In the past Empires were built on the demand for spices. What was so special about spices?  Basically it was that they were valuable, imperishable and portable.  Before modern technology, in particular modern transport, they were just about the only commodity which it was technically feasible to trade on a global scale.  But as technology has

I am indebted to the highly followable  @TLockyer on Twitter for drawing my attention to a fascinating paper available via the marvelous Medievalist.net resource. http://www.medievalists.net/2011/05/01/franchise-conflict-the-tide-of-antipopes-in-the-aftermath-of-the-eastern-schism/ This looks at the idea that the Church can be thought of as a franchise in quite a lot of detail and uses this idea to interpret so key historical

First off – they may by satires but they aren’t really laugh out loud funny. There are a few mildly funny stories, but nothing that a modern stand up comedian could do anything with. But there are times when they bring a smile to your face, and as you read more and get to know

I have given quite a lot of coverage to the individual episodes of Niall Ferguson’s series Civilization, Is the West History?, so I thought it made sense to round it all off with a review of all six programmes as a whole.   Each of them explores a particular aspect of how the West has

The rapid rise of Christianity has often been considered to be a remarkable event in itself, and the fact that it acquired so many adherents so quickly is often held to be a miracle in its own right that further confirms the truth of the message. Recent calculations are a bit more sober.  Prior to

I had watched the rest of the series when it was broadcast and blogged it instantly.  I couldn’t do that for the last episode because I was away at a conference to do with my work.  Not many people work on a Sunday evening, but I think Niall would approve.  In the West we used