Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

What happened to England in the power vacuum left in the wake of the execution of Charles I? Why were the Puritans, so pious in morals and strict in governance, unable to create a lasting Commonwealth? And why did the return of the monarchy unleash a wave of lewd hedonism that is shocking even more than three centuries later? The explosion of empire, the slave trade, religious toleration, the modern metropolis of London, the enshrinement of theater as the English national art form, the two-party system, and the consitutional balance of power still in place in both Britain and the United States -- all of these have their roots in the tumultuous years from 1650 to 1685; if there is any period of English history that you must know in order to understand the present, it is this one. My Patreon – please support to hear the next Myth of the Month! – www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

Feudalism – it’s what they did in the Middle Ages! Nobles controlled the land and extracted labor from the serfs, and everyone from peasants to great lords was arranged in a big hierarchical pyramid leading up to the king. Or were they? We examine the ambiguities inherent in the idea of “feudalism,” and the reasons why it simply cannot hold up to examination against the historical record. Finally, we consider why the myth of feudalism developed and has persisted as a way of justifying the inequalities of our own era. Suggested further reading: Carl Stephenson, “Mediaeval Feudalism”; Susan Reynolds, “Fiefs and Vassals”; Elizabeth Brown, “Tyranny of a Construct.” Music: “A Gut Yor,” written by David Meyerowitz and performed by Joseph Feldman, 1915, courtesy of Yiddish Penny Songs, http://www.yiddishpennysongs.com/2017/09/a-gut-yor-git-yuhr-zu-alle-leite-gut.html My recent conversation on the queer Talmud podcast, “Xai, How Are You?” – https://soundcloud.com/xaihowareyou/32-why-god My Patreon – please support to hear the next Myth of the Month! – www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

How did the Restoration of the English monarchy and the dawn of empire set the stage for the peculiar set of practices and assumptions that we now call "science," and how did they begin to unlock powerful secrets of the earth, the heavens, fire, and steam? And why did John Locke kind of secretly hate Isaac Newton? Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the recent examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Image: "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump," by Joseph Wright, 1768

How did a set of seven fractious kingdoms unite into a new kingdom, known as "England," while under almost constant attack by Viking berserkers from across the North Sea? Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the recent examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Image: The Ormside bowl, an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon silver bowl found in the grave of a Viking warrior, photographed by JMiall Music: A 1914 Edison Records wax-cylinder recording of "Rule, Britannia," provided by the University of California Santa Barbara Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project

Why do we have uniformed officers called "police" who do things (like patrolling streets and investigating missing persons) that we call "policing"? We trace the evolution of law enforcement over the past two hundred years in response to urban growth, immigration, and labor unrest, and the struggles over who controls the police and their activities. Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the recent examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Further Reading: Roger Lane, "Urban Police and Crime in Nineteenth-Century America," Crime and Justice, Vol. 2 (1980), pp. 1-43, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1147411?seq=1 Image: Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge inspects state militiamen during the Boston police strike of 1919

Why did the US government support and supply substantial aid to a left-wing revolutionary government in Bolivia in the 1950s, at the same time that it was undermining or overthrowing similar regimes in other nations? What does this striking but forgotten incident reveal about American ambitions in Latin America? And what light does it shed on the strife engulfing Bolivia today, after yet another elected leader has been forced out of power? We discuss and find context with Oliver Rhoads Murphey, whose dissertation seeks to solve the puzzle of American involvement in the heart of Andean South America. Read "A Bond that will Permanently Endure: The Eisenhower administration, the Bolivian revolution and Latin American leftist nationalism" -- https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D87D30RB Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the recent examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

I give updates on my ridiculous pursuits, and thanks to my 75+ patrons, as well as a juicy teaser for my patron-only lecture on the "real" or "historical" King Arthur. The Twitter poll on what I should address next: https://twitter.com/Historiansplain/status/1290134698690088962 My political campaign website: www.samforcentralmass.com My patreon -- sign up to hear all my patron-only material: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

Unlocked for the public after 1 year: -Ceramic chalice, decorated in Jemez black-on-white style, with crosses -made in pueblo of Giusewa, between 1598 and the 1630s -found in the ruins of the Spanish mission at Giusewa, 1937 A simple pottery chalice, probably made by a local indigenous woman, reveals the early stages of interaction between Spanish missionaries and the ancient Pueblo civilization -- an intermingling that would lead to conflict, and eventually, a massive revolt that some have called "the first American Revolution." Image courtesy of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Laboratory of Anthropology Suggested further reading: Archaeologies of the Pueblo Revolt: Identity, Meaning, and Renewal in the Pueblo World, edited by Robert W. Preucel, especially Matthew Liebman, "Signs of Power and Resistance: The (Re)Creation of Christian Imagery and Identities in the Pueblo Revolt Era”; Ramon Gutierrez, "When Jesus Came the Corn Mothers Went Away" In order to hear the next installment in this series, on a German jug with myserious symbols found in the ruins of Jamestown, please sign up here as a patron at any level! -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/30760619

When Jackie Kennedy told reporters that she and the late President used to listen to the soundtrack of the musical "Camelot," the word immediately caught on as the name for the Kennedy White House -- portrayed as a brief, golden period of wise rule, ended by tragedy; more than a thousand years' worth of romantic associations could be evoked with three short syllables. In this second segment, we consider how the chivalric legend of Camelot and the Round Table was conceived and elaborated, from French courtly romances, through the first English Arthurian epic (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), to the popular novels, plays, and movies of modern times. Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the upcoming examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Find the new Lyceum platform and app -- www.lyceum.fm/ Suggested further reading: Nicholas J. Higham, "King Arthur: The Making of the Legend"

Why does the earliest known picture of King Arthur show him riding on a goat and charging towards a deadly cat-monster? How has the tale of King Arthur and his knights evolved since it first emerged from Celtic folklore? We consider the shaping of the Arthur story from the songs of mysterious Welsh and Breton bards to the high medieval romances of French courtier-poets. Proceed to part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-king-arthur-pt-2-the-rise-and-fall-of-camelot Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the upcoming examination of the "historical" King Arthur -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Find the new Lyceum platform and app -- www.lyceum.fm/ Suggested further reading: Nicholas J. Higham, "King Arthur: The Making of the Legend"