A slap, followed by a duel

How far would you go to defend yourself against a personal slight? Duels were once considered affairs of honour and a way for upper-class men to solve disputes. Indeed, long before we decided that conversation rather than fists should solve our disagreements, the politician who inspired the hit musical Alexander Hamilton met his ends in a duel — although they didn't always end that way. In a world of personal patronage ruled by the code duello, Matthew Wills discusses the surprisingly rational meaning behind this now passé custom.