Early Modern
Voltaire's Candide (1759): Satire, Optimism and Enlightenment
Candide became a bestseller across Europe despite being banned, and remains the most widely read work of the French Enlightenment.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Babington Plot (1586): The Conspiracy to Kill Elizabeth I
The conspirators were executed in September 1586, and Mary's coded letter approving the plot led to her trial and execution.
Early Modern
Hernando de Soto Expedition (1539-1543): Across the Southeast
No gold or empire was found; de Soto died in 1542 and about 300 survivors reached Mexico in 1543, leaving the earliest written record of the Mississippian chiefdoms.
Contemporary
2008 Financial Crisis: Subprime Mortgages, Lehman and Recession
A near-collapse of the global banking system, massive government rescues and the deepest worldwide recession since the 1930s, followed by sweeping financial regulation.
Contemporary
Good Friday Agreement (1998): Peace in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's main parties and the British and Irish governments agreed a power-sharing settlement, approved by referendums on both sides of the Irish border.
Contemporary
Munich Massacre (1972): Hostage Attack at the Summer Olympics
All eleven Israeli team members taken hostage or attacked were killed, along with a West German police officer; five of the eight attackers died.
Contemporary
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster (1986): What Went Wrong
All seven crew members died; the shuttle fleet was grounded for 32 months while the solid rocket boosters were redesigned and NASA's management was reformed.
Contemporary
Bangladesh Liberation War 1971: The Birth of a New Nation
Pakistani forces in the east surrendered on 16 December 1971 and Bangladesh became an independent state.
Contemporary
Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964): The Clash That Escalated Vietnam
A real clash on 2 August and a probably non-existent attack on 4 August led to US air strikes and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson broad authority to wage war in Vietnam.
Ancient World
Tigranes the Great: The Short-Lived Armenian Empire (95-55 BC)
Tigranes created the largest Armenian state in history, but after defeats by Lucullus he submitted to Pompey in 66 BC and kept only Armenia as a Roman ally.
Ancient World
Huaca Pucllana: The Lima Culture Adobe Pyramid in Miraflores
A major Lima culture ceremonial centre, later reused as a cemetery, now an excavated archaeological site inside the modern city.
Ancient World
Jade Burial Suits of Liu Sheng and Dou Wan: Han Royal Tombs
The excavation revealed two intact Western Han royal tombs and the first complete jade burial suits ever found, now in the Hebei Museum.