History Today

Civilians in Warfare 1500-1789

Civilians have always suffered in warfare, and Early Modern Europe was no exception. But they contributed to war as well, through their taxes, their victuals and their bodies. Jeremy Black explores the relationship between civilian and military.

Portsmouth

Graham Gendall Norton introduces a city that has faced invasions and foreign adventures since Roman times.

Thomas Young: The Man Who Knew Everything

Andrew Robinson marvels at the brain power and breadth of knowledge of the 18th-century polymath Thomas Young. He examines his relationship with his contemporaries, particularly with the French Egyptologist Champollion, and how he has been viewed subsequently by historians.

The Gambia

Historical travel, alone or in organized tours, is burgeoning and fun. Our new series suggests some places for the past-minded traveller to think about. Graham Gendall Norton introduces an accessible but exotic land which has long been a cultural crossroads.

Some Talk of Alexander

Frederic Raphael explains how the isles of Greece, and the rest of the classical world, caught his imagination.

The Art of Lèse Majesté

Monarchs claim to be surrounded by an aura of majesty. Cartoon historian Mark Bryant examines some famous incidents when a caricaturist’s pen punctured this aura and revealed the lack of a sense of humour in high places.

'Soldiers Are We': Women in the Irish Rising

Charles Townshend has read hundreds of 'witness statements' from the men and women who took part in the Easter Rising, made available to the public in 2003 after decades in a government vault.

The Dirty A-word: Appeasement

Peter Neville says that Bush and Blair failed to draw the proper lessons from Munich 1938 when they raised the spectre of Chamberlain and appeasement to justify their war against Saddam.