The English East India Company (EIC), chartered by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, began as a merchant federation and evolved into the British Empire’s chief means of colonization. By 1757, it had essentially used its private armies to establish control over India. From the earliest stages of British colonialism in…
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Women in History: Murasaki Shikibu
The moon lies heavy on the waters of Lake Biwa in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture. The trees are still, moved every so often by the light ripple of wind through branches. On a cool terrace of the Ishiyama Temple, a woman sits, pen in hand. She gazes at the moon, lost…
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Women in History: Anna Julia Cooper
On pages 24-25 of the most recent version of the passport issued for United States citizens, one can find the words, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright…
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Women in History: Nancy Wake
In Nazi-occupied France, March 1, 1944, a single parachute drifted through the night into the Forest of Tronçais in the Auvergne province. It carried one British Special Operations Executive officer: Captain Nancy Wake. She knew, well before jumping from her plane, that discovery meant certain death. As she…
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