BBC World Histories Magazine Issue 19

This issue, we explore various moments at which something ended – a division, a political regime, a cultural movement – and investigate the global aftershocks. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is one of the most telling examples: a pivotal point in the history of the 20th century, the legacy of which is still evolving around the world today. Across a trio of special features marking the 30th anniversary of this seismic event, Ian Kershaw, Kristina Spohr and Hester Vaizey consider the impact on those who were there to witness it, and the ways in which the effects rippled outwards as far afield as China and Saudi Arabia. You can read their thoughts from page 30. Another episode with huge repercussions was the 18th-century American Revolution, which saw…

MORE FROM US historyextra.com The website of BBC World Histories and our sister magazines, BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed, is packed with thought-provoking world history content. The History Extra podcast Our twice-weekly podcast, featuring interviews with leading names including William Dalrymple and Jill Lepore, receives almost two million listens a month. You can listen to episodes free via iTunes and other providers, or at historyextra.com/podcasts. Digital editions BBC World Histories is available for the Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad/iPhone, Google Play and Zinio. You can find us in your app store. BBC History Magazine Britain’s bestselling history magazine is available around the world, and is published 13 times a year in print and a wide range of digital editions. Turn to page 45 for our latest subscription offer. Social…

Jung Chang The latest book by the bestselling author of Wild Swans tells the story of three sisters who influenced many of the major events in 20thcentury China. On page 78, she discusses the politics and passions that drove the women: “They were very fond of each other, but were torn apart by their divergent political beliefs”. Diya Gupta Some 75,000 Indian soldiers were held as prisoners of war during the 1939–45 conflict, “yet hardly any accounts from Indian PoWs are known,” explains the postdoctoral visiting research fellow at the University of London. The powerful yet long-untold stories of some of these prisoners are explored from page 46. Rebecca Jarman On page 6, Jarman – lecturer in Latin American cultural studies at the University of Leeds – explains why Venezuela’s…

“Over the course of the past five years, standards of living in Venezuela have plummeted. At least 3.7 million Venezuelans are malnourished” Late afternoon in Lima’s bustling business district is a perfect time for people-watching. In a park, I noticed two teenage boys in mismatched outfits. One, older and louder, was teaching the other how to juggle. The apprentice was hapless but persistent. He laughed each time he dropped the balls, to the amusement of his spectators. He was too focused on his task to pay much attention to their teasing. Slowly, he began to get a handle on the trick. His pride was quiet and compelling. I learned later that Junior, the novice entertainer, had not long before arrived in Peru from Venezuela, having travelled 2,500 miles on buses…

The recent death of Zimbabwe’s strong-man president revived memories of both his triumphs and his tyranny. BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Thomson explores the paradoxical nature of a freedom fighter who became a despot “The two biggest public celebrations in Zimbabwe during the life of Robert Gabriel Mugabe bookended each end of his long political career. The first marked the inauguration of the heroic freedom fighter as the first black prime minister of independent Zimbabwe in April 1980 after a landslide election victory. The second followed 37 years later, after the increasingly despotic and frail leader was deposed in an army coup. It’s hard to be sure which was the most celebrated. It’s as if there were two Mugabes. The younger one, who led a seven-year bush war against white…

1 MAIDANETSKE UKRAINE Gathering gloom Archaeologists have identified 13 ‘mega-structures’ thought to have been used for public gatherings at a Copper Age site in Ukraine. The Maidanetske settlement had 3,000 homes and was inhabited by people of the Tripolye culture more than 5,000 years ago. Experts from Kiel University in Germany, Boris Grishenko Kyiv University and the National Academy of Science of Ukraine now believe they could indicate a move towards centralised communities, which may have contributed to the disintegration of such settlements. 2 ROTTERDAM THE NETHERLANDS Crowning glory An 18th-century Ethiopian crown may be returned to Africa after being hidden in a Rotterdam flat for two decades. The rare crown, decorated with religious imagery, was discovered by Sirak Asfaw in the bag of an Ethiopian visitor who stayed at…