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The Start of the Cade Rebellion
Month: May 2015
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The History of the Secret Ballot
Historical Research. Media coverage of elections the world over is replete with images of electors queuing up to vote and papers spilling from ballot boxes, ready to be counted. No one ever speaks of an open voting system any more, the secret ballot paper is seen as an essential hallmark of a free election system. Remarkably, given the iconic status of the ballot paper, Crook and Crook note, questions surrounding the history of the ballot paper have not been adequately explored. In the eighteenth century, Crook and Crook wrote, “the dominant method of electing borough personnel involved those assembled indicating their preference either orally – by casting their ‘voice’ – or by raising a hand, normally in order of social rank.” Importantly, this earlier electoral system was in a very different voting culture. Early modern elections proceeded relatively consensually and the nomination process in early modern Britain was often uncontested, meaning that polling was often unnecessary. As the number of enfranchised individuals grew however, oral voting or a show of hands became a troublesome system. As elections became more hotly contested, with several candidates vying for votes, another system was required; this is where the invention of the paper ballot had its inception. “Put simply, [the paper ballot] was a means of managing elections that had proved, or might prove, unduly fractious and where the hostility of competing factions was such as to render open voting neither practical nor decisive”, Crook and Crook explain. In the early nineteenth century, elections became more competitive. The growth of party-political groups in competition was slowly institutionalised. This process placed a premium on numerical precision, something which hands or voices did not have. In this context, ballot papers – particularly printed ones – had an advantage. As elections became more complicated, so the propensity for corruption increased. “Corruption crept in at each and every point,” the pair explain. Registration fraud, repeated voting, rejection of papers, or simple maladministration (such as ‘misplacing’ boxes of ballots) took place. Secret ballots, properly administered, was one solution to these issues. Secrecy promised quicker, quieter elections which were less corrupt. This principle of the secret ballot survives to this very day. As people in the United Kingdom head to the polls on 7th May, they will indicate their preference on a secret paper ballot. It is important to remember that this simple piece of paper, which many of us take for granted, has a long and complicated history. For more information: www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Russavia]]>
Archaeornithura meemannae. The remains have been dated to 130.7 million years ago, around 30 million years after the first birdlike dinosaurs appeared on the scene and set off bird evolution. To compare, what was believed to be the oldest representative of the bird family lived 125 million years ago. Both belong to the Ornithuromorpha clade (a group encompassing all representatives of a life form, from the first one to all their descendants), which also includes all modern birds. The fossils were unearthed in 2013, but only now have analyses been completed that date them and classify them as being from a new species. An artist’s recreation of the ancient bird’s appearance shows that it was remarkably similar to many modern birds. In fact, the only feature out of place was the pair of small claws at the central joints of its wings. Otherwise it was covered in feathers, apart from the legs, which suggests it was a wading bird, and had a beautiful purple plumage on its head, while the rest of it was mostly gray. The bird was a small one, just 15 cm, and it is unclear whether it had teeth – a common feature of early Cretaceous birds – or not. Among the suggestions the researchers were able to make based on the fossil evidence, is that it was probably a herbivore and that it used gastroliths (stomach stones) to help digestion, study co-author Wang Min from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said. This discovery adds to a growing, though still scarce, body of evidence about the early stages of birds’ evolution. Just recently, again in China, scientists discovered an ancestor of the avian class with bat-like, skin-covered wings. This pigeon-sized dinosaur represents a stage in bird evolution before the Archaeopteryx, so far considered the earliest known example of a creature between a dinosaur and a bird. The Archaeopteryx was a feathered dinosaur that had bird-like characteristics, such as skeletal structure and possibly the ability to fly. The bat-winged dinosaur, on the other hand, most probably comes from an earlier time, before some reptiles started growing feathers and became warm-blooded, effectively ceasing to be reptiles. Early birds, however, were not the only masters of the air during the Mesozoic era, which spanned a huge period, from 252 to 66 million years ago. This other group of flying animals were called Enantiornithes. Although these apparently looked very similar to birds, they had teeth and claws, like dinosaurs. More than 50 separate species have been identified, with some only represented by a single bone, but they all died out during the latest mass extinction on the planet, around 66 million years ago, at the boundary between the Cretaceous and the Paleogenic eras. Enantiornithes are believed to have left no currently surviving descendants. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Acabashi]]>
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History of Democracy in the UK (Part 2)
history focused on the relationship between monarchy and parliament, and the key events in restricting the powers of the monarch as Parliament became increasingly significant. The second part looks at the expanding of the franchise, and the various campaigns to make democracy more inclusive. The Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution of 1688 came at a time when the dislocation and chaos of the English Civil War was still fresh in the memory. The revolution, which ended King James II’s reign, was a response to the King’s obvious desire to have Catholicism returned as England’s religion. James’ reign was characterised by unrest and conflict with Parliament, a situation the revolution hoped to bring to an end. Both Tory and Whig politicians in the United Kingdom took it upon themselves to send an invitation to William of Orange, the protestant Prince of Holland, to take the throne of the United Kingdom and rule alongside his wife Mary, the daughter of James II. In November 1688, William’s forces landed in the United Kingdom, and James fled to France the following month. In January 1689, legislation was passed to enshrine the revolution, and William became King of England. Although a controversial event: one which led to bloody conflicts in Scotland and Ireland (both predominantly Catholic), can be interpreted as a legalised invasion of the UK, and restricted Catholic freedoms, the Glorious Revolution was crucially important in British constitutional history. Before being offered the crown, William and Mary were made to agree to a document which was eventually passed into law as the Bill Of Rights. It laid out a number of key constituional principles, such as the need for regular parliaments, the illegality of creating new taxes without parliamentary approval, and the prohibition of dispensing powers through royal prerogative. As was often the case, it took time for these new laws to be adopted in practice, but the Glorious Revolution laid the frame work for the modern, constituional monarchy. The Great Reform Act The nineteenth century was a period of drastic change in the United Kingdom, influenced by events both at home and abroad. The French Revolution of 1789 had proved an inspiration for the drive to achieve social change across Europe, leading to the nineteenth century being dominated by political and social upheaval. The French Revolution was also a warning to governments of the need to respond to the voice of the people to prevent revolution. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution had swiftly altered British society, leading to mass urbanisation and a swift redistribution of wealth. Both of these factors put pressure on the establishment to create a political system that reflected reality. Allowing men who rented property to vote as well as property owners, the 1832 Reform Act increased the franchise to over a million people, or about one in six of the population. The act also redrew the barriers of constituencies, meaning fairer political representation was given to the densely populated cities that had sprung up after the industrial revolution. A second Reform Act, passed in 1867, expanded the enfranchise to include all male householders, regardless of the property’s value. The act doubled the franchise yet again, incorporating a large swathe of the urban working class. The Twentieth Century Into the twentieth century, reforms still needed to take place to reach the democratic representation present in the United Kingdom today. Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century the movement for female suffrage had grown increasingly vocal and difficult to ignore. Different female suffrage groups deployed methods of various extremes in an attempt to expand the franchise, most notably in 1913, when Emily Davison was killed at the Epsom Derby after she ran out in front of a horse, holding the banner of the Women’s Social and Political Union. Finally, at the end of the First World War, the ‘Representation of the People Act’ was passed, significantly expanding the franchise once again. All property restrictions were removed for male voters, allowing many soldiers who had fought in the war the chance to vote for the first time. Women over the age of thirty were also allowed to vote for the first time and stand for election, although some property conditions were included. These restrictions were lifted ten years later, allowing any woman over the age of twenty one the right to vote. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Maurice]]>
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Cahokia Brought Down By Floods
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, presents new ideas to explore. “We are not arguing against the role of drought in Cahokia’s decline but this presents another piece of information,” says Samuel Munoz, currently writing his Ph.D. in geography and the study’s lead author. The research also provides new information about the history of the Mississippi River, a waterway known to flood regularly, which may be useful now. “By understanding the river better, we can hopefully offer new information to those concerned about the exposure of current populations to floods”, explains Williams, a professor of geography. By using radiocarbon dating techniques of plant remains and charcoal within the core samples, Munoz and Williams have established ‘fingerprints’ of major flood events from the last 2,000 years. Following a 300-year-period of numerous floods, the centuries after 600 CE witnessed an increasingly arid climate. Archaeological evidence from this period reveals that human activity increased in the floodplain as people moved into the area and farmed more intensively. Around 1200, however, population began to decline. “There are shifts in craft production, house size and shape, and other signals in material production that indicate political, social and economic changes that may be associated with social unrest,” explained Sissel Schroeder, a UW-Madison professor of anthropology who aided Munoz and Williams. Cahokia fractured and the population began to migrate away from the floodplain. By 1400, the site was deserted. Many factors obviously contributed to Cahokia’s rise and eventual decline. A period of gradual aridification followed by increased flood activity provides a means of understanding how past societies, as well as modern ones, are dependent on the climate. Sudden shifts in environmental conditions can prove disastrous for communities, as happened at Cahokia. For more information: www.pnas.org Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Innotata]]>
The Magna Carta Although ultimately proving something of false start for the establishment of democracy in England, the Magna Carta, signed in 1215, laid down some initial principles which would later be crucial. The Charter, signed by King John and the barons, is most widely remembered for consolidating judicial rights, including habeas corpus: the right not to be unlawfully imprisoned. Other clauses however, were vital in decentralising power, taking it away from the body of the king and spreading it across a wider group of people. Magna Carta’s 61st Clause, referred to as the Security Clause, stated that a council of twenty five barons should be created with the power to overule the will of the King. Shortly after the signing of Magna Carta, John repealed this clause and it was largely ignored by subsequent medieval kings. Nevertheless, it had raised crucial ideas which would reappear in the construction of the English Constitution. Simon de Montfort The brother-in-law of King Henry III, Simon de Montfort led a rebellion in 1254 which laid the foundations for the modern parliament. Henry had grown increasingly unpopular with his barons, as a result of repeatedly committing English resources to wars fought on the behalf of the Papacy. More importantly, the parliament of barons felt increasingly ignored by the King. A famine proved the final straw, and the barons demanded reforms to the way the King ruled the country. Significantly, the powerful and influential de Montfort sided with the barons. The Pope ruled that the barons’ demands for reform were unconstituional, but the tensions did not go away. In 1263, de Montfort led another campaign for reform, ultimately leading to war with Henry. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry was captured. In the King’s name, de Montfort called a parliament to discuss the next step. This parliament was unlike any that had been called before. Alongside barons, English towns were also asked to send representatives to advise on the next step for English politics. For the first time, democracy had been opened up to a much wider demographic. Historians often question whether de Montfort was motivated by a genuine desire to further democracy, or total self interest. Either way, his actions were hugely important in the development of Parliamentary Democracy. The 40-Shilling Franchise As alluded to above, a parliament had existed in Britain since the late thirteenth century. Exactly who could partake in it however, was far from set. Since 1341, Parliament had been divided into two houses, the knights and burgesses sitting in what became the House of Commons, and the clergy and nobility sitting in the House of Lords. A drastic change occurred in 1429, with a new statute specifying who was entitled to vote in elections. A concern had grown that the House of Commons had become overcrowded by people of “low estate”, that is, the poor and uneducated. Essentially a reactionary step by the aristocracy to strengthen their own political influence, the 40 Shilling Franchise greatly reduced the number of people who were eligible to vote. Following the passing of the statute, only freemen owning freehold land (land that was not rented from a landlord) with a value of more than 40 shillings were allowed to vote. The 40 Shilling Franchise put restrictions on who could vote that lasted for over four centuries… ]]>
Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica),” the team wrote in their report, published in the upcoming edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science. Intriguingly, there was very little evidence of C4 plants in the diets of individuals from Bronze Age northern Kazakhstan. In later periods, C4 plants were a major component in human diets across the region, but at this early stage – around 1,800 BCE – it appears that southern Kazakhstan was populated by agricultural societies. “The wide variety of stable isotope results, both within and between contemporary sites from the southern regions of Kazakhstan, indicates a diversity of food choice,” the team explained. The team’s research presents the earliest directly dated isotopic analysis of millet consumption outside of China. Their research suggests that millet was a significant dietary component for a substantial number of individuals in Bronze Age southern Kazakhstan, indeed, millet made up such a large proportion of their diet that it was detectable in analysis of human bone collagen. The evidence for substantial millet consumption in southern Kazakhstan – particularly when taken with the absence of the crop in the north during the same period – suggests that this region may have been the route for the spread of millet crops from China. This hypothesis, the team notes, warrants further archaeobotanical research. What the team have revealed conclusively is the great variation in human diet. Southern Kazakhstan during the Bronze Age had a great many different sources of food which has left an indelible mark in the bones of people who inhabited the area. The evidence of millet also implies that Bronze Age southern Kazakhstan could have been a very important area between China and further West, meaning that the region could have been the first area to properly cultivate the crop outside of China. For more information: www.sciencedirect.com Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Kurt Stüber]]>
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Sacco and Vanzetti Arrested
