Western Civ

In House of Lilies, historian Justine Firnhaber-Baker tells the epic story of the Capetian dynasty of medieval France, showing how their ideas about power, religion, and identity continue to shape European society and politics today.Reigning from 987 to 1328, the Capetians became the most powerful monarchy of the Middle Ages. Consolidating a fragmented realm that eventually stretched from the Rhône to the Pyrenees, they were the first royal house to adopt the fleur-de-lys, displaying this lily emblem to signify their divine favor and legitimate their rule. The Capetians were at the center of some of the most dramatic and far-reaching episodes in European history, including the Crusades, bloody waves of religious persecution, and a series of wars with England. The Capetian age saw the emergence of Gothic architecture, the romantic ideals of chivalry and courtly love, and the Church’s role at the center of daily life.BUY THE BOOKSUPPORT THE SHOW

Today I sit down with historian, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, and discuss his latest book: The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt. One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name.      In The Cleopatras, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders. Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent specta

Despite her best efforts to reach a compromise, the Massacre at Vassy finally pushed France over into its First War of Religion. Spoiler alert, it won't be the last. WebsitePatreon Support

Today I sit down for an interview with historian Mike Rapport to discuss his latest book: City of Light, City of Shadow: Paris in the Bellé Epoch.In City of Light, City of Shadows, Mike Rapport uncovers a Paris riven by social anxieties and plagued by overlapping epidemics of poverty, political extremism, and anti-Semitism. As the Sacré-Cœur and Eiffel Tower rose into the skies, redefining architecture and the Paris skyline, Paris’s slums were plagued by disease and gang violence. The era, now remembered as a high point of French art and culture, was also an age of intense political violence, including anarchist bombings, organized right-wing mobs, and assassinations.Buy The BookSupport the Show

Elizabeth deals with the continued fallout from the death of Amy Dudley while word from France arrives that Mary, Queen of Scots, believes she has a better claim to the English throne. WebsitePatreon Free Trial

This is a bonus sneak-peak of what I do over on the paid feed: Western Civ 2.0. (The actual paid feed does not have ads.) In this episode, I cover the First Punic War. Rome came consistently close to losing this war to Carthage and it is fascinating to think how different the outcome would have been had that happened. The First Punic War (264-241 BC) marked a pivotal moment in ancient Mediterranean history, pitting two formidable powers, Rome and Carthage, against each other in a struggle for supremacy. The conflict was primarily fought over control of Sicily, a strategically significant island rich in resources. Initially, Rome had little naval experience, while Carthage boasted a formidable navy. However, Rome rapidly adapted, constructing a fleet from scratch and employing a innovative tactic of boarding enemy ships to turn naval battles into land-based engagements, thus neutralizing Carthage's naval superiority.The war witnessed several key battles, including the Battle of Mylae and the Battle of Cape Ecn

The death of Henry II thrusts his fifteen-year-old son Francis into the throne. From the word go Francis II is uninterested in running his kingdom. Nor will his sickly frame allow him to. Francis' brief reign is dominated by his mother, Catherine d'Medici, and the powerful Guise family. More than anything else, his reign features the beginning of a difficult period for the French Kingdom, which quickly finds itself torn apart by religious strife. WebsiteWestern Civ 2.0 Free Trial

In this episode, we break down the changes that Robert Dudley might become the next King of England. Spoiler alert, he doesn't. While Elizabeth I might have truly loved her favorite, the reality was she could not marry him. Marrying Robert would have isolated England even further as we will see. Then, when Robert's wife dies under mysterious circumstances, the door closes forever on the idea of Robert Dudley, King of England. WebsiteSupport the Show and Get Ad-Free Episodes

Elizabeth is often known in history books as the "Virgin Queen". As we will see in this episode, to remain unwed was a conscious choice she cultivated from the very beginning of her reign. It gave her independence. And it allowed her to chart England's religious course, very much a compromise, without foreign interference. WebsitePatreon Support

Today we begin Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most important British monarchs in history. Elizabeth takes over for the deceased Mary with England in absolute turmoil. She appoints William Cecil her Secretary of State and together they begin the process of righting England's ship. WebsitePatreon Free Trial

The Dutch Rebellion is the longest domestic revolt in modern European history. Over 80 years the Dutch slowly but surely ground Philip II into bankruptcy. While Philip had what he thought was an inexhaustible pool of Mexican and Peruvian gold and silver to draw from, what he did not understand were the modern forces of inflation and interest. In the end, more even than the Dutch people, Philip found himself undone by modern economics.WebsitePatreon Support

In today's episode, the reign of Queen Mary I of England comes to an end. Mary's efforts to burn England free of heresy fails and Princess Elizabeth assumes the throne.WebsitePatreon Support

Now we get to the Queen Mary I of England everyone knows. In the span of just over two years, Mary burned more heretics than Edward VI or Henry VIII combined. All of this was an effort to reunite England with the Papal See. Reginald Pole, the papal legate, remained confident in the project. But the enthusiasm in England for a return to the age before Henry's schism was waning and time was very much running out.WebsitePatreon Support

Queen Mary I of England survives the first challenge to her power and emerges with the sense that she is God's ordained monarch. As a result, the pace of religious change quickened by the fall of 1554. WebsitePatreon Free Trial

With the death of Edward VI and the failure of Jane Grey to seize the throne, Queen Mary's ascent seemed likely to mean there would be a dramatic and immediate change in religious policy. The evangelical faction was now firmly out of power - many would flee to the continent in fact. But at least initially Mary and her court was a bit hesitant to push too hard too fast. For decades now the people of England had heard nothing but criticism of the Pope, it seemed unlikely they would forget all that overnight. Besides, Mary had to deal with the practical issues of being queen. Namely, she was not a young woman, was not married, and had no children. The proverbial clock, in other words, was ticking.WebsitePatreon Free Trial

The English Reformation really heats up between 1551 and 1553. Unfortunately, the boy king, Edward VI, dies young leaving the dream of a final evangelical nation unfulfilled. Edward attempts to cut his half-sisters out of the inheritance and leaves the throne to Lady Jane Grey. but England isn't having it. WebsitePatreon Support

In this episode, Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, now dominates the Privy Council. As a result, the pace of religious reform decidedly quickens. The Mass is condemned. Altars are torn down. The "Old Religion" more or less disappears. This then brings matters to a head with a certain member of the royal family who remains an ardent Catholic: the Princess Mary. Spoiler alert, THAT is going to be a major problem going forward.WebsitePatreon Free Trial

Somerset survived his brother's poorly planned coup, but this time he won't be so lucky. The enclosure crisis continues to rock England and today that crisis erupts into the most dangerous domestic uprising in England since the 14th Century. Somerset will manage to survive Kett's Rebellion but his failure to effectively manage the crisis leads the English nobility to wonder openly whether he is the best person to lead England. Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, decides to attempt a coup of his own and manages to steal the power from behind the throne from the Lord Protector. WebsitePatreon Free Trial

Today I sit down with historian David Reynolds and talk about his latest book: Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him.Winston Churchill remains one of the most revered figures of the twentieth century, his name a byword for courageous leadership. But the Churchill we know today is a mixture of history and myth, authored by the man himself. In Mirrors of Greatness, prizewinning historian David Reynolds reevaluates Churchill’s life by viewing it through the eyes of his allies and adversaries, even his own family, revealing Churchill’s lifelong struggle to overcome his political failures and his evolving grasp of what “greatness” truly entailed. Through his dealings with Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain, we follow Churchill’s triumphant campaign against Nazi Germany. But we also see a Churchill whose misjudgments of allies and rivals like Roosevelt, Stalin, Gandhi, and Clement Attlee blinded him to the British Empire’s waning dominance on the world stage and to the rising popularity o

Today I sit down with Christopher Goscha to discuss his new book, Vietnam: A New History. In Vietnam, Christopher Goscha tells the full history of Vietnam, from antiquity to the present day. Generations of emperors, rebels, priests, and colonizers left complicated legacies in this remarkable country. Periods of Chinese, French, and Japanese rule reshaped and modernized Vietnam, but so too did the colonial enterprises of the Vietnamese themselves as they extended their influence southward from the Red River Delta. Over the centuries, numerous kingdoms, dynasties, and states have ruled over -- and fought for -- what is now Vietnam. The bloody Cold War-era conflict between Ho Chi Minh's communist-backed Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the American-backed Republic of Vietnam was only the most recent instance when war divided and transformed Vietnam.Purchase the book HERE.Check out the website.Support the show!