Articles

The 3 Best free online libraries for reading books and historical sources

For students, writers, researchers, and history lovers, access to reliable books and primary sources can feel like a luxury. Academic databases often sit behind paywalls, rare historical texts can …

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 …

Bartolomé de las Casas and the birth of human rights

In the blood-soaked early decades of Spanish conquest in the Americas, one man’s voice rang out against the violence with a fury that would echo across centuries. Bartolomé de las Casas, …

William Randolph Hearst: The king of Yellow Journalism

Few Americans have shaped the modern media landscape as profoundly, or as controversially, as William Randolph Hearst. He didn’t just publish newspapers; he weaponised them. He didn’t merely report …

Martin Robison Delany: The Abolitionist, Civil War Major, and Father of Black Nationalism

Martin Robison Delany was many things in one lifetime — abolitionist, doctor, newspaper editor, explorer, political theorist, soldier, and arguably the first major Black nationalist thinker in …

A century of Black history commemorations: How Black History Month began and why it matters today

In 2026, the United States commemorates a significant milestone: 100 years of Black History Month celebrations. The official theme for this year, A Century of Black History Commemorations, marks 100 …

Top 10 most influential books in history

Throughout human history, certain books have had an enormous impact on the world, not just in literature but in politics, religion, science, and society. These are the texts that have shaped …

Standing firm in power and pride: Eight Black people who shaped history

The theme for UK Black History Month this year is “standing firm in power and pride”, a fitting lens through which to examine some of the individuals whose lives embodied resilience, …

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 …

Operation Ajax and the shadow of empire: The 1953 Iranian coup

Operation Ajax is the story of how a democratic government was destroyed to protect oil interests, how intelligence agencies perfected techniques of covert regime change, and how the consequences of …

The Great Game: Britain and Russia’s strategic rivalry in Central Asia

The Great Game stands as one of history’s most enduring geopolitical rivalries, a century-long strategic competition between the British and Russian Empires that shaped the destiny of Central …