Central America

Dancers perform in a Cinco de Mayo celebration

Q&A What does Cinco de Mayo commemorate?

A depiction of the execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico by firing squad

The Siege of Querétaro: the downfall of Maximilian I of Mexico

Pod Edward Shawcross WL

Mexico’s ill-fated Austrian emperor

Henry Avery stands on the shore holding a cutlass, while his ship Fancy battles the Ganj-i-Sawai in the background

The real pirates of the Caribbean: your guide to Nassau’s pirate republic

HEX_Voices_EmmaDabiri

Emma Dabiri “He dreamed a career that seemed impossible and made it a reality”

An illustration of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865

Jamaica’s Morant Bay Rebellion: brutality and outrage in the British empire

Two Hitler Youth who have surrendered to Allied Forces, Germany, 1945. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

First World War

Innocence under fire: how children were used in warfare of the past

John F Kennedy with US Army officials during the Cuban missile crisis

“We are eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked”: how the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated

Lucy Bland discusses the childhood experiences of babies fathered by African-American GIs stationed in Britain during the Second World War. (Image from Getty Images)

Second World War

Wartime Britain’s mixed-race babies

Meeting in Tenochtitlan between Hernan Cortes

Two worlds collide: Spanish conquistadors and Aztecs

HMT Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury Docks

Bound for Britain: your guide to the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush

A depiction of the Haiti Rebellion

The Haitian Revolution: the enslaved Africans who rose up against France

Rebecca Simon responds to your questions on the ‘golden age’ of piracy, when bands of buccaneers menaced the high seas, preying on merchant vessels.

The golden age of piracy: everything you wanted to know

Professor Matthew Restall tackles listener questions and popular search queries about the central American civilisation. (Image by Getty Images)

General ancient history

The Maya: everything you wanted to know

Spy plane photos revealed that missile bases were being built on Cuba, prompting the crisis. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What if... The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated?