The French History Podcast

What was life like for ordinary people in 4th century Gallia? In this episode we're covering men, women, children, the family, culture, entertainment, language, medicine, the environment, food, barbarians & everything else that made up the lives of the Gauls during the Late Roman Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode, I interview Dr. Robin Mitchell on her new book Vénus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France. We talk about three African women, Ourika, Sarah Baartmann and Jeanne Duval, and how each women reflected and embodied different anxieties felt by France in its tumultuous 19th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Galerius rules from the East and Constantine fears for his life. One night the young man flees to Gaul to rejoin his father in the west. When Constantius dies his son becomes emperor. In the chaos that follows the ambitious man looks to the heavens and receives divine revelation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year is 285. Diocletian is the undisputed master of a Roman world in tatters. Gaul has fallen completely apart as its own people ravage the land looking for food while German hordes poor in. Diocleatian sends two emperors to save Gaul, but even if they can bring peace it will never be the same as Celtic Gaul declines and the Franks rise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rome is falling apart. It's being invaded along its entire northern and eastern borders. Emperors are assassinated. Usurper generals rise up every year to seize power. Plague devastates the empire. Out of this chaos a Gallic military commander decides to create a new Celtic empire and revive a free Gaul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rome ascends to unprecedented glory by the time of Antoninus Pius. Then the unthinkable happens and the ancient superpower is hit with one disaster after another. Plague, civil war and invasion bring the glorious empire to its knees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Cameron Zinsou talks about the tense waiting period known as 'The Phoney War.' Zinsou argues that despite no large-scale military engagements occuring a whole lot happened. French society had to reorganize for total war and that the political, social and military changes presaged the occupation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly two centuries of Gallia's history go missing. What happened to the records and what happened in Gallia? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Haitian Revolution has often been described as an oddity that had little impact on the world. Since then, historians have challenged this narrative and argue that Haiti's victory over France had a huge impact on the Atlantic World. Dr. Matthew Clavin of the University of Houston argues that the Haitian Revolution had an enormous impact on the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Year of the Four Emperors in the Roman Empire brings chaos and war. In Gallia, three people claim divinity as they revolt against the empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices