BBC History Magazine

The online archive of articles from BBC History Magazine

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Michael Wood on statues"These ‘history wars’ over statues are really about something bigger: about different views of the past, and who controls it". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A brief guide to the transatlantic slave trade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Abolition in Britain: the link between slavery and the British national identity. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An 1826 illustration from 'The Black Man's Lament

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David Olusoga"Thousands of Britons opposed abolition – because they owned slaves". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lemuel F Abbott's famous 1797 portrait of Horatio Nelson. In 1805, the British naval hero promised to speak publicly against the abolition of slavery, but was denied the opportunity by his death at Trafalgar later that year. (Picture by Alamy)

Georgian

Lord Nelson and slavery: Nelson’s dark side

John Profumo in October 1962

20th Century

Sex, lies and spies: the real history of the Profumo Affair

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. When Edward became king in January 1936, he was the darling of the nation. Yet when he abdicated in December 1936, few believed he was making the wrong decision. (Photo by Getty Images)

20th Century

Love before duty: the story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

Equestrian portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere manuscript of his Canterbury Tales (14th century). "The world in which Chaucer moved was very outward-looking," says Marion Turner. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

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Cosmopolitan Chaucer: the 14th-century poet’s inventive, international life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charles II and his parties

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Was Charles II too randy to rule?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ramshackle homes in a Newcastle slum, c1880

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From riches to rags: David Olusoga reveals how Britain's grand houses descended into Victorian slums. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King John hunting on horseback

Plantagenet

Was King John really that bad? Yes!

British ships on convoy duty in the North Atlantic

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Danger in the deep: key questions about the Battle of the Atlantic answered. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The Battle of the Atlantic: the "desperate" WW2 campaign featured in Tom Hanks film Greyhound. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Books interview with Emma Griffin: "Looking at family life reveals a dark side to Victorian economic progress". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A couple get amorous in this 14th-century illustration

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Call the medieval sex doctor: how 7 problems might have been treated in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry III during the Second Barons' War

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Simon de Montfort and the barons’ crusade: why rebel lords waged holy war against Henry III. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A monk and his mistress

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Monks behaving badly. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Clothes infected by the Black Death are burned in medieval Europe, c1340. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval

Black Death facts: your guide to "the worst catastrophe in recorded history"

Harold Wilson in 1971, after his first period as prime minister. He would take power again in 1974. (Photo by Getty Images)

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History heroJason Watkins chooses Harold Wilson (1916–95). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

8 May 1945: Crowds celebrate VE Day in London, at the end of World War 2. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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"Hooray! The war is ended": 5 people's recollections of VE Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Expelled Germans leaving Poland's western territories

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"The war without an end": what happened in Europe after VE Day?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The rise of spiritualism after WW1. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Linda Porter

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Linda Porter“You’ve got to be impressed by how these women played the system”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ill mannered discussions: Chinese leader General Chiang Kai-shek, US president Franklin D Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill meet at the Cairo Conference in November 1943. (Photo by Getty Images)

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VE Day at 75Preparing for peace: why WW2 felt like a war without an end. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Victoria on an ivory throne

Viking

Top 11 monarchs in British history

The opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851. (The Print Collector/Getty Images)

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"A wonder of the world": Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition at the famous Crystal Palace. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The dark side: A man summons demons in a 14th-century English encyclopaedia. "Some educated men were determined to contact the spirit world – and took great risks to do so," writes Catherine Rider. (Photo by Bridgeman)

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From healing spells to conjuring demons: the medieval obsession with magic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Harvest time in Surrey in the mid-19th century. Powerful Tory landowners had agitated for the introduction of the Corn Laws to protect the income from their farms. (Photo by Christie's Images via Bridgman)

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The Corn Law crisis: the bitter political war that threatened thousands with starvation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Detail of the carved portal of Hylestad stave church, 12th century. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

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5 forgotten Viking battles that shaped Britain's destiny. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Flying the flag: A sailor signals a merchant ship in the Thames Estuary, 1939. Allied maritime capacity was paramount in the final victory. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

WW2: Why did the Allies win the Second World War?

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