Revolution & Rebellion Archives - Bristol Radical History Group

War on Democracy: Loyalist Propaganda in Britain after the French Revolution

When groups advocating democratic reform in Britain grew and prospered after revolution in France in the 1790s, William Pitt’s government responded with a ruthless programme of repression. Centred on prosecutions for seditious language and High Treason, the loyalist offensive was nourished throughout by anti-gallican, anti-republican propaganda. Tom Paine was burnt in effigy the length and breadth of the country, reformers beaten up by gangs of loyalist thugs, conservative tracts widely […]

Jenkin Morgan: Chartist Scarecrow

The aftermath of the armed Chartist rising in November 1839, which ended in fighting at the Westgate Hotel in Newport, saw the inevitable state repression unleashed. The stories of the Chartist leaders John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones, who were sentenced to death and then transported are well known, but what of the others? Jenkin Morgan has become part of the invisible landscape of Welsh Chartism. This Pillgwenlly milkman and tallow chandler was initially sentenced to be hung, […]

Causes and Characters of the Chartist Riot in Llanidloes, Mid Wales in 1839

The Newport Rising in November 1839 is the most celebrated event in early Chartism linked to Wales. But it marked the disappointing end of a year which had opened with high expectations from the General Convention of the Industrious Classes and the presentation of the National Charter to Parliament. Less renowned, but no less significant, were events in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire earlier in April, when attempts to arrest local Chartist leaders led to a riot in which the established forces of […]

Ireland: The Silent Voices

This ground-breaking documentary, originally made in 1983 for Channel 4 at the height of the war in Ireland, provided a critical counter-narrative to the pro-British propaganda spouted by most of the mainstream media in this country. Rarely seen, Ireland: The Silent Voices (80 mins), focuses on the stories and perspectives of ordinary people actively or passively involved in the conflict. In three parts, the film analyses the representation of the conflict on TV in Britain and in Europe. It […]

They inspired us #2 – Christopher Hill and The World Turned Upside Down

By Roger

Find out about why it was the English Revolution and not just the English Civil War. Discover the 'third force' of the period, Levellers, Diggers, Ranters, Religious Radicals and the rebellious New Model Army that frightened the Royalists and Parliamentarians alike with their 'communist' ideas. Absolute classic, to be read aloud to your mates on stormy nights (with a few beers). (BRHG).....And what a book this is, an absolute must read.

Gafael Tir – A history of land rights and protest in Wales

Gafael Tir, the Welsh sister show to the popular Three Acres and a Cow, is presented in collaboration with Bristol Radical History Group. The show explores the history of ‘y werin’ (the Welsh common folk) and their struggle for a better life. Their tales are told and old ballads sung as we meet kings, crossdressing farmers, radical preachers, land workers and unions; a thousand years of history. Drawing on Welsh folk arts, the show touches on politics, human rights, freedom of thought and […]

Mozambique at 50

A LUTA CONTINUA!

BRHG brings together a selection of posters of the Mozambican Revolution from the ‘Our Sophisticated Weapon’ exhibition and other archival material relating to the campaign for independence and the ensuing civil war. Speaker: 11.30am - Dave Spurgeon will guide you through the exhibits. Dave will provide a brief history of Mozambican independence, how it supported and inspired liberation struggles across Southern Africa and the price it paid which impacted its own development. He will identify […]

Film screening: Cyrchfan Cyfiawnder – Newport Rising

A very special screening of Cyrchfan Cyfiawnder, the 1988 S4C drama-documentary commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Newport Rising. This remarkable production included a large-scale community opera featuring schools and choirs from across the South East Wales Valleys. It was directed by Colin Thomas and presented by the late Professor Gwyn Alf Williams, a key figure in the groundbreaking television history of Wales. We’re delighted to announce that Colin Thomas and members of the […]

Acts of Resistance

A musical radical history with Steve Lake (Zounds)

What could be more up the Bristol Radical History Group’s street than to time-travel through radical history with Acts of Resistance? We’re therefore overjoyed to dress up and get down to this new Avant-Folk Punk-Opera. Acts of Resistance features a redoubtable trio made up of Steve Lake (self-described “chief show off” with legendary anarcho-punk band Zounds, first appearing on Crass Records and nexus for all kinds of musical troublemakers), Bristolian Emo-folkster Aether Valentine, and Carl […]

Kurdish Women’s Movement

History, Theory, Practice

By Dilar Dirik

Front cover of Kurdish Women's Movement featuring woman in landscape

Our defence is not for a piece of land, but for the protection of life’s ability to unfold itself (Nûda, member of the YPJ, the women’s defence units, 237). This is a meticulously researched and critically argued book from an author writing not only about but from within the Kurdish women’s movement. In the West, Dilar Dirik is one of the most prominent and articulate voices on the role of women in the Kurdish struggle for participatory democracy, ecological sustainability, and women’s […]