THE STORY ARCHIVE

Stories

A place, an object, an everyday problem. Find a small story that opens up a bigger picture.

Filter by

75 stories · Showing 13–24

Read

    Maria Sibylla Merian: Insects, Art and Colonial Knowledge

    When
    1699–1705 CE · Suriname journey and publication
    • Early Modern Period
    Where
    • German-speaking Europe
    Suriname · Netherlands today

    Merian pictured insects through change alongside their food plants. Her Suriname book also preserves traces of the local and enslaved people who helped make the research possible.

    Story path
    Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 7 of 8
    Read

      Boyle’s Air Pump: How Do You Prove an Experiment?

      When
      1659–1662 CE · early apparatus and trials
      • Early Modern Period
      Where
      • England
      United Kingdom today

      A glass chamber made air something investigators could alter and examine. Leaks, skilled operators, animal trials and written reports shaped what the results could establish.

      Story path
      Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 6 of 8
      Read

        The Royal Society: How Experiments Became Public

        When
        1660–1677 CE · selected early episodes
        • Early Modern Period
        Where
        • England
        United Kingdom · European connections today

        A demonstration could reach a room, a letter could cross a border and a journal could reach strangers. The Royal Society helped connect them—but access remained unequal.

        Story path
        Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 5 of 8
        Read

          Galileo’s Trial of 1633: What Was at Stake?

          When
          1633 CE · proceedings ending on 22 June
          • Early Modern Period
          Where
          • Northern Italy
          Italy today

          A licensed book became evidence in a prosecution. Galileo’s trial joined arguments about Earth’s motion to disputes over interpretation, obedience and permission to publish.

          Story path
          Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 4 of 8
          Read

            Vesalius’s Anatomy Book: Bodies, Images and Evidence

            When
            1543–1555 CE · first and revised editions
            • Early Modern Period
            Where
            • Basel
            Switzerland · Italy today

            The Fabrica made anatomy something readers could inspect on a page. Its achievement joined dissection, drawing and argument—and depended on more than one author’s eyes.

            Story path
            Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 3 of 8
            Read

              How the Telescope Changed What People Could See

              When
              1608–1611 CE
              • Early Modern Period
              Where
              • Low Countries
              Italy · Netherlands today

              A few points of light beside Jupiter became a powerful argument. The work began with lenses, repeated observations and learning when an instrument could be trusted.

              Story path
              Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 2 of 8
              Read

                Was There One Scientific Revolution?

                When
                1543–1705 CE · selected early modern examples
                • Early Modern Period
                Where
                • England
                United Kingdom · Italy · Netherlands · Suriname today

                Telescopes, anatomy books and experiments changed knowledge in different ways. The harder question is how people made those changes believable—and who received the credit.

                Story path
                Seeing and Testing: Early Modern Science · Chapter 1 of 8
                Read

                  What Connected the Medieval Indian Ocean?

                  When
                  c. 1000–1510 CE
                  • Early Modern
                  Where
                  • Arabian Peninsula
                  East Africa · Arabia · South Asia today

                  Winds, knowledge, ports, institutions and households sustained a network that connected societies without making them equal or identical.

                  Story path
                  Across the Indian Ocean · Chapter 8 of 8
                  Read

                    Portuguese Power Meets an Ocean Already Connected

                    When
                    1498–1510 CE
                    • Early Modern
                    Where
                    • East Africa
                    Western Indian Ocean today

                    From Calicut in 1498 to Goa in 1510, Portuguese power expanded through knowledge, alliances and violence while remaining uneven across the ocean.

                    Story path
                    Across the Indian Ocean · Chapter 7 of 8
                    Read

                      Living in a Swahili Trading Town

                      When
                      c. 1380–1520 CE
                      • Medieval
                      Where
                      • East Africa
                      Tanzania · East Africa today

                      Household archaeology reveals food, production, prayer and commemoration beyond the activities a visiting traveller was likely to record.

                      Story path
                      Across the Indian Ocean · Chapter 6 of 8
                      Read

                        Ibn Battuta: A Traveller and the Limits of His Account

                        When
                        1325–1355 CE
                        • Medieval
                        Where
                        • East Africa
                        North Africa · Indian Ocean today

                        Ibn Battuta encountered courts, ports and religious communities. The making of the Rihla helps explain both its remarkable reach and its limits.

                        Story path
                        Across the Indian Ocean · Chapter 5 of 8
                        Read

                          Chinese Ceramics on the Swahili Coast

                          When
                          c. 1100–1500 CE
                          • Medieval
                          Where
                          • East Africa
                          East Africa · links to Asia today

                          An imported sherd establishes a connection. Its production, route, archaeological context and coastal use each require a different kind of evidence.

                          Story path
                          Across the Indian Ocean · Chapter 4 of 8

                          Page 2 of 7

                          Keep exploring

                          A different way into the past.

                          Follow a connection, find a place, or let a new question lead the way.

                          Follow a story path

                          One story opens a bigger picture.

                          Follow a question across connected chapters. Each story adds another piece to the picture.

                          Explore story paths

                          The ChronoAtlas

                          Put the stories on the map.

                          Every story happened somewhere. Explore the places and periods behind the people, objects and ideas.

                          Explore the ChronoAtlas
                          Places · Periods · ConnectionsIllustrative map