History
California’s Wine Industry was Built on Slave Labor
During the 1850s gold rush, vineyard owners used an army of enslaved Native American workers.<p>It’s going to be a long summer for California winemakers. The labor shortage is so acute in Napa and Sonoma counties that grape growers are trucking in workers from miles away and paying them higher wages. …
History Of SlaveryContested Bodies: A New Book on Black Motherhood and Slavery in Jamaica
<i>This post is part of my blog series that announces the publication of selected new books in African American History and African Diaspora Studies.</i> …
History Of SlaveryRome metro excavations unearth 3rd-century 'Pompeii-like scene'
Archaeologists find remains of building and skeleton of a crouching dog that appears to have died in the fire that destroyed it<p>Digging for Rome’s new underground network has unearthed the charred ruins of an early 3rd-century building and the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a crouching dog that …
ArchaeologyWatch: Ronald Reagan and his “War on Drugs”
<b>An American tragedy in three acts</b><p>On October 14, 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared a “war on drugs,” doubling-down on an initiative that was …
Political HistoryUncovering Lisbon’s Forgotten History of Slavery
By all accounts, the Portuguese capital of Lisbon is a strikingly beautiful city, but—like so many entrepôt Mediterranean cities of its kind—it is …
European TravelRecreating The Aroma Of The Ancient City: Incense In The Ancient Mediterranean
What did the ancient Mediterranean smell like? How could scent be used to speak directly to the Gods? Where did the frankincense and myrrh given to the infant Jesus come from? These questions and many more were asked this weekend at a conference at the British School at Rome and the École française …
Ancient HistoryFor Russians, Stalin is the ‘most outstanding’ figure in world history, followed by Putin
MOSCOW — More Russians consider Joseph Stalin the “most outstanding person” in world history than any other leader, according to a poll released Monday. Tied for second in the same survey is the man who has done more than anyone to restore the notorious Soviet dictator's reputation, Russian …
World NewsThe Dormouse-Fattening Jars of Ancient Rome
For the plumpest, tastiest rodents.<p>The ancient Romans consumed some strange foods, ranging from sow’s womb to dormice, which were known as <i>glires</i> in …
Ancient RomeGoodbye Nonpartisan Journalism. And Good Riddance.
The Friday Cover<p>The Friday Cover is POLITICO Magazine's email of the week's best, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.<p>Disinterested reporting is overrated.<p>We don’t yet know to what extent Donald Trump will succeed in remaking the United States, but his candidacy and presidency are already …
JournalismCould The Roman Empire Have Survived?
No empire, from Sargon’s Akkadian Empire to the Soviet Union, lasts forever. There’s always an expiration date.<p>Internal contradictions and structural …
RomeThe CIA wrote a torture manual more than 50 years ago, and then gave it to Latin American dictators
Exposed in 1997, the document is not easy to read<p>It was long suspected that the CIA was in the business of torture. But in 1997, the American public …
CultureHistorians Shouldn’t Be Pundits
Donald Trump might be disastrous for most Americans and a danger to the world, but he has been a boon to historians. The more grotesque his presidency appears, the more historians are called on to make sense of it, often in 30-second blasts on cable news or in quick-take quotes in a news article.<p>As …
OpinionWelcome to Made by History
“Instead of making history, we are made by history.” The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. meant the words as an admonition to his congregation when he addressed them in 1954. As black Americans who’d been yoked first to slavery and then to Jim Crow, King argued, they had allowed themselves to be …
Martin Luther King, Jr.The big question: Is Africa a prisoner of its past?
<i>Illustration by Davide Bonazzi.</i><p>Emma Dabiri: “It is far easier to continue the centuries-old trope of African barbarity, or at best …
AfricaEarly Animal Hieroglyphics Show How Egyptian Language Evolved | International Business Times
Newly discovered hieroglyphics that are more than 5,000 years old relay a message about the universe to archaeologists as well as tell them about how …
Ancient EgyptThe Romans and their World: A Short Introduction (Review)
Review<p>by Caleb Curry<br>published on 26 June 2017<p><b>Rating:</b> <b><br>Audience:</b> University<b><br>Difficulty:</b> Medium<p><b>This book captures the scope and importance of Roman</b> …
Ancient RomeEven the ancient Greeks thought their best days were history – Johanna Hanink
This May, Greece’s parliament passed yet another austerity bill in the hopes of securing more European debt relief. For nearly seven and a half …
Ancient GreeceJFK in Germany, 1963: Rare and Classic Photos
Not published in LIFE. President John F. Kennedy in Cologne, Germany, June 1963.<br>John Loengard—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images<p>1 of 25<p>First off, …
GermanyA Chat With Karyn Parsons On Sweet Blackberry's Mission To Expose Kids To Lesser-Known Black History
Black history is as essential to American history as its white-dominated components. Oftentimes, our history’s recounting is usually assigned to our …
Black HistoryBullet which killed Lord Nelson to go on display in the Battle of Trafalgar hero's home county
The musket ball which killed Admiral Lord Nelson is to go on on display in his home county of Norfolk for the first time.<p>The 15mm lead ball is …
Napoleon BonaparteWith one raw, irresistible song, James Brown found the sound of the racial unrest of 1967
‘Cold Sweat’ broke one genre and helped create another<p>In early July of 1967, legendary producer and songwriter Clyde Otis penned a letter to radio …
MusicAnother major US city is removing a Confederate monument
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Crews on Monday began dismantling a divisive Confederate monument in a sprawling park near downtown St. Louis after the city and the Missouri Civil War Museum reached an agreement to have it moved.<p>As part of the deal, the museum will pay for the removal of the 38-foot-tall, …
Blame the ancient Greeks for the selfie stick
Millennials, take heed. If your parents said you could be whatever you wanted to be when you grew up, they may have set you up for an unhappy future, …
Ancient GreeceOblivious to History, Trump's Turning Up the Heat on Iran. He Should Look at the 1953 CIA Coup.
So sensitive was this operation that not all documents have been declassified for public view, even after the passing of almost 64 years.<p><i>In 1979, just as the Shah of Iran was overthrown and the the reign of the ayatollahs began, a former Central Intelligence Agency operative named Kermit Roosevelt,</i> …
United StatesSt. Francis Dam could be a ticking time bomb in 2018
When the St. Francis Dam collapsed in 1928, it was considered the worst civil engineering disaster in California's history. Are we in danger of history repeating itself? Watch and find out in <i>Mashable</i>'s brand new series, <i>Present History</i>.
WaterThird-Century Structure Discovered in Rome
ROME, ITALY—Construction of Rome’s new metro Line C has uncovered traces of buildings dating to the third century A.D., according to a report in <i>The</i> …
Archaeology5 Worst Submarine Disasters in Naval History
Since the Second World War, the United States, Russia and China—and a host of other nations—have lost vessels and their crews to accidents. Operating …
Military HistoryRemembering Helmut Kohl, a man shaped by history
The German flag flies at half-staff outside the Reichstag building during a commemoration at the German Parliament last week in Berlin for the late former German chancellor Helmut Kohl. (Felipe Trueba/European Pressphoto Agency)When a fairly unknown politician from Rhineland-Palatinate took over …
German HistoryThe verdict on Trump's SupCo win: Trust the experts
**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.** <b><br>On the roster: The verdict on Trump’s SupCo win: Trust the experts - Crucial moment for ObamaCare cuts plan - Refugee ban gets a reprieve - What if Kennedy retires? - And the dogs are loving it</b><p><b>THE VERDICT ON TRUMP’S SUPCO WIN:</b> …
Ancient RomeSalvador Dali’s Remains to Be Exhumed After Paternity Claim
MADRID — A Madrid judge has ordered the remains of surrealist Spanish artist Salvador Dali to be exhumed in order to take DNA samples following a paternity claim by a woman from the north of Spain, the court said on Monday.<p>The court named the woman as Maria Pilar Abel, who is from the northeastern …
Art History