The Battle of the Atlantic was a key conflict during World War II, lasting from 1939 to 1945. It was a struggle for control of the Atlantic Ocean between the Allied powers (primarily the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada) and the Axis powers (led by Germany).
Author Archives: history1917
The Conservative Party’s War on International Law
Britain is abandoning its commitments to human rights and the protection of refugees, established after the Second World War. Brexit has given the extreme right of the Conservative Party an opportunity to persecute the world’s most desperate people.
The Tsar Liberator and Russia’s Peasants
Hi folks, here’s a quick video I’ve put together for students on the long term causes of the Russian Revolution and the revolutionary period that began in 1861 with the emancipation of the serfs.
Far Right Bankruptcy
It’s worth reflecting that in the past 2-3 months the following things have happened: It can be tempting to ascribe meaning to clusters of events, and it’s in the nature of human beings to do so. Our understanding of the world is shaped into narratives which by their very nature include some facts and excludeContinue reading “Far Right Bankruptcy”
Talking about JB Priestley
Hi there everyone, I had the great pleasure to be interviewed on the East Marshian Chronicles podcast recently about the writer JB Priestley and the historical context of his work. You can hear the show here: https://eastmarshianchronicles.buzzsprout.com/1764181/9442034-historian-nick-shepley-on-the-background-and-context-of-an-inspector-calls
When British corruption drops the ball
Traditionally, Britain has managed to avoid appearing to be a corrupt country, because so much of what any rational onlooker might call graft is actually legal. The rewarding of party donors with the ear of cooperative ministers, peerages and other honours enables British politicians to be easily and cheaply bought. This process acts as aContinue reading “When British corruption drops the ball”
Brexit’s Leninists
Reading Everyday Stalinism by Sheila Fitzpatrick (one of my favourite social histories of the USSR, as regular listeners will know), one thing becomes abundantly clear about the Soviet view of time and history itself. The historical and social state that the party would describe as communism was always something to be eventually reached and neverContinue reading “Brexit’s Leninists”
Correction to this week’s podcast on Harold Wilson and MI6
In this week’s podcast I referred to the author Stephen Dorril as former MP. This is not the case, and in fact the Stephen Dorril in question is an author and academic who specialises in intelligence work. So there you go, bad me, I am not infallible and get it wrong from time to time.Continue reading “Correction to this week’s podcast on Harold Wilson and MI6”
Explaining History Podcast 