Filles du roi: the Founding Mothers of New France
Sent by Louis XIV, the filles du roi were sent to North America to birth new generations of colonists and help conquer the land.
US–Iran Relations: 1953
What really happened in Iran back in the day, and what did the United States have to do with it?
The Rise and Fall of the Equestrian Cultures of the Plains
The introduction of the horse to North America by the Spanish transformed the lives of the Indigenous peoples of the Plains in decidedly mixed ways.
Celebrating the Fourth of July
Take a moment to contemplate the history and complexity of Independence Day, American Style.
Pan-Asianism Redux, or Why We Think Japan Is Special
Observers have long hailed Japan’s aptitude for cultural synthesis. Is this characterization warranted, or does it reflect a collective fantasy about exceptionalism?
Exporting the Convict Clause: Slaves of the State in the Canal Zone
The criminalization of Blackness enabled by the Thirteenth Amendment brought chain gangs to the construction projects of the Panama Canal Zone.
Of Heights and Men
Given its strong gendered associations, it may be surprising that height hasn’t been well studied by historians.
Coffee for the Resistance
During Indira Gandhi’s autocratic Emergency in 1975, one New Delhi coffeehouse became a key gathering place for opponents of her politics.
Coco De Mer: The Magical Derrière of the Sea
Once viewed as a precious item of mysterious origin, the seed of the coco do mer palm, though better understood today, remains a rare and valuable commodity.
How a Postwar German Literary Classic Helped Eclipse Painter Emil Nolde’s Relationship to Nazism
While Nolde was one of the many victims of the Third Reich’s repressive responses to “degenerate art,” he was also one of Nazism’s great admirers.