The Invention of the “Healthy” Caribbean
Europeans used to believe that "bad air" caused diseases, so they distrusted the Caribbean's air quality and land features like swamps.
The Undercover Abolitionists of the 18th Century
Since many people considered them an off-putting radical sect, some Quaker abolitionists worked behind the scenes to eradicate slavery.
The Case for Reparations Is Nothing New
In fact, Black activists and civil rights leaders have been advocating for compensation for the trauma and cost of slavery for centuries.
Black Mexico and the War of Independence
The president of Mexico who finally issued the decree ending slavery was of African descent himself.
The Politics of Drinking in Revolutionary Russia
To leaders, the ideal Soviet worker should be sober. Actual workers had other thoughts.
How Conservation Is Shaped by Settler Colonialism
The legal concept of "terra nullius"—meaning "no one's land"—influenced European colonialism and continues to shape the practice of conservation.
How the Vietnam War Shaped US Immigration Policy
The makings of our modern resettlement system can be traced back to the fallout of the Vietnam War, a cascade of international crises stoked by the U.S.
The Mexica Didn’t Believe the Conquistadors Were Gods
The indigenous Mexica (Aztec) people were overwhelmed by a superior technological force ruthlessly used against them.
Bolívar in Haiti
Simón Bolívar was a man of contradiction. He was willing to set in motion the gradual abolition of slavery, but that would be as far as he would go.
Tsarist Russia’s Feminist Intelligentsia
In the context of Russia's patriarchal autocracy, its intelligentsia was surprisingly feminist, as Vera Podorovskaya's life illustrates.