Essential History | The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
Sights, attractions and places of interest beyond London
Henry VIII's main objective was to prevent enemy troops of the European Catholic powers from getting ashore at the Downs, Kent. And to achieve that aim he built a series of heavily armed artillery castles along the Kent Coast. Deal Castle is the most elaborate of these remaining today - sixty cannon (with a range [...]
Richborough Roman Fort near Sandwich, Kent, England. Breathtaking site that marks the spot where the invading Roman forces first landed in AD 43 - and their final stronghold before leaving Britain in the early 5th century. Richborough once hosted a deep-water port, long since silted up, making it an ideal point of disembarkation for the [...]
The beginnings The British transatlantic slave trade operated in a organised way for approximately 150 years - from 1660, until its abolition by an act of Parliament in 1807. During that period the British transported around 2.6 million natives of Africa across the Atlantic; to sell to plantation owners in the Caribbean and southern parts [...]
Located near Plaza de Colon, the Jardines del Descubrimiento recall the discovery of America by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus on 12 October 1492, landing at El Salvador in the Bahamas. Voyages of other Spanish-funded ventures during the ‘Siglo de Oro’ are commemorated on the brutalist plinths by architect, Joaquin Vaquero Turcois. Opened in 1970 [...]
The Royal Botanical Garden is a stunning city-centre oasis and base of scientific research in Madrid. Conceived by Charles III in the late 1700s it was deliberately located next to the Prado Museum (originally the Museum of Natural Sciences). The garden has around 5500 species of plant (many brought from former Spanish colonies) – outstripping [...]