History Today

Robert Hunter in Siam

When Siam emerged from isolation, writes W.S. Bristowe, a fiery Scottish sea captain settled for twenty years in Bangkok.

The Seychelles

First a French, then a British colony, these remote and beautiful islands are being gradually drawn into the modern world, writes J. Coen.

Dr Baikie and the Niger

In the mid-nineteenth century, writes Christopher Lloyd, a young naval surgeon from Orkney played an important part in West African exploration.

Livingstone’s Rhodesian Legacy

Many missionary hopes in Africa were disappointed, writes W.F. Rea, but Livingstone and his colleagues achieved some successes along the Zambezi river.

John Mackenzie and Southern Africa

Cecil Northcott describes how Mackenzie’s dream of a liberal empire south of the Zambezi met opposition from Cecil Rhodes and from the Boers.

Villebois-Mareuil and the Boers

The most distinguished of the three thousand foreign volunteers who fought against Britain during the Boer War, writes Roy Macnab, was a brilliantly gifted French soldier.