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A rail revolution: Dan Snow on the meteoric rise of British railways. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Bank of England in a late 18th century illustration. A 1783 investigation into malpractice at the Bank is reminiscent of the current financial crisis. (Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Georgian banking blunders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Black Prince's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral depicts Edward III's son as a resting warrior, a paragon of knightly virtue. The prince conceived the tomb's design himself but not everyone has bought into his favourable assessment of his life's achievements. (Photo by RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

The Black Prince: hero or villain?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine "was the invention that unleashed power on this planet," says Michael Mosley. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Aksum AD 537. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval ploughmen ploughing with oxen

The dark side of the Anglo-Saxons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

First Textbook

Toys and games that killed in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 1864 campaign banner. (David J & Janice Frent/Corbis via Getty Images)

US presidents: Race, religion and re-election?

A Mayan funeral mask, made from jadeite and shell

The Maya and the apocalypse. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Our Lady of Sorrows, by unknown artist (20th century), photographic reproduction, 103x65 cm, inv 1602. Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosian. (Getty Images)

The day a Mexican farmer had a vision of the Virgin Mary. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryYe olde travel guide: Hong Kong 1842. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon's great cultural charade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Victorian trade in dead bodies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robert Louis Stevenson, the 19th-century English poet and novelist perhaps best known for his books 'Treasure Island' and the 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

My history hero: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Uganda railway, which links Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya, was built during the period of British control of East Africa. (SSPL/Getty Images)

The dark side of abolitionism. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A view of Lindisfarne Castle, where a former priory became a naval depot. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Tudor navy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Philadelphia 1774. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Rosa Parks Riding the Bus

My history hero: Rosa Parks (1913-2005). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"Pope Urban II’s address at the Council of Clermont, the moment that triggered the First Crusade, has gone down as perhaps the most influential speech in history," writes Sandbrook. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

A big day in history: The day Pope Urban II exhorted Christians to go on crusade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson mortally wounded at Trafalgar in 1805

Nelson: the unhappy admiral. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alfred the Great and Æthelflæd, 13th century

The Anglo-Saxon cunning woman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British political cartoonist David Low. His caricatures of political figures including Hitler resulted in him being placed in the Nazi 'Black Book' – a list of prominent Britons who were to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain. (Photo by Felix Man/Picture Post/Getty Images

My history hero: Sir David Low (1891–1963). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&A: How did the Colditz escapees plan to get their glider out?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Moscow 1937. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chepstow Castle', C1770S.

The LibraryWales in the Civil War: the last refuge of monarchy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A vintage map of Europe. One of the hardest things for small nations to accept is that they're not in control over their own destinies, says Mark Mazower. (Getty Images)

The LibraryA little history of the world: the importance of small states in global politics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nuclear bomb test. (OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

How Britain got the bomb. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.