Late Devonian thelodonts (Agnatha) from the Gneudna Formation,Carnarvon Basin,Western Australia

Dermal denticles of two thelodont agnathans, Australolepis seddoni gen. et sp. nov., and a possible nikoliviid gen. et sp. indet. are described from the Gneudna Formation, a marine sequence of interbedded limestone and shale exposed on the eastern edge of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The age and significance of these new forms are discussed. The Gneudna Formation is Late Devonian, probably early Frasnian, which, if confirmed, makes these the youngest thelodonts known to date.     

Racisms compared: Fascist Italy and ultra-nationalist Japan

This article tries to compare the racisms of Fascist Italy and ultra-nationalist Japan as evidenced by foreign policy, attempting to categorize them into three dimensions: the inner logic of the nation state; the justification of expansionist foreign policies; and as an accelerator of cruelty in war. It also surveys Italo-Japanese relations by choosing some points of contact to scrutinize how different racisms reacted to each other.     

Defending ‘the Principle of Representation’: Andrew Bisset,The English Civil War,and The History of the Struggle for Parliamentary Government in England

Abstract

Victorian attitudes to the past were varied and in some cases irreconcilable. Newer standards of expertise and objectivity coexisted with older approaches, and the idea that history should be used for present purposes remained intact. Throughout the Victorian age there were circumstances in which history was a polemical tool, designed to give one set of interpretations or values or policies an advantage over its rivals. This article explores the work of a relatively neglected figure in Victorian historiography – the reform-minded historian and lawyer Andrew Bisset (1803–1891) – whose primary goal was to illustrate and advance what he called ‘the principle of representation’. He discussed people and events of the past to this end, offending reviewers along the way because of his obvious political agenda, but also developing a rigorous source-based style, usefully evaluating for his readers the work of Macaulay, Carlyle, and others, and helping to shape Victorian opinion about, in particular, the political and religious crises of seventeenth-century Britain. Like others, Bisset believed that the disputes of that period had relevance to the public controversies of his own day. This article is designed to contribute to ongoing debates about the Victorians’ relationship with the past.     

The Marcoses and authoritarian rule in the Philippines

Filemon C. Rodriguez, The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation, New York, Vantage Press, 1985, pp.285 (reprinted by Moed Press, Quezon City, 1986. Pesos 130.00, paper).

Charles C. McDougald, The Marcos File: Was he a Philippine Hero or a Corrupt Tyrant? San Francisco, San Francisco Publishers, 1987, pp.345. $14.95 (paper).

Raymond Bonner, Waltzing with a Dictator: the Marcoses and the Making of American Policy, London, Macmillan, 1987, pp.533. $39.95 (cloth).

Belinda A. Aquino, Politics of Plunder: the Philippines under Marcos, Quezon City, Great Books Trading and University of the Philippines College of Public Administration, 1987, pp.208. Pesos 100.00 (paper).

Lewis E. Gleeck, President Marcos and the Philippine Political Culture, Manila, Loyal Printing, 1987, pp. 280. US$20.00 (paper).     

Book reviews

Bernard Arps (ed.). Performance in Java and Bali: studies of narrative, theatre, music, and dance,xi, 244 pp. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1993. £10.

C.D. Grijns. Jakarta Malay: a multidimensional approach to spatial variation. 2 vols.: xx, 292 pp.; vi, 161 pp., 35 maps. Leiden: KITLV Press, 1991. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 149.) Guilders 100.