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It was due to the rise of England as the greatest trading nation, a result of many, many factors that occurred in the previous hundred years. In fact, really events going back to the Magna Charta. But it did all come to fruition under her reign. The Masterpiece Theatre series on the Duke of Marlborough and his wife Sarah deals with this period at the end of the years and is well worth watching if you have not seen it. View 2 comments. Very interesting and informative.
Bucholz is also really pleasant to listen to.
He is obviously passionate about his subject and it adds to the enjoyment of the listener. However, the course is chock-full of dates, names and titles - which is hardly surprising as it is a history course after all ; - but I felt lost quite a few times. This is perhaps my fault because I think I should have been following each lecture using the enclosed PDF overview.
Anyway, four stars and a rec from me. Sep 29, Nathan Albright rated it it was amazing Shelves: challenge Part One: Although the history of the Tudors is one I am pretty familiar with [1], this first part of a four part epic course on the Tudor and Stuart dynasty is still a winning one. Likewise, the professor blends an interest in biographical history—focused here on such figures as Henry VII, Henry VIII, Cardinal Wosley, and a few others—as well as an interest in total history that focuses attention on people who are peripheral for reasons of geography or class, which makes for an intriguing class that blends together approaches of history from the top down as well as from the bottom up.
The combination is definitely a worthwhile one and the course is definitely an enjoyable one. The professor begins by introducing himself and his own background and looking at the purpose of showing how the Tudor and Stuart periods made England the first modern country in our world. Three lectures follow that show the land and its people in , when the Battle of Bosworth made Henry VII ruler over a divided and marginal country. The author then goes back in time for two lectures to cover the late medieval period first from the death of Edward III to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses and then the Wars of the Roses themselves.
The next two lectures briefly cover the establishment of the Tudor dynasty through the sober and wary policies of Henry VII, an able but not particularly beloved monarch. There was a great deal of value in this particular set of lectures, and those who want to know how Tudor history is relevant to our contemporary world would do well to listen to these lectures and to ponder over the historiography of the author. Of particular value was the way that the author compares the charismatic reputation of Henry VIII with the way that his reign served as an introduction to the contemporary welfare state where the government seeks to replace the church and other institutions in providing aid to the poor and in controlling the economic resources of the state and its territory.
This book provided a bit of ominous understanding about some of the origins of the conflict over the role of government and the legitimacy of its authority that exist within the United States, showing how long the roots of this conflict go back into late medieval and early modern history.
There are many other useful insights this course provides, such as the fateful division of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland when it came to the growth of English power and dominion over those areas, and also the way that the author has a deft grasp of many types of historical investigation. Part Two:One of the unfortunate consequences of the rising struggle between various cultural views of history in the past few decades is that there is such a sharp divide about what people most appreciate when it comes to history.
A traditional focus on narrative history that consisted of biographical accounts of elites and a strong interest in military history has been countered by a more contemporary focus on history from below that is strongly based on previously ignored prosography and a strong interest in data-driven statistical history that points to a much more complex history than that which focuses solely on elites [1]. This course seems intent on splitting the difference between the two approaches, and I must admit I find its mixture of approaches immensely appealing, since rather than providing half of the historical content that others manage, it provides double by giving multiple perspectives on the same time period and often the same people.
This professor has a great deal of enthusiasm and knowledge for his subject and it makes for compelling listening or viewing, depending on how one takes this particular course.
The last five lectures take a turn towards the social historical approach at which the professor also excels, starting with a look at the land of England and its people in , to a look at the private life of elites and commoners in two lectures, and then a look at both the ties that bound people together especially neighborliness as well as a look at order and disorder. The end results is to add a great deal of compassion as well as respect for the complex and nuanced relationships within society as well as the fragility of life for most people during the time, especially those who were vulnerable.
If you liked the first part of the course, this second part of the course will likely be one that you enjoy as well. This particular course largely builds upon the promise of the first course and carries it forward a few decades.
This is not a problem as well. This particular audiobook is six hours of video that is time well spent getting to know the Tudors and some of their overmighty subjects as well as the common people who are largely neglected in many studies of the period. The professor deserves considerable credit not only for giving voice to the lives of a diverse group of 16th century Englishmen, as well as a few Scots and Irish, but also for introducing students to some of the debates and theories about life in Tudor England. This is a course that really fulfills on a considerable amount of promise in giving a genuinely exciting and insightful look at an important period of history and in framing that history in contrast with the American contemporary experience, which serves larger aims about the worth of the study of history for the wider public.
Part Three: In this, the third of four parts of a lengthy course on the history of England between and , Professor Bucholz manages to discuss mostly narrative history. As has been noted before [1], this particular course divides its focus between a narrative history of the rule of the Tudors and Stuarts over the British Isles and a social history of how life was like for the population of England during that time.
This particular part of the course skews heavily towards the narrative historical approach, as will be discussed shortly. Fortunately, this particular period of English history was full of drama, including the writing of Jacobean and restoration plays, the tragic history of the civil wars and foreign conflicts, and a great deal of political drama even when there were not wars to worry about.
It also included some compelling figures like William Shakespeare and Samuel Pepys, whose involvement is discussed at least a little bit here [2]. Those who have enjoyed the course so far will find a great deal to appreciate in the author's winsome approach and his obvious knowledge in the behavior of court and Parliament.
In terms of its contents, this set of lectures consists of twelve lectures that take about six hours or so to watch or listen to as the case may be. The first lecture continues the previous part's discussion on the life of common people by contrasting to the previous discussion of the social control of small towns the more free but also far more dangerous life in towns and cities as well as trade and colonization.
After that the author spends a lecture talking about London and its growth through in-migration as well as its deadliness during the 17th century. A discussion of the culture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean age in terms of architecture and art and literature including drama follows. The remaining nine lectures consist of thoughtful and enlightening discussion of English history from , looking at the establishment of the Stuart dynasty, the period of ascendancy for the Duke of Buckingham, the struggles over religion and social control during the early part of Charles I's reign, the crisis of the three kingdoms from , the period of the civil wars, the search for a Parliamentary settlement from , the period of the Cromwellian regime, the restoration settlement, and the failure of the Restoration in the face of foreign wars and domestic political problems.
This particular era of English history revealed a lot of serious problems. Religious consensus broke down and the seeming victory of the Puritans and their supporters during the English Civil War ended up in defeat because of an inability to forge an enduring settlement.
However rebellion broke out and the Protestant nobles defeated the Queen's forces in Despite Huntingdon's last-minute efforts, the mobilisation of revealed a reluctant society that only grudgingly answered the call to arms. Like us today, the Tudors enjoyed eating different types of meat. Elizabeth I dies aged I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too. Mary, Queen of Scots lived —87 was a devout Catholic and next in line for the throne of England after Elizabeth. Other local officials included constables, church-wardens, mayors, and city aldermen.
During the 17th century we see the English people struggle to define who they are, not appreciating the loss of their traditions nor the deceptive behavior of their elites. We see minority groups struggling for toleration in an atmosphere of intense political competition involving trade, imperialism, and religion. There is a lot to look back on, as we see governments attempting to increase revenues while struggling with a populace that is not sure of exactly what sort of government and what sort of social controls it wants to support or that it is willing to tolerate.
As has been the case previously, the author spends a lot of time talking about the chain of being and how it was under tension and strain in the face of conflicting political currents and ambivalent longings on the part of the population as a whole and its elites. Above all, this lecture looks at the weaknesses of the Stuarts as well as the complexities of the peoples they ruled or misruled.
Part Four: This lengthy course, which began with a discussion of the medieval context for the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, ends in a satisfying fashion with a look at a Great Britain which has one foot in the Middle Ages with its classical ideals and one foot moving towards modernity. Although I must admit that is not necessarily my favorite era of British history or one I know the most about, it is definitely a satisfying and mostly chronological examination of the period, and it certainly ends with a demonstration of the author's firm awareness of Atlantic history as a whole and with those historians who study its issues well [1].
What this professor does particularly well is not only cover an interesting era of history but also demonstrate how it is of value to his intended audience, namely Americans with an interest in English history and an ability to be motivated by the aspirations and hopes of the English populace as a whole, despite their flaws. This is a course about flawed people who nevertheless made a great deal of achievement possible for the world. The content of these last twelve lectures, totaling six hours or so of instruction is mostly chronological in nature, but it ends with three lectures that place the time period in a useful context and provide a great deal of balance and symmetry to the course as a whole.
The course ends with two lectures on the land of Great Britain and its people in that look at economics and class as well as a considerable amount of attention on art and culture during the period and the way that the art and culture were no longer the province of rulers and elites but had expanded to commoners, and a placement of the history of England and its surrounding areas from to in a larger context both temporally as well as conceptually that demonstrates its high degree of relevance to a thoughtful American audience.
After 48 lectures and 24 hours of instruction, this course ends the way it should, with a look at the transition between the Stuart and Hanoverian dynasties, a consistent focus on the life and well-being of commoners, and a marked tendency towards speaking on behalf of those who have received undeservedly unfavorable coverage.
This professor is definitely a fan of the underdog. In the end, this particular series of lectures performs admirable duty not only in informing the viewer or listener of a key period of time in English history but also in being honest about the flaws of the people involved and also encouraging those who pay attention to these lectures to engage in further study of the larger history of England and its people in the broader context of the world.
Oct 09, Mary Pat rated it it was amazing. Very thorough overview of a period of English I thought I knew I really like the detail in how the English Whig and Tory parties were created, as well as how different eras addressed lasting themes that don't get really resolved until Queen Anne or King George I, depending on your perspective. Also, yay for Queen Anne!
The best monarch ever! Jun 07, Luke Thomas rated it really liked it Shelves: world-history. I enjoyed Bucholz as a lecturer and his story telling ability is fantastic. I loved his sarcastic one liners throne in. I have had very few lectures that I felt like I was there to laugh at them in the course of history. I enjoyed his description of the rise of economic principles.