'In the beginning, America was in the way'. Only slowly did 16th-century Englishmen turn from the chimera of a short-cut to Asia's riches to the vision of precious metals to be mined and colonies planted in the New World.
'Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose'... many of the agricultural practices described in the art and literature of classical Greece persist to the present day.
Alan Sked looks at the sensational leaking of Austrian military secrets to Russia on the eve of the First World War.
Paul Preston and Helen Graham discuss the tension developing in the Europe of the 30s as the Left attempted to unite against the growth of Fascism and the bloody timetable of political collapse, uprisings and mutiny that transformed a half-successful coup d'etat into a protracted civil war.
Helen Graham on the political coalitions in Spain in the 1930s and their role in blocking Fascism.
Paul Preston follows the unsettled road leading to the clash between the Republicans and Nationalists.
Three texts dealing with the transition from the Renaissance to the Modern Age
Paul Dukes interprets the heritage of China in the context of global history
Port wine and a queen for England from Braganza - commercial and cultural links strengthened the alliance steadily during the Age of Reason.
