The Old and New Worlds of Mardi Gras
How an all-American celebration evolved from the pre-Lent carnivals of the Old World.
Feature
The Politics of Futbol
Duncan Shaw looks at how the entry of Spain into the EEC in 1985 furthered its process of integration into the European community. During the Franco years, the ostracised regime used football to initiate this gradual road towards acceptance. The Catalans and the Basques, however, used football as a means of popular protest.
May 1945: The Soviet View
John Erickson reflects on how the Russians commemorate their role in bringing peace to Europe.
Richard the Lionheart and the Art of Kingship
What made for a good medieval king? Understanding Richard I – better known as Richard the Lionheart – is a good place to start.
What is Military History?
Eight historians discuss a subject which has strong claims to be regarded as the oldest form of history.
D-Day and the French Resistance
Could the Allies have used the French Resistance to better effect before and after D-Day?
The Response of the Slaves
Slavery would seem to be the epitome of domination by an all-powerful master over a passive, subservient dependent. But is this the whole picture?
A Royal Gentleman of Colour
Ben Shephard looks at the career of Peter Lobengula, the African ‘Prince’ who tantalised the British press and public and died in poverty in Salford in 1913, highlighting Victorian attitudes towards race, colour and sex.
British Columbia’s Gentlemen Farmers
‘They dwell in paradise and it pays’ was the view expressed of the immigrant fruit farmers who settled in British Columbia for a long Edwardian summer.
The Idea of Poverty
Gertrude Himmelfarb considers why and when poverty ceased to be a ‘natural’ condition and become a ‘social’ problem in the Early Industrial Age.