Issue 1

Articles from issue 1 (December/January 2017) of BBC World Histories Magazine

A 19th-century depiction of HMS Erebus in the ice, by François Etienne Musin. What exactly happened to the ship and its crew remains a mystery. (Picture by Alamy)

The Franklin Expedition: what happened on the ill-fated Victorian voyage?

A replica of the Koh-i-Noor in Bangalore in 2002

Desired, stolen, cursed: the history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond

Bemused families in Narodychi, Ukraine watch neighbours preparing to leave home shortly after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, just 50 miles (80km) to the east. The Soviet state proposed to re-house rural inhabitants in badly affected districts, but many preferred to stay despite (or perhaps unaware of the danger of) the high radiation detected by Geiger counters. (Photo by Igor Kostin/Sygma via Getty Images)

Eyewitness account: the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster

The Beatles arrive in Japan

1966: the Beatles’ tumultuous world tour

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Bettany Hughes on the history of Istanbul

Matthew Perry Entertaining Japanese Commissioners on Ship

What happened when US Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay?

A follower is reflected on a framed photograph of Bhimrao Ambedkar

Bhim Rao Ambedkar: India’s untouchable hero

Two men carrying old woman as they migrate, following the Partition of India in 1947

10 historical turning points for modern India

Young women working in a textile mill in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1943

Famine and freedom: how the Second World War ignited India

Golden Dawn supporters with symbolic flags and torches in greece

Populist politics: are current trends echoing the past?

Acropolis Museum Athens, combines modern and ancient

Explore Athens: a city of ancient sites and modern visions

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The big question: Why did the west dominate history for so long?