Rehabilitating the East India Company’s Nabobs
The nabobs of the East India Company were considered violent, greedy and – worst of all in a time of Enlightenment – uneducated. Could their reputation as philistines be laundered?
The nabobs of the East India Company were considered violent, greedy and – worst of all in a time of Enlightenment – uneducated. Could their reputation as philistines be laundered?
As Revolution broke out and turned to Terror, British citizens living in France found themselves transformed from friends of liberty to an enemy within.
The 18th century was the age of graffiti, when the writing on the wall turned political.
Mutiny and murder at sea ended in capture for the crew of the pirate ship Revenge. Their trial was a deliberate display of the authority of the British state. How did it unfold?
In March 1824 the East India Company declared war on Burma, the opening salvo in a series of conflicts that would see one empire fall, another expand and leave divisive wounds still felt today.
Reading It Wrong: An Alternative History of Early Eighteenth-Century Literature by Abigail Williams argues that misunderstanding popular literature was a sign of its success.
An earthquake in Chile and the observations of eye-witness Maria Graham caused open hostility among 19th-century geologists.
Older than their Egyptian counterparts, the preserved remains of Andean peoples fascinated 19th-century Europe, leading to a ‘bone stampede’ for Inca mummies. But to what end?
Found guilty of the Temple Murders in 1733, Sarah Malcolm became the most notorious woman in Britain. Did she commit the crime alone? Did she commit it at all?
How did those living in an age of enlightenment see themselves?