3 JANUARY

  UNGRATEFUL SHEIKH SHAKHBUT DEPOSED BY BRITISH LED COUP. 6 August 1966 – The British deposed Sheikh Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi in a military coup because he was failing to reward British military support by spending enough on British goods, although in the words of historians the serious problem his prudence presented has been more…

GENERAL ADMITS THE FUTILITY OF ‘ACTS OF GREAT VIOLENCE’ IN IRELAND [ 10 January 1798 ] Major General John Moore disapproved of the enthusiasm with which other British officers committed atrocities in Ireland while suppressing local uprisings against British rule. On 10 January 1798, he made an insightful observation in his diary. KITCHENER ARRIVES IN…

THE ANCIENT CITY OF BENIN LOOTED AND BURNED. [ 18 February 1897 ] On 18 February 1897, a punitive expedition of 1,200 Royal Marines, bluejackets and African troops, under the command of Rear Admiral Harry Rawson seized the ancient city of Benin. INDIAN SAILORS “LOOSE CONTROL OF THEIR SENSES” IN ANTI-BRITISH MUTINY [ 18 February…

HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS AND PRISONERS KILLED AND TORTURED AT TAIT-SAN. [ 3 May 1863 ] On this day in 1863, Chinese imperial troops under the command of Major Charles Gordon (who was later to become the legendary General Gordon of Khartoum) killed hundreds of civilians and prisoners in the city of Tait-san, having captured it…

ROYAL NAVY DESTROYS LAGOS – ‘AN IMMENSE NUMBER OF NATIVES BEING KILLED’ [ 26 December 1851 ] On 26 December 1851, British naval vessels began a three day bombardment of the coastal town of Lagos on the west coast of Africa, reducing it to rubble, at a cost, to quote a British press report, of ‘an…

LORD MANSFIELD – THROWING SLAVES OVERBOARD CANNOT BE MURDER. [ This piece has had its date changed to 22 May ] On this day in 1783, Lord Mansfied, the presiding judge at an appeal hearing, issued his verdict on the case of  132 men, women and children thrown overboard from a British owned slave ship the…