Hanging with History
Episodes
212 episodes
212. Boring Administrative History; HR
The challenges to recruiting enough men for service in the Royal Navy and the Army and Militia were formidable. It is revealed that the War of 1812 was really one war too many for Britain. The necessity to supply seamen...
211. Boring Administrative History; Smuggling and Moving Money
The trade war between Britain and Napoleon reached a new level in 1807. British merchants were desperate for new markets. The French were finding trouble, customs dues fell 80% despite the new Rhine river trade. We've a...
210 Boring Administrative History; Finance and Taxation
The wars from 1793 to 1815 included expenditure of 830 million pounds for Army Navy and Ordinance, mainly the Navy. Another 65 million pounds was spent on subsidies to allies. Looking at a total of 895 million, probably with secret funds ...
209 Boring Administrative History; Industry
“The removal of soil, earth or rubbish, the conveyance of stones, sand or lime, everything is done by little four wheel carts drawn by a single horse on iron railways.. the advantage they represent is immense. England owes to them part of...
The Ending of Corruption; Boring Administrative History
We have a real example of a cultural change brought about by the pressures of war. The great weapon of war against corruption is accounting and auditing. But first attitudes must change. We see various forms ...
Boring Administrative History; Intelligence and Communication
Before the 1807 attack on Denmark, Napoleon gave an ultimatum to Denmark, to Talleyrand’s horror btw. The ultimatum was for Denmark to turn over their fleet. But before the deadline for the French ultimatum passed the British invade...
India, China, Japan, Vietnam and Muscat in the Napoleonic Wars
You probably know that by the middle of the 19th century, the British dominated India. The British introduced railroads and electricity, public health and infrastructure, and a population boom began. By the end Victoria ...
Ottoman Empire; The Sick Man of Europe
For the Ottoman empire the French Revolution to Waterloo have a definte arc, and it isn’t pretty, and there is some coverage up to the Crimean War.The start of the Revolution coincides with the Rule of Selim 3rd in 1789. And he was...
Qajari Persia; the Origins of the Great Game
A scientific expedition, led by Jean Bruguière and Guillaume Olivier. Now they truly were scientists, but they were also diplomats secretly working for France. Jean was an expert on molluscs, snails, shellfish and barnacles. He is c...
Belgium is born; Talleyrand in History concluded
In a great triumph for France, and Talleyrand personally, Belgium is born. This is one of history's true ironies because of how the existence of Belgium weakens France in the 20th century.The episode ends with Talleyrand's last tre...
Talleyrand in History Part 7; 1815-1830
“Talleyrand was in a black mood. All that he had achieved over the past eighteen months had been destroyed: the bloodless and amiable return of the Bourbons in 1814 was being travestied by the vindictive and mean minded 2nd Restoration.&n...
1815 The Hundred Days; Talleyrand in History Part 6
There is a commonplace, dismissive, reductive argument you will hear all the time. That napoleon stood no chance. Even if he had triumphed on the field at Waterloo, as in some ways he really could have. The forces arrayed agai...
1814 1815 Germany, ugh ; Talleyrand in History part 5
Last episode we looked at France, Scandinavia and Italy. Italy was particularly fascinating, but we were bare able to scratch the surface. Now we look at Germany, contrasting Talleyrand's careful thought about France an...
1814, Is THIS What Peace Looks Like?
Last episode we described how in Paris there was a party like atmosphere, the dreamy, giddy glow of it, how it sucked in the later arrivals. The immense joy they all wallowed in. Part of the peace settlement allowed France to keep ...
1814 Allies take Paris; not quite Talleyrand in History Part 4
The core of this entire messy situation was the evening of March 31st when Talleyrand and Tsar Alexander meet. This moment that everyone could feel was decisive at the time, the Allies were all hyper aware of the importance of thes...
The French Revolution Retold Through Fear
But you already covered the French Revolution? Why bring up events from 25 years prior to the narrative?Well, Actually, I’ve covered the French revolution twice. Once in the France the Enemy arc, covering the situation before...
34, Satan, Salvation and Atheism; Elizabethan Era Part VI
Elizabeth’s greatest domestic threat was the Puritans. Under Knox they quickly came to dominate Scotland. A Reindeer75 episode. Elizabeth was obviously favored by god and this gave her an enormous advantage in what w...
33 Grand Strategy; Elizabethan Era Part V; How many Spanish Armadas again?
Grand Strategy in Elizabeth’s war with Spain. The Hawkins strategy turns out to be a winner. Spain has two more Armadas to throw at England. Their most successful effort was Spain’s attack on Brittany, while France is still di...
Talleyrand in History Part 3
The key at this point is Talleyrand is getting ready to leave Napoleon and enter into a form of opposition against him, because he sees Napoleon as a danger to France , as a danger to Europe, and as a man about to fall and fail, reach exceeds g...
Talleyrand in History, Part 2
Last episode Talleyrand barely escapes France ahead of a death sentence. Then the British decide he might be a spy, well he might have been an excellent spy, though we know he was not a spy.He went to America, George Washington ref...
Talleyrand in History Part 1
It is somewhat preposterous for an origins of the industrial revolution podcast to feature so much a French diplomat. That would be true if Talleyrand were merely a French diplomat, rather than a bridge between the old world and the birth...
1814 Legitimacy and Talleyrand
This is a deep dive into the problems of 1814 (being terror and bitterness) and the solution: Legitimacy,Huge, vast problems gripped Europe in 1814. Usurpations all over Italy, chaos and foreign occupation in Germany, Thrones witho...
1813 1814 Dresden to Leipzig, then Scandinavia
The Convention of Plesswitz ends and war begins again August 11. The focus is on driving Napoleon out of Germany and then the action turns to Scandinavia, to include Danish Holstein, with most of the focus on Norway.Napoleon's desp...
1813 Austria, Metternich and Francis II
Of the large political entities in Europe in 1813 the Austrian empire was one of the oddest, from a modern perspective and possibly the most vulnerable.It was really the personal realm of the house of Habsburg. I’ve talked a lot ab...
1813 Alexander, Prussia and God Unite
Trying to recover from defeat in 1812, Napoleon had enormous obstacles to overcome. But these were NOT obvious at the time, surprisingly to us, most of the great and the good expected Napoleon to win in 1813.Tsar Alexander had some...