How a Paris Meet Changed Women’s Track and Field
In the early twentieth century, women were discouraged from competing in track and field. The First International Track Meet for Women helped change that.
The First Black American to Reach the North Pole
Matthew Henson partnered with Robert Peary on seven Arctic adventures, but their final success brought an end to a longstanding collaboration.
Stonehenge Before the Druids (Long, Long, Before The Druids)
The clash of academic archaeology and what might be called folk archaeology comes into stark focus at Stonehenge.
Cape Verde’s Dilemma(s)
While increased tourism may be a boon to the economy, increasing numbers of visitors may harm the environmental wonders that draw outsiders to the islands.
Should Readers Trust “Inaccuracy” in Memoirs about Genocide?
To what extent do errors undermine life writing? The question is an urgent one when that writing is testimony to the genocidal actions of the Khmer Rouge.
How Portuguese Slave Traders Changed Ethiopia and Congo
Portuguese trading of enslaved Africans affected two major African powers in very different ways.
Ali: Alfred Russel Wallace’s Right-Hand Gun
Wallace wouldn't have become a famous naturalist without help from colonial networks and hundreds of locals, including his indefatigable Sarawak servant, Ali.
A Short History of Hairdryers
The beauty parlor became a place of sociability for women in the twentieth century, partly aided by modern technology of hair drying.
Poison and Magic in Caribbean Uprisings
Witchcraft and poisoning were closely connected for both West Africans and the Europeans who enslaved them in the eighteenth-century Caribbean.
Florence Baker, Unsung Survivor
Narrowly escaping slavery herself, Baker risked her life to repress the Saharan slave trade, sought the source of the Nile, and challenged Victorian social conventions.