Recorded in the FOH Buckinghamshire Outpost via a secure line to the Beckenham Bunker, our intrepid hosts run their mouths (again) about recent political events. This could potentially be our last episode if we are to take cultural trends seriously, so listen fast before we are ourselves “toppled”! Full site and more episodes at footnotesofhistory.…

Yes we may be in the midst of a viral outbreak right now, but there was one far worse just over 100 years ago. In this episode, our daring hosts Tim and Dan take to the FOH darkweb-comms system (Tim's house phone) to discuss: The upside-down pattern of the virus that attacked the young, the strong and the able first Obscene conditions on the frontl…

Scrooge is practically tangible in the room with us today. Actually that’s me. As usual it falls to the sensible people to do the important work of wishing you a Merry Christmas in an entertaining and informative way. So in the absence of any sensible people on the FOH team, we’ve drafted in a glamourous assistant to do the work for us in this epis…

After much anticipation we release today our latest Footnotes main series episode: Number 35, on the Bryant and May matchgirls strike of 1888. As always - if you want the backdrop as well as knowing exactly when an episode is coming out and the ability to ask us email questions, join the subscriber list on the homepage: footnotesofhistory.com As yo…

Listeners, Today after a lengthy interlude, Dan and I release the second half of the Scramble for Africa episode. It’s controversial of course since, despite our normal dismissal of all the virtue signalling in modern media about empire and European history, we actually found ourselves rather moved by the cold brutality of the operation. Dan actual…

On today’s tape: Dan managed to work his holiday story into the recording – he went to St. Nazaire on what he calls an “Inbetweeners Holiday” but with added history – notably from World War Two. It’s a daring story of bravery, tenacity and pocket battleships. On the flipside, I recall the numerous moments I’ve had with some people who seem to think…

In this episode, your indefatigable young hosts delve deep into what is really the pinnacle of European Imperialism – the so-called Scramble for Africa, its effects, timeline and the apparent game that European powers seemed to be playing as it advanced. Traditionally, Africa’s dangerous interior – including disease, dense and almost unnavigable ri…

It’s not a big secret that TV shows based in history are sometimes a bit slapdash. Often it’s time pressures, it’s adaptation for drama or even just the taste of the producer. But in this episode, your Oracles of Truth kick around two previous Dispatches topics and get to grips with the “potential” truths that could be being told to you by your ver…

Quick note: Don't forget to sail yourself over the footnotesofhistory.com for more daring exploits from the past. With that announcement out of the way, today's episode is equal parts grand, intrepid adventure and terrifying horror story. In 1845, things were looking pretty good exploration-wise. Humanity knew where most things were and maps were *…

In this mini-sode, we discuss 2 of our latest email dispatches in more detail, getting to grips with: Do the maps from the nineteenth century inadvertently (or deliberately) reveal the mapmaker’s sentiments (especially as new nations are born in Europe!) The terror felt by one military man in England when Prussia absorbed Germany (he was so scared …

In 1878, the Congress of Berlin assembled the Great Powers of Europe to call time on the out-of-control battle between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In our previous episode, we pointed out that every Power brought its own food to the table - be it a desire to cry foul on Russia, to balance the tension between two major Emperors or even to exploit …

In this episode, your daring hosts examine the tangled story of the Congress of Berlin. In 1877, having spent the entire preceding century at each other’s throats, arch-rivals Russia and the Ottoman Empire went to war again. Russia considered itself the leader of the Slavs and the prosector of the Eastern invaders, looking to free the Holy Lands fr…

Short story long: The one with the biggest army gets to make the rules regardless of whether they’re morally legitimate. This is essentially the story of German unification. Historians will argue that Bismarck was “clever” and that he “manoeuvred” politically etc. But realistically none of it could have been achieved without a massive Prussian army…

Britain had a good nineteenth century. To know this, you really only have to compare it to other nations of Europe (and actually the world). The “Concert of Europe” – a loosely coordinated regime of quite punishing military repression, censorship and heavy taxes really did for most of the rest of Europe. Repression led to the cultural and nationali…

He was a man who personified his country’s culture but also rose above it – fusing Russian influences with Western to create music pieces which remain some of the world’s favourites today. By the end of his life he was wildly rich, yet subject to such emotional trauma that some say he took his own life. If you want to know more about this epic tale…

Back in 1848, a gang of rather pretentious young men with a sentimental disaffection for daily life started their own cultural revolution. They were artists, poets and intellectuals of independent means, intent on shaping a new, idealised world of their own through their own creations. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were to some extent an early ver…

Having overcome our slight distraction by showbiz and movies in the last few episodes, Dan and I return to form in this episode, dabbling classic Victorian industrial revolution material with a bit of art. Henry Tate was a towering individual whose humble beginnings would make him a cliche in any novel. Cliches exist for a reason however and Tate r…

Would you believe, this week it’s our SECOND episode about the Peterloo Massacre of 1819.Some people would probably have stopped at one.To tell you the truth, most people would probably have stopped at zero.But not us.Your courageous podcasters are back this week with our reviews of the film that recently hit screens in various niche locations acro…

See the show page at Footnotesofhistory.com/23 This time round Dan and I are discussing a controversial flick with its roots in the struggles between Britain and Ireland.Or I ought to say England and Ireland (since Ireland was at the time a formal part of Great Britain).Or I ought say some aspects of England and some of Ireland!No more disclaimers,…

Show notes: footnotesofhistory.com/22The release of a new film this very year means one particular event is undoubtedly going to be crowding the headlines of any right-thinking tabloid and broadsheet this autumn.This is of course the Peterloo Massacre. Its exact anniversary is August next year, but the film commemorating the event – directed by Mik…

It’s a time when everyone alive remembered the French Revolution. To the British elites, it seemed conceivable that similar uprisings could still take place closer to home.Our second episode examines three flashpoints in this period.First, the establishment of the Metropolitan Police. This swept aside the ineffective parish police with a centralise…

Want the story of 1860s Europe? Whet your appetite at footnotesofhistory.com/threenations Shownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/20 I don’t think there is a period of history that can’t be described as a period of change. But this one is significant. Change was in the air – including a radical reassessment of the role of the collective and the individ…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinGet the shownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/19In the 1820s, the capital markets of Britain surged on the ramping price of South American bonds. As the Spanish Empire was beaten back, new countries were popping up all over the map. Governments in Columbia, Venezuela and Bolivia all sent word to London …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/18In July of 1870, France - onetime cultural capital of the world - rather ill-advisedly went to war with Prussia, Europe's menacing new power. In the ensuing chaos, lives were turned upside-down... but what did this mean for art?The conflict erupted just as a gang …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/17In the exciting climax to our mini series looking at imperialism in Eastern Asia, Japan is torn apart by a vicious civil war that pits the Shogunate against the Samurai.Tensions had built ever since the Americans had arrived and forced the Shogunate to submit to t…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/16All Python references aside, the Taipeng Rebellion is probably one of the bloodiest events in the history of the world and is almost certainly the bloodiest of the nineteenth century. While the Opium Wars raged just off the corner of the Eastern hemisphere, a litt…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinSubscribe and get shownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/15We're back in the East for China's second run-in with the European powers. What with the humiliation experienced by China at the hands of Britain a decade beforehand, it's not surprising that a second generation of Chinese were a bit more touchy …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinSubscribe for updates and find shownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/14Many factors drove families to emigrate in nineteenth century America. Be it escaping debts, chasing fame and fortune, dodging disease or even belief in a higher destiny, sometimes the pressure of those forces can be simply too great…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at: footnotesofhistory.com/13 What is the state of education in Great Britain?Such was the question asked in 1859 by the Commission brought together by the Palmerston Government. Tasked with examining the impact of state subsidies for education in place since the 1830s Factory Acts, Newcastl…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/12Staying with the Eastern theme, this episode takes our listeners a few hundred miles west and a few decades earlier of Episode 11, presenting them with scenes that may seem all too familiar.Drawn by an insatiable appetite for Chinese goods such as silk, porcelain …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/11 Today’s episode takes us eastwards during the turbulent 1850s as two nations - indeed civlisations - clash.During the mid Victorian period, newly industrialised powers steamed towards the Orient, drawn by a triumvirate of forces, including gold, the missionary’s …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/10 Here at Footnotes of History, we like to think we’re all about doing the dirty work of finding the historical details so that you don’t have to. At no point has that been more true than in this episode.As Tim points out in the episode, the historical radar pinged…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/3It was a dark and stormy night… ​​​​​​​Ok so you all saw that one coming as soon as you read the title, but how did five people swapping ghost stories in 1816 lead to the creation of two of the most enduring figures of literature: Frankenstein and the vampire?Join …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinRemembered by Napoleon as the man who made him miss his destiny, sneered at by his fellow officers for being a Swedish knight and disliked by Nelson because…well, he was also hungry for glory Sidney Smith’s exploits caused no end of stories in his own lifetime, but are forgotten now - perfect Footnote…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes at footnotesofhistory.com/2You've just crossed the Atlantic on a rickety ship, escaping near-starvation existence in your home country to arrive in a city of wonder. New York has it all - department stores, parks and most importantly of all, the promise of a living, even for the poorest in s…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes can be found at http://www.footnotesofhistory.com/1What do you do if you're a veteran British soldier, just as your country emerges from nearly half a century of fighting? North America is lost, France is defeated and Europe is weary of war.But you've got to earn a crust somehow and South Am…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShownotes for this episode are at: http://www.footnotesofhistory.com/6It’s the journey that gave a country its foundational legend and shows just how tough life was in the 19th Century, but the Great Trek also meant death, destruction and horror for many of the people in its way.In this episode we’ll …

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinShow notes for this episode can be found at footnotesofhistory.com/5How do you prevent a seemingly inevitable war?Well, peaceful cooperation is a start - free exchange of goods between nations is for the benefit of all. It create wealth for those involved, but that wealth also binds the two peoples to…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinThe show notes for this episode are at: www.footnotesofhistory.com/8If you think of people gaining their freedom in the 1860s your mind will probably go straight to the American Civil War and the end of slavery, but in the same decade over 20 million Russians became free for the first time in their li…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinDo you need a bit of extra cash? Do you need to pay off some of your nobles to compensate them for freeing their serfs? Why not sell a piece of territory to the United States?That was what Tsar Alexander II did in March 1867.During a time of consistently high tensions with European powers such as Fran…

Want more FOH? Visit footnotesofhistory.com/joinSail ruled the waves for well over a thousand years and its triumph in 1805 at Trafalgar has established its place forever in the public mind.But over the next three decades, the convergence of three amazing new inventions would slowly but surely displace sail from its perch at the apex of shipping te…