Did Kongolese Catholicism Lead to Slave Revolutions?
The legacy of Kimpa Vita, a Kongolese Catholic mystic, was felt from the U.S. to Haiti.
Who Were the Beothuk, the Lost People of Newfoundland?
The remains of two of the very last of the Beothuk are finally being repatriated to Canada. Why has it taken almost 200 years?
How Chocolate Came to Europe
Pre-Colombian cultures valued chocolate highly as a drink, and often served it at important events. It wasn't made into a solid candy until 1847.
The Fable of the Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson's legendary support for "self-determination" is indeed just a legend.
Down the Research Rat Hole
While writing her forthcoming book about Polynesia, the author discovered the work of Teuira Henry, a scholar and folklorist who studied ancient Tahiti.
Feasting Tips From Ancient Greece
Many of us strive to avoid talking politics at a big holiday feasts. But in Homer's Greece, feasting was all about politics.
Can the U.S. and China Avoid the Thucydides Trap?
The "Thucydides trap" refers to the theory that when a rising power threatens a ruling power, the result is often war. Are the U.S. and China headed there?
Do We Have to Tell Them the House Is Haunted?
On the law and mythologies of haunting, from antiquity to today.
The Curious Voyage of HMS Endeavour
Captain James Cook had secret orders to to search for a predicted Southern Continent. He ended up claiming New Zealand and part of Australia for the U.K.
Reconsidering Appeasement
After 1938's Munich Agreement, "appeasement" became a dirty word in international relations. But scholars argue that appeasement can be a useful tool.