In this podcast Professor Kevin MacDonald (University College London) examines the history of the Mali Empire, discusses the importance of using both oral history and archaeology to construct this history and also reflects upon the empire’s legacy. The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita (c. 1214...

In this podcast, Professor William Pettigrew of Lancaster University, discusses the origins of the British Slave Trade in the 1560s, the impact of the English Civil War, Cromwell and the Restoration, and looks at slavery's role in the development of the British economy, empire and domestic politics.

In this podcast Professor David Stirrup of the University of Kent looks at the relationship between the early English and British settlers and the Native North Americans they encountered. Professor Stirrup examines how this relationship and perceptions developed, the migration of Native Americans to Britain and provides insight on what...

In this podcast Dr Misha Ewen of Historic Royal Palaces discusses her research project Families and the English Atlantic Empire, 1550-1650 which explores the role of women, families, and household economies in early modern empire-building. Misha Ewen specialises in the social and economic history of the early modern Atlantic world, with...

In this podcast, Dr Edward Holberton of the University of Bristol discusses the changing relationship between the British state and the North American colonies during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Dr Holberton explores what we can learn from an examination of some of the literary sources and writers of...

In modern times, occultists have spoken of a specifically western tradition of ceremonial magic, which has been continuously handed down through the millennia, in secret, from an original starting point in ancient Egypt. Although professional historians have become increasingly interested in the history of magic in general, there has not...

Following on from the complementary podcast on the sailing of the Mayflower, this podcast with Dr Sarah Pearsall of the University of Cambridge explores the early British Settlements in America and their development into a new society moving towards statehood. It looks at who the settlers were and their relationships with the Native...

The 1620 Mayflower voyage was the result of the desire of a religious Christian group, the Puritans, who wished to break away from the Church of England and create a new community away from Catholic-influenced Europe. Plans for the voyage were fraught with problems in the summer of 1620, and the...

In this podcast, Dr. Fred Anscombe explores changes in the religion of Islam through the period of the Ottoman Empire. He describes the different principles of Islam known as Sufism, Hanafi, and Sharia, and how they influenced the Ottomans.

In this podcast Dr Fred Anscombe highlights the vastness of the Ottoman Empire, and explores shared common characteristics of culture and philosophy, and what made them unified as 'Ottoman'. He argues that the common terminology of referring to the Ottomans as Turks is questionable since the empire was so vast. He also explains how...

In this podcast Dr Toby Green of King's College London examines the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Benin.

In this podcast Dr Toby Green of King's College London examines the history of the Songhay (Songhai) Empire, which dominated the Western Sahel region of West Africa during the 15th-16th centuries.

In this podcast Dr Toby Green of King's College London discusses the Kingdom of Kongo.

In this podcast Dr Toby Green of King's College London looks at the African Kingdoms and Empires of Oyo and Dahomey 1608-1800, in the area that today is Benin and North central Nigeria.

In this podcast Dr Rachel Herrmann of the University of Southampton looks at the key challenges faced by the United States after winning the War of Independence.

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth looks at the factors that led to the Spanish Empire in the new world, why Ferdinand and Isabella backed Columbus and discusses how Spain was able to consolidate an Empire of such magnitude.

In this podcast Professor Trevor Burnard of the University of Warwick looks at the the primary forces which led to the development of the British Empire, the role of commerce and trade, the role of war in imperial expansion during this period and the importance of the slave trade.

In this podcast Dr Jon Wilson of King's College London looks at the origins of the British Empire in India, the importance of the East India Company, Anglo-French rivalry in India, the significance of relations between the British and the Indian princes for the expansion of British rule, the Governor...

In this podcast Professor Gad Heuman of the University of Warwick examines the origins of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the triangular trade, race, slave society and the changing interpretations of the abolition of the slave trade. (See also podcast The business of slavery: Economic history in the classroom from the HA's Britain and...

In this podcast Professor Stephen Conway of University College London discusses the relations between the American colonies and Britain before, during and after the American War of Independence.