Catherine the Great, born a minor Prussian princess, transformed herself into one of Russia’s most famous rulers after orchestrating a coup to overthrow her unpopular husband, Tsar Peter III. Her 34-year reign saw the Russian Enlightenment begin to transform Russia, heavily expanding the empire’s borders and cementing them as a dominant European power. She did this by charming the pants off anyone who met her and ingratiating herself with people in the right positions. Her list of lovers and their contributions to Russia are pretty legendary but only slightly less so is the story of her rise.

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The story of Margarita Robaval sees a French noblewoman marooned on the notoriously brutal Isle of Demons off the coast of Quebec after she infuriates her uncle by having an illicit affair with a young officer on board.

Scottish privateer Alexander Selkirk tell his captain he won't get back on the leaky, worm-eaten state of their ship. Demanding to be left ashore on an uninhabited South Pacific island, Selkirk thinks his crewmates will back him up. They don't and he's left alone. What follows are the events that will inspire the story of Robinson Crusoe.

When a Dutch East India Company flagship Batavia wrecks off the coast of Western Australia, the captain leaves in a skiff to get help. In his absence, a psychopathic mutineer named Jeronimus Cornelisz takes control of the survivors stranded on a tiny coral island.

A New England whaling ship is intentionally rammed and sunk by an enraged, massive sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific. Thousands of miles from land the crew must resort to desperate measures to survive. The events inspired the story of Moby Dick. 

Six Tongan schoolboys, bored and looking for adventure, steal a fishing boat only to get caught in a storm that shreds their sails. They drift for days before wrecking on 'Ata, a desolate, rocky volcanic island. How did they all survive months alone.

Hope you all enjoy this weeks episode of Historically High.

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Escaping captivity, Spartacus and his army eventually reached over 100,000 former slaves, tearing across mainland Italy for two years and beating everything the Roman Republic could throw at them. Eventually they would be defeated by a man named Crassus, who would eventually go on to share power with Julius Caesar.

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This week we come to the chilling story of Harold Fredrick Shipman. Over Dr.Shipman's 28ish year medical career, he treated thousands of patients. He also may have killed 250 of his patients. The uncertainty isn't because he may not have killed them. The uncertainty is because he may have killed many more. The case of Harold Shipman is a bit of a head scratcher. His early life and motivations seem to differ from other serial killers. It would be great if we could interview him, but he took those secrets to the grave with him. It's time to dive in and see if we can come up with something that makes sense! Join us as we get Historically High on Dr.Death:Harold Shipman.

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We start out with the Monroe Doctrine - the legal and political "rules" the U.S. used to claim dominance over Central America and the Caribbean. This set the stage for the rise of corporate giants like the United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit, who grabbed so much control over land and labor that they literally controlled the operational infrastructure (ports, railways, communication) of some countries. It wasn’t all business, if a government in any number of Central American countries attempted to negotiate terms for their people were deemed unfavorable by these companies, corporate backed private military coups would take place to topple administrations. The U.S. government backed these interests with "Big Stick" diplomacy, using the Marine Corps as a private security force under the guise of "stability."  It’s a wild look at what happens when fruit, politics, and military power all collide.

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Benjamin Franklin was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony as one of 17 children. The future Founding Father became his brother's printing assistance at 12, in a form of familial slavery before escaping to Philadelphia. He got his first taste of the motherland during a trip to England in his teens. He loved the Empire, as was as loyal a subject as they came. Returning to the colonies he become wealthy running his own printing company before becoming a diplomat. Being sent back and forth to England to represent the concerns of the colonists. It was around this time he started to see the growing divide between those in the UK and those in the Americas. He fought for unity until there was no other option, and when it came time he chose the revolution. During the American War of Independence Ben Franklin was instrumental in gaining the support of France both in funding and manpower without either of which we wouldn't have won. He's the only with his name on the Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris in which Britain recognized America as its own nation, and the United States Constitution. The

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The Borgia were a noble family of Spanish origin who came to control the Catholic Church for a period of roughly 45 years. It began when Pope Callixtus III made his nephew Rodrigo the Vice Chancellor of the church at 27 years old, making him the most influential and powerful administrator in Christendom at the time. Throughout his tenure in the Papacy Rodrigo would lie, scheme, cheat, and murder to keep his position and the positions of his children...yes you heard that right he had many many children, safe. Rodrigo would eventually go on to become Pope Alexander VI in his later years after he had already used his position to make himself extremely wealthy, but he still wasn't satisfied. How did this corruption occur in the most holy institution on the planet...tune in a find out.

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The Weaver family moved to Boundary County in Idaho after a number of visions. The end times that were supposed to follow, never came. The Weaver's found their way into the White Nationalist movement that had infiltrated Northern Idaho. Randy would find himself involved with an ATF informant which got him jammed up. When he refused to work with them, they charged him. After he missed his court date, the U.S. Marshals came down on the Weaver family in a way that is hard to understand. The standoff at Ruby Ridge is the ultimate example of government overreach. There are no good guys in this story, but it needs to be told. Join us as we get Historically High on. Ruby Ridge.

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The man who would become Genghis Khan (a title he took after uniting the peoples of the Steppe) started out as Temujin. Born into one of the smaller nomadic tribes of The Steppe (the vast stretch of plains that cover the middle of the asian continent), he was able to conquer the Steppe people's over a 20 year period until there were all under the Mongol banner. Once that was complete he turned his attention toward the Dynasties of China, before traveling across his empire to wipe the Khwarazmian Empire in the Middle East off the map. What? You've never heard of the Khwarazmians? Yeah Genghis is the reason why. After that he decided to allow two of his generals to take 20,000 men on Mongolian Rumpsringa across some of Europe. It was supposed to be a scouting mission that ended up resulting in a lot of Eastern European and Russian's dead, including a couple of princes. They ended up traveling over 5,500 mi in all before regrouping with Genghis and then taking another crack at China. When all was said and done millions upon millions of people were dead, estimated at between 8-11% of the world's population at the time and Genghis sat upon the largest empire the world will ever see.

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The men who would first comprise E Company (Easy) would begin their journey at Camp Taccoa, Georgia. Parachute Infantry or Paratroopers were a new concept in WW2. They would be the pioneers. Jumping from planes behind enemy lines, they were supposed to fight surrounded. Engaging the enemy with limited weaponry and fighting with without vehicles or tanks required them to be in exceptionally well trained. They took part in some of the most pivotal events of the war and through it all leaned on each other for survival.

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