Britain

Only by a trick of fate in 1683, finds J.H.M. Salmon,  were Charles II and his brother preserved from an ambush that might have put an end to monarchy in England.

Sir Lewis Namier examines the British Parliamentary groupings of the country gentlemen and their reactions to the movements of public opinion during the years 1750-1783.

Sir Robert Hodgson recounts his experience of interaction with Bolshevik diplomats.

Dorothy George looks at the development of political - and often satirical - public artwork in early modern Britain.

Gibraltar provides one of the examples of how the British Empire was 'acquired in a fit of absence of mind'. 

A biographical portrait by Lord David Cecil of William Lamb, the early 19th century parliamentarian better known as Lord Melbourne.

Mihir Bose recalls a classic case highlighting the problems with Britain’s antiquated libel laws.

The Whig interpretation of the past is a moral fable more akin to theology than history, argues Tim Stanley.

Exhuming historical characters makes for dramatic headlines and can seem a great way to get easy answers, but we should think twice before disturbing the remains of dead monarchs, says Justin Pollard.

Michelle Liebst looks at how the career of the great explorer of Africa reflects the wider failings of Victorian imperialism.