It’s simple enough to pinpoint the beginnings of the French Revolution in 1789, but far more difficult to mark its end. Following the initial outbreak of revolution, France was plunged into years of political, social and economic instability, as various new governments sought to replace the ancient monarchy. But how did the relationship between the king and ... Show More
Oct 2024
504. The French Revolution: War to the Death (Part 2)
“You have shaken off the yoke of your despots, but surely this was not to bend the knee before a foreign tyrant…”
It’s January 1792, and one of the largest factions in revolutionary France, the Gironde, is calling for war against Austria. The French people’s hatred of Marie Antoi ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2024
481. The French Revolution: The Women's March on Versailles (Part 7)
By the summer of 1789 the different sections of the Revolution were at loggerheads, and the recently created National Assembly riven in two. Both factions, the radicals on the left and the more moderate revolutionaries on the right, upheld different interpretations of how the new ... Show More
58m 37s
Mar 2025
546. The French Revolution: The Monarchy Falls (Part 3)
“From this place and from this day forth commences a new era in the world’s history, and you can all say you were present at its birth!”
By September 1792, the Prussians, under the leadership of the formidable Duke of Brunswick, were closing in on revolutionary Paris. There, the ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2024
478. The French Revolution: Showdown in Versailles (Part 4)
In the summer of 1788, a monstrous storm swept across France, wiping out the crucial wheat harvest. With the nation already in the throes of political and financial calamity, this meteorological disaster - followed by an apocalyptic drought, and latterly the cruellest winter Fran ... Show More
1h 8m
Aug 2024
480. The French Revolution: The Rights of Man (Part 6)
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité!”
Alongside violence, the French Revolution is a story of principles and values. It is the ultimate intersection of brutality and Enlightenment idealism, as epitomised by the Fall of the Bastille. So too the creation and implementation of the Declar ... Show More
58m 42s