Early Modern

Traditionally, the Early Modern period covers the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries and we have kept to this tradition. One of history’s’ most famous Kings and his descendants Henry VIII are explored in podcasts in this section. Also featured are changes to Parliament, the relationship between leaders and the British people and the growth of the British Empire. Read more

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  • African and Caribbean British History: Georgian Period

    Podcast

    In this podcast Onyeka examines African and Caribbean British History during the Georgian period.

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  • African and Caribbean British History: Stuart Period

    Podcast

    In this podcast Onyeka looks at African and Caribbean British History during the Stuart period.

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  • African and Caribbean British History: Tudor Period

    Podcast

    In this podcast Onyeka discusses African and Caribbean British History during the Tudor period.

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  • British Women 1500-1700

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Laura Gowing of King's College London looks at the how the role of women changed in Britain, both within the family and within society, between 1500-1700.

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  • Cardinal Wolsey - Career and Legacy

    Podcast

    In this podcast Dr Steven Gunn of Merton College, Oxford, discusses Wolsey as a statesman, historical interpretation, the revival of strength of royal government, the church, reform, heresy and education, Wolsey's impact on government, Wolsey and finance, Wolsey and military, Wolsey and social policy and Wolsey's legacy.

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  • Charles II

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor John Miller discusses how we should judge the reign of Charles II and ask what was his domestic and international legacy?

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  • Class in 18th Century Britain

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Roey Sweet of the University of Leicester looks at the development of 'class' in 18th century Britain and Ireland.

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  • Crime and Punishment in Wales: 1700-1830

    Podcast

    In this podcast Dr Catherine Horler-Underwood of the Cardiff University looks at crime and punishment in Wales between 1700 and 1830.

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  • Cromwell Discussions

    Podcast

    This set of podcasts feature Professor Ronald Hutton, Professor John Morrill, Dr David Smith and Dr Patrick Little discussing Dictatorship, Cromwell and the Crown and Richard Cromwell.

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  • Early Modern British Jewish History

    Podcast

    Shakespeare. Cromwell and Ben Israel. Marrano Jews become an integral part of the community.

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  • Early Modern LGBTQ+ History

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Tim Hitchcock of the University of Sussex discusses LGBTQ+ history in Britain during the Early Modern period. Dr Hitchcock examines legal changes brought in by the Tudors, the development of Molly houses, subsequent persecution and hetero-sexism and the construction of some LGBTQ+ identities.

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  • Early Modern Witchcraft

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex delves into the witch trials and witchcraft of the early modern period. She examines the sources historians use for this time period, and how they differ between regions, from the continent to England and the colonies. Rowlands distinguishes the stereotypes of witches...

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  • Elizabeth I and Spain: The road to war

    Podcast

    In this podcast Dr Sue Doran of Christ Church College, Oxford, discusses whether war with Spain was inevitable, why Tudor relations with Spain decline, the Netherlands, Elizabeth I's desire to avoid war, 1581 and the road to war.

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  • English Civil War

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the English Civil War, including looking at the religious, political, social, and economic causes of the Civil War; the Scottish and Irish dimensions to the conflict; the role of the New Model Army in...

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  • Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 1

    Podcast

    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...

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  • Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 2

    Podcast

    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...

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  • Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 3

    Podcast

    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...

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  • Everyday Life in a 17th Century English Village Episode 4

    Podcast

    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...

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  • Film: Acts of Union and Disunion

    Multipage Article

    Professor Linda Colley CBE, FBA, FRSL, FRHistS is a British Historian and a Fellow of the Historical Association. At the start of 2014 she wrote and presented a BBC Radio 4 series about the Acts of Union and Disunion, now a book. Over the summer she came into the HA...

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  • George I and George II

    Podcast

    In this podcast Lucy Worsley of Historic Royal Palaces looks at the early Georgians, the changing relationship between Parliament and Monarchy and Court Politics under George I and George II.

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