Historians Lynn Prince Robbins and Jim Ambuske explore the histories of the revolutions that remade the Atlantic world, from the civil wars of seventeenth-century Britain, the Jacobite Uprisings, and American Independence, to Revolutionary Haiti, the French Revolution, the Enlightenment, and everything in between.
The British Army in Scotland and North America with Nicola Martin
In the middle of the 18th century, the British Atlantic world erupted in rebellion and war. In the Highlands of Scotland, Scots calling themselves Jacobites rose up against King George II in 1745. They rallied to the standard of the famous Charles Edward Stuart – better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie – all in a last-ditch effort to rid Britain of the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the throne. But their crushing defeat by the British army at Culloden Moor in early 1746 dashed their hopes and ended the Jacobite threat once and for all.
Nearly a decade later, and almost 4,000 miles to the west, a brief skirmish in the Pennsylvania woods triggered the Seven Years' War, a global conflict that reshaped the map of British America, one that led to another rebellion in 1775 that quickly became a revolution.
At first glance it may appear that the Scottish north and the early American west have little in common, but they are linked far more than you may realize. To officials in London and even Edinburgh, as well as to officers in the British Army, these regions were on the fringes of empire, places between civility and savagery, where loyalties were suspect, and rebellion but a moment away.
In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske is joined by Dr. Nicola Martin to discuss her recent book, The British Army in Scotland and North America, 1745-1775: Militarisation on the Fringes of the Empire.
Hosted by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Executive producers are Dr. Lynn Price Robbins, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media (https://www.primarysourcemedia.com/) and Revolutionary Histories.
14 Oct 2026
Seeking the High Ground with Matt Mason
In 1764, the Bostonian Samuel Adams railed against Parliament's new Sugar Act. The law actually lowered the customs duties that Americans paid on their imported sugar and molasses, but to Adams and others, it was a form of taxation without representation. By submitting to Parliament's will, Adams asked, "are we not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary slaves?"
To our modern ears, Adams's words smack of hypocrisy. How could free Americans justify comparing themselves to slaves when many colonists held fellow human beings in bondage? Or, as the Englishman Dr. Samuel Johnson would ask in 1775, "how is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?" But as both sides knew, the politics of slavery were as powerful as slavery itself. For more than a century, British subjects throughout the Atlantic world had used the blurred lines between freedom and unfreedom to claim the moral high ground over their political opponents. And as a dispute over taxes erupted into the American Revolution, the politics of slavery and the prospect of abolition raised fundamental questions about the very meaning of the revolution itself.
In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske is joined by Dr. Matthew Mason to discuss his recent book, Seeking the High Ground: Slavery and Political Conflict in the British Atlantic World.
Hosted by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Executive producers are Dr. Lynn Price Robbins, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media (https://www.primarysourcemedia.com/) and Revolutionary Histories.
31 Aug 2026
Constructing American Childhood with Holly White
For modern Americans, age is a prime factor in many milestones: learning how to drive, voting for the first time, and legally consuming alcohol. Using age as a standard for laws began in the founding era. Despite many advancements in the understanding of human development, it has largely remained unchanged since.
And while we might think of these age-based laws as safeguards for children, they were in fact developed with the goal of better controlling them. Is it time that such laws, both civil and criminal, were updated for modern society?
In this episode, Dr. Lynn Price Robbins is joined by Dr. Holly White to discuss her new book, Constructing American Childhood: Age-Based Laws and the Illusion of Protection in the Early United States.
Hosted by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins. Executive producers are Dr. Jim Ambuske, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media (https://www.primarysourcemedia.com/) and Revolutionary Histories.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Host of Revolutions in Retrospect?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
