The mayor and corporation of Hamelin outsource a rodent problem to a professional rat-catcher.

Edmund Burke takes time off from campaigning for liberty to reflect on the delights of captivity.

Richard Cobden wondered how the architects of the British Empire had the nerve to accuse Russia of imperialism.

Young inventor James Watt’s life in London was overshadowed by the perpetual fear of being snatched.

A young Indian student from Cambridge was selected for England’s cricket team after public pressure.

Charles II was thinking about handing Bombay back to the Portuguese, when an Indian rebel stepped in.