You're listening to an airwave media podcast.

My name is Greg Jackson.

I'm a PhD holding historian, a professor and the creator of history that doesn't suck.

A podcast that makes legit seriously researched

American history come to life through entertaining stories. Join me for a

chronological telling of the United States story. From the revolution to

fractious civil war, tenacious inventors, brave reformers, and more.

With more than 100 episodes, you can already binge a listen to your way from 1776 to the early 20th century.

Listen to history that doesn't suck on Spotify. The Hello, welcome to the Pirate History Podcast. My name is Matt. Thank you for listening.

For the past couple of episodes, we've strayed away from the Caribbean in the 1660s to look at continental Europe in the early 17th century.

There were large, overarching trends and forces that play here that convinced me to talk about the 30 years war, but there were smaller effects of that war that relate closely to our story too.

These aren't the deeds of great men and armies, they're stories of small men, men without titles or armor,

that would go on to do great things, terrible things, but great. As the war, the 30 years of war, was in the final stages when France and Spain were throwing their might at each other.

A boy was born in France.

He was nearly the same age as the new king, Louis the 14th, and while his name would never

be as well known to history, to the Spanish living in the new world, his name invoked fear and fire and blood.

Now this boy was only five when the Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the 30 years war.

He wouldn't have had any strong memories of those years, but in school, he was born to a well

off enough family to go to school, he learned about France's mortal enemy, that dastardly

Spaniard.

He learned of their brutal conquest of the New World, of the slavery and genocide of the Indians,

and of their Spanish Inquisition. He probably lost family in the war and certainly knew other boys that had lost loved ones.

...