After almost a year of back and forth, Japan and the Entente launched their biggest intervention into Civil War-era Russia, the Siberian Expedition. The years-long effort was marred by muddled objectives and a hostile populace, and its long-term impact was mostly confirming the Soviet Union as an enemy and undermining the people's faith in Japan's institutions. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Morley, James William The Japanese Thrust Into Siberia, 1918 Columbia University Press, 1954

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Support for an intervention into Siberia begins to build momentum as apprehensions over the new Bolshevik government in Russia grow. But it's the appearance of tens of thousands of armed Czechs in the region that really knocks down any barriers to sending an armed force in. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Morley, James William The Japanese Thrust Into Siberia, 1918 Columbia University Press, 1954

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

This week begins a 3-part miniseries within a miniseries covering in detail Japan's involvement in the Siberian Expedition, a haphazard military intervention into Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. But it's the twists and turns of actually getting the venture off the ground that are the most insightful bits of history, as the conflicts and cross-purposes of the Japanese elites were on full display on the long road leading north.  

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Morley, James William The Japanese Thrust Into Siberia, 1918 Columbia University Press, 1954

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

What went up eventually came down, and the wartime boom for Japan's economy ended not long after the hostilities. Japan entered the 20s far more uncertain than it had been just a generation ago, as the world was fast changing. The people in both the cities and countryside demanded more rights and material benefits, and the elites were slow to oblige them. This set the stage for the Taisho era to be remembered as a vibrant time, but also one that those with power would want to get away from. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. McClain, James L A Modern History of Japan WW Norton & Company Inc, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The Meiji era is concluded this week, and the transition to the Emperor Taisho ushers in a new period of experimentation in Japanese life. Taisho himself was incapacitated with medical ailments for most of his reign, and the throne did not present the solid center it had under Meiji. In addition, the genro which had formed the core of Japan's leadership began aging out, and Ito's constitution turned out not to be foolproof at resisting demands for representative government. The nation now had to reckon with its own modernization and the unsustainability of the old status quo. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. McClain, James L A Modern History of Japan WW Norton & Company Inc, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Years before they swept over East Asia in the 30s and 40s, the Japanese... well they swept over East Asia before then too. Seeing overseas possessions as the next logical step towards making their own nation secure, Japan started going to war with the neighbors. Fortune smiled on them in these years and they humbled empires far larger than they. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. McClain, James L A Modern History of Japan WW Norton & Company Inc, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Having successfully resisted becoming colonized by the Europeans, Japan was now free to makes its own destiny and pursue new ambitions. But before that nation could look abroad, it first had a couple of "to-dos" on the domestic front. The first was straightforward, make a modern economy. The other was to reform the government and create a constitution. This was a little trickier, and the end result was going evolve in unforeseen ways that would play out over decades. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. McClain, James L A Modern History of Japan WW Norton & Company Inc, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

After a long break from focusing on one particular nation, today starts the introduction to Japan! They're a special case in history, as they're the only nation outside of Europe to dodge being colonized and become a Great Power in their own right (and even then the other Powers were reluctant to acknowledge that special status). Which for our purposes on this show meant that East Asia was one of the primary hotspots in the world that contributed to global instability. Which was mostly Japan's doing as they pursued an empire of their own. But it was kind of a close-run thing as Japan was actually almost colonized before any of that could happen, and only escaped that fate via social upheaval and the overturning of a centuries-old political system. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. McClain, James L A Modern History of Japan WW Norton & Company Inc, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today we wrap up introducing the colonial empires of France and the UK with the most restive of their conquests, the Middle East. In the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire, the two nations would lay the groundwork for the region's future instability and long years of military occupations for themselves. All the greatest hits are here, with Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq all being affected by the European presence. Plus the UK's further misadventures in Persia! Which wasn't a colony, but the British usually acted like it. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Fromkin, David A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Holt Paperback 1989

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

We've come to the penultimate episode on our tour of the big world empires, and this week we're covering the sprawling French presence in the western half of the African continent. The experience for the colonized was mixed to say the least, but for France the region was a source of vital raw materials and manpower. That last bit, the manpower, was critical to France's status as a competitive power as African troops were expected to play a big part in France's military. Added to that, the African colonies would be areas of concern for both sides in the darkest days of the war, so we're going to be coming back here more than a few times over the course of this show. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Roberts, AD The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 7 from 1905 to 1940 Cambridge University Press 1986

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]