The Swiss artist Karl Bodmer took part in the North American expedition of Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied in 1832. Bodmer recorded his impressions in some 400 drawings and watercolours, which are still considered today to be the best and most important depictions of the vanished Native American culture along the Missouri.

A bloody slaying in Bärschwil in Solothurn laid bare the global scars left by colonial violence in the late 19th century.

Between 1815 and 1914 around 7,600 Swiss mercenaries served in the Dutch colonial army. In search of work and adventure, they aided the violent expansion of the Dutch colonial empire in what is now Indonesia.

The Foreign Legion was established in 1831. Since then the French elite troop has lured thousands of Swiss, including figures from the arenas of culture and politics.

From hero of the old West to racist colonialist: Opinion on Swiss pioneer John Sutter has changed in recent decades.

Up to the early modern era, the coconut was considered an exotic rarity from the New World. It was believed not only to protect against poisoning, but also to show sophistication.

Lina Bögli, or the transformation from peasant girl to globe-trotting writer. The story of a remarkable 19th-century woman.

The photographs of the Mahatma taken by Swiss photographer Walter Bosshard were seen around the globe.