Graham Darby

Kerensky in Hindsight

Alexander Kerensky, the last Russian premier before the Bolsheviks took power, decided to continue the war with Germany. He and his nascent democracy would pay the price.

Radetzky’s March into Obscurity

Under the command of Josef Radetzky, the Habsburg army held its grip on Italy during a period of revolutionary unrest across Europe. Yet today his achievements are rarely celebrated.

Hanging on to Hanover

Three hundred years ago, in August 1714, the Protestant Elector of Hanover ascended to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland, becoming George I. Graham Darby describes the latter phase of the personal union, which lasted until 1837.

Sicily's British Occupation

During the Napoleonic Wars Britain occupied the strategically important island of Sicily. Most of its inhabitants, tired of long-distance Bourbon rule, welcomed the arrangement, but their monarch did not, as Graham Darby explains.

Pope Innocent XI: The Saviour of Christendom?

One of the last popes to play a major role in international affairs, Innocent XI defied Louis XIV, the Sun King, and played a decisive part in the defence of Christianity against the spread of Islam under the auspices of the Ottoman empire, as Graham Darby explains.

The Dutch Revolt

Graham Darby explains how and why the creation of the Dutch state preceded the existence of Dutch national feeling.

The Thirty Years' War

Graham Darby examines the nature and effects of the war that dominated the first half of the 17th century.