Ships and boats in Hong Kong Harbour, c. 1850

How Sailors Brought the World Home

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, sailors gained a knowledge of the world and access to exotic goods unlike anything other non-elites could imagine.
Bright and colorful land- and seasape of St Kitts and Nevis.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Sandy beaches and luxury hotels seem to define this Caribbean nation, but it’s the music and architecture that truly speak to its complicated history.
Isabelle Eberhardt, 1895

Isabelle Eberhardt: Travel’s Rebel with a Cause

A hash-smoking, cross-dressing woman traveling the Sahara in the early 1900s, Eberhardt unpicked the fabric of society just by being herself.

Seeing America in 1900

Posters and postcards showcasing unique destinations and sights in the United States helped homogenize the tourist landscape of the early twentieth century.
Grand Saloon of the Great Britain

Separate Spheres On Narrow Boats: Victorians At Sea

On the North Atlantic, the ships were small and the trips were long, making it difficult to maintain the land-based social distinctions.
Sake Deen Mahomed by T. M. Baynes

Dean Mahomet: Travel Writer, Border Crosser

The author of what is considered the first English-language book by an Indian writer was neither a rebel nor an accommodationist.
Norsepower Rotor Sails onboard the Maersk Pelican

Wind Power Returns to the Shipping Industry

The industry explored the idea of using actual sails, but modern turbine-based wind power will significantly reduce emissions.
Classic cars drive along dirt road in the mountains

The End of the Country Road

When “good roads” first became a political issue, rural people were decidedly not the ones advocating for them.
An advertisement for 'Cook's Nile Service', a cruise on the Express Steamer 'MS Hatasoo' run by Thomas Cook & Son Ltd., circa 1900.

A “Cook’s Tour” of Imperialism

Thomas Cook and Son Ltd. pioneered middle class tourism during the Victorian era, when it followed the course of the British Empire.
A woman with a protective mask in a plane

Do Airplanes Really Make You Sick?

A Curious Reader asks: Am I really at a higher risk of getting sick on an airplane?