Demonstration? Defenestration!

<p>Throwing people out of windows might seem a peculiar way to protest, but it’s happened so often in history, it’s got a special name: defenestration. And perhaps the most significant of all - because it brought about the Thirty Years War - was the assault on three Habsburg officials by Bohemian malcontents in Prague on 23rd May, 1618.</p><br><p>The dispute had kicked off when Ferdinand II refused permission for some Protestants to build a new place of worship on a piece of land - and then granted it to Catholics instead. Dick move.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether ‘a bloodthirsty mob of Christians’ is a contradiction in terms; explain why 1618 was a <em>bad</em> year to take a secretarial job; and how, despite triggering the bloodiest war yet seen in Europe, Ferdinand II still managed to insert humour into proceedings… </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘Defenestration: The Bloody History Of Throwing People Out Of A Window’ (All That’s Interesting, 2022): <a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/defenestration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allthatsinteresting.com/defenestration</a></p><p>• ‘What Happened At The 1618 Defenestration of Prague?’ (History Extra, 2020): <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/1618-defenestration-prague-facts-history-explained-what-happened-why-castle-protestant-catholic/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/1618-defenestration-prague-facts-history-explained-what-happened-why-castle-protestant-catholic/</a></p><p>• ‘The 30 Years' War (1618-48) and the Second Defenestration of Prague - Professor Peter Wilson’ (Gresham College, 2018):</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vxXfy09EA&t=134s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vxXfy09EA&t=134s</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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