History Today

Slaves and Indians

Europeans did not introduce slavery to North America – although they did change the way it was practised.

Defeat of the Dutch Fleet

On 23 January 1795, William of Orange's fleet, stuck in frozen waters of the Zuiderzee, was attacked by the French cavalry.

Removing That Little Knot

A Victorian doctor offering to cure female ‘lunacy’ came under fire for his scandalous new operation: female genital mutilation.

1933: The Death of German Democracy

On 1 January 1933, Germany was a democracy with a range of political parties. By the end of the year its parliament was a rubber stamp for Adolf Hitler’s will.

On the Spot: Sophie Hay

‘If I was let loose in the archives of the Archaeological Museum in Naples I might never emerge.’