The Siècle podcast

03/07/2024

NEW EPISODE: How did the people of Paris go from unconcerned to street battles with the French Army in less than 24 hours? Find yourself a barricade and discover how things escalated so quickly in Episode 41:

That escalated quickly. On the afternoon of Monday, July 26, 1830, Parisian workers didn't seem to care at all that King Charles X had just seized power in a...

03/06/2024

NEW EPISODE! When King Charles X imposed censorship by decree in July 1830, France's opposition journalists all agreed this was bad & super duper illegal. But would they risk arrest to actually defy the Four Ordinances?

Charles X's Four Ordinances in July 1830 threatened to impose strict censorship on France's opposition newspapers. So what were the journalists going to do a...

26/04/2024

NEW EPISODE: This one is for anyone who's even been bewildered reading about Jean Valjean or Edmond Dantès paying for something in [incomprehensible French currency] — a guide to the various 19th Century French coins and what they were worth!

Everything you ever wanted to know about francs and sous, centimes and louis d’or, and the bewildering array of 19th Century French currency. What were all t...

27/02/2024

NEW EPISODE! To celebrate the show's *fifth birthday* I brought on a special guest to ask me listener questions and some of his own.

Come listen to me talk French history, the art of podcasting and more with an ideal interlocutor — Everett Rummage of the Age of Napoleon podcast!

Since debuting in January 2019, The Siècle has released 60 regular and bonus episodes, totalling hundreds of thousands of words and dozens of hours. To mark ...

22/01/2024

On January 22, 2019, I released Episode 1 of The Siècle: "The Return of the King."

Today, exactly five years later, I'm extremely proud to release Episode 39: "The Four Ordinances."

Tune in for a deep exploration of King Charles X's audacious collection of royal decrees that stunned Parisians on July 26, 1830:

On July 26, 1830, Parisians woke up to four stunning proclamations from King Charles X, four ordinances rewriting French politics and public life. Join me to...

05/01/2024

NEW EPISODE! In 1830, King Charles X dissolves parliament, hoping THIS round of elections will go better for him than the last. He won't do anything rash if the voters reject him again, right? ALSO: War, intrigue, Victor Hugo, balls — it's EPISODE 38: "The 221".

In 1830, France's slow-moving political crisis builds to a fever-pitch, as King Charles X goes to war with his liberal opposition at home, and the Regency of...

09/12/2023

NEW EPISODE: Locusts, pirates, a brutal assault-by-flyswatter, & a badass female tribal chief you won't find in your history books — all that and more in Episode 37, as we explore the Ottoman Regency of Algiers in 1830 for, uh, no reason in particular:

In the late 1820s, Napoleonic intrigues and a brutal assault by flyswatter combined to turn French attention across the Mediterranean to the Ottoman Regency ...

27/11/2023

NEW EPISODE: Ever seen this painting? It depicts the aftermath of the infamous 1816 shipwreck of a French naval frigate headed to Senegal.

Learn about this wreck & what it says about Restoration France's colonial empire in Episode 36: WRECK OF THE MEDUSA: http://thesiecle.com/episode36/

02/10/2023

Follow the money and where does it lead? Join me and Prof. Tyson Leuchter for a tour of the Bourbon Restoration's stockbrokers, pamphleteers, grumpy creditors, devious debtors and more.

Follow the money and where does it lead? In the Bourbon Restoration, the financial lifeblood of France was the Paris Stock Exchange, where trading in governm...

31/08/2023

NEW EPISODE! France's economy in 1830 *stunk*.

But what does that even MEAN for an agricultural, pre-railroad country? And what does it mean for the fate of controversial prime minister Jules de Polignac?

I've got answers (and some huge announcements!):

The French economy in 1830 was overwhelmingly agricultural, constrained by slow transportation networks, and — in a worrying sign for prime minister Jules de...

14/07/2023

Today is Bastille Day — but don't get caught celebrating it if you lived in Restoration France! Bastille Day, the tricolor flag and La Marseillaise were all BANNED as seditious. Learn the truth about how these now-iconic French symbols used to be treated:

Happy Bastille Day! But in the Bourbon Restoration, Bastille Day was banned, along with 'La Marseillaise' and the tricolor flag. In this special episode, fin...

19/06/2023

NEW EPISODE: On Aug. 8, 1829, King Charles X of France fired his government & appointed new ministers led by his pal Jules de Polignac, of whom one historian wrote, "few men in French history... have been so universally disliked." So this'll go well...

On Aug. 8, 1829, a new French ministry was appointed featuring Charles X's friend Jules de Polignac. This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely...

03/05/2023

NEW EPISODE: He was said to be as famous as Napoleon. His songs — on everything from love to politics — were everywhere. The regime put him on trial twice as a dissident. Meet the man I like to call the Bob Dylan of Restoration France (with song clips!):

During the Bourbon Restoration, one man's songs were everywhere. He wrote about politics and about love, for the rich and for the poor, and persevered despit...

31/03/2023

NEW EPISODE: King Charles X faces the aftermath of a bad election, which is going to force him to do something horrible: appoint a more moderate ministry.

Can Prime Minister Martignac pass a popular agenda before his boss loses patience?

Buffeted by a bad election, King Charles X is forced to appoint a more moderate ministry. Can Prime Minister Martignac forge a middle course before his boss ...

25/03/2023

Today, March 25, is the day that Greece celebrates its successful 1820s revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

If you're not familiar with this struggle, today's the perfect day to check out Episode 30 of The Siècle podcast, which tells the story of this revolution and the messy but influential way that France and the rest of Europe got involved.

The Greeks go into revolt against the Ottoman Empire — a revolt that fires the imaginations of France and the rest of Europe. The French government reacts wi...

19/03/2023

UPDATE: A listener contacted me saying they wanted to support the show, but didn't feel comfortable making a monthly pledge on Patreon. That's totally fine! So in response, I've created an account for one-time donations through Ko-Fi. You can find a link to do this (as well as support the show on Patreon and buy me French history books from an Amazon Wish List) on the show's Support page: http://thesiecle.com/support/

(Note that Amazon is reporting a temporary bug related to providing addresses to people buying third-party books off Wish Lists. If you encounter this, it might be best to wait a week or two and try again.)

Support Are you a fan of The Siècle? My ability to continue producing this project will depend on your support. Here are some things you can do to help: Rate and review the podcast on iTunes Share it with your friends, including on Facebook and Twitter Donate to the show on Patreon Buy me books on ...

06/03/2023

NEW EPISODE! I’ve talked a lot about *elections* on The Siècle, but you might not have realized just how different and WEIRD elections were in the Bourbon Restoration. Today, I pull back the curtain:

Restoration France had an elected parliament, but its elections were radically different from the voting we're familiar with today. Here's how they did it, f...

31/01/2023

NEW EPISODE: In the 1820s, French liberals (and a surprising number of royalists!) believed the country was being menaced by Catholic secret societies. Join me as we sort out what was true, what was false — and why it ultimately didn't matter.

It's Episode 32: The Congregation.

King Charles X's reign was marked by web of conspiracy theories about the alleged role of two secretive Catholic organizations: the Jesuits and the enigmatic...

01/12/2022

NEW EPISODE: You might have heard a famous quote about the Bourbon Restoration: "The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing."

I'm here today to tell you that while this *is* a real quote (sort of) almost everything you know about it is WRONG:

Many people have quoted a famous quip about the Bourbon Restoration, that "The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing." While this is ...

28/10/2022

NEW EPISODE: Let's get ~political~. It's election season, and the governing party is facing some voter fatigue after a few productive but controversial years in power.

It's France 1827, of course!

No background required for this one:

"The enemy redoubles his efforts," King Charles X wrote in September 1827, shortly before he dissolved the French parliament in a risky political g...

04/10/2022

You may be familiar with "Intelligent Speech," an annual online history podcaster conference. I've presented there the last two years, and it's fantastic.

Right now Intelligent Speech is hosting a fundraiser, to try to establish a small endowment and put it on firm financial footing for the years to come.

Here's the great part: The Siècle is *matching* up to $250 worth of donations to the Intelligent Speech Kickstarter!

Donors have already given $150 since my match began yesterday, but the next $100 donated will be DOUBLED!

You can pledge at the attached link. Give at least $10 and you'll get your name read out loud at the next conference; $50 gets you a free ticket to the 2023 event!

Allow Intelligent Speech to function in a financially self-sustaining manner for years to come

20/08/2022

NEW EPISODE: The far-off Greek War of Independence had a huge impact on French art — as we can see through a Delacroix painting, a Rossini opera, and a Dumas novel:

A Delacroix painting, a Rossini opera and a Dumas novel help demonstrate the profound impact that the Greek War of Independence had on French art and literat...

20/06/2022

NEW EPISODE: Westerners were thrilled by the fierce underdog resistance of an Eastern European people against the huge army of one of the world’s great powers, and sent money, arms & volunteers to help turn the tide. I’m talking, of course, about 1820s Greece — the subject of the newest episode of The Siècle: http://thesiecle.com/episode30/

02/05/2022

NEW EPISODE: Meet the “Doctrinaires,” a group of centrist French liberals who could (depending on the political winds) be the Restoration’s most able supporters — or its most dangerous enemies.

A small but crucial group of Restoration politicians were centrist liberals who championed constitutional monarchy against enemies to the right and left. Mee...

26/01/2022

New episode of The Siècle, just for all the younger siblings out there. For centuries the younger brothers of French kings had a special title — "Monsieur" — and a special, often turbulent role in the French court. Historian Jonathan Spangler joins me to talk about his new book chronicling the history of these royal brothers:

Before becoming King Charles X, the Comte d'Artois spent many years of his life bearing an unusual French honorific: "Monsieur," given to the...

03/01/2022

New episode! "Charles in Charge" follows King Charles X through his first year in power, as he spends his political capital ramming controversial bills through parliament and throws himself a real fancy coronation.

King Charles X begins his long-awaited reign in a warm glow of popularity, but his honeymoon phase won't last forever as he begins to push a controversial ag...

19/10/2021

WE'RE BACK! A new jumbo episode of The Siècle looks at the complex and vital world of religion in the Bourbon Restoration — a world of bitter divides, raucous revivals, disruptive riots and enormous crosses, state power and papal authority. It’s Episode 27: Mission from God. http://thesiecle.com/episode27/

30/03/2021

NEW EPISODE: "You cannot imagine how stupid the Comte d’Artois is," sighed Talleyrand about the man about to become King Charles X of France. But not everyone agreed. Come meet the very charming and very conservative heir to the French throne:

With Louis XVIII dead, the new king is his younger brother, the Comte d'Artois. But what kind of man is France's new king? To see, let's rewind back through ...

01/02/2021

In the latest episode of The Siècle, I kill a king! But before he goes, Louis XVIII has one last thing he wants to get done.

Now I'd like to hear from you! After 25 episodes with our friend Louis, what do YOU think of the job he did as king? Check out the latest episode and share your thoughts in the comments!

After 10 years on the throne, King Louis XVIII of France's health enters a terminal decline. As he tries to entrench his legacy with one final accomplishment...