Pirate hunters

Visit any waterside tavern along the coast of Britain and you’re likely to hear some yarn about its smuggling past, no doubt embellished with each sip of ale: barrels clandestinely offloaded onto a mo

FT has covered these a number of times, with one of the earliest and most disastrous examples taking place in Hammersmith in 1804 (see FT296:42-45, 310:30-35, 452:16-18). Then a semi-rural village on

That threatened thrones

There are many highs to cruising around the Adriatic in high summer and getting paid for the pleasure but somehow it’s the shuddering lows that stick in the mind. Given that it is a very human trait t

Before the sun rose over the windswept pampas on the morning of 20 September 1835, the stillness of Porto Alegre was broken by the thunder of hooves and gunfire. A band of rebels launched a daring ass

Strange murder mysterie s from times gone by