In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett explore why gunpowder democratized Europe but enabled Asian autocracy, examining Hawaii, Ottoman, Ming, and Mughal empires to understand how identical technologies create divergent civilizational outcomes.

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FOLLOW ON X:

@whatifalthist (Rudyard)

@LudwigNverMises (Austin)

@TurpentineMedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Introduction & Framework
(13:00) Case Study #1: Hawaii
(17:33) Sponsors: ZCash | Shopify
(22:39) Case Study #2: Spanish & Turkish Empires
(40:50) Sponsors: Netsuite | Oracle
(45:52) Case Study #3: China - Ming & Qing Dynasties
(1:07:00) Japan: Brief Military Supremacy
(1:07:00) Japan: Brief Military Supremacy
(1:11:00) Ottoman Empire: Slave Soldiers & Decline
(1:32:06) African Gunpowder Empires
(1:38:00) Safavid Persia
(1:42:00) Mughal Empire
(1:53:00) European Colonialism & Modern Implications

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