Political

The Special Relationship

The links of sentiment and interest between Britain and the United States, though frequently subject to prophesies of continental drift, remain tenacious. Esmond Wright offers a personal perspective on the events and individuals that have forged the alliance over the past century.

'All My Birds Have Flown'

Dame Veronica Wedgwood turns to one of the great set pieces of English history – Charles I's January 1642 attempts to settle his differences with Parliament by the attempted arrest of five MPs.

Islam - The Roots of Misperception

Akbar Ahmed offers the most timely review of how history and stereotype have often combined to make Western Orientalism a hindrance rather than a help in mutual understanding between two cultures.

Changing Faces: Offa, King of Mercia

England's answer to Charlemagne, or merely a ruthless king of Mercia? Simon Keynes sifts the evidence for a verdict on the man best known today as the builder of a dyke.

Imperial Sweden - Image and Self-image

David Kirby discusses how Sweden's sudden rise to prominence in 17th-century Europe provoked much soul-searching both within and without the country on its nature, its culture and its destiny.

Gandhi and the Christian Imperialists

'In my Father's house there are many mansions'... but whether or not they could accommodate Gandhi and Hindu nationalist aspirations was a question that exercised British theologians and Christian politicians between the wars. Gerald Studdert-Kennedy charts the relationship between them and the apostle of non-violence against the British Raj.