Q&a

One answer to this question is relatively straightforward. For much of Greek history, people living near the coast or on the islands ate plenty of fish and seafood – not out of obsession, but out of p

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

So did Gerry and the Pacemakers. Still, suppose we should, after Portia in The Merchant of Venice, afford them some Quality of Mersey. I’ve previously [FT255:17] surveyed the archæology and history of

Many people associate clans with Scotland, but the word originated in Ireland in the early Middle Ages. It derives from the Irish clann, meaning children, and is used to describe a highly organised hi

How the Qin forged a great power from the fragments of the Warring States

The confident and aggressive Romans brought savagery, great taste and efficiency to the Cotswolds, crowning Cirencester Britain’s second city, says Charles Harris