Feature

A commemorative album of photographs from Gandhi’s Salt March, c. 1930. British Library. Public Domain.

Gandhi, Non-Violence and Indian Independence

The legend of Mahatma Gandhi places his non-violent Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India movements at the heart of India’s independence. There's more to the story.

The Establishment of the Post-War Consensus, 1954-64

Andrew Boxer explains why party political strife lacked real substance in the period after 1945.

The Dutch East India Company castle at Batavia, Dirk Langendijk, 1780. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

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.

Æthelstan, Hutchinson’s History of the British Nations, 1922. Robarts Library, University of Toronto. Public Domain.

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.

Syrian soldiers on parade, by Willem van de Poll, c. 1951. Nationaal Archief. Public Domain.

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?

Acclamation of Dom Pedro I, emperor of Brazil, at the camp of Santa Anna, in Rio de Janeiro, Jean Baptiste Debret, c.1834-49. New York Public Library. Public Domain.

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.

Sign commemorating the Bay of Pigs victory at Playa Giron, Cuba. Adam Jones (CC BY 2.0)

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 front gardens, Philip H. Delamotte, c.1854. J. Paul Getty Trust. Public Domain.

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 Return of Sherlock Holmes, Frederic Dorr Steele for Collier's Magazine, 1903. University of Minnesota Libraries, Special Collections and Rare Books. Public Domain.

The Rise and Fall of the British Detective Novel

Detective stories captured the imaginations of the British middle classes in the 20th century. The fortunes of home-grown writers such as Agatha Christie reflected Britain’s social changes.