Footnotes of History

Dan Nesbitt / Tim Philpott
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Society & Culture

footnotesofhistory.com - the podcast that sails confidently into the uncharted waters of the past, bringing back incredible treasures for its listeners. You'll wish you'd listened harder in school as we reveal the oft-forgotten history of the nineteenth century .

  1. 07/25/2020

    M5 – Curse of the Living Statues

    Recorded in the FOH Buckinghamshire Outpost via a secure line to the Beckenham Bunker, our intrepid hosts run their mouths (again) about recent political events. This could potentially be our last episode if we are to take cultural trends seriously, so listen fast before we are ourselves “toppled”! Full site and more episodes at footnotesofhistory.com as always.

  2. 05/26/2020

    36 - A quarter of the world on its knees: The ferocious Spanish flu pandemic

    Yes we may be in the midst of a viral outbreak right now, but there was one far worse just over 100 years ago. In this episode, our daring hosts Tim and Dan take to the FOH darkweb-comms system (Tim's house phone) to discuss: The upside-down pattern of the virus that attacked the young, the strong and the able first Obscene conditions on the frontlines  that created the pandemic Why Spain was the fall guy of Europe thanks to a media blackout! The reliable methods of virus protection people are still using today! As always you can sign up for our emails on our home page but you may as well do something fun while you're there: we have a highly entertaining "survive the revolution" test which can also be found on our site!

  3. 12/23/2019

    M4 - The Ghosts of Christmas Past

    Scrooge is practically tangible in the room with us today. Actually that’s me. As usual it falls to the sensible people to do the important work of wishing you a Merry Christmas in an entertaining and informative way. So in the absence of any sensible people on the FOH team, we’ve drafted in a glamourous assistant to do the work for us in this episode, which will be a short sleigh ride through some of the historic events we’ve covered on the podcast, as well as some we haven’t. Our assistant will draw from the hat (ok Dan, beret) each time a number linking to a particular theme. There are as always varying interpretations of the brief. For some reason, I singularly failed to make any of mine Christmassy, but Dan’s make up for it! In case you can’t keep up with what is probably our greatest rapport to date (given that Dan sounds about 30 years older than usual due to inexplicable illness, probably not), what we discuss is listed below: 1 - The number of frost fairs held on the Thames in the 19th Century (1814). 2 - The actual number of governments there were in Revolutionary France in 1848. 3 - The number of print runs A Christmas Carolwent through in December 1843 (published on 19 December 1843). 4 - The number of armies on the march in the Hapsburg Empire in 1848 5 - 1845 - the Irish potato famine. Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/28 6 - Premier of The Nutcracker in the Old Style calender (6 December 1892). Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/27 7 - The number of the Pre-Raphaelites, one of whom; Edward Burne-Jones painted many versions of the Nativity. Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/26 8 - For the year of the general election 1868, the year after Disraeli extended the franchise to the working classes… then lost. 9 - 1869 and the completion of Monet's painting 'The Magpie '. Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/18 10 - For our tenth episode The Great Stink - still one of my favourites. Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/10 11 - In the song, it's usually “Swans a Swimming” so we can talk about The Swan King. (NB: it’s actually Seven Swans a Swimming in the Christmas song, but I think we got away with this one) Episode: https://footnotesofhistory.com/29 12 - December 1812, the Grand Armèe is chased out of Russia. P.S. Make sure you sign up to our email list and play the revolution game here: https://footnotesofhistory.com/revolutionchallenge, become an FOH legionnaire and pick up your special Christmas present from the FOH team! You won’t regret it!

  4. 12/09/2019

    35 - What a Match-Girl Wants: The 1888 Match Workers Strike

    After much anticipation we release today our latest Footnotes main series episode: Number 35, on the Bryant and May matchgirls strike of 1888. As always - if you want the backdrop as well as knowing exactly when an episode is coming out and the ability to ask us email questions, join the subscriber list on the homepage: footnotesofhistory.com As you would expect from this kind of episode, we entangle ourselves in centuries of highly politicised labour history, slightly questionable economics and – surprisingly – a number of insights which we really think ought to be better known, one of which includes the historian’s number one mistake: grafting modern views onto the past. So what does a matchgirl want? Well they’re striking for a reason and you’ve got to listen in to find out. The episode will include: · A profile of the idealistic Fabian-socialist writer who exposed conditions at the factory and why she – counterintuitively - didn’t want industrial action! · The White Terror: the deadly chemical in matches and what they could do to someone’s face if the fumes were inhaled! · Tim’s bigger-picture take on how match factory conditions may not have been as bad as we think - especially when compared to other East-End London jobs at the time! · Bryant and May’s early match factories and why they turned to the dark side - and more dangerous products! · A live, historic example of the Streisand Effect! · Dan makes the case against the “uneducated” defenceless young women argument! · How Big Matches churned through workers despite penury-level wages, a vicious discipline system and potentially lethal long term conditions (Hint: Irish immigration)! As always, thanks for listening (and some apologies from Dan for his croaky voice) and if you get the chance, go to our page on apple podcasts to leave us a review. This’ll help us get the word out about Footnotes of History and we can record more and more regular episodes!

  5. 11/06/2019

    34 - Writing the rule book on savage conquest: The Berlin Congress Part II

    Listeners, Today after a lengthy interlude, Dan and I release the second half of the Scramble for Africa episode. It’s controversial of course since, despite our normal dismissal of all the virtue signalling in modern media about empire and European history, we actually found ourselves rather moved by the cold brutality of the operation. Dan actually burst into tears, but out of deference to his ego, I cut this from the tape. Okay that didn’t happen, but before we get too carried away by the number one mistake historians always make (i.e. imposing modern values on the past), two caveats: 1) The right of conquest of course was a recognised concept at the time and 2) many lands were bought rather than “stolen”. As historians, our role – unlike the famous quote – IS to reason “why”. This being said, it doesn’t get away from the fact that European leaders treated much of the continent as if it were essentially empty. As well as the fact that they hid their imperial ambitions behind the veneer of respectability or “civilisation” (eg anti-slavery). The Congress sounds cold and you’d be dead right: It is a fascinating bureaucratic horror that saw a group of faceless civil servants draft the rulebook for late empire in Africa. An interesting, if at times disturbing episode of a ruthless and impersonal governmental process applied to foreign lands, including: How the latecomers to empire used the moral high ground to blackmail the frontrunners The grotesque distortion of the meaning of free trade for imperial ends Bismarck as the civil servant’s pin-up idol: a mastery of bureaucratic greyness that subjugated a continent at the stroke of a pen Why the haplessness of one nation’s empire building actually won it more allies in Europe “PEC”: a single definition that was so bitterly controversial, it nearly caused a world war Listen in and listen good. Tim PS: In the buildup towards Christmas we're going to be sending out an exclusive link to some special content - 7 extra episodes from our Santa's sack of history content. If you want to get the really good stuff you can - by signing up to the email list: footnotesofhistory.com

  6. 10/05/2019 ·  Bonus

    M3 - Dan's Raid on St Nazaire & A German Love Story

    On today’s tape: Dan managed to work his holiday story into the recording – he went to St. Nazaire on what he calls an “Inbetweeners Holiday” but with added history – notably from World War Two. It’s a daring story of bravery, tenacity and pocket battleships. On the flipside, I recall the numerous moments I’ve had with some people who seem to think “Austrians speak Austrian” and that’s just the way it is and always has been. Granted, the stereotype of their culture is a little different nowadays, but there are few heated moments in history when things could have turned out differently for the former heartland of the Hapsburgs. As always with these mini episodes, we’re diving deeper into the kind of topics that come up in our email dispatches. You can be a part of that secret society right here: footnotesofhistory.com

  7. 10/04/2019

    33 - The Scramble for Africa: New Imperialism and the Triggers for the Second Congress of Berlin 1884-5

    In this episode, your indefatigable young hosts delve deep into what is really the pinnacle of European Imperialism – the so-called Scramble for Africa, its effects, timeline and the apparent game that European powers seemed to be playing as it advanced. Traditionally, Africa’s dangerous interior – including disease, dense and almost unnavigable river mouths and hostile populations made it almost impossible for Europeans to even consider “empiring” Africa in the ways that people usually anticipate. This is reflective a wider trend really. The risks are simply too great for a non-industrialised power to attempt any kind of subjugation. It’s only really since Britain and Europe started to pull sharply away in terms of technology, living standards and general economic resource that their armies were able to conquer anything like the territory we see in this episode. It’s a fascinating but also slightly unnerving period of colonisation and destruction that is important to properly understand if we are to avoid any kind of dodgy modern thinking on the subject. What’s on the tape: · Why the traditional “getting rich from the empire” ideas don’t make sense · How Belgium – a country barely born by 1850 – bought off an intrepid explorer and manoeuvred under the noses of the Powers to become one of the largest land-owning powers in the Congo and the provocateur of the “scramble for Africa” · Germany’s slightly pathetic reasons for calling the conference (it has to do with being a bit slow off the mark) · A hint at the real life events that precipitated Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad · How a Britain and France double-act tricked Egypt into handing over the newly-constructed Suez Canal and a taster of how dangerous it is to stir up rebellions you can’t control · Why Bismarck wasn’t as keen as you’d expect on empires · Our “revenge of the landlords” theory of the Long Depression that identifies the economic incentives behind the land grab and New Imperialism · How you can – from the results of the episode – see who would be the major players in WW1 · The devious (though potentially legitimate) pretences that some Powers used to legally capture African lands and colonise them We reckon we’ve got a pretty interesting and unusual take on the period so get your safari kit on and your headphones plugged in. Note: this is only part 1 of the Congress of Berlin (Africa) series – so subscribe to our email list footnotesofhistory.com to know exactly when the next episode will be out!

  8. 09/22/2019 ·  Bonus

    M2 - What TV Gets Wrong, Exhibit #382: Mosley and the Samurai

    It’s not a big secret that TV shows based in history are sometimes a bit slapdash. Often it’s time pressures, it’s adaptation for drama or even just the taste of the producer. But in this episode, your Oracles of Truth kick around two previous Dispatches topics and get to grips with the “potential” truths that could be being told to you by your very own television RIGHT NOW! These first concern the Rugby World Cup – this year in Japan no less, whose history is as dark as it is mysterious and as misunderstood as it is celebrated. The second, equally dark topic, is that of British fascism and its infamous leader Sir Oswald Mosley, its origins and its surprisingly uncontentious way of running things at the time. As always, if you want to get your controversies brought to you on a silver platter, sign up to our email list on the homepage at footnotesofhistory.com!

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footnotesofhistory.com - the podcast that sails confidently into the uncharted waters of the past, bringing back incredible treasures for its listeners. You'll wish you'd listened harder in school as we reveal the oft-forgotten history of the nineteenth century .

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Nesbitt / Tim Philpott
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2020
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dan Nesbitt / Tim Philpott
  • Show Website
    Footnotes of History