Evil May Day 1517
Foreign traders were attracted to the City of London by England’s prosperous trade in wool and cloth. They were not always made welcome.
Feature
The New World of Tobacco
As Britain got hooked on tobacco in the 17th century, smoking paraphernalia became ubiquitous. These items provide an insight into the anxieties and aspirations of the early modern psyche.
Welfare Pasts and Futures
British systems of welfare and adult social care are not so different from aspects of the traditional Poor Laws.
Martin Luther and the German Reformation
A comprehensive account of the life of Martin Luther, the man who split western Christendom for good.
The Forgotten Women of Archaeology
Behind the traditional story of archaeology, with its pith-helmeted Victorian gentlemen, are the equally important yet neglected stories of its female pioneers.
Poster Boys of Afghan History
In the post-Taliban era, Afghanistan is seeking unifying national heroes from its past. But, as David Loyn explains, agreement on who should be celebrated is hard to reach.
Blades not Bullets: the Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden, which vanquished for good Jacobite claims to the British throne, is a much mythologised and misunderstood event. Murray Pittock cuts through the fog of war to find out what really happened in April 1746.
The Sinking of Japan
An island nation with few resources, Japan was in a precarious enough position when it declared war on the United States in December 1941. That its powerful navy failed to learn the lessons of previous conflicts made matters even worse.
The Changing Face of the Republican Party
The contrast between Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump could hardly be more striking, but such is the continually evolving politics of the Grand Old Party.
‘We need a Faith’: E. H. Carr, 1892-1982
How the collapse of the world he knew and loved in 1914 later made the promising young scholar and diplomat into one of the most extraordinary and controversial historians of our time.