Revolutions in Retrospect
Historians Lynn Price 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.
Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production between Revolutionary Histories and Primary Source Media.
Fighting Plagues of the Heart in Scotland with Mikki Brock
In the seventeenth-century Scottish town of Ayr, Scots swore a sacred oath to defend the Presbyterian Church of Scotland against the meddling of King Charles I. These Scots pledged to lead godly lives and submit themselves to judgment when Satan’s temptations overwhelmed them. But in the years that followed, the return of the plague, the killing of a king, the outbreak of civil war, the occupation of the town by English soldiers, and the specter of witchcraft all tested their faith in God and in each other.
In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske talks with historian Mikki Brock, Ph.D, about a crisis of faith in a seventeenth-century Scottish community.
In Dependence with Jacqueline Beatty
The American colonies declared their independence in 1776 with the famous line that “All men are created equal.” But the reality of the Revolution told a different story. Women remained subordinate to men, limited by laws, social customs, and finance rules that restricted their rights and autonomy. But that is only part of the story.
In this episode, Dr. Lynn Price Robbins talks with Jacqueline Beatty, Ph.D., about how women began to see themselves as individuals with rights, which helped lay the groundwork for future generations of American feminists.
Recovering Black Mariners in the Atlantic World with Mary Hicks
For centuries, Black mariners plied the waters of the Atlantic world. From the decks of ships that traversed vast distances between Brazil, Portugal, West Africa, and beyond, through dangerous swells and past enemy fleets, enslaved seamen connected continents as they labored for the Portuguese Empire in the Age of Revolutions. Despite their enslavement, they made a world that was their own.
In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske talks with historian Mary Hicks, Ph.D, about these “captive cosmopolitans,” who traded goods on their own accounts, infused Brazil with West African religions, foods, and fashions, and used Royal edicts pronounced in Lisbon to argue for their freedom.
The Founders Didn’t Want A Gerontocracy with Rebecca Brannon
Alexander Hamilton was just 25 when he was elected to the Continental Congress. Abigail Adams was 31 when she urged her husband John to “Remember the Ladies.” Thomas Jefferson was only 32 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Today, we tend to picture all of them as older, grey-haired figures rather than ambitious and youthful. But as America aged, so did its leaders.
In this episode, Dr. Lynn Price Robbins talks with Rebecca Brannon, Ph.D. about the gerontocracy the founders didn't want.
Lafayette Bids His Last Adieu with Ryan L. Cole
In 1824, nearly 50 years after he first set foot on American shores, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States of America. He longed to see the progress of the nation he helped to found, a nation whose work he knew remained unfinished. And so, in the summer of 1824, Lafayette returned to his adopted home one last time, before he bid his last adieu.
In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske talks with Ryan L. Cole about Lafayette's final journey to the United States, a moment that held up a mirror to Revolutionary America.
Meet the Hosts
-
Dr. Lynn Price Robbins
Dr. Lynn Price Robbins is Head of Research and Associate Producer for the historical production company Primary Source Media. She earned her Ph.D. in U.S. History from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, in 2018. Her dissertation is titled “‘To enjoy the blessings of freedom’: Slavery, Manumission, and Colonization in the District of Columbia (1790-1862).” While in graduate school, Price Robbins held a two-year fellowship through the Papers of George Washington and Mount Vernon, during which she transcribed and verified George Washington’s financial ledgers and agricultural reports. Following that, she managed the George Washington Bibliography Project for three years. In 2015, Price Robbins joined The Washington Papers and co-edited George Washington’s Barbados Diary, 1751-52 and The Papers of Martha Washington. She also has an essay on Martha Washington and the Revolutionary War in Women in George Washington’s World (UVA Press, 2022). From 2021 to 2024, Price Robbins served as an Assistant Editor for The Papers of Abraham Lincoln. She currently serves as Head of Research for Primary Source Media, working on film documentaries and podcasts. She regularly serves as a scholar for the George Washington Teacher Institute at Mount Vernon, lecturing on Martha Washington, women in the late-eighteenth century, and politics. -
Dr. Jim Ambuske
Dr. Jim Ambuske is a historian of the American Revolution, Scotland, and the British Atlantic World. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia in 2016. He is the author and co-author of several publications on the American Revolution, transatlantic legal history, and King George III. Ambuske is also the lead scholar and narrator of Worlds Turned Upside Down and the co-host of Revolutions in Retrospect with Dr. Lynn Price Robbins. He is the co-founder of Revolutionary Histories.When he is not behind the mic, Ambuske is working on a book about emigration from Scotland in the era of the American Revolution. Ambuske is formerly the co-head of R2 Studios, a division of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and former director of the Center for Digital History at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. He is also a former Farmer Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of Virginia Law Library. At UVA Law Library, Ambuske co-directed the 1828 Catalouge Project and the Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive Project.