This is the first in a series of recap episodes, offering a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it in a whole new way. We hope this will provide a helpful refresh for longstanding listeners - whilst at the same time offering an 'entry ramp' to the podcast for those who want to get up to speed relatively easily before we crash full-speed into the intensity of the Napoleonic Wars.

This episode covers 1792, a year of extraordinary upheaval and transformation across the globe. We take stock of the events, crises, and turning points that defined the period, focusing on four major themes:

• The French Revolution: The mounting political pressure in Paris, culminating in the radicalization of the revolution, the arrest and trial of Louis XVI, and the proclamation of the First French Republic.

• The War in Europe: France’s chaotic military situation and surprising victories, as the War of the First Coalition begins, defying the odds against a decimated army and foreign invasion.

• The Eastern European Dimension: The critical developments in Poland, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, as the fate of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is decided and imperial rivalries set the stage for future Napoleonic conflicts.

• The Wider World: The global ramifications of revolutionary ideals, including the dramatic slave uprising in Saint Domingue (Haiti), highlighting the extraordinary importance and turmoil in the Caribbean and colonial geopolitics.