History Archives

The Almanac, a window of society

“The almanac is the book that (…) draws the lines within which all of life in society is played out” (Eça de Queiroz). From 1880 to 1916, the Jerónimo Martins almanac featured the premium products at the Chiado store and the habits of the Lisbon’s elite.

Society / Culture /

Deep Memories

A golden past not to forget. First worked by the Romans, the Jales gold mine was the last to be operated in Portugal. Twenty years after its closure, the memory of its glory days is now preserved in a museum set up with the help of former miners.

Society / Culture /

Going once, going twice, sold!

Auctions are nothing new – even if they never lost the wow factor – and somehow they affect our daily lives on many levels: whenever we turn our lights on, query Google or stream a video, an auction is happening behind the scenes.

Close up view Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant on the one fifty dollar bill. Background of the money. 50 dollar bill with Ulysses S. Grant eyes macro shot. Money background. Face portrait

Society / Culture /

Money Talks

Money was around for at least two millennia before the first coins appeared. However, looking at it in tandem with human life down through the ages, you soon see that “all that glitters is not gold”. Territorial conquests, colonial trade and the quest for freedom are just a few of the many stories behind what we today call money.

Cuercas que lloram en Venezuela by Antonio Fuentes

Society / Culture /

Antonio Fuentes, the Promoter of Colombian Tropical Music

The history of tropical music in Colombia goes hand in hand with the powerhouse record company Discos Fuentes’, established in 1934 by Antonio Fuentes. Historian Carlos Alfonso Días Martínez evokes the life of this legacy.

Photograph of Aurélia de Sousa painting outdoors with her sister Sofia de Sousa, Casa-Museu Marta Ortigão Sampaio, Porto.

Society / Culture /

Aurélia de Sousa, between Willingness and Possibility

Aurélia de Sousa was a renowned painter and and a woman a will who lived through the passage from the 19th to the 20th century. Historian Filipa Lowndes Vicente tells how her ambition took her to Paris and raised her to success.

Poznań, 1947-01-01. Zakłady Hipolita Cegielskiego. Firma założona przez H. Cegielskiego w 1846 r., w II Rzeczypospolitej jako Spółka Akcyjna H.Cegielski zatrudniała ok. 4 tys. robotników przy produkcji parowozów, wagonów, sprzętu rolniczego i zbrojeniowego. W czasie II wojny światowej przejęta przez Niemców, następnie w znacznym stopniu zniszczona. Produkcję wznowiono w 1945 r., w 1946 r. zakład znacjonalizowano. Nz. ślusarz przy obrabiarce. bb/gr PAP/Jerzy Baranowski Poznan, Jan. 1, 1947. The Hipolit Cegielski metallurgy plant. The firm set up by Hipolit Cegielski in 1846. Between WW1 and WW2, as a stock company, it employed some 4,000 workers manufacturing train engines, carriages, equipment for farmers and the armed forces. During WW2 it was taken over by the Germans and later largely destroyed. Production was resumed in 1945 and in 1946 the plant was nationalised. Pictured: worker at a machine tool. bb/gr PAP/Jerzy Baranowski

Society / Culture /

Hipolit Cegielski, an Economic Growth Precursor

Born in 1813, Hipolit Cegielski was a pioneer and one of the best-known industrialists in West Central Poland. Polish economic historian Jakub Lorenc portrays the life of this man who started out as a language teacher.

Jesus' birth, medallion inside the painting Madonna of the Rosary, in the monastery of Saint Francis, ca 1363, Fondi, Lazio, Italy.

Society / Culture /

The shape of the Christmas crib

In 1223, St Francis of Assisi wanted to tell the story of Christmas. On 25 December, the first nativity scene was staged in the Italian village of Greccio. At midnight, this Christmas tradition began.

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the "Mona Lisa," returned to her usual spot in Paris' Louvre Museum on October 7 following a two-month renovation for the gallery housing the world's most famous painting.

Society / Culture /

Shaping our World

Mathematics can be found all around us: from modern cities to the technology we carry in our pockets, from the wonders and magic of the natural world to the greatest works in the history of art.

Customers line up at a fishmonger's stall in the 'Frozen Market', St Petersburg, circa 1880. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Society / Culture /

The Invention of Numbers

Numbers are a human invention. A tool developed and refined over millennia. They rule our lives, telling people when to wake up, where to go or that it’s time to leave. We are made of numbers.The question is: how did we get here?

Society / Science /

Go Away

António Araújo, expert in contemporary history, draws a connection between humankind and the Greenland shark, a 7-meter long predator capable of living for several hundred years, but incapable of stopping a parasite the size of a penny.

vintage vinyl disc record with coral label on dj turntable on blue background. retro sound technology to play music

Society / Culture /

Vinyl (re)turns

Vinyl records are likely to outsell the compact disc in the American market. In Poland, the popularity of vinyl records keeps growing, with sales accounting for 16.1% of sales of all physical media formats. Journalist Jan Błaszczak expands on this global trend.

Society / Lifestyle /

Secrets of the Stone Circles

Deep in the woods in the north of Poland, mysterious stone circles fill the air with an ancient magic. Piotr Łuczkiewicz, Head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, takes us to these archaeological reserves whose origins and true purpose remain a secret.

1855, Colton Map of Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador

Society / Politics /

200 years of Colombia

It was two centuries ago that the decisive battle over the Boyacá Bridge took place and the Colombian army ensured the country’s independence. Javier Ortiz Cassiani, Historian at the Cartagena University, portrays the years preceding the birth of this nation.

These abandoned millstones are near Stanage Edge, above Hathersage village in the heart of the Peak District National park.

Society / Culture /

Around the Wheel

With ingenious simplicity, the ground-breaking invention of the wheel led the way to new technologies in transportation, modern-day machinery and all sorts of amazing tools. But actually, where and when was the wheel first invented?