In the latest issue of the International Review of Social History (volume 60 part 1, April 2015), Niall Whelehan compares cartoons on revolting peasants in British and Italian 19th century satirical magazines. In some 19th century British satirical magazines, ape-like facial features were employed to illustrate anarchists and nihilists, in order to personify visually political threats to order and stability. During periods of rural unrest in Ireland, however, the figures of simian and reptilian monsters became primarily attached to Irish agitators and peasants. Portrayals of brigands in southern Italy as 'evil animals' were far less common.
Other contributions in this issue:
- Francisco Barbosa de Macedo, Social Networks and Urban Space: Worker Mobilization in the First Years of "New" Unionism in Brazil
- Willem van Schendel, What is Agrarian Labour? Contrasting Indigo Production i Colonial India and Indonesia (Suggestions and Debates)
- Stefano Bellucci, Crisis of Capitalism, Crisis of Labour (Review Essay)
International Review of Social History is published for the International Instiute of Social History by Cambridge University Press