The Siècle History Podcast

What exactly is The Siècle? An introduction to the new podcast chronicling French history between Napoleon and the First World War. Find out more at thesiecle.com. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1/21/19 • 07:00

The Siècle begins in the year 1814. Napoléon has abdicated, and the Bourbons are back in charge of France. Here's how they screw it up, the first scene in our century-long saga of a country at war with itself. Find out more at thesiecle.com. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Remastered version uploaded on Feb. 25, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1/21/19 • 22:28

Napoleon returns from exile to reclaim his throne, and Louis flees into exile. But as diplomats scheme for advantage, the fate of France will be settled on the fields of Waterloo. Find out more at thesiecle.com/episode2.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Remastered version uploaded on Feb. 25, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2/6/19 • 23:19

What kind of kingdom had Louis XVIII managed to win after Waterloo, anyway? We take a tour of France in 1815, from its mountains and rivers to its hardscrabble peasants, wine-trading merchants and imperious nobles. Follow along with vital maps at thesiecle.com/episode3! Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2/20/19 • 30:54

Napoleon's famous Hundred Days, told in Simpsons GIFs, the format these epic events have been waiting two centuries for. Special bonus The Siècle content available now at http://thesiecle.com/supplemental1/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3/4/19 • 02:15

Paris in 1815 was a city of intense contradictions, where shining palaces and squalid slums sat right next door to each other. Meet the city that is not yet the City of Light at the dawn of the Restoration. Follow along with maps at thesiecle.com/episode4! Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Remastered version uploaded on August 7, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3/6/19 • 24:49

France plunges into violence after the final fall of Napoleon. Featuring: invasion, murder, treason, extortion, art theft, 300 million bottles of wine, rude drinking songs and seditious chickens.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Remastered version uploaded on August 7, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3/20/19 • 37:03

After Waterloo, France was invaded by a huge multinational foreign army — and they didn't leave for more than three years. Learn more about the facts and consequences of this occupation in an interview with Prof. Christine Haynes, author of a recent book on the subject. Visit thesiecle.com for a transcript, pictures, and a link to buy the book.  Remastered version uploaded on August 7, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4/3/19 • 41:32

After the fall of Napoleon, France got a new constitution — one full of contradictions. Learn about The Charter, a constitution literally for the 1%.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4/19/19 • 26:56

The restored king of France, Louis XVIII, faces a stiff challenge from the parliament he just created. But these champions of parliamentary power aren't who might expect.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5/2/19 • 25:41

Meet the "legitimists," the group of right-wing ultra-royalists who would have a profound influence on 19th Century French politics. Champions of natural order and Catholicism, liberty and inequality, they had a sophisticated philosophy rooted in opposing the evils of the Enlightenment and Revolution.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5/21/19 • 29:19

The early 19th Century writer and statesman Chateaubriand was a keen (if biased) observer of many of the events chronicled in The Siècle — and a top-notch writer, to boot! In this bonus episode, I present an excerpt from Chateaubriand's memoirs, including his thoughts on Napoleon, Louis XVIII, censorship and France's constitutional monarchy.  As always, visit thesiecle.com for full transcript, annotations and illustrations.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6/7/19 • 21:19

The silent majority of Restoration France were the peasants, the small farmers scraping out a living across its varied countryside. Learn who these peasants were, how they worked, and how they survived.  Visit thesiecle.com for bonus information, pictures and charts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6/19/19 • 27:46

An epic episode covering the little-known story of the time an Indonesian volcano caused worldwide harvest failures and massive social unrest, including in a France still recovering from the chaos and devastation of the Napoleonic Wars.  Visit thesiecle.com for bonus information, pictures and charts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7/10/19 • 54:05

An interview with Philip Mansel, author of several books about 19th Century France, including a biography of Louis XVIII. We discuss the life and personality of France's restored Bourbon king. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7/24/19 • 39:21

An introduction to Restoration France's illustrious — and not-so-illustrious — royal family circa 1816, including a little too much genealogy and a surprising amount of absurdly petty snubs. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9/4/19 • 29:23

A look behind the scenes of The Siècle, including how I research, record and edit episodes, and a closer look at a few of the sources I use to research the podcast. Brought to you by the show's supporters on Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9/22/19 • 17:04

Restoration politics becomes a three-way battle for supremacy between liberals, Ultra-royalists, and "Ministerials" — until a shocking crime changes everything.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10/18/19 • 47:22

A second part of my interview with historian Philip Mansel discusses Franco-British relations during the first half of the 19th Century, as a century-plus of military rivalry turns into something much more complex. Brought to you by the show's supporters on Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11/11/19 • 21:14

France swings hard to the right, as the government passes new repressive laws and the nation celebrates the birth of a Bourbon 'miracle child.' Pushed back on their heels, the French left turns to conspiracy. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11/26/19 • 34:17

A discussion with Philippe Moisan, a professor of French at Grinnell College, about the literary movement of French Romanticism — everything from what made it distinct to which books you should read to get started. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12/13/19 • 35:13

This cross-post with Pax Britannica is a discussion between that podcast's host Sam Hume and myself about the two political murders we've both covered in recent months: that of the Duc de Berry on The Siècle and that of the Duke of Buckingham on Pax Britannica.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! And also be sure to check out Pax Britannica! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12/31/19 • 31:25

Chris Fernandez-Packham of the Age of Victoria podcast and I talk about the different experiences of erstwhile rivals France and Great Britain in the years after Waterloo. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! And also be sure to check out Age of Victoria! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1/21/20 • 43:01

When the victorious powers met at the Congress of Vienna after Napoleon's defeat, they did more than just punish France. They redrew the map of Europe and tried to create a new, more stable world order. Learn about this new order and its impact on Restoration France. Visit thesiecle.com/episode17 to see helpful maps about this episode's content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2/2/20 • 31:20

The conservative powers of Europe strike back at the wave of liberal revolutions sweeping the continent, and France struggles with how to respond — a crisis that brings down one prime minister and elevates a new politician to center stage. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3/2/20 • 28:12

French schemes in Spain play an underappreciated role in sparking one of the monumental documents in American history.  Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3/13/20 • 13:56

Halfway across the world from France, the most famous man of his age dies in isolated exile — but not before profoundly reforging his legacy through both story and suffering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4/2/20 • 30:52

A recitation of the "19th Century Bonapartist Bible," a memoir from one of Napoleon's aides on St. Helena recounting the emperor's life in exile and his discourses on his rule and historical rulers before him.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5/1/20 • 31:44

Napoleon Bonaparte is dead — but he still lives on, in myth and legend, in flowers and tobacco boxes, in jails and asylums, and above all in the political memory of Restoration France, for whom even death cannot rid them of their greatest foe.  Be sure to follow The Siècle on Twitter @thesiecle, or on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5/23/20 • 32:15

The wars, murders and political battles covered on The Siècle were first covered by France's newspapers — which were very different than the newspapers of today. Take a tour into the strange world of Restoration journalism, and learn the truth behind one of the most famous collections of French newspaper headlines. Be sure to follow The Siècle on Twitter @thesiecle, or on Facebook.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6/19/20 • 36:30