Georgian - Getty Images

Georgian

Stamford, Lincolnshire

Vintage map of the Bahamas. (Library of Congress)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Bahamas 1718. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting depicting the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. "Wellington’s victories at Roliça and Vimeiro in 1808 were the first significant defeats inflicted upon the French emperor’s armies in Europe," says Saul David. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The triumph of the redcoats. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Book review - Napoleon

Ironbridge

A postboy drives a mail coach in a contemporary illustration. Soon after their introduction in 1784, coaches were traversing the country at speeds of up to 10mph. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Red Letter Days: 10 milestones in the history of the Post Office. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The East India Company and Nelson. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hylands House, Essex

Britain’s waterways have enjoyed a renaissance since the Second World War. (Photo by George W Johnson/Getty Images)

History explorer: Britain’s inland waterways. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe Duke of Wellington and Alfred the Great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie), the grandson of James II and VII. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The LibraryWhere history happened: The Jacobites. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

White Rock Copper Works, Swansea

A 17th chart or map shows reefs and hazards to ships.

The notorious Captain Kidd

The A to Z of royal weddings with Tracy Borman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Samuel Johnson (1709-84). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Geevor Tin Mine, Cornwall

A woman puts a foundling, or her own unwanted child, into a revolving doorway in a hospital or orphanage wall, intended for unwanted children. (Getty Images)

A mother's love: tokens left with London's foundling babies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 reasons to visit historic Chelsea

At the edge of reason: shaving and razors in 18th-century Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George III at the end of his reign. He "represented the uncontrollable aspects of humanity that the Enlightenment could not explain," says Stella Tillyard. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Uncertainty and unrest: the madness of the Regency period. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Why is the American city of Cincinnati named after a hero of ancient Rome?

Pride and Prejudice takes the top spot

Visit historic Lichfield

Q&A: Why didn't Napoleon invade the Channel Islands?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The man best associated with the new style of landscape gardening was William Kent (c1686–1748), a Yorkshire-born artist and architect. (Public domain)

The English landscape garden. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charles Théveneau de Morande: an 18th-century French spy in London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A ship in a storm

How did Britain come to rule the waves?

‘Battle of Quiberon Bay' (c1765), from 'Old Naval Prints' by Charles N Robinson and Geoffrey Holme (The Studio Limited, London), 1924. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

The battle for Britain 1759. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Captain William Bligh. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

My history hero: William Bligh (1754–1817). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of the English explorer Samuel Hearne. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Samuel Hearne (1745–92). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.