On the left stands King George III surrounded by symbols of British peace and liberty, while across the Channel the figure of Napoleon is stalked by poverty and ‘universal destruction’.

Jacobin Hating, American Style

The most radical faction of the French Revolution was hated by everyone in the United States from reactionaries to abolitionists.
Getty

How the Fascists Rewrote Spanish National History

National origin stories can be the stuff of fancy. Francoist Spain also showed how quickly those stories could be rewritten.
A woman in a soviet house

Early Television in the Soviet Union

Communist Party officials saw potential in the new technology in the 1950s. So did ordinary people, but not always in the same way.
Two Khasi girls in traditional dress at the Shad Suk Mynsiem dance, Shillong, Meghalaya, India

What Does It Mean to Be a Matriarchy?

Using the definition that European theorists invented in the nineteenth century may not work for every society, like the Khasi.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie (1921 - 2000) addresses a Drop The Debt rally in Trafalgar Square, 13th June 1999.

Debt Forgiveness and Jubilee 2000

Erasing student loans is a hot topic of conversation now. In the 1990s, debt forgiveness was an international movement.
From a 1703 atlas of the world

Bringing France Back into American History

The current arrangement of nation-states in North America has made the role of the French in colonial history seem less important.
A mosaic along the Surrey Diggers Trail, Cobham UK

What Did the Diggers Really Believe?

The early modern Protestant sect has been seen as a predecessor to radical political views. But is that how they saw themselves?
A chest depicting a king making an offering to the crocodile-god Sobek

Crocodiles in Ancient Egypt

According to archaeologists, it looks like worshipers of the croc deity Sobek bred the Nile's most famous reptile for mummification.
Cassava

The Taínos Refused to Grow Food. The Spanish Starved.

Rebellion against invasion triggered a series of events that would take a "swift and violent toll" on a Caribbean island's native biodiversity.
A poster with the famous words 'Big Brother is Watching You' from a BBC TV production of George Orwell's classic novel '1984'.

Is the Authoritarian Personality a Legitimate Concept?

A group of thinkers who fled Europe wanted to explain the rise of Nazism, but their ideas haven't withstood scrutiny.