Western Civ

The Americans won their independence, but what would they do with it? Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

Today I sit down with historian Edward J. Watts and talk about his latest book: The Romans . When we think of “ancient Romans” today, many picture the toga-clad figures of Cicero and Caesar, presiding over a republic, and then an empire, before seeing their world collapse at the hands of barbarians in the fifth century AD.    The Romans does away with this narrow vision by offering the first compr...

Thucydides called his work a “possession for all time,” and his History of the Peloponnesian War has been essential reading for generals and politicians for centuries.      Robin Waterfield’s translation of Thucydides’s sweeping narrative vividly depicts the events of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BCE and would continue until 404, a conflict that embroiled not only mainland G...

Washington's victory at Yorktown effectively ends the war and costs Great Britain her colonies. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

The Battle of Saratoga turns the tide while Washington builds resilience in Valley Forge. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

The American colonists vote for independence and Washington crosses the Delaware.  Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

By the end of the Second World War, more than seventy million people across the globe had been killed, most of them civilians. Cities from Warsaw to Tokyo lay in ruins, and fully half of the world’s two billion people had been mobilized, enslaved, or displaced. In 1942 , historian Peter Fritzsche offers a gripping, ground-level portrait of the decisive year when World War II escalated to global ca...

In the span of one decade, Great Britain went from winning a war against France to fighting a war with its own colonies. This is that story. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

Over the course of roughly three decades, Lithuania-Poland ceased to exist.  Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

AKA the French and Indian War for those of you who ever took US History... Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

A number of factors led into the Seven Years War. Here I break them down. Western Civ 2.0

Plus the Russo-Turkish War of 1710 and the founding of New Orleans. Support the Show!

Frederick I founds the Kingdom of Prussia and the Great Frost of 1709 grips Europe. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

Russia enters our story as a major power player under Peter the Great. Support the Show

I cover a few remaining issues from the year 1700 including the rise of Russian and the formation of Great Britain. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

"I am the State." - Louis XIV Support the show and become a MEMBER .

William of Orange supplants James II, the Stuart line ends, and with it, the English Civil War. Western Civ 2.0

The restored monarchy ends, but not with a bang. Charles II's death, however, thrusts the question of the succession front and center. Western Civ 2.0

We introduce Louis XIV. The French King quickly bribes his way into controlling Charles II. Western Civ 2.0

Enter stage left: the Restoration. Spoiler alert, it won't last long. Western Civ 2.0

Oliver Cromwell dies. His son is NOT a chip off the old block. And Charles II sees the Stuart line restored. Western Civ 2.0

Oliver Cromwell refuses the crown but agrees to become the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.  Western Civ 2.0

Charles II is dead. England has no king. So now what? Western Civ 2.0

Charles II becomes the only king in English history to be executed by the state. Western Civ 2.0

Charles' inability to raise men and capital finally dooms his cause and he surrenders to the Scottish army rather than fall into the hands of Parliament.  Western Civ 2.0