American history

An African man after being liberated from a slave ship by the Royal Navy, 1871. In all, more than 12 million captives were loaded onto Atlantic slavers’ vessels. (Pictures from History/Bridgeman Images)

A brief guide to the transatlantic slave trade

Woodcut illustration of slave labour on a sugar plantation

Success, sugar and slaves: the uncomfortable story of slaveholder Simon Taylor

Wrecked buildings in Los Angeles' South Central district following 1992 riots

The 1992 LA riots

Postcards from the past competition

Postcards from the past: Aged between 6–13? Enter our exciting lockdown competition

Peter Mayhew, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill, on-set of the film Star Wars

Star Wars: why did the film make history?

Flying the flag: A sailor signals a merchant ship in the Thames Estuary, 1939. Allied maritime capacity was paramount in the final victory. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

WW2: Why did the Allies win the Second World War?

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Tectonic foliation in metamorphic rocks at Porthleven, Cornwall. (Photo by Getty Images)

How the world made us . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hungarian Jews arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944

Editor’s pick 9 top articles from the BBC World Histories archive to read right now

A Wall Street speculator tries to sell his car to passersby

Your guide to... the Great Depression

John Wilkes Booth leans forward to shoot President Abraham Lincoln as he watches a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C, in 1865.

Q&A What play was Abraham Lincoln watching when he was shot?

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Astronauts being lifted from the Apollo 13 spacecraft after splashdown in the South Pacific,1970. (Photo by Alamy)

Apollo 13 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo of sand dunes

Why the American Wild West was a “hotbed of scientific discovery”

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US Army 7th Division's tanks equipped with flame throwers climbing a ridge on Okinawa. (Photo by W. Eugene Smith/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

Okinawa: the battle and the bomb . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The US assault on Okinawa

The WW2 battle of Okinawa: the bloodiest assault of the Pacific War

Two American soldiers wait for the second wave of combat helicopters of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during Operation Pershing during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War defined America in the second half of the 20th century. (Photo by Patrick Christain/Getty Images)

Your guide to the Vietnam War – plus 7 surprising facts you might not know