THE ARCHIVE
Historical decisions. Human consequences.
6 case files · one every week
THE LAST OFFER
Guangdong, 1810 After the death of her husband, the pirate commander Zheng Yi, Zheng Yi Sao took control of his fleet and became one of the most powerful pirate leaders in the South China Sea.
THE WRECK OF THE BATAVIA
On June 4, 1629, the Dutch East India Company ship Batavia ran aground off Western Australia. More than 250 survivors reached the nearby islands. Four days later, Commander Francisco Pelsaert left in a longboat with about 40 men to search for water. Unable to find any on the mainland, they continued north to Batavia, now Jakarta, to seek help.
THE SIEGE OF BARNEVELD
On July 16, 1482, during the Hook and Cod civil war a unit of 19 Cod mercenaries commanded by Jan van Schaffelaar was cornered inside the Oude Kerk tower in Barneveld by a superior Hook force.
The Man from Wagga Wagga
In 1854, a young Englishman named Roger is traveling through South America. In Rio de Janeiro, he secures a berth aboard the Bella, bound for Jamaica, despite not having a passport. On April 20, the Bella sails. Four days later, a capsized boat bearing the name Bella is found off the Brazilian coast. Wreckage is recovered, but no people are found. The ship and everyone aboard are presumed lost. But rumors persist that some survivors may have been rescued by another vessel. Eleven years later, in Australia, a man comes forward claiming to be Roger.
In a City by a Mountain
It is the spring of 1902. On the Caribbean island of Martinique, the prosperous port city of Saint-Pierre sits beneath Mount Pelée. Known as the "Paris of the Caribbean," it is home to about 28,000 people and serves as the island's commercial and cultural center.
Somewhere in Alaska...
It is the winter of 1924–1925, and sea ice has closed the port of Nome, Alaska, leaving the town isolated for the winter. Dr. Curtis Welch is the only physician serving the town's 1,400 residents. He works out of a small, under-equipped hospital. Now, patients are arriving with severe coughs and sore throats.
The past is not just a story. It's a choice.