Economic History

The Spanish government managed by the Duke of Lerma was forced to declare a moratorium on its debts on November 19th, 1607.

For the duration of the Second World War, the British fought a covert battle against a large-scale influx of forged bank notes that threatened to bust the economy. Marc Tiley traces the story of the largest counterfeiting scheme in history.

Will the new super-casinos bring about the demise of the commercial bingo hall? Carolyn Downs traces the history of the game back to the eighteenth century and finds that then – as now – it had a strong attraction for women gamblers.

Richard Hodges says the rubbish tips of Anglo-Saxon London and Southampton contain intriguing evidence of England’s first businessmen.

British traders in enslaved Africans found ways around the Slave Trade Act of 1807, while commerce flourished through the import of slave-grown cotton.

Kevin Shillington looks at the impact on Africa of the slave trade, and its abolition 200 years ago this month.

Fraser Newham finds a connection running from the East India Company’s first mission to Tibet to the completion of the Golmud to Lhasa railway by the Chinese today.

Did Hitler intend to provoke a general war over Poland in September 1939 or was it a serious miscalculation? Adam Tooze examines the views of leading historians before offering his own, new, interpretation of the decisions and events in Germany that ignited the Second World War.

Matthew Greenhall looks at the place of Scots in the economic and social life of Newcastle and the surrounding areas in the late Stuart and early Hanoverian years.

Margaret Walsh tracks down an attempt to link the appeal of the greyhound with the brand values of a famous American company.