Radical History Blog

In the First World War records of the 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment of the Imperial German Army, there's a lonely paragraph which stands out from the pages and pages of battle reports and casualty statistics.

We Brits like to think of ourselves as the true custodians of tea: enthusiasts - perhaps even connoisseurs. But let's not kid ourselves. We didn't invent it. The stuff comes from China. It's the national drink of Afghanistan.

Note from Luke: for today's blog post on , Pete tells the fascinating story of his family's arrival in Britain over 100 years ago and how the establishment of human rights has changed how we think about refugees. Over to Pete!

Exactly 69 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ''. And it's in part thanks to a special woman named .

Get new post updates We recently shared some posts on Facebook showing several of our poster tea towels and oven gloves. It kicked off a bit of a debate... Some people even got quite offended!

, the Polish-born socialist, once said that "Those who do not move do not notice their chains." The fact that Luxemburg was Jewish at a time when antisemitism was virulent in central Europe added to her sense of injustice.

We all thought there were some battles that had been won - battles we'd never have to fight again. And then Trump goes and shares far-right propaganda - reminding us that the age-old war on racism isn't over just yet.

Taking public transport can have its challenges, but choosing where to sit on the bus is easy, right? OK maybe not in rush hour NYC... And definitely not so for African Americans in the 1950s.

Oscar Wilde: the favourite partygoer who died on St Andrew's Day in 1900 Who's the larger-than-life personality we can remember on November 30th?

A long line of radical beards I have a beard. It’s nothing too showy but it’s far more than just stubble, and I like it. Next to some of the great radicals of the 19th century, however, it is a humble, humble thing.