Historians & Their Histories

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Chelsi Arellano discusses her research on the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its ripple effects across the British Empire, with a particular focus on the Bostonian Revolt of 1689. She explores how colonists in Massachusetts Bay, frustrated by the dissolution of their charter under James II and the creation of the Dominion of New England, were inspired by events in England to depose their own royal governor. Prof. Arellano also examines the largely overlooked role that women, people of color, and the poor played in that revolt.

Prof. Arellano is a recipient of the Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship from the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts administered by the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-34-Arellano

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Marcus Nevius discusses his current book project, titled "Fear of a Maroon Republic: Atlantic Slave War and the Problem of Archival Absence," which builds on his earlier work on marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp to explore how maroons appear and disappear in the historical record with a particular focus on Jamaica. He also reflects on the evolving scholarly understanding of marronage and the challenges of recovering maroon voices from archives that were largely created by enslavers and colonial administrators.

Prof. Nevius is a recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-33-Nevius

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Peter Messer discusses his research on early American political culture, focusing specifically on the local complexities of revolutionary-era events in Massachusetts. He shares how his work re-evaluates the 1773 "salvaged tea" controversy in Wellfleet, Massachusetts and the 1768 Liberty Riot, exploring the frequent disconnect between immediate local grievances and the broader Whig Republican rhetoric often associated with the American Revolution.

Prof. Messer is a recipient of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-32-Messer

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we speak with Boone Ayala. He discusses his research on chartered corporations as instruments of imperial rule and his work at the MHS on the 1684 revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Company's charter, which he situates within a broader assault on corporate autonomy happening simultaneously across England. We also hear about his path from computer science major to historian and some objects he encountered in the MHS collections, including a musket from the 1689 siege of Fort Hill and Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Leverett's blood-stained buff coat from the English Civil Wars.

Boone J. Ayala is a recipient of the W.B.H. Dowse Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-31-Ayala

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On this special episode of Historians & Their Histories, guest host Megan Kate Nelson sits down with Amy Watson, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They discuss Prof. Watson's new book Patriots Before Revolution: The Rise of Party Politics in the British Atlantic, 1714-1763, available now in hardcover and paperback. They discuss what it meant to be a patriot in the eighteenth century and the long history of the American Revolution.

Prof. Watson is a recipient of the long-term fellowship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-30-Watson

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Dr. Elizabeth Hines discusses her research into the relations between New England and New Netherland in the 17th century, which grew out of a broader project on Anglo-Dutch relations across the globe. She explores why England and the Netherlands ultimately went to war in the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652–1654. We also hear about her journey from physics major to historian, her work in the MHS archives with sources such as the Winthrop and Endicott papers, and how she hopes her research will push audiences to think more expansively about the multi-imperial origins of what would become the United States.

Dr. Hines is the recipient of a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, which is administered by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-29-Hines

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Dr. Blake Grindon examines the 1777 death of Jane McCrea during the British Saratoga campaign and how this event became a powerful propaganda tool in the American Revolution. Dr. Grindon discusses how McCrea's story in which she was allegedly killed by Native warriors allied with the British spread rapidly through newspapers across the thirteen states and even reached parliamentary speeches in Britain and French newspapers. Dr. Grindon's work also examines the military and diplomatic roles of diverse Native nations during the Revolution, challenging narratives that overlook Indigenous political sovereignty and agency during this period.

Dr. Grindon is the recipient of a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, which is administered by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-28-Grindon

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Dr. Ross Nedervelt explores why Bermuda and the Bahamas held strategic significance for the United States during the Age of the American Revolution. He discusses how these islands were exempted from the Continental Congress's 1775 embargo on the British Empire due to their sympathy for the American cause and their supply of arms to the patriots. His research also examines the long-term consequences of these colonies remaining British including their role as fortified bases for impressment operations and as a planning ground for the British during the War of 1812.

Dr. Nedervelt is the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the Massachusetts Historical Society, a long-term fellowship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the MHS, and a New England Regional Fellowship Consortium award.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-27-Nedervelt

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, independent scholar and author Monique Hayes discusses her historical fiction novel which follows two African American brothers who take opposing paths during the American Revolution. She shares the challenges of writing about a period with few first-person narratives from African Americans, the excitement of discovering primary sources like Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book and Continental Army orderly books, and how being in Boston during the 250th anniversary commemoration has enriched her understanding of Revolutionary War-era spaces.

Monique Hayes is the recipient of a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, which is administered by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-26-Hayes

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In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we sit down with Ethan Gonzales, a PhD candidate at the University of Virginia. Ethan discusses his dissertation project, which examines the "information ecosystem" of the 1790s and how the early federal government utilized diplomatic agents to gather and control information abroad. He explains how the United States, as a young republic in a world of monarchies, faced a barrage of state-sponsored disinformation and rumors.

Ethan Gonzales is a recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the Massachusetts Historical Society.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-25-Gonzales

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Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)