History Pondered and Explored

History Pondered

Explore History's world-changing events and people. Discover history, the stories of brutal battles, dangerous rulers and adventure. Find the hidden and thought provoking treasures not found in history books. Hear the adventures and most fascinating, engaging and yet unknown figures that dramatically change the history of the world. Engage with thought provoking world history. The improbable heroes...the overrated heroes...and so much more Tell us what you think at historyoffhand@gmail.com and history pondered on Instagram, X and Threads OR on historypondered.com

  1. 1d ago

    The Colonization of England: William the Conqueror

    In 1035 AD, It seemed very unlikely that William (the Conqueror) , then 8 years old, would be the one to conquer and then colonize England, let alone survive as the Duke of Normandy. William's father, Duke Robert had gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but did not return. William was illegitimate and his mother, Herleva, was the daughter of an undertaker, so that was very little she could do to help the young William. William did have a couple of uncles but they were not overly concerned with the plight of William. Instead, several different guardians were put in charge of William. None of these guardians lasted very long as each had some dastardly and permanent deeds done to them. However, William survived. In 1047 King Henry 1 of France helped the now 20 year old William in a battle. Yet, the King and the Count of Anjou eventually evaded Normandy...twice. William came out on top both times. One thing you can say about William was that he learned. What he learned in France was vital to his conquering England. #england #history #normandy #1066 #williamtheconqueror #france #anjou #battleofhastings

  2. Aug 4

    Lady Godiva

    Lady Godiva is most famous for her ride through Coventry wearing nothing yet her long hair covering everything. Before asking the question - did she really do this and why, the first question is did she even exist? The time is the late 11th century and the town is Coventry. There is a king of England but there is still Mercia with its Earl Leofric. The story of Lady Godiva's ride is about Leofric having punitive taxes on the locals and Lady Godiva telling him the amount of taxes are absurd and that he should ease up. Leofric says he will if she does the ride through town up to the market place. Did it happen? Was it an allegory? Did land owning Anglo Saxon have more say so in their day than the later women after the Norman Conquest? tune in and find out

  3. Jul 30

    Nell Gwyn, Mistress to Charles II in Restoration England - pretty, witty Nell Gwyn

    The tale of Nell Gwyn is a true rag to riches story. Her childhood was an impoverished one, where nobility and wealth were but a dream. Yet by the end of her life, her two sons by King Charles II were ennobled and wealthy. Her life begins during the puritanical reign of Oliver Cromwell, the guy that basically outlawed fun. Once Cromwell was gone and the monarchy restored with Charles II in 1660, the fun came roaring back with a vengeance. Theatres, that had been banned during the Cromwell period, were back on including one patronized by Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist of the Restoration, along with the King himself. Moreover, a woman could now be played by woman rather than by young boys and men. Nell saw that chance and took it. At first she was an orange girl. Orange girls sold oranges and possibly set up dalliances with men and actresses for after the show. But soon Nell was on stage herself and her incredible wit and charm could capture an audience like no other. In those days, the theater was not always a solemn place but rather one that where the audience might shout to each other, to actors on the stage and perhaps get in a brawl as well. While noticed by Charles previously, once the Great Plague hit London and the king and his court socially distanced somewhere outside of the city, Nell did not hesitate to follow. She likely found herself at court being her "pretty, witty" self. Soon after, she was a mistress to King Charles and remained so until his death. Charles made sure that his brother paid off most of Nell's debts, she got an annual pension that set her up nicely and her mortgage was paid off. The house stayed in the family until 1940 #Nellgwyn #restoration #england #history #charlesII

  4. Jul 28

    Fascism in the UK - 1920s-30s. Oswald Mosley, Diana and Unity Mitford

    The fascists in Britain found their leader or their leader found them.  Oswald Mosley formed the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932. Mosley was a veteran of WW1. He ws also a philanderer and an aristocrat.  He was briefly a member of parliament for the Conservative party after the war, then he moved over to the Labor party.  Once the BUF was formed, it two years later that he and the BUF had a major setback.  At a large gathering at a place called Olympia, he called out hecklers in the crowd and shined a spotlight on the heckler so that the audience could see the BUF beat up the heckler. The greater public and parliament were not onboard. And yes, the BUF had begun to dress up in quasi military uniforms- the black shirts In 1936, Mosley married Diana Mitford, one of the 6 Mitford sisters.  The Mitfords, and more specifically the sisters were the socialites-deluxe in 1920s UK. And yet, at one time or another, most of the Mitford clan met with Hitler.  In fact, Hitler attended the secret wedding ceremony of Diana and Oswald.  Unity Mitford literally stalked Hitler until eventually he noticed her.  Unity met with Hitler over 140 times prior to WW2.  She and Diana were at the Nuremberg Rallies and attended the Berlin Olympics. They were invited to attend. The 3 individuals are the focus of this episode. The Mosleys never ever fully admitted to any real wrongdoing of support for fascists and Hitler after the war. For the younger Unity, she treated it almost in a frivolous manner until the war broke out. Great Britain did not let fascism take root leading up to WW2, despite the efforts of these 3 individuals.  Well done Great Britain #history #uk #mitfords #germany

  5. Jul 21

    The Forgotten Story of the Two Jans- Jan Hus, Jan Zizka and the Hussite Wars

    Jan Hus had the same ideas as Martin Luther but decades earlier. Yet, Luther had the advantage of the printing press that enabled mass communications. Jan Hus was burned at the stake which did not go over well with the Hussites, to say the least. The Hussites were a group of people in Bohemia inspired by the words of Jan Hus. After the 1st Defenestration of Prague, things quickly boiled over and the Hussite Wars began. The Hussite Wars pitted the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund, against Bohemian Hussites. Jan Zizka became the military leader of the Hussites, leading a group of peasants, time and time again, to victory over Sigismund and his knights. In these battles, the Hussites were overwhelmingly outnumbered but through sheer audacity, innovational genius and religious fervor, Jan Ziska was never defeated. Blind in one eye when the wars began, he became totally blind and nothing changed. Victory after victory. One can arguably state that he invented the tank, 500 years before WW1, by putting cannon on wagons. He created mobile forts, which included the Tabor, a fortified wagon, which when joined together in a defensive position, were nearly impenetrable. He chose the terrain and let the battle come to him. The weapon of choice for the peasants was the flail, which is something they knew how to use as it was used on farms. #janhus #janzizka #hussites #tabor #bohemia #protestant

  6. Jul 14

    Flirting With Evil-Fascism, Authoritarianism And The Vatican - With Dr. Ambrogio Caiaini

    The title of this episode was "borrowed" from the title of Dr. Ambrogio Caiani's latest book- Flirting with Evil: The Catholic Church in the Age of Total War and Globalisation. In this episode, which covers the first portion of the book - it is the turn of the 20th century and the Catholic Church is losing its long time allies- monarchs and nobles, and has already lost much of its power and wealth. The Church is opposed to modernism which in short means it is opposed to democracy, individualism and to almost all other modern developments. To this end, the Church develops a spy network to root out "modernist" in the church and eventually employs the network within various nations in the Great War. The network is not very successful nor is the Church's attempts at encryption, which is easily deciphered by the Italian Army. So it would seem there are some drawbacks to opposing Modernism. So what now for the Church? The Church officially declares neutrality during WW1 and yet, it has no embassies with the Allied Powers but a couple in Germany. At its core, the Church's main interest during the Great War is its own self interest. It evens puts out feelers to see if the Ottoman Empire can get some help so the the Russian Orthodox Church cannot make inroads into the Roman Catholic Church's "Territory." Once the Great War is over and there are virtually no authoritarian states left to work with what does the Church do? The Catholic Church, Authoritarian by nature, attempts to work a deal with Authoritarian/Fascist Mussolini. In 1929 the Fascist and the Vatican sign the Lateran Accords. Italy gets recognized by the Vatican and vice versa. Mussolini is further legitimized and the Catholic Church is paid handsomely- "a king's ransom." But as with any dictator, they can change their mind at the drop of the hat and of course Mussolini does. However, in the long run, the Church invest the enormous amount of money it was given by Mussolini quite well, as the large amounts of real estate it is said to allegedly hold in the swanky parts of European capitals attests #Catholic #Popes #History #thevatican #Mussolini #authoritarians

  7. Jun 30

    The Vikings in North America- The Vinland Sagas

    In this episode -The dead tell prophecies, there is a vanishing huge eyed doppleganger, and of course, some bloody battles and some serious treachery…all that you expect from a story about the Vikings. The Viking age, traditionally bracketed as793-1066 AD…accounts for the first Viking raid on the Lindisfarne monastery in Northumbria and ends with the Norman conquest in 1066.  In other words, the traditional story is all about the British Isles. Long story short it is ironically, it is the Normans, descendants of Vikings, that conquer England in 1066.However, the Vinland Sagas, which are really two sagas- the Saga of the Greenlanders and Erick The Red's saga, these tell the stories of the voyages of the Vikings to North America around 1000 AD There are the tales of the very treacherous and always extremely dangerous voyages that these Vikings make. First to Greenland and then on to Vinland. - Vinland in Old Norse translates to Wine Land or Land of Wine. At the time these sagas are written, the only place where wild begin to grow in North America are on the south banks of the St. Lawrence river. About 500 years after these sagas are written, Jacques Cartier sails into the St Lawrence and he too names some places after wine, such as the Isle de Bacchus. There are the tales of first contact which eventually goes quite badly for the Vikings. These sagas also happen as the Vikings are beginning to become Christians. In fact both sagas are written by Christian Vikings about 200 years after the events in the sagas unfold. So there are some fascinating layers told within the sagas. In the 1960a, the remains of a Viking settlement are discovered by Helge and Anne Ingstad, in what is today Newfoundland, Canada. But, this settlement is not Vinland. So if indeed the Vikings did make it to the proverbial land of milk and honey...and warmth, the question is...why didn't they stay? If you ever wondered why Greenland is called Greenland, well that is in the sagas as well. All this and more in this most fascinating, sometimes creepy and always interesting episode #Vikings #Sagas #History #seers #Greenland #Iceland #Vinland

  8. Jun 17

    The Triangle Factory Fire-The Disaster That Changed America

    The Triangle fire happened on March 25, 1911. It was the deadliest workplace disaster in New York for nearly a century. This wasn.t the first garment factory fire in NYC at that time. In fact the owners of the Triangle had several previous fires, almost always coinciding with then end of the fashion season, when having leftover inventory was bad for business. Several decades prior to the fire, such fire safety innovations (sprinklers, fire doors and many more) and been effectively put into action in New England cotton mills, the use of such innovations was rare in the garment factories of NYC at the time. Fires tended to get paid off by insurance, insurance brokers found ways to make money despite the fires and the political machine Tammany Hall certainly was not helping matters. Yet a series of very unlikely events made the aftermath of the Triangle Fire different. Women union organizers, such as Clara Lemlich, and politicians, such as Francis Perkins, who became the first woman US cabinet member, as Secretary of Labor, through continued hard work and resilience, were able to influence Tammany Hall help push through laws in NYC. These were laws such as child labor laws , minimum wage laws, working hours laws and the right for women to vote. These laws moved from New York onto the rest of the U.S. The high levels of corruption, grifting and graft were minimized to the extent possible, at least for the time being. #History #trianglefire #suffragists #America

See All (61)

About

Explore History's world-changing events and people. Discover history, the stories of brutal battles, dangerous rulers and adventure. Find the hidden and thought provoking treasures not found in history books. Hear the adventures and most fascinating, engaging and yet unknown figures that dramatically change the history of the world. Engage with thought provoking world history. The improbable heroes...the overrated heroes...and so much more Tell us what you think at historyoffhand@gmail.com and history pondered on Instagram, X and Threads OR on historypondered.com

Information

You Might Also Like