Latest Posts
-
Pirates of the Caribbean: Exploring the Historical Elements of the Franchise, by Luke Walters
Luke Walters, one of our Pirate PhD students, has continued from Christos Giannatos’ investigation of the historical accuracy of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, with two short videos. Pirates Codes (From Pirates of the Caribbean:… Continue reading
-
Pirate Bites: How true are the pirate representations in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, by Christos Giannatos
After having the privilege to showcase our third year students’ creative assessment last week, this week we have looked to one of our doctoral researchers, Christos, to find the truth in the representations of pirates in the first film in… Continue reading
-
Pirate Portfolios: Creative Assessment on a History Module, by Dr Richard Blakemore
We have been sharing some piratical material on this blog recently, to mark the twentieth anniversary of the first Pirates of the Caribbean film in 2003, much of it related in some way or another to an undergraduate module that… Continue reading
-
Pirate Legends Resurfaced: The Black Pearl and Real Pirate Ships, by Luke Walters
Despite the countless interpretations of the pirate ship, from Captain Kidd’s Adventure Galley to Captain Hook’s Jolly Roger, it has above all else been characterised as a theatrical stage. Images of dashing rogues rejoicing on deck swearing and drinking, all… Continue reading
-
Pirate Legends Resurfaced: The Golden Age of Videogame Pirates, by Luke Walters
It has been said that “dead men tell no tales”, though if one looks at the wider history of the so-called Golden Age of Piracy and how it has affected our perception of maritime predation, this is evidently not the… Continue reading
-
14 July 1789: The storming of the Bastille and the birth of the people of Paris as political force, by Prof Joël Félix
The storming of the Bastille was one of a series of unexpected events that led to the downfall of the Old Regime in France between May and August 1789. News from Versailles of popular minister Jacques Necker sacking had caused… Continue reading
-
Dead Men Film No Reels: A Short History of Pirate Films, by Dr Richard Blakemore
When I began to teach a module on the history of piracy in 2017, I shamelessly called it ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ to piggyback on the global film franchise, though with the subtitle ‘Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750’ to show… Continue reading
-
History Department’s Favourite Pirate Films – July 2023
To start us off on our Pirates of the Caribbean 20th anniversary month, the pirate specialists in the History Department here at the University of Reading have nominated their favourite pirate films of all time)… Luke Walters – Treasure Island… Continue reading
-
British People Month: Caribbean Faith and British Churches 1948-1981, by Dr Dan Renshaw
The arrival of HMT Empire Windrush into Tilbury docks on 22 June 1948 is now recognised as a key moment in the history of post-war Britain. Caribbean communities had settled in British cities and towns prior to the late 1940s,… Continue reading
-
British People Month: Justin Fashanu: ‘Oh, what a goal, oh that’s a magnificent goal’, by Prof Matt Worley
It’s not often you get to say ‘I was there’, but … I was there. On 9 February 1980, I was 9 years-old and saw this: Justin Fashanu, just beginning to gain a reputation as a foremost talent in English… Continue reading
READING HISTORY 