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Sweden’s forgotten revolution
Historian article
People are sometimes surprised to learn that for much of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, Sweden was one of Europe’s great powers. The revolution that transformed Swedish government following the death of Karl XII at the end of the Great Northern War is still less widely-known. But though largely carried...
Sweden’s forgotten revolution
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Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course
Online self-guided short course for lifelong learners
Introduction
The Berlin Wall became a symbol of a time in history, and a physical defining point in an otherwise covert series of battles. To study and explore the Berlin Wall is to explore how the Cold War manifested itself in Central Europe and the impact it had on one...
Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course
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Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
Historian article
Michael Crumplin traces developments in surgery that can be directly attributed to changes in the conduct of war.
Little doubt exists that war accelerates and innovates medical care. Today, our armed services can rely upon sound medical treatment if they are sick or wounded, with survival rates of above 90%. This...
Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
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Film: Veteran Mervyn Kersh Talks about his experience of World War II
An HA film to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day
Mervyn Kersh was a young man from South London whose army service included arriving into Normandy in the first few days of the invasion, crossing the Rhine and being a British Jewish serviceman in Germany when the war ended.
In this film released to commemorate VE Day Mervyn describes his...
Film: Veteran Mervyn Kersh Talks about his experience of World War II
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The Scottish dream of Darien
Historian article
John McKendrick considers how Scotland’s wish to create a trading empire was dashed and made the Act of Union of 1707 almost inevitable.
The Scottish dream of Darien
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The Tudor monarchy in Ireland
Historian article
Sean Connolly illustrates how Tudor dreams of a reformed Ireland were not realised – instead tensions between Irish magnates and the English Crown often erupted into violence.
The Tudor monarchy in Ireland
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The Waggoners’ Memorial
Historian article
Paula Kitching introduces a very remarkable First World War memorial to a specific group of Yorkshire workers.
The Waggoners’ Memorial
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Alfred versus the Viking Great Army
Historian article
Stunning archaeological discoveries have shed new light on the reign of Alfred the Great and his struggles with the Vikings, revealing the might of the Viking armies and the international connections of his kingdom.
Alfred versus the Viking Great Army
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We will remember them: well, most of them
Historian article
Richard Broadhead provides a personal view on whether the mammoth task of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission can always be fulfilled, especially at a time of so many anniversaries.
We will remember them: well, most of them
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The German prisoner-of-war camp in Dorchester
Historian article
Dave Martin investigates why there is a war memorial for German soldiers, ‘buried in a foreign field’, in a Dorset churchyard.
The German prisoner-of-war camp in Dorchester
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The End of Germany’s Colonial Empire
Historian article
Daniel Steinbach asks why the loss of the German colonies in Africa was perceived as a powerful symbol of Germany’s deliberate humiliation at the end of the First World War.
Famously, Germany’s first and last shots of the First World War were fired in Africa. From its beginning to its...
The End of Germany’s Colonial Empire
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Podcast Series: The Age of Revolutions
Multipage Article
This podcast series was commissioned as part of the HA’s education programme on the Age of Revolutions period, funded by the Age of Revolution legacy project. They were recorded with leading academic historians and are intended to shed light on a variety of perspectives on the period.
These podcasts were...
Podcast Series: The Age of Revolutions
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Mission to Kabul: Destabilising the British strategic position, 1916
Historian article
Jules Stewart gives us an insight into how the Germans attempted to destabilise the British strategic position in Afghanistan during the Great War.
On a state visit to Berlin in 1928, the Emir of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan was shown a display of the latest in German technology, which included a...
Mission to Kabul: Destabilising the British strategic position, 1916
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Bismarck after Fifty Years
Classic Pamphlet
This notable essay by Dr. Erich Eyck, the most distinguished Bismarckian scholar of the mid-twentieth century was written on the invitation of the HA to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bismark's death. Dr. Eyck, a German Liberal of the school of Ludwig Bamberger, found his way to England in the...
Bismarck after Fifty Years
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Welsh archers at Agincourt: myth and reality
Historian article
Adam Chapman debates the evidence for a Welsh presence among Henry V’s highly-successful force of archers at Agincourt in 1415.
Michael Drayton, in his poem of 1627, The Bataille of Agincourt, described the Welsh presence in Henry V's army: ‘who no lesse honour ow'd To their own king, nor yet...
Welsh archers at Agincourt: myth and reality
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The archer's stake and the battle of Agincourt
Historian article
Our perspective on how archers performed in battle is enhanced byMark Hinsley's research into their use of protective stakes.
On the approach to Agincourt in 1415 a small skirmish took place at Corbie, on the Somme. A force of French men-at-arms sallied out from the town and cut up some...
The archer's stake and the battle of Agincourt
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Podcast Series: Canadian Confederation
Multipage Article
In this podcast Professor Edward MacDonald of the University of Prince Edward Island discusses the origins of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, Canadian Confederation and the development of Canada over the 20th Century.
Podcast Series: Canadian Confederation
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The First Crusade
Pamphlet
Nine centuries after enthusiasm for pope Urban's expedition to Jerusalem swept western Europe the phenomenon of the first crusade continues to fascinate. This pamphlet examines the nature of the crusades and the motives of those who joined it, describes the hardships of the long journey to the Holy Land and...
The First Crusade
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Podcast Series: The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates
Multipage Article
In this set of podcasts Emeritus Professor Gerald Hawting of SOAS, University of London provides an introduction to the Umayyad (661-750) and Abbasid (750-1258) Caliphates.
Podcast Series: The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates
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The Origins of the First World War
Classic Pamphlet
The First World War broke out suddenly and unexpectedly in midsummer 1914, following the murder of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Hapsburg, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, at Sarajevo, in Bosnia, on 28 June. Since no war involving the European great powers had occurred since 1871, the possibility of...
The Origins of the First World War
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Podcast Series: The Mughal Empire
Multipage Article
In this set of podcasts Ushma Williams looks at the rise, fall and legacy of the Mughal Empire.
Podcast Series: The Mughal Empire
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The Coming of War in 1939
Classic Pamphlet
I. The Legacy of VersaillesThe Outbreak of a second world war on 1 September 1939 might have been expected to produce in due course a great controversy on ‘war guilt'. But there has been nothing comparable with the debate which took place during the 1920s on the 1914 issues. The angel...
The Coming of War in 1939
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1914: The Coming of the First World War
Classic Pamphlet
This pamphlet argues that the outbreak of the First World War represented not so much the culmination of a long process started by Bismarck and his successors, as the relatively sudden breakdown of a system that had in fact preserved the peace and contained the dangerous Eastern Question for over...
1914: The Coming of the First World War
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The American Diplomatic Tradition
Classic Pamphlet
Indisputably, the United States of America has been and continues to be the leading power of the twentieth century. No country or people, however large or small, has been immune from American influence. A succession of American presidents have become international celebrities whose personal strengths and weaknesses are discussed and disssected...
The American Diplomatic Tradition
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Nazism and Stalinism
Classic Pamphlet
Is it legitimate to compare the Nazi and Stalinist regimes? There might seem little room for doubt. It is often taken as self-evident that the two regimes were variations of a common type. They are bracketed together in school and university courses, as well as text books, under labels such...
Nazism and Stalinism