Empire: World History

With the accession of James I and VI in 1603, Scotland was assimilated into the composite monarchy of the United Kingdom. James, an eccentric, insecure and rambling figure, preoccupied with witches, was himself an alien in his new English court. Even at this stage though, it seems unlikely that the two nations would be legally combined under one parliament. But, with Scottish interests abroad constantly embattled by a lack of resources and the exclusionist attitude of its English neighbours; their flailing economy, and in-fighting, Scottish sovereignty within the composite monarchy began diminishing. As such, many in Scotland began resisting any union of the two nations with increasing desperation, while the English government - under the pro-union Queen Anne - in response redoubled their efforts to see the Scottish parliament subsumed…Was the union of Scotland and England now inevitable, or could a Scottish Referendum in 1706 protect Scottish independence?  

In this week’s episode, William and Anita are joined by renowned historian Murray Pittock to discuss the process by which Scotland was brought into Union with England, the condition of the new state, and the long term repercussions of this seminal moment for the future of Great Britain…

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Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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When charting the rise of Scotland’s global influence, few events have been as tragically remarkable as the Darien Scheme of 1698, which saw woefully unprepared Scottish pioneers attempt to settle and colonise the Isthmus of Panama. Scotland during this period was a country bound to England under one crown, originally that of James I and VI, though still in its own right a sovereign state. However, competitive enmity was developing between the two neighbours over the question of empire and their competing ambitions overseas, with England increasingly restricting Scottish trade as a result. This, and a bad harvest saw Scottish finances in dire straits. So it was that the Scottish government, upon the urging of wheeler-dealer businessman William Patterson who himself had been inspired by pirates, decided to fund an expedition to create a permanent Scots colony; New Caledonia, on the thin strip of land uniting North and South America, and so ideally suited for trade. Little did the Scots men, women and children who set out that November - full of hope and enthusiasm - know of the hunger, danger and disease that awaited them…

In today’s episode, Anita and William are joined by archaeologist Mark Horton to discuss the disastrous Darien scheme, and the long-term repercussions of this calamitous expedition for the future of Scotland.

To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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In the 9th century AD, two years after the Holy Roman Empire was established in Western Christendom, another world-shaking empire was rising in the east, more powerful even than that of Charlemagne and far wealthier. Born in what is today Northern Cambodia but long before the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, the mighty Khmer empire dominated most of mainland Southeast Asia, stretching as far north as southern China, and far outsizing the Byzantine empire and its peak. In 802 a mighty warrior king, Jayavarman II, united the warring clans, made dynastic alliances and conquered his way to supremacy. His descendants would become God Kings…Meanwhile, in the famed city of Angkor, the divine kings of the Khmers built a temple of such epic proportions and complexity, such beauty, that its fame - like the temple itself - would endure across the ages: Angkor Wat. But what is the truth of Angkor Wat’s origins? And how much does it owe to the example of India?

Join William and Anita as they discuss the extraordinary Khmer empire and the divine kings who raised her, illuminating as they do, one of the greatest lost history’s in all the world.

To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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While in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers - Vajrabodhi - was enshrining himself as the Merlin of first India, and then China. Undeniably one of the most extraordinary characters of the 8th century, Vajrabodhi would play a crucial role in transporting Buddhism to the Chinese court, along with Indian scholarship. After being sent there on an important embassy by his cousin, a mighty Pallava king of Southern India, Vajrabodhi embarked upon a colourful odyssey to rival those of antiquity, meeting, as he went, a young boy who would later become his loyal companion and a powerful sorcerer in his own right; Amoghavajra. Together they were alleged to have sent rain dragons to cure droughts, and concocted spells or mantras capable of destroying the invading hordes of Islam and the Tibetans. What then is the truth of these exceptional monks and their purported “magic”? Did they really conquer rampaging armies and even master the elements?

Join William and Anita as they discuss Vajrabodhi, the Buddhist magician of India, and his sorcerer’s apprentice. From wizards, spells, and rain dragons, to invading armies, and the secrets of the previously unexplainable Borobudur…

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To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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India’s transformation of the ancient world is indisputable, and tangible evidence of this can be found in the magnificent Hindu and Buddhist temples scattered across the landscapes of South East Asia. But what was the process by which India transported its vast empire of art, culture, architecture, technology, religion and even writing to South East Asia? The story largely derives in the ascent of international trade from India across the Bay of Bengal, to places like Malaysia, Thailand and even China. The formidable Pallava dynasty transmitted the famous tradition of Indian temple building far beyond the borders of India, along with majestic notions of Hindu kingship, and the burgeoning Indian renaissance in art and poetry that flourished from the 6th century. But who were the Pallavas, rulers of southern India and architects of a cultural revolution?

Join Anita and William as they discuss one of the most extraordinary cultural and architectural exports of all time, and the birth of one common, mighty Indosphere in the East.

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To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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Having garnered absolute power through bloody means, Empress Wu Zetian begins seeing apparitions, haunted by her violent schemes. With her husband incapacitated, the Empress at first held counsel on his behalf from behind a curtain. But she soon officially proclaimed herself a divine ruler. Working alongside a prominent Buddhist monk, she built temples and universities in China, creating a new holy land. Yet as the formidable leader enters her seventies, the guilt about how she got to this position begins to play on her conscience… Listen as Anita and William discuss how Empress Wu Zetian grew 7th century China into a Buddhist powerhouse. 

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Evan Green

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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The inculcation of Buddhism from India as the state religion in China was enabled by the violent rise of China’s only ever woman Emperor. Raised by pious Buddhist parents, Wu Zetian left a trail of bodies in her wake as she charted a path to absolute power. From a lowly ranked concubine in the imperial harem to the corridors of power, she used Buddhism to legitimise her unprecedented claim to rule. Listen as William and Anita discuss the unstoppable rise of China’s only woman Emperor to rule in her own right, and what this meant for Ancient India’s empire of ideas.

To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @EmpirePodUK

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Evan Green

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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It was actually India, not China, that was the greatest trading partner of the Roman Empire. During this era, it’s clear that sea travel was the fastest, most economical and safest way to move people and goods in the pre-modern world, costing about a fifth of the price of equivalent land transport. The Golden Road of early east–west commerce, in other words, lay less overland, through a Persia often at war with Rome, and much more across the open oceans, via the choppy waters of the Red Sea  and the Indian Ocean. Listen as William and Anita discuss the trade links between India and Ancient Rome.

To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Evan Green

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific. Listen as Anita and William discuss his new book and the rise of the Indosphere.

To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

Goalhangerpodcasts.com

Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Evan Green

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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With Richard Nixon now in the White House and not wanting to have his presidency consumed by Vietnam like his predecessor’s was, he begins to search for ways to disentangle America from the war. It begins with Vietnamisation and an attempt to reduce South Vietnamese reliance on the Americans, but soon he goes to China and starts making moves on the world stage to reduce Soviet and Chinese support for the north. Before long the Americans will be out and South Vietnam will be left to its fate. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Fredrik Logevall to discuss the end of the Vietnam War and the last chopper out of Saigon.

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Alice Horrell

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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