Empire

The Victorians glorified Gordon of Khartoum. But the reality of his role in the Anglo-Sudanese War was considerably less heroic.

John D. Hargreaves looks at the 1884 meeting of European nations and the impact on Africa.

Oman is frequently in the news at the moment - reflecting Britain’s crucial role in the reconstruction of this ancient Empire.

Alan Heesom discusses 19th-century politics either side of the Irish Sea.

What caused former Englishmen to declare their separate identity as Americans? Ian R. Christie explores the issues underlying British recognition of United States' independence.

Coffee from Ethiopia to Brazil, rubber from Brazil to Malaya... Lucile Brockway shows how the transfer of seeds and plants across continents has had enormous implications for the development of the economies of the countries concerned.

John Gallagher, edited by Anil Seal

Ivan Roots is impressed by this history of the 17th century relations between Holland and Spain

In 1956 the Suez Canal seemed to flow through every British drawing room and the limits of British power and influence were forcefully brought home - but it had been a different story in 1882, explains Christopher Danziger, when the first Suez Crisis brought Britain prestige and the expansion of her Empire.

The buildings the British built in India tell us much about how the British shaped India's conception of the past, explains Thomas R. Metcalf, and how they turned India's architectural heritage to the service of the Raj.