‘The Invention of the Eastern Question’ by Ozan Ozavcı review
The Invention of the Eastern Question: Sir Robert Liston and Ottoman Diplomacy in the Age of Revolutions by Ozan Ozavcı offers the ‘sick man of Europe’ a second opinion.
History Today
The Ancient Greek World at War
For the ancient Greeks, the Peloponnesian War was a conflict involving the entire world. For Thucydides, it was a lesson in the realities of human nature
On the Spot: Natasha Wheatley
‘Who is the most underrated person in history? Bennelong, the Eora leader at the time of first contact between Britons and Indigenous Australians.’
What Birmingham Taught Muslim India
Industrial Birmingham was an important stop on the grand tours of various Muslim rulers, all eager to learn from the city of a thousand trades.
Spain Was Different: Tourism Under Franco
How did Spain, Western Europe’s last dictatorship, become one of its most popular tourist destinations?
Cowboy Diplomacy in the Spanish-American War
A routine Native American cattle round-up at the US-Mexico border in 1898 became an international incident.
‘The Graces’ by Breeze Barrington review
The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court by Breeze Barrington looks beyond the warming pan to the real Mary of Modena.
‘The Blood in Winter’ by Jonathan Healey review
In The Blood in Winter: A Nation Descends, 1642 Jonathan Healey holds Juntos and ‘jittery times’ responsible for England’s slide towards civil war.
How Important was the French Revolution?
Best of times or worst of times, how did the ‘greatest event that has happened in the history of man’ – as per Benjamin Disraeli – change the course of what followed?
What’s in a Pope’s Name?
Pope Leo XIV’s choice of name reveals much about the direction of the Church.