Wife Beating in Victorian England…the ‘Rule of Thumb’
Ever wondered where the term, ‘Rule of thumb’ came from? It derived from old British legal traditions which considered a husband the ruler of his wife.…
More than they bargained for? Margaret Thatcher and her 3 winning terms.
When Margaret Thatcher was returned as Britain’s Prime Minister for her third consecutive term in June 1987, there was both outrage and admiration by the British…
Botany Bay – the legacy of the 18th Century Colonial Encounter
British first encounters with Australia’s First Peoples on the shores of Botany Bay
‘Mrs Beeton’ – the 19th century ‘Domestic Goddess’.
Between 1780 and 1850 Britain was industrialising. Towns were transforming into cities and the landscape changing from subsistence farming into one of large factories and mills. Traditional crafts were being…
What did it mean to be a women in the Middle Ages?
The historian Catherine Macaulay stated in her History of England, ‘the invidious censures which may ensue from striking into a path of literature rarely trodden by my…
The 16th century reformation & the elevation of women
The Catholic Church’s long held beliefs were rocked by the many changes of the 16th Century Reformation. Puritans in the 17th Century sought continued reform and idealized…
Melissa Blacks Very British History 