History heaven!

Policing through time

2006-03-06T17:51:00.000Z

...tbc

Protests

2006-02-14T18:19:00.000Z

Protests are a key component of your exam.

The Poll Tax protests, London, 1990

In Paper I you will be expected to compare characteristics of two of these 3 core protests:

Kett's Rebellion
Suffragettes
General Strike

The first pace to start is to make sure you have the basic information clear about each protest - mind maps and revision cards! Then plan comparing them.

This podcast will help you compare the context - what else was going on at the time of each protest - and how this helps us understand why they were dealt with in different ways.

podcast:

The Luddites

2006-01-10T12:32:00.000Z

A protest group famous for...smashing things up!

Some points for your revision cards/Mind Maps - can you put them in the correct order?:

1811/12
Nottinghamshire and other northern textile areas (eg Bolton)
Economic conditions improved and the protests died out by 1817
Famous for smashing weaving machines ('frame-breaking')
Also sent threatening letters from 'General Ludd'
General Ludd didn't exist...
The government was very scared of revolution in Britain
Protest was a response to changing technology - machines were replacing skilled weavers - and expensive food prices!
The French Revolution began in 1789
Some Luddites attacked Rawfolds Mill in April 1812
Britain was at war with revolutionary France
Luddites were arrested and some Transported to Australia, others were executed

The Spartacus website has a great range of sources to help you undertake very thorough revision on this topic:

Spartacus - Luddites

The Learning Curve website also has some GREAT evidence about the Luddites (and other protests) for you to really extend your understanding and impress the examiners!

Other political prisoners who were transported included:

Irish political prisoner groups shipped included the Defenders in 1794 and the United Irishmen in 1800. Ireland political groups transported to Australia between 1815 and 1840 included the Caravets, Carders, Whiteboys, Rightboys, Hearts of Steel and Ribbon Men.

Scottish political groups sent to Australia included the Scottish Martyrs in 1794 and the Radical Weavers in 1820.

English political groups sent to Australia included the Luddites in 1812, the East Anglian food rioters in 1816, those in the Pentrich Rising of 1817, the Cato Street Conspirators in 1820, the Yorkshire Radical Weavers in 1821, the Bristol Rioters in 1831, the Welsh rioters in 1835, Swing rioters and machine breakers in 1830, the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1834 and numerous Chartists between 1839 and 1848.

South Africa deported many blacks between 1828 and 1834 that were not political prisoners but had transgressed the racist South African laws.

Canada had two uprisings between 1837 and 1838 both republican in nature. These occurred in Quebec and Ontario against the colonial administration. One hundred and fifty three Canadian and American dissidents were sent to Australia. The U.S. Government protested the exiling of the U.S. Citizens but were unsuccessful in stopping them being sent to Van Diemens Land.

Young Offenders

2005-11-17T10:56:00.000Z

When did the punishment of young people change the most - the 19th or 20th centuries?

To answer this exam style question you need to consider how young people were punished in the:

18th century
19th century
20th century

What changed and what continuity was there?
How did the punishment/reform balance change?
What were the big problems, indeed what are the problems today?

One aspect to consider is the age of criminal responsibility. This information comes from the 'lawinabox' website:

The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is the lowest in the European Union. Responsibility begins at 10 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland In Scotland responsibility begins at 8. This was the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales, it having been raised from 7 in 1932 until the age was raised again south of the border by the CYPA 1963.At common law there used to be a rebuttable presumption that a child aged not less than 10 but under 14 years was doli incapax i.e. incapable of committing a crime. This was abolished by Section 34 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which, effectively, puts children over the age of 10 on an equal footing with adults so far as criminal liability is concerned.

Transportation

2005-11-04T13:17:00.000Z

Transportation to Australia was mainly used as an alternative punishment to hanging for minor crimes from the 1780s onwards. The distant, strange location was to act as a deterrent too - before the first prison fleets arrived, no white people had settled in Australia! It was also used as a punishment for English political prisoners, and Irish rebels too.

Revision tip:
1) There were essentially 5 reasons why Transportation was increasingly used - why not draw around your hand and write one reason on each finger?
2) Write TRANSPORTATION down the side of a sheet of paper and try to come up with a point/piece of evidence to fit each letter. Eg:
T = Thomas Chaddick, transported for stealing cucumbers

TRANSPORTATION penalty shootout

However, by the mid 19th century many people felt transportation was no longer a deterrent - in fact it was seen as an opportunity for a better life. Furthermore many Australians were bitterly opposed to the convict 'stain' continuing any longer. What can you learn from this source about why Transportation ended?

One political prisoner transported for his alleged role in the Nottingham voting reform riots of 1830 was Valentine Marshall. He was the victim of a show trial, with dubious evidence against him, and judges/juries looking for a conviction. He spent the rest of his life in Australia, after serving his sentence and winning his ticket of leave.

This poem, by a Rush Croft student, sums up Marshall's experience:

Valentine Marshall was accused,
When he received it he was bemused.
He was even more confused,
When justice he was refused.
He was accused of burning Colwick Hall,
They fixed the jury, he had no help at all.
The people were angry, they made demonstrations;
The fate of Valentine was just Transportation!

Tyburn Executions

2005-10-11T10:48:00.000+01:00

Dying for their beliefs

To commemorate some of the Catholics executed for their faith at Tyburn, there is now a monastery dedicated to their memory. There is a guided tour, and a website with some 'interesting' relics and information.

http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/martyrs/martyrs_relics.html

At Smithfield market, another site of executions in London, there is a monument to the Scottish hero William Wallace, of Braveheart fame.

Fresh flowers are regularly laid in his memory.

Mind Maps...

2005-09-12T22:26:00.000+01:00

...for every topic!

Mind Maps are fantastic ways of helping you revise, as you will remember from your study skills seminar. The colour, pictures, curved branches and the organised information all really reinforce the learning that you are doing.
_________________________________________

Mind Map checklist:

1) Strong central image drawn on landscape paper - eg Prison reform (prison bars as image?)
2) Map is organised into branches - eg names of different reformers
3) Branches start thick and get thinner. Branch titles in CAPITAL LETTERS
4) Lots of information coming off each branch
5) Use one colour per branch, perhaps using colouring pencils to create zones of colour
6) Lots of simple pictures to help you remember - humour helps too!
7) Stick your completed Mind Map up and test yourself. Can you recreate it? Read your book again and see what you can add. Are there any good "quotations" you could add too?

Be creative with your Mind Maps - give them your own style. Having fun with your revision will help you remember too!

EE's Northern Ireland Mindmap

Check out the Mindmap podcast and other revision ideas at rushcroft.com - listen to it on your mp3 player!

Public executions

2005-09-12T22:03:00.000+01:00

During the Bloody Code (the period when the death penalty was applied for minor crimes) executions were held in public, to act as a deterrent. Tyburn (modern Marble Arch at the end of Oxford Street) had the most famous hanging tree in London.

This website has some fine evidence:

executions

as does this one (it even has some of the prisoners' final speeches - the origin of Speakers Corner!):

Tyburn Tree

Examiners may be looking for attitudes to public execution (eg who thought it worked/didn't work as a deterrent) and "quotations" are always useful to remember.

2005-08-31T11:02:00.000+01:00

The French Revolution (1789)

Following the violence of the French Revolution (this French tile shows the French King being executed at the guillotine), English politicians were extremely ill-disposed towards political change in England. They had no desire to lose their power, posessions and certainly not their heads! This helps to explain the severe reaction of the authorities to protests in the decades that followed - from the Luddites to the Peterloo massacre and even the later voting reform riots that led to the Transportation of Valentine Marshall from Nottingham to Australia!

This is a useful way to extend your knowledge on the events of 1789 and how English people reacted to the Revolution: Snapshot website!

This website has LOTS of information about 19th century protests and how the authorities reacted to them: Protest website!

Don't forget, the early 1800s (the early 19th century) will be the focus of the 2006 paper II exam:

Punishment & Protest 1750-1900

Approaches to punishment: Bloody Code/Prisons
The use of Transportation
Dealing with protest: the Luddites

Welcome to GCSE History!

2005-08-31T10:45:00.000+01:00

Welcome to History heaven - a haven for GCSE students to find ideas, tips, handy hints and extension activities to help you on your way to GCSE success. This Blog is aimed at students from Rush Croft School & Sports College, but others studying our course may find it helpful too!

Course components:

> Germany 1918-1945
> Coursework: the Holocaust
> Coursework: Northern Irealand 1960s - present day
> Crime, Punishment & Protest

Of course you may find the > History section of Rushcroft.com <>