An edited collage of images from early National Geographic artwork. The photograph of this woman from Biskra, Algeria is from a 1917 issue.

How National Geographic Conquered American Culture

The magazine’s explosive growth mirrored the nation's emergence as a global empire.
An engraving depicting visitors admiring a group of African mammals, taxidermied exhibits at Bullock's Museum, in Piccadilly, London, England, circa 1815.

Empire on Display: The Rise of Taxidermy

New preservation methods transformed animal remains into persuasive displays that circulated widely in museums and popular culture.
Pekinese competitors arrive in the arms of their owners at the Wimbledon Dog Show, 1912

The Surprising Imperial History of the Pekingese Dog

Upper-class British women in the early 1900s participated in a craze for Pekingese dogs, signalling the role of empire in their social identities.
The interior of the crater of Pico de Teide, Tenerife

The Canary Islands: First Stop of Imperialism

Before the New World, Europeans arrived in the Canary Islands and set the model for the enslavements, genocides, and radical ecological transformations to come.