Good morning! I hope that you are accomplishing what you planned to accomplish today. Today I am going to finish up the Liberty or Death Series. There will be a quick little recap of what happened before the story continues. The run time for this final episode is 49:31.
In 1848 an Irish aristocrat would challenge the Crown’s authority and others would continue to challenge the British establishment. They would be transported to Australia in hopes of silencing them. However, this would not work and they would spread their message of democracy to Australia as well. These men would dream of states with their government. Eventually, an anti-transportation movement would rise. Colonies were sick of taking in the convicts and would start to question what right the British Government had to transport the convicts. John Frost would challenge the transport system. In 1839 he and Zephaniah Williams would lead an uprising in Wales. They too would be transported to Australia for life. Port Arthur would leave a deep impression on John Frost and he would put his treatment to words. He would write about these experiences and speak about the barbarity of Port Arthur. People would read these stories about what happened in Port Arthur. He would incur the wrath of the local authorities. He would eventually be put to hard labor and the task would take a toll on him. Frost and Williams are eventually given pardons. Williams would return to coal mining and would remain in Tasmania. Frost would leave Tasmania and would travel to the United States. Here he would find a willing audience. He would speak out against the transport system. He would expose the cruelties of the transport system. In the meantime, the British continued to fight against the age of revolution. The working people are rising up against unfair governments. The story shifts to William Smith-O’Brian. He was an Irish aristocrat whose family converted to Protestantism after Cromwell. He was a Member of Parliament and was a reformed-minded gentleman. He would start speaking out against the British Government due to the Great Potato Famine. He is disappointed that the British government would not do anything to help the Irish. Thousands of rural poor die from starvation or other related diseases. O’Brian is radicalized by the famine, for him it ends the English legitimacy to rule Ireland. Things would eventually come to ahead and O’Brian goes out amongst the people to encourage an uprising. However, he was a man who had no idea what he had unleashed. Eventually, O’Brian would be arrested and tried for treason. He was a prominent member of the Irish resistance to be arrested. He would be sentenced to death; however, the outcry was so great that his sentence was commuted to transportation. Sympathizers arrange for him to escape; however, his attempt is thwarted. He would be sent to Port Arthur, the most severe prison in the empire. He is given his cottage but nobody is allowed to talk to him. He continues to write about his experiences in Port Arthur. He would make connections with people in the anti-transportation movement. Eventually, he is freed and becomes a rising figure in Australian society. To learn more about O’Brian’s fate continue to watch the rest of the episode. The shift of the documentary turns to Wales and the rebel spirit that was found amongst the Welsh. The Toll Roads were the target of the Rebels. Everyone had to pay a toll and this was particularly hard on the rural Welsh. The Daughters of the Rebecca were a group that went out and smashed the toll gates. They were feared amongst the Toll gate operators. Only two daughters of Rebecca were ever caught and charged John Jones and David Davies were sent to Australia. To learn more about these men continue to watch the rest of the documentary. I still wish this documentary was divided into chapters with the stories of each of these men, it would make it easier to break it up if you considered viewing and it would make things easier to follow along with. This continues to be a good series and would be something for research purposes rather than showing purposes. If I were to show it, it would be good for an Australian history classroom.
0 Comments
Good morning readers! Today I am going to do a documentary on Australia. There was another very good documentary posted on Timeline or some other YouTube Channel at one point, but this is not that documentary on Australia. It sounds like this series is narrated by Allen Leach of Downton Abbey fame. It is part of a series called Death or Liberty. It is a two-part series and the first episode has a run time of 49:29.
Australia was established by Great Britain as a penal colony. Convicts from British Shores would be shipped to Australia to serve out their sentences. Some were thieves. Some protested against the establishment. 3,600 Political prisoners were sent to Australia. Distance may silence the calls for democracy however these prisoners continue to work towards democracy. A trio of musicians come together to tell the stories of these people. In 1793 the world was in turmoil and change was in the air. The American Revolution has happened. In France, the King was beheaded and a republic was declared. Britain is shocked at what happened. So Australia was seized and it was established as a penal colony. Great Britain was only one hundred years old and many people remained loyal to their birth country. The Irish were particularly attached to their home country and the Irish would look to reform their government. They took their inspiration from the French Revolution. Both Catholics and Protestants come together to create reforms. Unfortunately for the Irish, the British would not take these reforms lying down. A rebellion was put down on Vinegar Hill and many people were executed while others were arrested. However, the rebellion refused to be crushed and there were flare-ups. Phillip Cunningham was one of the men who kept the rebellion going. He was arrested and sentenced to death, however, his sentence was commuted to transportation to Australia. He would never see his family again. There were many Irish convicts already in Australia. Unfortunately for the colony governor, more were coming. Governor King, the penal Governor was worried and Phillip Cunningham committed mutiny to try to take over the prison ship. Cunningham continues his rebellion in Australia. He leads a rebellion of 300 Irishmen and takes over the armory. The goal is to eventually get a ship to sail back to Ireland. They go into the Australian countryside burning farms, and taking weapons and rum. Eventually, Cunningham is betrayed. He surrenders, while the other rebels are executed. Cunningham was eventually executed by hanging as a warning to would-be rebels. The story of rebellion continues to go forward in Ireland. The Irish Parliament is dissolved. Another rebel rises up and he is elusive. Michael Dwyer kept at the fight and would eventually be captured. He worked on a deal that would have exiled him and his family to the United States. However, the government went back on the details and he was sent to Australia. It was here that he would meet with Governor Blythe: of Munity on the Bounty fame. Governor Blythe puts Dwyer on trial where he is found not guilty. Blythe enraged by the not guilty verdict changed the verdict and exiled Dwyer to Norfolk Island. Eventually, Blythe was overthrown by his soldiers. The British soldiers loved the hard-drinking Irishman and freed him. He would rise in Australian society, but his drinking would get the best of him. He would eventually die a pauper. Eventually the documentary shifts to the rebellious spirit of the Welsh, which was led by two people: Zephaniah Williams and John Frost. They were two unlikely partners in this endeavor. To learn more about how the Welsh and their attempts at rebellion continue to watch the rest of the episode to find out more. This is a good documentary, not as good as the one on Convict Australia, but good enough. I was waiting for a quip about Blythe governing Australia like he did the Bounty. I wish that this was divided into chapters that followed each of the prisoners. This documentary would be better for research purposes instead of showing it to a history class. Even though it was very well done and very well organized it has more value as a research tool than a showing tool. Good morning! We continue with Tony Robinson’s Time Travels in this episode: In Cold Blood. Tony arrives in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954. He is exploring a trial of two young ladies. These ladies were so obsessed with which each other they would kill to stay together. The two ladies were named Juliet and Pauline. Pauline’s mother wanted to move out of New Zealand, separating the two girls.
The pair hatched a plan to murder Pauline’s mother. They lured her to a place outside of Christchurch, where the mother was brutally beaten to death. When the trial started, the courthouse was packed and the locals were curious to see who could commit the murder. The diary of the girls was read during the rial. On August 29, 1954, the girls were found guilty of murder, sentenced to five years in prison, and never saw each other again. They were sentenced to prison. After they got out of prison, they managed to live productive lives. Tony then arrives in Australia and explores the shipwreck Batavia. The Batavia was going to Australia in 1629 from Holland to look for spices. Unfortunately, the ship went off course and wrecked off the west coast of Australia. Events spiraled out of control after this wreck. The captain took a few of his men and went to Jakarta for help. This left the survivors without a leader. A man named Jeronimus Cornelisz took charge. He sent off a group of men to look for food. He left the men behind and took control of the island. What ensued was murder and misery. Many of the passengers were massacred. Eventually, the captain returned and Jeronimus Corenlisz was hanged. A piece of the ship Batavia is in a museum. Tony goes to Sydney and explores the year 1790. Sydney harbor was bristling with tension. The governor Captain Arthur Philip was under order to befriend the Aboriginal people. However, the Aboriginal people avoided the colony. Anyone who strayed from the colony in Sydney was killed by Aboriginal people. Arthur decided to kidnap an Aboriginal person. He kidnapped several more Aboriginal people. Eventually, tensions grew between the settlers and the Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal people attempted to assassinate Arthur Philip. Captain Arthur Philip did not want the colonists to retaliate against the Aboriginal people. They came to the negotiation table. A meeting was arranged and the Aboriginal people were welcomed into the settlement. Unfortunately, this peace would not last as the men went and explored Australia. Tony then learns about John Horrocks. He was a man who wanted to make his mark on history. He was a farmer but then decided his forte was exploring. Horrocks then imported a camel. Camels are normally sweet-tempered but the camel Horrocks imported was ill-tempered. He bit the head of the tent master. Horrocks discovered a bird that he wanted to stuff. Harry shifted and knocked the gun, shooting Horrocks. Horrocks died twenty-three days later. He ordered the camel shot and it took two bullets to kill the camel. Tony then goes to 1933 and the sporting pitch to explore the most brutal action that occurred in sporting history. A touring English cricket team was playing a game against the Australian cricket team. An Australian player was hit in the chest and the English team was accused of playing dirty. Tension rose and the Australian Prime Minister had to intervene. The English Captain’s actions tarnished cricket’s reputation. This was a rather cool episode to view and I would recommend the first part for a library and information science class because it talks about Anne Perry. The third story of between the Aboriginals and the Sydney Colony would be a good section to show for a geography class. |
Author
The reviews I do are my opinion and my opinion only. My opinions should always be taken with a grain of salt. I just want to help teachers out selecting documentaries. Worksheets
My Teachers Pay Teachers Store! Worksheets available as a Word Document.
Lulu Store
I am also on Lulu! If you're interested in genealogy I have several books available!
Archives
February 2025
Categories
All
Privacy Policy
HistoryDocTube will not collect any personal information and will not sell any personal information to a third party. We will not request any personal information.
The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |