The Scramble for Madagascar
The world’s fourth largest island was among the prizes of Europe’s ruthless African land grab. When one American diplomat made plans for his own enterprise, he soon found that the French had other ideas.
Feature
‘Found Incapable’
As senility came to be recognised as a distinct diagnosis, methods of protecting patients – from themselves and from others – had to change.
The Battle of Königsberg
For the German military command, the citizens of East Prussia were not a concern; they were a weapon.
The Colony That Vanished
Having prospered for more than 400 years, a medieval colony on Greenland vanished without a trace, but its memory lived on.
Queens of the Crusades
As promoters, propagandists, patrons and warriors, women were everywhere during the Crusades.
Korea the Kingmaker
The Korean peninsula was a chessboard on which the fates of great powers were decided.
The Other Favourite
Christopher Hatton rose to great power as a favourite of Elizabeth I. Born in obscurity, why has he returned to it?
Good for Nothing
As the 19th century wore on, social reformers campaigned for charitable modernisation. Their target: England’s most useless foundations.
The Year of the Four, Five, Six Emperors
For citizens of Ancient Rome, the recurrence of brutal civil war was par for the course. For writers, it was an opportunity.
How to Make a Devil
The legend of Ravachol, the terrorist ‘mastermind’ of the fin de siècle.