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.
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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
Courting controversy • The acquittal of four people charged with criminal damage, after removing a statue of a slave trader, reignited discussions on how we commemorate the past. ANNA WHITELOCK charted the debate
HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines
MICHAEL WOOD ON… • REAL VOICES FROM HITLER’S GERMANY
ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place in March in history
WHY WE SHOULD REMEMBER… • The first final of the FA Cup, the oldest competition in world football
Defining moments
LETTERS
BBC History Magazine
What drove the witch-hunters’ cruel crusade? • They tortured, tricked and terrorised suspects into confessions – often with undisguised relish. So, asks Marion Gibson, should the witchfinders of 16th and 17th-century Europe be dismissed as sadists and charlatans?
TRICKS OF THE WITCH-HUNTERS’ TRADE • Six tactics that were deployed to secure a conviction
“THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD” • Following years of icy silence between the US and China, on 21 February 1972 president Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing for an unprecedented diplomatic mission. Rana Mitter explores how the two sides viewed an encounter that augured China’s entrance onto the global stage
Lodging with Mozart (and Shelley, Franklin and Byron) • It may seem strange in our home-owning obsessed times, but thousands of Georgians – from modest milliners to world-famous poets – chose renting a room over gaining a toehold on the property ladder. Gillian Williamson explains why
Landladies under attack • Georgian gossip-mongers preyed on women who let out rooms
DIGGING FOR VICTORY • When war broke out in 1939, food shortages posed just as grave a threat to Britons as a German invasion. From Dig for Victory to the land girls, JOHN MARTIN charts a nation’s battle with starvation
SPUDS, PIES AND INNER TUBES • From the Savoy-standard to the stomach-turning, seven foodstuffs found on the wartime plate
The secrets of the stones • Where did Stonehenge’s megaliths come from? Were they transported to Wiltshire by glacier or human hand? And how long did this Neolithic building project take? As a major exhibition on Stonehenge opens at the British Museum, Mike Pitts uses the latest research to answer the big questions about the construction of this ancient wonder
Stonehenge glossary
Captivating little citizens • The BBC has always been eager to create shows for children, but at first their programmes were often more preachy than action-packed. DAVID HENDY explores how Blue Peter transformed the corporation’s child-friendly offering
Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts
A SPACE MENAGERIE • During the space race, animals paved the way for humans to travel beyond Earth. Stephen Walker shines a light on these largely forgotten creatures and their often fatal journeys
TIMELINE ANIMAL MISSIONS THAT BLAZED THE TRAIL
“We have believed the Normans’ view of themselves for too long” • JUDITH A GREEN talks to...