Not content with its gains in the Middle East, Britain also wanted to secure its influence in Turkey after WWI. With their Greek allies taking the lead in occupying Turkish lands and Britain itself securing its influence over vital waterways, it initially looked as though things would go their way. But a mixture of imperial rivalry and Greece's lack of resources meant the whole thing was destined to blow up in everybody's faces. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Taylor, AJP The Oxford History of England, Vol 15 Oxford University Press, 1978

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

With the Irish War for Independence escalating into a problem that could no longer be played down by the UK, the violence started to get out of control. But so soon after WWI the British were not inclined to commit to a full occupation of the island, and would start looking for an exit from one of their oldest imperial possessions. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hopkinson, Michael The Irish War of Independence Gill & Macmillan, 2014

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

If the post-wars years after WWI saw the British momentarily triumphant, they also found themselves having to address all the problems they had been putting off. Closest to home was Ireland. After having failed for years to make a satisfactory settlement on the self-governance of the island, Britain would be directly challenged by a rebellion, just at the time its focus was firmly turned elsewhere. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hopkinson, Michael The Irish War of Independence Gill & Macmillan, 2014

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

With the United Kingdom moving into the post-war years, the nation had to grapple with the changes wrought by WWI. Internationally the world looked very different, and Britain's attentions had to be split across the globe. It was internally though that presented the biggest challenges, as a nation that had previously been very big into small government found itself with a sprawling administration that many preferred to keep around. And lastly we'll touch on labor unrest that is going to be a defining characteristic of Britain in the 20s. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Taylor, AJP The Oxford History of England, Vol 15 Oxford University Press, 1978

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

This week we get started on the last of the big western Entente powers, the United Kingdom. Often overlooked against the wreckage of the big battles of WWI, the war years transformed British life all out of recognition. What was once a very laissez faire country found itself centralized to an unfathomable degree, and it would be in an environment of political transition that the British would have to grapple with their new realities. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Taylor, AJP The Oxford History of England, Vol 15 Oxford University Press, 1978

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

With the invasion of the Ruhr backfiring on them, the French electorate swung to the left and put a new coalition in power. The wealthy elites of the country, ever sensitive to the specter of Socialism, did not take the change well. Just as the Ruhr crisis was being wound down, a financial one back at home was started. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Adamthwaite, Anthony Grandeur and Misery: France 1914-1940 Arnold, 1995

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Having won both war and peace, France then faced the challenge of actually enforcing that victory. Namely, they had to secure their finances and that meant turning the screws to the Germans and extracting every dime they could from them. Easier said than done, as the Germans were flat broke and France's erstwhile ally, the British, were half-hearted at best in helping get the money. The quest to secure financing would provide a demonstration to just how far France could go in exerting its new status as continental Europe's top power. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Adamthwaite, Anthony Grandeur and Misery: France 1914-1940 Arnold, 1995

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today we get introduced to France, the land of wine, cheese, and staggering loss. A lot of what happens in the decades we cover revolves around France and its ability, or inability, to control events happening in Europe. So to start off, this episode provides the context that France finds itself in during the interwar era. And also just what the cost of winning WWI actually entailed for the nation. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Adamthwaite, Anthony Grandeur and Misery: France 1914-1940 Arnold, 1995

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today is the last episode on Italy before the Great Depression and is also our first biography episode! Benito Mussolini is remembered mostly for his ineffectualness, and is often seen as the bumbling sidekick to the much more dangerous Adolf Hitler. And while that certainly isn't exactly wrong, it also focuses on those last years when everything got away from him. His early life, presented here, shows him to be a much more complex figure, both intellectual and savage. Starting from virtually nothing, this episode covers his journey from poverty to early 1919, when he formally launched his Fascist movement. It was in these years that the personality that would decide the fate of tens of millions took shape. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Bosworth, RJB Mussolini Oxford University Press, 2002

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Once the business of taking power in Italy was completed, the Fascists began to turn inward. Mussolini starts to distance himself from the old guard Fascists, the businessmen of the country successfully defend their economic privileges in exchange for their support, and even the Catholic Church comes around. Plus I cover a grab-bag of Italy's foreign adventures in this period. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Bosworth, RJB Mussolini's Italy Penguin Group, 2005

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]