World history: The stories that shaped us all

Step into the vast tapestry of our shared human past — a world of empires and uprisings, migrations and revolutions, innovations and injustices. Our World History category brings together diverse narratives from every corner of the globe, challenging Eurocentric timelines and spotlighting the voices too often left out of the mainstream record.

From ancient civilisations to modern movements, we explore how cultures have collided, connected, and evolved. This is a space for learning, unlearning, and rethinking the stories we've been told. Whether you're drawn to forgotten kingdoms, global revolutions, or everyday acts of resistance, you'll find a world of insight here, because history isn't just about the past; it's about how we understand ourselves today.

The scheme that bankrupted a nation: Scotland’s Darién disaster

In the summer of 1698, five ships slipped out of the Scottish port of Leith, loaded with wigs, combs, mirrors, and wool blankets. Their destination was a stretch of jungle on the coast of Panama. The …

Was Hitler a socialist? Setting the record straight

There is a persistent claim, often used for political effect, that Adolf Hitler was a socialist. This assertion is provocative by design, but it does not stand up to the fact-based historical record. …

The forgotten fire: A history of the Darfur Genocide

For more than two decades, the people of Darfur have endured mass murder, systematic rape, and the destruction of their homeland. It’s a catastrophe illustrating the world’s repeated failures to …

The rise and fall of the Japanese Empire

For a nation of islands, Japan has always had an uneasy relationship with its horizons. The same sea that protected it for centuries eventually became the highway for its soldiers, traders, and …

The fracturing of the international order in an age of impunity

How tenuous is peace? The honest answer is: considerably more tenuous than most people in the comfortable West assumed for most of the past several decades. The post-Cold War era generated an …

The role and limitations of international law in world affairs

What is international law? International law is, at its simplest, the body of rules and principles that governs relations between sovereign nations. It is not law in the way most people understand …

Did the UK have a Black civil rights movement?

Britain often tells its modern story as one of gradual tolerance, polite reform, and multicultural evolution. Compared to the dramatic confrontations of the American civil rights era, the UK’s …

Who gets to be “American”? Geography, history, and the US claim to the name America

Geographically, the term America doesn’t refer to a single country. It refers to a vast landmass stretching from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of Patagonia, which English speakers …

The Mexican Revolution: Fire, land, and a nation remade

A country on the brink By the dawn of the twentieth century, Mexico had endured three decades under the iron hand of Porfirio Díaz. His regime, known as the Porfiriato, had modernised the country …

Bay of Pigs 1961: The CIA’s failed invasion that changed the Cold War

In April 1961, a small, heavily armed force of Cuban exiles stormed a remote stretch of Cuba’s southern coastline, expecting to spark a nationwide uprising that would topple revolutionary leader Fidel …

Ten dark moments in colonial history

History is often written by the victors, but buried beneath grand empires and riches lies a much darker truth. These are ten of the most disturbing and tragic moments in colonial history. 1. …

The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842): Britain’s imperial disaster in the Hindu Kush

The First Anglo-Afghan War stands as one of the most catastrophic military ventures in British imperial history. What began as a confident assertion of power in Central Asia ended in one of the most …