Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

We trace the waves of crop failure, famine, pestilence, and war that swept over Europe in the 1600s as the climate sank into a “Little Ice Age” and armies literally marched across frozen seas. In the midst of unimaginable crisis, alchemists, astrologers, and apocalypticists scoured the Bible for prophecies to explain the disasters around them as part of the approaching End Times. Many of the defining institutions of the modern world we know today – such as overseas colonization, investor-owned corporations, public education, religious toleration, and scientific academies – have their origins as attempts to cope with the crisis of the seventeenth century and prepare the way for the Second Coming. To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632 Alternatively, to hear the all of the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed Suggested Further Reading: Webster, "The Great Instauration"; Yates, "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment"; Hobsbawm, "The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century"

We trace the roots of the idea of witchcraft in the "cunning folk" of the Middle Ages. We consider how the church and state began to fuel fear of witchcraft and persecute witches in the tens of thousands during the age of the Renaissance and the Reformation. We consider theories of why witch-hunting arose so dramatically in this age, including economic strain and political agendas. Finally, we examine evidence for an enduring shamanic belief system centering on ecstatic night journeys that may have provided the inspiration for the mythical witches' sabbath. To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632 Alternatively, to hear the all of the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed Suggested further reading: Margaret Murray, "The Witch-Cult in Western Europe"; Norman Cohn, "Europe's Inner Demons"; Carlo Ginzburg, "Ecstasies"; Mary Beth Nortion, "In the Devil's Snare"; John Demos, "Entertaining Satan."

We trace how a small group of scholars, obsessed with classical antiquity, mastered the more ancient form of Latin, thus unlocking the worlds of Roman and Greek politics. Seeing themselves as the peers and equals of the ancient statesmen, the "humanists" called for a new form of learning aimed towards action and ambition. Machiavelli sketched out the path to princely power, Erasmus excavated the original meanings of the Bible, and Michelangelo captured the subtle powers of the human body. The humanists invented the idea of a "modern" era distinct from the "Dark Ages," and furthered the transformation of Europeans' grasp of reality -- from a realm defined by social relationships to one defined by the senses. To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632 Alternatively, to hear the all of the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the Age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed Suggested further reading: Jacob Burckhardt, "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy"; JGA Pocock, "The Machiavellian Moment"; Pamela Smith, "The Body of the Artisan"

I briefly discuss the growing audience for Historiansplaining, and sketch plans for future shorter lectures on historical myths, some of which will be patron-only. Finally, I pose a hypothetical question for my listeners that may be harder to answer than it seems. Please become a patron and make it possible for these lectures to keep coming! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

All of history is, to one degree or another, mythology -- the weaving of a coherent, usable narrative out of the chaos of people's lives. We consider how societies all over the world, since before the beginning of civilization, have developed myths to explain the world that they experience. We also trace some of the major schools of academic history, which have tried to fashion overarching storylines to give meaning to human struggles -- from Biblical providential history to Marxism to postmodernism. We begin by examining the most central myth of the origins of American society: the "first Thanksgiving." Suggested further reading: Giambattista Vico, "The New Science"; Marc Bloch, "The Historian's Craft"; Hayden White, "Metahistory" Become a patron at any level in order to hear patron-only lectures as soon as they post (https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632), or alternatively, non-patrons can buy the entire playlist of Myths of the Month, including “The Enlightenment,” “Race,” & “Capitalism,” among others: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2031535?view=condensed

Discover the surprising rise of Portugal and Spain as they emerged from the shadows to dominate global exploration. Uncover how crusading ideals fueled their conquests while disease decimated indigenous populations. Learn about the strategic shifts of key figures like Prince Henry the Navigator and the creation of the first maritime empire. Dive into the dramatic tales of conquistadores like Cortés and Pizarro, exploring alliances, ambitious strategies, and the stark consequences of their expeditions.

The early modern era – from the 1400s through the 1700s – is the monarchical age par excellence, with royal courts presiding over consolidated realms and monstrous armies capable of crushing smaller neighbors and internal rivals. The map of Europe transformed, and the reasons were, firstly, technological: the printing press broke through previous barriers to the creation of texts, allowing for the rapid spread of new ideas and propaganda, while new infantry tactics and gunpowder allowed royal governments to batter down the power of mounted knights and castles. Society became ever more centered on royal power and patronage, leaving behind a vestigial nobility to seek out a new role in the world or give way to nostalgia, as dramatized in the first great psychological novel, Don Quixote. We conclude by considering Cervantes’ novel as a touchstone of the shift from the medieval world, where reality is defined by social relationships, to the modern, where reality is defined by the senses. To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632 Alternatively, to hear the all of the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the Age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed

The first part of an examination and discussion of Douglas Murray's controversial book, "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam" (Bloomsbury, 2017), and its dire warning that a wave of migrants with beliefs and customs inimical to the West are on the verge of changing Europe forever. We weigh his careful debunking of elite mythology about immigration against his own falsehoods and manipulations of the facts. Finally, we consider his harrowing portrayal of a continent adrift without a sense of purpose, history, or belonging, and the truly difficult questions that it raises. Please sign on as a patron to hear the second part of this review! -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/16314679

We trace the shocking and rapid rise of Islam in the 600s, as a confederation of desert towns and tribes unite around Muhammad and his prophesies from the Abrahamic god, then swiftly launch a stunning campaign of conquests against the major empires of the age. We consider the roots of the basic teachings and practices of the new religion, including the Qur'an, the hadiths, the Five Pillars, jihad, shariah, the divide between Sunni and Shiah, and Islamic laws regarding the status of women and of Jews and Christians or "people of the Book." Please sign up on Patreon in order to hear Islam, Part 2, on the journey of Islam from the "Golden Age" to the rise of modern fundamentalism -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/15728401 Please help to make it possible for these lectures to continue! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Suggested further reading: Karen Armstrong, "Islam: A Short History"; Michael Cook, "Past Masters: Muhammad."

The Americas before Columbus were not an idyll frozen in time. They were a world of struggle and ambition, with a history just as complex and tumultuous as Europe's. We trace how hunting-gathering peoples invented agriculture and built cities and empires that rose and fell across the centuries, all depending on human power, without the benefit of pack animals. We consider the shared norms and practices that seem to unite the diverse and far-flung peoples of the Americas, such as intensive multi-crop agriculture, fascination with astronomy and the calendar, and a highly formalized diplomatic language governing war and peace. Please help to make it possible for these lectures to continue! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632