Modern

Starting with the nineteenth century and bringing us right up to the debates of today this section contains many insightful podcasts that explore the recent and current world around us. Included here are the arguments around the legacy of war and the impact of social change. The history of social and civil movements and modern debate about religion and technology. Read more

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  • British-Polish relations and the British Polish community

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Sam Knapton (University of Nottingham) discusses the development of the relationship between Britain and Poland in the 20th and early 21st centuries, the growth and experience of the British Polish community after World War II and Poland's accession to the EU, and looks at the influence...

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  • Petitioning the House of Commons, 1780–1918

    Podcast

    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...

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  • The Development of the British Army

    Podcast

    In this podcast, Professor Bruce Collins looks at the development of the British army during the French Wars and the nineteenth century.

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  • The Economic Impact of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars on Britain

    Podcast

    In this podcast Professor Patrick O'Brien of the London School of Economics discusses the economic impact of the Revoutionary and Napoleonic wars on Britain.

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  • The evolution of surgery

    Podcast

    In this podcast, Michael Crumplin explores the development of military surgery during the Napoleonic Wars. He provides a brief context of the evolution of surgery and outlines the changes in training, surgical knowledge, militarisation, apparatus and patient experience. 

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  • British-Irish Gypsy Traveller History (Part 1)

    Podcast

    In this first of two podcasts Dr Becky Taylor, Reader in Modern History at the University of East Anglia and Editor-in-Chief of 'History: The Journal of the Historical Association' is asked questions by Helen Snelson, Chair of HA Secondary Committee. The questions in part one focus on how Dr Taylor...

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  • British-Irish Gypsy Traveller History (Part 2)

    Podcast

    In this second of two podcasts Dr Becky Taylor, Reader in Modern History at the University of East Anglia and Editor-in-Chief of 'History: The Journal of the Historical Association' is once again asked questions by Helen Snelson, Chair of HA Secondary Committee. Part Two focuses on the big stories of...

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  • The Development of the Navy through the 19th Century

    Podcast

    Professor Andrew Lambert outlines the key role of Nelson and the Royal Navy in Napoleon’s defeat, and the development of the navy through the nineteenth century; from technology and infrastructure to naval recruitment and the various reforms which took place during that period.

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  • Early British Women Engineers

    Podcast

    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...

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  • Espionage in the 20th and 21st centuries

    Podcast

    In this podcast Trevor Barnes looks at the development of global intelligence and security services from their early origins to the present day. He examines at the role these services had during the two World Wars, the signficance of espionage in the development of the Cold War and the importance and...

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  • Peterloo

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore the Peterloo Massacre, looking at its origins, outcome and longer term historical significance. The playlist also contains 18 dramatised primary sources drawn from The National Archives and the Parliamentary Archives. These are designed to...

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  • Reforming Parliament

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the campaign and steps taken in the nineteenth century to reform Parliament. This playlist starts by asking what was wrong with Parliament before the Great Reform Act, before going on to look at the...

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  • Votes for Women

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the campaign for women’s suffrage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This includes videos looking at why the suffrage campaign started in the 1860s; introductions to the main suffrage organisations, their leaders and...

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  • Workers’ Rights and Trade Unions

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students look at the development of trade unionism and workers’ rights in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The playlist includes videos examining the Tolpuddle Martyrs, New Unionism, the London Dock Strike and the Match Girls’ Strike...

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  • Nineteenth Century Social Reform

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore nineteenth century social reform and its effect in changing, gradually, the role of the state. This includes videos looking at the New Poor Law, Factory and Education Acts and the campaign to repeal the...

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  • Chartism and the Anti-Corn Law League

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine two of the most important reform movements of the early nineteenth century: Chartism and the Anti-Corn Law League, contrasting their tactics, leadership and success. The playlist also contains a number of readings of Chartist...

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  • Abolition of Slavery

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students examine the campaigns to abolish both the slave trade and slavery itself, including a number of actor readings of pamphlets and speeches that help illustrate key arguments made by abolitionists and defenders of slavery. The...

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  • Radical Protest in the Nineteenth Century

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore the history of radicalism in the nineteenth century, including the Spa Fields Riots, the Pentrich Uprising, Luddism, the Swing Riots and the March of the Blanketeers. The playlist also provides an overview of key...

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  • Britain in the Age of Revolutions

    Podcast

    In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore British responses to the American and French Revolutions. This playlist includes videos looking at the origins of the American Revolution; specific questions like ‘Why didn’t French-Canadians join the revolution?; and actor readings of key...

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  • Women and Gender in the French Wars

    Podcast

    In this podcast Dr Louise Carter critically examines the role of women in Britain during the French Revolution. During these wars, women were typically called on for army cooking, laundry, nursing and spying, and as such were considered part of the war machine. While women in the French wars accounted for...

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