Lectures take place on Tuesdays, from 11am-12:30pm GMT.
Tuesday 20 January 2026
From Omdurman to Fashoda: the struggle for the Nile, 1898
In 1898 the British finally took revenge for the killing of General Gordon in 1884, defeating the Mahdist army at Omdurman. The victory consolidated Britain’s hold on the Suez Canal but resulted in a new crisis in relations with its imperial rival France.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
The reluctant imperialists? The Spanish-American War of 1898
In 1898 the United States intervened militarily on the side of anti-Spanish rebels in Cuba and the Philippines. The swift US victory posed an important question: did the eclipse of the Spanish Empire mark the emergence of a new American empire for the twentieth century?
Tuesday 3 February 2026
The Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902
The “Boer War” of 1899-1902 marked the height of British imperial expansion. However, it also provided abundant signs of imperial overreach as Britain struggled to crush the two Afrikaner Republics amidst domestic concerns about how and why the war was being fought.
Tuesday 10 February 2026
55 Days at Peking; the Boxer Rebellion of 1900
The so-called “Boxer Rebellion” against foreign influence in China provoked a united, but also very violent, response from the great powers. The rebellion’s suppression helped to shape foreign relations with China well into the 20th century.
Tuesday 17 February 2026
War and revolution: the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05
In 1904 Russia and Japan went to war for control of Korea and Manchuria. Japan’s victory – a surprise to many observers – precipitated revolution in Russia and a profound change to the balance of power in East Asia and the Pacific.
Tuesday 24 February 2026
The quickening pace of conflict: Italy, the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans, 1911-1913
In the years before the First World War the Ottoman Empire – declining but far from moribund – was attacked by the new nation states of South-East Europe (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania). The Balkan Wars not only prefigured the greater war to come but also magnified the regional tensions that would help to cause it.
How and when to watch
Each lecture will last approximately 1 hour, followed by questions. Please join in good time before each lecture to ensure that you have no connection problems. We recommend joining 10-15 minutes before the start time.
