Images

Battle of Poltava 1709, oil on canvas by Louis Caravaque. A painting depicting the decisive Russian victory at Poltava in 1709.

Siege of Nöteborg (1702), oil on canvas by Alexander Kotzebue. Peter the Great assaults the island fortress of Nöteborg, which he renamed Shlisselburg, recognising it as the "key" to taking Ingria.

Narva, oil on canvas by Gustaf Cederström, 1905. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Battle of Narva 1700 oil on canvas by Alexander Kotzebue.

A replica model of the barometer designed by Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) in 1643 which used mercury in a thin glass tube stood in a container of mercury to measure air pressure. (Science Museum, London)

Patrick Henry stands before the Virginia House of Burgesses to denounce the Stamp Act in May 1765. By Peter F. Rothermel, 1851, oil on canvas. In the Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial.

A political cartoon depicting the repeal of the Stamp Act in March 1766. A child's coffin, meant to represent the act, is carried by a grief-stricken George Grenville, the main proponent of the Stamp Act. Grenville is followed by the Earl...

A proof sheet of the one penny stamps issued as part of the Stamp Act of 1765. By an unknown engraver, 1765.

One penny stamp issued during the Stamp Act of 1765, cropped from the proof sheet. Unknown engraver, 1765.

A map illustrating the situation in Europe as it teetered on the brink of World War I (1914-18). The political landscape was marked by intricate alliance systems and fierce imperial rivalries among European powers, especially between the...