“Now, we can see a new world coming into view. A world in which there is the very real prospect of a new world order.” (President George H.W. Bush, March 6, 1991)

Conspiracy theories, and particularly the belief that elements of the world are secretly controlled by individuals or groups, have been around for as long as people have lived in groups. Perhaps that’s inevitable—after all, those who are excluded from power are very likely to be inclined to see their position not as an outcome of their own choices or situation but because of the secret machinations of shadowy groups. One of the most widely discussed conspiracy theories concerns what has become known as the New World Order, a secret cabal that is said to have ambitions to become a form of World Government.

This type of conspiracy theory isn’t new. As far back as the final years of the Roman Republic, some Romans became convinced that powerful people were secretly conspiring to subvert the power of Rome’s elected assemblies and planning to take control. It can be argued that this is the earliest documented conspiracy theory, but in that case, it was actually true. From the Catiline Conspiracy to the First Triumvirate, it is now clear that men like Julius Caesar, Pompey, Marcus, Crassus, and Catiline were in fact attempting to subvert the Republican system, and their attempts would lead to internal unrest and civil war. Ultimately, Caesar would indeed bring about the end of the Republic and the establishment of Imperial Rome, ruled by one man: the emperor.

That’s part of the problem with trying to look objectively at any conspiracy theory and at the notion of the New World Order in particular. Secret conspiracies do exist, and history tells us that these are often specifically intended to acquire power and wealth. But some conspiracy theories embrace extreme ideas such as the notion that the world is secretly ruled by reptilian creatures from another dimension, that certain minority groups have outsized power, and other farfetched concepts that have no basis in reality. Naturally, conspiracy theories work in part because it is now quite difficult to distinguish between what may be real conspiracies and downright bizarre notions.

Virtually universal access to the Internet in the 21st century has led to the widespread dissemination of strange theories that would previously have been known by only a handful of people. Some of the most widely discussed of these understandably seem crazy to many people. What does this say about the world in which we live? And where exactly did people get the idea that the planet is actually ruled by a secret cabal? In reality, the New World Order conspiracy has its roots in a much longer and more complex history than many people might immediately expect.