W.G. Beasley

Japan: 'The Closed Country'

An introduction to a special feature on the history of Japan from the 16th to 20th centuries.

Published July 2 2010

The Iwakura Mission in Britain, 1872

W.G. Beasley continues our special feature on Japan: The Closed Country, with a look at the late 19th century Japanese diplomatic mission to the west.

Published October 1 1981

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Lords of the Northern Forest

The Hudson's Bay Company was one of the central forces moulding the development of the vast tracts of land that today are Canada - but as Barry Gough explains here, the circumstances of its launch in 1670 also reveal much about the commercial forces, personalities and rivalries of Restoration England.