The History of Britain Magazine
Welcome to the History of Britain! The home nations share a varied and shared history unlike anywhere else, so we thought it only right to create a section dedicated to our mutual heritage.

The Second Opium War
The First Opium War had culminated in the unequal Treaty of Nanking, with which neither Britain nor China were entirely happy. By October 1856 relations were becoming tense again between the two countries…

First Opium War
Learn how a trade dispute between Britain and China over the import of British opium into China would ultimately lead to war…

James ‘Paraffin’ Young
There was a time (albeit a very short time) when Scotland was the largest producer of refined oil in the entire world, all because of just one man – James ‘Paraffin’ Young.

Land Girls and Lumber Jills
In 1939, it was not only men who answered the call to serve their nation and preserve freedom. Women were also called, and answered they did…

The Great British Seaside Holiday
The great British seaside holiday came into its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, now affordable to many through paid annual leave (thanks to the Holiday Pay Act 1938)…

RMS Lusitania
On the morning of May 1st 1915 the Lusitania left New York behind. Bound for Liverpool, few of the near two thousand passengers paid any…

James Bruce
James Bruce was a Scottish writer and traveller, whose legacy remains shrouded in rumour and false accusations…

Dr Livingstone I presume?
Linguist, doctor, missionary and explorer, Dr Livingstone is a legend among travellers and adventurers…