The Napoleonic Wars Podcast

Thomas Whitfield from the Georgian Group explains about the organisation's important work, how they negotiate with property owners to protect the heritage of crucial Georgian buildings, and the range of events that are open to its members. Support the Georgian Group and find out more at https://georgiangroup.org.uk   

1812 was a transformative year in the Napoleonic Wars. Whilst Napoleon lauched his disastrous invasion of Russia, at the other end of the European continent his 'Spanish Ulcer' which was the Peninsular War began to bleed. As the Allies won key victories at Ciudad Rodrigo in January, Badajoz in April and Salamanca in July it opened up an opportunity that had not even been a dream for three...

Professor Noelle Gallagher joins us for a Vox-pop from the British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Conference. Noelle schools Zack on why gout is NOT an 18th Century disease, how society viewed gout, and why it could impact on whether man was considered as 'manly'.

Dr Tom Cutterham joins us for the first episode of the Birth of America series, which will address US history from independence in 1783 up to 1825. Today, we discuss the Confederation period, in which America had 99 problems but a President wasn't one... Read about Tom's research here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/history/cutterham-tom Follow the podcast, join our mailing list, and...

In 1813 and 1814, the British army was enjoying an unremitting period of success, or was it? Why were the British so interested in going back to the Netherlands after the disasterous expeditions of recent memory? Andrew Bamford returns to the show to talk about the British expedition to the Low Countries in 1813 and 14. We discussed the misconceptions, the characters at the heart of the story and...

Ben Carp joins us to talk about the fire that gutted New York during the American Revolution, how the popular history of that fire is all wrong, and why Washington wasn't quite as innocent as everyone likes to think. Buy Ben's book:  https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300276688/the-great-new-york-fire-of-1776/ Join our mailing list at  https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

On the anniversary of the Battle of Corunna, this episode recites the famous poem by Charles Wolfe depicting the burial of Sir John Moore, and reflect on whether these soldiers deserve better than to be curiosities in museums.

Forget Sharpe, the Light Infantry of the 18th Century are far more interesting precisely because they weren't SAS adonises led by a mullet-wearing Yorkshireman.  Andrew Dorman, Alex Burns and Robbie MacNiven return in the latest instalment of our 18th Century way of war series, to talk about Light Infantry. Alex's book:  https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/infantry-in-battle-1733-1783-...

Peter Smithurst joins us to talk about how the musket developed, the complexities of making large quantities of them in the 18th and 19th century, and why the French Charleville was the best of the bunch! Buy Peter's book:  https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Evolution-of-Gun-Making-Hardback/p/50908 Join our mailing list at  https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

Was Napoleon a democrat? Malcolm Crook returns to talk about whether 'Napoleonic democracy' is an oxymoron, what the deal was with those dodgy plebiscites, and why he's been converted towards Bonaparte in some respects when it comes to electoral systems in France during the period. Our socials, patreon and mailing list: ⁠https://linktr.ee/napwarspod⁠

Josh Provan and Zack return to talk about Napoleon's personal descent into Spain, why British commander Sir John Moore might be overhyped, and the impact of the disastrous Corunna Campaign. Review this show on Apple Podcasts! Please, and thank you! Josh's books: https://www.helion.co.uk/people/joshua-provan.php Our social media and merch: https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

56 months. 270 episodes. 300 hours of content. Milestone achieved.

The inimitable Professor Beatrice de Graaf returns for a deep and complex discussion about diplomatic history, the history of empire, and its controversies. We also discuss cheese in Stasi archives, and why washing machines get in the way of dinner parties. Beatrice's book:  https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fighting-terror-after-napoleon/D1167BDE10A23C749B0490D6D9A7B6C7 Our socials, newsletter...

Matthew Taylor joins us for the first part of a long-anticipated and fascinating interview on the subject of his first book: The Corps of Colonial Marines, aka 'The Black Redcoats'.  Matt's book:  https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Black-Redcoats-Hardback/p/49346 Check out our socials, join our mailing list or browse our shop at:  https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

Kate Jamieson returns as we continue our mini-series on the life of Horatio Nelson. In this instalment we talk about losing eyes in Calvi, meeting Emma Hamilton for the first time, and Nelson getting lairy at the Battle of Cape St Vincent and deciding to do his own thing. Join our mailing list, and browse our shop at:  https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

The Don of the Napoleonic historical community joins us for the first of our festive 'In Conversation' episodes, as we discuss why the global perspective is so integral to our understanding of what was going on during the Napoleonic Wars. Alex's book:  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-napoleonic-wars-9780199951062?cc=gb&lang=en& Our social media, shop and mailing list:  https://...

Josh Provan returns as we reprise our deep-dive discussions of the Peninsular War. The British are a banned topic of conversation in this one (although we do end up accidentally mentioning them several times along the way as we explore the Battle of Bailen - one of the most important battles of the early phase of the Peninsular War, which doesn't get nearly enough attention. Buy Josh's books at  h...

Beatrice de Graaf and Alex Mikaberidze return to this show, to discuss the implications and impact of the Peninsular War on the wider situation across Europe with a particular focus on 1808-10, considering whether the conflict was a sideshow, the extent to which Napoleon blundered, and why there are surprising echoes with modern times. Review this show on Apple Podcasts! Please, and thank you! Our...

In the next of our festival instalments, we dive back into food history but this time with a seasonal twist. Rebecca Earle returns to guide us on matters culinary and Christmassy, stupefies us with potato trivia and shares a Christmas drink recipe you can make for yourself! Check out Rebecca's research at https://rebeccaearle.co.uk/news/ Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/c/thenapoleonicw...

How did people celebrate the festive season in the early nineteenth century? Have we really lost the true meaning of Christmas? And would Sharpe recognise an Argos catalogue? All this (and so much more) is answered by our very own expert in the history of Christmas: Generalistimo Luke Reynolds. Follow the podcast, join our mailing list, and browse our shop at: https://linktr.ee/napwarspod

What motivated people to serve in the 18th century? Why was the term mercenary less loaded during that period? And what's with all the lace? Andrew Dorman and Alex Burns return in another instalment in our series on the 18th century way of war. Our socials, patreon and mailing list: https://linktr.ee/napwarspod Alex's next book: https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/infantry-in-battle-17...

Kevin Linch returns in the latest instalment of our series on the British army, as we focus on the question of reform. We look at how much changed, who was responsible, the successes and failures of that process, and the role of factional rivalries in holding up the march of progress. Kevin's book:  https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-British-Army-17831815-Hardback/p/24416 Georgian Army Officers d...

David Lambert joins us in the first instalment of a series looking at life in Caribbean during the Napoleonic era. In this episode we discuss why the British chose to wage war in the Caribbean, the challenges they faced, and why the region mattered so much in the context of the period. David's book:  https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/soldiers-of-uncertain-rank/4E5D4B9A87063FE7E12A8A1863B3BE71 F...

Trenton Cole Jones returns as we once again cross the Atlantic to put the American Revolution under the spotlight. Only today we actually get to talking about POWs, addressing who they were, what their stories were and why they matter. Find out more about Trenton's work at ⁠https://www.cla.purdue.edu/directory/profiles/t.-cole-jones.html ⁠ Check out our new merch at  ⁠https://napoleonic-wars-podca...

Miriam Leibman joins us to explain why women weren't just sitting at home knitting when there was diplomatic work to be done on behalf of the fledgling USA. Socials, mailing list and more content at https://linktr.ee/napwarspod