Safe Passage
Protecting merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars, the British convoy system was instrumental in securing its narrow victory.
Feature
The Man Who Was Briefly King
Arriving in the remote and jungled highlands of Annam, a swindling Frenchman was able to establish himself as the region’s self-appointed ruler.
The Original Rock Star
200 years on from the deciphering of the most famous piece of rock in the world, what does reading the Rosetta Stone reveal?
Good as Gold
The absence of formal government on the American frontier emboldened miners to take powers usually reserved to the state, subjecting criminals to their own brand of vigilante justice.
The Other Elizabeth
Emulating her godmother, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Stuart captured hearts and minds as Europe burned.
The Hogen Mogen Princess
Dismissed as ‘high and mighty’ and accused of pushing Charles I towards civil war, Henrietta Maria was a deft military mover – perhaps more so than the king himself.
Stalingrad: The Unbreakable City
The Battle of Stalingrad began in August 1942, subjecting its residents to months of living hell. But few doubted that the city was worth defending.
Violent Ends
Early modern methods of execution were carefully calculated to inflict shame upon the condemned.
Law of the Land
What relevance do the Norman Conquest and the events of 1066 have to contemporary British politics? Everything and nothing.
Prince Darab’s Lost Treasure
Fleeing his father’s empire, an Afghan prince travelled from Kabul to Sindh via Mecca, becoming a fugitive, courtier and pilgrim in the process.