The Crusades: Four Hundred Years of War (Part One)
The Crusades are perhaps the defining idea of medieval Europe. Over more than four centuries...
Historical Events
The Julio Claudian Dynasty: First Caesars of Rome (Part Two)
It is the 24th of January, AD 41. The 28-year-old Emperor of the Roman Empire,...
The Roots of Carnival? New Finds Suggest Seasonal Parties in Pre-Columbian Brazil
Brazil is famous for its Carnival season, an almost week-long party which unifies the country...
The SS Bessemer: the Worst Idea in Nautical History?
This is a story about an inventor and his invention. It is the story of...
Good Men Do Nothing: How Hitler Conquered Germany
From the perspective of history, there is a danger that Hitler is seen as an...
Right Man, Right Place, Right Time: The Rise of Napoleon
In 1799 France changed forever. After a decade of rumbling discontent regarding the concentration of...
Dracula, Stoker’s Vision and the Path to the Modern Vampire
When Dracula was published in 1897 it was an instant success, but one built on...
Ben Franklin, and All Those Bodies They Dug Out of his Basement
Benjamin Franklin is a figure of historic importance. He is what used to be called...
The Harpe Brothers: The First Serial Killers in American History
The United States has had more serial killers than any other nation in modern history....
The Voyage of Pytheas, the Arctic Explorer of Ancient Greece
Pytheas is not a familiar name, even to those familiar with the ancient world. But...
The Shakespeare Authorship Question: Snobbery and Wishful Thinking
Shakespeare was a genius. His plots may have been stolen, his knowledge of the worlds...
The 1999 Russian Apartment Bombs: How to Steal a Country
On November 6th 2024 Donald Trump was elected as President of the United States for...