“He was no tyrant, but a strongly principled mediocrity.” — Historian Hugh Collingham on Charles X

A helpful breakdown from @askhistorians.bsky.social of the value of primary and secondary sources in public history. Someone who doesn't use primary sources may be merely repeating. But not using secondary sources means you miss expert insight & debate. Both are key!

Suggestions for translating this? "La main de Dieu roule les siècles devant lui, mais sa sagesse préside au mouvement qu'il leur imprime." I have: "The hand of God rolls the centuries before him, but his wisdom guides the movement he gives them" but welcome improvements.

Doing a little background reading on 19th Century apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and it once again turns out to pay to stay up to date with @histphilosophy.bsky.social:

Episode 15: "The Miracle Child" The shocking assassination of the Duc de Berry swings France to the right. New laws suspend habeas corpus, censor the press, & give extra seats in parliament to wealthy royalists. With protests in the streets, opposition leaders debate how far they'll go to resist.

You can tell The Siècle is authentic human work because an AI would have reached the Franco-Prussian War by now. 😂

Most of what I do with is pure popular history — telling a historical story, based primarily on secondary sources with a dash of primary sources for extra details or flavor. But every now & then sources fall short & I have to do serious textual analysis to sort stuff out, and it's VERY satisfying.

Les Peuples Libres de la Terre du Milieu may be in trouble.

Fans of The Siècle might want to give this a listen to learn about the woman who was friend to the future King Charles X and mother of Charles's prime minister Jules de Polignac.

It's July 1830, and in France, it's time for The Purge. Hear more in Episode 47: The July Settlement: thesiecle.com/episode47/

NEW EPISODE: Congratulations, you won a revolution. Now what? The winners of France's July Revolution grapple with the aftermath, like how you get the deposed king out of the country, how much to amend the constitution — and what to do with all the bodies. It's Episode 47: The July Settlement.

Merry Sièclemas!

President Bonaparte is such a great alt history idea

In honor of Robert Todd Lincoln’s birthday, here’s a preview clip of a fun quiz from our Lincoln episode—“Who Said it: Abe Lincoln, or a Scholastic Book Fair Poster?” Listen to our Lincoln episode here on 🍎🍏podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Thank you for following my live-posting of France's 1830 July Revolution! For the rest of the story, and more detail and context about everything I shared, be sure to listen to The Siècle! In this thread, some notes about sourcing:

People in the past didn't know what would happen next. WE don't know what happens next. This very detailed "live posting" of France's 3-day "July Revolution" (1830) is great proof of this. Go back to the beginning and read the whole thing. (See too Colin Jones's book on the ninth of thermidor).

It's really cool that I can just load a free website and find out what time sunrise and sunset was on a particular day ~200 years ago:

The violent aftermath of Marmont's retreat continues to unfold in Paris. Volunteers protect the priceless art in the Louvre, but the Tuileries Palace wine cellar is thoroughly pillaged, which puts many of the "heroes of July" on the sidelines for the rest of the day. #julyrevlive

On Thursday, July 29, 1830, the hunters became the hunted. For two days, King Charles's army had hurled itself against the people of Paris. Now, exhausted, the soldiers hunkered down in the royal palace. On the streets, Parisians gathered menacingly. #julyrevlive

Meanwhile Marmont's attack columns are struggling. Separated, cut off and surrounded, they have lost momentum & are taking losses. The southern column finally forces its way into the Hôtel de Ville, which gives cover from the potshots, but all they can do is hunker down. #julyrevlive

The first of Marmont's 3 assault columns marches along Paris's ring of grand boulevards. They meet little resistance except for stray pot-shots from windows. But ominously, Parisians emerge after the soldiers pass to build barricades BEHIND them, cutting them off. #julyrevlive

The sun rose July 28 on a damaged Paris. Dozens had been killed or wounded in street fighting the day before, between Parisians rioting against King Charles X's coup & soldiers trying to put them down. Night brought quiet, but dawn made it clear things weren't over. #julyrevlive

The Parisians are not quelled. Instead of fleeing before the soldiers, they begin tearing up paving-stones and overturning carts. Under attack, the people of Paris have introduced an instantly iconic defense: the street barricade. #julyrevlive

Very good podcast if you want to nerd out on post-Napoleonic French history.

The protests are turning violent. One group of printers taunts a squad of mounted gendarmes into charging up a narrow street at them — and then hurl stones and flower pots down at the police from windows. Similar clashes happen across central Paris. #julyrevlive

Tuesday, July 27, 1830 starts hot & is getting hotter. It's 76º F by 9 am. Parisians who don't have somewhere to be get out of their stifling apartments & mingle on the streets or relax at cafes. This is normal for a hot summer day. But nothing else is normal today. #julyrevlive

Around 8 p.m., opposition politicians meet again. Only 14 of the dozens of deputies present in the capital are there. One urges a formal protest; another argues they're too few to speak on behalf of the Chamber. The meeting breaks up. #julyrevlive

It's morning on Monday, July 26, 1830, and the Duchesse de Gontaut, royal governess, brings King Charles X his grandchildren. He asks if she's read today's Moniteur. "No, Sire, it is stupid, & no one gets anything out of it." "I fancy it will not bore you today!" #julyrevlive

It is 11 a.m. on this day 195 years ago: Sunday, July 25, 1830. At the Château de Saint-Cloud, six miles west of central Paris, King Charles X of France is attending a private Mass, as he does every day. In an antechamber, his court waits nervously. Something is up. #julyrevlive

Fans of the show might want to monitor this feed tomorrow for something fun...

Did one of you order this book for me off the podcast’s wish list? It showed up today without any gift receipts in the box indicating who it was from. If it was you, thank you!

I'm looking for examples of iconic monetary figures from 19th Century money — Mr. Darcy's famous "£10,000," for example. I have a few examples from French literature, but can anyone point me to any classic dollar figures from 19th Century American literature?

I always recommend that new listeners start The Siècle with Episode 1, and listen to the series in order. But is that the right recommendation? The quality of my early episodes holds up OK, but it's not as good as later eps. Where would you recommend a new listener start?

There's an expensive book I'm waiting to buy from Routledge — is their current 20% sale about as good as they'll offer, or should I hold out for something bigger?

I wrote about the hardscrabble lives of 19th Century French subsistence farmers in Episode 10! Although many of them would have *killed* for a full acre of land. Most made do with far less, and had to do wage labor or beg for enough food to survive, especially in bad weather years.

I wrote about the hardscrabble lives of 19th Century French subsistence farmers in Episode 10! Although many of them would have *killed* for a full acre of land. Most made do with far less, and had to do wage labor or beg for enough food to survive, especially in bad weather years.

Welcome to all the new listeners!

In every revolution, @mikeduncan.bsky.social tells me, a common type are frustrated regime loyalists, who tell the about-to-be-revolutioned monarch that "If you keep doing these stupid things, we're going to lose everything." Hear more in my new interview with Mike: thesiecle.com/episode46/

Me on Siecle to chatting with David about the July Revolution. Super fun! Enjoy!

Listen to my interview with @mikeduncan.bsky.social about France's July Revolution: "Polignac is one of my favorite characters from all the revolutions I've ever covered... If Polignac had been at all competent, they probably could have ridden this thing out." Episode: thesiecle.com/episode46/

"Charles X is one of the emblematic great idiots of history... Revolutions are not waged against competent administrations and people who are doing a good job." — the legendary @mikeduncan.bsky.social talking revolutions with me in Episode 46 of The Siècle. Check it out: thesiecle.com/episode46/

NEW EPISODE: I interview the First Citizen of history podcasting, @mikeduncan.bsky.social, about France's July Revolution, why King Charles X is one of the "great idiots of history," what makes a revolution succeed, and more! Check it out:

Merry Sièclemas, everyone!

Coming Monday...

Have you attended @intelligentspeech.bsky.social, the annual online conference where your favorite history podcasters are the presenters? It's a blast — check out some past talks on their YouTube channel: And please subscribe! They need 100 subscribers to qualify for a YouTube tier.

For my history podcast @thesiecle.com, I just finished a detailed series on France's 1830 July Revolution, when King Charles X tried to suppress the opposition by imposing censorship & rewriting electoral laws. Sound interesting? See more in the thread below:

Fun fact: I am obsessed with all things Les Mis, and I did not know until today about the roller coaster hiding in plain sight in the original book.