
Aspelta
over the
Alara was the first Kushite king and is credited was likely
centuries. He
with founding the great Kingdom of Kush responsible for
he
inherited the moving the Kush
through the unification of the various localities throne fromm capital from Napata
that made up Nubia. It is possible that Alara his brother,, to Meroë after an
based his new royal position on the model of Anlamani, and Egyptian invasion
the Egyptian pharaohs, showing how Kushite was believeded to in c.590 BCE.
culture was influenced by their neighbours. have had
Though little is known about his reign, Alara has ves.
several wives.
been identified through inscriptions dating from
the reigns of his descendents and successors.

18
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH
NATAKAMANI
REIGNED: UNKNOWN - C.20 CE Taharqa
While Natakamani served
as Kush’s king, he appears
Reigned: c.690 BCE
to not have ruled alone – c.664 BCE
but alongside his mother,
A son of Piye, King of Kush and Pharaoh of Egypt,
Amanitore. It is believed
Taharqa engaged in a war with the Assyrians
that this co-rulership
during his reign. He successfully defeated the
between mother and son
Assyrian army, led by King Esarhaddon, but this
was a unique occurrence in
victory was short-lived. The Assyrians went on
Kush’s history. The pair are credited with several
to capture Memphis, in Egypt, and Taharqa was
building projects, including the restoration of
forced back to the Kush capital of Napata. Egypt
the temple of Amun in Jebel Barkal. Depictions
would be recaptured for a short time by Taharqa’s
of Natakamani and his mother seem to imply
successor who served as the last Kushite Pharaoh
that they were always considered to have equal
of the 25th Dynasty. Aside from the conflict with
authority in their partnership.
the Assyrians, Taharqa appears to have ruled over
a period of prosperity for Kush.

SHANAKDAKHETE
REIGNED: 1ST CENTURY CE
Taharqa is
Though it was originally thought that
believed to have
Shanakdakhete was the first of Kush’s infamous established the
queens, known as the Kandake, it has been royal cemetery at
ascertained that she was actually the second Nuri, where many
sole female ruler after Queen Nahirqo. Much pyramids can still
of Shanakdakhete’s life and reign remains a be found.
mystery, but it is known that she built many
temples, including one at Naqa. Translations
of the hieroglyphics at the Naqa temple, which
were accompanied by images of her, were used
to identify the ancient queen.

KASHTA
REIGNED: C.760 BCE – C.744 BCE
Kashta, believed to be the brother of Kush’s
founder Alara, set in motion the efforts of the
Kushites to conquer Egypt. While the Egyptian
Empire was declining, Kashta established his
daughter in the prominent position of God’s

Harsiotef Wife of Amun at Thebes, giving him power and

influence in the region. Kashta then made his
Reigned: c.404 BCE move and took control of Egypt. This allowed
his son, Piye, to consolidate Kush’s authority
– c.369 BCE over Egypt, when he ascended to the throne.
With a reign lasting around 35 years,
Harsiotef was the longest recorded
serving ruler of the Kingdom of
Kush. Much about the king’s reign is
AMANISHAKHETO
REIGNED: EARLY 1ST CENTURY CE
known from the Stele of Harsiotef,
The successor to Amanirenas, Amanishakheto
also known as the Annals of Harsiotef,
is probably best known for the huge collection
which was discovered at Jebel Barkal
of gold jewellery that was taken from her tomb
in modern-day Sudan in the 19th
in the 1830s. The beautiful treasures highlight
century. The stele records many of the
the wealth of this Kush queen regnant, who was as
battles fought by Harsiotef, as well as
responsible for the building of some
some of his other activities as king.
of the pyramids at Meroë as
All images: © Alamy, © Shutterstock

Evidence from the stele highlights

well as a huge palace at Wad
the prosperity of Harsiotef’s reign, as
ban Naqa. Depictions of her
it describes him putting gold in the
often show her accompanied
treasury at Napata and gilding statues
by several prominent
at a temple dedicated to Amun.
goddesses, including the
A gold bracelet taken from
warrior goddess Amesemi. the tomb of Amanishakheto

19
 Q&A

THE INFLUENCE
OF EGYPT
Stuart Tyson Smith talks us through the Kushites’
significant relationship with their Egyptian neighbours
What part did the decline of the commissioned by Ramesses II in the Egyptian influenced practices. Amulets
ancient Egyptian empire play in the New Kingdom, and the Mut Temple at Stuart Tyson Smith reflect the worship of a selection of
is an archaeologist
foundation of the Kush empire at Jebel Barkal/Napata commissioned by and professor in
Egyptian deities, including the cow
Napata in c.1069 BCE? Taharqa during the 25th Dynasty. These the Department of goddess Hathor, queenly Isis, and
It is clear from both the historical and temples focused on the Egyptian god Anthropology at the protective dwarf gods Bes and Pataikos,
archaeological record that the Nubian Amun-Re, who had been syncretized, University of California, the latter often being paired with a
Santa Barbara. His
colony broke away from Egypt, not or merged, with a local ram deity leonine goddess in a distinctive double-
research interests
the other way around. After a failed during the colonial era, including a new centre on the ancient sided form.
attempt to seize the Egyptian throne, theology of the mountain of Jebel Barkal civilisations of Nubia
the last viceroy of Kush, Panehesy, as the birthplace of Amun and imagery and Egypt and their Can you tell us a bit about how the
retreated south to the colonial capital of the now ram-headed god residing in interactions with Kushite kings came to claim Egypt as
one another.
at Aniba. Early Kushite rulers would the mountain. the pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty?
have been able to draw upon the old Kushite kings and queens were buried The historical evidence points towards
imperial infrastructure, including under pyramids, a practice borrowed a peaceful assumption of control first in
personnel, settlements, and a sacred from Egypt. These monuments were
(and economic) landscape of temples. based not on Egyptian royal pyramids
They also inherited and expanded like those at Giza, but instead draw
trade routes and connections stretching from a long history of pyramid building
south to Darfur/Chad and the Red Sea, in Nubia for the tombs of the colonial
and north to Egypt and beyond, as elites, both Egyptian and indigenous,
far as Mesopotamia. It is important to with distinctive steep sides and attached
remember that there was a long and pyloned pyramid chapels. One contrast
continuous tradition of centralised with Egyptian practice is the prominence
political organisation in Nubia stretching of queens in the royal cemeteries. They
back to the earlier Kerma centred often had pyramid complexes of equal
kingdom of Kush, continuing through size and complexity to those of kings,
the colonial era and arguably directly reflecting their symbolic and political
into the early Napatan period. role in Kushite society.
For the broader population, burial
Headshot photo courtesy of: Stuart Tyson Smith and the Tombos Project

How did the Egyptians influence practice was remarkably creative in its
Kushite architecture and culture? intercultural mixing, including different
Cultural influence was mutual. For combinations of the Egyptian supine
example, Kushite temples largely position (extended on back), wrapped
followed along Egyptian lines with and possibly mummified and placed
large entrance pylons showing Kushite in a coffin, but sometimes placed on a
kings smiting enemies, followed by bed reflecting a long-standing Kushite
columned halls leading to the inner tradition that continues today. The
sanctum where the statue of the god Nubian/Kushite tradition of flexed
lay. In a Kushite twist, some temples burials also continued right through the
had sanctuaries that were cut into the colonial era and into the 25th Dynasty
side of mountains, like Abu Simbel, and beyond, side by side with more

20
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH
Aswan, with its deep historical ties to
Nubia, and later at Thebes, which after
a short period of hostility developed a
close relationship to Kush after the end
of the empire. When Piye marched north
to suppress a rebellion by competing
dynasts in the Nile Delta (c. 727 BCE), he
was already firmly in control of Thebes.
Kushite kings adopted a new, more
decentralised ruling strategy, merciful to
their enemies and allowing local rulers
to continue under them so long as they
acknowledged their authority.
In the end they were pushed out of
Egypt by Assyrians, allied with their
enemies in the Delta, but their Theban
supporters joined them in their attempt
to push the Assyrians back, which is a
testament to the loyalty inspired by their
Kushite rulers.

How important was the role of the

Kushite princesses in Thebes during
the 25th Dynasty?
Starting with Piye’s sister Amenirdis,
Kushite princesses were adopted as heirs
to the important theological and political
position of God’s Wife of Amun. Since
the adoptees were always the daughter
of the next king, this implies that Piye’s
father Kashta was already ruling in
southern Egypt. The power of the office
reached its highest point under Kushite
princesses Amenirdis and her successor
Shepenwepet II, daughter of Piye. Along
with a significant diaspora of Kushite
officials and supporting staff, they
provided a powerful Kushite political and
economic presence in southern Egypt,
ABOVE one that reinforced Kushite control and
Amenirdis was the first
Kushite princess to hold bound them even closer to Thebes and
the title of God’s Wife of the very important cult of Amun-Re.
Amun at Thebes
LEFT How was the ethnic and cultural
The remaining columns
from the Temple of Mut identity of the Kushites affected by
at Jebel Barkal their continuing interactions with
the Egyptians?
Recent archaeological research provides

THE ORIGINS evidence that the former colonial centres

were not abandoned but continued

AND AFTERLIVES to thrive, becoming more and more

entangled with the local culture. At the
OF KUSH
PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNIVERSITY
same time, Nubian culture borrowed
and adapted some Egyptian features,
creating a kind of multi-ethnic society in
OF CALIFORNIA AT SANTA BARBARA the aftermath of the empire. Eventually,
CONFERENCE IN NUBIAN STUDIES, this coalesced into a new, distinctively
JOURNAL OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN Kushite ethnic identity that interwove
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

INTERCONNECTIONS 35 (THE long-standing Kushite features with

EGYPTIAN EXPEDITION, 2022) Egyptian and eventually Hellenistic ideas
EDITED BY STUART TYSON SMITH and practices, forming a sophisticated
AND PEARCE PAUL CREASMAN IS and cosmopolitan society influenced by
AVAILABLE NOW. and influencing the wider world, even
beyond Egypt.

21
 Places to Explore

KUSH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Often overlooked in favour of Egypt, we
uncover the Kingdom of Kush’s wonders
1 JEBEL BARKAL AND THE
TEMPLE OF AMUN 4
KARIMA, SUDAN 5
1
Located in the Nubia region of Sudan, this site is part 2
of a wider area of sacred religious grounds whose
3
traditions were taken on by the Second Kingdom of
Kush. Jebel Barkal is a mountain on the outskirts of the
city of Karima, and after the discovery of the mountain,
the Ancient Egyptians came to believe that the God
Amun lived inside of it, with it eventually becoming
an important religious centre. The Egyptians believed
that Amun had claimed them as his ‘bodily sons’ to
justify their rule over the Nubians. After Egypt’s fall, the
Kingdom of Kush carried on these beliefs and made the

© Getty Images
area their capital. At the base of this mountain stood the
Temple of Amun, which the Kushites heavily renovated
to demonstrate their status as the heirs of Egypt and
worshipers of Amun. Today the temple is in ruins on the
outskirts of the town of Karima, but visitors can walk
around and explore its ruins and climb Jebel Barkal. 2 NAPATAN PYRAMIDS A Kushite tumuli grave with
a Kushite pyramid at the
View of the
remains of the
SAMAREIT AND KARIMA, SUDAN Kurru burial site

Temple of Amun
at the foot of Napata was the second capital of the
Jebel Barkal
Kushite Kingdom having taken over the
area after Egypt’s fall and proclaimed
themselves the 25th Egyptian dynasty.
The Kushite rulers were buried in the
Valley of the Nile, initially, in ornate
tombs, then transitioning to being buried
within tumuli or earth mounds, to being
covered by pyramids. The number of
pyramids in this region and across Sudan (with with
a total of over 200) makes it the country with the most pyramids
pyramids. The oldest
of these burial sites is at Kurru just south of Jebel Barkal, where centuries of
Jebel Barkal
Barkal, the home of the
god Amun from the front of Kushite rulers were buried. Their tombs and pyramids featured Egyptian art of
the Temple of Amun the Kushites’ transition into the afterlife. In the 600s BCE the important Kushite
The Kushite pyramids king,
k Taharqo, moved
at Nuri, some more the
t royal cemetery
weathered than others
across
a the river to Nuri.
Today,
T these pyramids
are
a on the outskirts of
the
t towns of Samareit
and
a Karima on the edge
of the desert and have
been damaged across
the centuries, but
visitors can get very
close to the pyramids.

22
 KINGDOM
OF KUSH

5 DANGEIL
DANGEIL TOWN, SUDAN
Further up the Nile from Meroë lies the
Kushite village of Dangeil. This village
is subject to an ongoing archaeological
project led by The Berber-Abidiya
Carvings and
Archaeological Project, Dangeil Sudan,
illustrations on the which will stretch to 2026, with work
pyramids at Meroë beginning back in 2000. This project
The Kushite pyramids has found a well-preserved round temple
at Meroë with their dedicated to Amun, fragments of statues
funerary chapels
of Napatan Kushite kings, and preserved
offerings to Amun.
Little is known about the history of

3 ISLAND OF MEROË the site, but it is thought that it was of

religious significance due to the temple,
and strategic importance as it straddled
KABUSHIYA, SUDAN key trade routes. In Dangeil’s history
several temples were built, stretching
In the desert on the edge of the town of from the Napatan era, to the Meroitic era
Kabushiya, just off the Nile lies the ancient when the capital was at Meroë, up until
Kushite third capital of Meroë. The seat of the the destruction of the temple in a fire
kingdom moved south to Meroë from Napata in in the 1st century CE. There was also a
around 590 BCE, and it became an impressive cemetery and fortress on site, built after
walled city with elaborate palaces and temples the Meroitic period.
dedicated to the gods, including Amun. Many pyramids
id are built
b ilt in
i the
th typical
t i l steep
t Kushite
K hit Evidence suggests that Dangeil was
the administrative capital of its region,

All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images, © Shutterstock

of these wonders have disappeared or fallen shape, with a funerary chapel on their east side.
into ruin. Meroë was an important site for the Today there is a small visitor centre before you and substantial gold mines helped
Kushites as it provided them with access to
K start the walk toward and around the pyramids, finance the kingdom. Today the site is
tthe trade routes of the Red Sea and natural which includes more information on this site at the centre of the Sudanese town of
rresources. Just outside the city, on the edge and other surrounding sites and safeguards the Dangeil, and plans are afoot to create a
of the desert, lies its royal burial ground. The
o historical significance of the areas. museum for visitors to learn about the
site, and to provide archaeologists access
in order to conduct research into the
history of this Kushite village.

4 KERMA AND DUKKI GEL The Dangeil site sits

between the fifth and

KERMA, SUDAN sixth cataract of the Nile

River, about 150km north
of Meroë
Further upriver from later Kushite sites lies its first
capital, Kerma. Before becoming the Kingdom of
Kush, the Kushites ruled over the Kingdom of Kerma,
The remains of the impressive
mudbrick temple at Kerma named for its capital city which was at the centre of
the kingdom. As the kingdom grew, Kerma evolved
into a large, ornate, and sophisticated walled city of
between 2,000 and 10,000 people. As this kingdom
expanded and took on new territories it morphed into
the Kingdom of Kush, the name by which the Egyptians
referred to them. As the kingdom continued to grow
it became an important political player in the region,
An archaeological dig at the newer city competing with Egypt. The city had sophisticated
of Dukki Gel, much of which is now mudbrick conical temples and halls, as well as nearly
partially under a palm grove
30,000 tombs and tumuli. However, after Egyptian
expansion, the city fell, and the Kingdom of Kush moved deeper into the Nubian region. In
place of the razed city, the Egyptians established the new city of Dukki Gel, which grew into
an impressive ceremonial city with circular and oval buildings and temples, which were, along
with the city, later destroyed in Egypt’s conflict of expansion in the 1400s BC. However, after
the Kush conquered Egypt and became the 25th Dynasty the religious nature of the site was
maintained. Today, little remains of the two cities. There is a museum on site which tells their
story and provides tours of what remains.

23
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 EXPERT BIO
© Neil Spence

MARION GIBSON
Marion Gibson
is professor of
Renaissance and
Magical Literature
at the University
of Exeter as well as
fellow of the Royal
Historical Society
and director of the
Flexible Combined
Honours degree
programme. She
specialises in the
history of witch
trials from the
middle ages to the
modern day.

26
 How fear, fanaticism and vengeance
fuelled the brutal witch trials
Written by Marion Gibson

T
he winter of 1691-1692 was a long, hard one in Abigail Williams, aged eleven, and his daughter
Massachusetts. Fevers and colds swept through Betty Parris, aged nine.
the communities of European settlers who had Salem in the 1690s was a difficult time and
colonised North America’s eastern coastal strip place to be a child. Games and social contacts were
during the past 50 years. As snow piled up in strictly policed. Children were expected to be silent
drifts, the settlers were isolated and confined. Many and pious, focused on studying God’s word as it
were Puritans – religious fundamentalists who had appeared in the Bible rather than on play or other
fled from England to build an ideal godly society in kinds of learning. Girls often received no schooling
America – and they had few permitted pleasures. and we know from documents that Abigail Williams
For most of them, the only allowable entertainment could not even write her own name: she had to sign
was going to church to pray and hear sermons with a mark. Already suppressed and resentful,
preached by their ministers, and this was a duty Abigail and Betty also knew food and firewood
rather than fun. It was in these circumstances that were running short, and wars were raging between
in February 1692 two girls living in the house of colonists and Native American people to the north.
the Salem Village church’s minister Samuel Parris Some of their friends – perhaps even Abigail herself,
began to suffer fits, their bodies cramping and an apparent orphan – were refugees from that war.
distorting painfully. The girls were Samuel’s niece The parsonage house where Abigail and Betty lived

“two girls began to suffer fits, their bodies

cramping and distorting painfully”
Illustration by: Kevin McGivern

27
 6 easy steps to being on the
wrong side of a pitchfork

Be childless
As with the Salem witch trials, it was
not uncommon for child illness to be
blamed on occult activity. And when
it came to issues involving children,
women in the community who had
none for whatever reason were often
the first accused. The supposed logic
was that such women were jealous and
wanted mothers to suffer.

Be left handed
It might not put you in the dock, but
offered no defence against any Native
American attack. It was a two-storey
were two enslaved Native American
people, living as servants with the Parris
wooden box and just as it let in the cold family. They were Tituba and John Indian
being left handed would certainly put and shortly after their fits began, Abigail
and damp, so it also lay open to killers
some suspicion on you. Sometimes and Betty began to accuse Tituba of
wielding knives and guns. It was the kind
known as a ‘mark of the devil’, being causing their illness by witchcraft.
of scenario to cause nightmares and it
seen to use your left hand for common
would not be surprising if by February
tasks could get you some unwanted
Who was Tituba?
1692 Abigail and Betty were tired, bored,
attention, not just in the era of witch
hungry and frightened.
hunts in Europe and North America,
No-one else in their house was happy While later authors – such as Arthur
but going back further too.
either. The parsonage had been provided Miller in his famous play The Crucible
to Samuel Parris when he became (1953) – often portrayed Tituba as an
minister of Salem Village church, but he African-American woman because of her
complained continually about it and also enslavement in the Parris household, she
about the benefits offered by his post. His is always described in the documents that
harsh Puritan piety made him an ideal survive from her witch trial as “an Indian

Be a woman
minister for the fundamentalists in the woman” or “the indgen”. It’s only recently
village, but it also meant conflict with that historians like Andres Resendez in
parishioners whose understanding of his book The Other Slavery (2016) have
In the majority of witch accusations,
religion was different and who thought started to discuss the enslavement of
the accused was a woman. With
their new minister asked too much in Native American people alongside African
religious radicals having stronger and
wages and perks. Samuel’s family were Americans, something that happened
stronger prescriptions for the behaviour
drawn into those arguments. But the least from the Caribbean in the south to Maine
of women and their role in society, any
fortunate inhabitants of the parsonage in the north. Tituba is most likely to have
deviation from this norm was enough

“Abigail and Betty began to accuse Tituba of

to see you ostracised.

causing their illness by witchcraft”

28
 Salem

FAR-LEFT A 19th
century illustration
supposedly of
Have an affair
Many medieval texts that warned how
Tituba, but likely
highly inaccurate to spot a witch involved sex. Women
LEFT As a slave thought to be engaging in sexual
and a woman of relationships outside of marriage or
colour, Tituba having an affair could quickly see
was in a highly
vulnerable position judgement turn to accusation. Likewise,
in the community ending a relationship could see a jilted
INSET The Puritan lover send for a witchfinder.
clergyman Increase
Mather supported
the trials, but did
come to question
the accuracy of
spectral evidence

of similarities of Tituba’s name with the

Arawak language, especially a tribal
name, Tetebetana. Like around 12,000
other Native Americans in United States
history, Tituba and John were held
captive, forced to labour for people who
Be outspoken
In the age of witch hysteria, just having
despised and feared them. Tituba would
an opinion or challenging authority
have travelled north with Samuel Parris
in any way could see you accused of
when he left Barbados in 1680, settling
dark arts and devil worship. Get on
in Boston and then Salem. But despite
the wrong side of a powerful man in
her South American origin, to Betty and
the community, trying to stand up for
Abigail she and John Indian must have
yourself and such ‘unladylike’ behaviour
recalled the Native American people
would lead to further investigations of
whom adults told them were killing
your conduct.
colonist children like them in the war just
a few hundred miles north.
been one of these slaves. In the 1990s

The illness
the biographer Elaine Breslaw found
the name “Tattuba” among records of
enslaved children on the Caribbean It’s possible that Abigail and Betty faked
island of Barbados in the 1670s. In her the fits they suffered in February 1692
1996 book Tituba, Reluctant Witch Of in order to gain attention, extra food
Salem, she concluded this person became and kindness. In some other cases,

Be related to a ‘witch’
Salem’s “Tituba”. Samuel Parris lived in fakery was proved to the satisfaction of
Bridgetown, Barbados at that time, and investigators and children were forced
owned land near the plantation on which to apologise to those they had accused,
Strictly speaking, you didn’t even
Tattuba was enslaved. It’s very likely that assuming they had survived their trials.
have to do anything yourself to be
Samuel bought Tattuba there when she But it’s also possible the two Salem girls
considered a witch. If someone you
was sold in 1676 and over time her name were genuinely terrified – afraid of the
knew, particularly a family member,
morphed into Tituba. In the Salem records, stern and dissatisfied Samuel Parris, of
was accused then you might well find
it is also spelt Titiba, Tittapa, Titibe, the captive and maltreated Tituba and
yourself guilty by association. Several
Tittube, Tetaby and Tatabe. John, of the snow and food shortages, of
of the accused of Salem, including four-
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

Responding to the description of damnation and of the wrath of God. They

year-old Dorothy Good, were tried due
Tituba as an “Indian”, Breslaw suggests may have developed a ‘psychosomatic’
to this thinking.
Tituba was an Arawak indigenous person condition, where their frightened minds
from the South American mainland, a inflicted real symptoms on their bodies
frequent former home of enslaved people such as hypertension, muscle cramps and
in Barbados. She suggests this because panic attacks – a type of emotional illness

29
 first described by the Harvard doctor
Paul MacLean in 1949. Whatever their
psychological state, once they had accused
Tituba of bewitching them they started
accusing other people too.
As February turned into March, Abigail
and Betty firmed up their accusations in
formal complaints to Samuel Parris and
Salem Village’s magistrates. They blamed
Tituba, but also Sarah Good and Sarah
Osborne, two white colonist women who
lived nearby. As well as straightforward
accusations that these three women had
bewitched them, Abigail and Betty also
said they saw ‘apparitions’ of the accused
– by which they meant they saw visions
of ghost-like spectres in the likenesses of
Tituba and the two Sarahs. These spectres
had come into their rooms and attacked
them magically, they claimed, conversing
with them at length and tempting them
to commit sins. No-one else could see the
spectres, but the people of Salem – devout
Christians who believed fervently in
supernatural entities like devils and angels
– were willing to accept they were real.
Intrigued by the idea of spectral attack,
visiting Puritan minister Increase Mather
was called in to observe the apparitions.
He explained in his book A Further
Account of the Tryals of the New England
Witches (1692) how when he was in the
parsonage watching the fits of Abigail
Williams, she cried out that she saw the
apparition of “Goodwife. N.”, shouting in

How did the girls themselves react to events?

Over 50 per cent of the girls and young died in 1715, unmarried and childless.
women who made accusations at Salem Susannah Sheldon faced a turbulent
in 1692 seem to have put the past behind future. Moving to Providence, Rhode
them, marrying and having families of Island, she was known as a person of
their own. Betty Hubbard moved away, ‘ill fame’, and was warned out of town
marrying in 1711, Abigail Hobbs likewise by the Providence council. Deeply
married and had children, as did Mary troubled in mind, it is believed that she
Walcott and Betty Parris. died, unmarried, by 1697. Mercy Short
Ann Putnam Junior was the only one married, but was later excommunicated
of the girls to not only admit wrongdoing for adultery.
but also beg for forgiveness in 1706. She Abigail Williams, however, who was
claimed the devil had tricked her into one of the initial instigators of the
speaking out falsely against innocent tragic events of 1692, vanished from
people, and she expressed great remorse the historical record. Her fate and
for her part in the Salem trials. She whereabouts are unknown to this day.

30
 Salem

“Stories of witch attacks were repeatedly told

by people also claiming to see visions”
apparent panic “do you not see her? Why told by people also claiming to see visions ABOVE-LEFT
there she stands!” Moved by the girls’ fear, of neighbours, ghosts, devils, saints, Once accusations
of witchcraft
Mather became convinced that Abigail martyred Christians, the Virgin Mary, began, many
and Betty’s claims were genuine: “their Jesus Christ and God himself. For example, people started
being caught up
motions in their fits are preternatural,” in the English town of Burton on Trent a in the hysteria
he concluded, meaning that their muscle century before in 1597, a teenaged Puritan
ABOVE-
spasms looked strange, not natural, and boy named Thomas Darling had said he MIDDLE Visions
so could be caused by witchcraft. “I do saw visions of a woman he claimed was and dreams –
believe they [Abigail and Betty] cannot bewitching him, as well as angels, devils spectral evidence
– were accepted in
hear at that time,” he decided – since and a green cat. Perhaps these were fever the trials
the girls appeared to be deaf to anyone dreams or hallucinations, or began in
ABOVE-RIGHT
other than the apparitions – “yet they do this way – if so, they might well take the Bridget Bishop
plainly converse with the appearances, as shape of religious experiences because was among the
if they did discourse with real persons.” It of the fundamentalist societies in which many women
accused of
would be easy for children to pretend to Thomas Darling, Abigail Williams and witchcraft after
hold such conversations – like ones with Betty Parris all lived. Young people in the initial claims
took root
imaginary friends – but they may also such communities could gain attention
have believed they really saw the women’s and praise by describing such pious LEFT Several of
the suspected
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

spectres standing over their sick-beds. visions, because their elders were always ‘witches’ would
on the lookout for signs that they were also accuse others
of witchcraft
Accusations
especially holy. Seeking approval and filled
with anxiety about their own future life
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, on earth and in heaven, children could
stories of witch attacks were repeatedly easily understand and replicate the sort

31
 The Burying Point
Cemetery at Salem,
Massachusetts

Was a fungus to blame for the

mass hysteria?

Claviceps purpurea is a fungus that grows

on grains like barley and rye. Forming an
unsightly mass on the grain, it is usually
discarded during harvest. If it finds its way
into food, however, it causes a terrifying
condition known as ergotism; there are
some who think that the start of the Salem
witch hysteria may have been caused by
this fungus.
The fungus that causes ergotism grows
best after a cold winter, such as that
of religious visions and experiences that maybe even libertine and promiscuous experienced by Salem in 1691, and on
adults sought. Claiming that witches were since it was thought Satan liked to swampy land like that owned by Thomas
attacking them marked them as out as seduce witches who served him. And as Putnam. With bad weather and poor
God’s chosen people. more suspects were arrested in Salem, harvests, farmers are more likely to try and
This may have happened in Salem accusations also spread to surrounding keep as much of their grain as they can,
because soon after Abigail and Betty’s communities – Andover, Ipswich, Beverly even those infected with ergot. People
visions became public knowledge, other – where more people, predominantly struck down by ergotism experience
neighbourhood girls – Ann Putnam, women, were accused. convulsions, fits, spasms, and feel pin pricks
Elizabeth Hubbard, Mercy Lewis – began to
join them in claiming to see the spectres Fear spreads – all symptoms that the afflicted of Salem
would show. Ergotism often produces vivid
of witches and accusing a widening The people of Salem began a series of hallucinations, and young children would be
range of suspects. Soon those arrested fasts and prayer meetings to combat the particularly susceptible.
included Bridget Bishop, Rebecca Nurse, devil. To test the identities of the witches There are problems with the ergotism
Martha and Giles Corey, Martha Carrier, that were afflicting the girls, one church hypothesis, however. Ergot poisoning can
Elizabeth Howe, Abigail and Deliverance member, Mary Sibley, also decided to try cause gangrene, which
Hobbs, Elizabeth and John Proctor and folk magic. She asked John Indian to bake none of the afflicted
others. About 75 per cent of those accused a ‘witch cake’, a recipe mixing flour with suffered. Usually whole
were women, frequently suspected of the urine of suspected victims. The result communities, or at
witchcraft in male-dominated societies was fed to a dog, supposedly to carry away least households, are
because women were imagined as being the witches’ magic. Samuel Parris found struck down, rather
credulous and weak, easily open to Satan’s out about the witch cake and was appalled. than individuals. It is
temptations just like the Bible’s first He believed such folk practices were also likely that a farming
woman, Eve. It was easy for male clergy themselves a kind of witchcraft because community would have
and magistrates to suspect a conspiracy they did not work by natural, scientific recognised the symptoms
of women, gossiping and backstabbing, means. On 27 March, he reproved Mary of ergotism, well known
since the Middle Ages as
St Anthony’s Fire.
Over 200 people, men and
women, were accused of
witchcraft at Salem

32
 Salem

Sibley in church, where

he argued that Satan
had been let loose in
the village because
of Mary’s witch-like
act. Church members
reacted with horror
and more began
to claim they had
been bewitched. The
spread of accusations
at Salem is often cited
as an example of mass
hysteria or ‘witch mania’, a
theory suggested in 1841 in the
journalist Charles Mackay’s book
Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The
Madness Of Crowds. What could initially
begin as a nightmare or panic attack in a
child frightened by witchcraft stories could,
in times of religious and social crisis, spread
to a whole community.
However, regarding witch trials as
evidence of insanity or a specific disease is
unhelpful. All of the accusers cannot have
been suffering from mental or physical
illness, and instead cultural factors seem

“Regarding witch trials

as evidence of insanity
or a specific disease
is unhelpful”
likely to have driven accusations, working
through perceptions about what was
possible in the world. From the 1430s
onwards witchcraft was believed to be a
real phenomenon, one of the worst ways
Satan attacked humans. Witch trials began
to grow in number and intensity from that
time onwards. Satan, it was thought, was
always looking for opportunities to assault
Christian communities, whether that was in
the Alps – where the peak period of witch-
hunting began – or the Americas. Firstly,
the devil could tempt Christian folk into
the sin of becoming a witch: a person who
wanted to hurt others by magic and ended
up worshipping the devil in order to get the
power to do that. Secondly, he could make
sure these witches attacked particularly
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images, © Shutterstock

pious people – like the children in minister

ABOVE-INSET William
Stoughton oversaw the witch Samuel Parris’s house. Highly religious
trials in Salem in 1692 and communities were thus psychologically
was the one who permitted
the use of ‘spectral evidence’
primed to watch out for assaults by Satan
and his witch followers and believe in a
ABOVE
ABO VE The SaSalem
lem Wo
Wolf
lf iiss
one of many tales associated
large Satanic conspiracy.
with supposed witchcraft and In particular, Puritans believed that
curses from the 1690s witches agreed a ‘covenant’ with Satan,

33
 binding them to do his bidding. Puritanical children’s strange visions, it was easy for
theology demanded that church members Salem’s Puritans to decide Satan’s witches
made just such a covenant with God, an were all over their village.
agreement to obey Biblical laws, try to do
good in the world and in return receive the
gift of eternal life in heaven. If believers Trial and punishment
were sufficiently literate, the covenant A court of Oyer and Terminer (to “hear and
could be read out from a book and then determine”) was commissioned to hear the
signed. It was very easy to invert that Salem witchcraft cases. There was little
idea, imagining that because good people separation of powers between church and
covenanted with God, therefore bad state, lower and higher courts. Colonial
people must covenant with Satan. Then, courts were in any case run by people with
Puritans believed, witches would worship little legal training. In most communities
the devil at a “sabbath”, another inversion a few like-minded people controlled
of a Christian term, this time denoting a everything, which made witchcraft
Judaeo-Christian holy day. Humans have prosecution relatively easy. Often people
a habit of thinking in opposites – good/ with a shared outlook both accused
bad, black/white, true/false – and the and judged witches, a psychological
witchcraft belief of Salem’s villagers is a phenomenon known as ‘groupthink’,
classic example of this psychological named in 1952 by the sociologist William
oversimplification, explored by Whyte. These circumstances did not
the historian Stuart Clark in automatically lead to conviction in court
Thinking With Demons (1997). and execution – many American witches
With the evidence of their were acquitted or punished less severely

34
 Salem

put on them, as well as the general beliefs

of 17th century Puritan society. One
woman who was questioned but managed
to survive the witch trials later said that
she confessed because she was bullied
into a false admission of guilt. Not only
were the magistrates and judges who
questioned her pushing her to the point
of breakdown, but the girls who accused
her were “mocking of me and spitting in
my face, saying they know me to be an old
witch and if I would not confess it I should
very speedily be hanged,” she said. Fatally,
during the trials the court authorities
decided to break with legal precedent and
– at least temporarily – spare people who
confessed and apologised, while having
those who maintained their innocence
executed because they were judged to
be unrepentant. This led, of course, to
further confessions as suspects put in an
impossible position attempted to save
their own lives. By this means, suspects
was rife and referred to witches in military like Tituba actually managed to survive
terms, suggesting a bunker mentality – a the trials – she was freed in 1693. The
term used in politics to describe leaders admissions made by other suspects would
who feel persecuted and can sometimes now be considered ‘forced confessions’ by
use this feeling to justify persecuting criminal psychologists.
others. Colonial Puritans lived in a similar

An ending
siege state and might easily believe, as
Cotton did, that “an army of devils is
horribly broke in”, over-running their By 1693 over 200 people had been accused
settlement like enemy combatants. of witchcraft across New England and
the court system collapsed. Trials were

The confessions
paused and Salem’s Court of Oyer and
than the law mandated – but it often Terminer was reconstituted as a Superior
did. The first person tried, convicted and Cotton also pointed out that many Court of Judicature. However, it had some
hanged at Salem was Bridget Bishop, accused people had “confessed, that of the same personnel, so that while most
executed on 10 June 1692. Further they have signed unto a book, which the suspects were now acquitted, some were
ABOVE-LEFT executions followed on 19 July, 19 August devil showed them”, making a covenant. still convicted. This time, however, they
A young woman and 22 September. By then 20 people Like the judges of the Court of Oyer were pardoned by the Massachusetts
is subjected
to physical had been killed. Tituba remained in jail: and Terminer, he seems to have been Governor. The trials ended amid
examination as under questioning, she had confessed to genuinely perplexed that sceptics could accusations of injustice and the families
part of her trial of those executed or imprisoned were

“The confessions of Salem’s witchcraft suspects later granted compensation. The phrase
ABOVE-INSET
There are a “Salem witch trials” is now associated with
number of

can be explained by the pressure put on them”

memorials placed the psychology of psychosomatic disease,
for the falsely delusion, crowd mentality and groupthink
condemned men
and women who
and the episode is often regarded as a
were victims of witchcraft, even naming other people as doubt these confessions, arguing that historical lesson – one that, unfortunately,
the trials fellow witches so that she was a valuable “all the rules of understanding human we still have to learn fully.
ABOVE-RIGHT witness. But many of the people she affairs are at an end, if after so many
Martha Corey accused were hanged. most voluntary harmonious confessions,
was among those
found guilty The minister Cotton Mather spoke at the made by intelligent persons of all ages, in
and hanged for executions of convicted people to endorse sundry towns, at several times, we must
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images, © Shutterstock

witchcraft

LEFT Roger
Conant helped
the work of the state court. He explained
what he believed to be the witches’ guilt to
not believe the main strokes wherein
these confessions all agree.” This meant WITCHCRAFT:
to found Salem
as well as a
increasingly troubled crowds, who wanted
to stop the executions of their relatives
that the court was right to convict and
execute people named in the confessions, A HISTORY IN 13 TRIALS
number of other and friends. Later, Cotton defended his he emphasised, because they must really BY MARION GIBSON IS
communities in
Massachusetts
actions in his book Wonders Of The be witches. OUT NOW (SIMON &
Invisible World (1693). Even after the trials Yet the confessions of Salem’s witchcraft SCHUSTER, £20.00)
ended, he remained convinced witchcraft suspects can be explained by the pressure

35
 ROYAL SCANDALS
IN THE
ANCIENT
WORLD
Inside the warped world of schemes, murders and
affairs that caused shock waves in antiquity
© Getty Images

Written by Katharine Marsh

36
 Royal Scandals

R
oyal scandals are nothing new – since the beginning of
recorded history, society’s elites have been embroiled in
torrid affairs, caught up in corruption and doing anything EGYPTIAN PHARAOH’S
they can to gain and stay in power. And in antiquity, things
were at times a little more… wild. SECRET COMMONER
In a world where blood sports were major public events, it seems like no one
would bat an eye to things like murder and prostitution, but emperors and kings
LOVER?
knew how to take things just a bit too far. Family ties often didn’t mean much, Hatshepsut was thought to be having a love
either. Read on to find out about an emperor who banished his own daughter affair with her daughter’s tutor
from the empire, an empress who blinded her son in a desperate bid to keep her
crown, and a king so proud of his wife’s beauty that he wanted to show her off. 1479-1458 BCE

Hatshepsut has rightfully earned her place in history. One of

EMPEROR EXILES Egypt’s few female pharaohs, she has captured the interest of
many – and perhaps also one of her officials.
HIS DAUGHTER FOR Senenmut was a commoner who found greatness in Ancient
Egypt. Out of all his siblings – two sisters and four brothers,
ADULTERY including him – he was the only one to rise through the ranks to
high office. It’s unclear how Senenmut and Hatshepsut met, but
Being in the imperial family was no guarantee it was likely when Senenmut was appointed tutor and steward of
of safety, as Julia the Elder found out princess Neferure, Hatshepsut’s daughter.
Hatshepsut found herself in possession of the throne when her
2 BCE husband, Tuthmosis II, died. As her power skyrocketed when
she acted as regent for her son, Tuthmosis III, Senenmut found
himself with more power, too. The tutor became an architect,
Being the daughter of Rome’s first emperor was no assurance of credited with the design of Djeser-Djeseru, the mortuary temple
safety – and that was something that Julia the Elder learnt the of Hatshepsut, although no firm
hard way. Her first two marriages, to Marcus Marcellus and Marcus evidence exists that he was
Vipsanius Agrippa, had both ended with the men’s deaths, so in 12 BCE actually the designer.
Julia was forced into a union with her step-brother, Tiberius, the son of Perhaps it was for this
Augustus’ wife Livia from her first marriage. reason that rumours
It wasn’t the happiest of partnerships and rumours swirled around spread about an affair
Rome of Julia finding satisfaction and affection elsewhere. When their between the pair.
infant son sadly died in 6 BCE, Tiberius left
le the city in a voluntary What has fuelled
exile, leaving his wife behind. With no husband speculation throughout
to hold her back, Julia’s appetite became the centuries are
more voracious
voraciou as her affairs became less the depictions of
secretive. Another problem was Julia’s Senenmut in so
choice of
o partners. One was Iullus many of Hatshepsut’s
Antonius, the son of the late Mark
Antoni monuments. When an
Antony, her father’s former rival for
Antony image of him adoring
throne.
the th his pharaoh was
Ahheavy part of Augustus’ image found inscribed
to his people and his policies was behind a
perfect family. His wife was
his p door jamb in
loyal aand womanly in her pursuits – Djeser-r Djeseru,
Djeser-Djeseru,
having a married daughter who was its private
accused of sleeping with half of Rome nature was
was a major
ma issue. His first attempt thought to
to curb Ju
Julia’s actions was to threaten show the true
her with death,
de but he ended up exiling depth of their
her from the city of Rome. She was sent personal
first to Pandataria,
Panda an island off Campania, relationship.
in 2 BCE. Six yyears later, she was moved
to Rhegium, w where she remained. When
Image source: wiki/Captmondo

Tiberius, her cuckolded husband, came Senenmut holds

throne, he stopped her allowance.
to the throne a young Princess
daughter and wife of emperors,
Julia, the da Neferure, who
some incorrectly
would die of malnutrition. theorised was his
Julia the Elder’s indiscretions daughter
would leave her to die alone Image source: wiki/Didier Descouens
and disgraced

37
 Candaules, King of
Lydia, Shows his Wife
by Stealth to Gyges, One
of his Ministers, as She
Goes to Bed, painted by
William Etty in 1830

THE KING WHO LOVED HIS WIFE FOR HER BEAUTY

King Candaules was more than happy to show off his wife’s good looks

7TH CENTURY BCE

King Candaules of Lydia loved his wife, or at the very least, how she looked. Regardless of the truth of how the story played out, Gyges did come to
Candaules believed his wife – whose name is lost to history – to be the most the Lydian throne as the first of the Mermnad dynasty after assassinating
beautiful woman in the world and he would boast about it to everyone. King Candaules. And according to many sources, Candaules’ wife was right
On Candaules’ staff was a man called Gyges. Depending on which source by his side on the throne.
you read, Gyges was a shepherd who found a ring that made him invisible
and used it to kill Candaules and seduce his wife, or he was an army officer
already suspected of treachery. “Candaules wanted to
The Lord Of The Rings analogues and corruption aside, it’s perhaps
Herodotus’ take that is arguably more like what happened. Candaules show his wife off to
Gyges so he effectively
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

wanted to show his wife off to Gyges, so he effectively ordered him to

sneakily watch his wife changing. Of course, no one had factored in what
the woman would think of all of this. Gyges was caught by Candaules’ wife
and, understandably, she was outraged. Her response was one of anger and
ordered him to sneakily
she forced Gyges on pain of death to kill her husband. watch his wife changing”

38
 Royal Scandals

WHEN PRIDE COMES ELAGABALUS: ONE

OF ROME’S MOST
BEFORE A FALL UNHINGED EMPERORS
Caligula is known for his infamously tyrannical rule A teenager who was never told ‘no’
37-41 CE 220 CE

Caligula is a name that has gon gone down in history for its notoriety. It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to
Meaning ‘little boot’ – it was a nickname given to him as a Elagabalus’ scandals. He executed generals,
child – Caligula’s rreign was one of terror, scandal and slept around and paraded around like
insanity. He spespent his entire treasury in a matter of a god. But one of his earlier acts is
years and useused extortion to finance his lifestyle, arguably the most scandalous.
he was (incorrectly)
(inco accused of trying to make a Elagabalus’ first wife, Julia Cornelia
horse his consul,
c and ordered soldiers to collect Paula, was in for a nasty surprise
seashells ini northern Gaul, which he then when she found herself divorced…
called the spoils of the conquered ocean – he in favour of a Vestal Virgin. As the
was yet to actually cross the English Channel name suggests, Vestal Virgins were
at that po
point. priestesses of Vesta, goddess of
One of h his biggest scandals, though, the hearth and under Roman law
involved religion. According to the Romans, were sworn to celibacy for 30 years;
Judaea
Judae was a trouble spot. The pesky marriage was out of the question. That
na
natives there refused to give up their didn’t matter to the emperor. He had
religion and worship the pagan seen Aquilia Severa and ordered her to
gods. Caligula didn’t care about marry him. It hardly goes without saying, in
what they wanted. His plan? To Ancient Rome, this was a big faux pas.
erect a colossal statue of himself Elagabalus and Aquilia would get divorced
in the Temple of Jerusalem, one only to remarry a few years later in 221. But by
of the holiest Jewish sites. It that point, it didn’t really matter
di
didn’t go down well, and eventually, – Elagabalus was living on
Image source: wiki/Louis le Grand

As his reign wore

on, Caligula began
he was p
persuaded to scrap the project by borrowed time. He was
cutting the heads Herod Agrip
Agrippa. It was the beginning of the end murdered in March
off statues of gods for Caligula
Caligula; he was assassinated by his own 222, aged just 18.
and replacing them
with his own bodyguards less than a year later.

Aquilia Severa,
the controversial
THE TRUE STORY OF A CHINESE second and
fourth wife of
EMPEROR’S MOTHER’S LOVER Elagabalus

Meet Queen Zhao’s fake eunuch

3RD CENTURY BCE

Qin Shi Huang well-endowed. So well-endowed, in fact,t,

is known as the his party trick was apparently putting a
first emperor wheel on his manhood like an axle. Lao o
of all of China, Ai agreed to become Zhao’s lover, but
Qin Shi Huang, first but his mother, to get him close enough to the queen,
emperor of China
Queen Zhao, is there was one more step in the plot: a
remembered for something rather more faked castration. Lü Buwei faked the
sordid. Zhao was conducting an affair procedure and plucked out Lao Ai’s hairr
with one of the ministers, Lü Buwei, and beard, and Lao Ai was introduced to o
but it wasn’t enough. Lü Buwei found it court as a eunuch. He was sent to serve
difficult to discreetly visit his queen, and the queen, and everyone was satisfied.
Zhao needed more attention. But the plot was eventually uncovered.
So, they hatched a plan. They tracked Lao Ai, and three generations of his
down Lao Ai, who was known around family, were executed, while Lü Buwei
town for one thing: he was particularly and Zhao were banished.

39
 ROMAN WIFE
CHEATS ON HER
HUSBAND… THE
EMPEROR
Messalina attracted scandal
wherever she went
48 CE

When it came to affairs, Messalina was

apparently something of an expert. Some
gossipers put her lover count at more than
150, while others claimed she worked as
a prostitute at a brothel during the night
before returning home to her husband
in the morning. Who was her husband?
Emperor Claudius. The rumours probably
did little to help Messalina’s fate.
In fact, it was a relationship with one of
her lovers that ultimately got Messalina in
trouble. Gaius Silius was a senator – and
Messalina wanted to marry him. It didn’t
matter that she was married to Claudius,
because he was out of town; the wedding
went ahead anyway, with an extravagant
reception. But Messalina had made a lot of
enemies, and they were all clamouring to
be the one to tell Claudius what his wife
Roman empress had done.
Messalina knocks at the
entrance to a brothel Claudius was almost ready to let
the whole thing go, but it was too big a
scandal. With advisors whispering in his
ear, it became obvious that the line had
MAIMING YOUR WAY TO THE THRONE to be drawn somewhere with Messalina’s
Irene of Athens had a unique way of taking control behaviour. She was forced to take her own
life and a damnatio memoriae was ordered,
removing any traces of her existence from
797 CE public and private places.

Sometimes, when something that her rivals were already trying to “Messalina had
someone is given a make happen, and that couldn’t come to pass.
taste of power, they’ll Her response was to go after her son. She knew made a lot of
Irene alongside her
do everything they can
to hold onto it. Irene of
Constantine would try to get away from her, so she
arranged for his capture as soon as he attempted enemies, and
son, Constantine VI,
who she would later
Athens was the consort of
the Byzantine emperor Leo
to escape. Once he was in her custody, she ordered
his eyes to be gouged out. It was a gruesome
they were
have mutilated
IV and managed to overthrow a
conspiracy that wanted to put Leo’s
punishment for simply growing up.
Constantine died from his treatment 17 days
clamouring
half-brother on the throne after his death. Instead, later, and Irene was in the clear. She proclaimed to be the
her son, Constantine VI, came to the throne herself empress, with no need for a man to rule
although he was a child. As a result, she served as alongside her. The pope of the time wasn’t exactly one to tell
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

regent with the expectation that she would stand

aside when Constantine came of age.
pleased – Leo III proclaimed Charlemagne as
Holy Roman Emperor in her place, although Irene Claudius what
That didn’t happen. As Constantine got
older, Irene got more worried. The day was fast
continued to rule. Her peace wouldn’t last, though,
as she was overthrown five years later in 802, and
his wife had
approaching when she would fade into irrelevance, died in exile on the island of Lesbos. done”

40
 Royal Scandals

Theodora would become a

close advisor for her husband

JUSTINIAN MARRIES PROSTITUTE

The mistress who became a powerful empress

527 CE

Theodora has become a name synonymous her “Theodora-from-the-Brothel”, and ‘actress’

with power and respect. She was one of the wasn’t an occupation that was highly revered in
most influential women in Byzantine history as Constantinople either. It was thought of as similar
she stood by Justinian’s side to run the Eastern to being a courtesan.
Roman Empire. But her beginnings were less than When Justinian first met his future wife, he
‘proper’ in the eyes of society at the time. was attracted to her beauty and intelligence – but
Theodora’s father was a bear keeper at the first, he would make her his mistress. Before that,
Hippodrome in Constantinople, according to she had been mistress to Hecebolus, governor
Procopius of Caesarea. And he went on to say of modern-day Libya. When they ended their
what Theodora got up to – while still very much in relationship, she converted to Monophysitism,
her youth, she became an actress and a prostitute. an early branch of Christianity that found itself
She apparently even gave birth to at least one under attack by the Roman state. She was hardly
child outside of marriage. Procopius called a popular choice for the wife of a Roman emperor.

41
 THE
CRISIS
Written by Callum McKelvie

How panic, confusion

and prejudice followed
a mysterious and
deadly virus that swept
around the world
42
I n 1981, five healthy gay men, all between the ages of 29 and 35 and all within
the area of Los Angeles, were treated for Pneumocystis Pneumonia. This was
highly unusual. PCP is a rare infection, typically only seen in patients with immune
deficiency. But such was its severity that two of the five would never leave the
hospital. On 5 June, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report covered the cases
and concerns were quickly raised about the possibility of a deadly affliction striking
down gay men. By 1986, both the virus and the immune deficiency condition it
caused had been named; HIV and AIDS. It would take 15 years for effective treatment
to be developed and by 1990 more than 100,000 people in the United States alone
had died. What’s more, the stigma associated with the illness led to a wave of
homophobia and a lack of understanding that remains to this day.

THE PANDEMIC BEGINS

Following the MMWR report’s publication and an outbreak of a similarly rare form of
cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma, in New York, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) began to investigate. At the time, few facts were known and the popular notion
was that the condition only affected gay men. This conviction led to the coining of
the term GRID or ‘Gay-Related Immune Deficiency’ to describe the condition.
Already, news of the affliction was circulating among the United States queer
communities. In August of 1981, the playwright and author Larry Kramer (who later
dramatised his experience in The Normal Heart) arranged a meeting of 80 gay men
© Getty Images

in his New York apartment. Here Dr Alvin E Friedman-Kien, who alongside Dr Linda
Laubenstein had written the paper on the outbreak of Kaposi’s sarcoma, gave a
presentation outlining his fears.

43
 Andy Humm, an attendee of the event, explained in a
retrospective article for Philadelphia Gay News that the origins
of the illness were still unknown and as such there was much
speculation. “We knew the gay patients were immunosuppressed
but not why,” he began. “Recreational drug use? Multiple STIs
from multiple partners? There was even speculation about a viral
agent.” By the meeting’s end a total of $6,635 had been raised
and was used to found Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an organisation
designed to provide support and to fund research. In September
1982, the CDC gave a name to the mysterious affliction: AIDS.
By 1983 AIDS was sweeping across the country. At that year’s
National Aids Forum, 11 gay men living with the condition
outlined a list of principles that they hoped the healthcare
professionals present would adopt. They stated how they were
not to be called ‘victims’ but instead were to be referred to as
‘people with AIDS’ and demanded an equal opinion on their own
healthcare. They also demanded the right to live sexually free
lives and the right to live without discrimination. According to
UNAIDS, the ‘Denver Principles’, as they became known, were
central to the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV
policy formalised in 1994. By the end of 1983, AIDS had become
so prevalent that the World Health Organisation began formally
monitoring the illness.

THE MYTH OF PATIENT ZERO

In 1984, an article published in the American Journal of Medicine
attempted to trace a cluster of 40 AIDS cases. Openly gay
flight attendant Gaétan Dugas participated in the research and
was given the moniker ‘Patient O’, meaning ‘out of state’ and
not from Southern California. However at some point a typo
occurred and Dugas was mistakenly referred to as ‘Patient Zero’.
Three years later this mistake led journalist Randy Shilts in his
groundbreaking book And The Band Played On: Politics, People,
And The AIDS Epidemic to indicate that Dugas was central to the
current crisis and could even have been the cause.
“AIDS had become so prevalent that the
Dugas passed away in 1984, but the impact of Shilts’ book was
a media frenzy in which The New York Post named him “The
World Health Organisation began formally
Man who gave us AIDS”. Dugas was portrayed as a reckless figure
who flew from coast to coast, knowingly passing HIV to others.
monitoring the illness”
According to New York magazine, Shilts confessed he found the roughly 1970 – four years before Dugas began working as a flight
BELOW Teenager
term Patient 0 ‘catchy’ but was shocked when his publisher, Ryan White
attendant. In 2017 Richard A McKay’s book Patient Zero And The
Michael Denneny emphasised Dugas as the villain of the book, a attending class after Making Of The Aids Epidemic finally revealed how Dugas had
decision Denneny later regretted. previously being been scapegoated and cleared his name for good. Dugas is just
barred from school
However, others were sceptical. In 2016, a genetic study due to his AIDS one example of a gay man vilified as a monster intentionally
was able to prove that the virus had been in New York since diagnosis transmitting HIV.

THE EFFECT ON
RACIAL MINORITIES
Throughout the crisis, as well as sexual minorities, racial minority
groups were also disproportionately affected. By 1985 a quarter
of persons diagnosed were from African American communities.
For much of the 1980s and early 90s AIDS was the leading cause
of death for men between the ages of 25 and 44. Although by
1996 this was no longer the case, it remained the leading cause of
death for African American men in the same age group. This same
year was also the first instance of higher AIDS diagnoses among
African Americans than white Americans.
According to historian Dan Royles, groups such as Gay Men of
African Descent were created to not only spread AIDS awareness,
but also to fight racism and homophobic views. In a blog for Black
Perspectives he wrote that GMAD “recognized that Black gay men
confronted HIV alongside psychological and social pressures that
made them especially vulnerable to infection.”

44
 The AIDS Crisis
LEFT Police attempt
to remove ACT
UP protestors in
February of 1990

RIGHT Film star

Rock Hudson was
the first major
celebrity to die
of AIDS-related
complications

All images: © Getty Images

WHAT IS HIV AND AIDS? Essential facts to know
AIDS IN THE UK Human Immunodeficiency Virus, threatening. Despite persistent rumours
The first whisperings of a virus causing immune deficiency commonly known as HIV, is a virus often that HIV originated in humans following
appeared in the United Kingdom in 1981. By 1987 there were more transmitted through sexual intercourse an unknown individual having sexual
than 7,000 cases, and the average survival rate of people with that results in damage to the immune intercourse with a chimpanzee, it is far
AIDS was only 1-2 years. In 1987 the first antiretroviral drug was system and makes the body more more likely (according to Be In The Know)
made available through the NHS. susceptible to illnesses and disease. that chimpanzee meat was consumed.
Princess Diana helped shift public perceptions surrounding AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency The first confirmed case of HIV appeared
AIDS when she shook hands and hugged patients after opening Syndrome, refers to a condition that in 1959 in the Republic of Congo, but the
the UK’s first HIV/Aids ward at the Middlesex Hospital. According develops as a result of the virus wherein endemic in the US is believed to have
to Terrence Higgins Trust she famously stated: “HIV does not illnesses or infections become life begun around the mid-1970s.
make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and
give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it.” Time magazine
records that, by the end of 1985, there was at least one reported
case of AIDS in every region in the world.

THE EPIDEMIC SPREADS

Back in the USA, perceptions over who could and could not
contract HIV were altered in 1984 when 13-year-old schoolboy
Ryan White was diagnosed with the condition. White was a
haemophiliac who had contracted the virus through a blood
transfusion but when news of his diagnosis reached his school in
Kokomo, he was barred from attending classes.
Despite fighting a successful legal battle, the subsequent
bullying and abuse he and his family faced (at one point having
the windows of their home broken and their car tyres slashed)
forced the family to move in 1987 to the town of Cicero. Here, the
residents educated themselves about HIV and White was largely
accepted. White would pass away in 1990, only 18 years old.
On 2 October 1985, Rock Hudson, the star of such films as
1956’s Giant and the purported favourite film of Howard Hughes,

45
 FIGHTING STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION
Adam Freedman, senior policy and campaigns officer at National AIDS Trust,
spoke to us about the organisation’s history and work

Find out more at www.nat.org.uk

Representatives of the
National AIDS Trust
marching at the 2023
London Pride

What is the National healthcare, employment, the criminal justice Could you please explain the current
AIDS Trust? system, education – the list is endless. discriminatory laws surrounding HIV
National AIDS Trust is the In my opinion, the government’s health fertility rights?
UK’s HIV rights charity. campaigns on AIDS in the 1980s were so effective Currently, people living with HIV are forbidden
We work to stop HIV from that they are still embedded in the public by law to donate sperm or eggs unless they
standing in the way of health, dignity and equality, consciousness. People still think of HIV as a death are in a heterosexual relationship. This means
and to end new HIV transmissions. We do this by sentence, don’t understand how it is transmitted, many people living with HIV are unable to access
engaging with the government, politicians, the NHS and are still terrified of it. This fear leads to fertility treatment or start a family – even though
and other public bodies on policy issues affecting misinformation, stigma and discrimination. the scientific evidence says there is no risk of
people living with HIV. them transmitting HIV this way. These current
We were originally founded in 1987 as an NGO What are some of the issues that you work regulations are both discriminatory and based on
by the government, at the height of the AIDS to resolve? outdated science.
epidemic, to deal with growing concern about HIV/ We run a Discrimination Advice service to connect
AIDS. However, for many years since, we have people living with HIV to initial legal advice about How are you campaigning to change these
been operating as an independent policy and whether they have experienced discrimination. laws? How can our readers help?
campaigning charity. In the last year, we have assisted with 69 cases – The Health Secretary has the power to change
which is a huge number! these discriminatory regulations, and so our
What has your work revealed about the We also look at the patterns of discrimination campaign has been focused on making people
current stigmas surrounding HIV? incidents, work out if existing laws, rules or aware of this. The most helpful thing that people
As part of our work, we regularly engage with guidance are outdated or unclear, and campaign can do is write to their MP, explaining the reasons
people living with HIV and hear their stories. It’s to get public bodies to change these if they lead why the law needs to change, and asking them
clear from the conversations we have that HIV to HIV discrimination. Two recent campaigns that to urge the Health Secretary to change the law to
is still incredibly stigmatised and misunderstood we’ve been working on relate to data protection follow the science. Everyone can read more details
by the public. Stigma often manifests itself as for people living with HIV, and workplace health about the campaign, the law and the science on
discrimination, in so many settings including and safety. our website.

46
 The AIDS Crisis

1968’s Ice Station Zebra, died of AIDs-related complications. The

news rocked the world. Hudson had been a 60s heartthrob, an “However at some point a typo occurred
icon of American television and a close friend of President Ronald
Reagan. Hudson had been diagnosed in 1984 and decided to go
and Dugas was mistakenly referred to as
public in 1985, revealing his own sexuality in the process.
Following his passing, Hudson left $250,000 that was used to
‘Patient Zero’”
launch the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Alongside who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion and had recently
White’s diagnosis, Hudson’s pronouncement of his illness helped won a case that they could not be barred from their school due to
shift public perception and in September, President Reagan their status as HIV positive.
discussed AIDS publicly for the first time. His death also spurred In 1988, C Everett Koop, the US surgeon general who had been
fellow actor Elizabeth Taylor into helping form the American prevented from making statements previously, was able to mail
Foundation for AIDs Research and to become one of the leading out a slimmed-down version of his 1986 AIDS report. According
celebrity voices campaigning against government inaction. to the National Library of Medicine, copies of the report were
delivered to all 107,000,000 households and helped to better
ACT UP educate the population.
On 1 May 1986, The International Committee on the Taxonomy
of Viruses finally gave a name to the virus that was causing DAWN OF THE NEW DECADE
AIDS – Human Immunodeficiency Virus. At the beginning of The 1990s saw a change in perceptions. Following the death
the year, the CDC published figures that demonstrated an 89 per of Ryan White, President HW Bush signed the Ryan White
cent increase in transmissions. By this date, 51 per cent of adults Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act that provided
and 59 per cent of children with AIDS had died. Chillingly, they funding for the care and treatment of people with AIDS. However,
predicted that the number of AIDS cases would double. With there was a dark side. A paper published in AIDS and Behavior
little action coming from the federal government, it became clear in 2017 explained that: “As one of its conditions for receiving
something had to be done. federal funds, the Ryan White Care Act required all US states to
In 1987, New York’s Lesbian and Gay Community Center formed certify that they had a legal mechanism to prosecute HIV-infected
the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, or ACT UP, an organisation individuals who knowingly exposed others to HIV.” Subsequent
that was designed to force the lackadaisical government into laws criminalising HIV exposure through ‘reckless/intentional
action. ACT UP undertook a series of radical protests including transmission’ continue globally and remain a point of contention.
placing a giant condom over the home of North Carolina senator In 1996, a major breakthrough was achieved in AIDS treatment.
Jesse Helms who had called homosexuals ‘weak’. Perhaps most It was discovered that triple-drug treatment of saquinavir, ddC,
famously in 1992 a group of ACT UP activists scattered the ashes and AZT (collectively known as HAART) could suppress HIV for
of their loved ones who had died of AIDS-related illnesses on the far longer than the treatments currently available. According to
lawn of the White House. But they also sought to help combat the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this
discrimination and assisted those who had been made homeless BELOW-LEFT therapy saw the level of HIV in a person’s bloodstream drop to
The organisation
due to their diagnosis. ‘Gay Men of African
almost undetectable levels. That same year, the CDC reported that
One of the most important developments, in 1987, was the Descent’ marching – for the first time since the epidemic had begun – there had been
discovery of Azidothymidine or AZT as an effective treatment in the 1995 New York a noticeable decrease in the number of HIV transmissions, 12 per
City pride
against HIV. Fast tracked, the initial test trial of the drug remains cent in the first two quarters of the year.
controversial as some 300 participants were randomly assigned BELOW-MIDDLE Of course this was not the end of the story as, unfortunately,
Princess Diana
either the drug or a placebo. After 16 weeks the group on the became an official this pandemic has not ended. According to UNAIDS, 2022 saw
drug had had only one death, whereas the group on the placebo patron for the British some 630,000 people die from AIDS-related illnesses. But, thanks
suffered 19, according to Time magazine. National AIDS to developments in treatments and persistent campaigning by
Trust and sought
That same year, President Reagan created the first Presidential to end the stigma hard working activists, people with HIV are able to live fulfilling
Commission on AIDS designed to investigate the epidemic and in surrounding HIV lives. However, stigma surrounding HIV – and those who can
October the CDC launched an AIDS Awareness Month. But there BELOW-RIGHT contract it – remains. HIV devastated the queer community and
was still much discrimination and lack of understanding. The Ray Activists protest saw thousands dead, but it is not a ‘gay plague’ and can affect
outside the
brothers who were 8, 9 and 10 respectively had their home burnt headquarters of the
anyone. Only through greater understanding, kindness and
down. Similar to Ryan White, the brothers were haemophiliacs CDC in 1990 awareness can we prevent further transmissions.
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

47
 Alessandro de' Medici
The Black
Prince of
Florence A tale of race, rivalry and revenge, but was he
the tyrant his enemies claimed?
Written by Catherine Fletcher

O ne of the most unlikely men to come to

power in Renaissance Italy, Alessandro
de’ Medici, ruler of Florence from 1531
to 1537, was probably born in Rome
around 1512. He was illegitimate, and
most contemporary writers say that his father was
Lorenzo de’ Medici, duke of Urbino (grandson of the
famous patron Lorenzo ‘the Magnificent’). A minority
to be sexually exploited by the men they worked for,
and especially if (as one source tells us) Simunetta was
enslaved then it would have been very hard indeed for
her to refuse.
That rumour that Simunetta was a slave, combined
with other sources describing her as ‘Moorish’
and ‘half-Negro’, along with the textual and visual
evidence for Alessandro’s brown skin and curly black
of sources point instead to Giulio de’ Medici, the future hair, together provide evidence that Alessandro
Pope Clement VII and Lorenzo’s cousin once removed. was more likely than not a man of African descent.
Others, perhaps more honestly, say it is impossible to Contemporaries did not describe Alessandro as Black,
know. Alessandro may not have been certain himself. and while some regarded him as unsuitable to rule on
Information about his mother is no easier to come the grounds of his birth, they generally pointed to his
by. She is generally known as Simunetta, though one mother’s low status, rather than her race. This should
source gives her the name Anna, and the most likely not be a surprise, however: the modern language
scenario is that she worked as a maid in the Medici of race was only just beginning to develop in 16th
household. It was all too common for female servants century Europe. It came into being in the context of

48
 “ No-one
expected the
baby Alessandro
to ascend to
high office”

EXPERT BIO
© Alamy

CATHERINE
FLETCHER
Catherine Fletcher
is an author
and historian of
Renaissance and
early-modern
Europe. Her books
include The Beauty
And The Terror
(2020) and The
© Getty Images

Black Prince Of
Florence (2016).

49
 the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans respectable. In Italy it was not unusual
that began during Alessandro’s lifetime. to legitimise children in this period, and
No-one expected the baby Alessandro while legitimised children were not equal
to ascend to high office, and for the to those born in wedlock, it was still
first seven years of his life we have no possible for them to make an impressive
surviving sources for him. At the time of career. In the first half of the previous
his birth, 1512, the Medici were about to century Carlo de’ Medici, the son of an
force their way back to power in Florence enslaved woman and a Medici man, had
after 18 years of exile. The following year, become a senior official at the papal court.
Alessandro’s great-uncle, Giovanni de’ A career in the church was a plausible
Medici, was elected Pope Leo X. Fortune option for Alessandro. There were, in fact,
seemed to be smiling on the family. It two Black bishops in the 16th century
was not to last, however. In 1516, Leo’s Roman Catholic church: Henrique, of
brother Giuliano died young, leaving Kongo, and Yohannes, born in Cyprus to
only an illegitimate son, Ippolito. In 1519, exiled Ethiopian parents.
Medici prospects deteriorated further From around the age of seven,
with the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Alessandro began to appear in family
the last legitimate male heir in the main records, the ‘spare’ to the heir Ippolito. In
line of the family. Giulio de’ Medici, now 1524, Ippolito, a year older than Alessandro
a cardinal, could not marry, and beyond and at this point about 13, was sent to
that were only distant cousins or relatives Florence with a view to introducing him
in the female line. Besides the illegitimate to city politics and preparing him for rule.
Alessandro, Lorenzo had left an infant By this time Pope Leo X was dead, but
daughter. This was Catherine de’ Medici, in 1523 his cousin Giulio de’ Medici had
the future queen of France. Florence, been elected Pope Clement VII, putting
however, elected its leaders, and a woman the Medici back in power in both Rome
could not be the family figurehead. and Florence (Clement is probably better ABOVE Alessandro
known as the Pope who refused Henry himself was likely
unsure who his
Onto the chessboard VIII his first divorce). In 1525, Alessandro father was, but it’s
It is at this point, after the death of his took up residence in the Medici villa at suspected Lorenzo
the Magnificent
father, that Alessandro first appears in Poggio a Caiano, a little way out of town, could have been his
the historical record. “There are two little where he enjoyed the traditional pastimes great grandfather
bastards,” noted one observer. The other of a minor member of a wealthy family,
illegitimate child, Ippolito, Alessandro’s especially hunting.
cousin once-removed, had already been
brought into the family. His mother 1527
was a gentlewoman of Urbino, and There had, meanwhile, been a long
unlike Alessandro’s mother, considered on-off war in Italy, now lasting over three

Medici Florence: A Timeline

Medici rule in Florence spanned over 300 tumultuous years, taking
the city from the Medieval period into the Renaissance and beyond

Gonfaloniere Council of Ferrara-Florence Palazzo Pitti Bonfire of the Vanities

1421 1439 1457 1497
Giovanni di Bicci de’ Cosimo di Giovanni de’ The Palazzo Pitti is The Medici were driven from
Medici takes a share in Medici persuades the started in 1457 by Luca Florence in 1494 in favour of
the rule of Florence in pope to move the Pitti, a wealthy banker. theocratic government under
1421 when he is appointed Council of Ferrara to The original building is Girolamo Savonarola. On 7
as one of the nine Florence in 1439. The massive. It will later be February 1497 Savonarola
gonfalonieri, who serve as council nearly succeeds enlarged by the Medici, orders the burning of art,
the city’s government. in uniting the Catholic and who purchase it in the books and other supposedly
Greek Orthodox churches. 16th century. sinful objects.

The Medici Bank founded Duomo consecrated Gates of paradise Pazzi conspiracy The Medici return
1397 1436 1452 1478 1512
Florence had long been a Florence’s magnificent Having produced the The Medici make enemies The Medici finally
major banking centre when cathedral took 140 Baptistery’s bronze north in Florence and further return to Florence in
Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici years to build and was doors, Lorenzo Ghiberti is afield. On 26 April 1478 1512 after nearly 20
opens his own bank in constructed on the site commissioned to create the Lorenzo the Magnificent years of exile. Cardinal
the city. The Medici Bank of an earlier, 5th century east doors. Completed in narrowly escapes Giovanni de’ Medici
will soon have branches cathedral. It is finally 1452, they are so fine that assassination during orchestrates the return,
throughout Europe. consecrated in 1436 by Michelangelo nicknames Mass in the Duomo. His arriving in the city at
the pope himself. them the ‘gates of paradise’. brother, Giuliano, dies. the head of an army.

50
 The Black Prince of Florence

decades, with which the fortunes of the their rivals (supporters of a broader-based and jousting. He was something of a star
Medici were closely intertwined. This was government) in power. in the latter, on one occasion breaking
fundamentally a contest between France This left the Medici family reliant for 14 lances in a single tournament. One
and Spain for power and influence on the their power on Clement’s position as pope, Italian observer noted that Charles saw
Italian peninsula, but drew in many local which was now perilously dependent on Alessandro “not as a son-in-law but as a
conflicts too. In 1527 troops loyal to the the outcome of the ongoing war. In spring son.” In 1531 Alessandro made his entrance
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked 1529, when he became ill enough to fear to Florence, and in 1532 he formally
Rome, making Pope Clement an effective for his life, he called in favours in order to became the city’s duke.
prisoner in his own castle. Charles, the BELOW make the still-underage Ippolito a cardinal,
most powerful man in Europe, was the Alessandro’s and thus ensure that in the event of his Alessandro in power
mother, Simunetta,
ruler of Spain as well as the Habsburg death the Medici would at least keep their Most of the papers from Alessandro’s
is believed to have
territories in the modern Netherlands, been a slave of power in the church. Clement, however, period of government have been lost, so
Germany and Austria. In Florence, African decent recovered, and made a peace on poor we know rather little about exactly how
working as a servant
meanwhile, an uprising expelled the to the legendary terms with Charles V. But with Ippolito he governed Florence. His enemies were
Medici once again from the city, putting Medici family now a cardinal, Alessandro became the keen to paint him as a tyrant, and some
candidate for a diplomatic marriage, and of his officials certainly had reputations
for the rulership of Florence, much to for brutality. On the whole, however,
Ippolito’s displeasure. Alessandro seems to
Just as an alliance have run a populist
with Spain had secured
“He wore regime, promising justice
the Medici return to a doublet for the ordinary people
Florence in 1512, so it and introducing reforms
secured a further return reinforced to keep prices down. He
from exile in 1530. The with mail, the also, however, rebuilt
price was high: it took the city fortifications:
a nine-month siege to Renaissance the Medici were nervous
force out the republicans equivalent of about holding power.
and put the Medici Alessandro was known
party back in power. body armour” for playing football
Alessandro, however, in the piazza, and for
did not immediately restarting the annual
relocate to Florence. Leaving family allies horse race known as the Palio. He began a
to do the dirty work of dealing with relationship with Taddea Malaspina, who
their enemies, he headed north on a tour with her sister hosted a libertine circle of
through Europe in the company of the writers and artists; with whom he had two
man who was now to be his father-in-law, children. Meanwhile, Ippolito watched
Charles V. Alessandro was betrothed to from the sidelines, wondering if he
Charles’ illegitimate daughter, Margaret, might ever achieve his ambition of ruling
at this point only eight years old. The Florence and sometimes scheming to put
tour gave him an important opportunity, himself in power, to the point of launching
which he made the most of, to bond with an abortive coup d’état. Alessandro was
Charles (who was only 12 years his senior) worried enough for his personal safety
via the typical courtly pursuits of hunting that when he went out he wore a doublet

Leo X in Florence The Medici flee Alessandro’s murder The Vasari Corridor Devastating plague Gian Gastone dies
1515 1527 1537 1564 1630-1633 1737
The former Giovanni When news of the sacking Alessandro de’ Medici Cosimo I builds a covered Florence is hit by a Gian Gastone de’ Medici
de’ Medici, who has of Rome by the Holy is despotic and highly walkway, known as the devastating plague reigned as grand duke
become Pope Leo X, Roman Emperor reaches unpopular. He is murdered Vasari Corridor. This runs between 1630 and 1633. of Tuscany between
makes a ceremonial Florence, the remaining on 6 January 1537 by his from the Palazzo Vecchio, Measures are taken to 1723 and 1737. His
entry to Florence in Medici flee from the city. cousin, Lorenzaccio, who through the Uffizi, over halt the disease, such unhappy marriage and
1515. He receives a Their kinsman, Pope is also later murdered. the Ponte Vecchio bridge as celebrating Mass in failure to produce an
lavish welcome, with Clement VII, is imprisoned Cosimo I, a distant cousin, and on to the Palazzo Pitti. the open air. However, heir permanently end
pageants, fireworks by the emperor. succeeds him. 7,000 people die. Medici rule in Florence.
and celebrations.

Giulio de’ Medici, Siege of Florence Duke of Florence Uffizi Palace Grand duke of
Archbishop of Florence 1529-1530 1532 1560 Tuscany
1513 Florence’s citizens Alessandro de’ Medici Work began in 1560 1569
From the late-15th century, are not eager for becomes the first duke on the Uffizi Palace, Cosimo I’s ambitions are
All images: © Getty Images

the Medici regularly reach the the Medici to return. of Florence in 1532, which is intended by realised when the pope
top of the church hierarchy. In However, after a siege elevating the family to Cosimo I to house creates him grand duke
1513 Giulio de’ Medici becomes of nearly a year they princely status. He is the city’s magistrates of Tuscany. This makes
Archbishop of Florence. He capitulate to the Holy nicknamed ‘the Moor’ and other officials. him the premier ruler in
later becomes Pope Clement Roman Emperor, who and is possibly the son Its name translates Italy and the ruler of his
VII in 1523. reinstates Medici rule. of an African slave. as ‘offices’. own state.

51
 Christmas passed, and New Year, and on
the eve of Epiphany, Alessandro went
out with his distant cousin Lorenzino
and a group of friends. Still careful of
his personal safety, as usual he wore his
reinforced doublet. But tempted with
the promise of an assignation with the
attractive wife of a city merchant, he
made the fatal mistake of taking it off. As
he waited for the lady to arrive, he was
ambushed and stabbed by Lorenzino and
an accomplice. Alessandro’s short years in
LEFT In 1532,
power were over.
Alessandro was Lorenzino himself claimed to have
formally named been politically motivated in Alessandro’s
Duke of Florence
murder. More cynical observers pointed to
a falling-out between the two sides of the
Medici family (Lorenzino was a member
of the junior branch), and to Lorenzino’s
debts. He spent a decade in exile before
assassins caught up with him, but
eventually they did: Alessandro’s father-
in-law, Charles V, had not forgotten the
crime. A cousin from that junior branch
of the family, Cosimo, became duke in
Alessandro’s place, then Grand Duke of
Tuscany, building on Alessandro’s legacy
to cement the family’s power as aristocratic
rulers of Florence and beyond. For Cosimo,
it was convenient to let Alessandro take
the blame for the brutal first years of
Medici rule. But while Alessandro had
certainly gone along with the plan, he had
always worked for the family.

L egacy
Alessandro’s story is a spectacular tale of
family rivalry and revenge, given an extra
twist by the questions about his race. So
far as we can tell, it was only in the 19th
century that this became a matter of
reinforced with mail, the Renaissance to blow up the Malaspina residence. ABOVE The motive interest to historians. This should perhaps
equivalent of body armour. Alessandro, however, had numerous spies for Alessandro’s not be a surprise given that this period
murder may have
While Clement VII remained pope, on his payroll, and in the summer of 1535, been strained was the height of so-called ‘scientific’
he succeeded, just, in keeping a lid on one agent managed to poison Ippolito’s internal family racism. Working from the visual evidence,
politics between
the rivalry between his two nephews. soup, eventually killing the cardinal. branches of the
writers linked Alessandro’s appearance to
His death in 1534, however, left the way With Ippolito gone, the exiled Medici family his bad character and political tyranny.
open for Ippolito republicans had lost The Medici duchy was an example of
to seize power, this the alternative to feudal aristocratic power triumphing over
time without his
“In the Alessandro. Though a more broad-based republican form of
uncle’s opposition. 20th century, hearings before the government, and that put Alessandro on
He made a temporary Emperor went ahead, the wrong side of political history.
alliance with the old however, African there was no real In the 20th century, however, African
republican opponents American writers prospect of Charles American writers began to reclaim
of Medici rule, both backing an alternative Alessandro. In 1931 he was the subject of
sides agreeing that began to reclaim form of government. a feature in Crisis, the magazine of the
Alessandro would Alessandro” Alessandro’s rule National Association for the Advancement
have to go. On the secured, his marriage of Colored People in which Arturo Alfonso
diplomatic front, to Charles’ daughter Schomburg, a distinguished collector of
they lobbied Charles V to hold a series of Margaret went ahead in the summer of sources for African history, described him
All images: © Getty Images

hearings about the future government 1536. About to turn 14, she was just of as the ‘Negro Medici’. Alessandro went on
of Florence. There were also, however, marriageable age. By the autumn of that to be included in a 1940s volume of the
more violent plots, and rumours of plots. year there were hopes that Margaret World’s Great Men Of Color. Here was a rare
One plan included a chest of gunpowder might be pregnant, but it was not to be. example of a Black European in power.

52
54
© Alamy
SAS The forgotten Stirling brother whose vision formed the
true legacy of the Special Air Service after WWII
Interview by Jonathan Gordon

T he Special Air Service, the special

forces unit within the British Army,
has become legendary. No surprise
then that its origins have taken on some
myth-like qualities. Much of the story
of the SAS’s inception during WWII circles around the
‘Phantom Major’ David Stirling. But, as Gavin Mortimer’s
EXPERT BIO
a vast estate and employed scores of staff) and also his
business interests. He was a successful businessman
when war was declared.

What was Bill’s role in the founding of the

SAS groups?
His background is important because it indicates his
© Gavin Mortimer

new book 2SAS: Bill Stirling And The Forgotten Special standing within the Establishment in 1939 which was
Forces Unit Of World War II reveals, his brother Bill and a help in his military wartime career. His mother was
the exploits of his SAS unit are the true predecessors a good friend of Queen Mary and Stanley Baldwin and
of the modern force. We spoke with Mortimer to learn GAVIN MORTIMER
more about the elusive Bill Stirling and the lasting Gavin Mortimer is a Some of 2SAS located
impact of his exploits during WWII. historian and author west of the Elbe river
on 28 April 1945
who has written
extensively on the
Could you tell us a little about Bill Stirling and operations of the
his background? SAS during WWII.
Bill was born in 1911, to brigadier general Archibald His books include Z
Stirling and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of the Special Unit (2022)
and The SAS in
13th Lord Lovat. Bill’s father died in 1931, just before
World War II (2015).
he turned 20, and he became the Laird of Keir, one of
Scotland’s wealthiest and most powerful landowners.
All the Stirling boys – Bill, Peter (later a diplomat), David and
Hugh (killed in action in April 1941) were educated at Ampleforth.
Bill thrived academically and athletically, and on leaving school
he went up to Trinity, Cambridge, to read history. On graduating
he was commissioned into the Scots Guards (at the same time as
© Gavin Mortimer

his cousin and best friend, Simon Fraser, later 15th Lord Lovat of
Commando fame). Bill resigned his commission in 1936 because
of mounting responsibilities as Laird of Keir (he was in charge of

55
 his wife. This was why he was invited to join Military Intelligence How were things divided between 1SAS and 2SAS?
Research (MIR) at the start of 1940. MIR was the forerunner of David Stirling was captured in January 1943 just as Bill prepared
the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Bill was one of six men to lead a small commando force (No62 Cdo) to North Africa from
who was sent to Norway in late April 1940 to work with partisans the UK. Bill heard of his brother’s fate on arrival and he played
in a sabotage campaign against German lines of communications. a large part in the reorganisation of the SAS. Paddy Mayne was
Unfortunately, en route to Norway their submarine was appointed Commanding Officer of 1SAS and Bill raised 2SAS
damaged by a surface mine and was forced to return to port in out of No62 Commando, with the addition of 400 recruits from
Glasgow. Deflated, Bill Stirling invited his five comrades to his British forces in the Middle East.
Keir estate to drown their sorrows. 1SAS and 2SAS operated independently of each other during the
As they did so, they discussed their ill-preparedness for invasion of Sicily and Italy in the summer of 1943. 1SAS acted as
the sabotage mission; Bill proposed establishing a guerrilla an amphibious commando force, storming beaches etc, whereas
training school in northern Scotland, where men could be 2SAS stuck very much to the modus operandi envisaged by
trained for future operations. He pitched the idea to the Bill when he had conceived the idea of the SAS in 1941: i.e.
war office in May 1940, and it was accepted. Known as the dropping small six- to twelve-man teams by parachute
Special Training Centre in Lochailort, the school opened its deep behind enemy lines to destroy enemy lines of
door on 3 June 1940. Bill was chief instructor and in the communication. The most successful such operation
next 18 months many hundreds of commando and SOE was ‘Speedwell’ in September 1943 when 13 men from
recruits underwent the guerrilla training programme. 2SAS, operating in five teams, destroyed half a dozen
Contrary to popular myth, David Stirling was not an trains and cut many railway lines in northern Italy.
instructor at the centre; he was a pupil.
Bill had impressed the powers that be, and in January Did 2SAS operate significantly differently
1941 was recruited to an SOE mission, led by Peter from David Stirling’s group?
Fleming (brother of Ian), codenamed Yak. Its aim was to 1SAS and 2SAS returned to the UK in early
recruit Italian POWs in North Africa to an anti-fascist army 1944 and were involved in operations behind
battalion. Bill Stirling sailed to Egypt in January 1941, but German lines in Occupied France in the weeks
the mission was ultimately a failure. However, Bill was and months after D-Day. In this instance, they
headhunted by GHQ at Cairo, and became the personal operated in similar fashion – parachuting into remote areas,
assistant to Lt-General Arthur Smith, chief of the general linking with local Maquis groups and then attacking German
staff, who answered to General Wavell, commander in vehicle and train targets that were heading north towards
chief of Middle East command. Bill was therefore at the the main invasion theatre in Normandy.
very heart of the British war effort in North Africa, and, as
I argue in my book, he was the intellectual driving force What are some significant missions that 2SAS
behind the raising of the SAS. David – younger by four and ABOVE The David executed during WWII?
© Alamy

Stirling Memorial in
a half years – was the frontman. The wartime quip in Cairo Dunblane, Scotland Apart from Speedwell, there were two other
was that SAS stood for Stirling and Stirling. significant operations in northern Italy in 1944/45.

56
 The other SAS
Members of 2SAS
wearing their
Winged Dagger
“The wartime quip in Cairo berets in 1945

was that SAS stood for

Stirling and Stirling”
FAR-LEFT Pete The first was codenamed ‘Galia’; on 26 December 1944 the
Tomasso, Tony Germans had launched a counter-offensive against the Americans,
Greville-Bell and
George Daniels who and there was concern among the Allied high command that
worked on Operation the Nazis would make considerable gains. At short notice, a 2SAS
Speedwell troop of 33 men were parachuted into the mountains 25 miles
ABOVE-LEFT This north of La Spezia and ordered to wage a guerrilla war, with the
photo of Bill Stirling objective of making the Germans believe an airborne brigade had
was taken on the day
he took command been drafted in to reinforce the Americans. For six weeks the
of the Small Scale SAS attacked the German convoys and barracks, blew up railway
Raiding Force
lines and mined roads. Two captured Germans revealed that they
BELOW-LEFT believed they were up against 500 British paratroopers. So the or you go to the left or the right, but a new flank is opened with
Some of 2SAS
who took part in
scheme worked. aircraft and you can go over the top and if you bust their lines of
Operation Rupert The other mission was Operation Tombola, commanded by communication, they are liable to panic and yield the field.
Roy Farran, which involved a squadron of 2SAS parachuting into “A lot of people think war is just about killing people; it isn’t.
an area south of Reggio on 6 March 1945. They then trained and It’s occupying ground and if the enemy feel so nervous that they
organised disparate Italian partisan groups for two months, the retreat you’ve won the battle and with minimum casualties. And
high point of which was a night assault on the headquarters of 51 the SAS opened up a new flank, in a way, they made the enemy
Corps at Albinea, which cost the lives of many Germans including very nervous about his rear areas.”
a senior officer. In contrast, David Stirling wasn’t a good strategist. He was
reckless and gung-ho, and as a consequence the SAS did not fulfil
What was the lasting legacy for the Special Air Servicee of
W their potential in the desert in 1942.
Bill Stirling’s work? After the failure of their inaugural raid in November 1941 –
Probably best to quote Major Roy Farran, DSO, MC and 2 bars, the when 34 of the 55 men who went on the operation were killed or
most famous and decorated officer of 2SAS. He said of Bill Stirling: captured – the SAS undertook no further parachute operations.
“Bill was more of a planner than a leader on the ground, but all They relied on the LRDG to drive them in lorries to their targets.

All images: © Gavin Mortimer

the same he was a very, very great soldier and he played a great It was only when Bill raised 2SAS that they reverted to parachute
part in Britain’s eventual victory in the war… He did realise that if ops deep behind enemy lines. Frankly, it was a blessing in
BELOW 2SAS you dropped small parties way behind enemy lines you could cut disguise that David was captured, because it allowed Bill Stirling
soldiers celebrating
with French villagers their lines of communication and cause panic. and Paddy Mayne to assume command and henceforth the SAS
and local forces “All military tactics are you either break them from the front became a more effective and professional force.

2SAS
BILL STIRLING AND
THE FORGOTTEN
SPECIAL FORCES UNIT
OF WORLD WAR II
BY GAVIN MORTIMER IS
AVAILABLE FROM 12 OCTOBER
2023 FROM OSPREY
PUBLISHING

57
58
 Who was

MARY
SEACOLE? Uncover the life of Britain’s
Caribbean nursing heroine
Written by Emily Staniforth

I
n 2004, Mary Seacole was voted the greatest comes from her memoir which is not an autobiography – it
Black Briton. Remembered for her work nursing only covers about five and a half years of her life – and in
the sick and wounded during the Crimean War, she that she draws a complete veil, deliberately, over her birth
is idolised by many who view her as a pioneer of
EXPERT BIO origins, her parents and her childhood. She gets to the age
nursing and as an inspirational Black female figure of 45 inside about four pages, so we know very little about
in British history. Often compared to and overshadowed Mary’s early life that she tells us,” explains Rappaport.
by the Lady of the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, little is What we do know about Mary Seacole is that she was
known about much of Seacole’s life. However, what we do born Mary Grant in Kingston, Jamaica around 1805. Her
know about her paints a picture of a hugely enterprising mother was a free Jamaican woman of colour and her father
and generous woman who made her mark in a way that no was a Scottish soldier. Rappaport explains that Seacole did
other Black woman of her time was able to. So, who really HELEN RAPPAPORT not give more information about her background because
was Mary Seacole and how did she come to occupy such a Helen Rappaport is she was an illegitimate child. It was not unusual in Jamaica
a British author and
prestigious position in Victorian England? historian specialising
at that time for white men, especially visiting military
in Victorian Britain. men, to father children with Jamaican women according to
Life in Jamaica She is the author of Rappaport, and many of these men gave their children their
Historians know very little about Seacole’s origins in In Search Of Mary surnames and provided for them financially. However, we do
Seacole: The Making
Jamaica. One of the reasons for this, according to Seacole’s not know if this was the case with Seacole’s father because
Of A Cultural Icon
biographer Helen Rappaport, is that Seacole herself made (Simon & Schuster she gives no other information about him. Historians have
very little of her Jamaican roots in her own memoir The UK, 2022). assumed that his surname was Grant because this was the
Wonderful Adventures Of Mrs Seacole In Many Lands, which name Seacole gave as an adult when she married.
she wrote after the Crimean War. “The problem with Mary Seacole’s mother, we do know from Seacole’s own writing,
Seacole’s early life is that the only account we have of it was a practitioner of Jamaican traditional medicine known
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

“From her mother, Seacole learned about

herbal treatments and Jamaican medicine”

59
 as a ‘doctress’. “That’s a native Jamaican Mary widowed. Seacole then ran a highly
woman, often a woman of colour, who successful lodging house in Kingston and
was skilled in the arts of using the natural remained there for a good few years. In
pharmacopoeia of Jamaica to make 1850, however, Seacole’s skills as a doctress
holistic medicines to treat the sick and to were put to the test when a cholera
nurse people,” says Rappaport. Doctresses outbreak hit Jamaica.
were very highly regarded in Jamaica While helping to nurse the sick, Seacole
and usually learned their craft and skill observed the use of different medical
from their mothers. Seacole’s mother ran techniques and the symptoms being
a lodging house in Kingston where she experienced by those with the disease,
nursed the sick, and many of her clients noting the treatments that were successful.
included British military and naval officers. The skills she acquired in treating cholera
From her mother, Seacole learned about patients would prove invaluable the
herbal treatments and Jamaican medicine following year when she left Kingston for
and acquired the training that would set Panama in order to join her brother who
her off on a career path that would see had set up a lodging house there. Panama
her make a name for herself, not just in
Jamaica but abroad too.
was also dealing with a cholera epidemic,
so Seacole’s skills were in demand.
Contrary to the popular belief that Seacole
MARY’S
Mary the entrepreneur was purely motivated by her charitable MEDICINE
Following in her mother’s entrepreneurial intentions, Rappaport points out that her What surprising ingredients did
footsteps, Seacole set about forging her actions were not exclusively philanthropic.
Seacole rely on to treat the sick?
own path as a teenager in the 1820s. Not She needed to make a living.
afraid of travel, she journeyed abroad
trying to make a living from selling her
“She went to Panama to run a business.
Mary was a wonderful woman and I
MUSTARD
Proving to be a highly effective ingredient in a
homemade pickles and preserves, visiting admire her deeply, but she didn’t just
number of Seacole’s treatments, she used mustard
the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti. Seacole go around the world being this sainted
seeds in several different ways. By crushing
also travelled to Britain in 1823, spending figure,” she explains. “She went to
the seeds up into a paste, she could treat poor
a couple of years living in London and Panama because her brother had gone
circulation and encourage warmth in her patients
trading her wares as an independent out to run some kind of hotel or store
when the blended seeds were rubbed into the
businesswoman. By 1826, however, or accommodation and also, she knew
skin. She also made mustard into poultices that she
“Determined to get out to Crimea, Seacole would use to help treat cramps and aching joints,
as well as giving it to patients as an emetic to make
decided to fund the venture herself” them vomit.
Seacole had returned to Jamaica where that her skills were going to be called on
she continued to work as a doctress and
saleswoman while also helping her mother
because cholera and yellow fever were
absolutely rampant. They were killing
MERCURY
Though highly poisonous, Seacole reported that she
run the lodging house. not just the Panamanians, but mainly the used mercury to treat some external conditions.
Ten years later, in 1836, Seacole married Jamaican workers who had gone there to Though she does not give specifics, mercury was
Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole, a white work on the isthmus railway.” used by medics in the 19th century as a treatment
English merchant living in Jamaica. Rappaport continues: “The minute she for conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
Though interracial relationships in Jamaica got to Cruces, where she based herself,
were not uncommon, interracial marriages word got round all the American gold
were very unusual according to Rappaport:
“I think the first recorded Black-white
prospectors doing the shortcut across the
isthmus to get round and up to California,
POMEGRANATE
Used by many Jamaican doctresses and medics,
marriage in Kingston was around 1813,” and they all went to Mary to be treated pomegranate was a key ingredient used by Seacole
she says. “Mary’s was definitely one of the and cared for. So by default she was much in Crimea. It was effective in treating conditions
very first Black-white marriages because called on to nurse people with sickness such as dysentery and diarrhoea, which many
normally it never came to that. There in Panama. But she fundamentally went of the soldiers suffered from. Additionally, the
probably was a private trade-off going there to run a business.” bark of the pomegranate could also be utilised by
on there because Edwin Seacole, I think, Seacole, by grinding it into a paste and giving it as
was sickly. He gave [Mary] legitimacy The Crimean War a laxative. Pomegranates, unlike some of Seacole’s
and his name [and in return] she was When war broke out in the Crimea in other medicinal ingredients, were widely available
his nursemaid. Or he was just intensely October 1853, Seacole saw an opportunity in Crimea.
grateful to her for nursing him because he to help those in need while also
died not long after they were married. So it monetising the talents she had been
was obviously some kind of arrangement – honing as a doctress and herbalist. FRESH AIR
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

a marriage of convenience.” Offering her services to the British War While we are aware of the benefits of fresh air in
In the eight years that Mary and Edwin Office, Seacole wanted to travel out to the helping to treat sickness nowadays, Seacole was a
Seacole were married, they relocated and Crimean Peninsula to help treat injured firm believer in ensuring her patients were exposed
set up a store in Black River, Jamaica, soldiers and those affected by diseases like to the circulation of fresh air in order to help them
selling and trading goods. However, in dysentery and cholera, which were rife in recover. She also placed an emphasis on imposing
around 1844, Edwin Seacole died leaving the British camps. But Seacole was turned good hygiene practices.

60
 Who was Mary Seacole?

FAR-LEFT A down. Her rejection, like that of two other

drawing of Mary
West Indian women who volunteered, was
Seacole
clearly down to racial prejudice.
MIDDLE-LEFT This
Determined to get out to Crimea, Seacole
painting shows the
Charge of the Light decided to fund the venture herself and
Brigade during the establish her own catering establishment
Battle of Balaclava in
1854, which would
where she could also offer to treat the
have happened near wounded and sick. However, this would
Mrs Seacole’s have not been easy for her in a financial
LEFT The subject sense as her business ventures had not all
of this portrait was been entirely successful and she had lost
recently identified by
Helen Rappaport as a lot of money in Panama speculating in
Mary Seacole a gold mine. But, along with her business
partner Thomas Day, Seacole made her
way to Crimea and set up an establishment
near the Land Transport Camp. Seacole
grandly called it the British Hotel, but it
was more commonly referred to by the
soldiers in Crimea as “Mrs Seacole’s”, and
was situated at Spring Hill a couple of
miles north of Balaclava and close to the
British army’s headquarters. There she
provided care and food and sold products
to the soldiers who needed her assistance.
“In Crimea if [the soldiers] knew one
thing, they knew Mrs Seacole’s,” says
Rappaport. “You could go there for hot
coffee and a hot dinner and in the summer
cooling drinks. If you had an infection, you
could go there and Mary would look at it.
It was an absolute godsend to everyone
in the area. And of course, there was the
storehouse as well where she sold a huge
range of goods.” Mrs Seacole’s became such
a well-known and important landmark in
Crimea that it was even featured on some
of the campaign maps of the time.
Seacole was hugely admired by the men
she treated in Crimea and thus made a
name for herself in Britain. In 1857, the
year after the end of the war in Crimea,
ABOVE An The Times reported that “her hut was
illustration of surrounded every morning by the rough
Seacole in her store
in Crimea
navvies and Land Transport men, who
had faith in her proficiency in the healing
LEFT The statue
of Mary Seacole,
art, which she justified by many cures and
unveiled in 2016, by removing obstinate cases of diarrhoea,
outside St Thomas’ and similar camp maladies.” She came to
Hospital in London
be known not just as “Mrs Seacole” but as
“Mother Seacole”, an endearing moniker
for a beloved figure in the camps.

The importance of race

Though it may seem surprising that a
woman of colour would receive such a
warm reception from predominantly white
soldiers in the 19th century, it is important
to remember that many of the officers who
encountered Seacole in Crimea may well
have been treated by Creole doctresses
when sent out to the Caribbean during
their careers. Some of the troops had
even been looked after in Kingston by
Seacole herself. “One of the reasons she

61
 particularly wanted to go to Crimea was
that soldiers from her favourite regiments
MARY VS FLORENCE
Why was Seacole not as well remembered as her white counterpart?
were being sent to Crimea,” explains
Rappaport. “She had known them when
they were based in Jamaica, and they People still try to make comparisons between remembered and visited. But the trouble is, Mary’s
had come and visited her boarding house the two nursing heroines of the Crimean War, but story was largely an oral one that was passed down.
there: come to her for treatment and for actually they had very little to do with each other There are only two known existing manuscript letters
hot dinners. So they were thrilled when and had very different methods of nursing the sick [of Mary’s] surviving and two more published ones.
she suddenly turned up in Crimea. Mother and wounded. So why has Florence Nightingale been None of Mary’s personal papers survived. Once Mary
Seacole was just like a beacon.” The memorialised while Mary Seacole was forgotten? died, and as the veterans died, her memory got lost.”
officers loved and accepted her because Helen Rappaport explains: “The main reason “Also racial attitudes certainly impinged on it,”
of the great kindness and affection she Mary didn’t have the same posthumous legacy is she adds. “There was every reason to celebrate and
showed in her care of them. very obvious. Florence Nightingale had shops, pubs, perpetuate the memory of Nightingale, because
Seacole herself had a very specific roads, streets, institutions and statues all over Britain. everything was named after her, so Mary got
view of her own race, remarking in her She set up women’s nursing at St Thomas’ Hospital, sidelined. She was remembered in a couple of
memoir about the lightness of her own she wrote the standard textbook, Notes On Nursing Christian collections about heroic women but then
skin compared to others who had much and other learned papers. She left 14,000 letters. her memory fell away. She wasn’t really talked about
darker skin. Her Scottish heritage and her Florence Nightingale had an archive and a paper trail again until there was a little flurry of interest in her
mother’s status as a free Black woman in and a huge legacy. Queen Victoria revered her and in Jamaica in the 1930s. But the first real mention of
Jamaica certainly helped to give Seacole the country worshipped her. Mary, for as long as the her again in Britain was on the 100th anniversary [of
a higher social standing in white British veterans who knew her were alive, was loved and the Crimean War].”
society. “Mary was extremely ingratiating
with her white upper class and aristocratic
patrons. She wanted to be one of them.
She wanted to be accepted as a lady, but I
think she knew she never could because
she wasn’t white,” says Rappaport.

Back in Britain
After the Crimean War ended, Seacole
settled in Britain. However, the sudden
end to the war had bankrupted her. She
was left with a great deal of unsold stock
and with many unpaid debts from officers
and war reporters who had not paid their
bills. She had also funded her medical care
of the sick and wounded who solicited her
help without asking for payment and she
returned to England penniless. However,
she was held in such high esteem by the
British army for her activities in Crimea Her wish to be accepted by the upper Seacole’s grave and a campaign began to
that they, along with others who had heard classes of England was certainly realised immortalise Seacole in a memorial statue.
of the care Seacole had provided through as she treated both Princess Alexandra of Now, that statue, erected in 2016, stands
extensive newspaper coverage of her Wales and Count Gleichen (the nephew proudly outside St Thomas’ Hospital
exploits, wanted to help her. of Queen Victoria), the latter of whom she in London. Her memory and the vital
In an attempt to help raise the money had nursed in Crimea. For many years, and unique place she holds in British
to pay off Seacole’s debts, a benefit gala Seacole continued to be a well-known and history continues to be restored through
was organised in 1857. According to the recognisable figure in British society, a the research of historians, like Helen
Rappaport, and through her inclusion in
“Mother Seacole was just like a beacon” the British school curriculum. Of Seacole’s
legacy, Rappaport says: “Mary Seacole has
Mary Seacole Trust, over 80,000 people position that was unique for a woman of become a source of inspiration to many
attended the event in London, and those colour in Victorian England. who work in the NHS and healthcare –
who aided the cause included military Mary Seacole died in 1881 in Paddington. both Black and white – for her informal,
generals and members of the British royal For a long time after her death, the work compassionate methods that always put
family. Unfortunately, the promoters of she did and the fondness with which she the patient first. She did not conform to
the event went bankrupt soon after and was remembered sadly became lost to any standard formal nursing practice but
Seacole received very little money. She history as the generation of people that relied on her instincts and the knowledge
therefore wrote and published her memoir knew and respected her ceased to exist. and skills passed down to her by her
in the same year to help get out of debt. However, her legacy has been restored over mother. Her hands-on care of the sick,
All images: © Getty Images

Seacole continued to work, unofficially, the last few years as interest in Britain’s given freely, without question epitomises
as a doctress and travel for the remainder Black history has exploded. her fundamental belief in never turning
of her life and in 1867 a second Seacole Around 90 years after her death, a group away anyone who needed her help. She is
Fund was set up to help with her funds. of Jamaican nurses found and restored the archetypal Good Samaritan.”

62
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 Harry ‘Hotspur’ Percy was killed
at the Battle of Shrewsbury after
being struck through the mouth
with an arrow

Greatest Battles

BATTLE OF O
n the night of 21 July 1403, a 16-year-old
soldier was carried into the candlelit
sanctuary of Shrewsbury Abbey with a
bloodied rag pressed against his face. Shortly
before, he’d been evacuated from a nearby
battlefield when an arrow had hit him just a little

SHREWSBURY
below his right eye.
Ordinarily, the young man would have been left
to die. After all, this was medieval Britain, hundreds
of years before the advent of anaesthetics, military
surgeons or combat medics. The wounded teenager,
however, was no ordinary soldier. He was Prince
Hal, eldest son of King Henry IV and heir to the
throne of England.
SHREWSBURY, SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 21 JULY 1403 The origins of the Battle of Shrewsbury, in which
Hal had just fought, could be traced back to the
Written by Nick Soldinger reign of the previous monarch, Richard II. His

64
 Welsh rebel Owain
Glyndwr
joined forces with
Hotspur to
fight against Kin
g Henry IV

22-year grip on power had been characterised

i db by opportunity
t it it presented
t d ffor gaining
i i greater
t wealth
lth spoils
il off war, was a step
t too
t far.
f Not
N t only
l did
revolts, tyranny and treason and was eventually cut and power. Hotspur refuse to hand over his hostages, but
short in 1399 after his cousin Henry Bolingbroke In 1402, after routing a Scottish uprising on he also began planning a coup of his own. In a
staged a coup d’état. Richard was then locked behalf of Henry IV, he took over 80 noblemen move that sounds like a storyline from Game Of
away in Pontefract Castle, where he was starved to prisoner. Among them was the powerful Earl of Thrones, Hotspur now persuaded his hostage the
death, while Bolingbroke had himself crowned King Douglas, for whom he hoped to get a substantial Earl of Douglas to join his uprising against his
Henry IV in his place. ransom. The king, however, believed the likes of former boss. He then made a pact with Welsh rebel
Although Bolingbroke led the powerful House of Douglas posed less of a threat if they remained in Owain Glyndwr, whom he’d also previously fought
Lancaster, he could never have pulled off this act royal custody, so he demanded that Hotspur hand on behalf of the king, and began working on a
of treason without some heavyweight help. Among his hostages over to the crown. coordinated campaign to bring Henry down.
those who’d backed him was the Percy family from Things were already tense between Henry IV
Northumbria, whose eldest son Harry ‘Hotspur’ and the Percy family. The king still owed the THE REBELLION BEGINS
soon became Henry’s henchman-in-chief. clan £20,000 for their help in seizing power. In the event, it was Glyndwr’s forces that struck
One important source of income for these Meanwhile, land in Cumbria that he’d promised first. On 6 July 1403, his troops seized Carmarthen
supporters’ families came from ransoming hostages them had instead been handed over to his relatives Castle, igniting a Welsh insurgency that stretched
captured in battle. Hotspur’s allegiance to Henry the Neville family. For Hotspur, the king’s latest along the border. By this time, Hotspur was
All images: © Alamy

IV had less to do with loyalty than it did with the demand, which would deprive him of his rightful marching south from Northumberland, gathering a

65
 Greatest Battles

rebel army around him as he went, and arriving in a better defensive position. He found it at a ridge
the city of Chester, in Cheshire, on 9 July. overlooking farmland that was known locally as
Among the forces that flocked to his ranks were Hateley Field.
the Cheshire archers. These bowmen had played a In the mid-afternoon before the two sides
famous role in the English victories over the French eventually encountered each other, a parlay was
at the battles of Crécy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356. organised but talks soon failed, and two hours
Battle-hardened and highly trained, their martial before dusk the king gave the signal for the battle
skills were so valued that they weren’t just well to begin. On dropping his raised hand, his longbow
paid for their services but were often considered archers sent a storm of arrows into the rebel ranks.
above the law, sometimes quite literally getting No sooner had they found their first targets than
away with murder. Richard II had appointed them the king’s vanguard on the right flank charged
as his personal bodyguard in the dying days of his forward led by the Earl of Stafford. The Cheshire
regime. As Hotspur now discovered, many still wore archers now raised their longbows and aimed them
Richard’s symbol, the white hart (stag), on their downhill in the direction of the troops.

Image source: wiki/National Library of Wales

distinctive green and white tabards in defiance of
the new king. DEATH FROM ABOVE
Hotspur now marched south, crossing over the The Battle of Shrewsbury was the first time that Longbows, lances, two-
border from Cheshire into Shropshire. He aimed to two English armies would use the longbow to handed swords, hatchets,
clubs and billhooks were all
seize its most important town, Shrewsbury, which deadly effect against each other. Although other wielded with deadly effect
Prince Hal was defending with a small force. By European countries were slow to appreciate the during the three-hour battle
now, Henry IV was also at the head of an army. potential of this unique weapon, the English had
Having received news of Hotspur’s treachery, long appreciated its deadly use. A good longbow when you consider the limited number of arrows
he raced towards Shrewsbury from the east. He took great skill and effort to make, while mastering each archer could carry. But even at six arrows
reached it on 20 July to link up with his son, just the technique to use it effectively took years. The a minute a massed barrage could still deliver a
hours before the rebel army were soon to appear on longbow itself was carved and shaped from a single knockout blow.
the horizon. two-metre piece of yew that often stood taller than If Hotspur had 4,000 longbowmen with him
With the Earl of Northumberland’s army still the man holding it. The arrows it used, which were at Shrewsbury, as has been estimated, then in the
in the north and Glyndwr’s troops still fighting up to 90cm long, were accurate up to 230m and opening minute of their advance Stafford’s men
in Wales, Hotspur’s army of 10,000 found itself lethal at 90m. would have come under fire from at least 24,000
facing a royal force closer to 14,000. With his men In the early stages of a battle, longbow archers arrows. Despite this aerial onslaught, Stafford
outnumbered, Hotspur set up camp in the village didn’t aim directly into enemy troops – they would and his men somehow reached the rebel lines.
of Berwick, 5km north of Shrewsbury, to wait for launch arrow storms into the sky that, much like Brutal hand-to-hand combat broke out as soldiers
reinforcements to arrive. Henry IV, however, was in an artillery barrage, would rain death down on the pummelled each other with two-handed swords,
no mood to hang around. enemy lines in continuous waves. war hammers, hatchets, clubs and billhooks.
The following morning, on 21 July, the king It’s been claimed that an accomplished archer Somewhere in the middle of this chaos the Earl
marched his army out of Shrewsbury and headed of the era could let off 12 or more arrows a minute. of Douglas found Stafford and, after a brief fight,
east. Its mission was to outflank Hotspur’s troops, Given that it required around 45kg of force to hacked him to the ground. With their leader dead,
sweep around behind them and sever their line of pull back the bowstring each time, about half this what remained of the vanguard now fled and
retreat back to Cheshire. number seems like a more realistic rate, especially Hotspur, whose impetuousness in battle had earned
Hotspur soon got wind of his plan, however, him his nickname, then ordered his men to charge
so broke camp and also moved east in search of after them.
Perhaps smelling victory, he now led a band
of mounted knights towards the centre of the
royal army from where Henry IV had been seen
commanding the battle. His men slashed a corridor
through the swirling turmoil amid screams and
shouts as arrows continued to rain down from both
sides. On reaching the centre, the Earl of Douglas
killed the king’s standard bearer, Sir Walter Blount,
while Hotspur and his knights surrounded a man
they believed to be Henry IV. As he, too, was slain a
victory shout went up in the rebel ranks. The dead
man, however, was a decoy, as several men had
been dressed in the king’s livery before the battle to
confuse the enemy.
The king now rallied his troops, shouting that
he was still alive and declaring Hotspur to be dead.
And it was true. At some point in the fighting,
Hotspur had raised his helmet’s visor, perhaps to
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

shout an order, and was struck through the mouth

with an arrow and killed. As word of his death
Hotspur and the Earl of
spread, his troops tried to run only for many to be
Douglas charged into the cut down as they fled the battlefield. The fighting
royal line. They hoped to win
the battle by killing the king

66
 Battle of Shrewsbury

HENRY IV’S ARMY

finally petered out as night fell after three hours

of mortal combat. By the time the battlefield fell
silent, between 1,600-2,000 men lay dead or dying,
littered over a five-kilometre (three-mile) area. HENRY IV OF ENGLAND HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES
The surviving rebel leaders were all soon The son of John of Gaunt, Henry had been king of England The future Henry V would enjoy his own personal victories
since 1399 having overthrown his cousin Richard II. Prior as monarch, but under his father he had fought against
rounded up, including the wounded Earl of
to Shrewsbury, he had already had to handle the Welsh the Welsh and the Percy family, earning himself a powerful
Douglas, who’d lost a testicle in the fighting. Spared, uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr. However, his son the Prince reputation on the battlefield. He began his reign proper
he remained a prisoner of the crown until Henry of Wales took over from him in running the government after his father’s death in 1413, going on to win a famous
IV’s death in 1413. Thomas Percy, Hotspur’s uncle, from 1410 as his health failed. victory in the Hundred Years’ War at Agincourt.
however, was not so lucky. After being executed,
his severed head was then displayed on a spike at
London Bridge.
Hotspur’s corpse, meanwhile, suffered an even HOTSPUR’S ARMY
more grisly fate. Initially mounted on a spear in
Shrewsbury town centre, it was then quartered
so its four parts could be sent to Chester, Bristol,
Newcastle and London for public exhibition. His
severed head, meanwhile, was put on show in
York where it was shown to his father, the Earl of
Northumberland, whom Henry IV had summoned
to the city.
By then, the Percy family no longer presented an
immediate threat to his regime but still possessed
enough clout to be of use in containing the
Scots. So Henry, ever the pragmatist, pardoned
Northumberland for his part in the uprising. For
the same reason, he also spared the surviving rebel
troops, including the Cheshire archers.

THE FATE OF PRINCE HAL

Despite his young age, Prince Hal had been given
command of troops on his father’s left flank at the
start of the battle. At the height of the fighting, as
HENRY PERCY THOMAS PERCY
Hotspur’s knights had ploughed into the royal lines,
the young prince had ordered his men to wheel Earning the nickname ‘Harry Hotspur’ The uncle of Henry Percy, Thomas ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS
thanks to his swift and decisive was 1st Earl of Worcester and had Henry Percy had captured Douglas and
around the back of the rebel force, encircling them. leadership in battle, Henry had fought a career in the Navy prior to the many of his captains at Homildon Hill
In the fighting that followed Hal, like Hotspur, had for Henry IV in his efforts to depose rebellion, serving as Admiral of the but having been refused permission
also been hit in the face by an arrow when he’d Richard II and been involved in battles North and Admiral of the Kings to ransom them by Henry IV, the
opened his visor. That arrow, however, hadn’t killed against the Scots and French. However, Fleet in Ireland. He had been sent to prisoners were set free and decided to
increasing grievance with the new king negotiate with Henry IV before the join Hotspur in his rebellion. Despite
him and he’d continued to command his troops resulted in the Percy family rebelling battle, but the settlement he returned having been wounded and losing an
until the fighting was over. It was only when the against Henry IV. He was ultimately with was rejected. He was captured in eye, Douglas went into battle again at
day was won that he finally sought assistance for killed at Shrewsbury. battle and beheaded. Shrewsbury and was captured.

67
 Greatest Battles

his wound. Although the wooden shaft of the arrow row

ged
was soon pulled out, its iron head remained lodged
deep inside his skull. If it remained there, the
wound would turn gangrenous, killing the princee
within days.
Initial attempts to treat the wound at
Shrewsbury Abbey ranged from the primitive to
ere
the superstitious. Various potions and chants were
tried but without success. Hal was transferred to
Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire nearly 100km m
to the east, where the renowned surgeon John
Bradmore was waiting for him. As horrific as thiss
injury sounds, Prince Hal had been lucky. A few
inches higher and the arrow would have pierced
his brain, any lower and it would have severed his is
spinal cord.
Throughout the following surgery, Hal was
ed
dosed up with alcohol and a herbal narcotic called
henbane. Nevertheless, the pain must have been
excruciating. One can only imagine how mentally ly
0011
scarred the procedure would have left him. The
horrific facial disfigurement he carried for the
rest of his life, meanwhile, would
have been a daily reminder of
the harsh lessons he’d learnt
from his first experience of
combat. Lessons that, as
Henry V, he would put to
good use against the French
at Agincourt 12 years
later when his longbow
archers sealed him one
of history’s greatest
ever victories.

0044

Medieval
longbowmen were
most effective
when shooting
salvos en masse
into the air to rain
down on enemy
troops

“THE CHESHIRE ARC

ARCHERS’
MARTIAL SKILLS WERE
WE SO
VALUED THAT THEY WWEREN’T 01 The battle opens
After last-minute negotiations fail, King
Henry IV orders his longbow archers to aim a

JUST WELL PAID FOR THEIR

salvo at Hotspur’s 10,000-strong rebel force.
It is the first time English archers have fired on
English archers.

SERVICES BUT WERE OFTEN

CONSIDERED ABOVE THE 02 Henry IV’s
LAW, SOMETIMES QQUITE troops attack
In the wake of the initial archery salvo, the royal

LITERALLY GETTING AWAY

vanguard under the Earl of Stafford attempts
to cross the field to engage the rebel lines.
They are slowed down, however, by obstructive

WITH MURDER” rudimentary earthworks.

68
 Battle of Shrewsbury

08 The battle is won

Amid the chaos, Hotspur is killed
by an arrow through the mouth. As the
rebels retreat they are routed. The fighting
eventually ends after nightfall, three hours
after the initial exchange.

0066

07 A royal deception
Having slashed their way through
to the centre of the royal line, Hotspur’s
knights kill the king’s standard bearer.
0033 They also kill a man who they believe to
be the king but, in reality, he’s a decoy.

03 Hotspur’s
archers respond
With the Earl of Stafford’s vanguard caught
06 The decisive move
Fearing for his father’s life, Prince Hal
orders his troops on the left flank to wheel
out in the open, Hotspur orders the Cheshire around to attack Hotspur’s advancing army.
archers to let loose. A storm of at least 24,000 They do so, effectively encircling his troops.
arrows rains down on the royal troops.

05
06 03

02 04 08
02 05

01
07

04 The first clash

The Earl of Stafford’s troops
eventually reach the rebel lines. Brutal hand- 05 Hotspur’s troops attack
As the leaderless vanguard falls back,
Map by: Rocio Espin

to-hand fighting breaks out. In the middle of Hotspur orders a general charge. His aim is to smash
the chaos, the Earl of Stafford is slain by the through the royal lines, find the king, kill him and
Earl of Douglas. bring the battle to a close.

69
 What If…

RUSSIA HAD
KEPT CALIFORNIA
How Russia could have remained an unwelcome
and dangerous neighbour in the USA’s backyard
Interview by David J. Williamson

INTERVIEW WITH
A mbitious imperialist expansion
saw the Russian Empire straddle
continents to stake its claim in North
America. For the emerging United States,
it was a threat to the ‘Manifest Destiny’
conquests of Mexican territory in the mid-
19th century might have been rendered
more difficult if the Russians had decided
to ally with the Mexicans to prevent
further US expansion. Confronting a
opportunity to fundamentally reshape the
global balance of power.

What economic/political/social
impact could arise out of a well-
first-class European power would have established ‘Russian America’?
© S O’Rourke

of its western expansion, and free access

and control of the Pacific Coast. For stretched US military capacity to its It would have profoundly impacted
the global superpower of Great Britain, limits before the Civil War. The Civil War the US political, economic, and social
DR SHANE its own imperialistic ambitions would would also have provided the Russian system. It would have provided a direct
O’ROURKE be threatened and add to the existing Empire with the possibility of intervening challenge to the American democracy
Shane O’Rourke is embarrassment of losing its American on either side from its Californian base. by an autocratic government. This would
a senior lecturer in colonies. By retaining its American Equally, the Russians could have chosen be true under the Imperial regime, the
Russian history at the
University of York. territories Russia would be a major to supply the native American peoples Soviet Union or Putin’s Russia today.
His latest book, player in the region, and a possible game with modern weapons to thwart US As we know, autocracy has no shortage
Grand Duchess Elena changer, influencing and even dictating expansion westwards. During the Crimean of supporters even in democratic
Pavlovna, Princess
Isabel And The the very future of North America as we War Britain’s Canadian possessions countries. Trump might have appealed
Ending Of Servile know it. could have been threatened by Russian to Russian forces to help him stay in
Labour In Russia And
Brazil, is out now.
forces based in California. At the very power. Economically, the Soviet Union
How important a bargaining chip least Britain would have had to divert would have provided an alternative
would California and other American considerable forces to safeguard Canada. model of development. During the Great
territories be for Imperial Russia in A stable Russian base in California would Depression in the 1930s the booming
relations with global powers? have provided Imperial Russia with the Soviet economy would have extended
If the Russians had held on to their North
American possessions and Hawaii (on
which the Russians established forts and
briefly considered annexing), it would
have given them considerable leverage
over the United States and the European
Great Powers. The Russians would have
had land borders from which to threaten
the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For
the United States in particular it would
Main image source: © Getty Images

have proved a thorny problem, potentially

RIGHT
depriving them of the Pacific seaboard
The United States and Hawaii as a base for naval operations.
could have looked
© Getty Images

The United States would have remained

very different if
Russia had retained its an Atlantic power, formidable still, but not
American territories the world power we know today. The US

70
71
 What If…

THE PAST
to California, attracting the millions left
destitute by the collapse of the capitalist
economy after the Wall Street Crash
in 1929. Socially, a workers’ state on its
borders might have radicalised the US into
1740s becoming a right-wing authoritarian state
in response to the threat of a workers’
revolution. Alternatively, it could have
BACKDOOR TO become a much more social-democratic
THE NEW WORLD type of state, as in Europe after World War
The Russian Empire had gradually expanded II, in an attempt to retain the loyalty of
West to East until the narrow passage the working class. Today, Putin’s Russia
of sea between the Asian and North
appeals to a large body of conservative
American continents was reached. In 1741
the explorers Chirikov and Bering (a Danish voters who see it as a bastion of traditional
navigator after whom the straits and the values. A Russian California would make
sea between Asia and America were to be that appeal even more potent than it is.
named) made land in what is modern-day
Alaska, claiming it for the
Russian Empire. Bering
What issues would the newly born
himself died soon after and expanding United States have to
and any form of settlement face with a Russian land border and
was not immediate, but a how might different administrations
route into a new world of
deal with them?
possibilities had
been made. The expansion of the United States from
the Atlantic to the Pacific would have
been considerably complicated by the
1740s – 1840s existence of a Russian California. For
a start, it would have blocked off the
Pacific Coastline, ensuring that the US
FURS AND FAITH remained an Atlantic power only, rather
The new world brought the opportunity for than the global power it became. The
trade, and wealth. The quality of sea otter
pelts offered rich rewards for the fur trade
Russians could have chosen to advance
both in Russia and around the world. In eastwards from California, meeting the
1799, Tsar Paul I granted a trading charter US somewhere in the Great Plains. Two
to the Russian-American Company for all great powers competing for the same land
Russian American territories on the North
might have given the native American
West Pacific coast. The native peoples
were often oppressed into doing peoples more leverage in dealing with
the hard work, treated with both of them.
disdain and often violence. Both the United States government
Missionaries also arrived, and the Confederacy would have had to
aiming to spread Russian
Orthodox Christianity from
pay great attention to the Russian Empire
Alaska down to the very during the Civil War. Russian intervention TOP were uneasy about them. However, if a
The native tribes
borders with Mexico. in the war could have shifted the outcome stable Russian base existed in California,
were treated harshly
decisively. Russian support for the by Russia they might have looked upon the Russian
North was unequivocal as the legitimate Empire as a potential ally rather than a
1840s – 1867 government. Holding California would
ABOVE
The draw of gold threat. Mexico faced a constant threat
have given the Russian Empire the ability could have filled from its powerful northern neighbour, no
Russian coffers
to support the North much more directly, less rapacious than any other imperial
SALE OF THE CENTURY possibly ending the war much earlier. state. As a result of the war 1846-
In a bid to consolidate its position, Russia
The Monroe Doctrine forbidding further 48, Mexico lost a colossal amount of
created a number of fortified outposts to
stake its claim on territory and protect its European involvement in the Americas territory to the United States. Militarily
trading interests. But as time went on the would not have affected Russia any outclassed by the US, it was forced to
territories became difficult to govern and more than it affected British control over sign a humiliating treaty ceding Mexican
trade more competitive with the British
Canada. In the 20th century, perhaps, the California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah,
and Americans. Treaties had to be signed
to cling on to something, but the Russian Imperial regime might have survived the Arizona to the US. A powerful Russian
foothold in North America was slipping. In Revolution and Civil War in California to presence in California, however, would
1842 Fort Ross in California was sold, and become a non-Soviet Russian state. have given Mexico a significant ally
in 1867 Tsar Alexander II agreed the sale against the United States. No doubt the
of Alaska to the Americans for $7.2 million
How might Spain and Mexico have Russians too would have felt threatened
pp
(approx. $151 million in today’s money). The
‘A
‘Alaska Purchase’ viewed a Russian California and by the remorseless westward advance of
e
ended a Russian what actions and policies may have the United States and would have probably
dream that had been implemented? cooperated with Mexico to thwart US
proved to be
Spain and later Mexico were aware of expansion. A United States shorn of the
several steps
too far. Russian settlements in California and Pacific Coast and of captured Mexican

72
 Russia Had Kept California

movement before and after World War

THE POSSIBILITY
I which bitterly opposed the capitalist
system. A Soviet California would
have given immense encouragement
to the radical left in the US as well as
providing material support to them. A
living alternative to the capitalist system 1848 – 1855
would have attracted support from many
sections of the US. The Bolsheviks were
adept at exploiting any division in their RUSHING FOR RUSSIAN GOLD
Had California been properly consolidated
opponents’ ranks so would have sought
and fortified as a Russian territory, the huge
to attract support beyond the working influx of wealth that resulted from the Gold
class – the Afro-American population, Rush in 1848/49 would have been completely
disaffected national minorities, and under the control of Imperial Russia. It
women would have provided ample grist would be the Russian, not the American,
economy that would have seen the benefits.
for the Bolshevik mill. The various ‘Red
Additionally, the control of access through
Scares’ that punctuated US history in the permits for those seeking their fortune
post-WW1 period would have been based could have further lined Russia’s pockets.
on more than hysteria. In reaction to such With approximately 300,000
‘gold diggers’ swarming into
a potent threat, the US system might have
California it had the potential
become even more polarised and divided, for a ready-made and wealthy
perhaps to the extent of threatening state, with those settling
democracy itself. there becoming Russian, not
American, citizens.
How might Russia’s global attitude
and position be different today if it
had kept a foothold in North America
1941
and Hawaii?
Putin’s Russia would be in a much
stronger position to play a global role if
SOVIET PEARL OF THE PACIFIC
Should Soviet Russia have retained its
California would have remained Russian. territory in Hawaii, thereby holding overall
It would have provided Russia with a naval supremacy in the Pacific, then it
base to exert influence across the Pacific, would be a Soviet Pearl Harbor attacked, or
not, by Japan. Earlier that year, following
unrestricted by ice-bound ports or hostile
Hitler’s invasion of Russia, the Soviets
neighbours blocking access to the open allied themselves with the West, and so
ocean. Hawaii would have given the were already embroiled in the war. But
Russians a naval base to project power without a direct attack on
the US to bring them into the
into any part of the Pacific. Latin America
conflict, would the US have
would have been in direct contact through still entered the war? And
a border with Mexico, again opening up Japan may have thought twice
that vast continent to much more direct about attacking such a close
territory would have been a much less ABOVE-INSET Russian influence. neighbour as Russia, rather than
Alexander II was concentrating on its ambitions
formidable power. Mexico could have US hegemony in South America could
the last Tsar to in China and Southeast Asia.
used the Russians as a counter-weight to reign over American have been directly challenged by Russia.
US power and influence, ensuring a much territories The potency of an anti-US stance in
more balanced relationship between the ABOVE South America has been demonstrated 1962 – PRESENT
two countries. Missionaries many times. No doubt Russian California
sought to spread
would have its share of nuclear missiles,
What would be the biggest fears and
Russian Orthodox
Christianity providing a far greater and far more THE CALIFORNIAN
differences following the transition
from Imperial to Soviet sovereignty
immediate threat to the US. Putin’s
nuclear blackmail would carry far more
MISSILE CRISIS
Russian military presence in their territory
of the territory? conviction if the nearest missiles were of California, as well as Alaska and Hawaii,
All images: © Alamy, © Getty Images

For the United States a Soviet California on the continental United States within would cause potential flash points along the
border with the US, Mexico, and Canada.
would have presented acute difficulties. minutes of every strategic target there. But under a later Soviet regime, determined
Firstly, it would have exposed the United Putin would be in a position to restrict US to match the size and speed of US global
States to the brutal civil war fought by foreign policy far more effectively than it power of the nuclear age, the threat
the Bolsheviks to consolidate their power. is now. Russia’s attitude to the US in such would be very sinister and very real. The
permanent deployment of Soviet nuclear
That war would have been waged in the a scenario would be more threatening,
missiles only minutes away
United States’ own backyard, not on some given that it would be based on a real from American cities could
distant continent. A Soviet California in ability to interfere in US domestic and change the complexion
the aftermath of WW1 could have had a foreign policy, rather than simply based of not only the Cold War,
direct influence on the internal politics on impotent rage. The US role of global but also heavily influence
US domestic, foreign, and
of the US. Long forgotten now, but the hegemon would be fatally undermined by economic policy.
US actually had a very radical labour the existence of a Russian California.

73
 Through History

NOT JUST A FAN

A new book tells the untold story of the evolution and
design of Chinese fans throughout the centuries

T
he designs and purposes of fans in sunlight, but have since come to be created and of Chinese fan craftsmanship, these fans are
China have been evolving for around exported as artistic works and objects of cultural made from a wide variety of materials with
All images: © Chinese Fans: The Untold Story

3,000 years. Excavations at Mashan significance in their own right. varying designs: some are adorned with specific
(Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, 2023)

in the Hubei region of China in 1982 In a new book entitled Chinese Fans: The motifs while others are decorated with painted
uncovered a bamboo fan that dated from Untold Story (Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, landscapes. The history of these fans, which
the 5th century BCE, demonstrating the long 2023), authors Hahn Eura EunKyung and date from the 18th to the 20th century, is
relationship between the Chinese and the Dr HaYoung Joo showcase China’s cultural discussed within the book, with a specific focus
use of fans. Fans began as purely functional heritage and history through 71 fans from the dedicated to the fans that were produced for
tools for keeping a person cool or blocking out Eurus Collection in Seoul. Exhibiting the best export and trade with the rest of the world.

74
 Not Just A Fan

THE EMPRESS
DOWAGER
Painted by the Dutch
painter Hubert Vos in
1905, this portrait of the
Empress Dowager shows
her holding a fixed fan
decorated with a peony.
The Chinese fingernail
guards worn by the
Empress symbolise her
status and wealth.

EUROPEAN INFLUENCE
Dating from the mid 19th century, this fan
features designs on both sides that depict various
European landscapes, flowers and ladies. The fan
is made from wood with a detailed black lacquer
and gilt decoration.

CAI WENJI
The design on this gold paper fan shows the
poet and musician Cai Wenji, who lived during
the Late Han Dynasty, returning to Han. The fan
monture is made from bamboo and has a silk
slipcase. It dates from 1830.

KING OF THE FLOWERS

The peony is called the King of the
Flowers because of its large blossoms.
It is heavily featured on this silk fan
from the 20th century alongside
chrysanthemums and other flowers. A
poem by the painter Zheng Xie is also
inscribed on the fan.

75
 Through History

POETRY FAN
This paper fan from 1902 has a design
on one side of ladies in a garden. However,
on the reverse side there are 15 poems
inked onto the fan, which are from the Tang
Dynasty and are written in standard script.

PAINTED FAN WITH GUARD

This fan from the 20th century features
a painted landscape in the style of artist
Chen Shaomei. The fan’s bamboo guard has
intricate designs of a bird and flowers carved
onto it, which adds to the fan’s overall style.

76
 Not Just A Fan

WOODEN FAN
Made from lacquered wood rather than paper
or silk, this ornately decorated fan from the 19th
century had gold gilt decorations of various figures
and pavilions, as well as Buddha’s hands. The outer
rods, called guards, depict birds and flowers.

GARDEN FAN
This beautiful fan dates from the middle of the 19th
century and thus from China’s Qing Dynasty. The fan is
made from green silk and is decorated with depictions of
figures in a garden painted in ink. The monture is black-
lacquered wood decorated with gilt.

Chinese Fans:
The Untold Story
(Scala Arts & Heritage
Publishers, 2023) by
Hahn Eura EunKyung
and Dr HaYoung Joo,
in association with
the Eurus Collection
(Seoul, South Korea)
is available to
buy now.

77
 REVIEWS The books, TV shows and films causing a stir in the history world this month
Main image: © Apple Studios Inset image: © Alamy

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama packs a mighty emotional wallop
Certificate: 15 Director: Martin Scorsese Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro Released: 20 October

D
avid Grann’s acclaimed 2017 non-fiction population already subjected to a 19th century This is a handsome and expensive production
book Killers Of The Flower Moon: Oil, genocide and social exclusion. (to the tune of 200 million dollars) boasting a
Money, Murder And The Birth Of The Martin Scorsese’s latest epic boasts its own terrific ensemble cast, with Gladstone’s Mollie
FBI (to give it its full weighty title) twist. The film is nothing at all like the book. rightly centred as the heart and soul of the
detailed a sickening, albeit little-known Grann’s factual take was an overview of the story. Also, Scorsese’s aesthetic approach recalls
injustice against the Osage Native Americans case history and its aftermath; the gang of those atmospheric melodramas of the 1950s; the
of Oklahoma. Grann’s historic crime saga is incorruptible J Edgars slowly realised what was ones made by his cinematic heroes Elia Kazan
cleverly structured like a mystery narrative, going on and found the conspiracy went all the and George Stevens, directors who crafted
complete with jaw-dropping twists, making it way back to Washington’s Capitol Hill. Scorsese widescreen spectacles about the travails and
both an addictive and informative read, and ripe had originally set out to faithfully adapt the sorrows of damaged people.
for the Hollywood treatment. material, but once he met with the Osage and Across its sprawling three hours and 26
In late-1910s Osage County, on land once began to listen to their views and perspectives, minutes running time, Mollie Burkhart’s tragic
deemed worthless enough for it to become an he changed tact and reworked the script to focus journey puts her (and the viewer) through the
Indian reservation, oil was discovered. In a on the troubled marriage between millionaire emotional wringer. Proud, clever, forthright,
short space of time, the Osage became some of Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone) and her she is extremely vulnerable and manipulated
the wealthiest folk in the world. They owned duplicitous husband, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo because she is seen as ‘lesser’, as a Native
mansions, drove Rolls-Royces, and wore the DiCaprio), who returned from fighting in France American, as a woman.
finest clothes. Naturally, the white man took and fell under the influence of malignant Sure, Scorsese might not have given the
notice. By the early 1920s, families with oil schemer, his uncle William Hale (Robert De audience what it was expecting, i.e. a rehash of
claims were being murdered. Eventually, the Niro), a lawyer and supposed friend to the tribe. the book, but he smartly condensed its stomach-
newly formed Federal Bureau of Investigation Essentially, Grann’s objective police-procedural churning themes into vivid cinematic form. MC
sent a team out to Oklahoma, to look into the style was transformed while retaining the
spate of unsolved homicides. But this is no same harrowing viewpoint. The marriage, its
‘white saviour’ tale. Far from it. It is one of dynamics and the sinister plot against Mollie
racism, greed and politics further humiliating a became a microcosm of the wider case.

78
 Book Film TV Podcast Games Other
Reviews by
Martyn Conterio, Catherine Curzon

THE SHOULDERS
WE STAND ON
A fascinating history of the UK’s Black
and Asian communities
Author: Preeti Dhillon Publisher: Dialogue Books
Price: £20 Released: Out now

A
s the UK seeks to answer pressing inspiring history that offers new understanding
questions of community, equality and and optimism for the present and future.
belonging, the legacies of Empire and The Shoulders We Stand On is a deeply
Colonialism are once again under the involving book, by turns devastating and
microscope. In The Shoulders We Stand On, enormously inspiring. In its examination of the
Preeti Dhillon considers these questions as part fight for equality that goes on to this day and
of a broad history of the United Kingdom, which its sensitive and evocative narrative, Dhillon has
gives voice to the part played by the Black and crafted an important work. Many of the stories
Asian communities. and events described in the book will likely be
Through ten individual examinations of new to readers, but these are stories that should
movements and events including the Indian be told and remembered. They are part of our
Workers’ Association, Brixton Black Women’s history, our present and our future, and The
Group and the Battle of Brick Lane, Dhillon charts Shoulders We Stand On is a vital book, offering
the history of Black and Brown communities a long-overdue analysis and examination of a
from the 1960s to the 1980s, turning the history that shouldn’t have been forgotten. CC
spotlight on the movements and figures who
have been unjustly forgotten. By focusing on
these narratives, Dhillon offers a portrait of an

BEAUTY IS IN THE STREET

A readable account of post-war protest
A
Author: Joachim C Häberlen Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: £35 Released: Out now
P

I
n the streets of Europe after World War groups and personalities who emerged as
II, the people were rising up. On either leaders and followers, what their efforts
side of the Iron Curtain, members of the achieved and how they continue to make their
public poured out into the open air to come voices heard today.
together and raise their voice for change. Beauty Is In The Street is not just a history of
I Beauty Is In The Street, Joachim C Häberlen
In protest, but an examination of the evolution
examines a history of protest in the second
e and effectiveness of the protest movement and
half of the 20th century, culminating in
h the new movements that were born from it.
protests that changed the history of the world.
p Häberlen argues that even those movements
Häberlen splits the history into four parts, that died out offer us a tantalising taste of a
beginning
b with the 1950s and 1960s, before world that might have been, while those that
moving
m on to examine forms of protest from wrought real change continue to shape the
violence
v to media and everything in between, world in which we live. It is a timely history
then
t exploring 1968 and beyond and, finally, that will speak to many readers today. CC
an
a examination of the communes in which
activists
a came together to strive for change.
Along
A the way we meet the movements,

79
 RECOMMENDS…
Victory in the Desert The Weimar Years: Rise & Fall
As Europe quivered beneath the boot of the German war Author Frank McDonough Price £35 Publisher Head of Zeus
machine, there was hope of a victory elsewhere to raise morale.
The arena for battle against Nazi Germany was North Africa, McDonough has written a vibrant and vital study of an era vastly
where defeat would spell disaster, but triumph could be a step overshadowed by subsequent events. It serves as a timely
towards the downfall of Hitler’s regime. This is the story of how and sobering reminder not to take democracy for granted. He
the Allies outfoxed Rommel and opened the way to invading Italy. concludes that it was not the financial disaster of the Great
Depression that brought down the Weimar Republic, rather
Out Out Germany’s growing indifference to democratic values and the
Buy Victory in the Desert in shops or online at
now! magazinesdirect.com Price: £14.99
now! growing appeal of Hitler’s Nazi Party. Weimar tragically proved to
be the road to disaster.

BLACK ATLANTIC:
POWER, PEOPLE, RESISTANCE
A powerful history of Cambridge and the Black Atlantic
Author: Jake Subryan Richards (editor) and Victoria Avery (editor)
Publisher: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd Price: £25 Released: Out now

B
etween 1400 and 1900, the nations Through its four chapters, Black
of Europe sought to expand Atlantic’s contributors bring to life a
their reach into the Americas, world before Atlantic enslavement. This
colonising the land they found and glimpse of the world that once was is an
transporting more than 12.5 million essential opening, presenting as it does an
people from sub-Saharan Africa into evocative landscape that was destroyed. It
slavery. Here, where cultures, peoples and moves on to an examination of the wealth
histories were forced together, the Black that flowed into Cambridge via Atlantic
Atlantic was formed. Cambridgeshire enslavements, untangling the connections
and Cambridge played a vital role in this with Dutch society, as well as royal
history. Indeed, this book begins with the patronage and, inevitably, the empires that
Fitzwilliam family, who gave their name went to war. The third section of the book
to Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, and turns the lens on Blackness in European
bolstered their fortune with business art and fashion, before moving on to the
interests in the East India Company and final section, which examines resistance
South Sea Company. and remembering.
In Black Atlantic, editors Jake Subryan This richly illustrated book, offering
Richards and Victoria Avery have gathered maps, short essays and dozens of images,
contributions from multiple authors to takes a unique approach to telling its
examine the history of the Black Atlantic, stories. The artworks and artefacts
telling a story of colonialism, wealth and included herein are not merely dusty
profit. The book will be accompanied relics of the distant past, but each has its
by an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam own story to tell. The contributors to and
Museum and through a combination of editors of Black Atlantic lend vivid and
artefacts, artworks and other specimens, evocative voices to the items included,
Black Atlantic is a powerful and essential telling their stories and placing them in
examination of the growth of the slave a context that speaks to us today. More
trade, turning the focus not only on the modern pieces tell these continuing
traders and plantation-owners who grew stories in the 20th century, placing them
rich, but most importantly on the enslaved firmly in our own world, rather than one
people who were taken from their homes. that is consigned to history.
Black Atlantic is a history not only of Black Atlantic is a fascinating and
colonialism, but of resistance, and it places extremely accessible work that should
the events of those centuries in context appeal and speak to a wide audience. It is
today, examining how those events still by turns shocking, inspiring and deeply
echo in the modern world. Though it moving, and it is a crucial account of the
“A fascinating and extremely does accompany an exhibition, the book people of the Black Atlantic. CC
accessible work that is shocking, stands alone as a fascinating and deeply
evocative work, which deserves to be read
inspiring and deeply moving” by as broad an audience as possible.

80
HFaIS TO R Y H O LL Y W O O D
ct versus fiction on the silver screen
VS

CALL NORTHSIDE 777

Director: Henry Hathaway Starring: James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J Cobb Country: USA Year: 1948
VERDICT: An entertaining, if
James Stewart stars as a reporter determined to get occasionally bland, true crime drama that
in its final moments abandons factual
to the truth, but is the film as committed? accuracy for dramatic tension.

The film follows Chicago The film chooses to focus Stewart’s character requests McNeal proves Wiecek’s At the film’s climax, Wiecek
01 reporter PJ McNeal (James
Stewart) investigating two men
02 on one man, Richard
Conte’s Frank Wiecek, based on
03 Frank Wiecek undertake
a lie detector test. While the acting
04 innocence in an elaborate
scheme involving enlarging a
05 is set free and bemoans that
he has been given “a new suit and
wrongly convicted of murdering a Joseph Majczek. This is because the of the gentleman portraying the photograph. This sequence was ten bucks, almost a dollar a year”
policeman. However, it was in fact real killers were never apprehended lie detector leaves something to be introduced for dramatic purposes; as he has been incarcerated for 11
two journalists, Jack McPhaul and and the other man, Theodore desired, this is because he was in fact instead, McPhaul and McGuire years. In actuality, Majczek received
James McGuire, who investigated Marcinkiewicz, was still in custody Leonarde Keeler, one of the inventors were able to prove that some of the substantially more. Alongside a suit
the case. during the film’s release. of the Polygraph, playing himself. original evidence was false. he was given $24,000 compensation.
All images: © 20th Century Fox,
© Alamy, © Shutterstock

81
 On The Menu
Check out
THE ULTIMATE
HISTORY COOKBOOK
available now

Did
you know?
Gingerbread cake like
this was sometimes used
as a stomach settler
in 17th century
America. Ingredients
250g plain flour
230ml water
1 egg
100g granulated sugar
115g butter
340g molasses

Main image: © Alamy

Inset image: © Getty Images
1 tsp baking soda

GINGERBREAD CAKE
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
Pinch of salt

A STICKY AND SPICED AMERICAN DESSERT, USA, 17TH CENTURY - PRESENT

G
ingerbread remains a popular dish in
Europe and America and has become
METHOD
synonymous with celebratory occasions 01 Grease a rectangular dish with butter. ingredients are incorporated into the
in the autumn and winter months. Since 02 Preheat the oven to 190°C. cake batter.
ancient civilisations like the Greeks and Romans 03 In a bowl, cream together the butter and 08 Boil the water until it is hot.
made the first versions of gingerbread, recipes sugar until combined. 09 Slowly add the hot water to the cake batter a
for different incarnations of the spiced treat 04 Using a whisk, add the egg and molasses to little at a time and stir to combine.
have evolved across the world. This gingerbread the bowl and mix until combined. 10 Repeat the previous step until all the water is
recipe from America is baked in the form of a 05 Sieve the flour, baking soda, ginger, incorporated into the cake batter.
cake and became popular in the 17th century nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and salt into a 11 Pour the runny mixture into the
when European colonists first brought their separate bowl. rectangular dish.
version of the recipe to the States. Americans 06 Slowly add a small amount of the sieved dry 12 Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until an
replaced the traditional honey with molasses, ingredients to the wet cake batter and mix inserted skewer comes out of the cake cleanly.
which was cheaper, making their gingerbread to combine. 13 Serve hot with cream or leave on a rack
cake rich, dense and sticky. 07 Repeat the previous step until all the dry to cool.

NEXT MONTH THE RISE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ON SALE

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82
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9000
00 902
02
0 23