BBC History Magazine

The online archive of articles from BBC History Magazine

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Johnny Hopper: a nerveless Nazi-killer. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Salem witch trials, depicted in a 19th-century lithograph. How two girls’ accusations of witchcraft escalated into one of the darkest episodes in early American history has long puzzled historians. (Image by Alamy)

Stuart

When the devil stalked Salem: the story of the Salem witch trials

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Irving Finkel“Ghosts were taken for granted as part of everyday Mesopotamian life”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Michael Wood on Afghanistan“A new world is emerging, reviving older connections”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Windows on to history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photo of several 'matchwomen', who went on strike at the Bryant and May's factory in London in 1888.

Victorian

The 1888 Matchgirls strike: how a group of East End women changed British labour history

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Bulldog burners and dungboys: classifying occupations in British censuses (1841-1911). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sylvia Plath seated in front of a bookshelf.

20th Century

The tragic story behind Sylvia Plath’s writing

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Anna Whitelock's Talking PointsA history of violence. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting showing British troops advancing on Ulundi, mountains in the background

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The forgotten battles of the Zulu War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sir Lancelot of the Lake and Queen Guinevere seen embracing by King Arthur in a medieval illustration

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Tudors in love: what were the dynasty's romantic secrets?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval

How did pasta come to Europe and when did it first become established in Italy?

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Q&AWhat was clog fighting?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Gulielma Lister: the female botanist who became the queen of slime moulds. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

(Illustration: Clair Rossiter for BBC History Magazine)

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Beans, ale & 'windy meats': surprising 17th-century aphrodisiacs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the German film 'Ways to Strength and Beauty', 1925. (Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)

Second World War

Germany’s naked truth: the 19th-century nudism movements co-opted by the Nazis

Historian Saul David

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Saul David“It was astonishing bravery – and cold-blooded bravery, too”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tourists at Stonehenge. We have no better idea today than 200 years ago what the people who erected these sarsens truly believed. (Getty Images)

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Prehistoric religion: a pagan riddle we will never solve?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Suffragettes photographed in a dispute with the police

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Jujitsu suffragettes: how women fought for the vote with an ancient martial art. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dinosaur dung became a valuable commodity in 19th century Cambridgeshire. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

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Dinosaur dung billionaires: the Victorian 'gold rush' for fossilised faeces. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 14th-century illustration shows two bishops watching men fight to the death in a trial by combat.

Medieval

Medieval trial by combat: the real history behind The Last Duel

The title page and frontispiece of Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, a first-hand account of his experience in slavery and how he seized his freedom. (Image by Getty Images)

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David Olusoga on the extraordinary story of Olaudah Equiano. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman

Q&ACould Roman slaves buy their own freedom?

A portrait from the 18th century of King George III wearing his coronation robes

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George III: why his reputation as the mad king who lost America needs to be re-evaluated. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ada Lovelace

General Modern

Ada Lovelace: a visionary of computing

A woodcut showing the interior of a kitchen in Elizabethan England. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Hold your noses: the smells, sounds and sights of Elizabethan England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A reconstruction of a Viking church

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Vikings in America: the Europeans who arrived 500 years before Columbus. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Women protest in London following the death of Sarah Everard, 2021

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Walking a dangerous road: women's safety on the streets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865

Victorian

Jamaica's Morant Bay Rebellion: brutality and outrage in the British empire

Illustration of the man in the iron mask standing by the window of his cell and guarded by two musketeers

Victorian

Unmasking the 'man in the iron mask': do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?

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