Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Early Modern & Renaissance

133 Episodes 25 Series 133 Figures 78 Events 336 Books 260 Authors

Covering roughly the 15th through 18th centuries, this collection examines religious, political, imperial, and cultural transformations of the Renaissance and early modern world. Series include American Crusades (Christianity’s influence on American foreign policy and warfare from the colonial era onward), Amsterdam (the city’s rise from a fishing village to a financial hub), Aztec Epic (Hernán Cortés’s expedition and the fall of the Aztecs), Charles I: Trial and Execution (causes and consequences of regicide), and Christopher Columbus (origins and Atlantic voyages). Episodes address public debate and coffee-house culture, Magna Carta, Elizabeth I’s early reign, Ireland and Cromwell, and oddities such as Hwang Jini. Figures and events discussed include Ignatius of Loyola, Anne Boleyn, Mehmed II, William III, Sack of Antwerp, Sack of Texcoco, encomienda, Great Trier witch trials, and works like The Embarrassment of Riches and Stations of the Sun.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 133

2024

1 episode

The Man in the Iron Mask

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the long-running mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask. They review conte…

2023

11 episodes

The Mystery of the Pregnant Pope

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the legend of Pope Joan — a purported female pope said to have reigned …

RIHC: History’s Top Lads, Ancient Slavery and Aztec Gold

In this special bonus episode recorded in New Zealand, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook chat informally from Lake Roto…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The Night of Tears (Part 6)

Aztec epic · Part 6

This episode of The Rest Is History, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, recounts the aftermath of Hernán Cort…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The Adventure Begins (Part 1)

Aztec epic · Part 1

This episode (the first of a multi-part series) examines the opening phase of the Spanish encounter with the Mexica/Azt…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The Woman Who Changed The World (Part 2)

Aztec epic · Part 2

This episode of The Rest Is History, hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, narrates Hernán Cortés's 1519 expedit…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The City of Gold (Part 3)

Aztec epic · Part 3

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their multi-part narrative of Hernán Cortés's expedition int…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The Festival of Blood (Part 5)

Aztec epic · Part 5

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continue their multi-part series on Hernán Cortés and the fall of the Aztec Emp…

The Fall of the Aztecs: Prisoners of Montezuma (Part 4)

Aztec epic · Part 4

This episode (episode four of the hosts' Aztec series) follows Hernán Cortés and his men while based in Tenochtitlan, e…

The Fall of the Aztecs: War to the Death (Part 7)

Aztec epic · Part 7

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook narrate and analyse the climactic stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec c…

The Fall of the Aztecs: The Last Emperor (Part 8)

Aztec epic · Part 8

This episode is the eighth and final instalment of an eight-part series on the fall of the Aztecs. Hosts Tom Holland an…

RIHC: History’s Top Sidekicks, Christian Frontier Battles, & the Quran

This is an impromptu bonus episode recorded in a hotel lounge in Bath. Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook chat abo…

Page 6 of 12 (page size 12)

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Series in this era

25 series

Aztec epic

8 episodes Aired: 2023-11-06

Great World Cup Saga

8 episodes Aired: 2022-11-28 – 2022-12-17

Mary, Queen of Scots

7 episodes Aired: 2025-07-20 – 2025-07-30

Life and times of Martin Luther

6 episodes Aired: 2024-03-06 – 2024-03-25

The Fall of the Incas

6 episodes Aired: 2026-02-16

Medici

5 episodes Aired: 2025-06-08 – 2025-06-17

Christopher Columbus

4 episodes Aired: 2023-02-20

Elizabeth I (November 2025)

4 episodes Aired: 2025-11-10

12 (or 13) Days of Christmas

3 episodes Aired: 2021-12-25

Amsterdam

2 episodes Aired: 2023-07-17

Historical figures

133 tagged

Elizabeth I of England

29 episodes

Henry VIII of England

26 episodes

Charles I of England

21 episodes

Charles II of England (Charles Stuart)

19 episodes

Oliver Cromwell

19 episodes

Hernán Cortés

17 episodes

Mary, Queen of Scots

17 episodes

James VI and I of Scotland and England

16 episodes

Mary I of England

16 episodes

Edward VI of England

14 episodes

Historical events

78 tagged

English Civil War (1642–1651)

22 episodes

Execution of Charles I (1649, England)

16 episodes

Restoration of the Stuart monarchy (1660)

14 episodes

Protestant Reformation (16th century)

13 episodes

English Reformation (16th century England)

11 episodes

Glorious Revolution

11 episodes

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)

9 episodes

Christopher Columbus's first voyage / European landfall (1492)

8 episodes

Conquest of Granada (1492)

8 episodes

Counter-Reformation / Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)

8 episodes

Books

336 tagged

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

10 episodes

Diary of a Nobody / Diary of Samuel Pepys consolidation (Pepys kept as separate canonical)

Author: Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

Adventure in Time, the Fall of the Aztecs

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

3 episodes

God's Englishman

Author: Christopher Hill

3 episodes

Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

3 episodes

Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton

3 episodes

Rivers of Gold

Author: Hugh Thomas

3 episodes

The Canterbury Tales

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

3 episodes

95 Theses (Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences)

Author: Martin Luther

2 episodes

Acts of the Apostle s

Author: Traditional Attribution or Various

2 episodes

Authors

260 tagged

Tom Holland

14 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

Hugh Thomas

6 episodes

Traditional Attribution or Various

6 episodes

Geoffrey Chaucer

4 episodes

John Hemming

4 episodes

Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

William Shakespeare

4 episodes

Christopher Hill

3 episodes

John Guy

3 episodes