The RGSHW Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Hassan Malik, Keiron Pedrola, Adam Yousuf Miss Gibbs, Mr Richardson June 2024
The Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Editor-in-Chiefs and Founders Hassan Malik 12EW Keiron Pedrola 12EW Adam Yousuf 12EW Staff Leads Miss C Gibbs, Teacher of History and Classical Civ. Mr C Richardson, Teacher of Geography Subject Leads History - Adam Yousuf 12EW Politics -Orlando Thompson 12LG Geography - Thomas Waterton 12LG Lingustics - Aimé Barrington-Cook 12CG Law - Hassan Malik 12EW and Keiron Pedrola 12EW Psychology - Keiron Pedrola 12EW “The arts and humanities define who we are as a people. That is their power - to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common. To help us understand our history and imagine our future. To give us hope in themoments of struggle and to bring us together when nothing else will.” - Michelle Obama Contacts Hassan Malik - 18hmalik@rgshw.com Keiron Pedrola - 18kpedrola@rgshw.com Adam Yousuf - 18ayousuf@rgshw.com Miss Gibbs - clg@rgshw.com Mr Richardson - csr@rgshw.com
3 Contents Editorial.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Research Articles.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 History Section.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Politics Section.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Geography Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Linguistics Section.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Law Section.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Psychology Section.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Bibliographies.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5 Editorial Mr Iain Wilson - Deputy Headmaster I’m thrilled to celebrate the launch of our inaugural Humanities and Social Sciences publication Journal. It’s bursting with a plethora of research informed articles led by our sixth formers. We are passionate about giving students a platform to showcase their talents, and this publication is a perfect example. For the readers, I hope these articles spark curiosity and ignite deep reflection. Approach them with an open mind, and you’re sure to find something fascinating, if anything, just to gain a bit more cultural capital. My biggest thanks go to all of the students who contributed. The high quality of their work is truly inspiring, and it reminds us all just what fantastic ambassadors they are for our school. Mr James Chitham-Mosley - Head of Year 12 Research is about changing the world for the better. Through collaboration and rigorous inquiry, ideas come together to form tangible and potentially transformational outcomes. It brings me great joy to see many of our young people take their first steps in trying to make the world a better place through their academic writings in this Humanities and Social Sciences Journal. Our students have been pushed to think critically and creatively when conducting their research and have constructed their arguments with great conviction. These practical skills are crucial for the fast-paced, 21st century world that we live in and I have little doubt that the writers of these articles will go on to achieve great things beyond RGS. However, I strongly believe that school is also about developing our character, deciding what type of person we want to become, and exploring those things in life that we love. Through these articles, it is clear that these young people have a great love of learning and that virtues such as curiosity, intellect and open-mindfulness are simply a part of who they are as individuals; their passion for their topic is quite inspirational. Finally, as Head of Year 12, I am filled with pride by the excellent leadership, dedication and assiduous nature of our Editors-in-chief who have shown both relentless and selfless commitment in producing this excellent journal. Thank you to all involved in producing this journal and to the reader, I hope it brings you the same joy it brought me. Mr Christopher Richardson and Miss Clare Gibbs - Staff Leads The RGS Humanities and Social Sciences Journal is proud to present its inaugural issue. This publication offers a platform for student scholars to engage with critical humanities topics and showcase their research. This first edition features a rich tapestry of articles, delving into subjects as diverse as forensic analysis, the complexities of migration, and the enduring legacies of language and colonialism. We extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated student leadership team who spearheaded the creation of this journal, and to all contributors whose insightful work enriches these pages. The RGS Humanities Journal invites submissions for future editions. If you are a student passionate about the humanities and eager to contribute your research, we encourage you to get in touch. Please direct inquiries to Miss Gibbs (CLG@rgshw.com) or Mr. Richardson (CSR@rgshw.com).
Hassan Malik, Keiron Pedrola, Adam Yousuf - Editors-in-Chief and Founders At the beginning of this academic year, the concept of a Humanities and Social SciencesJournal was simply an idea. Yet, only a few months later, this idea has become fully realised; it has been an incredible journey to witness. We would firstly like to thank the supporting staff - Miss Gibbs and Mr Richardson - who have aided the Humanities Team by moderating submissions and providing their utmost support as we developed the Journal. After reviewing and editing all submissions, the Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Team would like to extend our final gratitude towards all the students who have completed a submission for the Journal. Academic writing is an important skill as we continue through school, to university, and being able to establish this necessary skill at an early stage is highly beneficial. We are extremely grateful for your time in reading and hope that this is the first of many Humanities Journals represented within RGS.
Articles
Articles 9 Brosiu Inc. desin.me/academic The Impact of War on Engineering and Design Muhibullah Ahmed, 12LG The biggest part of human history is war. There is hardly any dispute about its role in how it has dictated our advancement as a species. But war has evolved constantly and rapidly. In an era of modern technology, we owe much of it to war and how exponentially it forces technology to grow. War has been dictated by the engineering of different cultures and nations. From the Stigner Missiles that defined the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan Invasion denying an invasion that should have been over in 6 months (Kuperman, A.J 1999), to Oppenheimer and the Trinity Nuclear Project, creating the key that has been preventing the genesis of a World War 3 (R.N Lebow, J.G Stein, 1995 ). War even goes back to the discovery of gunpowder by Chinese Monks in the 10th Century while searching for an ‘Elixir of Life’ (L Wang, 1947 ), leading to the inventions of firearms. These new weapons not only repelled Mongol invasions but also allowed China to develop into the formidable military empire it was for the next 600 years. Each of these developments was utterly crucial in their period, each shaping an aspect of history. They were defining components and there are many similar cases where the outcome of conflicts was defined not by manpower, but by the technology of the victors. In this discussion, I will outline a basic look at arms races and the most fundamental and clear link between engineering and war, while studying how the technological push of scientists has created weapons of war. I will also delve into the lasting benefits and changes to wider society caused by wartime progression, and finally the negative impact that war-based design thinking has on engineering. Firstly, what is an ‘arms race’? The classical definition for one is ‘a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons’ (Oxford, 2024). The term ‘arms race’ is, for many, synonymous with the Cold War and the Nuclear race. It is one of the best examples, but serves more as a scientific race - finding the physics to make the bombs work. For this discussion, I will turn to an earlier and equally significant arms race: the Anglo – European Naval Arms race from 1800 – 1912. This arms race is truly the most befitting of the definition, as all partakers were determined to gain control of the most valuable commodity of the era - control of the high seas. An example of how British engineering determined their superiority was in the First Opium War 1839-42. Lin Zexu, governor of Canton in 1839, seized £2 million of illegal Opium, and then refused to recompense the traders. This sparked war, and for some time, there was a standstill in the Bogue (a narrow strait in the Pearl River), with a fortified island that guarded the waterway between Hong Kong and Canton.Until the arrival of the Nemesis, an iron-hulled paddle frigate built for the East India Company, whichwaswas the first iron warship and the first steamship to sail around the
10 Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Cape of Good Hope (B Wilson, 2014), Paddle steamers didn’t hold impressive firepower themselves, but were able to navigate the inland waterways of China with their steam power allowing them to tow the big hitter warships. As a result, the early months of 1841 were filled with the shelling of each island as the Royal Navy travelled through. The Emperor refused to acknowledge defeat until 1843, when the Treaty of Nanking signed away £4.25 million and Hong Kong into the hands of the British (B Wilson, 2014). China then became involved in Britain’s signature free trading. This is a clear example of how a singular invention as part of a search for new power dictated conquest. Had the steam engine not arrived, it would have taken many more years and a lot more loss before the opium war ended. Another notion worth mentioning would be how inventions made for one purpose ended up as tools for another. The term most commonly used to describe this sort of advancement is ‘technological push’ where new technology creates opportunity for innovation, rather than the usual case of a market demand dictating what is made. A strong demonstration of the former case would be the discovery and implementation of RADAR in aircraft and other systems. In 1886, Heinrich Hertz tested the theories of James Maxwell and demonstrated that radio waves could be ‘reflected’ by metallic bodies (DeGering, Randall, 2018 ). There was however no interest in this, despite the recognition that short waves could be used for radio detection. Then, in June 1930, while testing a radio direction finding device at the US Naval Research Laboratory, scientists noticed that a parked aircraft was receiving signals when other aircraft passed overhead. The planes had been reflecting the signals back to the receiver in the aircraft. This lead to a focused investment into this technique by the government. In 1937, a Signal Corps pulse radar successfully detected 13 out of 15 aircraft travelling above 6,000 feet (DeGering, Randall, 2018). This laid the foundation for the universal RADAR system, used on ships, submarines, aircraft and even specialised tanks. This is a very clear example of how inventions of engineering that came from places of discovery, can quickly become powerful tools in war. There is also a lasting impact from these technological advancements made during a period of war. As much as war generates death and destruction, it also generates massive economic boosts in industrial and engineering sectors. Tech created in wartime settings also finds new non-violent purposes often. There are 2 fascinating examples for this: the precursor to the modern internet, ARPANET and duct tape. These two are nothing alike but share a common truth. They were developed for war but found their best use outside of it. Firstly, there is ARPANET. ARPANET was built in the late 1960’s and was fleshed out in the 1970’s. Under the guise of being an ‘an academic tool for linking research institutions’, it served as a very important resource in military intelligence (V Kanade, 2023). It was a reliable and decentralised communications system, with nodes at various top universities. It had host-to-host communication, cutting out a central hub, whichwould be easily susceptible to any Soviet sabotage. The encryption type was the first of its kind: the now widely and highly regarded end to end encryption model, characterised by having the complexity of the system at each of the endpoints – the computers – rather than the network itself. The Invention of the ARPANET and its features laid the foundation for the modern internet with many of it’s fundamentals still in use today. A more simple example of this phenomenon is the previously mentioned duct tape. In 1943, mother of two US Naval Sailors, Vesta Stoudt noticed a critical flaw in the tape of Ammunition cases. She created the idea of modern Duct Tape, which was a waterproof cloth tape that would seal the cases correctly. Her idea was shot down initially, but after a passionate letter to President Roosevelt, her idea got approval and recognition(Steven, 2018). Duct tape has been a famous invention ever since, with people using it to fix their problems around the house, and problems withmilitary equipment in the field (even on spacecrafts)(NASA, 2015). Both of these vastly different products are children of wartime efforts, but their potential was truly found long after their creation. It is likely that it would have taken a flaw or some other design challenge to develop these products if it weren’t for the heightened innovation found only in wars.
11 June 2024 RGSHW Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Humanities and Social Sciences Journal The final impact that war has on the design and engineering is reasonably negative. When arms races form during a war, the engineers are looking to be the first to a working solution, while the government aren’t all that interested in the best option, or even a safe one. This leads to how war creates negligence in creation. A strong example to showcase this is the Airspeed ‘Horsa’ Glider from World War II. The Horsa played an unequivocally important role in Operation Tonga: the airborne operation of the D-Day Landings in June 1944. The gliders were capable of carrying 30 troop seats, and were towedmost commonly by 4 engine heavy bombers. 600 Horsa were used in Operation Tonga and their troop delivery was a critical factor for the success of the battle. But as stated earlier, they were the first working solution, not the best. They were designed to be as cheap as possible and were described as “the most wooden aircraft ever built” (Mrazek 2011, p.336). The controls in the cockpit were mostly made of wood, just like the rest of the craft, and the glider was designed to crash, not land. It was a death box for many of the pilots and in a few cases, whole glider’s worth of troops died in crashes (ASN, 2016). Had they been developed for some other time or purpose, they would have been plenty safer, but the urgency and demand of war led to neglect in safety design. Overall, war has a positive impact on engineering and design, speeding up rate of advancement considerably, and highly improving efficiency for innovation. However, safety is one of the first things lost in this pursuit of improvement, and the effects of this are detrimental, especially worse when corners are cut.
Was Hitler an Effective Military Commander, or the Fraud of the Third Reich? Toyosi Aranmolate, 12EW It was June 1940, and Hitler and the Third Reich stood bemused at the sight of the Eiffel Tower, now reduced to nothing more than a swastika prop. The Allied forces periled at the picture of Hitler in front of the Eiffel Tower and the headline “The Fall of France” was featured in every newspaper across the world. Simultaneously, Eastern Europe remained a puppet for the Nazi regime and the Third Reich was threatening the peace of Europe. The climate of the world at this stage clearly displays the military might of the Nazis. However, to what extent was Hitler the primary driver of this success? Immediately, it can be appreciated that Hitler was excellent at diplomacy. Diplomacy is an extremely valued trait of a military leader. Great leaders in history have been credited with diplomatic skills which propelled them into advantageous positions such as Caesar’s diplomacy within the First Triumvirate and Machiavelli’s diplomacy with regard to the French courts and Holy Roman Empire (Skinner, 2000). This trait did not stop with Hitler. His alliance with Italy was characteristic of this as he understood that he needed allies abroad to be successful in military conquest. It was a testament to the pragmatism Hitler showed at times. Contrary to other nations, the Nazi’s approach to politics left them otherwise internationally isolated, and, unlike the Soviets, there was no pre-existing international network to take advantage of. Hitler’s turn to the Pact of Steel converted his friendly alliance with Mussolini into a firm military alliance and the diplomatic initiative handed Hitler a healthy start for Eastern European takeover. Through the Pact, the Third Reich had the support of the Italian army. With the threat of British-Franco aggression following a takeover of Poland, this military alliance was more than beneficial. Hitler also recognised that an aggressive takeover of Eastern Europe would require non-aggressive alliances with Eastern Europe. Diplomatic efforts in Hungary and Slovakia (the latter following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia to Nazi hands) were pivotal for the military takeover of Poland and Czechoslovakia. By promising Hungarian leader Horthy parts of Czechoslovakia which contained many ethnic Hungarians, and by placing Tiso in charge of Slovakia following its establishment, Hitler was able to force-feed alliances with Eastern Europe, propping up puppet states and subsequently sparing his army the effort of further military conquest. Unequivocally, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 can be used as the clearest case study for Hitler’s diplomacy. In his final diplomatic efforts before the Invasion of Poland, Hitler was able to split the work of invading Poland between the USSR and the Third Reich, sieging the Lebensraum that the Germans wanted and asserting the USSR as a non-aggressive ally; thus tying up all loose ends in Eastern Europe before dealing with the aggression from the West. As a military leader, Hitler brought many pivotal reforms that contributed to the army’s success by June 1940. The concessions from the Treaty of Versailles (1919) forced Hitler to transform the German Army from one of the weakest in Europe into one of the most formidable standing armies throughout the Second World War. The basis of the treaty limited the German army to 100,000 men, restricted them from having an air force, and restricted them to 6 battleships and no submarines (History.com, 2023). And so, Hitler was tasked with rearming the Reich. This was initially kickstarted through the Law for Reconstruction of the National Defence, passed in 1935 which saw the birth of the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe. These would be critical for the German war effort in years to come. With the blessing of the Führer and the disregard of the Treaty of Versailles, the German army was reformed. The infamous Panzer and Tiger tanks were created and swiftly became some of the most feared tanks in Europe. They would later become pivotal for the Germans’ advance through the Ardennes to invade France and the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s rearmament was coincidingly supported through industrial production in which he personally oversaw the increase in steel production and the stockpiling of oil and petrol in 1933. Thus,
13 June 2024 RGSHW Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Humanities and Social Sciences Journal through these reforms, Hitler was able to transform the army from the hitches of the Treaty of Versailles to the army that was 5 million strong with 8 million in reserves by 1937 (Matthew, 2017). This therefore demonstrates his strong role in leading the Nazi military. However, Hitler possessed certain unfavourable traits that certainly exacerbated the Third Reich’s war effort. He was extremely paranoid and went out of his way to remove the existing leaders in the German high command. General Werner von Fritsch was forced to resign following questionable allegations of his homosexuality. Hitler was always quick to replace these high-profile, competent generals with less qualified and more importantly sycophantic individuals. This was also shown in his swift appointment of Wilhelm Keitel after the resignation of von Fritsch. Keitel succumbed to Hitler’s influence and personality rather than the greater good and competence of the army. It was Hitler’s fatal flaw. He struggled to be challenged and fuzzed the line between scrutiny and outright defiance. As such, he never gained the trust of the leading generals in the army and likewise could never trust them. This flaw is considerably detrimental to a military leader. Other high-ranking individuals that Hitler had sacked included Franz Halder, who had an open disagreement with the Führer over the military directives in Russia. It must not have been a coincidence that Halder resigned soon after the altercation. During his time as dictator of Germany, Hitler also opted to rule the military in a diktat style. He controlled its agenda through the puppet leaders he had established, who wouldn’t oppose him, and it was this lack of inclusivity and acceptance of wider views that stunted the German’s military success in the long run. After the period of Hitler’s authoritarianism in the army from the 1930s, many of his established loyal military leaders began to doubt his ability to win the war. Notably, Erich von Manstein had lost faith in Hitler following his defeat at Kursk in 1943. Most of Hitler’s loyal supporters from the start of the war had lost their faith in the Führer by early 1944 (Matthew, ibid). Defying Hitler openly resulted in resignation or worse. His growing unpopularity amongst the high command was demonstrated through the four failed assassination attempts between September 1943 and February 1944 (Snow, 2023) and the July Bomb plot of Stauffenbergmarked the final breakdown of trust between Hitler and his army officers. To conclude, it must be appreciated that Hitler bore many positive traits, indicative of his military acumen. The reforms he introduced in the army were pivotal for the early conquest of Eastern Europe and the campaigns in France. Through the reforms he brought to the tanks and artillery in the army, the Nazis were able to plough through the Ardennes toward France and similarly use them for their frontward advance onto Soviet Russia. These reforms were so pivotal that over 3000 tanks were used by the Germans in their initial execution of Operation Barbarossa (Matthew, ibid). More so, the diplomatic initiatives of Hitler also made him a competent military leader, and his efforts in Eastern Europe saw the expansion of the Reich into these areas seem less. Diplomacy with Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, and Russia aided a strong Germany and provided the Reich withmuch-needed advantages at the start of the campaign. Nonetheless, it must also be appreciated that Hitler’s paranoia was detrimental to Germany. It was the Third Reich’s hamartia. Arguably, it led to the dismissal of plenty of competent, German military leaders and war heroes who may have been able to check Hitler’s poor military decisions. Rising only to a corporal position himself, Hitler was never as tactically gifted as many of the officials he had resigned or worse removed. His paranoia, need for total control over the military and the collapse of trust between Hitler and his commanders (or what can be argued to have never been there in the first place) lay the collapse of the ability of the German army to wage war effectively. Consequently, Hitler was the fraud of the Third Reich.
The Dawn of Forensic Science: How Song Ci Changed the Policing World Forever Max Tyson, 12CG The modern methods that are used in the world of forensic science have been subject to change ever since the dawn of the field in the 1200s, with investigators longing to find the one small change that will drastically increase the accuracy of the methods. This increase in the accuracy of the methods is vital due to the delicate nature of the field, since a difference between a negative and positive result for one test can be the difference between a criminal being convicted of their wrongdoings and the same person being set free. The very first account of the forensic science methods was by a Chinese forensic entomologist who wrote a book titled “The washing away of wrongs” (UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS, n.d.). In this book, he outlined the varying methods that he would use during his investigations of a crime scene, and I shall outline the main methods that he detailed in his book, including death by burning, a test for poisoning, and the general analysis of the wounds of the deceased. An advanced topic covered by Song Ci was a method to discover whether a murder had been concealed as a burning. This method was used to determine whether the victim had died of the burning itself or the wounds they had sustained. To do this, he said that you must “have the coroner’s assistant pick up the bones and sweep the ashes and dust. On the cleaned spot where the corpse has been, sprinkle a thick decoction of rice cooked in vinegar and wine. If the victim was murdered there, the spot where blood soaked into the ground will be fresh red in colour.” (Medievalists.net, n.d.). This method was also combined with tests for carbon in the nose and mouth as Song Ci states that “When a living person is burned to death, there will be sooty ashes in the mouth and nose of the corpse” (Ci, 1247) so therefore, if there is a substantial amount of blood on the floor and there are no “sooty ashes’’ in the person’s mouth or nose, the victim was dead before they were burnt. This meant that the authorities responsible for dealing with the case were able to tell whether a murder had been framed as a burning or accidental fire. This test was beneficial as it allowed authorities to assess whether they should investigate the death further based on the amount of blood that is present and it may have even increased the conviction rate, as it would encourage the detectives to further investigate how the person died rather than immediately blaming the fire for the death. However, this method does not provide a detailed record of how they have died and instead gives a suggestion based on the amount of blood that is found on the floor. This method of testing for burning is like the methods used in the modern world, where bones are analysed to investigate the different break types and marks on them to find if they were broken perimortem (meaning before death). Perimortem breakages suggest that a struggle has occurred as the bones were broken before the person had died. These types of breakages tend to be “relatively smooth breaks which continue uniformly through both wet bone and burned bone material. Due to extension and tension of the bone at the time of the break, these fractures will exhibit a pattern of microfractures, resulting in a typical butterfly pattern to the fracture.” (Officer. com, 2006). In contrast, “postmortem fractures caused by the burning and drying out process exhibit fractures that are blocky and stepped in appearance” (Officer.com, 2006) due to the bones being made up of around 11% water meaning that, when the water in these bones are heated during the burning process, “heat dehydrates the bone, driving out the water and destroying the collagen structure.” (Officer.com, 2006). This method is beneficial as it provides a detailed account of the nature of the injuries, rather than an overview of what may have happened, and so this would further provide the authorities with evidence of a murder, rather than speculations. However, this method only proves the presence of large injuries, so if smaller injuries occurred such as contusions or abrasion of the skin, this test would not reveal this, because they would have been destroyed by the flames. Although chemical testing and analysis was not as prevalent as it was today, and the people of the past were unable to identify the substances that lead to the death
15 June 2024 RGSHW Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Humanities and Social Sciences Journal of a victim, Song Ci still wrote about methods to test for poisoning. These are unlike today where blood, tissue and hair are all analysed to find the type of poison used. Instead, Song Ci wrote about how crime scene analysts can use the “silver needle technique” to test for death by poisoned food. He states that you must “scrub the needle using pods of the soap bean plant and water, and then insert it into the throat of the corpse, sealing the mouth with paper. Withdraw the needle after a considerable period of time.” (Ci, 1247). This is to ensure that the needle could detect and pick up the poison, and the washing with “pods of the soap bean plant and water” ensured that the needle was sterile before use, which was revolutionary since hygiene was often disregarded and not thought of much during this period. Then, he states that the needle “will have turned a bluish-black colour which cannot be scrubbed off using pods of soap bean and water” (Ci, 1247) and that “if the victim was not poisoned, the colour will remain clear white.” (Ci, 1247). This is extremely advanced for the time as it shows a level of competence when it comes to chemical analysis, since he understands the effects the chemicals within the poison have on themetal of the needle. This method is beneficial to authorities as it informs them if a person has died from a sulphur containing gas, such as hydrogen sulphide as, “silver becomes black because of hydrogen sulphide (sulphur), a substance that occurs in the air” (Bouwen, 2018). Despite this, if multiple people were to do this test, their idea of what a “bluish black” colour is will vary from person to person, so the result of if a person has been poisoned or not may be different if another person conducts the test. This method of testing for poisons was extremely advanced for the time but is dwarfed by the advanced chemical analysis methods that are used today. It is almost nothing compared to the modern methods where, “a blood test can be used to check the levels of chemicals and glucose in the blood. They may be used to perform a toxicology screen (tests to find out how many drugs or how much medicine a person has taken), and a liver function test, which indicates how damaged the liver is.” (NHS, n.d.).This method is beneficial as it gives extremely detailed accounts of the internal damages that the victim had suffered leading up to their death and gives exact chemical readings, so the detectives are able to know the exact poison that the victim died from. Despite this, this method takes considerably longer than the old method, mainly due to the transportation of samples, so there is a higher chance of the suspects moving to a place where the police will not be able to find them. In Chapter four “Examination of the corpse before burial,” Song Chi discusses the different methods that he uses to clearly examine a body, specifically to make the wounds clearer for observation purposes. He discusses using “onions, red pepper, salt and white prunes” (Ci, 1247) for instances where “a corpse has to be examined” (Ci, 1247) and later, Song Ci states that you must “spread grains and sprinkle some vinegar upon the cloth in the open oil-cloth umbrella and hold it between the sun and the parts you want to observe.” (Ci, 1247) This would then make the wounds appear for areas “where wounds are not visible.” This method allowed crime scene investigators and forensic examiners to view wounds (such as contusions and cuts) that may not be fully visible to the naked eye. This, in turn, helped forensic workers to gain a better understanding of the build-up to the person’s death and may allow them to discover the cause of death for the victim. In 1247, this would have allowed the forensic examiners to create a detailed report of all the wounds that the victim had suffered whereas, if the method did not exist, the examiners would not have been able to be fully accurate since they could only report on wounds that they could easily observe. This method varies from today where wounds are not needed to be seen fully with the eye, as images are taken using cameras which will themselves make wounds that may not be fully visible appear clearer, whereas in 1247, crime scene analysts had to draw the body so needed to be able to see exactly where the wounds were located on the corpse. As well as this, distinct frequencies of light are used to reveal certain pieces of evidence that are unable to be detected by the human eye. For example, “UV and IR are narrow wavelength light sources above and below the visible light range. UV and IR can be used to identify bruising and biting on or under the skin” (FoxFury, n.d.) which would mean that crime scene investigators do not need to have detailed analysis of the body itself as the wounds will be revealed in the photographs of the body. Although the methods that are mentioned in this piece are only a small fraction of the methods covered in “The Washing Away of Wrongs”, it is clear that Song Ci was extremely ahead of his time and the comparison to the modern methods, where a lot of the same thought processes are used (such as testing for different chemicals used in poison) further shows Song Ci’s deep understanding of scientific methods. I believe that Song Ci is one of the most under-appreciated scientists, as he set the foundations for methods in modern policing that are used to prosecute criminals around the world every day, making the world the safest it has ever been.
The Collapse of British Imperialism Adam Yousuf, 12EW Between 1945 and 1965, the number of people under British rule outside of the United Kingdom fell from 700 million to 5 million, 3 million of whom resided in Hong Kong (Brown, 1998). Once a domineering influence globally, the former British Empire that spanned across 13.7 million square miles in 1920 (Taagepera, 1997) saw a steep reduction in power and authority in the mid20th Century. Although British imperialism is perceived to have disappeared entirely by 1997 after the Hong Kong ‘handover ceremony’ (Brown, ibid), an exploration into the decline of the empire’s worldwide control in the twenty years following World War Two allows an insight into the changing attitudes to imperialism within Britain, Britain’s fading economic strength, and decolonisation/nationalist movements within British colonies and British-controlled areas. The changing attitudes from the height of the British Empire to the immediate aftermath of World War Two, informed by the debts of the war but also on a moral level, contributed to the British Empire’s collapse. AMass Observation report from 1942, which asked people to describe their ‘Feelings about the British Empire’ revealed, for instance, “a very considerable body of guilt-feeling about the way the Empire has been acquired, and the way the colonies have been administered” (Hendy, 2013). Lloyd (1996) states that the issue of Indian Independence was of paramount importance to the newly elected Labour government under Clement Attlee. Indeed, Indian self-determination against British imperialism had been festering for decades, albeit strong disagreements between the Indian National Congress (led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi) and the Muslim League (led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah) on how to implement it due to their divergent visions for the future of India. The Congress favoured a unified secular state, but Jinnah and the Muslim League advocated for a separate Muslim state to protect themselves from marginalisation. However, the fear of civil war due to these disagreements, as well as previous revolts and protests against each other or the British Empire, meant that the urgency of an immediate partition grew in the view of Attlee. Eventually, Lord Mountbatten (the newly appointed Viceroy of India) announced that the British had decided to transfer their power to Indian and Pakistani governments. This resulted in an even more precarious social situation, as millions crossed borders, many became displaced, and hundreds of thousands lost their lives in the ensuing violence. The British admitted themselves from responsibility for maintaining peace through their drawing up of ambiguous borders and their mandate of identity politics (von Tunzelmann, 2017); the subcontinent was inevitably left to ruin through the empire’s divide-and-rule strategy. In the following year, the imperial policy of departure and delegation became consistently applied as the British similarly announced their withdrawal from the British Mandate of Palestine. The forceful displacement of many- over 700,000 Palestinians (Morris, 2004)- occurred during the UN’s creation of Israel, another area that formally belonged to Britain before. The British Empire of Old filled power vacuums rather than leaving them, as was seen through its engagement with Russia in ‘The Great Game’ (Hopkirk, 2002) during the mid-to-late-19th century. Notable contemporary scholarly works at the height of the British Empire’s dominance such as J. R. Seeley’s ‘The Expansion of England’ (1883) remarked on British exceptionalism and the aim of the British to civilise the colonies they acquired, establishing order. Instead of protecting and maintaining the ‘civilisation’ of these colonies, they deserted them and left them in chaos. Superpowers such as the United States and the Soviet Union began to dominate the global geopolitical atmosphere in place of Britain (Abernathy, 2000). Lapping (1985) argues that the bankruptcy brought by World War Two was the principal reason why the British Empire ended; Attlee’s implementation of a costly ‘Welfare State’ only compounded these debts in the immediate aftermath of the war. The nationalising of the Suez Canal in 1956 by Gamal Abdul Nasser strongly angered the British and the French (the latter of the two already frustrated by Nasser’s role in decolonising Algeria (Risse-Kappen, 1997)). The protection of the Suez Canal was vital for British economic interests, especially for the movement of oil (as two-thirds of Western oil moved through the Canal), but also for all cross-continental maritime trade. Thus, Britain and France colluded with Israel on coordinating events that ultimately resulted in their intervention in the area (James, 2001). Yet, after financial pressure from the US, and diplomatic pressure via the Atlantic Charter signed previously by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in 1941, Britain was forced into a
17 June 2024 RGSHW Humanities and Social Sciences Journal Humanities and Social Sciences Journal humiliating withdrawal (Combs, 2008) and Prime Minister Anthony Eden later resigned. Although itmight be argued that Britain’s steadfast approach to quashing threats to its international trade was reminiscent of the great empire at its zenith, the fact that Eisenhower and the USA were able to prevent Britain from moving ahead with a sustained intervention through diplomatic warnings and threats of depreciating the British Pound (Ferguson, 2002) cemented Britain’s position as merely a smaller power against the forces of the USA. An already fragile economy was jeopardised by the US, who were outraged by a lack of consultation (Ferguson, ibid) and fearful of involving themselves in a conflict with the USSR who claimed they would intervene on behalf of Egypt. The aftermath of the Suez Crisis led politicians to lament Britain’s role in international geopolitics, with one claiming that it had become ‘America’s Satellite’ (James, Ibid) and another calling the events ‘Britain’s Waterloo’ (Brown, ibid). Eisenhower later issued the Eisenhower Doctrine in 1957, which stated that any Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from the U. S. military forces if it were threatened by armed aggression. Essentially, Britain’s global influence was overshadowed by its transatlantic counterparts; it became clear that they could not act without the agreement or at least the acquiescence of the United States (Smith, ibid) on the world stage. By 1968, the British decolonised all but one of their colonies in Africa. Decolonisation stagnated during Churchill’s and Eden’s leadership in the early-to-mid 1950s, but the election of Harold Macmillan in 1957 spurred on a new age of deconstructing British imperialism. Rising nationalist/anti-colonial movements in Africa saw the independence of Sudan and Ghana established in 1956 and 1957 respectively, and another ten states in the following decade (Lloyd, ibid). Despite the fact that nations were gaining independence at a rapid rate, it was far from peaceful. The establishment of Kenyan independence notably demonstrates this. The Mau Mau Uprising 1953-1960 was a period of relentlessly atrocious war crimes from the British- who held as many as 320,000 in concentration camps according to Harvard historian Caroline Elkins (Parry, 2016)- and the Mau Mau militants. Macmillan’s speech in Cape Town at the turn of the decade after touring Africa for weeks encouraged self-determination for Britain’s South African colonies and discouraged South Africa’s apartheid system. While only the former was initially successful in terms of impact, the intent of the British to separate themselves from colonialisation was clearly communicated. This intention spread to the Caribbean, with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados gaining independence; and to Oceania with Nauru, Tonga, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands also acquiring sovereignty. Asian territories such as Cyprus and Malaya- now formally known as Malaysia- also gained freedom from British imperialism. Along with the independence of countries being granted, Britain began to reform its cabinet as well as its colonies through the merging of the Colonial Office with the Commonwealth Relations Office to form the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Cannon, 2015) and the abolition of the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies. To this day, 14 countries are referred to as Commonwealth Realms. It is clear that policy towards colonialism transformed under Macmillan through the sheer number of countries gaining independence. His motivations for advocating for the self-determination of individuals against colonial rule may have been pragmatically attached to the economic feasibility of maintaining imperial rule, but they catalysed decolonisation nonetheless. Overall, the British Empire’s collapse was nuanced and happened due to a multitude of reasons. The underlying issues with the costs of maintaining the empire remained prevalent in the period of decolonisation. It became beneficial for the British to grant sovereignty to their colonies not only on a moral or ideological scale but on an economic scale too. Conversely, the shift in opinion over colonialisation cannot be overstated. Although this shift was stifled in the early-to-mid-1950s under Churchill and Eden, the role of Attlee and Macmillan in promoting self-determination galvanised the process of independence being established throughout British colonies worldwide. Certainly, the stark contrast in the attitudes of the postwar Prime Ministers and 19th Century Prime Ministers such as Benjamin Disraeli who posed as a defender of the empire (Eldridge, 1973) stimulated the acceleration of the decline in imperial dominance. Similarly, the United States’ geopolitical dominance over Britain also played a significant role. The anti-imperialist sentiments felt by the Americans, as well as their ongoing Cold War with the Soviet Union, restricted the UK’s protection of power as can be seen through the agreements made by Churchill and Roosevelt in the Atlantic Charter of 1941 and the Suez Crisis of 1956. However, Britain was ultimately protecting its own economic interests through decolonising. Their departure from their former colonies was far from a peaceful and considered process. Even the ‘champions of decolonisation’ in Attlee and Macmillan saw the plights of the Indians, Palestinians, and Kenyans as well as many more in their respective times as Prime Minister. The events around the Suez Crisis also depict the economic problems of Britain, through the threats to the value of the British Pound made by Eisenhower against Eden. Therefore, although decolonisation was a period to be celebrated as an idea, the reality was far from perfect for both Britain and its colonial victims.
18 Humanities and Social Sciences Journal How will Trump’s prosecutions affect his presidential aspirations? Donald Trump looks set to spend much of this year inside a courtroom. The former president is looking to return to the White House in November’s election, but his campaign has been dogged by several lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. He has been fined $175m for fraud in New York, he has been found liable for sexual assault and has gone to the Supreme Court after some states tried to remove him from the ballot for the upcoming election. On top of all this, he has been charged in four separate criminal cases. His embroilment in these various trials threatens to derail his presidential campaign, but in many ways, he has used it to his advantage. As time goes on, it appears unlikely that these cases will be completed before the election, but will these prosecutions hinder his campaign, and could he realistically be convicted? New York v Trump The first of the historic charges against Trump comes from New York where he was charged in April last year with 34 counts of fraud and falsifying business records. The case revolves around money paid by Trump, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the run up to the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claims that she was paid $130,000 (£103,000) by Trump’s lawyers to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. This so-called ‘hush money’ isn’t illegal in itself but the manner in which Trump reimbursed his lawyers is the reason that he has been charged. He recorded the payment to his lawyer Cohen as a business expense when prosecutors allege that this payment was a reimbursement of hush money. Such a charge would usually be a misdemeanour but is upgraded due to its relation to a presidential election. The maximum prison sentence for these charges is 136 years in prison but mostly legal experts believe that, if found guilty, Trump would face significantly less, if any time in prison, with the most likely outcome being a fine (Sklansky, 2023). Of the cases against the former president, this is the most likely to be completed before the election in November with a trial getting underway on 15th April 2024. This case is particularly unusual as the charges have been elevated to a felony, although the full legal reasoning for this decision hasn’t yet been disclosed. The charges have becomemore serious as they are alleged to be an attempt to influence the 2016 election. The use of electoral law in conjunction with fraud charges is unpredictable and unprecedented (Hasen, 2023). Crucial to the prosecution case is the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, who has since testified that he was reimbursed illegally by the former president. Cohen served three years in prison for various offences, including one relating to his payment of Ms Daniels. US V Trump (Classified Documents) In June 2023, Trump became the first former president to be indicted on federal charges, when charged in Florida over mishandling classified documents. The charges were brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is also leading the January 6th prosecution, and he indicted Trump on 40 charges. It is alleged that Trump, after leaving the presidency, kept numerous classified documents, relating to national security, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, in violation of the Espionage Act. The FBI carried out an extensive investigation – including searching Trump’s home, where they found a series of these documents. There are 31 in total that Trump is alleged to have kept, including details on US nuclear weapons, military activities, foreign military capabilities and potential vulnerabilities of the US to foreign attack. Trump’s main tactic thus far has been to delay any activity on this case. He first asked to delay it indefinitely, so that it wouldn’t interfere with the 2024 presidential election and while a trial start date was provisionally set for May, this has been delayed indefinitely, rendering it unlikely to take place before November (Vance, 2023). The judge on this case, Aileen Cannon, is a Trump appointee who, in a separate case, saw her rulings that favoured Trump overturned by a higher court. Her rulings have frustrated prosecutor Jack Smith, by continuing to delay a trial date. Amongst the evidence provided by prosecutors is a recording of Trump, seemingly boasting about possessing classified documents. The strength of evidence has ledmany experts to cite this as the strongest case against him (Sklansky, 2023), with a conviction seen as very likely. How will Trump’s prosecutions affect his presidential aspirations? (as of May 2024) Orlando Thompson, 12LG
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