Minis
Mini Copy Book

Japan

The Shimabara Rebellion

Forty thousand men, women and children, the last survivors of Japans’s persecuted Christian population, took refuge without earthly hope in a seaside castle.

Length: 172 words

Discovery and Invention

The Vast Depths of Infinity

Thomas Wright offers his readers a way of thinking about the enormous distances involved in any description of the solar system.

Length: 117 words

Discovery and Invention

Written in the Skies

Though some other sciences may seem to destroy it, astronomy restores a sense of religious awe.

Length: 56 words

Classical History

A Surfeit of Lampreys

Augustus, the Roman Emperor, invited himself to dine at the luxury Naples villa of Publius Vedius Pollio, but a broken goblet thoroughly spoilt the evening.

Length: 115 words

Discovery and Invention

A Rush to Judgment

As a young man, surveyor Thomas Telford was a red-hot political activist who yearned for revolution, but admittedly he had read just one book on the matter.

Length: 109 words

History

‘We are Free Men of Novgorod’

The politicians of Novgorod, angry at Moscow’s interference, thought they would teach her a lesson by selling out to Poland.

Length: 111 words