The Mississippi Was First Mapped by a Polyglo...

The 17th-century battlefield ushered in a new era, with formed musketeers and pistol-wielding cavalry gradually taking over from the knights and men-at-arms that had dominated the European battlefield. But knights could still be found on these battlefields as late as the 1640s, p ...  Show more

In 1861, an archaeologist named James Farrer broke into a grass-covered Neolithic tomb on the Orkney Islands expecting to find ancient bones and treasure. The tomb was empty. But its walls were covered with runic inscriptions, dozens of them, carved by Norse visitors centuries ea ...  Show more

Explorer Jacques Cartier's voyages into the unknown mapped parts of the New World, but were also rooted in European geopolitics. Scholar Elvira Viktória Tamus explains Cartier's place in exploration, war and power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

In 1803, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began a westward journey that would transform America. Their mission was to head up the Missouri River and find a route through the uncharted west to the Pacific Ocean. The journey was full of risk. But no danger loomed larger ...  Show more

The Lewis and Clark expedition changed the course of American history. But after its bold, charismatic leader, Meriwether Lewis, ended his life in an apparent suicide, the expedition was largely forgotten. Not until the 20th century would the exploits of Lewis and Clark’s Corps o ...  Show more

Much more than just a pool game, this Venetian merchant traveler adventured through China and the Mongolian Empire. Though his memoirs may have been heavily embellished, the book gave those who came after Marco Polo a broad picture of 13th century culture, led to advances in cart ...  Show more