BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

MORE FROM US

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

The shadow of empire • A recent BBC radio programme exploring the morality and legacy of the British empire kickstarted an impassioned online debate. ANNA WHITELOCK followed its twists and turns

Mark Ormrod (1957–2020)

HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

Churchill ‘considered nuclear attack’ on the USSR • The statesman was prepared to deploy extreme measures against the forces of communism, new research reveals.

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THE ‘LIFE IN THE UK’ BRITISH HISTORY TEST

ANNIVERSARIES • DOMINIC SANDBROOK highlights events that took place in October in history

The peaceful reunification of a divided Germany

HIDDEN HISTORIES • DAVID OLUSOGA explores lesser-known stories from our past

LETTERS

BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE

ANNE BOLEYN’S FINAL BATTLE • Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, famously lost her head at her husband’s behest. Tracy Borman, the presenter of a new TV series on Anne’s fall from grace, delves into the queen’s dramatic final days

SAME PUNISHMENT, DIFFERENT CRIMES? • Less than six years later, Henry executed Catherine Howard. How closely did her fate match Anne Boleyn’s?

A SIKH TRAGEDY • The fall of the mighty Sikh empire in the 1840s has long been attributed to the death of its brilliant leader, Ranjit Singh, a few years earlier. But the truth is far messier. Priya Atwal reveals how miscalculation, misogyny and British ruthlessness sealed the fate of the Indian powerhouse

FROM CONQUEST TO CALAMITY • Five protagonists in the rise and fall of the Sikh empire

The African who transformed Anglo-Saxon England • When a Libyan cleric called Hadrian arrived in Canterbury in AD 670, Anglo-Saxon England was a wild and semi-pagan land. Within a matter of years, it was the driving force behind a remarkable renaissance in learning. Michael Wood reveals how this little-known “man of Africa” helped lay the foundations of English culture

Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

DID YOU KNOW…?

Two pounds of pepper and ginger, a pair of scarlet trousers and 1,000 eels • In medieval England, people paid their rents with all manner of items – and one of the most bizarre was eels. John Wyatt Greenlee considers why the fish was the perfect form of payment

A versatile bargaining chip