Volume 73 Issue 11 November 2023

A statue of Zumbi dos Palmares, in Alagoas, Brazil. Photograph by Gorivero (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Zambi of Palmares is Beheaded

On 20 November 1695, Zambi of Palmares – ruler of an ‘invincible’ community of former slaves in the Brazilian jungle – was killed by the Portuguese.

Bronze juror’s identification ticket, Greek, fourth century BC. Rogers Fund, 1907, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Power and Populism in Ancient Greek Courts

In ancient Greece the ‘least dangerous’ branch of government – the courts – wielded serious political power.

Saint Edmund of Abingdon bringing about the reconciliation of Gilbert Marshal and Henry III, from Matthew Paris’ Historia Anglorum, 1250s. © British Library Board/Bridgeman Images.

Edmund of Abingdon’s Dream Job

How a vision led Edmund of Abingdon to elevate the role of Medieval teacher to saintly levels.

Throwing shade: Camille Desmoulins speaks at the Palais-Royal on 12 July 1789, two days before the taking of the Bastille, by Jean-Louis Prieur, c.1790. Alamy Stock Photo.

‘The Revolutionary Temper’ by Robert Darnton review

The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789 by Robert Darnton is a sweeping account of events from the Parisian perspective, from disastrous wars to fights for religious toleration.

The London Necropolis Railway station at Westminster Bridge Road from Living London Vol. III by George Sims, 1903. Public Domain.

London Necropolis Railway Opens

On 13 November 1854, the Victorians combined their love of heavy industry and heavy mourning, with the opening of the London Necropolis Railway.

Cesar Chavez on march from with the United Farm Workers in Redondo Beach, California, 9 July 1975. The Regents of the University of California (CC BY-4.0).

‘Eli and the Octopus’ by Matt García review

Eli and the Octopus: The CEO Who Tried to Reform One of the World’s Most Notorious Corporations by Matt García is a human story amid mergers, sales, profits and losses.

Muscovy Company governor Thomas Smythe, engraving by Simon de Passe, c.1605. incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo.

The English Plan to Colonise Russia

When England’s search for a Northwest Passage via sea failed, an audacious plan to forge a land route was hatched by the Muscovy Company.

‘Before the masquerade ball, 1922’ by Max Beckmann, a Weimar era artist branded ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis. Bavarian State Painting Collections - Modern Art Collection in the Pinakothek der Moderne Munich (CC BY-SA 4.0).

‘The Weimar Years’ by Frank McDonough review

The Weimar Years: Rise and Fall 1918-1933 by Frank McDonough is a lucid overview of Germany’s tumultuous interwar years.

A homunculus inside human sperm, from Niklass Hartsoeker’s ‘Essay de Dioptrique’, 17th century. Granger/Bridgeman Images.

Solving the Riddle of Reproduction

Where does new life come from? According to one theory that held sway until the 18th century, it’s all been there from the very beginning.

History Today November 2023 Crossword

Ghost ships, pilgrimages spots and the black and white army: challenge yourself with the History Today crossword for November 2023.