History Today

Nicholas Henderson describes how a Bourbon Prince of a junior line became the greatest monarch Spain had seen since Isabella the Catholic.

In the cynical atmosphere of the Congress of Vienna, Consalvi imposed himself on his fellow statesmen and fought a successful battle for the restoration of the Papal States. E.E.Y. Hales describes a master of European diplomacy.

The first sod of the longest railway on earth was turned by the last of the Tsars in 1891; Hilda Hookham describes an epic process of construction, with the line finally completed in 1904.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, writes Louis C. Kleber, the British came to America largely as settlers; the French as explorers and fortune-seekers.

William Gardener investigates the history of American flora and finds among its contributions to the health and happiness of Europe the not inconsiderable commodities of maize, the potato, rubber, tobacco, and quinine.

J.D. Hargreaves introduces a prophet of nationalism in the coastal countries of West Africa.

Metternich and Benckendorff, who played leading roles on the European scene, first met under very different circumstances; P.S. Squire describes how they were both attached to a charming French actress.

From 1775 onwards, writes Mildred Archer, a succession of British officials delighted in the centre of Hindu religion and learning upon the banks of the Ganges.

For about four months, writes Bela Menczer, a Communist government attempted to deal with the problems of the former partner in the Habsburg empire.

The issues raised by Philip Morgan in a 2007 article on Italian Fascism have been rekindled, says Christopher Duggan.