History of the Germans
Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
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Ep. 238: The Habsburg Empire at its Zenith - Ferdinand I and the Siege of Vienna
Today we celebrate the topping out of the Habsburg empire. By the middle of the 16th century it reached its furthest extent as a political entity ruled by one man. Over the last 42 episodes we have…
Ep. 237: How Italy Fell to the Habsburgs - From the Peace of Madrid to the Sack of Rome 1527.
We are coming closer to the end of our series on the Fall and Rise of the House of Habsburg. We have seen the reconsolidation of Austria, the acquisition of Burgundy, the inheritance of Spain and…
Ep. 236: Charles V (1520-1555) - The Battle of Pavia
In 1521 four men dominated Europe. They were all in their twenties: King Henry VIII of England, born 1491, King Francois I of France, born 1494, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan, born that…
Ep. 235: The Youth and Election of the Emperor Charles V (1520-1555)
Born during a ball in Ghent on 24 February 1500, Charles of Habsburg would grow up to rule an empire stretching from the Philippines to Prague and from Lima to Lauwersoog. But who was the man behind…
Ep. 234: The Charisma of Emperor Maximilian (1493-1519)
Maximilian I died on January 12th, 1519. But his likeness is everywhere. None of his predecessors left behind as many depictions of their life, from being fed by his nurse as a toddler to the…
Ep. 233: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Last Days and Legacy
The last decade of emperor Maximilian’s reign was overshadowed by all three challenges to the emerging Habsburg empire gaining strength. The Ottoman empire was piling on resources by taking over…
Ep. 232: The Ottomans – From Mehmet the Conqueror to Selim the Grim (1444-1520)
These last dozen or so episodes we have examined the genesis of two of the three major strategic preoccupations of the Habsburg empire, the rivalry with the French kings and the relationship with the…
Ep. 231: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Marrying Bohemia and Hungary
You have almost certainly seen the image in today’s episode artwork before. It is a family portrait showing Maximilian, his first wife Marie of Burgundy, his son, Philip the Handsome and three…
Ep.230: Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) - The League of Cambrai
Another Thursday and another episode dealing with another epic fail of our hero, Maximilian I. But despite a military campaign that once again failed for all the usual reasons, no money, no strategy,…
Ep. 229: Joanna the (not?) Mad (1504-1555) - How the Habsburgs gained Spain
“Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube" – ‘Let others wage war; thou, happy Austria, marry’ is one of the few terms that almost anyone with a cursory interest in European history knows, only…
Ep. 228: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - The Princes and the Emperor.
If there was one group that consistently thwarted Maximilian’s grand plans for world domination, it was the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. He had given in to their demands for Imperial Reform, had…
Ep. 227: Landsknechte vs. Swiss Mercenaries – The Swabian (Swiss) War of 1499
Why are the Swiss called the Swiss? After all, Schwyz in only of 26 cantons, and not one of the largest ones. How did the proud and prosperous citizens of Zurich or Berne, mighty city states in their…
Ep. 226: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - A Grand Plan for a Great War
Europe's political landscape is shifting fundamentally. No longer are wars fought between kings and their vassals, and emperors against popes - it is all about the balance of power. and this balaance…
The Imperial Reform of 1495 with Prof. Duncan Hardy
Prof Duncan Hardy is one of the leading experts in the history of the Holy Roman Empire and one of his main topics is the Imperial reform of 1495, making him the ideal guest for our show.In his first…
Ep. 225: Imperial Reform 1495 - The Ewige Landfrieden (Public Peace) of 1495
Let me start today’s episode with some outrageous national stereotypes. If an Englishman is disappointed with the way the affairs of state are conducted, he writes a letter to his member of…
Ep. 224: Imperial Reform 1495 – The Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire
I am afraid today’s episode is not your usual swordplay and skullduggery. What we are looking at today is the Reichstag as it operated throughout the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1803. Sounds a bit…
Ep. 223: Imperial Reform 1495 – The Diet of Worms
We are now 7 episodes into the action-packed life of emperor Maximilian and he is only 35 years old. We still have another 24 years to go and they will be again full of wars, outlandish schemes,…
Ep. 222: Maximilian I (1493-1519) – Italian Wars and Spanish Marriages
The world is a-changing. Maximilian I may still dream of the medieval universal empire where he will lead Christendom in an epic crusade to expel the Turks from the European mainland, even…
Ep. 221: Maximilian I (1493-1519) – Taking Back Austria and Tyrol
After 13 years of fighting in the Low Countries, Maximilian, the newly elected king of the Roman, returns home to a rammed full inbox. There is his cousin, the dissolute count Sigismund of Tyrol who…
Ep. 220: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - The Burgundian Experience(s)
In this episode the 15-year long war over the Burgundian succession will come to its end. You may have thought it was done last time, but no. The revolutionary spirit of the Flemish cities is not yet…
Frequently Asked Questions
History of the Germans has published 251 episodes since January 2021, covering topics in Education, History.
History of the Germans is currently moderate with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 34m.
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