CATEGORIES

Visions of England
BBC History UK

Visions of England

MICHAEL WOOD enjoys a thought-provoking exploration of English identity from the postwar period to the present day and the myths that have been told about England

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4 mins  |
June 2023
Should historians interpret the past through the prism of the present?
BBC History UK

Should historians interpret the past through the prism of the present?

A recent debate about whether the study of history should address contemporary concerns exposed faultlines in academic approaches

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5 mins  |
June 2023
"History - like any person's story - is messy. It doesn't fit into neat boxes"
BBC History UK

"History - like any person's story - is messy. It doesn't fit into neat boxes"

EIGHTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD JAMES MEREDITH walks into Bully’s Soul Food Restaurant, a traditional eaterie in Jackson, Mississippi

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3 mins  |
June 2023
Masters of ceremonies
BBC History UK

Masters of ceremonies

Henry III believed that spectacle elevated him into the sphere of the sacred. Elizabeth I used it to emphasise her Protestant credentials. And Queen Victoria turned it into a celebration of her imperial might. As King Charles III prepares for his coronation, ALICE HUNT reveals how generations of British monarchs have used pomp and pageantry to project power

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10+ mins  |
May 2023
Central intelligence
BBC History UK

Central intelligence

JONATHAN KWAN is swept along by a colourful and authoritative exploration of Europe's geographic heartland

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2 mins  |
May 2023
AN APPETITE FOR POWER
BBC History UK

AN APPETITE FOR POWER

Wine, song and the finest food money could buy made medieval feasts a highlight of the courtly calendar. Yet more often than not, writes Charlotte Palmer, a thirst for influence and prestige lay behind the carousing

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6 mins  |
May 2023
Steppe changes
BBC History UK

Steppe changes

PETER HOMMEL is critical of some of the conclusions presented in a new study of the nomadic warriors of the central Eurasian steppe

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2 mins  |
May 2023
In 1658, a Norfolk gentleman named Ralph Suckey thought he'd got away with murder......until he was attacked by a flock of crows
BBC History UK

In 1658, a Norfolk gentleman named Ralph Suckey thought he'd got away with murder......until he was attacked by a flock of crows

People in Tudor and Stuart England believed that, while God could not prevent humanity's greatest crimes, he could reveal their perpetrators via miraculous signs. Blessin Adams explains how bird attacks, ghostly apparitions and bleeding corpses led to convictions for murder

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8 mins  |
May 2023
"The 1848 uprisings were a dissonant orchestra of ambitions and intentions"
BBC History UK

"The 1848 uprisings were a dissonant orchestra of ambitions and intentions"

CHRISTOPHER CLARK tells Matt Elton about the revolutions that swept Europe in the 19th century, revealing how their speed and synchronicity alarmed authorities across the continent

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10 mins  |
May 2023
KALEIDOSCOPIC NATION
BBC History UK

KALEIDOSCOPIC NATION

Amid the darkness of economic hardship and state-sponsored fear, East Germany could also be a society of opportunity and hope. Katja Hoyer profiles some of the people whose stories bring this full, complex picture to life

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10+ mins  |
May 2023
Q&A
BBC History UK

Q&A

A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

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4 mins  |
May 2023
How to and how not stage a coronation
BBC History UK

How to and how not stage a coronation

What separates a crowning success from a right royal fiasco? Drawing on a thousand years of Britain's coronations, Tracy Borman offers her dos and don'ts for pulling off the ceremony without a hitch

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9 mins  |
May 2023
TUDOR LONDON: A GLOBAL CITY
BBC History UK

TUDOR LONDON: A GLOBAL CITY

During the 16th century, London opened its doors to a diverse cast of newcomers, from Moroccan ambassadors to Native American chiefs. Jerry Brotton reveals how foreign visitors shaped the Tudor capital

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9 mins  |
May 2023
Quest for a queen
BBC History UK

Quest for a queen

BRONWEN RILEY is swept up by a lively if uneven exploration of the life and landscapes of the near-mythical first-century leader of the Iceni

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3 mins  |
May 2023
Red dawn
BBC History UK

Red dawn

RICHARD OVERY is impressed by a comprehensive history of the changing relationship between two states that became the great superpowers of Eurasia

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2 mins  |
May 2023
"Climate is a factor that underpins all of human history"
BBC History UK

"Climate is a factor that underpins all of human history"

Peter Frankopan talks to Rhiannon Davies about his pioneering new book exploring how humanity's complex relationship with the natural world has altered over the millennia

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10+ mins  |
April 2023
"Come and assist your loving mother. I am in prison for debt". "Dear mother, so am I"
BBC History UK

"Come and assist your loving mother. I am in prison for debt". "Dear mother, so am I"

Debtors' prisons inflicted untold misery on families in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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10+ mins  |
April 2023
William Douglas: The infamous bushranger
BBC History UK

William Douglas: The infamous bushranger

Hard drinker, bandit, prize-fighter and reader of skulls. MEG FOSTER unravels the myth of \"Black Douglas\", whose life of crime across 19th-century Australia made him a target of lynch mobs and the popular press

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7 mins  |
April 2023
The first families of the second city
BBC History UK

The first families of the second city

The story of modern Birmingham is dominated by two clans, whose radical views and fierce commitment to public service forged its distinctive identity.

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9 mins  |
April 2023
GEORGE VI'S NAZI DILEMMA
BBC History UK

GEORGE VI'S NAZI DILEMMA

As war raged across the globe, the king had to confront admirers of Adolf Hitler uncomfortably close to home

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8 mins  |
April 2023
Hot cockles, handball and hide-and-seek
BBC History UK

Hot cockles, handball and hide-and-seek

Nicholas Orme highlights some of the most popular children's pastimes in Tudor England - from ball games to blind man's buff - and explores their place in wider society

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8 mins  |
April 2023
AT THE MERCY OF THE MONGOLS
BBC History UK

AT THE MERCY OF THE MONGOLS

They pulled off one of the most astonishing campaigns of conquest in history. But how did they treat their subject populations once the dust had settled?

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9 mins  |
April 2023
Women at war
Country Life UK

Women at war

In the historical context of the First World War, entrenched traditionalism, separate spheres ideology, patriarchy and, to some extent, Imperialism all contributed to the argument against using women in wartime British intelligence,’ writes Sarah-Louise Miller.

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3 mins  |
March 08, 2023
12 February 1554 Lady Jane Grey is executed for treason
BBC History UK

12 February 1554 Lady Jane Grey is executed for treason

The young woman installed as a Protestant alternative to Queen Mary meets a tragic end

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2 mins  |
February 2023
13 February 1858 European explorers first glimpse Lake Tanganyika
BBC History UK

13 February 1858 European explorers first glimpse Lake Tanganyika

Burton and Speke seek the source of the river Nile

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1 min  |
February 2023
When art turns odd
BBC History UK

When art turns odd

Our podcast editor Ellie Cawthorne discusses a recent episode on the weirdest masterpieces in art history - and what they can tell us about the depth of human imagination

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2 mins  |
February 2023
"Indigenous Americans who travelled across the Atlantic were horrified by inequalities in European society"
BBC History UK

"Indigenous Americans who travelled across the Atlantic were horrified by inequalities in European society"

Caroline Dodds pennock talks to Ellie Cawthorne about her new book tracing the remarkable stories of Indigenous Americans who voyaged to Europe after 1492

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10+ mins  |
February 2023
The voice of a female golden age
BBC History UK

The voice of a female golden age

The 14th century was a time of great change in England - not least for women, who enjoyed more autonomy, work opportunities and wealth. Marion Turner explains what Chaucer's outspoken Wife of Bath reveals about their lives and thoughts

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10+ mins  |
February 2023
The age of transmation
BBC History UK

The age of transmation

Those who write off the Middle Ages as an unchanging backwater are overlooking the seismic advances - in everything from scientific knowledge to self-awareness - that redefined what it meant to be human, argues lan Mortimer

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10+ mins  |
February 2023
Olive's role in the BBC's earliest days deserves to be remembered
BBC History UK

Olive's role in the BBC's earliest days deserves to be remembered

WHEN WE CONSIDER THE BBC'S FIRST 100 YEARS, distinguished director generals come to mind, along with famous presenters and favourite programmes. Yet it's likely that you have never heard of the wonderfully named Olive Bottle.

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2 mins  |
February 2023