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 AUGUST 2024

THREE THINGS I'VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE'S CONTRIBUTORS

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

Seven elections that rocked Britain • As the country goes to the polls, RICHARD TOYE explores the most consequential general elections in British history – from the bitter battle of 1832 to Thatcher's 1979 triumph

Running the numbers Since 1945, opinion polls have become a significant part of British elections – despite the occasional notable misstep

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THE GLOBAL IMPORTANCE OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI on personal responses to the Bengal famine of 1943

LETTERS

BBC History Magazine

Dark knights • The crusades sparked centuries of violence and chaos – and not just on the battlefield. Steve Tibble describes the surge in criminality – from petty theft to cold-blooded murder – that accompanied the warring armies to the Holy Land

TIDE OF CRIME • Shiploads of men, including merchants and mercenaries, turned to piracy in the eastern Mediterranean

CROMWELL'S POSTAL SPIES • Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman tell the story of the first English intelligence-gathering unit, which deployed an array of cunning tricks to intercept and decode enemy communications

THE BATTLE TO ELUDE PRYING EYES • Many of the missives opened in the Black Chamber were protected by clever alphabet and word-substitution systems

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

Counter revolution • Over the past century, kitchens have evolved more than any room in the home. Deborah Sugg Ryan charts Britain's long quest for space and efficiency – from fly-repellent cabinets to the ubiquitous air-fryer

APPLIANCES OF SCIENCE • Five leaps forward in kitchen technology

The madcap Olympics • As Paris prepares to stage the Summer Olympics, David Goldblatt describes how the 1900 Games – the first held in the French capital – almost defeated the Olympic ideal before it was even out of the starting blocks

WACKY RACES • Five more Olympic events that encapsulate the chaos of Paris 1900

FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT… late medieval England • Hannah Skoda, who is teaching our new HistoryExtra Academy course, shares five surprising facts about life in the 14th and 15th centuries

The man, the myth, the murderer • As Scotland celebrates the 750th birthday of ROBERT THE BRUCE, the national hero lauded for his military exploits against the ‘auld enemy’, Fiona Watson reveals the shadowy side of a ruthless noble who schemed and slaughtered his way to the throne

TIMELINE • The rise, fall and rise of Robert Bruce

THE FINAL JOURNEY OF THE BRUCE'S HEART • How part of the Bruce was carried to Spain and back

Elżbieta Zawacka, AKA Zo The Polish powerhouse • Smuggling papers, microfilms and cash across Nazi-occupied Europe, dodging the Gestapo, training with the SOE, parachuting back into Poland… nothing was too dangerous for this fearless female figurehead of the Polish resistance. CLARE MULLEY tells her story

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