World History

16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Thinking about World History: Historic Maps as Sources

Blue, green, and orange map, centering on a projection from of the globe oriented around the North Pole

What can old maps teach us about world history? What sorts of evidence do they offer, and is displaying evidence the main purpose of these maps, or can they do other things?

Peter Nekola
August 1, 2017

15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, Collection Essays

The Medieval Spice Trade

How were spices used by medieval Europeans, and why were spices so valuable in medieval Europe?

Sarah Peters Kernan
March 28, 2017

17th Century, Collection Essays

Foods of the Columbian Exchange

How did the Columbian Exchange shape food culture in the modern world?

Sarah Peters Kernan
March 14, 2017

19th Century, Collection Essays

Abolition and European Imperialism in East Africa, 1845-1893

What were the links between abolition and imperialism in East Africa?

Nathaniel Mathews, Binghamton University
January 26, 2017

16th Century, Collection Essays

Tudor Visual Culture

How does studying visual culture help us to understand history better?

Libby Karlinger Escobedo, Ph.D.
January 12, 2017

16th Century, 17th Century, Collection Essays

Religious Change and Print Culture in the Reformation

How did the changes in religion during the Reformation shape the medium of print? How did religious leaders and thinkers attempt to interact with their audience(s)? How did the ways in which religious figures used print pave the way for modern mass media?

Dr. Chris Fletcher
December 6, 2016

13th Century, 14th Century, 15th Century, Collection Essays

The Legacy of the Middle Ages in the Renaissance and Beyond

Left-hand page from a bound manuscript book with two columns of Latin text and visible guidelines. At the top of the left-hand column is a decorative capital. Parts of the text are decorated with a blue-and-red border.

Dr. Karen Christianson, Newberry Library
May 13, 2016

18th Century, 19th Century, Collection Essays

Living in British Colonial India, 1750–1850

Why did British imperialism take the form it did in India? How did this change the lives of colonial servants in India? Why did individual Britons go to India? What did they expect to find there? What common experiences did they have?

Ruby Daily
October 29, 2015

15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, Collection Essays

Daily Life in Early Modern France

How did handwritten documents shape life in the early modern period? What can these documents tell us about the experiences of early modern people?

Blake Smith with Caroline Prud'Homme
August 28, 2015

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Trade, Diplomacy, and China’s Modern Transformation

Image of a town square filled with onlookers and officials at two tables. On the left, men in traditional Chinese dress look concerned and hold themselves aloof from the men on the right, who are dressed in military garb.

How have China’s economic and diplomatic ties to the outside world shaped its modern history?

Neal Dugre
June 24, 2015

20th Century, Collection Essays

Perspectives on the Mexican Revolution

What social conditions contributed to the revolution? How did the United States seek to influence events in Mexico? How did artists and writers respond to the war?

Hana Layson with Christopher Boyer
February 21, 2014

16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, Collection Essays

Maps and the Beginnings of Colonial North America

What can maps tell us about how people from different times, places, and cultures make sense of their world? How did maps and mapmaking influence the development of colonial North America?

Neal Dugre
September 1, 2013