In part 1 of the story Napoleon III persuaded Maximilian and Carlotta to accept the Mexican crown and become emperor and empress of that country. They are greeted with jubilation in Mexico City but there is trouble to come. Edward Shawcross tells the story brilliantly.

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Karl Marx called it 'one of the most monstrous enterprises in the annals of international history'. This seems unfair to the young Hapsburg royals who travel to Mexico in 1864 to become its emperor and empress. Highly liberal by the standards of the day and with the best of intentions they will face a terrible struggle to rule and (ultimately) to try to survive.

Edward Shawcross has written one of the best books I have read in years. It is simply a fantastic page turner. And Edward is also a hugely entertaining speaker as you will find out as you listen to the podcast. 

This episode is part 1 and takes us up to the point the young couple arrive in Mexico. Enjoy!

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In the Dutch Republic of the 1630's trading in tulips went mad with bulbs and even parts of a bulb changing hands for astronomical prices. Historian Mike Dash traces the extraordinary story from its beginnings centuries before up to and beyond the inevitable crash. I can't recommend Mike and his books enough. Hard core history and a fantastically accessible reading style. His book Tulipomania is an absolute pleasure.

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James Howard - Johnston returns to talk about the astonishing upending of the world order that happened just a few years after the death of Muhammad. The Persian empire destroyed and the Roman Empire reduced to a Byzantine rump. It is a long episode and slightly scholarly but I honestly don't think you can understand the world we live in today without some understanding of these extraordinary times. So have at it!

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Paul Lockhart is brilliant on the history of guns (and firepower more widely). He is interested not just in the weapons themselves but how they changed the nature of the nation state itself.  Once gunpowder is introduced everything changes. Warfare increasingly becomes something only a powerful state can really afford and a Darwinian competition starts to unfold from the 1500's onwards. Listening to him a lot of developments in history began to make so much more sense to me.

His book Firepower is incredibly readable. It just gallops along. Highly, highly recommended. 

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Ed Watts is one of the most engaging writers and speakers on Roman history I have talked to. In this podcast we talk about the fall of the Republic  - why and how it happened and who was most to blame. The podcast picks up the themes of his excellent book Mortal Republic which is highly, highly recommended.

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In October 1950 the Americans are racing to the Yalu river, trying to bring the war in Korea to a decisive close. Unknown to them a huge Chinese army has been sent to oppose them and the forces meet at the Chosin Reservoir.  Both sides have to fight not only each other but the appalling cold as the Chinese try to surround and annihilate the Americans.

Hampton Sides' book On Desperate Ground is an absolutely gripping account of the battle and I'm unsurprised to see it has 5 stars on Amazon. In today's podcast he talks about some of the key moments. 

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 Everyone has heard of the Silk Road but this is The Silver Way. It is the story of the Manilla galleons, massive ships that sailed annually for 250 years from 1565 to 1815. Silver from Spanish South America in exchange for Chinese goods with the exchange taking place in Manilla in the Philippines. It was the first true globalisation linking the economies of China and Europe.  Our discussion ranges far and wide - history, economics, memory, currencies, sea battles and plenty more.

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The story of the siege of Constantinople in 1453 is a rich one. Roger Crowley tells the story absolutely brilliantly here. So many fascinating (and at times heartbreaking) stories within the bigger story. A city with an unbroken history of over a thousand years faces its deadliest enemy.

And don't miss Roger's book on the subject. Narrative history at its finest.

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In the year 617 the Roman Empire stands on the brink of extinction. In the West the empire is long gone. And now the Persians have conquered much of what is left and have arrived outside Constantinople where the emperor Heraclius is reduced to begging to be allowed to keep his throne. The Persians turn down the deal, the war continues and Heraclius leads a desperate counter attack. James Howard-Johnston told the story brilliantly in his book The Last Great War of Antiquity. For non specialists it is a little known episode but the war, which lasted for some 25 years, was  an existential crisis and a forerunner of the struggles with Islam that began only a few years later. It was a great pleasure to welcome James to the podcast.

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