The Merchants of Venice—In Code
Sixteenth-century Venice conducted its affairs in code, so much so that cryptology was professionalized and regulated by the state.
Building a New Virginia in Liberia
Black American voluntary migrants to Liberia were eager to embrace their African roots, but their vision for the country was very much an American one.
Did Romans Really Fight Rhinos?
A sports historian explains the truth behind the battle scenes in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.
Frederick Gowing, King of Poachers
The cultural construction of poaching meant Gowing’s trespasses were understood differently than other kinds of theft in an industrializing Britain.
The Lemon Gang: Citrus and the Rise of the Mafia
Poverty, disparities in wealth, widespread brigandage, and the dissolution of the feudal system enabled the predatory practices of Sicily’s citrus mafia.
The Wild West of Papal Conclaves
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the death of a pope led to all sorts of chaos, from the destruction of art to armed violence in the streets.
Genesis of the Modern American Right
During the Great Depression, financial elites translated European fascism into an American form that joined high capital with lower middle-class populism.
How a Rice Economy Toppled the Shogun
The co-existence of economies—one based on rice, the other on money—pushed the Tokugawa government toward financial misery and failure.
Whence Warchitecture
The targeted destruction of the built environment during the Bosnian War led to the emergence of a new term in the discourse of urbicide: warchitecture.
HMS Challenger and the History of Science at Sea
Sailing ships were once used as scientific instruments themselves, but in the 1800s, ships like the Challenger were transformed into floating laboratories.