History Today

}The Irish Famine – Scene at the Gate of the Work House’, from Ridpath’s History of the World, 1907. University of California Libraries. Public Domain.

‘Rot: A History of the Irish Famine’ by Padraic X. Scanlan review

Padraic X. Scanlan levels familiar charges against British colonialism and capitalism in Rot: A History of the Irish Famine. Is there more to the story?

Detail from The History of England, including portraits of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, 1791. British Library/Bridgeman.

Jane Austen: A Partial and Prejudiced Historian

On the 250th anniversary of her birth, Jane Austen still has lessons for readers of history.

Fibulae, French, sixth-seventh century. Luisa Ricciarini/Bridgeman Images

The Merovingians: ‘Do-Nothing Kings’?

The Merovingians have a reputation for long hair and barbarity. Instead, the dynasty, born out of the chaos of civil war, was one of peace, diplomacy, and bureaucracy.

An iron forge, by Richard Earlom after Joseph Wright, c.1743-1822. Birmingham Museums Trust/Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Public Domain.

What was the Industrial Revolution?

Over the 18th and 19th centuries Britain’s economy, technology, and society were transformed by the so-called Industrial Revolution. Why?

A sarcophagus with a menorah from the Roman catacombs, AD 251-350. A sarcophagus with a menorah from the Roman catacombs, AD 251-350. A sarcophagus with a menorah from the Roman catacombs, AD 251-350. Bridgeman.

How the Roman Empire Lost its Gods

The Roman Empire had two main populations: gods and humans. By its end, there was only one god left. How, and why, did he reign supreme?

Automedon with the horses of Achilles, by Henri Regnault, 1868. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Public Domain.

‘Epic of the Earth’ by Edith Hall review

Epic of the Earth: Reading Homer’s Iliad in the Fight for a Dying World by Edith Hall sees the signs of environmental collapse amid the adventures of Achilles.

Refugees from Hue arrive on a cargo ship at Da Nang, March 1975. MarkGodfrey/TopFoto.

The Fall of Saigon

The Vietnam War effectively ended on 30 April 1975 with the arrival of the North Vietnamese army in Saigon. Thousands fled the city, but many more were left behind.

Teodoro Castro (right) meeting Tito in Belgrade, 27 April 1953. Photo service of president Josip Broz Tito, Museum of Yugoslavia.

Stalin’s Man in Belgrade

Teodoro Castro or Iosif Grigulevich? Costa Rica’s ambassador to Yugoslavia was a Soviet spy sent to kill Tito.

Two prostitutes and a procurer, engraving by Bartolomeo Grassi, from Veri Ritratti, 1585. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

Sex Workers and Salvation in the Renaissance

Renaissance Florence had a problem: it wanted female sex workers, but it also needed to offer them a way out. The solution was a new brothel district – and a nunnery for former prostitutes

Portrait of Zaga Christ, by Giovanna Garzoni, 1635. Philip Mould Ltd, London/Bridgeman Images.

Death of Zaga Christ

Zaga Christ died on 22 April 1638 leaving Europe no wiser as to the authenticity of the self-proclaimed Ethiopian prince who might bring his homeland to Catholicism.