Radical History Blog

How the revolutionary fervour of 1848 turned into a full-blown War of Independence In 1848, everything everywhere happened all at once.

Born on 9th March 1763, William Cobbett was a journalist, pamphleteer, and campaigner for parliamentary reform From the perspective of radical history, William Cobbett was a mixed bag… Born in rural Surrey in 1763, he grew up to be an alternately radical and reactionary figure in British and U.S.

Túpac Amaru II gave his life in the fight against Spanish colonialism Decades before and fought the wars of Spanish American independence, there was a Great Rebellion in the Andes.

Born on this day in 1778, José de San Martín liberated huge swathes of South America from Spanish imperial rule “My promises to the people for whom I have waged war have been fulfilled – to accomplish their independence and leave the choice of their rulers to their own will.” Spanish South America was too big for Simón Bolívar to liberate all on his own.

Born on the 15th of February, 1748, Jeremy Bentham sought to reform the institutions at the heart of British society “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation.” Jeremy Bentham was born in February, 1748.

Born on this day in 1805, Auguste Blanqui devoted his life to the dream of revolution “The Republic means the emancipation of the workers, it’s the end of the reign of exploitation, it’s the coming of a new order that will free labour from the tyranny of capital.” When did the end?

Born on this day, Langston Hughes was one of the twentieth century's greatest poets “I swear to the Lord, I still can’t see, why Democracy means, everybody but me.” Langston Hughes was born today in 1901.

Born on this day, Ernest Jones fought for democracy and freedom across the world "Rise to freedom!

On this MLK Day, our historian Pete talks about the radical promise of the Reconstruction years “White historians had for a century crudely distorted the Negro’s role in the Reconstruction years.

Born on this day, Algernon Sidney was one of England's greatest revolutionaries “This hand, enemy to tyrants, by the sword seeks peace with liberty.” The second half of the seventeenth century was the great revolutionary period of British history.