CATEGORIES

"Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families"
BBC History UK

"Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families"

HIDDEN HISTORIES... KAVITA PURI on the legacy of Canada's residential schools

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3 mins  |
March 2024
"From Africa to the Indian subcontinent, imperialism has left a trail of damage"
BBC History UK

"From Africa to the Indian subcontinent, imperialism has left a trail of damage"

MICHAEL WOOD ON...THE BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR

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3 mins  |
March 2024
ANNIVERSARIES
BBC History UK

ANNIVERSARIES

DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in March in history

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5 mins  |
March 2024
"People began collapsing in the streets and dying on the pavements"
BBC History UK

"People began collapsing in the streets and dying on the pavements"

In 1943, a devastating famine claimed the lives of millions of people in the Indian province of Bengal. Kavita Puri (left) tells us why she's keen to ensure that the stories of those who endured the crisis are not forgotten

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10+ mins  |
March 2024
FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...The Vikings
BBC History UK

FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...The Vikings

Ryan Lavelle, who is teaching our new History Extra Academy course, shares five surprising facts about the raiders, pirates and traders from medieval Scandinavia

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4 mins  |
March 2024
THE GREAT WHEELBARROW CRAZE
BBC History UK

THE GREAT WHEELBARROW CRAZE

In 1886, the nation was gripped by a bizarre trend that saw plucky Britons racing wheelbarrows across the country. David Musgrove takes up this strange-but-true story

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8 mins  |
March 2024
Lisbon in five places
BBC History UK

Lisbon in five places

From Roman colony to imperial epicentre, Portugal's capital has played many roles. BARRY HATTON highlights five sites that reveal the city's past and present glories

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3 mins  |
March 2024
SISTERS AT WAR
BBC History UK

SISTERS AT WAR

By the end of her reign, Mary I's relationship with her half-sister and successor, Elizabeth, was at an all-time low. But had the Tudor siblings always been such bitter enemies? Nicola Tallis reveals how the duo's bond was both broken and strengthened by events beyond their control

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9 mins  |
March 2024
WHO SHOT JFK? WAS ELIZABETH I A MAN? DID ALIENS LAND AT ROSWELL?
BBC History UK

WHO SHOT JFK? WAS ELIZABETH I A MAN? DID ALIENS LAND AT ROSWELL?

Rob Attar investigates the enduring power of conspiracy theories

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10 mins  |
March 2024
THE ANCIENT WORLD'S GREATEST CITY
BBC History UK

THE ANCIENT WORLD'S GREATEST CITY

When Alexander the Great founded a settlement at the junction of three continents in 331 BC, he created a metropolitan powerhouse that would shape global history. Islam Issa hails the genius of ancient Alexandria

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10 mins  |
March 2024
KNIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
BBC History UK

KNIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

From the heroic glamour of Henry V to the heady nationalism of Braveheart, the medieval era has proven a rich source of material for film directors. Robert Bartlett charts Hollywood's long obsession with the Middle Ages

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10+ mins  |
March 2024
A Christmas feast
BBC History UK

A Christmas feast

serves up festive classic favourites that graced dining tables during three eras of British history

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5 mins  |
Christmas 2023
Walter Cowan Britain's oldest commando
BBC History UK

Walter Cowan Britain's oldest commando

For some servicemen hardened by a long military career, death in battle is preferable to simply fading away in old age. Tells the story of one such man, a retired naval officer who leapt bravely back into the fray during the Second World War at the age of 70

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6 mins  |
Christmas 2023
The queen behind the veil
BBC History UK

The queen behind the veil

Matilda of Scotland, wife of Henry I, did perhaps more than any other figure to bridge the chasm between the Anglo-Saxons and their Norman conquerors.  So why, asks has she been written out of history?

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7 mins  |
Christmas 2023
THE MANY FACES OF NAPOLEON
BBC History UK

THE MANY FACES OF NAPOLEON

As a major new film explores the life of the French emperor, Matt Elton asks historians Laura O'Brien and David Andress how we can make sense of the diverse and contradictory aspects of Napoleon's character and career

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10+ mins  |
Christmas 2023
THE RACE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
BBC History UK

THE RACE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

In 1969, everyone from Prince Michael of Kent to Billy Butlin competed in a dash between London and New York aboard tandems, sedan chairs and jump jets recalls a madcap forerunner of Race Across the World

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7 mins  |
Christmas 2023
The long death of the Roman republic
BBC History UK

The long death of the Roman republic

Julius Caesar’s murder is often seen as the event that ushered in the age of emperors. Yet structural weaknesses had plagued Rome’s republic long before his death

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10 mins  |
Christmas 2023
"People like to tell themselves that the origins of American independence were non-violent.But it's not true"
BBC History UK

"People like to tell themselves that the origins of American independence were non-violent.But it's not true"

The Boston Tea Party is often cited as a model of peaceful civil protest. But, as reveals, on the 250th anniversary of this milestone in America's foundational story, it occurred against a backdrop of bloodshed

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10+ mins  |
Christmas 2023
Up to 100 million Chinese became refugees in their own country
BBC History UK

Up to 100 million Chinese became refugees in their own country

IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR A JAPANESE SOLDIER needing a toilet break in July 1937, things could have been so different.

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3 mins  |
Christmas 2023
It is one of the most fascinating shows that I have ever seen
BBC History UK

It is one of the most fascinating shows that I have ever seen

I’VE JUST RETURNED FROM A TRIP TO NEW YORK.

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3 mins  |
Christmas 2023
Hard times: what centuries of cost-of-living crises reveal
BBC History UK

Hard times: what centuries of cost-of-living crises reveal

As prices have soared in recent months, living costs have outstripped many incomes in the UK.

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5 mins  |
Christmas 2023
How do intractable conflicts come to an end?
BBC History UK

How do intractable conflicts come to an end?

The Israel-Gaza war is dominating the news at the moment, but rather than exploring its roots, I wanted to discuss other examples of seemingly intractable conflicts and how they come to an end. What examples from your research would you like to highlight?

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7 mins  |
Christmas 2023
"It was Joan of Arc who persuaded the French that they could win"
BBC History UK

"It was Joan of Arc who persuaded the French that they could win"

Jonathan Sumption speaks to Rob Attar about the final volume in his epic history of the Hundred Years' War, which reveals how the French turned the tide against the English monarchy

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10+ mins  |
October 2023
Tom Neil 1920-2018
BBC History UK

Tom Neil 1920-2018

Tom Neil served as an RAF flying ace during the Second World War, having joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938 at the age of 18. He flew in a Hurricane during the 1940 Battle of Britain, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross later that year. He died in 2018 at the age of 97.

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2 mins  |
November 2023
A fool's errand
BBC History UK

A fool's errand

The play Henry VIII, written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, opens with a warning. Those who have made their way to the Globe Theatre expecting to \"hear a merry bawdy play\" can expect disappointment, for they, the prologue puns, \"Will be deceived\". This play is serious, even tragic, portraying how \"mightiness meets misery\" where there is no room for merriness - and thus no room for the king's fool himself, Will Somer.

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2 mins  |
November 2023
Britain gets swinging
BBC History UK

Britain gets swinging

ALWYN TURNER investigates the latest volume in David Kynaston's epic history of modern Britain, as the author turns his attention to the heady days of the early 1960s

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2 mins  |
November 2023
Forgotten heroes
BBC History UK

Forgotten heroes

PATRICIA FARA reviews a history of black TB nurses in the United States during the first half of the 20th century

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1 min  |
November 2023
Spooks, spirits and psychiatry
BBC History UK

Spooks, spirits and psychiatry

ANNA MARIA BARRY recommends a new exploration of the interplay between science, faith and superstition in 19th-century attitudes to mental health

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2 mins  |
November 2023
"The Roman empire cannot have been governed by a series of psychopaths. It would not have survived"
BBC History UK

"The Roman empire cannot have been governed by a series of psychopaths. It would not have survived"

MARY BEARD tells Matt Elton what life would have been like for Rome's - from the path to the top to the almost inevitable sticky end emperors

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10+ mins  |
November 2023
Broadcast views: Radio Times at 100
BBC History UK

Broadcast views: Radio Times at 100

Since its launch in 1923 as the BBC's official listings guide, the magazine has charted enormous shifts in media and society alike. David Hendy explores how its pages reflected changes across Britain

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6 mins  |
November 2023