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 • MAY 2025

THREE THINGS I‘VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

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

“Trump’s tariffs are dramatic only if you have a short historical memory” • Tariffs and trade wars have hit the headlines in recent months as US president Donald Trump pursues aggressive economic policies. But are they really so unprecedented? FRANK TRENTMANN spoke to Matt Elton about centuries of ‘discriminatory taxes’

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • A TREASURE TROVE OF MEDIEVAL DOCUMENTS

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI on the urgent need to commemorate historical famines

LETTERS

BBC History Magazine

We sang, we danced and we all held hands” • It’s 80 years since Britain erupted in joy at the news that the war in Europe was over. But how did those who lived through VE Day remember it? With the help of the BBC WW2 People’s War archive, John Willis reveals a day of partying, remembrance and continuing sacrifice

THIS MONTH’S TOP PODCAST PICKS • Listen ad-free at historyextra.com/podcast or with ads wherever you get your podcasts

SCOTLAND’S SEASON OF THE WITCH • In 16th and 17th-century Scotland, many hundreds of ‘witches’ were put to death – 10 times the proportion executed in England. Martha McGill asks what drove the killings

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

A timeless Love Story? • Abélard and Héloïse’s passionate affair in 12th-century Paris captured imaginations in France and far beyond. Yet, writes Yvonne Seale, there was a dark side to this true-life tale of forbidden love

It was the shot heard around the world… But who fired it? • It’s 250 years since British troops clashed with American colonists at Lexington and Concord. George Goodwin reveals how one fateful day triggered the American Revolutionary War - and sparked a ferocious race to blame the other side

TIMELINE THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION • How tensions between Britain and its American colonies descended into conflict

The Irish famine

Egypt’s grape expectations • To the ancient Egyptians, wine played a pivotal part in mythology, ritual and the natural processes that enabled their survival. Islam Issa explores six key roles it fulfilled in their society over the millennia

BOOKS

“She said: ‘If you represent Pinochet in this case, I will divorce you’” • PHILIPPE SANDS tells Rob Attar about his involvement in the sensational trial of the Chilean dictator, and how it connects to a Nazi on the run

Fire from the sky • AARON WILLIAM MOORE is impressed by a considered and inclusive account of the US bombing of Japanese civilians during the Second World War

Japan’s desolation and atonement • Content producer Danny Bird picks three podcast episodes about Japan’s war experiences

Stream of consciousness • GOJKO BARJAMOVIC is swept along on a journey into the distant past that inspires questions about how our forebears viewed their place in the human story

War of words • US efforts to spread democratic ideals through smuggled books make a gripping yarn, says RICHARD J ALDRICH

THE CLASSIC BOOK • Adriane Lentz-Smith...