History Today

The Manchus

Henry McAleavy describes how the last Chinese imperial dynasty owed its origins to a petty Manchurian chieftain, Nurhaci, who revolted against his Chinese overlords, whose son invaded and conquered China, and whose grandson occupied the Dragon Throne.

Cromer: The Proconsul

John Raymond assesses the life and career of one modern history's “unswerving inflexibles”.

The Portuguese in Southeast Africa

In the coastal regions of the modern colonies of Kenya and Tanganyika,  the Portuguese, first among Europeans, came into contact with the Arab-African civilization that flourished on the edges of the Indian Ocean.

The Little Marconi Case

Henry D'Avigdor-Goldsmid describes an insider trading scandal that embroiled the House of Commons in 1912.

Commander in the Adriatic

One of Nelson’s proteges, William Hoste, patrolled the Adriatic Sea at a time when its coasts were largely under Napoleon’s control, as P.C. McFarlan writes.

Fouché, Part II: The Statesman and His Fall

Harold Kurtz describes how for nearly ten years, in two spells of office, the Republican Fouché was the virtual head of the internal government of France under the increasing Traditionalism of Napoleon’s rule.