Your comments on the patronizing sections of Ep 7 are spot on and something we’ll work to avoid in future episodes. As someone who regularly teaches such topics in person, I find not having an audience in front of me to read makes it rather easier to simplify and brow-beat topics in a recorded format. We’ll keep that excellent advice in mind.

If ever you have additional comments or input we would gladly take it. While we may be more “prolific”, feedback from more veteran and established podcasters like you can only push us in the right direction. Thanks for the review and keep up the wonderful work. Though we’d be perfectly happy if you wanted to come out with an episode more frequently!

The house still stands but is not open to the public. However you can see more about it here http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/articles/tts/tts1929/itinerary1929p9.htm

Cheers,

Antonio

The question of Marlborough’s reputation is an interesting one. He had military genius and acquired political supremecy (thanks to his clever wife). Alexander, Caesar, Frederick II, Napoleon et cetera, have always had contested reputations. But perhaps the recent memory of Cromwell shaped how the English saw him. Especially after his later request to Anne to be captain general for life. Also modern “journalism” was created at the start of the 18th century in London, and created by politicians (e.g. Harley getting Addison to write the “Campaign” to celebrate Blemheim. Maybe Swift’s polemics for the Tory interest have influenced historians. And as W. Churchill argues, Macauley unjustly recycled the most scurrilous contemporary accusations against Marlborough. Perhaps he is not considered in the first rank because of the shadow of Napoleon, who is the greater and more personally engaging figure by far.

Anyway, I look forward to your next instalment.

Marlborough’s record is astounding isn’t it.
‘never fought a battle he didn’t win. Never besieged a town he did not take.’

There are very few generals who can claim as much.
As for why he isn’t rated so highly – hmmm, several reasons not least of which is the Whig party who so hated him. He was hated partly because he was a Tory, partly because he was seen as in league with Queen Anne who was keeping the Whigs out of power. The Whigs were in power for many years after Marlborough and there were many histories written during that time all of which were quite convinced that the Whig way was the true way and anything which had seemingly obstructed the Whigs was to be condemned.
Our man Marlborough was also held in low regard by many (even the supporters of William of Orange) for betraying his master, James II and switching sides at the crucial moment during the Glorious revolution. It’s all too easy to write him off as an opportunist.
I think he ranks as a more significant general than Wellington and he certainly had more to deal with than Wellington. I’ll be going into some detail in the next episode concerning his round of winter diplomacy (1705/1706) to show just how much work he needed to put in to hold the alliance together. He needed to be ambassador and courtier as well as warrior.

Seriously though, I’ve often wondered why Marlborough isn’t rated higher by historians (other than Winston Churchill…lol) amongst the great Captains. IMO, he ranks along with Alexander, Napoleon and Caesar.

Great episode…looking forward to the next.

P.S. I really like this podcast. I wrote a 5 star review and posted it on iTunes.

As for the chastisement – yes, of course you can suggest horribly embarrassing punishments but I’m pretty sure I shall escape them. The episode is 80 per cent recorded and I just have one more recording session to do and then editing, adding music and writing the blog post for it. I reckon I shall bring it in just under the wire.
If nothing goes wrong then there should be substantial movement today. I’ve allocated about 4 hours to the project this afternoon and that should bring it very close to completion.

The Holmes book is very good, and I agree with your review. The only fragile thing about Marlborough’s genius was his health, but after ten years of complaining about it to his wife and Godolphin, it hardly seemed to be fragile, in fact, he was resilient.

I have read a Falkner book which I thought was good about the battles and the military technology of the time. But the most frustrating aspect of these books is the lack of good schematic maps that can describe more than three hundred words of text. The Churchill book is good because he had the cash to hire good map makers. I have seen one web site trying to sell copies of the maps from Coxe’s biography, but at 6 euros a pop, its too much.

I wonder also if you have searched out Google Books that seems to have wealth of 19th century and earlier resources about the era. I’ve just started searching it and it is an astounding resource. If so, what have you come across there?

What will your podcast cover viz Marlborough and the war? Will you be covering Ramillies this time? Which is the very height of his achievements, and what comes next is mostly downhill. Its a bit of a tragedy, in the greek sense, i think. There is also a famous french folk song from this time about Marlborough and I hope you will mention that at some point, or maybe broadcast the song sung?

But if you fail to deliver by February, can we suggest the type of brutal chastisement you should suffer? LIke, pretending to be a dog for a day?

I find the Holmes book is quite useful for a balanced account and wonder if you’ve encountered Falkner’s books yet for a closer look at the battles.

As for the next podcast: soon, soon soon. I hope, I promise, I declare. Before you all, I promise here, that the next podcast will be complete before the end of February and may I be brutally chastised by you all if I fail to deliver.

Are you able to say when the next podcast might appear?

Thanks to your podcast I’ve bought Holmes book on Marlborough and reread Churchill and Trevellian. Its such a fascinating era. I’d love to hear your next account and your other interesting information. I wonder if you have come across the popular book “Hubbub” that describes the noise and filth that people in this age lived with?

In any case, Happy New Year.

Regards

Richard

Jim,….love the show, keep it up!!!!!

Although I’m months out of date but I am now on episode 007.

Just a question about the Admiral Byng. I might be totally incorrect but you referred to his promotion to Lieutenant at age 19. Your pronounciation was “Left”tenant as apposed to Loot tenant.

I think that in the British army Lieutenant is left but in the Navy its Loot.

This is just in case you upset somebody.

Keep up the good work.

What song is used at the beginning of your podcast? Thanks.

I have watched the first two episodes of the DVDs. I find them charming. The production is laughable at the early points, but later on there seems to be a real effort to reproduce the sensibility and sense of the historical age, although you might quibble and squirm at some points.

As I recall, after Blenheim, the Sun King was most gracious with all his defeated generals, and that was much remarked.

The “spin” was that it was a war he was compelled to fight because of honour.

The Spanish embraced at once Louis’s claimant as their rightful ruler. Louis could never accede to the allied demand to oust his family from the Spanish throne accept the Austrian claimant, his avowed enemy, and for whom there was no popular support, at least in Castille, and after Peterborough’s non sensical conduct.

The tragedy, and open sore of the war, even in Marlborough’s eyes, was the futile land war in Spain. The allied, and then the English war claims in this regard were preposterous, and boxed them in until the Torys in 1715 cut the gordian knot.

If you have time and inclination, an explanation of the delicate diplomatic and dynastic forces at the various stages of the conflict would be fascinating. In my view, these elements distinguish this war from later wars in the century, up until Napoleon. On one hand it is still a war about religion, on the other it is a war about the ambitions of families (Bourbon, Hapsburg, Orange). It bridges the 17th and 18th centuries in curious and instructive ways.

Sorry to babble so much. As you might guess, I am intrigued by this time in history.

Richard

French military prestige I think was dented straight away. There were a lot of people on that battlefield and many would face the French troops again time after time.

Even though the French troops would always carry a fearsome reputation I think this battle took the reputation down from invincible to merely very stiff opposition. There’s a bi difference. Marlboroughg made the point that they could be beaten several times over in this war.
Maybe the blow against French military prestige became more pronounced over the next few years but Blenheim was where it began.

Can you tell – I get excited about fulcrum points – the moment where something changes.

Richard I’m glad you got the dvd’s – thanks again for letting me know of their existence.

Anna and Anne the diabolical Dutch duo – good to see you on here.

Regards

Jim

Listening to the latest episode, I found myself wondering if the French, on their turn, tried to demeanor their defeat, using some type of counter propaganda.

I somewhat also believe that this blow against French military prestige will only have its full effect nearer the end of the War – or even in the decades after the end of the war itself.

Benny

Lisbon, Portugal

Another excellent production. Thank you.

And especially for locating the BBC series. I had thought it had disappeared. But not. I’ve already ordered my copies.

Perhaps we could have more quotes from the Duke’s letters?

Beautiful and well done

( I think now I might now know more than an Irish-American should know about British History )

Great job with the sound enhancements …. well done !!!

I’ve just had a look at the web site for Glenfinnan.
It looks really beautiful. I’m quite tempted to go see it for myself especially if I combined it with a visit to Fort William which isn’t all that far away from there.

1688 is, I think, one of the best things that has happened to the British government system. It gave us a new line of kings who owed their position to Parliament. OK, we get stuck with that diabolical party politics stuff I mentioned earlier but we pave the way for a proper representative democracy.
Whether you think that democracy stuff is a good thing tho’ is another matter

I’m interested in what comes next. Will we get an answer to Robert Southey’s question in his poem ‘The Battle of Blenheim’?
“But what good came of it at last?”
Quoth little Peterkin.
“Why, that I cannot tell,” said he,
“But ’twas a famous victory.”

I also enjoyed the piece about the Jacobites, although I disagree with the conclusions. I think I heard you imply that in 1745 Charles Edward Stuart was trying to claim the throne for himself, when in fact the ‘true king’ was still his father James VIII and III, and Charlie was still ‘Prince of Wales’.

I hadn’t realised this until I visited Glenfinnan a few weeks ago, a site which should be on every visitor’s itinerary in the West of Scotland. The real problem with Jacobitism is of course that it is possible to discredit almost every monarch: Richard II and Richard III were illicitly usurped. And William I hardly acquired the throne by legal means! But the Dutch seizure of the throne in 1688 is surely the most inglorious moment.

Anyway, charge on to the next episode, quickly!

Antonio

I wouldn’t like to spend time on the same baracks with that unit, Jim!

Antonio
Lisbon, Portugal

In this episode you mention the new URL to the Your History Podcast. It went a tad too quick for me and so I hoped to find it here written out. Any chance of adding that?

thanks in advance and keep up the good work,

Anne

Hey I just got 1 of those H2′s too … got it like a month ago
Alas its still in the box I bought it to do some mobile recordings but I have been cuffed to my desk lately

Recording … yup
Working on GK Chesterton’s Heretics and I just finished up Twain’s Letters from the earth

and I have a Blues Podcast I give a go at when I get tired of reading
( have you run across podshow’s podsafe music yet? )
My Blues stuff is here http://www.voxcast69.com the shownotes have a link to podshow if you want to check out a huge catalog of pod friendly music

Now that I have herd your field recordings I gotta get this H2 out of the box and do something with it !!

how’s the garden …. I’ll shoot ya an e-mail rather than pig up a bunch of space here

Keep up the good work !!

Of course I use levelator (a great program) to level out the volumes.

Are you recording anything at the moment?

Sweet Field Recordings … Nice Job as Always!!

Wanna give a rundown on the recording equiptment ya used ?

Glad to hear there is more coming I have been enjoying these Podcasts and thought I might have fallen a bit behind ….

I am definately up for a skype call ( keep me posted ) … I had skype on my old comp but it ran like crap I recently built a 64 bit box so if skype has a 64 bit build I’ll give it another try ….

“A topic might be moments in history you consider as fulcrum points.”
I’d have to go with the civil war in America – so much changed as a result of this …. but I’d be inclined to lean toward the beheading of John the Baptist …… ( how odd is that )

2 months … nothing new?

Running out of Steam?

Anyway, and to better answer your question, we just need to remember what happened during the Napoleonic era, when Portugal decided that it was better to fight a terrible and costly war against Spain and France (!) than giving up its colonial trade with Brazil, Africa and Great Britain.

Whenever Portugal had to choose between an alliance with a Continental or a Maritime power, we always thought that our interests were best suited with the Maritime option, that represented the assurance of open trade routes, vital for our independence.

Benny

Lisbon, Portugal