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

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in November in history

Who should decide the stories museums tell? • Increasingly, museums are being challenged on how they select, display and interpret their collections. Six historians explain how these institutions can adapt to suit 21st-century audiences

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THE FALL AND RISE OF ASIA ON THE WORLD STAGE

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI on the importance of the stories of South Asians in Britain

Faith and flexibility

BBC History Magazine

A THEATRE OF HATE? • Did German U-boats conduct a ’clean’ campaign during the Second World War? Or were they guilty of routinely murdering survivors in the water? Roger Moorhouse weighs the evidence

HOW THE ALLIES TURNED THE TIDE • A timeline of the war against the U-boats

BRITAIN’S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE • How U-boats drove a nation to the brink of economic strangulation

Dear doctor … • What did medieval physicians prescribe for stomach ache? And could weasels’ testicles really help you conceive? James Freeman delves into the sources to find eight curious cures from the Middle Ages

THE SLIPPERY TRUTH OF THE DREYFUS AFFAIR • The wrongful conviction for treason of a Jewish army captain in France in the late 19th century exposed antisemitism and virulent nationalism — but also, as Mike Rapport reveals, sparked a flood of ‘fake news’ that presaged the worst of the modern media landscape

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

Spectral beasts and hounds from hell • From infernal black dogs attacking churches to ravening, red-eyed brutes on remote roads, Britain has long been haunted by fearsome canine phantoms. Karen R Jones explores what these stories can tell us about societies past

Why are we so hung up with historical dates? • From 1066 to 1918, our obsession with battles, elections and even voyages of discovery risks distorting a true understanding of the past

Star witness • From the moment it was founded 350 years ago, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich drove our understanding of astronomy, navigation and time. Louise Devoy explores eight milestones in the history of this pioneering scientific institution

THIS MONTH’S TOP PODCAST PICKS

BOOKS

“Africa exerted a profound influence on cultures of resistance to slavery, yet its role is often overlooked” • SUDHIR HAZAREESINGH speaks to Danny Bird about how enslaved people, who needed no lessons in freedom from white abolitionists, organised themselves to fight their oppressors

Of human bondage • JONATHAN BROWN welcomes an exploration of slavery within the Islamic world that’s impressively detailed and explores the nuances of a politically charged subject

The physicist as hero • JIMENA CANALES argues that a new study of Einstein misses some of the complexity in his story

Different class • MILES TAYLOR is absorbed by a study of how Britain’s hereditary peers have negotiated changing times

THE CLASSIC BOOK • Breeze Barrington on an inspiring account of a turbulent and transformative...