Feature

The earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755 toppled buildings and shook the foundations of the Enlightenment. Was God punishing humanity, or was the disaster man-made?

Cecil Rhodes was once described as the single biggest threat to peace in southern Africa. In 1898 a bitter election campaign did little to suggest otherwise.

Highwaymen’s reputations plummeted in the 17th century. Once praised as heroes in the manner of Robin Hood, the media now lauded the brave bystanders who resisted them.

The Korean War began as a conflict over territory. It would become a fight for prisoners’ asylum.

Remembered today as a national hero, Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, had an upbringing which spanned Essex to Ulster. He was a hybrid king to the last.

Jack the Ripper was a media sensation. The press frenzy surrounding him made the sites of his murders tourist destinations, attracting thousands of visitors.

Once Rome’s main artery south, for centuries the Via Appia has been taken as proof of Roman greatness.

With a line on a map, the Treaty of Tordesillas split the world between Spain and Portugal. Was it a grand refutation of papal authority or an extension of it?

Following his accession, the majority of James I’s new English subjects accepted their Scottish king with ‘comforte and contentmente’. Such sentiments would not last.

In spring 1944 the Allied invasion of France seemed inevitable. D-Day’s success was contingent on deception of the enemy. For that, officials turned to the press.