Political

A Failed Coup in Jordan

Richard Cavendish explains how plans for a coup against King Hussein ibn Talal of Jordan eventually melted away on April 13th, 1957.

The Ides of March

In 44 BC, the greatest of dictators was slain. The question of how Julius Caesar meant to use his supreme power has ever since been disputed.

Ghana’s Golden Coast

This West African state was a focus of the slave trade for centuries, and the first African colony to win independence, exactly fifty years ago. Graham Gendall Norton finds lots of history to explore.

Giuseppe Mazzini

Robert Pearce highlights Giuseppe Mazzini’s role in the Risorgimento.

Hugh Dalton

John Plowright examines the career of one of the key ministers in Attlee’s postwar governments.

The Great Reform Act of 1832

Robert Pearce introduces the First Reform Act and asks why parliamentary reform succeeded in 1832 when earlier reform bills had failed.