Colin Holmes

Bushidō and the Samurai: Images in British Public Opinion, 1894—1914

I shall turn Japanese, for they at least can think, and be reticent! … I fail to see any Western people in a position to set the Japs an example in their diplomacy … their organization, their strategy, their virile qualities, their devotion and self control. Above all, their national capacity for self reliance, self-sacrifice and their silence, …

The Burton Book

In the summer of 2001 a major controversy erupted following a Jewish Chronicle report (18 May 2001) that the Honorary Officers and Executive Committee of the Board of Deputies of British Jews had decided to offer for sale, at Messrs Christies auction rooms in London, a hitherto unpublished work by the nineteenth-century explorer, writer and diplomat Sir Richard Francis Burton. In the event, and in the glare of worldwide media attention, the reserve price of ?150,000 was not reached (6 June 2001).1 The lot one of the very rew Burton manuscripts still in private hands ? was therefore withdrawn and returned, amidst yet further controversy, to the safe-keeping of the Board. In this article we trace the history of this work from its creation in the early 1870s, and offer some thoughts on its contemporary significance. We do not propose here to dwell at length on Burtons colourful, controversial, and n Victorian terms, scandalous life, a public image that may even, it has been suggested, ha /e led Bram Stoker to model Dracula upon him.2 Born in Torquay, Devon, in 1821, Burton taught himself Arabic whilst at Oxford and his extraordinary natural gift for languages made him an accomplished speaker of other eastern tongues, including Hindustani, Gujarati and Persian. In 1853 he famously journeyed to Mecca in the guise of a pilgrim, risking bis life because at that time Christians who entered the Holy City customarily faced execution. Three years later he and John Hanning Speke explored central Africa under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society; Speke discovered Lake Victoria but it was Burton who received the Societys Gold Medal. The two explorers subsequently became bitter enemies. Following Burtons marriage (1861) to Isabel Arundell, ten years his junior and the daughte r of a distinguished Catholic family, he yearned for a diplomatic career perhaps Her Majesty s Ambassador in Constantinople but obtained only inferior posts with the Consular Service In December 1868 Burton was fortunate enough to be appointed British Consul ir Damascus. But in August 1871 he was summarily recalled following complaints from tre British Consul General in Beirut, the Ottoman Governor of Syria, and the Sultan himself about his attitude to Muslims, his many indiscretions and his general waywardness and unreliability. He was posted instead to Trieste, which became his base for the rest of his life,

Immigrants, refugees and revolutionaries∗

A number of immigrant and refugee groups were present in Britain in the late nineteenth century. Indeed, over many years such groups had beaten a path towards its shores. In the course of the 1880s and 1890s the number of immigrants and refugees from Russian‐Poland increased rapidly and it is upon these newcomers, in particular those who were political activists, that attention is concentrated. An attempt is made to trace their involvement in British politics as well as their continuing interest in developments in Russia. Although entry was restricted by legislation in 1905, it was not until 1914 that the arrivals from Russian‐Poland effectively dried up. Only so much of the lives of the activists during these years can be traced owing to the restrictions placed on evidence lying in official archives; even where material does exist, it is suggested that it has not always been fully exploited. The essay is rounded off with a reminder that the entry of refugees and immigrants did not end in 1914; the arriva...

The Battle of Britishness: migrant journeys, 1685 to the present

At a time when billboards have been driven around London urging illegal immigrants to ‘go home’, when photographs of the arrests of those suspected of breaching their visas were being tweeted by the Home Office (with the hashtag #immigrationoffenders), and when 39,000 texts stating ‘go home’ have been sent to suspected overstayers, the publication of Tony Kushners The Battle of Britishness is particularly timely. The billboards, tweets and texting powerfully reveal the extent to which the conflict over controlling Britains borders is as much focused on the hearts and minds of its citizens, as on the bodies of immigrants.

Economy and Society: European Industrialisation and Its Social Consequences. Essays Presented to Sidney Pollard.

Part 1 Introduction, Colin Holmes and Alan Booth. Part 2 Industrialization: economic growth in Europe, D.Landes economic backwardness in Europe, A.Teichova entrepreneurs in Britain, M.Kirby instability in inter-war Europe, D.Aldcroft the Irish economy, P.Ollerenshaw the Spanish economy, J.Harrison the world economy, J.Kuczynski. Part 3 Social consequences: wages, 1870-1914, C.Feinstein women and industrialization, J.Savile labour in 19th century Germany, J.Kocka urban design and architecture, A.Sutcliffe urbanization in Franch, H.Homburg urbanization in Germany, M.Wehler.

Kings of the ring

Morton Lewis, Ted Kid Lewis. His Life and Times (London, Robson Books, 1990). Pp.273. £16.95. ISBN 0 86051 644 X. Jimmy Wilde, Fighting was my Business (London, Robson Books, 1990; originally published 1938). Pp.284. £16.95 ISBN 0 86051 642 3. Peter McInnes, Ten and Out! A Biography of Benny Lynch (London, Robson Books, 1990; originally published 1961). Pp. 198. £14.95. ISBN 0 86051 643 1.