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Georgian

Robert Burns and Francis Bacon. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of William Hogarth, whom Simon Jones admires for possessing an extraordinary eye for pictorial detail and social nuance. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

My history hero: William Hogarth (1697–1764). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting inhabitants of Hawaii making an offering to Captain Cook

The LibraryThe mystery of Cook’s lost journal. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 1950s illustration of Vladimir Lenin on the sealed train between Switzerland and Russian. (Alamy)

10 ways to start a revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a shipwreck

Hard lives on the high seas. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Duke of Wellington. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Antique print of the Boston Massacre from the American Revolutionary, by Paul Revere (American, 1734-1818) (hand-colored engraving), 1770. The title of the print is 'The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Reg't'. (Photo by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)

The plot to kidnap King George III. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 10 worst Britons in history