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A 14th-century Flemish illustration depicting the burying of plague victims in coffins in Tournai in 1349. (Photo by Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Black Death: “Oh father, why have you abandoned me?”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Where history happened: Georgian fossil hunting. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My favourite place: Bruges, Belgium

My history hero: Aled Jones chooses Freddie Mercury (1946–91). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting depicting the battle of the White Mountain

Europe’s apocalypse: the Thirty Years' War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV

When royals marry ‘commoners’: a brief history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Four police officers, members of the Bow Street Horse Patrol, pose for a photograph with a horse.

The rise of the Great British 'bobby': a brief history of Britain's police service

A picturesque scene in Bruges, Belgium

My favourite place: Bruges, Belgium

Second World War

5 facts about the Bevin Boys

Old Wardour Castle

Britain’s 7 most amazing ruins

A contemporary pictorial depiction of the Great Plague.

The Black Death: the historians’ view. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Street urchins in Lambeth, London, 19th century

Escaping the workhouse: the Victorian war on child poverty. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on... slavery. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard Burbage

Richard Burbage: the vanishing act of the star who outshone Shakespeare. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A brief history of London tourism since 1800. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Australian troops head for Gallipoli in 1915

The myths of the battle of Gallipoli. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 of Britain’s best historical houses and gardens

The LibraryKarl Marx: the godfather of revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of Peter Williamson

Peter Williamson: The diehard Scot. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Fremantle's High Street, with 19th-century buildings.

My favourite place: Western Australia

Kinder Scout

History explorer: The fight for the right to ramble. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

ExploreSan Francisco: the Golden City by the bay. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bay of Pigs invasion: Kennedy’s Cuban catastrophe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Elizabeth I, who, says Susan Doran, “confounded her Catholic enemies, imposed her will on the political scene, turned England into a strong Protestant state and presided over a glittering court culture”. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Elizabeth I: the great unifier. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

TimelineKey moments in the American civil rights movement

Napoleon Bonaparte of France. (Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images)

Bad manners and a game of thrones: inside the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The real history behind ‘The Crown’ with Robert Lacey. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The ‘Princes in the Tower’

The 5 greatest mysteries behind the Wars of the Roses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Shakespeare’s best (or worst) villains. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 of Britain’s best battlefields. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.