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WELCOME

There are few more striking examples of history becoming political than the story of Rutger Bregman, the Dutch author at the centre of a media storm earlier this year. His 2017 book Utopia for Realists explores how historical political ideas could rejuvenate today’s divided world. As such, he might seem the perfect guest for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which brings together politicians, business moguls and thought-leaders in an idyllic Swiss Alpine town.

Yet his contribution was not met with universal approval. The fallout made headlines around the world, led to a memorably testy exchange between Bregman and a US TV news anchor, and catapulted the idea of the ‘public historian’ back into the limelight. Bregman shares his take on the experience, and his arguments for why more historians need to speak up, on page 11.

Another example of the crossover between the historical and the political is the thorny issue of ‘cultura l repatriation’: the debate about whether museums and other institutions should return artefacts to the places from which they were collected. It’s a complex subject, sparking strong feelings on all sides, and you can read the thoughts of some leading experts in our Big Question feature from page 16.

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It’s telling how a lack of awareness of the quirks of history can have political repercussions in the present. As Daniel Immerwahr reveals on page 26, when a super typhoon hit US islands in the Pacific in 2018, it received just a fraction of the media coverage devoted to similar disasters in North America – because, he argues, of the ways in which such overseas territories have come to be regarded. Placing them back into their full context reveals the history of the US as a history of empire that is interesting both in its own right and for the reasons it has come to be forgotten.

If you’re looking for diversions from the travails of the modern world, there are plenty to enjoy here. On page 46, Violet Moller travels to seventh-century India to follow the meandering journey of the numerals that changed the world. And, on page 66, curator Nina Wiedemeyer interprets some of the master-

works of Bauhaus, the influential art school founded a century ago this spring.

We’ll be back on 23 May with a look at, among other things, the Stonewall Riots and D-Day. Until then, enjoy the issue. Ma Elton Editor, BBC World Histories matt.elton@immediate.co.uk

Together with two regular titles, the BBC History Magazine team also produces a bi-weekly podcast, live events and a range of special editions exploring specific topics and periods

Available around the world, BBC History Magazine is published 13 times a year in print and many digital editions. Turn to page 88 for our latest subscription offer.

COVER ILLUSTRATION: DAVIDE BONAZZI–SALZMANART. INSIDE COVERS: GETTY IMAGES. BACK COVER: ALAMY/GETTY IMAGES. THIS PAGE: STEVE SAYERS–THE SECRET STUDIO

Launched in 2016, BBC World Histories complements BBC History Magazine and is published every two months.

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