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.
The Highest Flood in Italy This Century
Recent flooding in Venice has revived memories of a record-setting 1966 flood, which sparked an international rescue program for art and architecture.
The East India Company Invented Corporate Lobbying
The historian William Dalyrmple's new book, The Anarchy, indicts the East India Company for "the supreme act of corporate violence in world history."
The First U.S.-China Trade Deal
The Treaty of Wanghia formalized the burgeoning ties between the two countries, opening the door to new commercial and cultural exchanges.