History Matters

Did live gibbeting ever take place in Britain? For the Victorians, the macabre question was a pressing one.

In 1976 Boston saw the bicentennial celebrations of the United States as an opportunity to revitalise the city.

Looking for a new route to Jerusalem, medieval crusaders turned to the Strait of Hormuz.

Ancient Egyptian monuments are covered in graffiti made by visitors from Cyprus. Why were they there, and what does it mean?

In the 1960s Anglo-French efforts to collaborate on a new combat aircraft – the BAC/Dassault AFVG – hit turbulence.

Even when she was imprisoned, Mary, Queen of Scots carefully curated her Catholic image.

In the 1960s Iran and Israel were on friendly terms. One Iranian writer, Jalal Al-e Ahmad, saw the Jewish state as a model for his country’s future.

European mariners in the Atlantic in the 16th century used a reliable navigational aid: seabirds.

In the 19th century Russian peddlers became a scapegoat in Finland’s resistance against the tsar’s empire.

Over the course of the 19th century snake oil transformed from folk remedy, to industrial medicine, to notorious fake.