The chapter contends that trade unions can be conceptualized as actors who contribute to the reproduction of nationalism through the ‘banal’ everyday framing of concerns and aspirations in terms that reflect traditional rhetoric of nationalist ideology. Following Anthony Smith’s influential definition, nationalist ideology is understood as embodying a set of three core ideals, namely national identity, autonomy and unity. The chapter’s main argument is that internationalization – as exemplified in the cases of Ford and General Motors – can paradoxically reinforce rather than diminish the significance of such banal nationalist rhetoric.

The government's approach to distress in 1879-1880 was intended to avoid the mistakes made during the Great Famine. Poor law guardians looked to central government to provide the resources to relieve distress, arguing that Irish ratepayers could not be expected to bear the cost of emergency relief. In confronting the economic crisis of 1897-1898, Gerald Balfour sought to reduce the role of central government and to return responsibility for emergency relief to the boards of guardians. John Morley reversed the policy by which local authorities were superseded in the distribution of emergency relief, whilst maintaining central government's responsibility for the organisation and financing of relief works. Having previously endorsed Arthur Balfour's centralised model of emergency relief, it was this that H.A. Robinson had recommended to Morley. A commission of inquiry was appointed to investigate the administration of the Relief of Distress Act and the financial condition of the scheduled unions.

The use of coercion and brute force by the British colonial authorities in Kenya - similar to those employed in Malaya - has been regarded as a British ‘gulag’ system by some historians. Allegations of maltreatment and the excessive use of force continue to tarnish Britain's colonial record in Sub-Saharan Africa. The raising of Frank Kitson's so-called ‘counter-gangs’, not to mention the RAF's aerial bombardment of insurgent positions, does highlight important questions about the ethics of waging ‘small wars’, especially against a poorly equipped and trained enemy. The Mau Mau rebels were made up largely by members of the Kikuyu tribe, who had expanded their numbers under the British administration in the post-war period. In the course of battling the rebels over 11,000 lives were lost and a further 100,000 individuals were interned. As this chapter makes clear British forces acted according to rules of engagement set by London and enforced by a civil-military administration which, ultimately, failed to appreciate the unique socio-political realities of Kenyan society which gave rise to the Mau Mau rebellion.

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book attempts to fill a major gap in the historiography of migration from two of Europe's most striking migrant groups. It makes an original contribution in two respects. First, it adopts a comparative perspective, analysing the countries of origin. The second contribution is methodological, using raw migrant narratives to convey a sense of migration as a story. The book examines the broader context of the outflow from Ireland and Scotland. It goes beyond traditional transnational and diasporic approaches, usually focusing on two countries. The book also attempts to survey issues relating to transnationalism, comparison, and history and memory. A further comparative element of the book is its use of personal testimony, drawing as it does on such diverse sources as letters, diaries, shipboard journals, and interviews.

This chapter presents the interview between the author and the DJ, musician and writer Excalibah. Excalibah co-directed The Blacks Remixed and played the role of Archibald, the MC. This interview is a companion piece to author's conversation with Ultz. Ultz wanted to do a modernised version of The Blacks in a contemporary urban setting. The Blacks Remixed is not a play about Africa; it's a play about black people in white cities. Jean Genet is a white playwright writing for Blacks. The Theatre Royal Stratford East is known for promoting black and Asian work. At the Theatre Royal, black people knew what they were seeing right away. They were aware of the reality behind the clichés, the fact that black men, in a white world, play at being hard and unemotional.

This chapter discusses the nature of the king's relationship with Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes as demonstrated by their staging of royal ballets. Luynes was first mentioned in the journal of the king's doctor in November 1611 as the royal falconer in charge of the king's favorite hunting birds. Luynes was an important innovator and an enthusiastic patron of the dramatic court ballet. Dramatic court ballets had a unified, coherent plot recounting a heroic story taken from classical mythology or medieval romances. Luynes was ambitious, and his relationship with the king was based on self-interest. He wanted the brilliant court career that had eluded his father, and the key to such a career was royal favor. The nature of their relationship was revealed in a conversation that François de Bassompierre had with Luynes in November 1621.

British railway enthusiasm remains a remarkably varied activity today, articulated through attachment to prototype railways' life-world. As with railway modelling and enthusiasm for the current prototype, stuffed steam faces a full-blown reproduction crisis. Building on Big Four companies' practice, British Railways laboured away building new steam locomotives to standard designs; but a delectable variety of more ancient locomotives and rolling stock wheezed and creaked around the system. British railway modelling's golden weather ended with the first Margaret Thatcher government's decision to break union power by eviscerating the artisanate. Though steam traction's eclipse in 1968 was widely predicted to signal railway modelling's death-rattle, not all modellers faded away as British Railways' last standard-gauge steam locomotive was dragged away to the Woodhead Brothers' breaking yard at Barry. The Locospotters club's activities shifted sharply over time, from shed and works visits to today's talks on modelling, preservation and the dear dead steam scene.