History Matters

The Ministry of Food was founded to help people survive rationing and to bolster morale during the Second World War. This became particularly important at Christmas.

Did Tudor beds have footboards? The conundrum illustrates the challenges of early modern history.

Access to land was once a common right; we have lost more than just the freedom to roam.

John F. Kennedy idolised Winston Churchill, but his efforts to host his hero proved abortive.

Iranian women have always been present in national uprisings and protests, but this time female activists are leading them.

Controversy surrounding the ‘Satanic Verses’ is centuries old.

Foreign armies acted with impunity in Iraq from the first decade of independence. In response, the Iraqi military became a tool of internal repression.

Britain’s privatised water companies are under attack, but private ownership of a vital public service has a long history of controversy.

Notes in the margins of early modern books can be very revealing about their readers’ lives and interests.