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Napoleon: Man and Myth
Was Napoleon a revolutionary?
In this podcast Professor Michael Broers of the University of Oxford looks at the significance of Napoleon Bonaparte.
This podcast was funded by the Age of Revolution education legacy project and recorded with the help of Maria Edwards, Student Ambassador at the University of Kent.
Napoleon: Man and Myth
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Darwin and the Origin of Species
The History of Science
In this podcast Professor Jim Secord and Dr Alison Pearn of the Darwin Correspondence Project look at how Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection and the significance of his publication: The Origin of Species.
Darwin and the Origin of Species
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Ireland under the reigns of James II and William III
Early Modern Irish History
In this podcast Professor David Hayton of Queen's University Belfast looks at the significance of reigns of James II and William III in Ireland.
Ireland under the reigns of James II and William III
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The failure of negotiated settlement
Early Modern British History
In this podcast Professor Michael Braddick of the University of Sheffield looks at why it proved impossible to achieve a negotiated settletment between 1646 and 1649.
The failure of negotiated settlement
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Early British Women Engineers
Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines
In this podcast Henrietta Heald looks at some of the pioneering British women engineers of the early 20th century and the role they played in fighting for economic freedom.
'"Women have won their political independence. Now is the time for them to achieve their economic freedom too."
This was the...
Early British Women Engineers
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Domestic impact of World War I
20th Century British History
In this podcast Professor Richard Grayson of Goldsmiths, University of London, looks at the domestic impact of World War I on the U.K.
Domestic impact of World War I
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The Irish Confederate War and the Cromwellian Conquest
Early Modern Irish History
In this podcast Professor Sean Connolly of Queen's University Belfast examines the Eleven Years War, its' context within the English Civil War and alliances between differing Catholic and Protestant sides.
The Irish Confederate War and the Cromwellian Conquest
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Petitioning the House of Commons, 1780–1918
Petitions, Parliament and Political Culture
In this podcast Professor Richard Huzzey and Dr Henry Miller of the University of Durham discuss their research project on 'Re-thinking petitions, Parliament, and people in the long nineteenth century'. During this project they analysed records of 1 million public petitions to the House of Commons in the period 1780-1918 - and...
Petitioning the House of Commons, 1780–1918
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The Sasanian Empire
Podcast
The Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) represents one of the high points in the history of Iranian civilisation, with Sasanian cultural influence spreading far beyond the territory that it controlled, influencing regions as distant as Western Europe, Eastern Africa, China and India.
Following the defeat of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD), Ardashir I of the House of Sasan established an...
The Sasanian Empire
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The Meiji Restoration
Podcast
The Meiji Restoration was a political event that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical power to, and consolidated the political system under, the Emperor of Japan. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and...
The Meiji Restoration
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The British Templars
Podcast
Dr Steve Tibble unpacks the true history of the Knights Templar, challenging centuries of myth and conspiracy to reveal their real legacy - particularly in Britain. He explores their origins during the Crusades, the evolution of their military and religious roles, and the dramatic events that led to their downfall....
The British Templars
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Tutankhamun, Howard Carter and the Griffith Institute
Podcast
Tutankhamun (c. 1341 BC – c. 1323 BC), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled c. 1332 – 1323 BC during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt.
Tutankhamun acceded to the throne around the age of nine following the short reigns of his predecessors Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten. He married his half-sister Ankhesenpaaten, who was probably the mother of his two infant daughters. During his reign...
Tutankhamun, Howard Carter and the Griffith Institute
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Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 4
Close-knit Communities?
In this episode, Dr Hailwood investigates what the relationship between villagers might have been like four centuries ago. There can be a tendency to romanticise the ‘close-knit’ communities of a past age, but through a case study of a pub crawl in a Somerset village we come to see that...
Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 4
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Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 3
Isolated and Insular?
In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) examines whether rural villages were really as cut off from the outside world as is often assumed. The evidence of court records not only shows that people often travelled quite far as part of their work, but also that surprisingly high levels...
Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 3
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Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 2
Working Life
In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) uses witness statements from court records to reconstruct a ‘typical’ working day for 17th century villagers. Contrary to our expectations that men toiled in the fields all day whilst women were occupied with work around the home, the evidence reveals that both...
Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 2
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Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 1
‘Hard, Cold, Short?’
In this episode, Dr Hailwood (University of Bristol) asks whether everyday life in English villages 400 years ago was really as uncomfortable and harsh as we generally tend to think. Not everybody died young, and although ‘creature comforts’ were not up to modern standards there is plenty of evidence that...
Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 1
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An Introduction to Late Medieval and Renaissance Poland & Lithuania
From the Baltic to the Black Sea
In this podcast, Professor Natalia Nowakowska (University of Oxford) discusses the history of late medieval Poland and Lithuania.
Beginning with the origins of the Polish-Lithuanian Union in 1385, Professor Nowakowska takes us on a journey that will see the Union become one of Europe's largest political and economic powers, ranging from the...
An Introduction to Late Medieval and Renaissance Poland & Lithuania
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An introduction to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Podcast
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe. The Commonwealth had a unique constitution which placed strict controls on monarchical authority. Legislation was administered by a bicameral legislature, with the king bound to comply with the constitutional principles dictated by the Henrician...
An introduction to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
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An Introduction to Cuneiform
Podcast
In this podcast Professor Jacob Dahl of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, provides an introduction to the origins and significance of cuneiform. Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system (dating from c. 3500 BC to c. 100 AD) and represents a transformational turning point in the development of human civilisation.
An...
An Introduction to Cuneiform
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An Introduction to Early Mesopotamia (4000-2700 BC)
Podcast
Mesopotamia means 'Between the Rivers'. The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4th century BC, when it was used to designate the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers. Later, the historical region included not only the area of present-day Iraq, but also parts of present-day Iran, Syria and Turkey....
An Introduction to Early Mesopotamia (4000-2700 BC)
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The Baltic Crusades
The Northern Crusades (1147-1410)
In this podcast, Gregory Leighton, provides an introduction to the Baltic Crusades (also known as the Northern Crusades).
The Baltic Crusades were campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and also against Orthodox Christian Slavs.
From the outset, Christian monarchs...
The Baltic Crusades
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The End of the Vietnam War
Podcast
The Vietnam War was one of many conflicts born partly out of the tumultuous global shift of the end of European Empires for which the Second World War had acted as a catalyst. What marked the Vietnam War out from some of the other political changes in the Indo-Chinese and...
The End of the Vietnam War
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Women and the Crusades in Europe and the Near East
Podcast
In 2023, Emerita Professor Helen J. Nicholson (Cardiff University), published her book Women and the Crusades. This book surveys women's involvement in medieval crusading between the second half of the eleventh century, when Pope Gregory VII first proposed a penitential military expedition to help the Christians of the East, and 1570,...
Women and the Crusades in Europe and the Near East
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Technology and Innovation in the Medieval Near East
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) discusses the role the Near East played in the development and transmission of technology and innovation during the medieval period. Dr Morton looks examines the significance of gunpowder, the navigational compass and maritime chart, and also how the changing civilisations of the medieval Near East...
Technology and Innovation in the Medieval Near East
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The Spice and Silk routes in the late medieval era
Podcast
The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the East and West.
The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric were known and used...
The Spice and Silk routes in the late medieval era
