Alternate history

Explore the what ifs and what might have beens of alternate history

A close up image of the eye of a black horse

Medieval warhorses: 5 moments horsepower changed the course of history.

John Kennedy and Barry Goldwater

Was JFK about to be re-elected? An expert weighs in on the president's lost second term

What if Hitler hadn't sent the Wehrmacht into the Soviet Union?.

Video podcastConspiracy: did aliens land at Roswell?.

Video podcastConspiracy: was Elizabeth I a man?.

Conspiracy: who killed JFK?.

Conspiracy: was Elizabeth I a man?.

William of Orange depicted landing in Devon

What if…James II and VII had kept his throne?.

The battle of Blenheim

What if…Charles II of Spain had produced an heir?.

Charles VI and Henry V entering Paris

What if…Henry V hadn't died in 1422?

A modern painting of the battle of Long Island

What if…the Continental Army had not escaped after the battle of Long Island?

Men of the 23rd US Infantry in France, 1918. The Western Front w ould not have even come into existence had the Schlieffen Plan been executed successfully. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What if…The Schlieffen plan had been successful?.

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, seen in 1975, would have been the leading candidate to be the first person to step on the Moon had the Soviets landed before the US (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

What if...The Soviets had landed on the Moon first and won the Space Race?.

Mathematician and Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing played a key role in deciphering the Enigma code (Photo by Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if...The Enigma code had not been cracked by Alan Turing and Bletchley Park?.

Cromwell depicted with Major-General John Lambert

What if...Oliver Cromwell’s son had never been named Lord Protector?.

Illustration of King Richard I, on horseback, in the Holy Land, by Henry Justice Ford (Photo by The History Emporium / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if...Richard the Lionheart had recaptured Jerusalem?.

A painting of Hannibal leading his men into Italy in 218 BC, seated on top a war elephant (Photo by Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if...Hannibal had taken Rome?.

A portrait of a young Queen Victoria from around the time of the first assassination attempt in 1840

What if…Queen Victoria had been assassinated?.

What if...The Ottomans had won at Lepanto in 1571?.

What if…George III hadn't 'lost' the colonies?.

The USS West Virginia burns at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941

What if…Japan hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor.

A French manuscript from c1100 shows Viking warriors sailing to Brittany. The Viking Age touched all areas of life and can still be felt today

What if...The Vikings had never left their homelands?.

Illustration of the French colonial army departing to fight under Colonel Marchand

What if...Britain and France went to war during the 1898 Fashoda Incident?.

Mary, Queen of Scots during her trial at Fotheringhay Castle – where she was also executed for her alleged role in the Babington Plot (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

What if...The Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth I had succeeded?.

Antony and Cleopatra meet for the first time

What if...Antony and Cleopatra had won the battle of Actium?.

The battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. Had Harold survived it, William might have found his position untenable because of straightforward logistics, says historian Marc Morris

What if...William the Conquerer had lost at Hastings?.

Spy plane photos revealed that missile bases were being built on Cuba, prompting the crisis. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What if...The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated?.

The assassination of Julius Caesar

What if…Julius Caesar had not been assassinated?.

Richard III

What if…Richard III had won at Bosworth?.

The arrest of Guy Fawkes. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Alternate history: what if… the gunpowder plot had succeeded?.