Feature

Portugal: The First Global Empire

Poor and small, Portugal was at the edge of late medieval Europe. But its seafarers created the age of ‘globalisation’, which continues to this day.

A Society Built On Slavery

The extent to which Britons were involved in slave-ownership has been laid bare by a project based at University College London. Katie Donington shows how one family profited.

The Fall of Robespierre

The momentous final days of Maximilien Robespierre are well documented. Yet many of the established ‘facts’ about the Thermidorian Reaction are myths.

The Conference on African Peoples

A multiracial community of activists began organising public meetings and rallies in the 1930s, paving the way for the Pan-African Congress of 1945.

Magna Carta: The Atlantic Crossing

In no country is Magna Carta held in greater reverence than in the United States, playing a crucial role in founding the republic’s political and legal system.

The Mighty MacCailean Mór

No Scottish clan is as controversial as the Campbells. Yet, says Ian Bradley, the opening of its Argyll Mausoleum offers a chance to re-assess a contentious past.

Medieval Fatherhood

The ‘hands-on’ parenting style, so often thought to be unique to modern western society, has deep roots in the family life of the Middle Ages, argues Rachel Moss.