Tag: French

You’ve heard of Asterix and Obelix, but who really were the Gauls? And why were they such a problem for Rome?

You’ve heard of Asterix and Obelix, but who really were the Gauls? And why were they such a problem for Rome?

by | Apr 20, 2026 | , , | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
The Roman fear of Gauls was heightened by the so-called Cimbric War that took place in earlier years, when a formidable confederacy of Germanic and Gallic tribes inflicted a series of costly defeats upon Rome, threatening Italy itself. But Rome would triumph in the end. Under the leadership of Gaius Marius, the Romans destroyed these tribes in 102/101 BCE in Transalpine and Cisalpine Gaul.

Read More
Napoleon’s bicentenary: why celebrating the French emperor has become so controversial

Napoleon’s bicentenary: why celebrating the French emperor has become so controversial

by | Sep 23, 2025 | , , | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
Napoleon Bonaparte may have died 200 years ago, but the vast ramifications of his rule can still be felt – and not only in France. This year marks the last in a series of bicentenaries since 1969, the 200th anniversary of his birth, but the chance to give the most famous emperor in French history another send-off is proving distinctly tricky – and not only because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Read More
A Belgian farmer moved a rock and accidentally annexed France: the weird and wonderful history of man-made borders

A Belgian farmer moved a rock and accidentally annexed France: the weird and wonderful history of man-made borders

by | Jul 23, 2025 | , | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
Nations establish their borders through treaties. Rivers are sometimes relied on to set boundaries, but even here tensions rise when there are disputes about interpretation. Is the boundary on the river banks, the deepest part of the river, or the very centre of the flow?

Read More
Cubism and Colonialism: How African Art Shaped Picasso’s Vision

Cubism and Colonialism: How African Art Shaped Picasso’s Vision

by | Jun 25, 2025 | | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
In the early decades of the 20th century, modernism forever changed artistic representation. Artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, whose experiments formed the foundations of Cubism, were just some of the many innovators responding to changes in technology and urbanization.
Picasso is possibly one of the most well-known artists today, and much is known about his life and inspirations. However, one influence behind his innovative style is less explored in popular culture—the impact of colonialism. The cubist movement arguably would not be what it became without the legacies of colonialism and imperial conquest.

Read More
What was the Sykes-Picot agreement, and why does it still affect the Middle East today?

What was the Sykes-Picot agreement, and why does it still affect the Middle East today?

by | Jun 16, 2025 | | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
While this may be true, Sykes-Picot is still emblematic of how consequential European colonial ambition was in the Middle East. And while the borders outlined in the agreement did not eventuate, Britain and France still managed to get most of the territory they wanted, with little consideration of local populations. The Sykes-Picot agreement is therefore one of many colonial projects that we are still feeling the ripples of today.

Read More
Why we are still living with the legacy of Waterloo – that ‘most bloody battle’

Why we are still living with the legacy of Waterloo – that ‘most bloody battle’

by | May 5, 2025 | , , | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
Our views of war are sanitised today. In an age of professional armies trained for increasingly technical tasks, few of us have witnessed combat, much less taken part in it. In that vein, commemorations of the 200th anniversary of Waterloo will focus on the battle’s strategic significance. There are, though, individual accounts that give us a glimpse into what sword fights and cavalry charges must have been like – and the deadly consequences of defeat.

Read More
Loading