The Meiji Restoration was a political event that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical power to, and consolidated the political system under, the Emperor of Japan. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and...

In this podcast Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) provides and introduction to the fall of the Crusader states from the Fourth Crusade to the fall of Jerusalem in 1291. Dr Morton illustrates how the Crusaders were able to regain control of Jerusalem in the early 13th century but lost it...

The Vietnam War was one of many conflicts born partly out of the tumultuous global shift of the end of European Empires for which the Second World War had acted as a catalyst. What marked the Vietnam War out from some of the other political changes in the Indo-Chinese and...

French Indochina, officially known as the Indochinese Union, was a grouping of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia until its demise in 1954. It comprised Cambodia, Laos (from 1899), the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan (from 1898 until 1945), and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin in the north, Annam in the centre, and Cochinchina in the south. The capital for most of its history (1902–1945) was Hanoi; Saigon was the capital from...

In July 1954, France and the Viet Minh signed the Geneva Peace Accord, which resulted in dividing Vietnam along the 17th parallel into a northern section, under the control of the communists, led by Ho Chi Minh, and a southern section, led by the Catholic anticommunist Ngô Đình Diệm who was backed...

In this podcast Jonathan Ferguson of the Royal Armouries Museum discusses the development of firearms from the musket to the machine gun. This podcast looks at how the firearms developed through conflicts such as the American Revolutionary War, the Naploeonic Wars, The American Civil War and World War I.

In this podcast Dr Jon Coburn of the University of Lincoln examines the role, influence and significance of women in the US Peace Movement. Dr Coburn also examines how interconnected the Peace Movement was with the civil rights movements of the 1960's and 70's. Dr Coburn is currently working with Emmy-nominated...

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...

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...

Nelson Mandela is one of the most famous men of his generation: a lawyer turned armed activist, who was imprisoned for fighting the oppressive racist regime of South Africa. He went on to became an international symbol for the fight against apartheid; demonstrating humility, resilience and personal courage through his...

In this podcast Dr Tim Gibbs of University College London looks at the development and eventual fall of apartheid. The system of racial segregation in South Africa that was apartheid led to one of the most distinct and unjust systems of government in late twentieth century history. This podcast examines...

In this podcast Dr Gina Denton of the University of York discusses the multiple feminisms that comprise second wave feminism in the United States. Starting in the New Deal era of the 1930s, Dr Denton looks at how different individuals and groups progressed the women's rights movement through to the...

In this podcast Dr Jon Coburn of the University of Lincoln looks at the origins, development and successes of first wave feminism in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Dr Coburn also examines the changing interpretations of this early period of the American Women's rights...

In August 1945 Imperial Japan made an unconditional surrender to the Allies following the dropping of two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima on the 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. The surrender announced by Emperor Hirohito finally brought the fighting of the Second World War to an...

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...

On 16 June every year South Africa celebrates Youth Day, commemorating the 20,000 students who took part in protests against the Apartheid government in 1976 known as the Soweto uprising. Their courageous act left over 200 people dead and many more injured, but was part of an important stand against...

In 1968 a 22-year-old medical student walked out of the conference for the National Union for South African students. Steve Biko was enraged that Black students at the supposedly anti-apartheid organisation were sleeping in separate dormitories from whites at the conference. Biko formed self-empowerment groups, which were more Black-focused and...

In this podcast Terry Graham examines the role of Abraham Lincoln and major Republican Party figures from the 1850s/1860s and their influence on the American West. While Lincoln remains a much studied figure, his and his contemporaries’ role in shaping the American West in the 1860s and beyond is often less...

In this podcast, Dr Jim Hoare discusses the impact of the Second World War in increasing tensions between the Chinese communists and nationalists. He also explains the USA’s support for the nationalist Chiang Kai Shek, and therefore why the USA chose to recognise Taiwan over China until the 1970s. Hoare...

This film was taken at the HA Annual Conference 2019 in Chester and features the HA's President: Professor Tony Badger who presented Friday's keynote lecture.  Find out more about the HA Conference. In a country that prides itself on its egalitarianism and its democracy, it is perhaps surprising that family...