BBC History Magazine

The online archive of articles from BBC History Magazine

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Michael Wood on James Bond“Bond’s role grew out of proportion to Britain’s standing in the world”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill (left) with Charles de Gaulle, c1944. The British prime minister encouraged Vichy’s colonies to rally to the Free French leader. (Getty Images)

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Operation Ironclad: the WW2 battle for Madagascar. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Norman

The Normans had a profound influence on Britain – so why do we not speak French?

Unionist leader Edward Carson (centre) and colleagues visit Derry/Londonderry, September 1912 – the month when nearly half a million people signed a “Solemn League and Covenant” to resist home rule

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Resolving the 'Irish Question': 5 key moments on the path to partition. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Japanese photograph shows Mitsubishi dive bombers warming up on the deck of a carrier in the Pacific before their attack on Pearl Harbor in the early hours of 7 December 1941. (Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

'Britain’s Pearl Harbor': Japan's December 1941 attack on the British colony of Malaya

Wehrmacht soldiers on parade, 1937

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Q&AHow was Germany able to afford the astronomical cost of rearmament in the 1930s?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Still Life of Game Birds, oil on canvas. Birds such as goose, swan and peacock were often on the late medieval festive menu

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The roasts of Christmas past: 5 festive dinners from British history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British author Sathnam Sanghera

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Sathnam SangheraBritain's Imperial Legacy: “It was painful to realise how my education had colonised me”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chaucer reading his work to the court of Richard II

Medieval

Katherine Swynford: the scandalous duchess and ancestress of royal dynasties

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Klaus Fuchs: the scientist who became the Soviet super spy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

William Hogarth, seen in a self-portrait with his pug

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William HogarthThe satirical artist inspired by the teachings of the Bible. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Russian empress Catherine the Great

Georgian

Hypocrite, reactionary, usurper, sex maniac: is Catherine the Great's reputation justified?

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Michael Wood on a pioneer of photojournalism“We should salute a towering figure in the history of photography”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 14th-century illustration of a farmer leading a pack animal through the ice and snow

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The surprisingly modern Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Pragmatist or heartless? A portrait of the young Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492). The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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The power behind the throne: women in the Wars of the Roses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A group of Tunisian Jews are rounded up and marched through the streets of Tunis carrying shovels in December 1942

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Holocaust in the Middle East. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Josiah Wedgwood: the radical father of English pottery. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photograph of Mrs Beeton bracing herself against a chair while wearing a long, dark-coloured gown

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The secret life of Mrs Beeton: 10 pieces of life advice from her famous Book of Household Management. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Victorian

Q&AWhat is gaol fever and how was it caused and spread?

A Marine M4 Sherman tank uses flails to detonate mines

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The Sherwood Rangers' road to victory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration of Hereward the Wake, the rebel who rose against William the Conqueror

Norman

Hereward the Wake: the Anglo-Saxon rebel who became William the Conqueror's nemesis

Charles and Diana on honeymoon in Balmoral

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Diana: the rebel princess. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A mother receives her newborn baby in a c1490 text written for Henry VII. Childbirth in the Middle Ages exposed both mother and child to great peril but, writes Elma Brenner, midwives had the expertise to intervene when complications arose. (Photo by Bridgeman)

Medieval

The medieval childbirth guide: 6 tips for pregnant mothers in the Middle Ages

A modern fireworks display

General ancient history

Q&AHow were fireworks made in ancient China?

An illustration of the Gunpowder Plot principal conspirators, copied from a rare print published at the time (5 November 1605). (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images).

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Remember remember the 5th of November: why Bonfire Night is a 400-year-old political hot potato. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Guy Fawkes and the men behind the gunpowder plot. Guy Fawkes, best known of the conspirators, is third from the right. (Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Why did the 1605 gunpowder plot fail? 9 big questions about the conspiracy to blow up parliament. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black and white image of several African men pushing two French missionaries in a sort of chair with wheels.

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Think pieceWhy history must take a stance. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Londoners flee the city during the earthquake panic of April 1750. (Getty Images)

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The earthquakes that rocked Georgian London (plus three more seismic events that shaped history). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Daniel Lambert in a 19th-century painting

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Super-sized Georgians: why satirists were fixated with fatness. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Clare Jackson“England was seen as a pariah state, ruled by regicidal rebels who’d publicly executed their king”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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