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Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

Release Date: 01/11/2023

The Reformation Episode 3: John Calvin and Theocracy show art The Reformation Episode 3: John Calvin and Theocracy

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

John Calvin is one of the major figures of the Protestant Reformation, famous for his doctrine of pre-destination.  This episode covers his time in Geneva, and how he turned that city into a grim and terrifying experiment in theocracy.  It is also the story of Protestants burning a heretic at the stake, in a bizarre moment of borrowing the very punishments that had been used to suppress them.  This episode captures a dramatic moment as reformers struggle to redefine the roles of church and state. 

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Reformation Episode 2: Martin Luther, The Man Who Split Europe show art Reformation Episode 2: Martin Luther, The Man Who Split Europe

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

In this episode we cover the unlikely journey of one young man from earnest Augustinian monk to rebel reformer.  Martin Luther ignited a firestorm of existing anti-clerical sentiment across Europe, with results that would change Europe and the Western Christian Church forever. 

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The Reformation Episode 1: John Wycliffe and the Middle Ages show art The Reformation Episode 1: John Wycliffe and the Middle Ages

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

What is the Protestant Reformation and why does it matter?  To begin to understand how thoroughly it has shaped Western Europe and North America we must travel back in time to see the world as it was before the Reformation.  This episode is all about the Middle Ages, when an emperor braved the Alps in winter to appeal to a Pope, and thousands of people in Southern France were slaughtered by Crusaders.  It is a world of towering cathedrals, in which the power of the Church rivaled that of the Crown.  In this medieval world a poor boy from Yorkshire earned a doctoral degree...

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Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492 show art Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 5- Christopher Columbus and 1492

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

1492 was a year that changed everything.  In Castile, it was the end of the Reconquista, as Isabella and Ferdinand ended a decade long war with a triumphant ride through the streets of Granada.  It was also the year they signed the Alhambra Decree, which banished all Jews from Castile, and it was the beginning of the end of Moorish presence as well.  The connection between these two events and the Spanish Inquisition was a drive for religious purity that would forever change the history of Spain.  This is also the year that Christopher Columbus obtained royal support for...

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Ferdinand and Isabelle: EP4- The Spanish Inquisition show art Ferdinand and Isabelle: EP4- The Spanish Inquisition

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

You have probably heard of the Spanish Inquisition, even if only from a certain Monty Python sketch.  The truth about why it was started and for what purpose will probably surprise you.  In this episode we take a close look at the episodes in Spanish history that prepared the way for the Inquisition.  We also examine how it operated, what forms of torture were used, and who it targeted.  Why did the Pope try to stop it?  What was an auto da fe?  What did it have in common with totalitarian surveillance states?  The villains and victims in this history are...

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Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 3- Slavery, Slaughter and Stake-burning in the Reconquista show art Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 3- Slavery, Slaughter and Stake-burning in the Reconquista

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

In this episode, our plucky and determined heroine discovers the mantle of religious warfare.  Isabella and Ferdinand respond to an attack on a Castilian city from Moorish forces.  This becomes the first skirmish in a "Holy War" against Muslims in Spain.  It is a war that will last a decade, and inflict a terrible fate on the city of Malaga.  Harem politics of betrayal and revenge undermine Moorish resistance to Castilian forces.  Along the way, Ferdinand and Isabella champion Renaissance learning and education for their daughters, but the war against the Moors will...

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Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 2- Queen at Last show art Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 2- Queen at Last

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

After a high risk secret marriage to Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella finds there is no easy path to gaining the crown of Castile.  An evil uncle, a civil war, and a heroic Portuguese flag bearer appear in this episode as Isabella fights to be Queen.  An astonishing solution to a domestic quarrel paves the way for female rulers in Spain, and Isabella reveals her courage and determination as she takes on rebellious nobles and a kingdom in desperate need of management.  Along the way the incredible social mixture that makes up the cultural fabric of Spain comes into focus.

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Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 1- The Crown of Castile show art Ferdinand and Isabella: EP 1- The Crown of Castile

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain are figures you may have heard of in passing, as the sponsors of Christopher Columbus.  The fact that Isabella's name is remembered in the same breath with Ferdinand's is remarkable in an age when only men could hold political power.  From the Black Death to royal scandal, this episode introduces the fascinating story of these two people and how their marriage would change Spain forever.

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Operation Pied Piper: England's Darkest Hour show art Operation Pied Piper: England's Darkest Hour

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

The remarkable story of the mass evacuation of Britain's children in the darkest days of WWII.  Britain, under Winston Churchill, faces aerial assault and imminent collapse.  This is a moment when it is clear that history could have taken a radically different direction.  

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Henry VIII: Ep 5- A Tale of Two Queens show art Henry VIII: Ep 5- A Tale of Two Queens

Villains and Virgins History Podcast

Henry VIII is dead, but he leaves behind an England that is forever changed by his Church of England legacy.  Two of his daughters, from very different mothers, will inherit the throne.  These two queens, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I will pull the nation in opposite directions.  Tales of ordinary people burning at the stake reveal how "Bloody Mary" got her name.

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More Episodes

1492 was a year that changed everything.  In Castile, it was the end of the Reconquista, as Isabella and Ferdinand ended a decade long war with a triumphant ride through the streets of Granada.  It was also the year they signed the Alhambra Decree, which banished all Jews from Castile, and it was the beginning of the end of Moorish presence as well.  The connection between these two events and the Spanish Inquisition was a drive for religious purity that would forever change the history of Spain.  This is also the year that Christopher Columbus obtained royal support for his expedition, opening the door to Spain's colonial empire in the New World.