Great little place called Bristol: historical event

Sunday, 4 August 2013

History of Bristol

Living in Bristol has different effects on each of us. Some, we love the city, others might not like it that much. When I started writing this blog, my main objective was to enjoy the city even more, to take the best of it, and to express my love for the city posting for you, reader. Some other people express their feelings in other ways, through pictures or videos for example. A spaniard living in Bristol for the last year has found a very beautiful way to show his love for the city in a very inspiring way.

I recently came across a documentary on Youtube on the history of Bristol and I found it very interesting to learn about the past of the city I am living in. The video itself is divided into parts and I have been able to find the first 6 parts on Youtube. The rest are whereabouts unknown.

Below, the first part of the documentary. I added small descriptions of what each part talks about. The quality of the video is not very good, which makes the images blurry and colourless, and you can also notice it has been recorded a couple of years ago. However, the content of the documentary, as far as I am concerned, is very interesting.

The first part covers the birth of Bristol city, Avon riverside and its tides, and the build up of first castle and churches. The second part focuses on St Mary Redcliffe, how Bristol grows and a defensive medieval wall is constructed around the city and in 1497, John Cabot lands in Bristol. Part 3 describes how the conflict between Spain and England affected Bristol, Queen Elizabeth visits the city and the beginning of the exchange of corn. Relationships with american natives and the "discovery" of the "new world" is described in Part 4, the beginning of the sugar trade, King James' monopoly over Bristol, Bristol taking the side of the Parliamentary Army during the civil war, Edward Colston, and the slavery. The new business of privateering florishing, the Corn Exchange, John Westley and the first methodist church in the city, America's independence and its influence in trade, industrial revolution, the new dock diverting the flow of the Avon, improvement of road services to benefit trade, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the idea of a suspended bridge can be found in Part 5. The last part available on Youtubes covers the railway linking Bristol to London, S.S. Great Britain, Clifton Suspension Bridge's opening, and Portishead and Avonmouth new docks.

LINKS
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"A Charming City" by Moises Pérez:
http://www.moises-perez.com/#!/documentaries/

Posted by Great little place called Bristol On Sunday, August 04, 2013 No comments READ FULL POST

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Stokes Croft Riot

A painting still remains on the wall, almost two years later, as a reminder of the confrontation. Everything started the 15th April 2011.

MESSAGE: "93% of local people say "no" to Tesco. Think Local, Boycott Tesco"

Despite a long campaign against its opening, the Tesco Express at 140 Cheltenham Road opened on 15th April 2011. Tesco was aware of the protests and put additional security measures to defend the establishment.

PICTURE: Tesco Express store in Stokes Croft, today.

Protests took place both inside and outside the store the following seven days after the "big opening". Locals didn't want Tesco in the neighbourhood range from the impact on independent shops and farmers. Although almost all protests were peaceful, such as attempts to use monopoly money to pay for goods, a small minority chose to throw paint and urinate on the shopfront.

On 21st April the police evicted squatters from the building known as 'Telepathic Heights', a property opposite the store.

PICTURE: Telepathic Heights, in Stokes Croft

This action led to a riot involving several people (160 police raid squat) and lasting for much of the night. The shop-front of the Tesco Store was damaged and some looting took place. Further confrontations between police and protesters occurred in the early hours of 29 April.

Source: http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/local-boy/observing-stokes-croft-riot

According to The Post last year, local traders and residents in Stokes Croft believe that local businesses did not suffer because of the opening of the new supermarket, but it helped to bring more people to the area.

The following video (here) is a community-based view of events of why did the Bristol Stokes Croft riot happen. It attempts to tell the story of what happened through the eyes of local people building up a picture of the chain of events.