ISSUE 19: S
TOPICS:
Spartacist Revolt
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The Spartacist Revolt was an uprising between the
German Weimar Republic and a group of revolutionaries
named the Spartacists.
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Events leading to the Spartacist Revolt:
The fallout following World War One was especially hard on Germany, with the Allies demanding 132 billion marks worth of war reparations (compensation) as well as the departure of Kaiser Wilhelm II (choosing to exile himself instead of facing the German public’s outrage) leading to a democratic government taking over - this being the new Weimar Republic. As soon as President Friedrich Ebert set foot into office, problems began snapping at his heels, the main two being the compensation and the growing unrest in the German populace at the embarrassment of both their defeat as well as the humiliation felt after their non-invitation to the pivotal Treaty of Versailles meeting - a document that rendered their previous, dangerous grip on military force and territorial monopoly over different parts of the world almost completely obsolete. Due to the amount of money that needed to be printed to sustain the cash flow to the other Allied countries, copious amounts of notes had to be printed, leading to a period of hyperinflation that made the value of the German mark plummet, while the prices of everyday objects, like bread, skyrocketed from 1 mark to 163 marks and even higher. As a result of this, the vast majority of the German population became unemployed, leading to anger towards the government’s lack of decision making, and people wanting to take the management of the country into their own hands.
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History of the Spartacists:
The Spartacists were a radical socialist group, formed and led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, campaigning against the Weimar Government and their values. Named after the Thracian general Spartacus, who took part in a massive slave uprising against the Roman Republic called the Third Servile War - obviously Luxemburg and Liebknecht thought their aims were similar to that of Spartacus, although they hoped that their revolution would not be quashed by the government contrary to the latter’s failure. The group was actually founded before the end of the First World War: in 1915, the pair exited from the Social Democratic Party due to their support of Germany’s war effort. Luxemburg outlined their overall ideals in the Junius Pamphlet while she was in prison for treason, a primarily Communist piece of writing that included phrases such as ‘violent, dishonoured, dripping in blood...there stands bourgeois society’ and ‘a plague to culture and humanity’, also comparing the upper class to ‘witches’.
In December of 1918, a group (including Luxemburg and Liebknecht) from the Spartacists formed the German Communist Party, with the former preaching about Lenin’s ideas and how they had ‘helped Russia’, comparing a now stable country with their floundering home. However, to gain real support in Germany, the party would have to do something more extreme…
The Freikorps and the Revolution:
After soldiers returned from WW1 to Germany, many were left unemployed, causing more unrest and a hatred towards the Treaty of Versailles. Other unemployed individuals such as aspiring and energetic youth as well as more ex-military commanders and generals decided to bind together all over the country to create the Freikorps (‘free corps’). They were able to be unofficially employed (hence the ‘free’ part of their name) and helped individuals or parties to quell left-wing revolutions and keep conservative or right-wing ideals firmly in place. Many political assassinations were also able to be carried out, with the highest ranked official to be murdered by the Freikorps being Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau. Even though some of their key members were killed as a result of the Freikorps, the Weimar government initially sanctioned and supported the group - this burst of support was soon replaced by annoyance, and towards the end of the 1920s, their services were replaced by the police and later the Nazis’ own SS.
In the week of January 5th-12th, over 100,000 German workers went on strike in the centre of Berlin. This opportunity was swiftly grabbed up by the Spartacists, and they began to commandeer the revolt. Under their leadership, communications and newspaper buildings, with arms distributed around the protestors. However, many of the initial protestors left and returned home due to the lack of the Spartacists’ forward planning. These missteps led to the protest being thwarted by the Freikorps, who were dispatched by the Weimer government who had moved to the titular Weimar to avoid the protest’s streak of violence. The Freikorps’ ideals - usually matching those of their employers - were immensely anti-Communist and they relished in mercilessly killing 100 workers, even those who surrendered to the brutality. Posthumously, this period was known as the ‘Bloody Week’
Aftermath:
Following the colossal failure of the revolution, the Spartacists’ two leaders (Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht) were apprehended and murdered by the Freikorps, leading to the working class to grow their hatred towards the Social Democratic Party. This ultimately tore apart any bridges of alliance built between the Communists and the Social Democratic Party, and prevented them from stopping the Nazi Party’s rise to power due to unfixable differences.
By: Beau Waddell
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Slavery
The slave trade was also called the triangular trade. Britain traded weapons, cotton cloth and pots and pans. America sent cheap raw cotton to Britain to be manufactured and slaves were traded for these. Slaves were also exchanged for sugar and coffee.It took place from 1500 to 1800. Black people were captured from Africa by the white people and were taken back to America to work mostly on plantations. The middle passage was the crossing from Africa to America. The slave ships would either be tight packers or loose packers, depending on how many slaves were forced in to below. Tight packers were when there were lots of slaves below but there were high chances of most of the slaves dying. Loose packers had less people dying because there were less slaves.
Auction:
Slave buyers wanted strong women and men with delicate hands to pick plants. Men were $1000, women were $800 and children were $500.
The sellers used tricks such as giving the slaves more food for them and dyed old people’s hair. They would wash, shave and oil the slaves and covered whip marks with gunpowder and rust.
Tribes:
The Felup from Sengambia were charming but lazy.
The Mandigo were good metal workers.
The Kruma from Liberia were excellent sailors.
The Chamba from Sierra Leone were excellent workers.
The Avikam from Ivory Coast are hard workers but vicious too.
The Fanti and Ashanti from Ghana had strong field hands but were bred for war and were dangerous.
The Koruba from Nigeria were healthy hard workers who make excellent field hands.
The Ibo from Nigeria were inteligent, practical and gentle but were over-sensitive and sometimes committed suicide.
Even Though this happened centuries ago, slavery is still around today. North Korea, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, India, and Qatar. But India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan had the highest absolute numbers.
Afghanistan:
Not only is Afghanistan the most dangerous country in the world but it is also one of the most dangerous countries to be a child. Children are sold for labour, sexual exploitation and early marriages.
India:
India has the most people living in modern slavery. All forms of modern slavery continue to exist in India, including intergenerational bonded labor, forced child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced recruitment into non-state armed groups and forced marriage.
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By: Henna Nabi
Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a farming town with a population of around 1000 people. Historians know that William was baptised on 26th April 1564,but it isn’t clear to when he was born. Since he was born, Shakespeare had prosperous parents. His parents' names were Mary and John, Mary his mother was the daughter of a local farmer and his father was a glove and wool maker with another large family house.
William was a very fortunate boy,not only for his privileged
upbringing but also because he survived the Plague,his two older
siblings didn’t.Resulting in him being the oldest child out of the now
6 of them.Him and his other siblings were lucky to survive the plague
because when he was just a baby,the plague killed 200 people in stratford-
1 in 5 of the population.
William was fortunate enough to go to a grammar school, he went to a local grammar school in Stratford and is still there in this day and age. But back then education was different than today’s, they were taught to read, write and speak in latin. They also had to memorise and perform stories, which is a useful skill for an actor or writer.
At 18, Shakespeare had already married a farmer’s daughter.Anne Hathaway. This is quite surprising because at that time most men married in their mid to late 20s.Hathaway wasn’t William’s first choice,Anne Whateley was,but Anne Hathaway was pregnant with William and her first child.Resulting in her family forcing their marriage.
Six months later,William’s daughter(Susana) was baptised.On 26 may 1583.But Susana wasn’t their only child,two years later they baptised twins Judith and Hamnet on 2 February 1585.Unfortunately,Hamnet died at age 11 the cause unknown.
Shakespeare didn’t live in Stratford-upon-Avon most of the time,instead he stayed 100 miles away in London.In 1590-91,Shakespeare wrote his first play Henry VI Part one.And from 1590 to 1613 he spent the majority of his time in London,and by 1592 he was a respected and well-known in the world of literature .But in 1593 plague broke out in London,leading to theatres in London closing down.So Shakespeare turned to poetry.And in 1593,William published the poem ‘Venus and Adonis’ .William’s earliest plays included Henry VI,The Two Gentlemen of Verona,and Titus Andronicus.
1594 was a successful year for Shakespeare, he became a founding member,actor,playwright and shareholder of the company Lord Chamberlain’s Men.A well-known company that played in front of court more times than most companies.
The Globe is a theatre widely-known for the holdings of Shakespeare’s plays(even to this day).But other playwrights also had their plays performed there.The Globe was originally in Shoreditch and was named ‘The Theatre’ and it was built by the Burbage family and fortunately Richard Burbage was the lead actor. This was where Shakespeare’s career in playwriting truly began.But the company Shakespeare worked with ran into some trouble with the landlord (a Mr.Allen) because he wouldn’t renew the lease.But the the theatre was built by the Burbage family and so during the christmas holidays (while Mr.Allen was away) they took the theatre across the river to Bankside, the south side of the river.Fortunately for Shakespeare,the Burbage’s couldn’t afford to rent a new theatre site,so they offered each of the company(there were five of them in total) £10 .And with that money they leased a site on Bankside near the Rose Theatre.
The Globe was opened in 1599 and it was successful.In that same year one of Shakespeare’s first plays to be performed (Julius Caesar) took to stage.
Southwark was the best place for a thriving business in theatre because it wasn’t inside the official's control(which weren’t too pleasant towards theatres).The soul reason why people came to Southwark was to be entertained and there were two theatres on this bank(the Rose and Swan),animal baiting arenas,taverns and brothels, and they were either looked down upon or illegal in other areas.
There were other playwrights who wrote for The Globe like Ben Jonson who wrote the Volpone;Thomas Dekker who wrote The Shoemaker’s Holiday and John Fletcher who wrote Philaster.
After 1611,William retired to Stratford.And sadly on 23 April 1616(his presumed birthday)William Shakespeare died - aged 52.On 25 April that same year William was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
By Sophie Lea
Stalin
Born: 18 December, 1878
Died: 5 March, 1953
Children: Vasily Stalin, Svetlana Alliluyeva, Yakov Dzhugashvili,
Artyom Sergeyev
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In 1924, Soviet leader Vladmir Lenin, had died leaving a spot open for dictator of the Soviet Union. At the time, Stalin had been the General Secretary of the Communist Party and was immensely popular amongst the people making him a suitable candidate as dictator. As Lenin’s successor, Stalin was a brutal and ruthless dictator of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953. He is best known for his contributions in leading the USSR into the Cold War with the USA.
As well as control, Stalin wished for the Soviet Union to be a powerful world superpower much like America and Britain at the time. This ideology led to Stalin’s decision to industrialise the Soviet Union, moving away from farming and agriculture. As a result of Stalin’s dictatorship, the Soviet Union became strengthened with factories scattered across the country which constantly manufactured goods in preparation for World War II.
Life in Stalin’s Russia:
Political purges: Following the death of Kirov in 1934, Stalin created a law whereby anyone suspected of disloyalty was killed, sent to prison camps, or put on public trials.
Ordinary people: Stalin’s creation of gulags (Russian labour-prison camps) sparked fear amongst the public. Many people who opposed Stalin were sent there, including many ethnic groups.
Admiration: Everyone was forced to praise Stalin as they were more afraid of the consequences if they didn’t. All newspapers, books and magazines were written in favour of Stalin and his ideology.
By 1939, Stalin had created a totalitarian dictatorship, which meant that he had a tight control over the Soviet Union and they did exactly what he told them to do.
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Stalin’s Five Year Plans:
As an attempt to build a stronger country, Stalin put forward a five year plan to focus on growth via industrialisation. The plans were set up by Gosplan (the state planning agency) who planned out targets of production for the factories. The first two of the five plans focused on growing the industry and emphasised the importance of producing coal, oil, steel and electricity.
These set of plans also gave women the opportunity to work by offering jobs such as doctors, scientists, canal diggers and steel workers.
Stalin’s five year plans were successful as they significantly improved the Russian industry and production outputs.
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By: Deepa Patel
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Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada sailed with around 130 ships. The English prepared up to 200 ships in the Channel. Unknown numbers of Dutch vessels attacked the Armada and surrounded the Duke of Parma’s forces into their harbour of Dunkirk.
Commanders in the Spanish Armada campaign: Spanish commanders were the Duke of Medina Sidonia and the Duke of Parma against the English commanders Lord Howard of Effingham, High Admiral of England, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Francis Drake, Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter.
Ships, organization, tactics and equipment: The descent of the Spanish Armada on England in 1588 occurred at a time of profound change in sea warfare. The Spanish represented the old tradition while the English fought with a new design of warship and new tactics.
In medieval warfare at sea soldiers added castles to the merchant trading vessel at the front and the rear (forecastle and after castle) and at the top of the mast and fought their fleets as if on land, discharging arrows and handguns, boarding the enemy ships and carrying out hand to hand fighting.
The ships included by the Spanish in the Armada represented this tradition. The main Spanish vessels were galleons, sailing ships that rode high out of the water with towering fore and after castles from which handheld firearms were discharged; while the crews grappled the enemy ships so that soldiers could board and capture them. Their height and broad beam made these ships awkward to sail.
English captains, particularly John Hawkins and Francis Drake, inspired a new form of ship for the Queen’s Navy, the “race ship”, of which around 25 were built. Lower in the water, with a long prow and much reduced fore and after castles, these sleek ships carried more sophisticated forms of rigging, enabling them to sail closer to the wind, making them faster and more manoeuvrable than the Spanish ships.
England had no standing army, so her naval vessels were crewed by sailors alone. English fighting ships relied increasingly on gunnery rather than boarding to defeat an enemy.
Causes of the Armada: The exact reason was unknown, but there were many reasons that were believed to cause the Armada. These included:
Phillip was rejected by Elizabeth I
Mary Queen of Scotts was executed (he was in an affair with her previously)
A religious crusade - he wanted a Catholic empire
England went out and sent ships to Spain led by Francis Drake
The failure: When the Armada was sent out, it was spotted immediately by the English and they were warned. From 20 to 27 July, the English fleet attacked the Armada as it sailed up the English Channel. The Armada sailed in a crescent formation, however, making it difficult to attack, and the English fleet did little damage. On 27 July, the Armada anchored in open seas off Calais. The English sent in fireships, so the Armada cut their anchors to escape.On 28 July, the English attacked the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Gravelines. The English ships were easier to manoeuvre in the heavy waters of the North Sea. This decisive battle prevented the Spanish from landing in England. Philip's 'invincible' Spanish fleet fled north, chased by the English fleet. It had to return home by sailing round the north of Scotland and the west coast of Ireland, where many ships were sunk by storms.
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By: Tasmita Jeyashanker
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Suffragettes
What was a suffragette?
A suffragette was a military woman who believed that they didn’t
have equal rights to men. They began to do what is known as a protest
chanting “Votes for women, votes for women, gives us our right equal
rights for women, we want to vote”. These women weren’t given the
right to be able to vote for public elections and not having these rights
meant that they had to put up with the decisions men made. Every time
they would go on the streets and chant the phrases, policemen would
threaten to arrest them if they didn’t stop at their command.
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Who were some famous suffragettes?
Emmeline Pankhurst- She was known as the leader of the suffragettes in Britain who also found the Women’s Social and Political Union, which was a place where women went if they found a struggle for equality. During this movement, Pankhurst was then arrested and later joined her two daughters Christabel and Sylvia in her pursuit of her female vote.
Christabel Pankhurst- She was the daughter of Emmeline and was given the nickname of “The Queen of the Mob”. She was also known as an aggressive fighter and made the newspaper for the Suffragettes.
Constance Lytton- Constance was a descendant of Viceroy Robert Bulwer-Lytton and was also arrested for protesting for rights. She was a lady with a very privileged background, however when she was arrested, she didn’t mention this otherwise she would receive special treatments in prison. She often disguised herself as “Jane Warton” who was an ‘ugly London Seamstress’. This was to avoid any connections she may have brought to her family.
Emily Davison- Davison is known for giving her life to the Suffragettes movement. She was also wounded after stepping into the King’s Horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby.
How did Women get the right to vote?
After years of protesting, the parliament put together a proposal where they allowed some women to be able to be given the right to vote. A bill was passed through, but only some women were given the right to vote. They had to be over the age of 30 and owning a property or married to someone who owned a property. Then around the year 1940, decades after, all women were then given the right to vote and on no condition apart from the fact that they had to be older than the age of 20, and over the years the age has decreased to the age of 18. This is the age you start to become more independent and begin to work for yourself - you are counted as being an adult.
By Preesha Mistry
Star Wars
Introduction
Star Wars is a movie franchise that was created in 1977 by George Lucas and has lasted up to 2020 and will no doubt continue forevermore. Star Wars has made over $9 billion worldwide and the franchise is worth $65 billion. The story is set in a galaxy far far away and is about the Skywalker family defeat evil using the powers of the force. Nine movies have been made in the saga and two spin offs have also been created. A number of TV shows have also been made about the saga.
The Story
Nine films have been made about the Skywalker family, but in a very strange order. When George Lucas created the first film Star Wars, he did not intend it to be such a big hit. It has made $1.6 million dollars since its release in 1977. Following its success, he created two more films and renamed his first creation Star Wars - A New Hope. Fans demanded to know what happened before this trilogy so Lucas made a prequel trilogy depicting what happened before his first three films. The three films he made did not have the best reception compared to the original three. Fans did not enjoy the film quality or story, but felt they had to be made so the story flowed well. In 2012, Disney purchased Star Wars from Lucasfilm for $4 billion and created 5 new films in the space of 7 years. Disney also continued the animated series The Clone Wars and created a further two series. They also created two spin off films and another series called The Mandalorian.
The running order
There are many ways that people watch Star Wars films and series’, but this is the official way to follow the story in the correct order.
Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode 2: Attack Of The Clones (2002)
The Clone Wars (2008-2020)
Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Rebels (2014-2018)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Episode 4: A New Hope (1977)
Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode 6: The Return Of The Jedi (1983)
The Mandalorian (2019)
Episode 7: The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode 8: The Last Jedi (2017)
Episode 9: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)
The Characters
Star Wars would not be so brilliant with its vast variety of characters. Lucas created a vast variety of species that the fans love and they bring so much humour and excitement to the franchise.
Human: Humans are the main species in the galaxy and humans are the leaders of both the good and bad sides.
Wookie: Wookies appear constantly throughout the Star Wars story. The most famous wookie is Chewbacca, who accompanies Han Solo and appears in every trilogy.
Gungan: The gungans are an underwater species native to the planet Naboo. They helped fight in the Clone Wars and befriended the Jedi.
Ewok: The Ewoks are cute, cuddly bears who live on the planet Endor and aided in the Rebel’s fight against the Empire.
Hutt: The Hutts are a criminal gang family who are dispersed all over the Galaxy. Although they may not look violent, the bounty hunters that they hire kill many people and strike fear into the hearts of the citizens of the Galaxy.
Twi’lek: The Twi’lek are a peaceful species who live on Ryloth. They are friends with the jedi and help them free Ryloth from Sepratist rule.Unfortunately, female Twi’leks would usually be sold as slaves to wealthy people.
Obi Wan Kenobi: Kenobi fought in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight and was the master of Anakin Skywalker. When Anakin joined the Dark Side he searched for Anakin’s son, Luke, and trained him into a Jedi.
R2-D2 and C-3PO: R2-D2 is an astromech droid who is the faithful companion of C-3PO who is a translator droid. 3PO was created by Anakin Skywalker and when he met R2 they became instant friends. The pair have appeared in every Star Wars film.
Darth Vader: Darth Vader, formally known as Anakin Skywalker, is the leader of the Imperial Army. He joined the Dark Side after being turned by his Sith master, Darth Sidious. He is the father of Luke and Leia.
Yoda: Yoda is the oldest, wisest and most powerful jedi. He has trained countless people and guided Luke how to become a jedi and destroy Darth Vader from his home on the jungle planet, Dagobah.
Luke Skywalker: Luke is the son of Anakin (Darth Vader) and the only remaining jedi during the rebel alliance era. After the Empire was defeated, he trained new jedi in hope to defeat the sith.
Princess Leia: Leia is the leader of the rebel alliance and sister to Luke Skywalker. After the Empire was defeated, she had a son with Han Solo, but their son turned to the dark side. Leia then became a mentor to jedi, Rey.
Han Solo: Han Solo is a pilot and rebel fighter who marries Leia and has a son, Ben, who later kills him when he is trying to destroy Ben’s First Order Base.
Chewbacca: Chewbacca appears in every trilogy and is famously known for accompanying Han Solo onboard the Millenium Falcon and being his best friend throughout the reign of the Empire
Darth Sidious: Sidious is the supreme leader of the Sith. he persuaded Anakin to join the Dark Side and is also the Grandfather of Rey.
Rey: Rey was a scavenger who was drawn into the fight between the First Order and the Resistance when she found out she was a Jedi. Luke and Leia trained her and helped her defeat the sith.
Finn: Finn was a First Order stormtrooper who ran away and joined the resistance. He teamed up with jedi Rey to destroy a planet-destroying weapon.
Poe Dameron: Poe is a Resistance fighter who leads the attack against the First Order and becomes Resistance general when Leia dies.
Kylo Ren: Ren is the leader of the First Order and seeks to destroy the jedi and the Resistance fighters. Him and Rey have a strong connection and eventually fall in love.
BB-8: BB-8 is the droid that accompanies Poe in his X-Wing and is wanted by the First Order because he holds the map to locate Luke Skywalker.
By: Benji Winslett
