December 2012

Articles from the December 2012 issue of BBC History Magazine

Illustration by Glen McBeth.

Q&A When did the leopards on the royal arms of England become the lions depicted today?

Edward I in parliament with the Archbishop of Canterbury; King Alexander III of Scotland; the Welsh Prince Llywelyn ab Gruffydd and the Archbishop of York. From the Wriothesley MS, 1523, published in ‘The Island Race’, a 20th-century book written by Sir Winston Churchill covering the history of the British Isles from the pre-Roman times to the Victorian era. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Edward I: man of principle or grasping opportunist?

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Q&A: Samuel Morse invented the Morse code, but how did he do it, how long did it take, and how long before it was accepted?

Woodcut Of A English Witch Hanging

Witches in the dock: 10 of Britain’s most infamous witch trials

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket

England: Suffragettes confrontation with police

Jujitsu suffragettes

A 1864 campaign banner. (David J & Janice Frent/Corbis via Getty Images)

US presidents: Race, religion and re-election?

The Uganda railway, which links Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya, was built during the period of British control of East Africa. (SSPL/Getty Images)

The dark side of abolitionism

Our Lady of Sorrows, by unknown artist (20th century), photographic reproduction, 103x65 cm, inv 1602. Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosian. (Getty Images)

The day a Mexican farmer had a vision of the Virgin Mary

Benito Mussolini

Second World War

Mussolini’s willing followers

Illustration by Jonty Clark.

The Library Ye olde travel guide: Hong Kong 1842

Rosa Parks Riding the Bus

My history hero: Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

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Q&A: Where did the monks go after the dissolution of the monasteries?