English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that life would be "nasty, brutish and short" without a strong government. IDEAS explores how a new take on Hobbes offers a surprising perspective on the ...

A witchcraft trial in England, 17th century. A suspected witch is lowered into the water to find out whether she would survive. If she did, she would be regarded as a witch. Witchcraft was a ...

What was it like living in the 17th century? A family in late 17th-century England led a simple, not to mention laborious, life. A majority of the population lived in a one- or two-room house, which ...

James I ordered that Catholics who did not attend Church of England (Protestant) services should be fined, and was reported to detest the Catholic religion. This led to greater opposition to him ...

In a volume entitled "New England's First Fruits", published in London in 1643, an article on Harvard College, the College being evidently numbered among New England's "first fruits", a brief ...