Showing titles in 18th Century

For over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes.

Alongside the Renaissance, the Enlightenment is credited with the transition to an adherence to reason, secularism, and promotion of values such as the value of the individual, collective freedom, and liberty. At the heart of the movement in France was François-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, whose writings advocated for greater liberalism, including freedom of religion and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a biting polemic whose satirical attacks on the Catholic Church were among the fiercest of his day.

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr lived very similar lives. They were both orphaned at an early age. Both were excellent students who attended college and studied law. Both were young staff officers under General George Washington, and both became war heroes. They were both drawn to politics, and each served in the newly formed government of the United States. How was it then that these two men ended up in the most famous duel in American history?

Published in 1791, Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man defended the French Revolution’s values of freedom, equality, and brotherhood. He argued that a government based on justice ought to support mankind’s civil rights relating to security and protection, as well as the natural rights to life, liberty, and freedom of conscience. He also proposed plans for universal education, pensions, poverty relief, and social welfare in this classic work that was widely read across the West.

With this audio, you will learn about Thomas Jefferson through a compilation of original readings and commentary, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, Jefferson's 10 Canons for Observation in Practical Life, his various correspondence and quotes, details on his presidential campaign, and his first and second Inaugural Address. Also included is an overview of his education and early life.

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.George Washington – a figure synonymous with American history. His image is known worldwide, marked on American currency, postage stamps – even a state is named after him. George Washington in an Hour explores the man beneath the symbol. This is the essential chronicle of Washington’s life – his rise from middle class Virginian upbringing to America’s first President, elected unanimously twice.

Thomas Day, an 18th-century British writer and radical, knew exactly the sort of woman he wanted to marry. Pure and virginal like an English country maid yet tough and hardy like a Spartan heroine, she would live with him in an isolated cottage, completely subservient to his whims. But after being rejected by a number of spirited young women, Day concluded that the perfect partner he envisioned simply did not exist in frivolous, fashion-obsessed Georgian society. Rather than conceding defeat and giving up his search for the woman of his dreams, however, Day set out to create her.

For centuries, raw and primal urges and principles had taken hold of conquerors, officials, and governments. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Humanity just needed to acknowledge knowledge. It needed to value the art of studying phenomena and learning, not just spiritual notions and religion. Welcome to the book about how this happened. Welcome to a glimmer of hope in humanity’s realization of what this world is and what lies in the elements yet to be discovered. Get ready for some enlightenment in your own life as you learn about the Age of Enlightenment.

France: An Adventure History is a profoundly original and endlessly entertaining history of France, from the first century BC to the present day, based on countless new discoveries and thirty years of exploring France on foot, by bicycle and in the library. Beginning with the Roman army’s first recorded encounter with the Gauls and ending with the Gilets Jaunes protests in the era of Emmanuel Macron, each chapter is an adventure in its own right. Along the way, listeners will find the usual faces, events and themes of French history.

While the majority of scholarship on early Washington focuses on its political and physical development, in Incidental Architect Gordon S. Brown describes the intellectual and social scene of the late 1700s through the lives of a prominent couple whose cultural aspirations served as both model and mirror for the city’s own.

As often as we use our senses, we rarely stop to think about their place in history. But perception is not dependent on the body alone. Carolyn Purnell persuasively shows that, while our bodies may not change dramatically, the way we think about the senses and put them to use has been rather different over the ages. Journeying through the past 300 years, Purnell explores how people used their senses in ways that might shock us now.

Rick Atkinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning An Army at Dawn and two other superb books about World War II, has long been admired for his deeply researched, stunningly vivid narrative histories. Now, he turns his attention to a new war, and in this book about the American Revolution recounts the first 21 months of America’s violent war for independence. From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable fighting force.

Between the 18th and early 19th centuries, Britain experienced massive leaps in technological, scientific, and economical advancement. This powerful period has since been immortalized as the great Industrial Revolution, during which Britain became a formidable force that boasted unmatched economical growth, drastic changes in living conditions, and even the emergence of a neglected social class. Vast portions of rural lands were transformed into interconnected, complex, and multitasking cities.

Renowned historian Phillip Thomas Ticker, PhD, recounts the little-known story of the Battle of Pell's Point and the heroism of Colonel John Glover with the care and attention-to-detail for which he is known.

Their ambitions, intrigues, and jealousies shaped the birth of our nation, but they overcame their foibles and imperfections to throw off the chains of tyranny and form a more perfect union. We think of them now as faces on money or statues on pedestals, and, as Burns shows here in luminous prose, thats exactly what they wanted to be. They all possessed astonishing brilliance, expansive egos, and more than just a little vanity.

In this sweeping consideration of Britain in the 18th century, Jeremy Black explores the interconnected roles of power and geography in the creation of a global empire. Geography was at the heart of Britain’s expansion into India, its response to uprisings in Scotland and America, and its revolutionary development of railways.

The history of China as a single nation began more than 2,000 years ago, when Qin Shi Huangdi first united a group of warring kingdoms into a single empire. China was then ruled by a series of imperial dynasties until the last one—the Qing Dynasty—fell in 1912. The 275-year period of Qing rule saw China becoming a world superpower, gaining dominance over present-day Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam, as well as becoming the center of global trade.

Napoleon could not have known it, but his campaign was the start of 150 years of imperialism along the Nile River, as Europeans endeavored to explore, control, and colonize the Nile River. This would bring them into all kinds of conflicts, not just with the indigenous natives residing there but also with each other, as each empire sought to get a leg up on the competition. Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign failed in all of its objectives other than in the acquisition of knowledge.

Formidable fresque relatant tous les grands épisodes de la Révolution Française ! Entendez Mirabeau, Danton, Robespierre, la déclaration des Droits de l'homme. Vivez la fantastique aventure d'un peuple secouant le joug pour apporter la liberté à l'ensemble des hommes !

In the sublime embrace of a bygone era, where time waltzed to the cadence of delicate notes and orchestras whispered tales of grandeur, the Classical Period was poised to unveil its opulent tapestry. Picture a world where each musical phrase was a brushstroke, painting symphonies that echoed through the hallowed halls of history. This, dear reader, is the harmonic dawn, an epoch where genius and melody entwined in a dance that would echo for centuries. As we step into this celestial realm, let the overture of the past stir your soul, for the Classical Period beckons, and its melodies are ...