In ‘When newspapers were pressed to be ‘right minded” Andrew Cole tells us about the state’s efforts to control the press using taxes. A situation lasting for 140 years. We learn of the efforts to achieve today’s press freedom.

Andrew tells us that we take today’s relatively free press in Britain today for granted. The authorities see the arrival of the printing press as a threat to those in authority. Their desire – control.

This talk explores how this is achieved. In particular Andrew looks at the use of taxation to suppress unwanted publications and encourage, in the view of the establishment, a ‘right minded press’. To many these taxes are taxes on knowledge.

Many see this as a fight for freedom bringing liberty, due scrutiny, and enabling the political awakening of the masses.

The story isn’t as glossy as that and historians, as always, have quite differing interpretations.

Taxes:

The attempt to control newspapers and their narrative involves taxation. This situation runs from 1712 to 1861, 140 years. Andrew tells us about the introduction of the taxes and their working. Andrew then tells us about their repeal and the consequences.

We learn of the taxes on the type of publication, on paper and on advertising. You need to listen carefully as some of the ways that the taxes operate and some of the wheezes to avoid them are complex.

We also learn about the growth of the press following the repeal of the taxes.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Andrew.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Group Group 2018 – 2024

The post TH2023 Ep16 When newspapers were pressed appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

‘Carlinville to Pontiac’ continues our journey through the lush farmland of Illinois and historic towns and cities.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

The town is the county seat of Macoupin County and has nearly as many historic sites as it does unique and interesting shops, restaurants and attractions.

In the Historic District you’ll find the Macoupin County Jail, Million Dollar Courthouse, and the largest collection of Sears & Roebuck mail-order homes in the U.S.

The new Carlinville station dates from the Autumn of 2017 and hosted 8,332 passengers in 2023.

Abraham Lincoln spends a large part of his life here. His memory is celebrated all over the city. Visitors can tour his home from 1837 to 1861 and  stand in the sitting room where he wrote his speeches.

His marble family tomb is at Oak Ridge Cemetery and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum tells about his personal and political life.

The station dates from 1895 and is due to be replaced by a, delayed, new facility in 2025. The station hosts over 140,000 passengers in 2023.

When the railway company arrives here in 1853 they decide to name the new town after their lawyer – one Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln arrives on August 27, 1853, and leads a ceremony by the tracks to mark the founding of the new town. He pays a farmer to bring a wagon-load of watermelons, for the celebrants. Lincoln then cuts into one and “christens” the railroad with the juice.

The current station opens in 1911 and in 2023 a total of 15,557 passengers use the station.

Often called Bloomington-Normal, or BN, because the station serves both communities.

The station dating from 1990 was rebuilt to open in 2012. It is a modern facility like some of the others on our route through Illinois. In 2023 it hosts nearly 204,000 passengers.

We head through vast fields of maize until we reach Pontiac, another city on Route 66. The current station dates from 2017 and in 2023 nearly 13,000 Amtrak passengers use it.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle from Pontiac to Chicago.

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

The post USRJ S3 Ep 31 Carlinville to Pontiac appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘Napoleon III and Eugenie’ Jo Watson tells us about the man who was Emperor of France from 1852 until his defeat by the Prussians in 1870 and his wife Eugenie.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is born in Paris in the early hours of April the 20th, 1808. His father is Louis Bonaparte, the younger brother of the Emperor Napoleon.

The union of his parents isn’t overly successful as they not particularly compatible. They spend long times apart, but produce three sons, all called Napoleon something or other.

Arriving a few weeks earlier than expected he’s rather weak at birth so he’s bathed in wine and wrapped in cotton wool. Was he just a premature child, or as the scandal mongers were later very fond of saying, fathered by someone else?

He involves himself in political intrigue, failed putsches and becomes a feared ladies man. A few years elapse and he heads to London with his extensive inheritance. Louis sets up house in Mayfair with 17 servants and a monogrammed carriage and begins to mix with high society.

He seduces eligible young ladies when their mothers aren’t looking, notches up a couple of engagements and joins country house set. He attends shooting parties, reads voraciously in their libraries and hobnobs with eminent politicians all the time preparing for another shot at power.

In 1853 he marries Eugenie

Empress Eugenie:

26 year old Eugène Montejo, educated partly in Paris, is a regular visitor to the court. She is also one of the most beautiful women in Europe. She also impresses Napoleon with her horsemanship and conversation.

She’s a good Catholic girl and is determined not to be another notch on his bedpost. He definitely tries, but she never relents. ‘What is the way to your heart’, he asks. ‘Through the church, sire’, she replies.

Jo Watson has written a book about Empress Eugenie and you can find more about it here.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Jo.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use with this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2024

The post TH2023 Ep14 Napoleon III and Eugenie appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

‘Walnut Ridge to Alton’ continues our journey through the night and into the morning as we travel through Arkansas, Missouri and enter Illinois.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

By the time we reach Walnut Ridge we are 2,215 miles into our journey. I am asleep as the time is around 1.40 am.

It is an Italianate/Mediterranean style station dating from 1920. Today it serves as the home to the local Chamber of Commerce tourist centre and the Amtrak passenger stop. In 2019 nearly 2,900 passengers brave the night hour and use the station.

We cross the Arkansas / Missouri border on our way to Poplar Bluff where the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway railway station dates from 1910. In 1994 the station is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2003 Union Pacific donates the building to a citizens-led non-profit local committee to Save and Restore the Historic Train Depot. The group raises money to restore both the exterior and interior of the station.

The station hosts nearly 3,750 passengers in 2023.

First the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway serves the Arcadia Valley with a northbound station in Arcadia and a southbound one in Ironton.

In 1941 the Missouri Pacific construct a new station to consolidate the stations in Arcadia and Ironton. They call the new station Arcadia-Ironton. In 1965 passenger services cease and the Arcadia Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Iron County Historical Society occupy the station.

The current station opens in November 2016 and in 2023 a total of 1,228 night owls use the station.

We arrive into the Gateway City of St. Louis and then travel through the morning to Alton in Illinois.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle through Illinois towards Chicago.

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

The post USRJ S3 Ep 30 Walnut Ridge to Alton appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘The History Divide’ Margaret Denyer, Alan Freeland, Andrew Cole, David Simpson and Richard Thomas give their views on the question ‘Whilst the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 ended the Allies war with Germany, did it lead to the outbreak of World War II in 1939?’

David Simpson opens by telling us about the Peace Conference and the key players.

Just four men, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, U. S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando, known as the Big Four, control the discussions.

So what are the goals of the Allies? France wants revenge by weakening Germany, Britain wants to punish Germany, but with restraint. The U. S. has the most idealistic position wanting an end to imperialism and the creation of the League of Nations.

There is much conflict and much discussion, before they all agree.

The main 5 provisions:

The five main provisions are to:

Our speakers discuss the financial implications of the treaty, the issues that the settlement has on many other nations and the League of Nations. At the end we leave it to you to decide whether it led to the Second World War or not.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from our speakers.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2024

The post TH2023 Ep 13 The History Divide appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

‘Texarkana to Little Rock’ continues our journey through the evening and into the night as we leave Texas and travel into Arkansas.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

We reach Texarkana after 28 hours travelling through Texas.

Texarkana Union Station dates from 1928. It is on the state border between Texas and Arkansas – quite literally! The border bisects the station structure with  the eastern part, including the waiting room and ticket office, in Arkansas and the western part in Texas. Stopped trains span both states!

It is the second busiest Amtrak station in Arkansas.

Although it is on the National Register of Historic Places the view from the platform is somewhat depressing. Sadly there is not time for me to see the more impressive facade on the street.

The red brick Hope depot dates from 1912. The original operator, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Missouri Pacific Railway, is commonly known as the “MoPac.”

The station is in the MoPac’s signature Mediterranean Revival style.  It was in passenger use until November 1968, before falling into disrepair.

To celebrate the election of Hope native Bill Clinton to the U.S. presidency plans were made to convert the station into a museum focused on Clinton’s life. In 1994 the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, part of Union Pacific Railroad, donates the station to the city in 1994. In 1995, with renovations complete, the facility opens to the public.

They do love fancy names in this part of the world. This station dates from 1917 and in 2023 1,050 passengers use the station.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle through the night and into the morning.

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

The post USRJ S3 Ep 29 Texarkana to Little Rock appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘The Earth Transformed’ Alan Freeland reviews Peter Frankopan’s book which changes our view of history by looking at the effect of climate on events.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Alan tells us how the book ‘The Silk Roads‘ changes his retirement plans. This is a book by Peter Frankopan that he rates very highly. This book is an important account of the forces that have shaped the global economy and politics over many centuries.

It is a long read:

The Earth Transformed runs to 736 pages (the paperback) and Alan tells us that he has to re-read many of the pages to understand things. He also says that the text doesn’t flow well. This is no reflection on the material, rather one of style.

The book:

Peter Frankopan is one of the world’s leading historians. He tells us that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts have a fundamental effect on history.

We learn about how the desire to centralise agricultural success results in the bureaucratic state. And how growing demands for harvests result in the shipment of enslaved people.

These lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Alan.

Unfortunately I have not been able to remove all the external noises.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern  Group.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2024

The post TH2023 Ep 12 The Earth Transformed appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

‘Mineola to Marshall’ continues our journey through the afternoon and in to the evening.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

As the episode opens we are travelling through the countryside as we approach Mineola. We stop short of the station, across a level crossing, waiting for permission to enter the station.

I have a good view of the main street and the bandstand which is proudly flying the Stars and Stripes, the national flag of the US. I wonder whether this is left over from the celebrations of ‘Independence Day’ yesterday.

Just after we pull out of Mineola there is the first call for dinner. There are only two sittings today.

We pass through some lovely countryside on our journey from Mineola to Longview. There is dappled sunlight and a beautiful lake full of reflections.

The red brick station dates from 1940, replacing an 1874 building. Its in the Colonial Revival style, popular in the early 20th century. There are stylized quoins, brick cornice and grey stone trim highlighting the coping, keystones and lintels.

In its heyday there were several Missouri Pacific and Texas & Pacific trains a day.

Soon after leaving Longview we pass a car breakers yard.

Marshall is a crew change stop. The crew finishing their shift allow me off the train so that I have time to photograph a steam locomotive and a caboose which are part of the railway museum.

The station, known as the T&P Depot, is the only surviving structure of the Texas and Pacific Railway complex which originally consisted of fifty-seven buildings spanning 66 acres.

I re-board the train as we set off for our next stop at Texarkana which, apparently, is on the state line.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle across the state line from Texas to Arkansas.

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Vurbl , You Tube and others.

The post USRJ S3 Ep 28 Mineola to Marshall appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘Going to the Pictures’ Tim Davies tells us about the history of the projected image in the ‘silent era’.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

The talk starts in the age of the Magic Lantern. These project pictures such as paintings, prints and photographs. The slides are usually transparent glass plates. First appearing in the 17th century they are often used for entertainment by travelling showmen, conjurers and storytellers.

In the 17th century the only artificial light is from candles and oil lamps giving very dim projected images. By the 1820s we start to see the much brighter Limelight and then in the 1860s the electric arc lamp, which removes the need for combustible gases and hazardous chemicals.

The magic lantern can project moving images with movement achieved in a number of ways such as two glass slides projected together. One has the stationary part of the picture and the other the moving part, maybe a train passing through a landscape.

What the Butler saw:

The Mutoscope is an early motion picture device appearing in 1895. It is a coin-in-the-slot peep-show which only one person at a time can view. It operates like a flip book with black-and-white prints attached to a circular core. A reel typically holds about 850 pictures, giving a viewing time of about one minute

The Birth of the Cinema in Britain:

Leeds claims the world’s first moving picture shot by Louis Le Prince in 1888. In 1889 and William Friese Greene makes the first celluloid film in Hyde Park.

Listen to the podcast and hear the whole story from Tim.

Unfortunately I have not been able to remove all the external noises.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History  Group .

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2024

The post TH2023 Ep 11.04 Going to the Pictures appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

‘Fort Worth to Mineola’ covers the 120 miles between these two cities. The journey has a schedule of 3 hours.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

We arrive in Fort Worth early. The station dates from 2002 and is an intermodal transit centre in downtown Fort Worth serving TEXRail, Trinity Railway Express, Amtrak , and Greyhound intercity buses. The station is also the main transfer centre for Fort Worth’s buses.

There are toilets, vending machines, a passenger service kiosk, and a Subway sandwich shop.

There are five brick bas-reliefs depicting a former black-owned commercial district that existed at the station site from the Civil War to the 1940s. The reliefs are by Paula Blincoe Collins.

There is a restored interurban car from the Northern Texas Traction Company on display.

Dallas Union Station, officially the Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station is an  intermodal railway station. The third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, behind Fort Worth Central and San Antonio, serves DART Light Rail , Trinity Railway Express commuter rail and Amtrak.

The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The first floor of the station houses an Amtrak ticketing window, waiting room, and privately rented offices. The second floor contains the restored Grand Hall and several meeting rooms named after railway companies that previously serviced Dallas. 

I’m travelling on the 5th July, maybe that’s why it is very quiet! Is everyone recovering from yesterday’s celebrations? Once we leave Dallas we travel through farmland until we reach the outskirts of Mineola where the episode ends. I’ll tell you about Mineola in the next episode.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle.

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher , Vurbl , You Tube and others.

The post USRJ S3 Ep27 Fort Worth to Mineola appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.