Education
BBC History Magazine
Not So Sweet Stuff
DAVID OLUSOGA admires a new work tracing the history of our damaging love affair with sugar
3 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
Margaret Beaufort Mother of the Tudors
She was pregnant at 12, widowed by the Wars of the Roses and almost died at the hands of Richard III. But, writes Michael Jones, nothing could prevent the indomitable Margaret Beaufort from engineering the rise of her son, Henry VII, to the English throne
10+ min |
January 2017
BBC History Magazine
When Britons were slaves in Africa
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, pirates operating out of north Africa enslaved thousands of men, women and children from the British Isles. Adam Nichols describes the often faltering attempts to release the captives from a life of hard labour and torture
9 min |
January 2017
BBC History Magazine
The Great American U-Turn
In November 1916, US president Woodrow Wilson won re-election on an isolationist ticket. But just a few months later, he was issuing an impassioned call to arms. On the centenary of its entry into the First World War, Adam IP Smith traces America’s journey from neutrality to committed combatant.
9 min |
April 2017
BBC History Magazine
Verona, Italy
For the latest in our historical holiday series, Paul explores the romance of Verona, a veritable Mecca for lovers across the world.
4 min |
April 2017
BBC History Magazine
Field Marshal Bill Slim - 1891-1970
Comedian, actor and television presenter Griff Rhys Jones chooses.
3 min |
January 2018
BBC History Magazine
A Surgeon With A Secret
As part of our occasional series profiling remarkable yet unheralded characters from history, introduces Dr James Barry, the medical pioneer and eminent surgeon to aristocracy, who was forced to conceal a fundamental fact – that ‘he’ was in fact a ‘she’.
5 min |
February 2017
BBC History Magazine
7 Ways To Say “I Love You”
In medieval Europe, young lovers used all manner of media to declare their passion for one another – from exquisite French songbooks to lowly pieces of cattle bone. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Kimberley-Joy Knight introduces seven tokens of love from the Middle Ages
5 min |
February 2017
BBC History Magazine
Paupers' Brave New World
In the 1840s, the government began sparing Britain’s most deprived children the Dickensian hell of the workhouse and placing them in schools that promised good food, healthcare and an education. But did the reality live up to the ideal?
8 min |
March 2017
BBC History Magazine
Elizabethi's Irish Nemesis
Hiram Morgan tells the story of the Irish earl Hugh O’Neill, a brilliant warrior and slippery negotiator who ran rings around Elizabeth I’s greatest generals and almost ended English rule in Ireland
8 min |
March 2017
BBC History Magazine
The 14th Century… When Things Weren't What They Used To Be
Hannah Skoda explores how late medieval Europe saw an upsurge in misty-eyed yearning for the ‘good old days’
8 min |
Christmas 2016
BBC History Magazine
Politicians cherry pick from history, if they take much notice of it at all
Why do so many politicians write history books? Does a knowledge of the past help with the challenges of today? And should MPs pay more attention to history? Our reviews editor, Matt Elton, headed to Westminster to ask a panel of history-loving politicians.
9 min |
Christmas 2016
BBC History Magazine
The Anglo - Saxons' Last Stand
The spirit of the Anglo-Saxons didn’t die at the battle of Hastings. William I faced years of resistance from a populace resentful of the Norman takeover. Marc Morris charts the defiant attempts to fight the conquerors
9 min |
January 2017
BBC History Magazine
How should history remember Fidel Castro?
To many, he was a heroic champion of the disenfranchised; to others, a cruel tyrant. Following Fidel Castro’s death in November, we asked five historians to offer their verdicts on the Cuban leader’s life and legacy
6 min |
January 2017
BBC History Magazine
Boston Rebels Dump Tea Into The Sea
Britain and its American colonies come to blows over a controversial tax.
1 min |
December 2017
BBC History Magazine
Mary Wollstonecraft 1759–97
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, chooses.
2 min |
December 2017
BBC History Magazine
Who blundered in The Valley of Death?
The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most notorious fiascos in British military history. But who should shoulder the blame for this suicidal assault on Russian guns? Saul David considers the evidence
10+ min |
Christmas 2016
BBC History Magazine
The Fight For Black America
Characterising Black Power as the civil rights movement’s ‘evil twin’ masks its considerable achievements over the past 50 years
9 min |
Christmas 2016
BBC History Magazine
Why Is Sex Such An Explosive Issue In The Corridors Of Power?
Recent months have seen Westminster rocked by allegations of sexual impropriety by male politicians. We asked two historians for their perspective on why sex scandals have dogged the British establishment for the past two centuries.
4 min |
January 2018
BBC History Magazine
“We Live In A Time Of Growing Calls To Right The Wrongs Of The Past”
Can we ever apologise meaningfully for deeds done by others in the past? Can we right the wrongs of history? And what about reparations? Accepting moral guilt is one thing, materially making amends is quite another.
3 min |
January 2018
BBC History Magazine
Marrakech, Morocco
For the latest in our historical holiday series, Sarah takes in the sights, sounds and smells of Morocco’s former imperial capital.
3 min |
January 2018
BBC History Magazine
On The Money
CATHERINE R SCHENK admires a long but successful distillation of the Bank of England’s complicated 320-year history.
2 min |
January 2018
BBC History Magazine
Are We Witnessing A ‘Post-Truth' Nadir In Media Influence?
The issue of ‘fake news’ has barely been out of the news in recent weeks. With this in mind, we asked two historians to offer their perspectives on the ‘post-truth’ era and explore the rocky relationship between politicians and the press
5 min |
March 2017
BBC History Magazine
New Zealand Makes Suffrage History
Twenty years of campaigning sees New Zealand women given the right to vote, to the dismay of many men
1 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
The US Constitution Is Signed
Thirty-nine men put pen to paper in Philadelphia
1 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
Have High-Rises Ever Been The Answer To Our Housing Woes?
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, we asked two experts to offer their perspectives on the impact of multi-storey public housing on Britain’s social landscape since the Second World War
4 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
Primo Levi 1919 - 87
Television presenter Nick Hewer chooses.
3 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
Florence, Italy
For the latest in our historical holiday series, Joanne explores Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance
3 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
A Nerveless Nazi-Killer
As part of our occasional series pro ling remarkable yet unheralded characters from history, Gavin Mortimer introduces Johnny Hopper, the British lone-wolf ghter who embarked on a campaign of violence that made him one of the most wanted men in Nazi-occupied France
5 min |
September 2017
BBC History Magazine
On The Warpath
MILES RUSSELL enjoys a richly descriptive work following Caesar’s path to victory over the Gauls
2 min |