Municipal History Research Articles

A Companion to the Abbey of Quedlinburg in the Middle Ages, ed. Karen Blough. Brill’s Companions to European History, 29. Leiden und Boston: Brill, 2023, pp. xx, 477.

Following upon two Brill’s Companion volumes on medieval German-speaking cities, Lübeck (2019) and Vienna (2021), Blough has assembled twelve essays on the history of Quedlinburg, today a small yet once important imperial seat in what later became East Germany (GDR); its municipal history reflects the abbey’s often radically evolved environment. While the focus throughout is Quedlinburg’s medieval legacy, the roles of her buildings and devotional objects can only be understood in the present by reflecting on the changes that they have undergone. Much evidence has been lost, both allowing for and demanding careful speculation on what occurred as much as a millennium ago.

Članovi uprave Slobodnog i kraljevskog grada Osijeka 1809. godine

Stjecanjem povlastica slobodnoga i kraljevskoga grada započelo je novo razdoblje osječke povijesti. Promjene su se ponajviše ticale funkcioniranja gradske uprave u novim pravnim i društvenim okolnostima. Dosadašnja rijetka istraživanja onovremene osječke upravne povijesti u pravilu su se zadržavala na ustrojstvu i nadležnostima tamošnje gradske općine. U ovom radu autori su se bavili pitanjem sastava i značajki prve uprave slobodnoga i kraljevskoga grada Osijeka, koja je s radom počela u kolovozu 1809. godine. Na temelju gradiva osječkoga poglavarstva autori daju povijesni i pravni kontekst izboru i imenovanju članova uprave te analizu njihovih sociodemografskih karakteristika zabilježenih primarno u evidencijama građana.

地域に根差した学校教育を自治体史でどう取り扱うか:ー『十津川村史（地理・自然編）』の経験からー

地域に根差した学校教育を自治体史でどう取り扱うか:ー『十津川村史（地理・自然編）』の経験からー

ІСТОРИКО-КУЛЬТУРНЕ ЗНАЧЕННЯ НАДГРОБКІВ ЄВРЕЙСЬКОГО ЦВИНТАРЯ М. ГЛУХОВА

In 2018 the author of this article carried out field works at the Jewish cemetery of Glukhov town which consisted of searching of the remained gravestones, including basis fragments and also the whole monuments or their parts which went deeply to the ground and grassed. Cleaning and photofixing of all found objects were made. On the basis of these field works, the author of the article revealed 1040 objects that are in varying degrees of preservation. From them 438 objects are completely preserved gravestoness, which are among the historical burials and date from the beginning of the XIX century - 1930 year. Based on a number of works on the history of Glukhov town and the local Jewish community, as well as Jewish necropolis, ethnography, linguistics and epigraphy, the author of the article conducted (based on general scientific methods and a special method - identification) a comprehensive study of the Jewish cemetery of Glukhov and its gravestones as objects of cultural heritage. The purpose of this publication is to present the results of this research. Absolutely all these monuments of Glukhow Jewish cemetery can serve as a source of genealogical information and are of interest to genealogical researchers and descendants searching for the graves of their ancestors, and also, due to their concentration, can serve as invaluable material for various studies in the field of necropolis, socio-demographic and sanitary - municipal history. At the same time, the epitaphs of the surviving ancient Jewish gravstones are the specific literary phenomenon, occupying an intermediate position between traditional rabbinic and folk literature and culture. During this research, 2 monuments which epitaphs have literary value were revealed. These are the gravestones of the Jewish writer, publicist and the teacher Lazar Davidovich Tsveyfel and the merchant of the 2nd guild, the public official of Glukhov City Council, the juror of Glukhov district Zalman Ariev Esmansky. In addition, the gravestone inscriptions of these monuments have value in terms of the totality of the personalities of the deceased and the epitaphs on their gravestones. The carved decor of the gravestones of Glukhov Jewish cemetery is an example of original folk decorative and applied art, it has a peculiar style, figurative language and has artistic value. Of the total number of tombstones of Glukhov Jewish cemetery, 46 steles have ornaments that are distinguished by a complex, time-consuming development of carving and artistic taste.These monuments are of interest for various art criticism studies and have significance as exhibits demonstrating the most interesting elements of the art of decorative carving of gravestones, its connection with the culture and religion of the Jewish people and the influence of local factors on this type of decorative and applied art. As a historical source, the gravestones of Glukhov Jewish cemetery are confirmed by the well-known historical events of that time - the Jewish riots in Glukhov and the influx of refugees in the period 1914-1916. Of particular interest for researches are data on a concrete personnel. At the Jewish cemetery of Glukhov town, many prominent personalities who made a great contribution to the culture, economy and other spheres of the town’s life are buried. Among them are the Jewish writer, publicist and teacher Lazar Davidovich Tsveyfel, Abram Isaakovich Rusakov - the grandfather of the outstanding Soviet painter and graphic artist Alexander Isaakovich Rusakov and many others.At the time of the end of this research, at least 30 gravestones, due to the historical and cultural significance of the persons buried under them, are of interest to researchers of regional history and can be used for various genealogical, local history and historical studies, as well as in the development and conduct of lecture and sexursion programs on the Jewish places of Glukhov town and specifically on the Jewish cemetery. From the total number of surviving ancient gravestones, a group of monuments which are of interest were identified by one or by a set of criteria. Three types of criteria were taken into account: the value of an epitaph as a historical source or literary phenomenon; art value of carved decor; historical or cultural significance of buried. According to the results of the study, 76 gravestones were included in this group. The article provides a list of gravestones that can be fully considered as objects of cultural heritage and should take the appropriate place in the memorial protection activities of Ukraine.

Población y tamaño municipal: reflexiones a partir del censo de 1991

Este trabajo presenta una actualización de los datos referentes a la población española agrupada en diversas categorías definidas a partir del tamaño demográfico municipal. Esta escala intermedia de análisis, que goza de una amplia tradición de trabajos, desaparece de la publicación de los resultados correspondientes al Censo de Población de 1991, donde se pasa de la escala provincial a la municipal sin ningún tipo de estadio intermedio. A pesar de las limitaciones de este tipo de clasificación, la revisión del comportamiento de los municipios agrupados según tamaños ha permitido establecer trayectorias comunes en su historia demográfica en cuanto a crecimiento de la población, naturaleza y su estructura demográfica.
 
 [fr] Ce travail présente une actualisation des donees vis à vis à la population espagnole regroupée en différentes catégories définies à partir de la taille démographique communale. Cette échelle intermédiaire d'analyse, qui jouit d'une longue tradition de travaux, a disparu de la publication des résultats correspondants au recensement de la Population de 1991, qui passe de l'échelle provinciale à la municipale sans aucun genre d'échelon intermédiare. Malgré les limites de ce genre de classification, la révision de la tendance des communes regroupées selon la taille nous a permis d'établir les trajectoires communes dans leur histoire démographique, en relation à la croissance de la population, la nature et la structure démographique.

Local context, network ties, and organisational autonomy: Latino civic life in Barcelona and Madrid compared

ABSTRACT How does local context shape immigrant civic life? This article addresses the question by comparing Latino associations in Madrid and Barcelona, cities in Spain with comparable rates of immigration and civic organising. Drawing on 63 interviews with Latino leaders and stakeholders, I show that three contextual factors – municipal funding priorities, overcrowding, and local political history – promote network configurations that, in turn, influence organisational agenda setting. In Barcelona, these factors encourage ethnic bonding networks that facilitate the implementation of large-scale celebrations, protests, and social service projects, yet render groups vulnerable to political party intrusion. In Madrid, the factors lead associations to instead form bridging ties with mainstream non-profit organisations, while diminishing opportunities for pursuing large, independent projects. The results encourage scholars to understand local context as a field that structures relations between immigrant organisations and influences organisational autonomy.

Portraits of Catania City in The Civitates Orbis Terrarum of Braun and Hogenberg: the “local” model (Sixteenth Century)

This work is part of a research project on the processes of the formation of urban identities. It attempts to reconstruct the role that images and descriptions have played in the process, using Catania as a case study. In this article we will examine, by way of municipal history and iconography, the process of constructing a “portrait” of the city (a map/view) linked to the need to “construct” an all-encompassing view, an identity: a map-view published in Amsterdam in 1598 and included in the 5th volume of Braun and Hogenberg’s Civitates Orbis Terrarum, clearly drew on a “local” model, a map printed on behalf of the Catanian Antonio Stizzia in Rome in 1592.

“My Dad was a bus driver”. The 2016 mayoral elections in London

In May 2016, the Labour Party’s candidate, Sadiq Khan, became the third mayor of London after a bitter competition against Zac Goldsmith, his opponent from the Conservative Party. During his campaign, Khan promised a more consensual approach to politics in the capital city thus distinguishing himself from his predecessors, Ken Livingstone, mayor from 2000 until 2008 and Boris Johnson who held the post from 2008 until 2016. This article briefly looks back at the first mandates of “Ken” and then “Boris” to provide elements of comparison with the 2016 London elections. Four times in a row the competition was reduced to a duel between the candidates from the two main parties. The 2016 election which opposed “Sadiq” and “Zac” stands out as having rapidly become a real fist-fight that undoubtedly Londoners will be only too happy to consign to the dustbin of the capital’s municipal history.

Joseph Chamberlain and the Birmingham Town Council, 1865–1880

Of all the mayoralties within modern British municipal history, none is more celebrated than that of Joseph Chamberlain at Birmingham from 1873 until 1876, often considered to have set a new model for the role and duties of local government. Associated with the changes being made to the physical environment of the town, there were profound changes in the make-up of Birmingham’s town council and the balance there between Chamberlain’s allies and sympathizers and his opponents. Using methods taken from social network analysis, the approach here investigates the roll-call records of the Birmingham town council. This not only enables the discovery of networks of voting, but also shows the wider identity on council of those individuals comprising these networks and how they were changing over the period.

E.P. Hennock 1926–2012: an appreciation

Of the British scholars gathered by H.J. Dyos in 1966 to give substance to his vision of urban history as a distinctive genre of history only a few would claim the study of cities and city life as their prime academic interest. No more than a handful of those involved in the Urban History Group in the mid-1960s went on to publish major work in urban history. That was left to the generation whose careers were established in the early 1970s. The handful included Jim Dyos himself, Tony Sutcliffe, David Reeder, John Kellett and Peter Hennock. For the latter part of his career Hennock concentrated on the history of the welfare state and social policy in Britain and Germany and that is what those historians familiar with his name will associate him with. But his first book, based partly on his doctoral research,Fit and Proper Persons: Ideal and Reality in Nineteenth-Century Urban Government(1973) was as squarely a work of municipal history as one could find, and if a test of a contribution to history is not the quantity of publications but what endures of them, then Ernest Peter Hennock more than justifies our recognition amongst historians of towns and cities.

Town engineers in South Africa before 1910, with reference to water supply

This article looks at the town engineers in South Africa prior to Union in 1910. It briefly examines the growth in the number of municipalities and town engineers in the country in this period and investigates the background and training of these engineers; why municipalities decided to appoint an engineer; and what kind of appointment processes were followed. Finally the relations between engineers and town councils and the prevailing circumstances at the end of the engineers’ tenures is studied. The article also presents ten specific cases which have reference to the development of water supply. It emerges that most early town engineers received training via apprenticeship for the positions they held, and that there was added pressure from elected councillors in municipalities who were prone to monitor assiduously how officials were spending public money. It is also clear that engineers who did not have earlier municipal experience were bound to have problems in their interaction with town councillors.Keywords: Municipal history, civil engineering, water supply, sanitation, Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free State, TransvaalDisciplines: History, Engineering, Public Management

Municipal engineers and local government in the Transvaal before 1910

This paper examines the history of the first town engineers in the Transvaal before the Union. It will briefly examine the changes in local government in the Transvaal, focusing on municipal engineers. Examination is made of the selection processes applied in their appointments and the circumstances at the end of their tenures. It explores what was expected of municipal engineers during this period; shows what their position within the municipal structure was; and explains how vague their job description was in relation to their wide field of operation. The development of the engineer’s position in the municipal management hierarchy is interesting. He was an important figure in local government, had specific responsibilities and enjoyed specific powers. It emerges that most early town engineers had training via apprenticeship for the positions they held and that there was added pressure from elected councillors in municipalities who were prone to assiduously monitor how officials were spending public money.Keywords:Municipal history, civil engineering, water supply, sanitation, Transvaal,Benoni, Boksburg, Germiston, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Pietersburg, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Standerton, Volksrust Disciplines:History, Engineering, Public Management

Fontes de interesse para a história e a cultura da saúde: o Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Salvador

Based on documental investigation, supplemented by bibliographic research, this exploratory study recaptures the historical and institutional evolution of Salvador's Municipal History Archives and describes its current organizational structure and documental collection. Special attention is placed on sources of interest to the history and culture of health.

‘Epoch-Making’ Beginnings to Lingering Death: The Struggle for Control of the Glasgow Police Commission, 1833–46

Established in 1800, the Glasgow Police Commission is of great importance in the context of municipal history. As a specialist authority responsible for public services, the Commission was among the most advanced in Britain. Its wide-ranging achievements in law and order and public amenity provision helped create a new range of essential services in a rapidly expanding city. Moreover, the method of electing its representatives on a rotational ward basis provided a model for municipal reform later in the century. Yet, by the 1840s the Commission's incorporation into local government was keenly and successfully sought by those in influential circles after a bitter and prolonged conflict with commissioners and many lower-middle class/skilled working-class ratepayers. This article will analyse the political and social struggle behind the Commission's demise. Of principal benefit to those interested in police control and municipal governance, the study also uncovers a great deal about political and social representation by examining public attitudes, voting behaviour and electoral trends at annual police elections.

Urban Armageddon or Politics as Usual? The Case of Municipal Civil Service Reform

For the better part of the twentieth century, the question of municipal reformism has drawn urban scholarship: Why do some cities change their governing arrangements while others do not? Focusing exclusively on merit systems, in this study I expose the political underpinnings of merit reform in American municipal history. A duration analysis of merit adoptions in a sample of 252 cities in the 1900–1940 period suggests that both state‐ (home rule status, state merit systems) and city‐specific (at‐large elections, term length, city size, percent foreign‐born, regional location) factors largely determined when and where reform occurred.

Dividing Lines: Municipal Politics and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma

Twenty years in the making, this book is the definitive study of the political cultures that reigned in the three Alabama cities central to the development of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. With this bold offering, J. Mills Thornton III presents a landmark publication on the struggle for racial equality in America. After two decades of painstaking research, he tells the story of the civil rights movement from the perspective of community municipal history - at the grassroots level. Thornton demonstrates that the movement had powerful local sources in its three birth cities - Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. There, the arcane mechanisms of state and city governance and the missteps of municipal politicians and civic leaders - independent of emerging national trends in racial mores - led to the great swell of energy for change that became the civil rights movement. In Montgomery, the term served by liberal Dave Birmingham on the city council, his defeat by segregationist Clyde Sellers, and the consequent search by black leaders for a way to influence the political process outside of local elections were all vital to the origins of the bus boycott. In Birmingham, civil rights protests exploded in direct response to the business community's decision to engineer the abolition of the city council as a governing body. And in Selma, Joe Smitherman's defeat of Chris Heinz in 1964 ignited intense feelings of social commitment in the black community that led to voter registration drives.

The centre and the suburbs: Social protest and modernization in Milan and Turin, 1898–1917

SummaryThis article focuses on two points of disorder and social-political tension in the histories of Milan and Turin: 1898 and 1917. It examines the reasons for different shapes of protest during the ‘ Fatti di Maggio ‘ in 1898 and the events in the summer of 1917. Both cities are the hubs of Italian industrialization and modernization but in 1898, 1917 and later in 1919-20, ‘pre-modern’ protests about the price of bread were melded together with modern political mobilization. This article also examines the growth of working-class suburbs in each city and their relationship to the ‘historic city centres’ on the one hand and the rural hinterland on the other. The uniqueness of protest in each city is related to the political economy and politics of Milan and Turin and the specific relationships between city centre, suburbs and hinterlands in each. The importance of municipal history for the national historical narrative of modern Italy is thus emphasized in this article.

History, He Wrote: Murder, Politics, and the Challenges of Public History in a Community with a Secret

Day at Black Rock, the city of Centralia, Washington would rather forget an event that occurred there more than 70 years ago. In the movie, which is set in the West during the postwar year of 1945, the townspeople of Black Rock struggle to prevent an outsider from learning that a murder in their community has gone unpunished. In the course of the film, the outsider discovers that a Japanese-American farmer has been killed four years earlier by a leading citizen in a misdirected fit of patriotic anger following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eerily, this plot echoes events that actually occurred in a small Washington lumber town during another postwar year, 1919. In Centralia shortly after World War I, fervent patriotism and intolerance-both fueled by war-time passions-inspired a violent labor confrontation that killed at least six people. Unlike the unseen killing at Black Rock, however, the socalled Centralia Massacre made national headlines and precipitated a crackdown on radicals across the country. Only in the intervening decades did the painful events of the past become a secret within the community, and an entire chapter of municipal history disappear. Many details of this historical murder mystery remain unknown and possibly unknowable, but the concern here is not with what happened so

New Life for an Old Subject: Investigating the Structure of Urban Rule

in Historical and Political Science appeared, a scholarly monument to the birth of the history profession in the United States. Focusing on institutions, this seminal work testified to the profession's early fascination with local government structure, a fascination that during the next few years produced Johns Hopkins monographs on the municipal history of Philadelphia, Boston, Saint Louis, New Haven, New Orleans, and San Francisco. ' Anyone scanning the table of contents of these early volumes would think that historical and political science was chiefly the study of the development of local government structure. This was the subject on which the nascent profession cut its first teeth and tested its infant skills. During the following decades, other books and articles tackled the troublesome question of how city government developed. Some journalist-historians, such as Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan, focused on the fascinating scoundrels in the municipal past who betrayed the public trust, but who also left a rich legacy of rumors and tales worth repeating in popular histories.2 Others, such as Ernest Griffith, remained true to the Johns Hopkins tradition of historical science

The Town and the Ministeriality. A Record of the 9th Working Meeting of the Association for Research into South-West German Municipal History, held at Freiburg in Breisgau, November 13–15, 1970

The Town and the Ministeriality. A Record of the 9th Working Meeting of the Association for Research into South-West German Municipal History, held at Freiburg in Breisgau, November 13–15, 1970