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Georgian

This portrait shows Elizabeth Vassall Fox, Baroness Holland (1771–1845), a prominent figure in early 19th-century British political and social circles. As the wife of Whig politician Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, she was known for her intelligence, influence — and for the controversy surrounding her affairs.

She held wealth, power and prestige: so why did this Georgian aristocrat fake her daughter’s death?

How enslaved people fought for freedom across the Atlantic

Queer life in Georgian Britain

Haiti's first and only king

James Monroe served as the fifth president of the United States (1817–1825). His name is most famously linked to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting US opposition to European interference in the Americas, a cornerstone of 19th-century foreign policy.

Is this the secret to understanding US foreign policy? How a powerful doctrine from 1823 reshaped America

Britain and the Caribbean: from slavery to Black Lives Matter

Nationalism: everything you wanted to know

The tangled legacies of two Americas

JMW Turner: life of the week

Jason Momoa as Ka'iana in Apple TV+ drama Chief of War

Who was the real Kaʻiana in Chief of War? Meet the warrior noble who defied a king

Jason Momoa as Ka'iana in Apple TV+ drama Chief of War (Photo via Apple TV+)

Chief of War: the true story behind the creation of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

Richard Coles and Lorenzo Da Ponte

My history heroRichard Coles chooses Lorenzo Da Ponte

From a scandalous threesome to classical stardom: the actress who found redemption in Handel’s Messiah

This painted portrait depicts Ranavalona I, who ruled the Merina Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. Her reign was marked by violent efforts to resist European influence and preserve Malagasy sovereignty.

Meet the blood-soaked African queen who killed her own people in the face of colonialism

WATCHWhy did Georgian dresses cost as much as a townhouse?!

The Scottish Enlightenment: everything you wanted to know

Composite image of the historical Talleyrand and his portrayal in Apple TV+ drama Carême

The master of political survival: Talleyrand, the cunning foreign minister of Carême

Was Carême a spy? The true story of the world’s first celebrity chef

My history heroMichael Buerk chooses Robert FitzRoy

Who shot first?Lexington and Concord

Lexington and Concord: 250 years on

Minutemen facing British soldiers on Lexington common

What happened at the battles of Lexington and Concord?

Amazing livesRobert Wedderburn: the ‘notorious firebrand’ who campaigned against slavery

A coloured engraving of pirate captain Bartholomew Roberts, who enforced strict rules on his ship.

Liquor, loot and death on the high seas: 5 things you (probably) didn't know about the history of pirates

The ‘Eye of Providence’, a symbol linked to the Illuminati, stares out from the reverse side of all US one-dollar bills

Who were the Illuminati – and how can you join them?

A portrait of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English naval commander. One of Britain's greatest military figures, Admiral Nelson (1758-1805) was the victor at a number of naval battles in the Napoleonic Wars, most famously, Trafalgar (1805) where he was fatally wounded. (Photo by Getty images)

“A monster of egotism”: Dominic Sandbrook reveals the secret to Admiral Nelson’s unstoppable success

A portrait of King George III overlayed against an 18th century map of America

This forgotten 18th-century sex scandal almost overturned the British Army’s hierarchy

Handel's Messiah: the scandalous birth of a classical masterpiece

Basildon Park in Berkshire

The profits of slaveryThe dire impact of empire on Britain's countryside

Sexuality on trial in colonial America