During the Fourth Crusade, what began as a Christian holy war against Egypt turned into a Venetian war of conquest against the ancient Byzantine Empire. The conquest, in turn, began as what amounted to a hostile business takeover; but it would turn into something far more sinister. By the time the fires of the sack of Constantinople had cooled, the Crusaders had achieved a remarkable feat: the seemingly-permanent cleaving of eastern and western Christianity. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2R0Iosz Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DanTolerPodcast SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/relevant-history Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan

When the young French Republic declares war on the Netherlands, all hell breaks loose. Within a month, the French find themselves facing a coalition that includes Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and most of Italy. At home, a counter-revolution in the rural Vendee region threatens to tear the country in two, and smaller federalist revolts break out in several major cities. In Paris, Robespierre and the Mountain seize control of the government from the Girondins, and send a flurry of people to the guillotine. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRusOl_rHgnMfqWl2_2gfj95U_IWl5Jfqh8xm9edKVP5iOZ76DH9nk6QnqVSXwFKe9Xpk_3SDjhVsG6/pub Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan

The French Revolution is a watershed moment not just in the history of France, but for all of humanity. Old ideas of class, hierarchy, and the divine right of kings are being challenged. For the first time since the classical era, an urban proletariat is starting to demand its own voice in politics. But the Revolution doesn’t start that way. What begins as a financial crisis for the French government requires a legislative body to sign off on new taxes. This body, the Estates General, calls for additional reforms, which provokes a reactionary response from the conservative faction of the government, led by Louis XVI’s Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette. The public backlash goes beyond the Estates General, culminating in a series of street riots that end in one of history’s most iconic moments: the Storming of the Bastille. Dan’s interview with Ben Kitchings of The History Voyager podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/07xhGEgKsxnCdziyitLWBQ What is the Third Estate? (Complete text): https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/301ModernEurope/Sieyes3dEstate.pdf SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTx_oaOfhi7aZmALI_W1Sy-d_sPnveEGE6zmtHEbLuDWRYb3pS5LCX7x7sKUHQFlNp9IuFaUSW94HFP/pub

At the beginning of 1618, the Holy Roman Empire is at peace. By the end of the year, there is a rebellion in Bohemia, and Protestants and Catholics throughout the empire are at each others’ throats. In the Third Defenestration of Prague, Bohemian Protestants, tired of royal abuses, have literally thrown Emperor Ferdinand’s royal representatives out the window. This local revolt could have been restrained to Bohemia. But Emperor Ferdinand makes a series of blunders and overreaches that draw outside powers into the war. Within a few years, the Thirty Years’ War will engulf much of Europe. Check out The History Voyager podcast, with Ben Kitchings: https://t.co/lD9RQOe76R?amp=1 SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2R0Iosz Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Relevant History SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/relevant-history Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR4-v4x0gAnLnaeUbjZI-9RLq-xUKtYGVAdrFOrMG0u8Ua1NdlZCOglorMelWZx1BinAah5aKKJkYSr/pub Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan