Catherine the Great’s reign marked an era of splendour, military triumphs, and political transformation. Standing on the shoulders of the formidable women who preceded her, she wielded propaganda masterfully, cultivating an image of power, and was both loved and feared, domestically and abroad. Her rule saw Russia expand its territories and influence, but it came at the cost of vanity, paranoia, and ruthless pragmatism that were the hallmarks of her predecessors Olga, Anna and Elizabeth who a...
Most people today have heard of Tesla, the electric car company, and its controversial CEO, Elon Musk. Some might even know a bit about the company’s namesake: Nikola Tesla, the enigmatic genius who was responsible for promoting the electrical system that made our modern world possible. But the story of his rise to fame, incredible discoveries, his continuous battles with rivals and financiers; the conspiracies surrounding his suppressed technologies and ongoing legacy are less well-known. Ni...
Everybody loves a good heist story – especially a successful one. Chuck in corrupt politicians, corporate gangsters and billionaire warlords and you’ve got yourself a winning formula. Set your story in the 17th century, make your protagonist a handsome, mutinous pirate on the run and you’re looking at a sure-fire Hollywood blockbuster. Except that in this case, there isn’t one.Henry Every pulled off the heist of the century, when in 1694 he seized his ship in a mutiny, sailed half way around ...
Most people have heard of Lawrence of Arabia, and the romantic tale of his involvement in the revolution that liberated the middle East from Ottoman rule during World war One. But few people are aware that behind TE Lawrence there stood an even greater champion in the cause for freedom. And no, it wasn’t some moustached army general or cigar chomping politician. It was a woman. The first ever to graduate with first class honours from Oxford. One who spoke 6 languages, had climbed the highest ...
When many people think of Africa, they visualise wide open spaces, incredible wildlife and colourful friendly people with vibrant cultures, costumes and music. We might also contemplate the tragedy of the African slave trade and the consequences of colonialism. But what if I told you there was one powerful African kingdom in particular, that, when they first came into contact with Europeans, voluntarily and enthusiastically transformed their entire civilisation almost overnight– adopting the ...
Few enlightenment thinkers are as famous as the French writer Voltaire. Born into a modest though socially ambitious family, he found his talent for writing early and by his late teens was punching way above his weight as a playwright and poet earning accolades and raising eyebrows for his witty use of satire to make not-so-subtle criticisms of church and state. Indeed he would spend his entire adult life dodging the authorities, often writing under multiple pseudonyms and denying authorship ...
Few politicians have been as polarising as UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led her country during a tumultuous time in history, between 1979 and 1990. She was the first female leader of a major political party in British History; and its longest continually serving prime minister of the 20th century. She led her country to victory in the Falklands conflict; presided over the decolonisation of a number of former dominions, successfully pressuring warring factions in Rhodesia and the A...
We often look at history through the actions of great individuals, technological developments and natural events that initiate social, political and economic change. Sometimes animals play a role in those changes - such as the domestication of sheep, cattle and horses thousands of years ago as sources of food and burden or the ability to travel quickly and provide their riders with a battle platform. But despite those benefits, Europeans nevertheless continued to some degree to be constrained...
Few people know about the broader history of Ireland, and its long and tragic relationship with England: the uprisings and repression, the famines and exodus, or the political persecution that condemned activists to rot half way round the world as convicts in the brutal penal colonies of Australia. In this video, we’ll take a brief look at Irish history, its complex historical relationship with Britain, and as an interesting aside, the little known, though extraordinarily daring breakout of F...
This is a story about a little known, yet much misunderstood hero. But more than that it is also a story about a clash of philosophies, the dawn of a new era; a young nation, and a once mighty one - both in their own way experiencing an identity crisis.In 1912, a young Norwegian explorer called Roald Amundsen reached the south Geographic Pole in a slick, clinical, sportsmanlike operation, having recently also been the first man to sail through the fabled North-West Passage on the other side o...
September 2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the globe by the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan (Fernando de Magallanes/Fernão de Magalhães), and completed by Juan Sebastian Elcano- and it should be mentioned, a young slave boy by the name of Henry (Enrique) of Malacca. The story of how the spurned Portuguese Captain went to work for the Spanish is full of court intrigue, international espionage, daring exploits and narrow escapes; but also one of tragic blun...
When most people are asked to name an epic traveller from history, they usually come up with names like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Magellan, or any number of other well-known European explorers and adventurers that come to mind. Very few could name an explorer or traveller outside the realm of medieval and renaissance Europe, despite the obvious reality that there was at the same time, an enormous, incredibly diverse and highly interconnected parallel world outside their own rela...
Joan of Arc; the Maid of Orleans; Jeanne D'Arc, Jehanne la Pucelle: she goes by many names. A provincial French peasant girl, barely in her teens, living in relative poverty, illiteracy and complete subordination during a time of total war and medieval brutality. Imagine this traumatised though deeply pious child having visions of angels and saints, and being commanded by them to seek out the dauphin (the French word for Crown Prince) and convince him to let her lead his demoralised army and ...
Thomas Paine was a plain talking, big thinking common man - self educated in matters of science, philosophy, activism and political theory. His pamphlets and books inspired ordinary people throughout the colonies of America to stand up for their rights and throw off the yoke of British domination. Soon after, these books were smuggled into France, where they inspired the Third Estate to agitate for the guarantee of their natural rights. Eventually, this grass roots activism would lead to the ...
The Grimm brothers fairy tale Iron John (or Der Eisenhans in German) was the subject of study by prize winning American poet and author Robert Bly, who was a prominent figure in the mythopoetic men's movement that began in the 1980's. In it he saw the remnants of pre-industrial male initiation, told through the story of a young prince, who goes off to live with a wild, hairy man in the forest, encounters a magical golden spring, and then later works anonymously as a servant in the castle of a...
The hero’s journey is the mythological representation of the challenges we all face in life and the path that must be travelled to overcome them. But more than that, it represents what famous mythologist Joseph Campbell saw as the generic-representation of the process of personal development and maturity that each person must undergo in order to become balanced, healthy members of society. This usually means dealing with repressed emotional issues, making difficult decisions, having the coura...
William Shakespeare was arguably the greatest writer in history. His works have been translated into every living language. He’s been credited with literally inventing a tenth of the entire English language, or almost 2000 new words and phrases, many of which remain in common usage to this day. Yet, he was an aspiring tradesman’s son during a time of great civil upheaval. He apparently left school at 13 only to be forced into a murky marriage at the age of 18. Despite these challenges he some...
Marcus Junius Brutus is a name that has come down through history as being synonymous with unexpected betrayal. Dante- in his Divine Comedy portrays Brutus as being in the lowest pit of the underworld. He was however a far more complex character, and even William Shakespeare, in his play The Death of Julius Caesar, portrays him as a man torn by his duty to his country and his duty to his friend and benefactor - Caesar. Brutus' monologues and conversations are by far the longest of all the cha...
Pemulwuy was a member of the Bidgigal Clan, of the Eora nation that inhabit the Sydney Basin on the East Coast of Australia. When Arthur Phillip arrived in Kamay (Botany Bay) with the First Fleet in 1788, to establish a convict settlement, tensions soon arose between the British and the Aboriginal clans that inhabited the area. Under pressure from expanding settlers, the Aboriginal people found a champion in Pemulwuy, a Carradhy (Cleverman), whose hit-and-run tactics unified a number of indep...
In today’s episode, we will look at the life of Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Dominican Priest who, during the 1500’s at the time of Spanish conquest in the Americas, has been called the “world’s first Social Justice Warrior”. But his isn’t a cosy story of messianic devotion to a cause held firmly in his breast from the outset. He was, in the beginning, one of the bad guys, up to his elbows in it. But then something happened that would transform him into a relentless champion of human rights...