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 CHRISTMAS 2023

THREE THINGS I'VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE'S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place at Christmas in history

How do intractable conflicts come to an end? • With the Israel-Gaza war continuing to dominate the headlines, MATT ELTON assembled a panel of historians to discuss the factors that lead to entrenched warfare – and what might help resolve them

Hard times: what centuries of cost-ofliving crises reveal • As prices have soared in recent months, living costs have outstripped many incomes in the UK. But as VICTORIA BATEMAN explains, this is not a new state of affairs

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THE GLORIES OF BUDDHIST ART

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI on the price China paid in the Second World War

Car-Toon celebration

BBC History Magazine

“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 Elinor Evans reveals, on the 250th anniversary of this milestone in America's foundational story, it occurred against a backdrop of bloodshed

TIMELINE The road to revolution

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

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

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. Rachel Harris-Gardiner recalls a madcap forerunner Race Across the World

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

TIMELINE Napoleon: from artillery to emperor to exile

FIND OUT MORE IN OUR GREAT REPUTATIONS PODCAST SERIES

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 Joanna Arman, has she been written out of history?

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. JOSHUA LEVINE 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

2023 BOOKS OF THE YEAR • It's been another excellent year for history publishing, with new books that offer fresh insights into the past and help us make sense of the present. Here, a panel of historians recommend the titles they've most enjoyed this year, from tales of peerless Roman rulers to life in postwar Britain

ENCOUNTERS

“Tea permanently shaped Britain's relationships with the US and China, two great superpowers“ • SATHNAM SANGHERA (left) tells us about his new BBC Radio 4...