Christmas 2014

Articles from the Christmas 2014 issue of BBC History Magazine

Land girls on an Essex turkey farm round up the turkeys for the last time. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

A brief history of turkeys, plus why we eat a turkey dinner at Christmas

A joint Franco-Native Indian raid left 56 residents of Deerfield, a small township in north-western Massachusetts, dead. (Alamy)

America: Brave new world or accident?

This statue of Arsinoe II identified her with the goddess Isis – thanks, in part, to the so-called ‘Isis knot’ on her right shoulder – so exploiting Egyptian tradition to strengthen her image (© Getty)

The female ‘kings’ of ancient Egypt

A portrait of the children of Henry VII (l to r): Prince Henry; Arthur, Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret, c1498. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Library The Tudors in 50 moments: part 1

Portrait of Mary I of England, from the collection of the Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Mary I: a highly impressive queen cut off in her prime

A Kamikaze pilot scores a direct hit on a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, c1942. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Second World War

The reluctant kamikaze of the Second World War

The Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea in a duel at Battersea Fields. (Culture Club/Getty Images)

Pistols at dawn: duelling in the Victorian age

A portrait of King Edward VI of England. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Who was the real Edward VI?

A reconstructed round house at Flag Fen, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. (Alamy)

History Explorer: Life in the Bronze Age

Liberal MP and former prime pinister David Lloyd George. (Photo by Jimmy Sime/Central Press/Getty Images)

My history hero: David Lloyd George (1863-1945)

Historic San Felipe de Barajas castle is one of the main attractions in Cartagena, Colombia. (Image: Thinkstock by Getty Images)

General prehistory

My favourite place: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Bodiam Castle. (Getty Images)

The Library How to build a medieval castle