The Permanent Stain of the Somme
Since the early 1960s, historians have shone a more positive light on the Battle of the Somme. But we must not forget the excesses and failures of that terrible campaign.
History Matters
Thoughts, opinions and commentary on all things historical.
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Shadow on the South China Sea
Since the beginning of the 20th century, a tiny collection of islets and shoals has been the focus of disputes involving seven nations.
Genocide, War and Bangladesh’s Search for Identity
Bangladesh was born of civil war in 1971. The former East Pakistan has wrangled with issues of religion, secularism and democracy ever since.
Prestel: The British Internet That Never Was
For an exciting moment in the 1980s, it seemed that Britain could become the world’s first online society. So what happened to Prestel, the Post Office’s proto-internet?
A Separate Australia
Western Australia’s desire to secede as ‘Westralia’ in 1933 was undermined by a change in Britain’s attitude towards its Empire.
Breaking the Peace
After the UK voted to leave Europe, Northern Ireland’s fragile relationship with both its past and its neighbour is once again to the fore.
What Did Happen To Saddam’s WMD?
Saddam Hussein certainly had chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, yet by the time American and British troops entered the country in 2003 they were gone. Where?
Britain's Forgotten South American Colony
The short-lived colony of Willoughbyland, in what is now Suriname, was both verdant and dangerous. In the end, it was exchanged for New York.
The Medium Goes to America
The forgotten story of celebrity medium Eusapia Palladino and her seance tour of the United States.
Architects of Failure: 100 years of Sykes-Picot
How the Sykes-Picot agreement signed in 1916 became shorthand for Western treachery, greed and colonial machinations.