David Bowen

The world's most strategic island? Gotland has always been a gateway to Russia. Sometimes for the good. Sometimes, as now, for reasons that might worry us.

davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-worlds...

The mad mad world of Victor Hugo The French national treasure spent 15 years on the British island of Guernsey. His house is a monument to true eccentricity

New Substack: davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-mad-ma...

The strange life of an island metaphor Heligoland, no longer British, played a high profile part on both sides in the run-up to the First World War. But more for what it stood for than for what it actually was.

Another Substack: davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-strang...

The 1911 quiz: Number One A little quiz on geography and history, based on the 17th volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, eleventh edition.

Try my new out of date quiz ... davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-1911-q...

Why the Portuguese are everywhere The Azores and Madeira are still part of Portugal, but there was a time when Portuguese explorers could be found all over the world. How - and why - did they set up the first maritime empire?

Bit of background in my latest Substack: davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/why-the-po...

The crumbling elegance of the mural capital of the world Churu in Rajasthan was home town for super-rich merchants who set about outdoing each other with extravagantly decorated mansions. Then they left. But the buildings and their decorations remain

My first post on Bluesky - a repost of a weekly Substack I write on travel and history. More during the week on the Substack app. davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-crumbl...

A new Substack on a wild Atlantic island run and its fascinating social structure: davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/the-island...

Here's a story about the wild clans of the Outer Hebrides in the 16th century - in Gaelic it's called the Age of Forays: davidbowenwriter.substack.com/p/nitroglyce...

Travels round the edge of history | David Bowen | Substack Historical journeys around Atlantic islands, from David Bowen. Click to read Travels round the edge of history, by David Bowen, a Substack publication. Launched 3 months ago.

I'm writing a book mixing travel and history, mostly about Atlantic islands you may or may not have heard of. I'll post links here, but here's the main link: davidbowenwriter.substack.com