A contemporary illustration of the Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 – an event that helped create the idea of 'revolution' as we know it today. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

French revolution

The death of a dream: why Europe's great year of revolution in 1848 failed

Slaves of Confederate Brigadier-General Thomas F Drayton at his cotton plantation in South Carolina during the American Civil War

Why is America haunted by its past?

Retiring royals: 9 rulers and royals who stepped down through history

Portrait of Marie Antoinette in deep mourning, while in prison

The final days of Marie Antoinette

The story of Madame Tussaud. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Graham’s central relationship – between the gentlemanly Ross Poldark and Demelza Carne, an illiterate young kitchen maid – is highly unusual. But was there a real ‘Ross and Demelza’ in history? (Photo by Mammoth Screen/BBC)

Poldark series 3 recap – what happened and what is the real history behind the hit TV series?

The failings of the French Revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryKarl Marx: the godfather of revolution

Benjamin Tillett, organiser of the Docker's Union and leader of the London Transport Worker's strike in 1911, addressing a rally of the strikers. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The essay: Britain’s cautious revolutionaries

Friends or enemies? Anglo-French relations. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ross Poldark travels to Republican France in the latest episode of the BBC drama. France was a 'brutal and dangerous' place to be at the time, says historian Hannah Greig. (BBC/Mammoth Screen)

The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode three

A portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

Why Napoleon merits the title 'the Great'

WWI army rations and the French Revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Secrets of WWII, the French Revolution and 'The History of Scotland'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.