Maxime Marquette
MadMax is an independent bilingual news outlet based in Québec, publishing analysis on geopolitics, technology, democracy, and culture.
Our mission: rigorous, source-cited analysis carried out with full editorial independence — no sponsorship, no party line.
Our editorial standards: sources are cited inline, corrections are fixed and logged publicly, and any use of artificial intelligence is disclosed.
“Burn rather than rot. Write rather than stay silent.”
Fire first. Sentences after. No lukewarm takes.
Always answer the strongest version of the opposing point. No strawmen.
No commissioned pieces. No editorial masters. No compromise.
Columns by Maxime Marquette
4,540 columns published
The Code of Hammurabi, carved almost 3,800 years ago
Among the most fascinating treasures on display at the Louvre Museum, a black diorite stele more than two meters tall draws thousands
DID YOU KNOW the Black Death Made European Survivors Richer
Between 1347 and 1351, the Black Death swept across Europe with unprecedented violence, killing, according to historians' estimates, nearly a third of
Roman Gladiators Were Mostly Vegetarian
Film and popular culture have shaped the image of a Roman gladiator, muscular, devouring huge amounts of meat to fuel his raw
The Frozen Bodies of Pompeii Are Not Human Remains
Anyone who has ever seen a photo of Pompeii remembers those human silhouettes frozen in postures of agony, curled up, arms raised
No, People in the Middle Ages Did Not Hate Bathing
Among all the stereotypes stuck to the Middle Ages, the idea of a population that was entirely filthy, living in squalor and
No, Einstein Never Failed Math in School
How many times have you heard that Albert Einstein was a mediocre student, even a failure at math, before becoming one of
The Shortest War in History Lasted Only 38 Minutes
Some records you'd rather not hold, and the Anglo-Zanzibar War is undeniably one of them. On August 27, 1896, an armed conflict
Vikings Never Actually Wore Horned Helmets Into Battle
Close your eyes and picture a Viking warrior. Odds are the image that pops up is a bearded man, axe in hand,
Cleopatra was probably not Egyptian, but Greek Macedonian
Whenever Cleopatra VII comes up, the collective imagination almost instantly conjures the image of a typically Egyptian ruler, adorned in gold, wearing