The Great Alpaca Heist
A Victorian wool merchant set out on an audacious, decade-long quest to smuggle alpacas out of Peru. But transporting his flock to Australia was only half the struggle.
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A Century of Fascism
Fascism would plague the 20th century, but when Benito Mussolini seized power in October 1922 few could agree on exactly what it was.
Cuban Missile Crisis: the View from Havana
For 13 days in October 1962 the world watched Cuba with bated breath. What was the view like from the epicentre of the missile crisis?
Safe Passage
Protecting merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars, the British convoy system was instrumental in securing its narrow victory.
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.
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; its significance to the Soviet project made it too important to abandon.