History Guild publishes articles that provide interesting insights into history. We cover all aspects of history, from around the world and across time.
The Winter War: How Finland Held Against the USSR
Reading time: 8 minutes
Ukraine is not the first time Russia has got bogged down invading a smaller nation.
As the Western powers of Britain and France prepared to make good on their promise to Poland in 1939, another war was waged on the Eastern Front: the Russo-Finnish War.
Men traded wares – but women traded knowledge: what a new archaeological study tells us about PNG sea trade
Reading time: 5 minutes
Hundreds of years ago it was women who caused cultural traditions to spread – possibly through intermarriage – linking communities along Papua New Guinea’s south coast.
The 1918 Meuse-Argonne campaign was a disaster for the US army, so journalists glamorised
Reading time: 5 minutes
The only extended campaign American soldiers fought as an independent force during the first world war was the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Launched in late September 1918 as part of the final allied offensive on the western front, it was the largest and most deadly campaign the US army had ever fought.
Rome’s First Great Test: The Punic Wars
Reading time: 8 minutes
From its mythical founding in 753 BCE, early Rome was no stranger to warfare.
In fact, it was forged in the flames of war and expansion. Minor feuds led to the incorporation of the Etruscans, the Latin Wars grew Rome’s territory across central Italy, and the Samnite Wars expanded Rome into a serious regional power.
How ancient texts saved millions: A scientist-historian’s discovery of the cure for Malaria
Reading time: 7 minutes
One of Earth’s oldest, and deadliest diseases. Malaria has been around since the dawn of civilisation, with evidence of Malaria antigens recently being discovered in Egyptian remains from 3200 BC. In the 20th Century alone, up to 300 million people died from Malaria – even in an era of advancing modern medicine and a vaccine explosion following WW2.
Feasting rituals – and the cooperation they require – are a crucial step toward human civilization
Reading time: 7 minutes
Both bread and wine are products of settled society. They represent the power to control nature and create civilization, converting the wild into the tamed, the raw into the cooked – and their transformation cannot be easily done alone. The very act of transforming the wild into the civilized is a social one, requiring many people to work together.
Medieval peasants probably enjoyed their holiday festivities more than you do!
Reading time: 7 minutes
When people think of the European Middle Ages, it often brings to mind grinding poverty, superstition and darkness. But the reality of the 1,000-year period from 500 to 1500 was much more complex. This is especially true when considering the peasants, who made up about 90% of the population.
For all their hard work, peasants had a fair amount of downtime. Add up Sundays and the many holidays, and about one-third of the year was free of intensive work. Celebrations were frequent and centered around religious holidays like Easter, Pentecost and saints’ days.
Request for compensation for the Boston Tea Party
Reading time: 3 minutes
On 16 December 1773, American colonists threw 340 chests of tea into Boston harbour in an event now known as the Boston Tea Party. This letter from the East India Company gives a breakdown of teas destroyed – and asks for reimbursement.
Life aboard a submarine in the Med during WW2
Reading time: 4 minutes
Though first invented in the 19th century, submarines didn’t really come into their own as a weapon of war until World War Two, when they saw widespread use by all parties in all theatres. Able to hide underwater and strike whenever they wanted, they were feared by friend and foe alike, but what was life like for the men that crewed these small underwater craft?
Brewing Mesopotamian beer brings a sip of this vibrant ancient drinking culture back to life
Reading time: 6 minutes
If you could travel back in time to one of the bustling cities of ancient Mesopotamia (c. 4000–330 B.C.), for example, you would have no trouble finding yourself a bar or a beer. Beer was the beverage of choice in Mesopotamia. In fact, to be a Mesopotamian was to drink beer.
Why does Putin insist Ukranians and Russians are ‘one people’? The answer spans centuries of colonisation and resistance
Reading time: 8 minutes
The Kremlin’s insistence that Ukrainians and Russians are the same mirrors the older imperial model: expand, absorb and claim these territories were always part of Russia. Breaking free from this “mental empire” demands a deep shift in how Russians, Ukrainians, and the world view Eastern Europe’s past and present. When the Soviet Union collapsed, many hoped for a new era of cooperation in Eastern Europe. Instead, authoritarian politics and old beliefs about empire have led to a devastating conflict. By refusing to be pulled back into Russia’s orbit, Ukrainians send a message about self-determination. They reject the claim bigger nations can absorb smaller ones simply by invoking a shared past.
Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century judge and ambassador, travelled further than Marco Polo. The Rihla records his adventures
Reading time: 10 minutes
Ibn Battuta, was born in Tangier, Morocco, on February 24, 1304. From a statement in his celebrated travel book the Rihla (“legal affairs are my ancestral profession,”) he evidently came from an intellectually distinguished family.
Chinese betrayal – how India and China Became Mortal Enemies
Reading time: 8 minutes
Across the 19th and 20th Centuries, two of History’s greatest powers/regions took a back seat in global leadership, plagued by colonial conquests and internal power struggles.
Yet as WW2 came to a close, the mighty subcontinent of India declared its independence from the British Empire in 1947. At a similar time in 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) established solid control over the country, ushering in an age of Communist China under Mao.
As these two major players looked to rebuild their countries and re-enter the world stage, a question would arise: what will the Sino-Indian relationship take shape?
Fruit and veg, exercise, frequent bloodletting and more tips on staying healthy from medieval travellers
Reading time: 6 minutes
Travellers have always faced health hazards when far from home. Medieval people were no exception. Pilgrims, crusaders and others were warned by preachers such as 13th century Jacques de Vitry of “dangers on land, dangers at sea, the dangers of thieves, the dangers of predators, the dangers of battles”.
80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise?
Reading time: 9 minutes
Fascist “strongmen” like Mussolini accumulate power thanks to people’s inabilities to believe that the barbarisation of political life – including open violence against opponents – could happen in their societies. And there is a final, unsettling lesson of Mussolini’s career. Il Duce was a skilled propagandist who portrayed himself as leading a popular revolt to restore respectable values. He was able to win widespread popular support, including among the elites, even as he destroyed Italian democracy. Yet, if the monarchy, military, other political parties and the church had attempted a principled, united opposition to fascism early enough, most of Mussolini’s crimes would likely have been avoided.
“A More Intimate Knowledge of it All:” The History of Museums
Reading time: 7 minutes Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonians, was a traditionalist. As his empire faded, he made desperate attempts to resuscitate its glorious past. Even his own daughter’s name, Ennigaldi-Nanna, was ancient. Ennigaldi-Nanna served as high...
‘The great mass of waters killed many thousands’: how earthquakes and tsunamis shook ancient Greece and Rome
Reading time: 5 minutes
Like us, ancient people had many things to say about natural disasters. So, what information did they leave behind for us, and what can we learn from them?
LT Reginald Black MC
Reading time: 12 minutes
Reginald Black was born in Double Bay on 4th July 1885 to The Hon. Reginald James Black MLC and Mrs Eleanor Black. He was educated at the Church of England Grammar School (Churchie), North Sydney, and at the time of his enlistment listed his occupation as a grazier operating the property “Jerralong Station” near Boggabri in the Liverpool Plains region between Gunnedah and Narrabri. Despite the location of his property, he was a highly regarded member of the Gordon Cricket Club and was recognized as the first member of the club to enlist in World War One.
Francis Bacon’s Essays explore the darker side of human nature. 400 years on, they still instruct and unnerve
Reading time: 6 minutes
It’s 400 years since the publication of the complete edition of British philosopher Francis Bacon’s Essays. Not without pride, Bacon (1561-1626) muses in the preface that his little book’s Latin version might “last, as long as books last.” The Essays have, in fact, never been out of print since 1625.
New research shows WWII dominates Australians’ knowledge of military history. But big gaps remain
Reading time: 5 minutes
Eighty years ago this week, Japan surrendered after nearly four years of war in the Asia-Pacific. For Australia, this meant the end of not only the war in the Pacific, but also the second world war that had begun six years earlier, in September 1939. In that time, around one million Australians – approximately 15% of the population – served in the armed forces. Over half served overseas, with nearly 40,000 killed and more than 66,000 wounded. But what do Australians today know about this epochal moment in our history? We surveyed 1,500 Australians aged 18 and older to find out.
The ancient Greeks invented democracy – and warned us how it could go horribly wrong
Reading time: 5 minutes
In modern times, democracy is the word we use to refer to a system of government where the people elect representatives to push for their interests in the national assembly. Unlike in ancient times, in most modern countries with democratic forms of government most adults are eligible to take part in politics and vote for representatives.
Among the Stars: A History of Space Travel
Reading time: 8 minutes
From seeing shooting stars to picturing constellations, humans have long looked up at the night sky and imagined what might exist above us.
Yet, historically speaking, humans have only very recently discovered what exists in our very own solar system, let alone sent people and spacecraft up to explore it.
But how did we go from discovering our own continents to exploring the stars?
Here is everything you need to know about the history of space travel and exploration – from our earliest understanding of space to the events that led to rocketry, astronauts, and landing on the moon. And with fingers crossed, this story is only just the beginning.
Anzac Guerrillas – Podcast
When the Germans took thousands of Allied prisoners during the catastrophic Greek campaign of 1941, a handful of Australian soldiers escaped from prison trains in occupied Yugoslavia. What awaited them was not passage home, but a brutal underground war where the fate of a nation was at stake.
Told through the eyes of two of the Australian escapees – mineworker Ross Sayers and storeman Ronald Jones – Anzac Guerrillas is the incredible true story of how these men became resistance fighters, double agents and spies, evading the Nazis and exposing a group of genocidal collaborators.
Samhain, the Saints, and Spooky Season: The History of Halloween
Reading time: 6 minutes
Today, Halloween is largely celebrated as a lighthearted, secular holiday—a child-friendly carnival of candy corn and costumes. Historically, however, this has not always been the case. The traditions that have blended and morphed into what we call ‘Halloween’ were once held sacred, and to some, they continue to be.
Still, across this transformation, borne out over thousands of years, many ancient traditions endure. The tricks, treats, and trappings of our modern Halloween parties might seem eerily familiar to a Roman, a Celt, or a medieval Christian—even if the context has changed.