Historisk Samfund > Tidligere arrangementer > Bernard Porter 31.03.2009

Tirsdag d. 31. marts
Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Blixen-salen

Bernard Porter
Professor emeritus i historie ved universitetet i Newcastle-upon-Tyne
I indeværende semester gæsteprofessor ved Institut for Engelsk, Germansk og Romansk på Københavns Universitet.

Terrorism and counter-terrorism in Britain, 1850-1914

Since '9/11' we have been concerned with terrorism and how to fight it. But of course the phenomenon is not new, and we might learn something from adopting a longer historical perspective.
In the decades around 1900 Britain was afflicted by waves of 'terrorist' attacks, first from Italian Risorgimentists, then by American-Irish Fenians, and lastly by Russian Anarchists. This talk will describe these incidents, and the British state's response to them.
One was the setting up of new 'political' arms of a Police force that until then had been proud of its non-political function: in particular the 'Special Branch' of the Metropolitan Police. The talk will be illustrated by contemporary pictures.