INSIDE HISTORY

The Power behind the Throne focuses on those individuals or organisations that held the real power behind the state over time. From Parliament challenging the power of the Monarchy, the mistresses that held the control of the powerful, how secrets could bring down the elite and how the military wielded the sword of power.

As always we have gathered the finest historians writing about their specialist fields including:

Lauren Johnson (Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI)
Matthew Lewis (Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me)
Helen Carr (HistoryHit, Hidden Histories)
Debbie Kilroy (Get History)
And Many More.

Join us for this journey as we ask, who was the real power behind the throne?

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NEW ISSUE: THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE

WHY THE VOICE OF FREDERICK
DOUGLASS STILL MATTERS

“The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.”

You could be forgiven for assuming that this was part of a speech delivered during the Black Lives Matter campaign. A campaign that has made the world listen, stand up and take notice to the ongoing institutional racism that undoubtedly occurs. Yet, these are not the words of a 21st Century orator but that of Frederick Douglass during his 1852 speech at the Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York.

Born into Slavery, Douglass escaped his captivity in 1838. He would go on to write about his experience as a slave in his seminal work, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave in 1845. The text highlighted the brutality inflicted in the name of the system and indeed, the cruelty suffered by those trapped within. The book would go on to become a bestseller in the northern states of the USA igniting a further desire for the abolition of slavery. However, abolition was far from a speedy process.

Read the full article here

MAJOR JONATHAN LETTERMAN:
THE FATHER OF BATTLEFIELD MEDICINE

When the Springfield Musket arrived on the scene in 1861 it had become the weapon that effectively changed warfare, Accurate to more than 500 yards, the Springfield would get its first real outing during the American Civil War with devastating consequences. Whilst the technology had advanced, the tactics operated in the battlefield had yet to catch up.

Lining up in traditional formations, the armies of the Union and the Confederacy would charge each other head-on in the same manner as armies had fought for years prior. It provided the Springfield Musket with plenty of targets and it duly delivered resulting in massive casualties as the 0.58 calibre bullets, weighing nine pounds, penetrated the enemy. More than a third of any unit would fall victim once the whistle was blown. Back in 1861, the Springfield was a weapon of mass destruction.

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THE REAL WYATT EARP

The gunfight was over in just over 30 seconds. As the smoke cleared no one at the time would have given it a second thought. After all, this was the wild west. A place where gambling, prostitution and corruption were rife. What happened on the 26th October 1881, has become the one of the most iconic moments of American History. The explosive crescendo would firmly establish a narrative of the lawman overcoming corrupt men in a lawless town. The town, and the lawman involved, would go on to become legends. But how much of what we know about the Gunfight at the OK Corral is actually true? As the legend of Wyatt Earp has continued to grow can we really see him as a good cop in difficult times?

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