Anns gach gnìomh a nì duine ’s mór urram nan gàidheal: Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir as the Voice of the Gael’s Military Masculinity in the 18th Century
—Liesbeth Van Hulle, Journal of Scottish Historical Studies
4/4
https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jshs.2022.0345?journalCode=jshs
"Capitalism and extreme poverty: A global analysis of real wages, human height, and mortality since the long 16th century
[…]
• Data on real wages suggests that, historically, extreme poverty was uncommon and arose primarily during periods of severe social and economic dislocation, particularly under colonialism.
• The rise of capitalism from the long 16th century onward is associated with a decline in wages to below subsistence, a deterioration in human stature, and an upturn in premature mortality.
• In parts of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, wages and/or height have still not recovered."
Sullivan, Hickel, 2022 : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22002169
It took @CharliePlett several months to map the British Empire and the hundreds of boundary changes involving its subdivisions and dependencies over the centuries. We’re a bit relieved it’s over – the huge boundary changes came close to melting the server a few times. Get a peek behind the scenes of this project from our intrepid mapper:
https://www.openhistoricalmap.org/user/CharliePlett/diary/35
#Infrastructure in British #India:
"Natural drainage of Bengal was disturbed due to construction of a network of #railway embankments resulting in formation of poorly drained “compartments” in different areas of Bengal. This led to excessive silting, damaged crop production, increased chance of flooding and created stagnant water pockets that were apt for water-borne diseases like cholera and malaria."
Excerpt from: https://learn.culturalindia.net/bengal-famine-1943.html
#famine #starvation #agriculture #rice #Bangladesh #Churchill #wwii #transport #railways #railTransport #crops #colonialism #BritishEmpire #BritishRule
Long read: British rule in Palestine during the 1920s and 1930s enabled Zionist colonisation at the expense of Palestinians.
A.Bustos, "How Britain supported Zionism and prevented Palestinian freedom": https://www.declassifieduk.org/how-britain-supported-zionism-and-prevented-palestinian-freedom/ @palestine @histodons 
ERTHYGL NEWYDD NEW ARTICLE
VALENTINE MORRIS (1727 - 1789), colonial administrator and landowner
'On his father's death in 1743, Morris inherited the Piercefield estate, along with substantial plantations in Antigua including a great number of enslaved people. These included Looby's, Crabb's, and Martin's in St Paul Parish in southern Antigua and Jolly's in St Mary Parish in western Antigua. In 1776, Morris was rated as owning 1,004 acres on the island, which was worked by 284 enslaved people. As Ivor Waters strikingly puts it, 'The elegant Valentine Morris owned Piercefield in Monmouthshire, worth £50,000 and Piercefield, a slave in Antigua, worth £10.' He was largely an absentee plantation owner while in Britain, apart from a visit to Antigua in 1754 following a period of drought there.' -- Adam Coward
Read the full story here: https://biography.wales/article/s15-MORR-VAL-1771
#histodons #Wales #BritishEmpire #EighteenthCentury #Bywgraffiadur #DiversityProject
Darlun/Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valentine_Morris_(1727-1789),_Governor_of_Saint_Vincent,_by_Allan_Ramsay.jpg
Another part of our empire finally let go!
Not as good as it first sounded (or maybe I misread it) - we'll still retain some control over the base on Diego Garcia - but still good news.
Some years ago I met a family from Diego Garcia, whose parents had been forcibly deported by us from their home in the 60s along with every other inhabitant of the island. I hope one day their home is their own again.
While the #IrishTimes insists on hiding this pronouncement behind their #paywall, it needs to be discussed openly. #IrishReunification and #ScottishIndependence go hand in hand. They are the (final) #tippingpoints in the dismantlement of the #BritishEmpire once and for all. Both are long past due. The #Royals know this better than anyone. That franchise will be #privatized as well.
https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/09/26/irish-unification-should-be-an-election-pledge-from-all-dail-parties-varadkar-says/
