THE SACKING OF MULTAN – 2 JANUARY 1849 On 2 January 1849, British redcoats, under the command of Brigadier-General the Honourable Henry Dundas, raped, pillaged and murdered hundreds of civilians, after fighting their way into the city of Multan, located in what is today the province of Punjab in Pakistan. Historian Saul David comments that…
[ 22 July 1900 ] On 25 March, Sir Frederick Hodgson, the British governor of the Gold Coast, decided that he needed to clearly demonstrate British intolerance of any political or even cultural independence, by insisting that the Ashanti people surrender the Golden Stool, the traditional throne of Ashanti kings which was believed to house…
[ 2 November 1903 ] Following an attack by the Kotaibis on a British military outpost at Sulaik in Aden (today part of Yemen), an expedition composed of 600 soldiers of the Royal Hampshire Regiment and the 23rd Bombay Rifles under the command of General Maitland set off in to the hills on 30th October…
[ 23 April 1930 ] On 23 April 1930, British and Gurkha troops opened fire on an unarmed crowd in Peshawar killing at least 20, according to the official estimate, and as many as 400, according to Indian sources.1 A large crowd had gathered at the Qissa Khwani Bazaar to protest the arrest that morning of…
When considering how we learn about and remember British history, it is worth considering some comments by the linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky, who is well known for being unusually critical of American foreign policy and its long record of military interventions overseas. He makes an incisive observation about the fate of historical anniversaries,…
THE AUTHOR Alisdare Hickson is a graduate of the London School of Economics, with an MSc in Economic History. He also holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Essex. After a period working as a researcher, he returned to his true passions of history, politics and photography. As an amateur photojournalist, he covered…
[ 13 June 1965 ] Today in 1965, Labour MP Tony Benn noted in his diary, regarding the situation in Vietnam, that ‘the Americans are now deciding to invade in full strength and we are left in the embarrassing position of appearing to support them.’1 Washington’s role had previously been limited to deploying military advisers and…
[ 10 February 1846 ] On 10 February 1846, British troops slaughtered thousands of Sikhs attempting to flee the Battle of Sobraon in the Punjab. After a fierce two hour engagement, Redcoat infantry and cavalry, under the command of Major-General Sir Hugh Gough, concentrated their attack on the surviving soldiers, who were hemmed into a…
17 August 1967 Today in 1967, the Birmingham Post revealed that, despite Britain’s commitment to neutrality in the war between Nigeria’s military junta and the secessionist state of Biafra, and despite the government’s claim that it would only provide the generals with military equipment which was defensive in nature, two British built fast seaward class patrol boats…
19 June 1953 [ Please note: this article is very similar to one posted for 14 June 1953 relating to the same two suspects ] On 13 June 1953, Captain Gerald S.L. Griffiths led a company of British soldiers into the Chuka region of Kenya to flush out Kenyan Mau Mau rebels hiding in the…
