American white supremacists take their cues from a far older influence than the Nazis: the Confederate States of America, a nation dedicated to upholding and extending slavery.
Category: History
It’s finally time to retire the royals
The monarchy is a fundamental part of public life. But why, in the 21st century, is this still considered appropriate? Why shouldn’t we have a national debate about the place of the Royal Family in modern society?
The prime minister who lost America
Lord North is sometimes called Britain’s worst ever prime minister. But does the man who alienated the American colonies to the point of revolution deserve this title, or was he a hapless victim of circumstance?
Helmut Kohl and the peaceful revolution
Helmut Kohl has died. One of only three men to be named Honorary Citizen of Europe, he was a true European statesman. However, his pioneering achievement, the unification of Germany, was far from a certainty.
Age of Empires: Good game, bad history
Video games aren’t art, but it turns out they can be a damn good educational tool, if only to encourage curiosity. Among the pantheon of video games, the beloved Age of Empires series does more than any other to make people want to study history.
Periphery: The myth of British exceptionalism
One of our greatest failures is our inability to confront our imperial past. Still celebrated in our media and by our right-wing press, it has left us with an inflated sense of our own exceptionalism, that has estranged us from our closest neighbours.
Closed ports and Christians: Japan’s era of isolation
Distrust of a religious minority, limited interest in international trade, a desire to protect a national identity: this is early modern Japan, a feudal backwater that had cut itself off from the rest of the world.
When we were refugees: Anglo-Saxons on the Black Sea
Refugees dominate the headlines. Whether fleeing civil war in Syria, or political oppression in Africa, the right-wing media has met them with scorn. This attitude is coloured by our failure to confront a past of English people both welcoming and being refugees.
The lie that killed old England
950 years ago, the Battle of Hastings was fought in Sussex, and the face of English history changed forever. The Old English tradition disappeared forever, taking with it a system of government, a language, and a literary canon. All this was based on a lie perpetrated by William the Conqueror to advance his ambitions.
Claudius the God: Was Phaemon’s dog right?
Claudius the God asks us to consider whether it is right to support Claudius as he descends into despotism – not just for the characters in the story, but also for ourselves as readers – as illustrated by a fable about the moral choices of a dog.
