How the Danish sold Tamils into slavery in Scandinavia and the story of one man’s escape to freedom

In the 17th century, the Danish set up a trading post in the village of Tranquebar on Tamil Nadu’s Coromandel Coast and supplied servants to aristocrats.

Ari Gautier

· Dec 25, 2022 · 11:30 am

The ‘unruly women’ who cared for the sick and wounded soldiers in the Anglo-Dutch wars

Relationships between nurses and naval commissioners were frequently strained, as a letter written in April 1665 reveals.

Rachel Clamp

· Nov 29, 2022 · 07:30 pm

In images: On his travels through Siam, explorer Carl Bock collected a trove of cultural artefacts

Apart from various objects, the Norwegian reportedly took back a girl who he believed was the ‘missing link’ in human evolution.

Annabel Gallop

· Nov 28, 2022 · 09:30 pm

How the princely states, used by Britain to consolidate its empire, faded into obscurity

The British monarchy sapped some of these illustrious ruling houses through treaties that gave these rulers power within their territories but none outside.

Sarath Pillai

· Nov 24, 2022 · 11:30 am

Why some British Indian Army officers migrated to Australia to become farmers

A total of 93 officers left India and settled in Australia with significant plots of land.

Karen Stapley

· Nov 20, 2022 · 07:30 pm

How Lydia Muttulakshmi found freedom and her happily ever after, in 19th century Bangalore

Married as a child but abandoned later to the fate of a widow, the young woman one night decided to walk out of her home to a better life.

Ramjee Chandran

· Nov 13, 2022 · 11:30 am

How a 200-year-old embalmed heart connects Goa, Portugal and Brazil

For Brazil, the preserved organ of Dom Pedro I signifies independence from the Portuguese. But for Goa, it meant the decline of thriving trade links.

Luis Dias

· Oct 23, 2022 · 11:30 am

The lost tale of a Goan goldsmith in Lisbon and what it says about Portugal’s colonial conquests

Claims of cultural fusion and co-mingling can erase the brutality and horrors of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Portuguese in India and elsewhere.

Ajay Gandhi

· Sep 25, 2022 · 11:30 am

The story of Henry Coxwell, who invented the ‘concrete lemon’ crystals supplied to British sailors

The soluble crystals were used to make fresh lemons or lemon juice and helped prevent scurvy.

Margaret Makepeace

· Sep 13, 2022 · 07:30 pm

When a British widow petitioned the India Office for financial help in 1868

Charlotte Francis Laing’s request was turned down as an official noted that she received an annual pension of £225 from the Bengal Military Fund.

Margaret Makepeace

· Sep 06, 2022 · 09:30 pm

An 18th-century letter to Bombay shows what it was like to be in service of the East India Company

The missive from factors and merchants in Mocha sheds light on the conditions in the Company’s factories beyond India.

Peter Good

· Aug 17, 2022 · 01:30 pm

Mutton chops and sherry: Luncheons at the India Office in London in 1867

A contractor engaged to supply lunch left within two years because of losses and stagnant compensation.

Margaret Makepeace

· Jul 31, 2022 · 07:30 pm