Europe

Douglas Johnson reflects on the life and death of General de Gaulle.

Bartholomew Dias' voyage to the Cape of Good Hope in the late 15th century marked the apex of an extraordinary Portuguese expansion overseas and the start of a fateful European impact on South Africa. 

In May of 1588, Spain's great Armada set sail, bent on the invasion and conquest of Elizabethan England. Simon Adams re-examines the strategic considerations that underpinned the actions of both England and Spain before and after the Armada.

70 years ago the massed tank battle of Cambrai ushered in the transformation of the mythology, imagery and practice of conventional land warfare.

Christian king or swashbuckling hero? The immense popularity of King Arthur in medieval romance gave considerable scope for a range of images.

Rebel without a cause? Paul Cartledge probes whether the chequered career of one of fifth-century Athens' most famous sons reveals more about conflicting codes of loyalty than just the machinations of a turncoat.

Elders and betters? Attitudes towards old age in the society of classical Greece were enormously varied and often far from respectful.

A myth for all seasons - the treatment through the centuries of Spain's medieval hero as a blend of Robin Hood and King Arthur provides revealing insights into the political needs of both his contemporary and more recent biographers.

The recent recovery of large quantities of porcelain from the South China seas highlights eighteenth-century Europe's insatiable desire for tableware from the Orient.

David Braund takes a look over the latest collection of books on the Roman age.