published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

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This thesis is a study of the Bengal Army from c. 1800 to c. 1870. Its central aim is to explain why the majority of the Bengal Army's native troops mutinied in 1857. It begins by comparing the pre-mutiny trends in the Bengal Army to those in its sister armies of Madras and Bombay: in particular the Bengal Army's changing pattern of recruitment, its growing list of professional grievances, the deteriorating relationship between its sepoys and their European officers, its relaxation of discipline and its sepoys' use of caste issues as a smokescreen for other grievances. Then it analyzes the events of 1857: the cartridge question, the conspiracy and the pattern of the mutiny itself. Finally it outlines the deliberations of the post-mutiny Peel Commission and the subsequent army reforms, and puts the Indian Mutiny in the context of the recent historiography of military revolts. Its conclusion is that the essential cause of mutiny in 1857 was not the defence of caste and religion, as is generally supposed, but service issues particular to the Bengal Army.

The object of this study is to examine the rural settlement forms of the later 18th and early 19th century in the Scottish Highlands by means of documentary evidence and field remains. The main manuscript and documentary sources are described in Chapter 1 and the forms of field remains, -their recording and analysis, are explained. A brief review of research into Scottish rural settlement over the past 100 years, particularly Highland settlement and the changing approaches and interpretations is covered in Chapter 2. The developments of the period 1750-1850 had some of their origins in the 17th century, and the main historical events in the Highlands which had a bearing on agriculture, population and settlement from the late 17th to the early 19th century are reviewed in Chapter 3. The major part of the thesis is a comparative study Of Lochtayside and Assynt based on land surveys of the period 1769-1774 and this is dealt with in Chapters 4 to 10. Chapter 4 introduces Lochtayside in its physical setting and its historical development prior to 1769 is covered by references to early maps (particularly Pont and the Military Survey)and the history of the Campbells of Glenorchy/ Breadalbane. The rural landscape of Lochtayside in 1769 is discussed in Chapter 5, with reference to population, agriculture, forms of tenancy, rents and occupations. Chapter 6 examines and discusses the field remains of the earlier settlement pattern - the townships, settlement clusters, shielings, mills, etc. The physical landscape of Assynt and its pre-1774 landowners are examined in Chapter 7 and the evidence of early maps is discussed. The picture of the Assynt rural landscape as interpreted from John Home's-Survey of 1774 is presented in Chapter 8 with a discussion of, land divisions, tenants and nontenants. The surviving remains of the settlements and the special role of the 'sheelings' in the late 18th century Assynt-agrarian economy are discussed in Chapter A direct comparison of Lochtayside and Assynt in 1769- 1774 is made in Chapter 10, looking at differences. or similarities in physical geography, history, population density, landholding systems, settlement forms and survival of remains. Some extra evidence-from other sites in Perthshire and Sutherland, including two excavated sites, is examined in Chapter 11 and compared with Lochtayside and Assynt. Conclusions on settlement groupings, forms of houses and buildings in the areas studied are made in Chapter 12, and 10 generalisations, which in themselves are a summary of the thesis in terms of settlement development, variation and survival, are presented.

<p> Between 1969 and 1972, the Philippines experienced significant political unrest after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos&rsquo; successful reelection campaign. Around the same time, American President Richard Nixon formulated a foreign policy approach that expected its allies to be responsible for their own self-defense. This would be known as the Nixon Doctrine. This approach resulted in Marcos&rsquo; declaration of martial law in September 1972, which American officials silently supported. American officials during this time also noted Marcos&rsquo; serving of American business and military interests. Existing literature differed on the extent Marcos served what he thought were American interests. Stanley Karnow&rsquo;s <i>In Our Image</i> noted that Marcos did not adequately serve American interests, noting that he sent an insignificant amount of soldiers to Vietnam. Karnow also did not mention business interests. Raymond Bonner&rsquo;s <i>Waltzing with a Dictator </i> mentioned that Marcos was effective for serving American business and military interests. James Hamilton-Paterson&rsquo;s <i> America&rsquo;s Boy</i> agrees with Bonner&rsquo;s assessment, also noting that Marcos served American business and military interests. Materials from the <i>Digital National Security Archive</i> (DNSA) and <i> Foreign Relations of the United States</i> (FRUS) series affirmed Bonner and Hamilton-Paterson&rsquo;s position, while noting that Karnow&rsquo;s work was outdated because of the limited information he had when <i>In Our Image</i> was published. There are three issues that concerned the U.S.-Philippine relationship under President Marcos during this time. The first issue was the societal and political unrest that threatened to undermine Marcos. The second issue concerned U.S. officials&rsquo; application of the Nixon Doctrine to the Philippines. The third regarded President Marcos&rsquo; serving of military and business interests in the Philippines. Marcos supported maintaining America&rsquo;s Filipino bases, which were important hubs of American military operations during the Vietnam War. In addition to military interests, President Marcos also aided American businesses in the Philippines, by removing restrictions that threatened American business activity. Each of these concerns led to President Marcos&rsquo; declaration of martial law. American officials&rsquo; tacit support for Marcos reflected their commitment to the Nixon Doctrine, which ensured political stability that preserved American business and military interests.</p>

Volunteer-run museums in English market towns and villages have been largely over-looked by scholars examining the history and development of museums in England, and work on contemporary museum volunteering or the relations of museums to their communities have not distinguished between volunteer-run and volunteer-involving museums. This thesis attempts to redress the balance by examining a number of volunteer-run museums in Dorset and the characteristics and motivations of the volunteers involved in their development. This element of the project included a survey of museum volunteers in the county and studies of a selected group of museums through interviews and through archival research in museum records. The thesis also presents a historical analysis, through a number of case histories, of the development of volunteer-run museums in English market towns and villages from 1884, demonstrating clearly how the development of these small museums reflects larger changes in the rural community from the paternalism of the late nineteenth century, through growing independence and democracy after 1918, to the counterurbanisation of the second half of the twentieth century. Changing perceptions of rural identity are also apparent in the history of these museums. The second element of the project was largely undertaken in the archives of selected institutions founded at different periods, an unexplored source of extraordinary richness. Contextual discussions include an account of three unsuccessful attempts to set up an English folk museum, the importance of the growing interest in local history at a popular level, and the impact of the Festival of Britain in focussing attention on the history of towns as enshrining civic pride and liberties. Taken together, these two elements have enabled a clearer picture to emerge of the importance of volunteer-run museums to their communities, to the participants themselves and to the wider museums community.

<p> The aim of this project is to explore throughout the course of the period between 1976 to 1986 the evolution of punk and postpunk music in Britain, and how patterns of change occurred over time through examining the music and historical events that inspired it through regional, gendered, and political lenses. The project involves the analysis of how musicians were able to transcend the socio-cultural constructs and prejudices of their region, class, or gender through the transformative nature of punk music and its subset, postpunk; both through performativity and the smashing of Britain&rsquo;s preoccupation with the collective memory of Empire that was more representative of being romanticized than the actual historical reality. The project involves the use of song analysis, album covers, artwork, and videos to dissect how these brazen musical genres allowed marginalized new voices to be heard in postwar Britain as a whole.</p>

<p> During the early years of the 19<i>th</i> century Spanish colonies in the Americas went through dramatic political changes as new structures of governance emerged worldwide. Monarchical power throughout the world declined as representational democracy and the nation state became the new norm. This thesis focuses on two Spanish colonies and their transition to nation states, New Spain into Mexico and the R&iacute;o de la Plata into Argentina. An analysis of this transition reveals that the period was much more than just a revolutionary or Independence era, rather, it was demarcated by intense class warfare. Whereas the lower classes of the colonies vied for dramatic changes in political, social, and economic structures, elites had sought to keep intact as much as possible colonial mechanisms of power whilst separating from the Spanish monarchy. This thesis uses constitutions, decrees, laws, and personal letters written by actors from both sides to highlight the intensity of class warfare during this period.</p><p>

Wrought-iron manufacture in Shropshire is studied over three centuries, encompassing changes in technology arising from the use of vegetable and subsequently mineral fuel. It describes the charcoal-using forges of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, discussing their rural locations on tributaries of the River Severn, and their principal market in the Midland manufacturing district. Comparison with other ironworking districts establishes that the industry had a regional rather than a national base. Early processes using coal and coke are discussed, in particular the patent awarded to Thomas and George Cranage, two Shropshire workmen, in 1766, before the adoption of the puddling process in the late eighteenth century. The industry in the nineteenth century is discussed with reference to the market and workplace structure, examining their influence on the technology of iron production. In the light of this, it is argued that in the nineteenth century ironmaking retained a strong regional character, structured by particular historic and geographic circumstances, and that national trends offer a limited understanding of the industry in that period. The thesis also challenges conventional interpretations of technological change, whereby new technology replaces old, arguing for increasing technological diversity until the decline of ironmaking in the late nineteenth century.

This thesis examines how an officer with so many perceived detractors reached senior leadership positions in the Royal Air Force of the Second World War; that officer is Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Utilising prosopography as a methodology, and grounded in an understanding of leadership theory, though recognising the limitations of applying modern language to historical analysis, this thesis surveys the development processes used by the RAF to nurture officers for senior positions. Furthermore, this thesis argues that the RAF, bounded by the Service’s culture and ethos, took an interest in the leadership development of its officer class as it had a stake in producing able leaders capable of defending its independence. This was done through modern conceptions, such as socialisation, job assignments, action learning and nurturing. These concepts formed the basis of nurtured officers shared experiences, and this thesis illustrates how Leigh-Mallory was representative of the type of officer the RAF wanted to lead the Service. The experiences outlined in this thesis focus on training, education and job assignments, which included aspects, such as the importance of Staff College attendance, command experience and staff duties. Participation in these key shared experiences made officers such as Leigh-Mallory ‘visible’ to those able to further nurture officers careers while giving them the knowledge required to lead at the senior level. By understanding the culture and context of the development of the senior leadership of the RAF of the Second World War, this thesis now allows for a more considered understanding of the effectiveness of officers such as Leigh-Mallory during that conflict.