Why the past matters: Emma Whipday & Freyja Cox Jensen at TEDxGoodenoughCollege
## Speaker Context
- Role/Profession: Speaker presenting on a murder case from 1594 and its cultural resonance.
- Framing: The presentation uses the murder of Master Beach and Thomas Winchester to explore connections between 16th-century London society and modern issues, arguing for the value of studying "micro history" and "ordinary people."
## People
- Master Beach: A prosperous London shopkeeper, victim of the murder.
- Thomas Winchester: A young servant of Master Beach, victim of the murder.
- Thomas Mary: A neighbor of Master Beach and Thomas Winchester, perpetrator of the murder.
- Rachel: Master Beach's young servant's sister, forced to help cover up the crime.
- Emma: Onstage prompt in the modern performance; sat in the middle of the stage with the book *The Script* ready.
- Freya: Co-performer who took the role of Thomas Mary in the revival performance.
- David Cameron: Politician; suggested the concept of "big Society" and was quoted regarding community policing.
## Organizations
- The Admirals men: Theater company that staged the play *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary* in 1600.
- The Globe: Theater mentioned as a place where the play is not staged today.
- RSC: Royal Shakespeare Company mentioned as a place where the play is not staged today.
- London Metropolitan University: Institution that conducted a study on British gang culture.
- NHS: National Health Service, mentioned as being strained by poor health due to cold.
## Places
- London: Location of the murder in 1594, and the site of the modern comparative exploration.
- The Rose Theater: Location where *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary* was staged in 1600.
- Bankside: Area where the remains of the play's staging can still be found.
- England: Location where the speaker discusses modern food bank access and fuel poverty.
- Elizabethan London: Setting of the original crime and play staging.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- Hammer: Weapon used by Thomas Mary to repeatedly hit Master Beach over the head.
- Newspaper pamphlets: Medium used to report the crime after it occurred.
- Ballads: Form of street entertainment used to sing about the crime (none survive).
- *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary*: Play staged by the Admirals men in 1600, based on the crime.
- *Two Lamentable Tragedies*: Compilation containing a version of the play, published in 1600.
- *The Script*: Book kept by the onstage prompt in the modern staging.
- iPad: Device used by a gang member in the study mentioned.
## Concepts & Definitions
- "Big Society": Concept suggested by David Cameron; relates to community management and self-policing within neighborhoods.
- Micro history: Focus on small, local events, exemplified by the crime in 16th-century London.
- Tiny history: Synonym for micro history; focus on small communities.
- Fuel poverty: The inability to afford heating necessary to keep a home warm.
- Social inequality: A problem examined, relating to wealth disparity.
- Gender relations: A problem examined, relating to women's societal standing.
## Numbers & Data
- 400 years: Duration that has passed since the murder.
- 1594: Year the murder of Master Beach and Thomas Winchester took place.
- 1600: Year the play *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary* was staged/published.
- 1590s: Decade when the crime and subsequent events occurred.
- 2011: Year London's youth took to the streets in a riot, compared to the 1590s unrest.
- 450th: Birthday celebration of Shakespeare mentioned.
## Claims & Theses
- The only reason we know the crime took place is because it survived in another form (the play).
- The performance style used—having an onstage prompt—was an attempt to bring to life how plays were staged in Elizabethan London.
- The play explores connections between the 1590s London crime and contemporary society.
- The play explores problems like social inequality, injustice, gender relations, and poverty.
- The 1590s were a terrible time: England was at War, prices were high, the currency was debased, and inflation was terrible.
- Mary turning to Crime is seen as happening "out of desperation and sad economic circumstances."
- The ability of ordinary people to police themselves is what keeps communities functioning.
- The study of literature and history, particularly micro history, is important in its own right.
- Focusing on Ordinary People reveals things about who we are and how we work together in today's England.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- Homicide mechanism: Thomas Mary hit Master Beach repeatedly over the head with a hammer.
- Evidence removal process: Mary forced Rachel to clean up the blood and dispose of the body.
- Evidence disposal mechanism: Thomas Mary chopped the body up into component parts (head, legs, arms, torso) and put them in bags.
- Community investigation process: Neighbors searched drains, looked for the owner of the hammer, and found body parts.
- Community resolution mechanism: Neighbors banded together, laid out the body parts, and concluded who murdered Master Beach.
## Timeline & Events
- 1594: Murder of Master Beach and Thomas Winchester in London.
- Days following the murder: Neighbors banded together to find the criminals.
- Unknown date (after 1594): Mary and Rachel were hanged for murder.
- 1600: The Admirals men staged *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary* at the Rose Theater.
- Year after 1600: A version of the play was published in *Two Lamentable Tragedies*.
- A few weeks ago: Speaker and Freya staged the first performance of the play in over 400 years.
- In the 1590s: England was at War, prices were high, the currency was debased, and inflation was terrible.
- When London's youth took to the streets in the riot: Happened in 2011, analogous to the 1590s crime.
## Examples & Cases
- Case Study 1: The murder of Master Beach and Thomas Winchester in London in 1594 by Thomas Mary.
- Case Study 2: The modern reenactment where Freya played Thomas Mary, and Emma played the onstage prompt.
- Example 1 (Poverty): A man who cannot afford beer, bread, meat, coals, or other necessaries because he lacks coin.
- Example 2 (Modern Poverty): People accessing food banks providing food that doesn't have to be cooked.
- Example 3 (Domestic Life): Sister of a gang member receiving an iPad from her brother and choosing not to ask where the money came from.
- Case Study 3: The neighbors in 1594 investigating the crime by finding body parts and linking them to Master Beach.
- Comparison: The 1594 neighborhood response compared to David Cameron's concept of "big Society."
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Alternative to state policing: Ordinary people getting together to enforce justice (as seen in 1594).
- Alternative to state action: Community self-policing ("people care about each other" rather than always needing the state).
- Focus on Big History: Focuses on "Great Men," great works of art, or large historical narratives.
- Focus on Micro/Tiny History: Focuses on "Ordinary People" and their lived experiences, like the tragedy in Mary.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Caveat 1: None of the news pamphlets or ballads about the 1594 crime survive today.
- Caveat 2: The current reenactment is "quite peculiar" because modern audiences don't expect the onstage prompt setup.
- Caveat 3: Elizabethan London was very different from today's London (unsafe water, prevalent plague, severe consequences for breaking law).
- Caveat 4: Many things have improved since the 1590s (sanitation, NHS, welfare state), but many things have not.
- Caveat 5: The play deals with "fantasies and nightmares of a society" (prya's description).
- Caveat 6: The crime itself is "certainly not big history; it's tiny history."
## Methodology
- Staging/Performance: Recreating the staging of plays from Elizabethan London to understand past performance methods.
- Academic Study: Drawing parallels between the 1590s event and contemporary social issues (e.g., David Cameron's concepts, modern crime studies).
- Comparative Analysis: Comparing 16th-century community response to modern societal needs/structures.
## References Cited
- Shakespeare's early plays: Mentioned as the context for the play revival.
- *The Tragedy of Thomas Mary*: The play staged in 1600.
- *Two Lamentable Tragedies*: The compilation containing the play.
- David Cameron: Source for the "big Society" concept.
- Studies of British crime/gang culture: Referenced from London Metropolitan University.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Recommendation 1: The focus should shift to "Tiny histories" because they give a sense of "who you and I are and how we all work together."
- Recommendation 2: Spend more time thinking about the past in terms of "Ordinary People," not just big figures like Shakespeare or the Queen.
- Overall Conclusion: The past matters because it tells us "something about who we are," "how we got where we are today," and "how far we still have to go."
## Implications & Consequences
- Ignoring the past prevents learning lessons that help improve the present.
- A failure to look back means not figuring out "what we did wrong" or "how we got where we are today."
- Ignoring the complexities of ordinary lives might lead to underestimating the value of humanities study.
- The consequences of failure to maintain community bonds can be fatal (as seen with Rachel).
## Open Questions
- How can we best apply lessons from micro history to solve current, large-scale societal problems?
## Verbatim Moments
- "It was the murder of a London shopkeeper named Master Beach and his young servant Thomas Winchester by one of their neighbors Master Beach."
- "The only reason that we know that the crime took place at all is because it survived in another form in 1600 the Admirals men the theater company that staged many of Shakespeare's early plays staged a play called The Tragedy of Thomas Mary based on the crime at the Rose Theater."
- "We don't do that today when you go to the globe or the RSC you don't see the person sitting there with the book The Script on stage ready to pick up the pieces."
- "Mary turns to Crime out of desperation and sad economic circumstances."
- "let others open what I do conceal he is my brother I will cover it and rather die than have it spoken."
- "The law often punished descent with death."
- "if we focus on Tiny histories we're going to get more of a sense of who you and I are and how we all work together in today's England today's Britain today's Global joined up world."
- "We'd like to think that the past matters because it tells us something about who we are."