Another 'Week in History': 3 June- 9 June

'Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely... I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking'- Dwight D. Eisenhower, in an address to the Allied Expeditionary Force, 2 June 1944

Absolute Shambles has reached its penultimate post. Much like the premiership of Theresa May, the end to this turbulent and embarrassing time in history is coming to an end. The very small but loyal following (please make yourself known) are probably sobbing uncontrollably and are disturbing anyone who comes across them as they spill their tears on the floor while huddled in a ball. For everyone else, the closing of the blog is likely met with reactions such as 'Who the hell cares?', 'Ben had a blog?' and 'Finally, more focus on baking'. Indeed, the conclusion of Absolute Shambles has led to a feeling of laziness for this humble blogger, but that might be because two late nights (i.e. going to bed after 10:00- being old sucks) were spent watching football matches that failed to live up to the hype. Yet with Liverpool securing their sixth European title, it brings one back to the whole subject of history. So fuck it, let's do another one of those 'One Week in History' doodahs.

One building with a very... 'mixed' history

'Dammit Ben! Donald Trump is here, meaning that your leftie conscious must be screaming at you to take aim and berate him relentlessly', cries the tear-soaked loyalists of Absolute Shambles. Yes, yes, Donald Trump is here and is more than likely to commit social atrocities such as talking to strangers on the London Underground or highfiving the Queen. It would be fun to ponder on what kind of crazy misadventures POTUS can get up to on his state visit to our beloved island, but that means having to follow the exact movements of such a poor example of a human being. Writing about history will provide a much-needed distraction from Trump doing atrocious acts such as using the wrong fork during the state banquet on Monday evening or screaming 'What a win this was for the USA!' to the assembled crowds in Portsmouth during the 75th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings. But when we have such an important anniversary popping up this week, it would be wise and appropriate to prattle on about history.

Hope this doesn't turn into one of those buddy cop relations (AP)

Back in March, the predecessor of this 'One Week in History' was unleashed upon the unsuspecting populace of the Internet, and it was marvellous to focus on subjects such as Napoleon returning from exile to reclaim his empire, the airing of the record-breaking M*A*S*H finale and Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points during an NBA game. A random collection, no doubt about that, but that's what history is. It's a wonderful collaboration of events that echo throughout the ages and create a 'butterfly effect' that launches one explosive moment after another. Once more, from the week of 3-9 June, a plentiful buffet is dished up by history, the 'boring and unnecessary' subject that everyone seems to dismiss as a blight on society. Rude, vulgar, outrageous- shame on you! History is great, even if it is depressing and is a perfect showcase for how awful we can be. But there are bright lights in the eternal darkness, and much like a moth we should gravitate towards them from time to time to give ourselves a mental break from the horrendous images of genocides, environmental catastrophes and other disturbing occurrences. Right, enough of this depressing talk, let's do a history!

Yaaaaayyyyy

3 JUNE 2012- A JEWEL OF A TIME ON THE THAMES

We Brits love a good excuse for a day off work, and thankfully our ability to both remove and restore monarchs has left us in the perfect position to mooch off their personal lives to declare bank holidays. OK, you would feel guilty celebrating a day off if one of the members of this famous family passes away, but royal weddings and the like are marvellous occasions of splendour. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations on 3 June 2012 were certainly a worthy fit into this category of demonstrating our obsession with the royals, even if it was a bit rainy. This humble blogger found himself on the banks of the Thames, positioned a stone's throw away from the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern (on that note, modern art is bullshit). Despite the typically gloomy British climate, hordes of monarchists made their way up to London to pay homage to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and join her in celebrating 60 years on the throne.

Radiant as ever

The only other monarch in British history to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897, so reaching this milestone is one that shouldn't be diminished. While the poor weather did cancel a flyover courtesy of the RAF, it did not dampen the spirits of those who had come to see the Queen partake in a flotilla of ships of all shapes and sizes. From all over the Commonwealth, member nations made their contribution to be part of this gathering of naval vessels, with Liz, Phil and the rest of the royal party waving to the gathered masses from the MV Spirit of Chartwell. Once the royal barge neared Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast let fire her guns in a royal salute as the procession made its way under Tower Bridge. It was truly a sight to behold, as the vicious weather threatened to curtail the criteria, but both crowd and royals were not bothered. The Queen stood for hours waving to her subjects and proving there is still a spring in the step of Britain's longest reigning monarch. Even the presence of 'Republic', a group who aims to abolish the monarchy and create a republic, was not enough to spoil the Queen's big day. Their voices were drowned out by the combined vocal power of 'Land of Hope and Glory' and 'God Save the Queen', and even as the country spirals into calamity it is comforting to remember the uniting power of the monarchy. Not even Brexit or the fall of Theresa May could break that apart. 

'Row faster, plebs. One cannot wave for much longer' (Getty Images)

4 JUNE 1940- WINSTON WILL NOT YIELD

It's 1940, and Nazi Germany are on the march. Poland had fallen after a month of German campaigning from the start of September 1939, and May 1940 saw the Wehrmacht swarming the nations of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France. Within six weeks, the French Third Republic had surrendered, and Britain stood more or less alone in Europe. Allied forces had managed to escape the clutches of Hitler's armies from the beaches of Dunkirk (seriously, the Germans could have finished us off there and then!) and arrive on home shores on their own flotilla that would rival the aforementioned Diamond Jubilee Pageant. The United States still stood on the side lines, despite President Franklin D. Roosevelt's urge to give the Allies a helping hand, and the Soviets were happy to fool about in Finland and try not to remind themselves that the Germans would one day be on their borders. All of this was on the plate of Winston Churchill, the newly appointed PM, who faced what can only be described as one hell of a task.

Say what you will about him, the man did his duty

Neville 'Don't worry, Hitler won't be naughty' Chamberlain had resigned on 10 May as the Germans swept across the continent and the 'Norway Debate' let the House of Commons voice their concerns over the government's handling of the conflict in general. Winston headed a multiparty coalition, tasked with battling a seemingly invincible foe, persuading the Yanks to get their arses into gear and keep the British population calm and confident that victory could still be achieved. Yet this would not be a problem, especially for a man who had already displayed his mastery of words, having already vowed that he had 'nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat'. With their continental allies falling before the German war machine, Winston stood before the assembled MPs and uttered immortal words:

'We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender'

Goosebumps. This politician, who had sent men to their deaths at Gallipoli when First Lord of the Admiralty and soon found himself in a 'political wilderness' from 1929-1939, reminded the country to never give in to tyranny. Britain would not go down quietly and would return to the continent in full force just four years later.

Yeh, I guess he deserved a statue

5 JUNE 1989- MAN VS TANK

One isn't an expert on Chinese history, but there is one moment in this nation's history that is probably known throughout the world. A person may not know the immediate background that surrounds such an iconic point of interest in our species' history, but when somebody mentions 'Tank Man' the reactions tend to be 'oh, the bloke in front of them Chinese tanks? Yeh, that's awesome'. To cut a long story short, 1989 was a turbulent year for the People's Republic of China with the outbreak of the Tiananmen Square protests. The death of Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, on 15 April 1989 sparked protests from students who saw the heart attack suffered by the pro-reform leader as suspicious. What started as a celebration of his life turned into a session to bash the problems facing China, such as the restriction of basic freedoms and the clear corruption in the Chinese government. Demonstrations escalated as students started conducting hunger strikes, which were captured by foreign journalists still in the capital after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited China, thus giving momentum to the movement. By 20 May, martial law had been declared, and troops began clearing the square at the start of June. Casualty rates are disputed to this day, as estimates vary from hundreds to at least 2600. It was 5 June 1989 where the defining moment of the Tiananmen Square protests took place.

Rule number 1 of communism: NEVER REFORM COMMUNISM (AP)

A day after the violent crackdown, the tanks began rolling out of the square- well, that was the plan anyway. As they drove down Chang'an Avenue, a lone man stood in front of this colossal column in a simple but defiant act of nonviolent protest. It was tense, to put it mildly, especially as the lead tank continuously attempted to manoeuvre around this brave man, who would just shift from side to side and block the advance. Once they were at a halt, 'Tank Man' climbed atop the lead tank and began talking with the crew; what it was about is unknown, but we can speculate (one would think it was about the latest football results or whether he could have a go at driving the tank). With the world press still hanging around after the upheavals of the last few months, some captured this incredible moment in history, and has been commonly dubbed as one of the most iconic images of all time. Smuggling the footage out from the heavily censored China was brave enough; standing up to the steel of the People's Liberation Army was something beyond comprehension. The fate of 'Tank Man' is speculated, but his legacy is immortalised. 

'Excuse me sir, is this road legal?' (AP)

6 JUNE 1944- THE ALLIES RETURN TO THE CONTINENT

By 1944, you would be a madman to think that the Axis Powers could stage a comeback on par with Lazarus or Liverpool against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League. The Soviet Union were beginning to rampage across Eastern Europe, with the United States island hopping their way across the Pacific and the Italians beginning to waver after being invaded in 1943. It seemed logical to finally reopen the Western Front and put the squeeze on Hitler's empire, especially as Joseph Stalin was imploring his counterparts to do their bit while his Red Army forces died in their thousands. This would be easier said than done, as the Germans had been overlords of Western Europe for four years now and had been able to create the 'Atlantic Wall', a defence system that would leave any invasion force in tatters. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Churchill and FDR promised their communist chum that they would storm the French beaches and bring this whole nasty war business to a close. Under the leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery, battle plans were crafted that would ship Allied forces across the Channel, establish a permanent presence on French soil and begin the steady advance to liberate France. Easy!

'As you can clearly see, this is not France' (AP)

On 6 June 1944, Operation Overlord began in what is the biggest amphibious invasion in all human history. Including airborne troops, around 156,000 men descended upon the German defences in an event that would signal the final act of the Second World War. Across the five Normandy beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah, the Allied forces overwhelmed the Germans and manged to establish beachheads that would kick-start the long march to Paris.  The sacrifice of these individuals from numerous nations is being commemorated this week as it is now 75 years since this fierce struggle between the forces of freedom and fascism occurred. Its significance is massive, and not just because of its status as the largest amphibious invasion in history, how it signalled the end of the Third Reich or even because the veterans of D-Day are now dwindling in number. Rather, it brought in the next phase of the 20th century, in that it was now a sprint to the heart of Nazi Germany. With the Red Army sweeping all opposition aside, the West were alarmed by what a total Soviet victory could bring to Europe. If the Soviets reached Berlin first, then where would they stop? They had to get back onto the continent, not just for the good of the Allied cause but also to deflect the influence of the East. The Cold War had begun...

Never forget (PA)

7 JUNE 1494- ONE FOR ME, ONE FOR YOU, ALL THIS LAND BELONGS TO US TWO!

As the 15th century ended, Christopher Columbus went on a small boating trip over the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of finding a quick route to India. Instead, he 'discovered' the Americas and began European expansion into the New World. Back in Spain, rulers Isabella and Ferdinand were delighted that their investment had come up trumps, especially as the Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI issued a papal bull in May 1493 that established a line west of the Portuguese-held Cape Verde islands. Everything west of this holy line belonged to Spain, while Portugal had free reign to the lands east of the line. Portugal monarch John II was livid with this since that juicy territory to the west was now out of bounds, so called on his Iberian counterparts to have a meeting and sort something out. At Tordesillas, the two parties moved the line further west to include a small part of what is now Brazil. When Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered the coast of Brazil in 1500, the Portuguese colonised the territory, running parallel to Spanish moves into the Caribbean and the southern parts of North America. All this land between these two nations- what a deal! Surely no other Atlantic-facing nations would object to this?

One suave explorer/ exploiter of natives

Fun fact; these nations didn't care what some piece of paper said about territorial rights and all that boring detail. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed on 7 June 1494, was just a fresh handkerchief for the likes of England, France and the Netherlands to blow their noses with. Being cut out in the first place was rude enough, but now they were being told by these two countries that they couldn't make any claims to the New World and would just have to be happy with that they currently had. It proved to be an incentive for these nations to begin their own expeditions to these exotic lands and start their own processes of colonisation. England plundered Spanish shipping and caused terror to spread among the Spaniards residing in the Americas, while the French ventured into Canada and present-day Louisiana to take their slice of the pie. The Dutch were happy heading east to rule the spice trade with an iron fist as tulips and windmills just weren't enough to stimulate the Dutch economy. The European powers, all in the name of their respective monarchs and Christianity, began to divide the world between them with no regard for indigenous people and their own cultures. Sigh, Europeans are the worst. 

The currency is pretty though

8 JUNE 793- ROWDY RAIDERS ON THE SHORES OF BRITAIN

Columbus is always credited with discovering the Americas, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Vikings settled in Newfoundland around 500 years before Christopher got his mucky boots all over the white sands of the Caribbean beaches. These Norsemen are always attributed as being blood-thirsty warriors but there is far more below the surface of these Scandinavians. They were farmers who lived simple lives in a hostile climate that forced them to either steal each other's land so they could live through the winter or look to pastures new for some juicy farmland. Raiding unsuspecting Christians was also a decent way of passing time in the frozen north, as it bestowed glory and riches upon the Vikings, for they could happily showcase a lovely golden crucifix in their front room. 'My goodness Ragnar, what a marvellous looking ornament! How did you come upon such a find?' asks Floki. 'Well, my dear friend, I bashed down the doors of stone building, kicked a robed man in the balls and knicked it'. That's how these sorts of conversations went, obviously.

Sleuthy Ragnar (history)

A dialogue like this would have taken place after 8 June 793 when the inhabitants of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, just off the coast of Northumberland, had a surprise visit. The lonely monastery was the target for the curious Norsemen who had sailed west due to the village's only tavern being closed for renovations. The plight of boredom would be defeated with pillaging and adventuring! The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written during the reign of Alfred the Great, record how the year 793 was one of 'fierce, foreboding omens over the land of the Northumbrians', which was plagued by 'whirlwinds, lightning, and fiery dragons'. A famine followed, preceding the 'ravaging of wretched heathen men' of the church on Lindisfarne. It was a very brutal way to introduce yourself to these new people, and the Scandinavians soon discovered that these Britons were weak after becoming settled into the somewhat lavish and easy-going life that the Romans had left behind (what have they ever done for us, eh?). This preliminary raid began the 'Viking Age' as they began to spread across Europe, going as far south as Italy and even ending up in Turkey and Newfoundland! You can thank these ambitious Vikings for words such as 'Thursday' (essentially 'Thor's Day), 'cake' ('kaka') and 'girth' ('gjӧrð').

Thank you Danes

9 JUNE 1667- HEY, THAT'S OUR FLAGSHIP! GIVE IT BACK!

The Brits have certainly taken a bit of a battering this week. Vicious fighting on the beaches of France with the Germans, a Viking raid on a monastery in the north and now the Dutch are stealing our ships! They already robbed us of the Nations League- when will it end?! Also, there's a nautical theme to this week's chronicling of past events, which is understandable as one has a slight obsession with a particular group of cutthroat knaves. Alas, daydreaming of pirates doesn't make one feel better of the Dutch ruining England's chances of 'bringing football home', especially when writing about one of the most embarrassing moments in English naval history. After the glories of defeating the Spanish Armada and spearheading English expansion across the globe, the English navy were on a high. Victory in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) during the rule of Oliver Cromwell and his whacky republic gave the English control of the immediate body of water surrounding the British Isles and gave England a strong hand in global trade. So everything's cool, right?

Oliver Cromwell, Canceller of Christmas (NPG)

Nope. The Dutch didn't enjoy this English monopoly established after the war, based around the notion that the Dutch were bad Protestants and didn't deserve a presence on the global stage. They couldn't stand seeing the restored Charles II swan about, so thought it was time to put the English back in their place- thus, Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667). As the war dragged on, the English coffers dried up and left the country vulnerable; so vulnerable that Dutch Admiral Willem Joseph van Ghent and Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter were tasked with attacking the English ships anchored off Chatham Docks. Leading Dutch politician Johan de Witt was adamant the plan would work, and goodness it did! On 9 June 1667, the Dutch began their attack by capturing the town of Sheerness, continuing up the Thames to Gravesend and ending up in the River Medway. Here, they fought the English defences, burned a few ships and towed away the HMS Royal Charles, flagship of England's navy. The Raid on the Medway was an astounding victory for the Dutch, with the war coming to an end a month later as the Dutch needed to address the French invasion of the Spanish Netherlands. Nevertheless, the English crown had been right royally humiliated, and Charles II would hold onto his anger to start another war with the Dutch in 1672. If he knew about the drubbing the Dutch gave England on Thursday evening, holding a grudge would be an understandable reaction.

Arses (PA)

What a week! Once more, history serves up a feast of extraordinary events that all of us can tuck into with great enthusiasm as we know that whatever we consume will fill us with enough energy to see out whatever the world throws at us. This week in history is certainly as important one due to the 75th anniversary of the D-Day operations and the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. The veterans that assembled in Portsmouth and Normandy to participate in the services are now a very selective group as time claims them one by one. Their stories, thankfully, won't be lost to time due to the efforts of a select group of individuals determined to ensure that nobody forgets about the sacrifice so many gave in the pursuit of freedom. In China, the events of 1989 are being brushed from the records to give the impression that everything is fine and dandy in the world's premier communist nation. Freedom of speech is still a contentious issue in China, which is bewildering in an age where information is so readily available, and people can contact one another from across the globe in a blink of an eye. China may be fighting a losing battle here, and certainly lost out when 'Tank Man' was shown throughout the world.

Think you need a bigger wall

In a way, it shows how important it is to preserve our history. We have talked A LOT about the need for history in general, but as we reach the end of the Absolute Shambles saga it is necessary to once more sound the horn of history. To lose the recorded memories of D-Day veterans would be a crime as they were integral figures in such a pivotal event in our history. Their efforts must never be diminished or forgotten, even though the act of remembrance has become more political in recent years and some abstain from commemorating the fallen altogether. Let's not get political here, but one must never airbrush history. To do that means that the lessons that can be extracted from history are lost. If we all agreed to never mention the Holocaust, for example, then future generations would be deprived of that important lesson to never let anything like this happen again. An event such as the Raid on the Medway or even the Diamond Jubilee may not be deemed as 'important' nowadays, but they still form part of our story. Nobody wants to miss out on a good story, even if it is a brutal one. That's what history is- just one big story. Let's hope it has a happy ending.

Just like Game of Thrones

Ben G 😁 xo