Eswatini: At the King’s Pleasure
Wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa.
Dates: Civilization’s Sweetest Indulgence
Offshoots from the “Tree of Life” traveled from Mesopotamia to the Levant to the United States, beguiling everyone with their toothsome confections.
Mendez v. Westminster and Mexican American Desegregation
International relations and foreign influence helped end legal segregation of Mexican American students in California after World War II.
Convincing Peasants to Fly in the Soviet Union
With air-minded films, poems, and demonstrations, Soviet leaders sought to lift peasants out of their “backward” lives and into the world of the modern proletariat.
Whatever Happened to London’s “Little America”?
Since the time of John Adams, the first US Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Grosvenor Square has been the locus of the American government in Britain.
The Pharaoh’s Curse or the Pharaoh’s Cure?
A toxic fungus from King Tutankhamun’s tomb yields cancer-fighting compounds.
Aruba: Black Gold and Boas
What happens when an oil-rich island paradise interrupts its production of petroleum? You may have to visit the Caribbean island of Aruba to find out.
The Chinese Question in Australia
The local British tried to bar Chinese traders from Australian shipping routes. Louis Ah Mouy, Lowe Kong Meng, and Cheong Cheok Hong had something to say about it.
The Shah, Our Man in Tehran?
Playing up the threat of the communist incursions, the Shah of Iran gained more and more support—financial and political—from the United States.
Kongo, Interpreted
In the sixteenth century, Kongo’s government trained young nobles to provide interpretation and cultural mediation between Europeans and Kongolese.