History Today

Four new studies challenge familiar tropes to consider some important but lesser-known areas of the women’s suffrage movement. 

The wait for the outcome of Neville Chamberlain’s mission to Munich and the looming spectre of another war hung over Britain in 1938. Its impact was deeply felt.

A contemporary of Hitler, Franco and Mussolini, Salazar is remembered by some of his compatriots as the greatest figure in the nation’s history. Why?

The arrival of Napoleon’s troops in Venice in 1797 instigated one of the biggest plunders in the history of art. 

Can the study of the past really help us to understand the present?

Methodism gained great popularity in the 18th century, but its followers were thought enthusiastic to the point of insanity, posing a serious threat to the established church.

French was the only language worth speaking in medieval Britain – and not just by the upper classes.

Why the British government can’t reveal more about an ‘open secret’.

The creation of India’s fantastic rail network was the work of the British Raj, but it came at a high price for Indians themselves.

The story of Indonesia’s anti-Communist coup, the rise to power of a pro-western regime and its murderous aftermath.