Anarchy in the Waste Land
Following the death of Henry I, England was plunged into a civil war that reduced the country to a charred ruin. With the barons split between rival claimants, the people suffered.
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What Happens Back Home
The Windrush generation witnessed the Caribbean colonies from which they had emigrated achieve independence. Despite being an ocean away, they were not passive observers.
Friends to Friends, Enemies to Enemies
The Anglo-Portuguese alliance is the oldest of its kind. Concluded in June 1373, it has survived world wars, the rise and fall of empires and globalisation. How?
A Discovery of Witch-Hunts
Witch-hunting happened when and where states were weak. What does a newly discovered witch-hunt in 1582 reveal about France and its ‘enlightened’ officials?
Herzl’s Troubled Dream: The Origins of Zionism
Zionism has been seen either as a movement of national liberation or as a form of settler colonialism. In reality, it is both.
The Water of Life
Paris was flooded with Eau de Cologne during the early years of Napoleon’s rule. Everyone was using it and everyone was selling it.
The Balkans: Doomed to Disunity?
Often treated as a footnote of European history, the future of the Balkans became a hot topic at the end of the Ottoman Empire. Was Europe’s ‘Little Orient’ destined to fall apart?
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Churchill Off Record
Once the war was won, Winston Churchill had two preoccupations: preserving his place in posterity and making lots of money. If they could be achieved at the same time, so much the better.
Warsaw in Flames
The story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is typically one of defiance and bravery against the odds. But what of those unable to fight?
The King Who Wasn't There
Belief in Prester John, a lost Christian king ruling over a distant kingdom, gripped medieval Europe for half a millennium. Once seen as a saviour, he would become an adversary.