Past and Present

Global Rumours: The Press, Telegraphy and the Boxer War in China, Summer 1900 Abstract. In the summer of 1900, at the height of the Boxer War, the European and North American press began to spread the story that all the Western forei

From the current issue: "Global Rumours: The Press, Telegraphy and the Boxer War in China, Summer 1900"

by Thoralf Klein (@lborouniversity.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

"Neglect of technological unemployment in academic circles has given rise to a common view in debates about the future of work that any negative impacts of innovation are short-lived...the scale and duration of unemployment question sanguine views about the consequences of technological change."

Economic Change, Silver, and the Plague of 664–687 in England* Abstract. Bede and other authors describe a destructive wave of plague sweeping across Britain and Ireland in the period 664–87. In the decades around and

On advance access: "Economic Change, Silver, and the Plague of 664-687 in England"

by @rorynaismith.bsky.social (@department-asnc.bsky.social)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860* Abstract. When Giuseppe Garibaldi set sail for Sicily on the campaign that led to the unification of Italy in 1860, he gave a group of exiled political rad

From the current issue: "Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860"

by @danielobanche.bsky.social (Scuola Superiore Meridionale Naples)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Papyrus Economies and the Experience of Early Medieval Papal Documents* Abstract. The medium of papyrus, a ubiquitous, state-sponsored product in the Roman world, was turned by the empire’s loss of Egypt in the 630s–640s into a

On advance access: "Papyrus Economies and the Experience of Early Medieval Papal Documents"

by @cjg70.bsky.social (@camhistory.bsky.social) and Benjamin Savill (@freieuniversitaet.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

On advance access: "Protecting Soviet Muslims: Muhajir Activism and the Minority Treaties, 1917–1934"

by @roy1987.bsky.social (@uomhistdept.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Protecting Soviet Muslims: Muhajir Activism and the Minority Treaties, 1917–1934∗ Abstract. It is a historiographical convention to view interwar debates over the protection of vulnerable populations through the prism of ‘minority rights

On advance access: "Protecting Soviet Muslims: Muhajir Activism and the Minority Treaties, 1917–1934"

by Roy Bar Sadeh (@uomhistdept.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

The "Industrial Revolution" in the spinning trade: a profoundly gendered, half-century-long, unemployment shock.

Technological Unemployment in the British Industrial Revolution: The Destruction of Hand-Spinning* Abstract. This article analyses the elimination of hand-spinning in Britain during the Industrial Revolution and shows that it produced large-scale technol

From the current issue: "Technological Unemployment in the British Industrial Revolution: The Destruction of Hand-Spinning"

by Benjamin Schneider (Oslo Metropolitan University)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Hegemony, Hunting and Human Trophies in the East Asian War of 1592–1598* Abstract. On the eve of his invasion of Korea that launched the Imjin War (1592–8), the Japanese military hegemon, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, held a spectacular h

From the current issue: "Hegemony, Hunting and Human Trophies in the East Asian War of 1592–1598"

by Rebekah Clements (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

On advance access: "Rumour, Public Opinion and Print in Istanbul, 1780s–1830s"

by Avner Wishnitzer (Tel Aviv University)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

It means everything to publish the first account of the Toshakhana with @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social

The study shows how Toshakhana bureaucracy created indifference to diplomatic gifts which then led to the erasure of provenance and anonymised objects in museum collections

southasiasky

The Jewish Refugee Family and Concerns Over Intermarriage in Australia After 1945∗ Abstract. Intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews was conceptualized as a ‘problem’ by the Australian Jewish establishment after the Second World War. From

On advance access: "The Jewish Refugee Family and Concerns Over Intermarriage in Australia After 1945"

by Ruth Balint (@usyd-humanities.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Tibetan gift-giving, British indifference, and the erasure of provenance in colonial india* Abstract. In 1913, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet dispatched a lavish diplomatic gift to the viceroy of India. However, upon its arrival the colonial a

on advance access: "Tibetan Gift-Giving, British Indifference, and the Erasure of Provenance in Colonial India"

by @tibetcurator.bsky.social (@uomsalc.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

On advance access: "Involuntary Investors in British State-Building: Seamen’s Tickets and the Financial Revolution c.1700–1760"

by Tawny Paul (@uofcalifornia.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Nationcraft and the Origins of Territory: Experiencing Romanía in the Medieval Empire of New Rome* Abstract. The modernism debate in the historiography of nationhood and nationalism has fizzled out to a curious détente: the idea that nationhood and natio

From the current issue: "Nationcraft and the Origins of Territory: Experiencing Romanía in the Medieval Empire of New Rome"

by Nicholas S M Matheou (@edinburgh-uni.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Past and Present Society Newsletter February 2026 Featuring the latest articles from the Past & Present journal and news and updates including events funded by the Past and Present Society.

Our latest Newsletter, coinciding with the publication of Past & Present No. 270 (February 2026) went out to subscribers this morning

If you are not currently signed up to he mailing list check it out, subscribe, and share with your networks:

pastpresentsoc.substack.com/p/past-and-p...

📚 Check the @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social article by our Alumnus @danielobanche.bsky.social 👇

The Promises and Perils of Periodization in Global History: Lessons from the Inter-War Era* Abstract. This article considers the role of periodization in global history through the lens of the inter-war era. The global turn has shifted the ‘metage

8/ Viewpoint: "The Promises and Perils of Periodization in Global History: Lessons from the Inter-War Era"

by Andrew Denning (@kuhistorydept.bsky.social) and Heidi J S Tworek (University of British Columbia)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

(Un)Remembering Sexual Violence in South African History* Abstract. South Africa is a country known for its high rates of gender-based and sexual violence. Historical research demonstrates that such issues are not

7/ "(Un)Remembering Sexual Violence in South African History"

by Emily Bridger (@uoearchhist.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Orality, State Power, and the Labour of Policing in Colonial Bengal, c.1850–1947* Abstract. In colonial Bengal, the average police constable was largely unlettered. Nevertheless, constables were at the frontline in the enforcement of col

6/ "Orality, State Power, and the Labour of Policing in Colonial Bengal, c.1850–1947"

by Partha Pratim Shil (@stanford.edu)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Global Rumours: The Press, Telegraphy and the Boxer War in China, Summer 1900 Abstract. In the summer of 1900, at the height of the Boxer War, the European and North American press began to spread the story that all the Western forei

5/ "Global Rumours: The Press, Telegraphy and the Boxer War in China, Summer 1900"

by Thoralf Klein (@lborouniversity.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860* Abstract. When Giuseppe Garibaldi set sail for Sicily on the campaign that led to the unification of Italy in 1860, he gave a group of exiled political rad

4/ "Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860"

by Daniel Banks (@eui-eu.bsky.social)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Technological Unemployment in the British Industrial Revolution: The Destruction of Hand-Spinning* Abstract. This article analyses the elimination of hand-spinning in Britain during the Industrial Revolution and shows that it produced large-scale technol

3/ "Technological Unemployment in the British Industrial Revolution: The Destruction of Hand-Spinning"

by Benjamin Schneider (Oslo Metropolitan University)

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Hegemony, Hunting and Human Trophies in the East Asian War of 1592–1598* Abstract. On the eve of his invasion of Korea that launched the Imjin War (1592–8), the Japanese military hegemon, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, held a spectacular h

2/ "Hegemony, Hunting and Human Trophies in the East Asian War of 1592–1598"

by Rebekah Clements (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Nationcraft and the Origins of Territory: Experiencing Romanía in the Medieval Empire of New Rome* Abstract. The modernism debate in the historiography of nationhood and nationalism has fizzled out to a curious détente: the idea that nationhood and natio

1/ "Nationcraft and the Origins of Territory: Experiencing Romanía in the Medieval Empire of New Rome"

by Nicholas S M Matheou (@edinburgh-uni.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Cover of the February 2026 issue of Past & Present a social history academic journal. The cover consists of wide bands of dark red and greey blocks with the journal's title, bibliographic information and the details of the articles in the issue picked out in white text

Past & Present No. 270 (February 2026) is now published

All articles in the issue can be accessed here: academic.oup.com/past/issue/2... via our publisher @academic.oup.com

Or by scrolling down the thread👇

Abandoned Land: Muslim Refugees’ Property in the Post-Ottoman Balkans* Abstract. This article examines what happened to the ‘abandoned land’ of Muslim refugees in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania after the end of Ottoman rule in

on advance access: "Abandoned Land: Muslim Refugees’ Property in the Post-Ottoman Balkans"

by @vhtroyansky.bsky.social (@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Register for the international conference 'Studying Non-Elites in the Medieval Caucasus' - Past and Present Received from Dr. Nick Evans (Birkbeck, University of London) and Dr. John Latham-Sprinkle (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) The SHOC Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, in association with the M...

We're pleased to be supporting the hybrid format ‘Studying Non-Elites in the Medieval Caucasus’ conference

At Vrije Universiteit Brussel 13 - 14 March 2026

For further details and to register see:

pastandpresent.org.uk/register-for...

The Colonial Metamorphosis of Egyptian Capital Punishment, 1884–1903* Abstract. This article analyses how colonial rule remade Egyptian capital punishment. Around the turn of the twentieth century, British officials deliberat

On advance access: "The Colonial Metamorphosis of Egyptian Capital Punishment, 1884–1903"

by Alaa El-Shafei (@yale.edu)

doi.org/10.1093/past...