The Establishment of the Post-War Consensus, 1954-64
Andrew Boxer explains why party political strife lacked real substance in the period after 1945.
Feature
When Britain Ran Java
Although little known, the disastrous East India Company intervention in Java had a significant influence on India's governance and left Stamford Raffles’ reputation in tatters.
Giving Life To Æthelstan
In 15 years Æthelstan united the English for the first time. Yet many of the facts about the Anglo-Saxon king remain elusive.
Syria: Coup Proof?
Syria was among the most unstable states in the Middle East until Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Can his son, Bashar, maintain the regime’s iron rule?
Empire of Exceptions: The Making of Modern Brazil
Brazil may be one of the 21st century’s emerging superpowers, but its independence from Portugal was not inevitable, nor was its survival certain.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Perhaps the US-backed invasion of Fidel Castro's Cuba was inevitable, but its failure bucked the trend.
Crystal Palace: Reflections of the British Empire
Was Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace a monument to Britain’s colonial achievement or a fragile symbol of a fragmenting imperial dream?
The British Prime Minister & the Development of British Democracy, 1868-1997
Graham Goodlad examines the changing role of the occupant of Number Ten in an era of significant political change.
Mussolini, Abyssinia and British Imperialism
Mussolini’s colonial land grab in Abyssinia provoked a political storm in Britain. The links between fascism and imperialism were not lost on the British left nor by the empire’s black subjects.
Chekhov and Conservation
The great Russian author Anton Chekov drew inspiration from the countryside and explored the practical and spiritual impact of trees and the consequences of deforestation.