Tomás Ferreira

Tomás profiles the monarchs, leaders, rebels and dynasties whose decisions still shape nations. He is less interested in the crown than in the choice that was made the night before the battle.

Colour photograph of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin gesturing from his seat in the Knesset during the 1995 debate on the Oslo B agreement, with two ministers seated beside himWorld Figureheads

Eisenkot Has Arab Backing. Rabin's 1992 Government Lived on It Too

Tomás Ferreira · November 8, 2026
Black and white photograph of David Ben-Gurion standing at a microphone reading the declaration of Israel's independence, under a portrait of Theodor Herzl, Tel Aviv, May 1948World Figureheads

Ben-Gurion Exempted 400 Yeshiva Students in 1948. Israel Still Argues

Tomás Ferreira · November 7, 2026
The pink colonnaded Cabildo of Asunción seen across a paved square, the building that housed Paraguay's Congress in 1999World Figureheads

Peña's Resignation Was Refused. In 1999 Paraguay Let a President Walk Out

Tomás Ferreira · November 6, 2026
Wood engraving of President Andrew Johnson shaking a man's hand in a crowded White House room while clerks work at a table, 1865U.S. History

The Preemptive Pardon Comes From a Confederate Senator's 1867 Case

Tomás Ferreira · November 4, 2026
Coloured 1823 print by William Clark showing enslaved people cutting sugar cane on an Antigua estate under a mounted overseerWorld Figureheads

Antigua's Enslaved Crowned a King in 1736. The Island Executed 88 in Reply

Tomás Ferreira · November 4, 2026
Photochrom print of about 1905 showing the bronze statue of King Alfred in Winchester, sword raised, on a granite plinthWorld Figureheads

In 878 Every Other English King Had Fled or Submitted. Alfred Went Into a Swamp Instead

Tomás Ferreira · October 30, 2026
Photograph of Obispo Street in Havana around 1906, with shop awnings, signs in Spanish and English and people on the pavementsU.S. History

The United States Has Governed Cuba Twice. The Second Time, Almost Nobody Remembers

Tomás Ferreira · October 30, 2026
Studio photograph of Rear Admiral William B. Caperton of the US Navy in full dress uniform with epaulettes and sword, around 1915World History

1,000 Salvadoran Troops Are in Haiti. The Last Big Landing Stayed 19 Years

Tomás Ferreira · October 28, 2026
Blue and white porcelain bowl from Joseon-dynasty Korea, dated 1847, with floral panels and an inscription incised around the footWorld Figureheads

King Sejong Invented an Alphabet in 1443. His Scholars Begged Him to Stop

Tomás Ferreira · October 28, 2026
Woven silk portrait of Catherine II in profile inside an oval medallion surrounded by flowers, by Philippe de Lasalle, about 1771 (black and white museum photograph)World Figureheads

Catherine the Great Took Russia in One Morning in 1762 and Kept It for 34 Years

Tomás Ferreira · October 27, 2026
Oil painting of Princess Caraboo by Edward Bird, 1817: a young woman in a white turban with feathers and a yellow dress, standing on a shoreStrange History

Princess Caraboo of Javasu Was a Cobbler's Daughter From Devon

Tomás Ferreira · October 26, 2026
Sixth-century mosaic of the Empress Theodora in a jewelled crown and purple robe, from the church of San Vitale in RavennaWorld Figureheads

In 532 Justinian Had the Ships Loaded to Flee. Theodora Told Him to Stay

Tomás Ferreira · October 26, 2026
Photograph of King Njoya of Bamum seated on his beaded throne in Foumban, with German colonial officers beside him, early 1900sWorld Figureheads

The King of Bamum Invented an Alphabet, a Language and a Corn Mill, Then France Exiled Him

Tomás Ferreira · October 25, 2026
Painting: Hyacinthe Rigaud's 1701 portrait of Louis XIV in coronation robesWorld Figureheads

Louis XIV Revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and Handed His Rivals 200,000 Skilled Workers

Tomás Ferreira · October 25, 2026
Photograph of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, four sandstone lions back to back on a drum carved with wheels, displayed in the Sarnath museumWorld Figureheads

Ashoka Won the Kalinga War, Then Carved an Apology Into Rocks Across India

Tomás Ferreira · October 24, 2026
Manuscript miniature of Charles VI of France enthroned in a blue robe covered in gold fleurs-de-lis, holding two sceptresStrange History

The King of France Believed He Was Made of Glass, and England Nearly Got the Crown

Tomás Ferreira · October 24, 2026
Photograph of Charles de Gaulle in a dark suit standing beside Dwight Eisenhower at a microphone on an airport apron, surrounded by officials, in April 1960World Figureheads

The Day de Gaulle Vanished: Six Hours in May 1968 That Saved His Presidency

Tomás Ferreira · October 23, 2026
Detail of a medieval map showing a crowned Black king seated on a throne holding a gold coin and a sceptre, with Catalan text beside himWorld Figureheads

Mansa Musa Took So Much Gold to Mecca in 1324 That Cairo's Price Crashed

Tomás Ferreira · October 23, 2026
Photochrom print of the Peristyle of Diocletian's Palace in Split, with houses built into the Roman arcade, about 1890 to 1900World Figureheads

Diocletian Retired From Ruling Rome to Grow Cabbages, and the Empire Split

Tomás Ferreira · October 22, 2026
Photograph of a bronze bust of Peter the Great in profile, with a moustache and a clean-shaven chinStrange History

Peter the Great Taxed Beards, and Russians Carried a Copper Token as Proof

Tomás Ferreira · October 22, 2026
Photograph of Joshua Norton, self-proclaimed Emperor Norton I, seated with a cane, in a military style coat with epaulettes and a plumed cap, taken before 1880World Figureheads

Emperor Norton: The Bankrupt Who Ruled San Francisco for Twenty-One Years

Tomás Ferreira · October 21, 2026
Imre Nagy, in glasses and a dark suit, seated at a table between József Darvas and Júlia Rajk at a reunion in the Kossuth Club, Budapest, 13 October 1956World Figureheads

Seventy Years On, Hungary Still Cannot Decide Where to Put Imre Nagy

Tomás Ferreira · October 20, 2026