History Today

Makers of the Twentieth Century: Ho Chi Minh

'Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh' was the chant of radicals in the 1960s and 1970s, idolising the Communist leader who led Vietnam's Revolutionary struggle first against French colonialism and then against the United States' involvement in Vietnam. 

The British Under Roman Rule: A Study in Colonialism

The Roman invasion of Britain divided its constituent kingdoms and tribes. Some supported the Romans, others fiercely opposed their occupation and suffered dreadfully as a consequence. In the face of continuing resentment at their occupation the Romans, argues Graham Webster, changed from a policy of repression, and began to pay careful attention to the feelings and aspirations of their British subjects.

Christopher Saxton and the Mapping of Britain

The history of the making of maps should be a source for historians at at least three levels; the geographical, the technical and the political. An exhibition has recently opened at the British Library commemorating the work of Christopher Saxton, 'the father of English cartography' and a short book, Christopher Saxton and Tudor Mapmaking by Sarah

The Begums of Bhopal

Princess Abida Sultaan, granddaughter of the last woman ruler of Bhopal, Begum Sultan Jahan, examines the rule of the Begum dynasty.

The European Summer Palaces of China

The beautiful summer palaces of Yuan Ming Yuan outside Peking, designed by Europeans for the Emperor of China in the middle of the eighteenth century, have now been recognised as a curiosity of their country's heritage.

Canada in Crisis: The Historical Background

"We belong to that little group of peoples destined... for a special role, the tragic role. Their anxiety is not whether they will be prosperous tomorrow, great or small, but whether they will be at all..." - Lionel Groulx, Quebec historian

The Tango Made Flesh: Carlos Gardel

The tango was to Argentina what jazz was to New Orleans. As Simon Collier explains, it swept the world in the pre-First World War era and Carlos Gardel was its star.

Constabulary Duties

Finlay McKichan uncovers what life was like for police constabularies a century ago.