Environmental History

William Gardener describes how, since the first century A.D. rhubarb was known to the Romans as a panacea for internal ailments, and imported from China.

Helen Bruce describes how, in Buddhist countries, for the last six hundred years, the albino elephant has always received special veneration.

Arnold Whitridge describes how, in April 1768, Bougainville reached ‘an enchanting island’ in the South Pacific.

William Seymour takes us on a visit to the New Forest, stretching from Southampton Water to the Wiltshire Avon, and the favourite hunting ground of many English monarchs.

D.B. Quinn and P.H. Hulton describe the six voyages to American waters that John White sailed on between 1577 and 1590, and how almost all his surviving drawings are connected with exploration.

Wilhelmina F. Jashemski visists the heart of the Pompeian house: the garden. While some gardens were splendid and spacious, others were crammed into minute courtyards “no larger than a professor's desk,” but rich with flowers and enclosed by painted walls.

Robin Fedden takes us on a visit to snowy Alpine passes where, for three quarters of a century, at the end of the Dark Ages, Saracen forces dominated the chief land routes between Italy and France.

Long a beautiful feature of the English landscape, William Seymour explains how forests have played an important part in the economic history of Great Britain.

Elka Schrijver recounts how tornados frequently changed the course of history for the province and town of Utrecht.

Anthony Dent examines the lives of English foresters, parkers, warreners, and the preservation of deer and boar for hunting, all in the era of the Bard.