Neil Oliver: News, Interviews, History

In this episode we join Neil in1796 as a heavily armed French invasion fleet is spotted off Fishguard in south-west Wales.

Seven years earlier revolution had swept across France. Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and a great swath of the French aristocracy found themselves on the sharp end of the guillotine. Europe’s royalty reeled in horror and Britain and others sent forces to try and crush the new French Republic. Now in a well-planned and heavily armed, three-pronged attack France strikes back as soldiers of the Black legion land at Carregwastad Point in what is the last invasion of Britain

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Neil’s Patreon site is pack full of history, comment and current affairs

Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter - https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en

YouTube Channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g

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In this episode Neil takes us on a very personal journey around his old stomping ground, the Merchant City district in Glasgow. It was built by the mighty Glaswegian Tobacco Lords, men whose trading fortunes made them the Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates of their time. In the late C17th and into the C18th their trading ships ensured great wealth poured into Glasgow and they built huge warehouses, veritable cathedrals to commerce, to store their goods . But these riches came at a deadly human cost, every pound and dollar was made on the backs of African slaves. The Triangular slave trade transported men, women and children from Africa to the American colonies, then tobacco, cotton and other commodities were brought back to Europe on the return trip.

To help support this podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

Neil’s Patreon site is pack full of history, comment and current affairs

Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter - https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en

YouTube Channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil takes us to the beautiful coast of Cumbria as it’s attacked by a warship from the United States of America. Angry and dissatisfied with the punitive taxes and harsh rule of the British monarchy the people of America rise in rebellion. Intent on helping his new adopted country throw off the shackles of colonial rule, John Paul Jones captains an American naval ship of war, and in an audacious move crosses the Atlantic to attack Britain.

Guns primed and at the ready he sails with his crew to the thriving industrial port of Whitehaven on the northwest coast of England, and under the cover of darkness launches his attack. This first shot across the bow caused panic in government and gave a bloody nose to the British King.

To help support this podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

Neil’s Patreon site is pack full of history, comment and current affairs

Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter - https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en

YouTube Channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we travel with Neil around the world with the words of Robert Burns, a poet and lyricist whose work has touch millions and directly helped to shape Neil’s own life.

Robert Burns was born in Ayr, lived in Dumfries and went on to be the national bard of Scotland. His brilliant body of work stretches from Auld Lang Syne to his famous epic poem, Tam o’ Shanter – work that continues still to bring people together. With his genius for words he has managed to exert an influence and make the world a better place.

To help support this podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

Neil’s Patreon site is pack full of history, comment and current affairs

Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter - https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en

YouTube Channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil takes us to age simmering with the steadily building heat of technological change and advance. We stride across a landscape of great beauty, full of the things needed to kick start a profound transformation; the natural energy of powerful rivers, land rich with minerals, coal and iron ore. Here in Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire a heady mix of human ingenuity, innovation and the commercial drive of entrepreneurs, built a bridge of mesmerising beauty which was forged in the first fires of a coming Industrial revolution that would transform the whole world!

To help support this podcast sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

Neil’s Patreon site is pack full of history, comment and current affairs

Instagram account – Neil Oliver Love Letter - https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter/?hl=en

YouTube Channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVR-SdKxQeTvXtUSPFCL7g

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil takes us to the top of one of Scotland’s most beautiful mountains – Schiehallion in Perthshire.

Following in the footsteps of Isaac Newton and a group of intrepid C18th scientists we set off to the wonderful wilds of Rannoch moor to measure the weight of the world.

To help support this podcast and get exclusive access to new videos packed with history, current affairs and a whole lot more sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Neil climbs the hill to the Royal Observatory and finds himself at the centre of time & place.

Henry VIII’s hunting lodge where he kept his mistress of the moment once stood here. Then in 1675 Christopher Wren was commissioned to build the Royal Observatory in this spot, a building that stood at the forefront of astronomy and mapping for centuries. It’s here that the prime meridian bisects the planet and a legendary soldier, General James Woolfe, looks out over one of the greatest cities in the world and through thousands of years of history.

To help support this podcast and get exclusive access to new videos packed with history, current affairs and a whole lot more sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast Neil enters a city fizzing with new idea. In the late C18th and early C19th Edinburgh was the beating heart at the centre of what many people have called the Scottish Enlightenment. The intellectual thinking generated here was recognised around the world with men and women of genius said to be on every street with new ways of thinking bussing around every part of the city.

It was here, inspired by the city’s physical location - sat on a volcano - that James Hutton developed revolutionary ideas about how the world was created. Ideas that went counter the accepted thinking of the day. Hutton became known as the father of geology and was one of the first thinkers to contemplate deep time and confront us with our insignificance in the face of eternity.

To help support this podcast and get exclusive access to new videos packed with history, current affairs and a whole lot more sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re setting sail on a legendary voyage of exploration with the greatest navigator ever to come out of the British Isles - Captain James Cook.

We follow James from the beginning of his adventure, when he leaves his job as a grocers lad in Staithes and travels to the hauntingly beautiful port of Whitby to pursue his dreams of a life a sea. It’s here, as a merchant seaman transporting coal up and down the eastern seaboard that he learns his trade. His ambition, dedication and yearning for adventure drive him to sign up and join the Royal Navy where he soon rises through the ranks to become captain of the valiant vessel, HMS Endeavour. Aboard the ship he would make famous he sets off on a number of extraordinary voyages of discovery that would help shape the future of the British Isles and the direction this great seafaring nation would present to the world.

To help support this podcast and get exclusive access to new videos packed with history, current affairs and a whole lot more sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, it’s 1745 and we’re walking along the cobbled streets of a busy, bustling fishing port, off to buy groceries from a young lad named James Cook.

Staring out at the sea every day from his shop window in Staithes, North Yorkshire the teenage grocers boy, James Cook, dreamt of future that would take him around the world. Staithes is a striking fishing port, filled with beautiful clear light, sharp air and constantly changing weather. It’s full of picturesque higgledy-piggledy houses and has the power to buoy the spirits of anyone who visits. This is the place where Britain’s legendary explorer, who would go on to help shape the future of the British Isles, fell in love with boats and the sea.

To help support this podcast and get exclusive access to new videos packed with history, current affairs and a whole lot more sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/neiloliver

The series Instagram account is – Neil Oliver Love Letter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.