The Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini understood more than other leaders of his generation the power of images and used them to great effect in building his personality cult which was central to Italian Fascism. In this illustrated webinar, Professor Giuliana Pieri will explore the evolution of the iconography of...

Addressing issues of the legacies of racism created by the transatlantic slave trade and the narratives of its abolition  The Medlicott Medal is awarded annually for outstanding services and contributions to history. This year the Medal went to Professor Catherine Hall, who is Emerita Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at...

In 1135 Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, stealing it from his cousin Empress Matilda and sparking a nineteen-year civil war that would become known as the Anarchy, one of the bloodiest periods in English history. On the one side is Empress Matilda. On the other side is her cousin,...

9 December 2023 was the 75th anniversary of the passing of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (known as the UN Convention on Genocide). The convention was a clear statement by the international community that crimes of that nature should never happen...

How did a man born enslaved on a plantation triumph over Napoleon's invading troops and become king of the first free black nation in the Americas? This is the forgotten, remarkable story of Henry Christophe. Christophe fought as a child soldier in the American War of Independence, before serving in...

In the 1950s, Britain fought a series of brutal wars against insurgents in the colonies of Malaya, Kenya, and Cyprus. How did people at home experience these wars? How did they learn about the use of torture and other unsettling tactics? And how did they respond to this knowledge? In...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore the Great Revolt of 1381, better known as the Peasants’ Revolt, through a combination of animations, dramatised primary sources, and short presenter-led videos. This includes videos looking at the causes of the revolt, its...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, staff and students explore the reign of Henry III, baronial grievances and the Second Barons’ War, including the 1258 Provisions of Oxford, the most radical scheme of constitutional reform to be attempted in England until the post-Civil War...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, students and staff explore Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, exploring the Anglo-Saxon Witan and Moots, how law and order was maintained and the Norman conquest, including a multi-chronicler account of the Battle of Hastings. Other videos examine how William...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, students and staff explore the history of King John's reign and the factors that led to the sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede and the First Barons' War. In addition, this playlist also contains videos looking specifically at...

In this extensive podcast series, Dr Alex Goodall of UCL looks at the growth of the United States as an international power from the end of the American Civil War through to the early twentieth century. This was a critical period for understanding the United States rise to superpower status in the twentieth...

In this podcast Professor Iwan Morgan of University College London looks at President Nixon's first term in office, the Watergate Scandal and the significance of the scandal on American politics.

Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the Norman English invasion. Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (died c. 1286), son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys...

The terms "Welsh March" and "the March of Wales" (in Medieval Latin Marchia Walliae) were originally used in the Middle Ages to denote the territory/marches between England and the Principality of Wales, in which Marcher lords had specific rights, exercised to some extent independently of the king of England. In...

Llywelyn the Great (Welsh: Llywelyn Fawr), full name Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, (c. 1172 - 11 April 1240) was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales. By a combination of war and diplomacy he dominated Wales for 40 years.In this podcast Dr...

In this set of podcasts Professor Anne Curry, of the University of Southampton and former President of the Historical Association, provides an introduction to the Hundred Years War, looking at its origin, legacy and the role of Henry V and Henry VI.