Protestant lecturers such as Alessandro Gavazzi and ‘Baron’ De Camin became minor celebrities and regularly featured in the British press, touring throughout the country. Despite the focus on Rome and papal hierarchy professed by the majority of lecturers, and the apparent concern for the ‘misled’ and ‘abused’ Roman Catholic, public organisation and championing of such … Read more
John Lee (né Fiott) (1783–1866) was the son of London merchant John Fiott and Harriet Lee of Totteridge Park, Hertfordshire. In 1815, the death of his maternal uncle and guardian William Lee Antonie brought a favourable bequest and a stipulation that he take his mother’s surname. Thereafter Lee divided his time between attending to his … Read more
Aside from serving white supremacist agendas, the ‘white slave’ narrative has been equally problematic in its exploitation of the ‘Redlegs’ of Barbados. The ‘poor whites’ that currently reside along the east coast of Barbados have been presented as a living fossil of the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland. Television documentaries, works of fiction and non-fiction, radio … Read more
The reluctance to differentiate between indentured servitude and perpetual chattel slavery in these contexts gives succour to ahistorical types, such as neo-Nazis, 9/11 Truthers and White Nationalists. Their propaganda includes a conspiracy theory claiming that historians avoid calling indentured servants ‘slaves’ for political reasons. They protest that historians are not to be trusted and that … Read more
Bewley re-entered the diplomatic service in 1929 with a successful tenure as Free State representative to the Holy See. He was transferred to Berlin in 1933 as the Nazis came to power. When presenting his credentials, he addressed President von Hindenburg without mentioning the king, a break in protocol as he was still representing a … Read more