Warsaw Ghetto

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Jewish Identity

How do identity politics work in extremis? The resistance in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had to both suppress and amplify their Jewishness.
English tea time

The Extremely Un-British Origins of Tea

Tea is bound up in the nation's history of colonial expansion. British tea drinkers preferred Chinese tea at first, and had to be convinced on patriotic grounds to drink tea from India.
Hogarth crime

The First Moral Panic: London, 1744

The late summer crime wave of 1744 London sparked an intense moral panic about crime that burnt itself out by the new year. But not before heads rolled.
Samurai battle on old vintage Japanese screen

Whatever Happened to the Samurai?

Warriors rarely give up their power, but the samurai of Japan dwindled away rapidly after the Meiji Restoration and the modernization of the country.
Kilts

How Highlanders Came to Wear Kilts

Kilts are traditional garb from Scotland, right? Well, that's not quite the whole story.
Mr and Mrs William Lindow

How 17th Century Unmarried Women Helped Shape Capitalism

Under coverture, married English women had no rights to their property, even though unmarried women did, making for a unique system in Europe.
Panama stamp

How a Postage Stamp May Have Helped Create the Panama Canal

The decision to build a Panama Canal came about because of two lobbyists, one of whom thought a stamp would make a telling point.
Aerial view of Riyadh downtown

Are Reforms Part of Saudi Arabia’s PR Campaign?

In September, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced to the world that it would begin licensing women to drive in 2018. Is it all part of a PR campaign?
Topkapi Gate of Felicity

The Secret Sign Language of the Ottoman Court

Deaf servants were favored companions of the Ottoman sultan, and their facility in nonverbal communication made them indispensable to the court.
Sugar cane trade Portugal

Madeira, The Island That Helped Invent Capitalism

Madeira is famous for its wine and scenery today, but in the 15th century it boomed and then busted as the sugar capital of the world.