Not Just the Tudors

Exactly forty years ago, in a groundbreaking and spectacular piece of marine conservation that captured the imagination of the world, the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed. The warship, commissioned by Henry VIII in 1511, sank on 19 July 1545 during an encounter between French and English fleets in the Solent, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Perhaps up to 500 men were on board, only 34 survived.In the first of three specials marking the 40th anniversary of the raising of the Mary Rose, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb travels to Portsmouth to find out why the Mary Rose sank. She's joined by Dr. Dominic Fontana, Retired Senior Lecturer in Geography formerly at the University of Portsmouth, and Dr. Alexandra Hildred, Head of Research and Curator of Ordnance and Human Remains at the Mary Rose Trust.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Royal African Company was set up in 1660 - by the ruling Stuart family and City of London merchants - to exploit gold fields up the Gambia River. But it soon developed into a brutal and sustained slave trader, shipping more enslaved Africans to the Americas than any other company.In today’s Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor William Pettigrew, whose research into the Royal African Company grounds the slave trade in politics and not economic forces.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Anisha Deva and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We tend to associate the word ‘dynasty’ with men. But in sixteenth century England, women played a no less important role in these influential families. Among the most powerful were the Howards, which produced two Queens - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard - as well as numerous women who made their own significant contribution to Tudor life.  In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Nicola Clark. Her research - putting women centre-stage - is leading to a new understanding of the complexity of the early modern dynasty. The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exactly 500 years ago, a small band of sailors completed the first ever circumnavigation of the globe, launched by Ferdinand Magellan.  From the armada of five ships and some 270 men that set out, only one ship and 18 men returned. Magellan was not among them, and if he had been, he would hardly have received a hero’s welcome.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb marks the anniversary with Magellan’s award-winning biographer Laurence Bergreen. Together they consider Magellan the man and how his voyage changed the world’s ideas about cosmology and geography.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hardly anything has been written about the musicians who carried out many important tasks in England’s maritime ventures during the Elizabethan age. That is until now. Pioneering research has revealed that performers played a vital role, including using music to build relationships with the inhabitants of new found lands.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. James Seth about his discoveries, which shows musicians transcending and breaching boundaries of language, rank, race, religion and nationality to ensure the success of a voyage.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was researched by Esther Arnott, and edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter, using this link>If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*WARNING: This episode contains very strong language - including the F and C words - and derogatory terms for sex workers. So if you're likely to feel offended by these, please feel free to listen to another episode of Not Just the Tudors!*`From the Ancient World to today, there have always been two kinds of swearing: testifying to the truth with your hand on the Bible or telling an annoying person to “get lost”. In the Early Modern period, as religion underwent a transformation - and bodily functions that were once public became private - swear words moved to and fro between the sacred and the profane, and sometimes combined. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb traverses the history of bad language with Dr Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week marks 600 years since the death of King Henry V, perhaps best known for his military successes during the Hundred Years War against France and in particular his victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.But because this is Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb has decided to assess Henry V’s rise to power as it was depicted through the pen of William Shakespeare nearly two centuries later. To do so, she’s joined by literary scholar Professor Duncan Salkeld and theatre historian Alice Smith.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The German executioner Meister Frantz Schmidt kept a fascinating journal of all the executions, torture and punishments he administered between 1573 and 1618. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - originally released in June 2021 - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Joel Harrington to talk about Schmidt and further explore public capital punishment in the 16th century, described by historians as the "spectacle of suffering." *WARNING! This episode contains graphic descriptions of punishments.*The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Cromwell was an extraordinary figure in the Tudor court. Lawyer, politician, minister and peer of the realm, Cromwell deployed all of his wisdom, charisma, strategic cunning and considerable intellect to break England away from Rome, reform parliament and create royal supremacy. But who was the real man behind the notoriety?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to New Zealand-based historian and author Caroline Angus who has transcribed the letters of Thomas Cromwell from their primary sources, revealing the many facets and contradictions of Cromwell’s public and private life.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg. For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Renaissance Italy, the Borgia family were admired for their audacity and their ruthlessness - they even inspired Mario Puzo’s depiction of the Corleones in The Godfather. But do the Borgias deserve their reputation? How did they rise to power? How did a man with so many illegitimate children become Pope?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Mary Hollingsworth about how the Borgias became history’s most notorious dynasty.For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.