Is a 186 paged pdf collection that covers episodes in British working class history, providing a brief account of some familiar milestones in the calendar of struggle and other less known occurrences. They began appearing in The Worker, newspaper of the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) in 1978.
Reading these “notes” the worldview of the CPB (ML) can be seen, particularly blatant with regard to their position on a united British state, incorporating the three nations and expressed in political opposition to both devolution and membership of the European Community. These were written with a purpose, and the contemporary relevance and political references providing history lesson for its reader.
What’s missing? The specific contribution and concerns of black people and women. There is a narrow focus that is pale and male reflective of the organisation’s binary understanding of, and what constitute, class struggles. Intersectionality is not a concept to be found in the understanding or writings of the CPB ML . The emphasis is on the organised working class in its industrial institution, the trade union hence the Match Girl Strike makes an appearance due to its nature as a trade dispute. There is an Anglocentric focus on events in England, some Imperial episodes, the French, Irish and Russian Revolutions so “Historic Notes” is a partial contribution, a scaffolding of events towards recording a history far from comprehensive, riddled with the perceptions and concerns of the writers, which may provoke further research to raise the voices of the unheard.
Reproduced here is not the complete series but a selection of articles, arranged chronologically rather than by date of publication. There are some duplication of subject as the writers return to commemoration some achievements of working people.
index of articles
1215 Magna Carta
1349 Statute of labourers
1381 Peasant Revolt
1395 Lollards
1549 Class war
1560 Robert Crowley
1598 Stow’s Survey of London
1640 The Levellers as pioneers
1648 William Walwyn
Books available for download at archive.org
Berens, Lewis Henry (1906) The Digger movement in the days of the Commonwealth: as revealed in the writings of Gerrard Winstanley, the Digger; mystic, and rationalist, communist and social reformer. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent
Clayton, Joseph, (1910) Leaders of the People; studies in democratic history. London: Martin. Secker
Stow, John, (1912) The Survey of London 1598 .London: J.M. Dent
Trevelyan, George Macaulay, (1904) England in the age of Wycliffe. London,Longmans
1707 The Treaty of Union
1750 Adam Smith
1750 Britain was the first country to industrialise
1750 The Destruction of the old Highland
1779 The Iron Bridge
1788 The Times
1789 The French revolution
1795 The Road to Speerhamland
1797 Mutiny at Spithead
1800 Not deemed respectable enough
1800 Developing Capitalism Integrated Britain
1807 Wilberforce
1810 The British Empire
1810s Friendly Societies
1810s Luddities Act against Destitution
1812 Luddities
1817 Peterloo
1831 Merthyr Riots
1831 Working Class Union
1832 Workers and the Vote
1833 Tolpuddle Martyrs
1834 The Way to the workhouse
1840 Miners Advocate
1848 Communist manifesto
1850s Crimea war
1857 The Indian Revolt
1860 Robert Applegate1861-1865
1862 The Hartley Calamity – a pit disaster
1864 delegates
1868 TUC Forged
1869 The First international
1870s Afghanistan under the British
1870s Fight for the shorter working week
1870s Samuel Plimsoll
1871 The Paris Commune1971 The first jolt to the ruling classes
1872 Joseph Arch
1878 Kent & Sussex Lockout
1880s Truth behind the Boer War
1888 Matchgirl Strike
1889 A Day for the working class
1889 The Docker’s Tanner
1900 Taff vale
1902 The Education Act
1907 Strikes in Belfast
1910 Social progress and the great unrest
1911 Burston teachers
1913 Farm workers strike
1914 The First World War
1914 the war to end all wars
1916 The Easter Uprising
1917 International Women’s Day
1917 The October Revolution
1919 Army sent to break the strike
1920 Jolly George
1921 Economic crisis
1921 The Popular struggle
1921 Popular Councillors Imprisoned
1922 Lowestoft Teachers Strike
1926 The General Strike
1926 The general strike in Brighton
1939 Capitalism Pact of Steel
1939 Non-Aggression Pact
1939 Swife Scales Seven
1941 Betteshanger Colliery
1941 Stalin: war leader
1941 The battle for Moscow
1943 Battle of Kursk
1945 Second World War in Europe
1948 Malaya after the end of WW2
1950 Outbreak of the Korean War
1950-53 The Korean War
1952 The Mau Mau Rebelliion
1958 Iraq
1970s Resisting anti-union laws
1972 The Miners’ Strike
1979 Albania celebrates 35 years
1980 Nalgo and white collar unionism
1987 the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
1989 Bitter Winter of struggles.
Download the pdf here
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