BBC World Histories Magazine Issue 7

All nations are to some extent defined by their past – but the United States seems to have a particularly complex relationship with its history. Indeed, for a nation built on ideals of equality and liberty, the US seems surprisingly divided in its understanding of how to translate those founding principles into modern life. Is the South’s Confederate heritage something to be honoured, for example, or a source of present-day shame? Why is police violence against African-Americans still a recurrent problem? In the year since Donald Trump was elected president, many of these contradictions have once again been exposed: in the clashes between white supremacist and anti-racist campaigners in Charlottesville in August, for instance, and in ongoing protests about police brutality. In this, our final issue of 2017, we explore…

Michael Burleigh The historian and writer discusses why the past can be misused or misinterpreted, with sometimes worrying results. “A major point I wanted to make in my new book is that so many people talk about the lessons of history, but actually there are lots of bad lessons that we should actively avoid,” he says on page 82. Benjamin Houston The riots that set Los Angeles ablaze 25 years ago left a lasting legacy, not least in perceptions of police racism and violence. On page 28, Benjamin Houston explores the causes and impact of the episode. “What this particular instance of a ‘multi-ethnic riot’ underscored was the racial dimension of police brutality,” he says. Olivette Otele On page 48 historian Olivette Otele joins our panel discussing how we should…

The history behind today’s news Viewpoints Expert opinions on the historical issues behind today’s news On 5 March 1960, Cuban photojournalist Alberto Korda captured arguably the most famous portrait photograph in history. He was taking pictures of Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro delivering a speech when Che Guevara (who was, like Korda, 31 years old) appeared beside the podium. Che’s face took on an expression of great emotion, barely restrained, and the metal star on his beret picked up the Caribbean sun. Korda snapped a couple of frames before Che disappeared, one of which – the image he entitled Guerrillero Heroico (Heroic Guerrilla) – went on to become one of the most reproduced photos of all time. On the 50th anniversary of Che’s death, it remains a global icon. Korda…

Inscribed above the dais in the wood-panelled Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre in University College London is a quotation from the Biblical book of Deuteronomy: “Remember the days of old; consider the years of each generation.” It’s a poetic and even rather inspiring injunction, but if you think about it too much it’s not obvious how to live up to it. Remembering the days of old is complicated enough, but what exactly are “the years of each generation”? Professional historians don’t always deal well with the concept of generations. Once you move beyond family history, it’s not obvious how a generation should be defined. How can the beginning and end dates for a generation be anything other than arbitrary? Nor is it clear whether one’s generation is a marker of ‘identity’…

It is not easy to write the history of social networks. Because the subject attracts cranks and conspiracy theorists – if you don’t believe me, Google ‘Illuminati’ – it is hard for professional historians to take it seriously. Even those who do must struggle with the problem that networks rarely maintain readily accessible archives. And yet it would be absurd to argue that social networks played no historical role at all. The Illuminati – an 18thcentury German society dedicated to the spread of Enlightenment ideas – were not as powerful as their critics alleged. Yet they were a part of that radical Enlightenment that spread through masonic lodges as well as learned societies on both sides of the Atlantic, and led ultimately to the American and French Revolutions. My new…

1 CHAPELLE DOM HUE GUERNSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS A holy porpoise Experts have been baffled by the discovery of porpoise remains buried in a medieval grave on a small island off Guernsey. One theory is that the animal, carefully interred just 10m from the sea, may have held religious significance for monks who lived on the island in the 14th century. Philip de Jersey, who made the discovery, suggests the porpoise was more likely left in preserving salt for later consumption, then forgotten about. 2 LOS ANGELES UNITED STATES Columbus Day renamed Los Angeles has become the latest US city to change the name of the public holiday formerly called Columbus Day. Critics have argued that the name is historically insensitive in light of the devastation of the continent’s indigenous people…