Emmeline Pankhurst built the suffragette movement and helped win women the vote in 1918

historyWikipedia1903–1914 · Manchester, England

Emmeline Pankhurst built the suffragette movement and helped win women the vote in 1918

the gist

Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903, an all-women group dedicated to deeds, not words. Its members broke windows and clashed with police, and they staged hunger strikes in prison, where many were force-fed. Her group later adopted bombing and arson, which split the movement. During the First World War she shifted to supporting the war effort, and the Representation of the People Act of 1918 granted votes to women over 30. Historians still debate how much her militant tactics helped, but her campaign is seen as crucial to the result.

so what

Pankhurst's campaign shows how confrontational tactics and public outrage can push a democracy to change its laws, even when the tactics are controversial. The 1918 law was a partial victory, and full equal voting for women followed in 1928, weeks after her death.

fun fact

Pankhurst was commemorated with a statue in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗