Letterhole Diary – November 2018
Another month passes, and another Letterhole Diary follows. In November we look at the death of Bernardo Bertolucci, the centenary of armistice, and this month’s must-reads.
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Tag: History
England and the Jews: From invitation to expulsion
In the eleventh century, English Jews and gentiles lived together peacefully. By the end of the thirteenth, the entire Jewish population had been expelled. What went wrong for England’s Jews?
Little Letterhole: Remembering the Prague Spring
ON 20 AUGUST 1968, half a million Warsaw Pact soldiers swarmed into Czechoslovakia. Within 24 hours, the whole country wasContinue Reading
Football, food and Fiat: A post-industrial pilgrimage to Turin
There are plenty of reasons to visit Turin: fine food and drink, fabulous Alpine vistas and a post-industrial vibe. But there’s also the monument to Grande Torino, a unique piece of football heritage.
Clash of civilisations: Iran vs. the West
Iran – or Persia – has frequently been portrayed as a civilisational foe. Yet classical Greek attempts to rationalise their enemy go beyond our own shallow interpretation.
Olympic diplomacy from Sparta to Korea
The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have been a useful exercise in relationship building for the two Koreas. Though unpopular in some quarters, this diplomatic act has precedence in ancient history.
Heritage of hate: How the Confederacy created Charlottesville
American white supremacists take their cues from a far older influence than the Nazis: the Confederate States of America, a nation dedicated to upholding and extending slavery.
The prime minister who lost America
Lord North is sometimes called Britain’s worst ever prime minister. But does the man who lost the American colonies deserve this title, or was he a hapless victim of circumstance?
Age of Empires: Good game, bad history
Video games can be a damn good educational tool. Among the pantheon of video games, the Age of Empires series does more than any other to make people study history.
Closed ports and Christians: Japan’s era of isolation
Distrust of a religious minority, limited interest in international trade, a desire to protect a national identity: this is early modern Japan, a feudal backwater that had cut itself off from the world.
