Perspectives in History

An official report on conditions in the Congo exposes the Free State’s atrocities to the world. As pressure mounts on Leopold II to relinquish control of his colony, the king became increasingly determined to cling onto it until his dying breath. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Ascherson, Neal. The Ki...

The exploitation of the Congo and its people greatly intensifies as rubber becomes a valuable trade commodity. As the Free State begins to rake in profits, a few individuals take notice of the rampant human rights abuses in the colony and resolve to put a stop to them. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography...

King Leopold II consolidates his control over the Congo. In his efforts to make the colony profitable, he oversees the establishment of a coercive regime of exploitation and moves to ruthlessly eliminate all resistance. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Ascherson, Neal. The King Incorporated: Leopold th...

Leopold II, King of the Belgians, continues his efforts to acquire a colony in Africa. As he constructs an elaborate façade to mask his true intentions, he contracts the famous explorer Henry Morton Stanley to do the dirty work on his behalf. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Ascherson, Neal. The King In...

In the mid-19th century, new technological advances and the emergence of large industrial economies usher in the age of ‘New Imperialism.’ As the world’s ‘great powers’ search for new territories to conquer, their eyes turn towards a region previously thought to be uninhabitable: Sub-Saharan Africa.  Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page B...

An armistice is signed on July 27th, 1953 that suspends hostilities in Korea, but leaves the nation divided. But while the fighting and dying may have stopped, the events of the war continue to affect Korea and the world to this day. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce. The Korean War: A His...

The war in Korea enters its third year, and the prospect of either side achieving a total victory has long since been deemed unrealistic. New leadership rises to power in both the US and USSR intent on brokering a ceasefire, but the situation in Korea remains shrouded in uncertainty. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books...

We divert from the main narrative to examine one of the most controversial aspects of the Korean War- the prisoner of war issue. Although the treatment of prisoners of war was codified into international law following World War II, both sides in this conflict would violate these laws to further their respective ends. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitte...

The military situation in Korea devolves into a stalemate a year after the war began. Negotiations are opened to bring a stop to the bloodshed, but it very quickly becomes apparent that the diplomatic process will be more fraught than some may have hoped.  Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce...

As a new year dawns, the war in Korea nears another decisive turning point. Meanwhile, a domestic political crisis in the United States threatens to expand the conflict and plunge the world into a new conflagration. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce. The Korean War: A History. Modern Libra...

As the UN coalition struggles to mount a defense in the face of China’s intervention in the final weeks of 1950, they are forced to reckon with the fact that they now face an ‘entirely new war’ in Korea. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce. The Korean War: A History. Modern Library, 2011. Ha...

The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army springs the trap on UN forces in Korea, inflicting significant losses and forcing the enemy to withdraw south of the 38th parallel. Against all odds, the US Marines trapped at the Chosin Reservoir try to fight their way to safety. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumi...

As the UN forces gain momentum following the Battle of Incheon, they must decide whether to continue advancing north of the 38th parallel. Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union weigh the possibility of intervening on behalf of their North Korean comrades. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce....

General Douglas MacArthur hatches an audacious plan to turn the tide of the war in favor of the United Nations coalition. Meanwhile, long-standing tensions in Korea explode to the forefront, with the resulting violence leading to unspeakable atrocities and the deaths of thousands. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bi...

War begins in earnest on the Korean peninsula, as North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel on June 25th, 1950. As the Korean People’s Army advances rapidly southward, the American government is forced to decide whether or not to intervene in the conflict before it is too late. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bib...

The year 1948 sees the establishment of two separate Korean governments in the north and south. Amidst growing tensions between the US and the USSR, the Korean peninsula seems poised to become the location of the first direct confrontation between the Soviets and Americans over spheres of influence. Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy...

After having long been subjected to the rule of foreign powers, it seemed that with the defeat of Japan, the dream of Korean independence might finally be realized. However, the victorious allied powers of World War II had other plans. Download Every Email me: perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography Cumings, Bruce. The...

Savonarola and his companions are brought before a tribunal and sentenced to death. Despite being formally condemned as a heretic, the friar's legacy would continue to cast a long shadow over Florentine politics in the years to come. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography: Bartlett, Kenneth. Florence in the...

As Savonarola languishes in his prison cell, his faith is tested. Reckoning with his inner battle between hope and despair, Savonarola would then write a series of religious tracts that have since taken on great theological significance. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography: Bartlett, Kenneth. Florence in...

Political tensions in Florence reach a climax, and Savonarola is challenged to undergo a trial by fire. When the results of the trial turn public opinion decisively against him, he and his fellow monks are forced to make a desperate last stand in the monastery of San Marco. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliogr...

Savonarola creates a spectacular demonstration of public virtue in the hopes of turning Florence's fortunes around. Meanwhile, Pope Alexander VI has the monk excommunicated- a decision Savonarola was determined to fight against to his last breath. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography: Bartlett, Kenneth. Fl...

Savonarola engages in a new campaign to combat vice in the city of Florence. Meanwhile, Pope Alexander VI continues to utilize every possible strategy to silence the renegade friar. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography: Bartlett, Kenneth. Florence in the Age of the Medici and Savonarola, 1464-1498: A Short...

When Savonarola's influence prevents Florence from joining an anti-French coalition made up of the other Italian states, he raises the ire of Pope Alexander VI, sparking a deadly rivalry that would last for the next three years. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography: Bartlett, Kenneth. Florence in the Age o...

The Medici have been expelled from Florence and the French army occupies the city. As the citizens of Florence begin the long process of forming a new republican government, they once more seek the guidance of Savonarola, who aspired to turn the city into a "New Jerusalem." Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliogr...

The "New Cyrus" whose coming Savonarola had long foretold arrives in Italy in the form of King Charles VIII of France. As the seemingly unstoppable armies of France threaten the city with destruction, the people of Florence turn to Savonarola to deliver them from peril. Email me:  perspectivesinhistorypod@gmail.com Podcast Website Follow me on Twitter Facebook Page Buy Some Used Books Bibliography...