Feature

Pakistan: What Went Wrong?

Crisis-ridden Pakistan is a very different country from the one envisioned by its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1947. 

The Rise and Ruin of Heligoland

The key to Germany’s imperial ambition, the North Sea island of Heligoland was transformed into a fortress. By the end of the Second World War, the dream lay in ruins.

Kerensky in Hindsight

Alexander Kerensky, the last Russian premier before the Bolsheviks took power, decided to continue the war with Germany. He and his nascent democracy would pay the price.

Hulegu the Mongol

Unlike his grandfather Chinggis Khan, the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan is little known in the West. But his destruction of two Islamic empires gave him a notoriety that persists to this day. 

Disaster at Djerba

During a period of European peace, Spain sought to establish control of the Mediterranean. Yet a disastrous attempt to oust the Ottomans from North Africa threatened to accelerate the westward advance of Islam. 

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. 

The Real Wives of Jamestown

English women who travelled to the new colony of Jamestown for marriage were neither groomed nor coerced. The same cannot be said of their African counterparts. 

The Iron Curtain Torn By Israel

The Six Day War of 1967, in which Israel devastated its Arab neighbours, also struck a blow against the military prowess of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact satellites.