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.
La Liberté ou la Mort by Jean-Baptiste Regnault

The French Revolution as Illuminati Conspiracy

The Illuminati was a real secret society. But in the hands of British conservatives during the French Revolution, it became a massive conspiracy.
Sugar Skulls

What Do Sugar Skulls Mean on El Día de los Muertos?

The iconography of Mexico's Día de los Muertos has become wildly popular outside Latino communities. But where did the skulls and skeletons come from?
Amphibian attack of spanish-tlaxcallan force

How Aztecs Reacted to Colonial Epidemics

Colonial exploitation made the indigenous Aztec people disproportionately vulnerable to epidemics. Indigenous accounts show their perspective.
A statue of Maya and Merit displayed in part in the permanent Egyptian collection at the National Museum of Antiquities or Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands.

Hair, Gender, and Social Status in Ancient Egypt

Egyptian tomb chapels depict men, women, and children of different ranks in society. What can their hairstyles tell us about their lives?
"Nixon Tearing the Heart out of Indochina" by René Mederos

Anti-Imperialist Propaganda Posters from OSPAAAL

OSPAAAL, the international, pro-communist organization formed in 1966, decried American imperialism with powerful propaganda.