Pakistan’s Ambiguous Islamic Identity
Pragmatism, not faith, drove Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the call for the founding of the new Islamic state of Pakistan.
Zheng He, the Great Eunuch Admiral
Captured, castrated, and forced to serve the Hongwu Emperor, Zeng He subsequently led a massive Ming fleet of treasure ships across an ever-expanding empire.
When All the English Had Tails
Where did the myth that English men (and probably women) were hiding tails beneath their clothing come from? And what was that about eggs?
Remembering Sun Yat Sen Abroad
Museums around the world honor the history of the revolutionary, but as Singapore’s Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall shows, those memories aren’t easy to read.
Life in the Islands of the Dead
Though part of the mainland county of Cornwall, the Scilly Islands offer visitors an encounter with history and the environment like no other.
Charles Darwin and His Correspondents: A Lifetime of Letters
An epistolary network was critical for Darwin’s work, allowing him to obtain new information while sparking fresh ideas in his correspondents’ minds.
Culinary Fusion in the Ancient World
People from eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and Southeast Asia have been sharing food plants across the Indian Ocean for millennia.
Ayahs Abroad: Colonial Nannies Cross The Empire
South Asian maids and nannies journeyed to Britain by the thousands in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century with returning colonials.
The Taj Mahal Today
In parallel with the recent shift in political attitudes toward Islamic heritage, India’s most famous monument may need to find a new place in history.
Beryl Markham, Warrior of the Skies
The first person to fly solo, non-stop from Europe to North America, Markham lived life by her own rules.