Spain vs Portugal: The Spice Race

Spain vs Portugal: The Spice Race

What happens when tiny volcanic islands become the most valuable real estate on Earth? In the 16th century, Portugal and Spain launched a deadly race to control the global spice trade, sparking an age of empire, violence and globalisation. Historian Roger Crowley joins us to tell the extraordinary story of the ruthless spice race that reshaped the entire world. Roger's book is called "Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World". Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. You can hear our episode with Roger about the rise and fall of Venice here - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-rise-and-fall-of-venice [https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-rise-and-fall-of-venice]. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 [https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6] Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast] Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe [https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe]. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com [ds.hh@historyhit.com]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Why Did The Roman Empire Collapse?

How does an empire spanning three continents and half a millennium fall apart? In the final episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Professor Peter Heather to unravel Rome's collapse - from the chaos of the third-century crisis to the deposition of the last Western emperor. Why did an empire at its economic peak unravel so quickly? And why did the East survive when the West did not? Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 [https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6] Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast] Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe [https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe]. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com [ds.hh@historyhit.com]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Origins of the Tank

How did century-old 'landships' developed from agricultural tractors evolve into the armoured giants of the modern battlefield? Today, we trace the lineage of the tank, from its origins in the trenches of the First World War to Second World War behemoths and their modern battlefield descendants. For this, we're joined by Mark Urban, historian and writer specialising in defence and foreign affairs. With him, he discusses the all-important question: in an era of drones, missiles and precision strikes, does the tank still have a place on the battlefield? Mark's book is called "Tank: The 10 War Machines That Changed the World and the Remarkable Men Behind Them". Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 [https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6] Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast] Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe [https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe]. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com [ds.hh@historyhit.com]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Mary Beard on Ruling the Roman Empire

What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor? In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thousand years - from the competitive power-sharing of the Republic, to the carefully constructed one-man rule of Augustus. Why did the republican system buckle under its own success? And what set the empire on the path to fragmentation? Make sure to join us for our third episode next week, when Peter Heather will explain how and why the Roman Empire fell apart. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 [https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6] Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast] Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe [https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe]. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com [ds.hh@historyhit.com]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Harald Hardrada

Exile, mercenary, Viking king. Harald Hardrada, 'Thunderbolt of the North', fought his way from Norway to Byzantium, from the streets of Constantinople to the battlefields of Sicily. He married a princess, blinded an emperor, and nearly conquered England. Today, Dr Wayne Bartlett joins us to tell the astonishing story of the last great Viking, a man who shook the medieval world before meeting his end at Stamford Bridge in 1066. Wayne's book is called "Thunderbolt of the North: Harald Hardrada, Viking King". Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 [https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6] Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast] Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe [https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe]. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com [ds.hh@historyhit.com]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.