Afghanistan has been called the “graveyard of empires”. This week we look far back into the origins of this concept and make it as far as the beginning of the 1st Anglo-Afghan war in the first half of the 19th century. Remember: it’s easy to get into Afghanistan, but not so easy to get out.
Show notes and links:

* Shooting Austro-Hungarian Arms | WeaponsMan (weaponsman.com)
* The Quiet Gun 1957 Western Movie Forrest Tucker, Jim Davis, Lee Van Cleef  (youtu.be)
* Gun the Man Down | (trailersfromhell.com)
* Afghanistan: the Great Game, review (telegraph.co.uk)
* East India Company 
* Henri-Joseph Paixhans
* Alexander Burnes
* First Anglo-Afghan War
* Bad Cat Store at Zazzle (Zazzle.com)


The History Files #63: Afghanistan pt. 1

A weekly podcast hosted featuring Gordon Frye and various guests discussing history in the news, media, literature, politics, and everywhere else.

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We’re back… and we brought pirates! Actually, that’s probably not such a great idea, what with all the stealing and pillaging and slow-matches in the beard and buckets of burning sulphur. Of course that’s only if we brought Edward Teach, but you get the idea. This episode was recorded live in front of a very groggy audience on a Sunday morning at the Brass Screw Confederacy Steampunk festival in Pt. Townsend, Washington on June 11, 2017. We had a great time revelling in all the pirate stuff and hope you enjoy our little presentation.
Show notes and links:

* On Stranger Tides , by Tim Powers (amazon.com)
* A General History of the Pyrates (wikipedia.org)
* The Seafarers, Time-Life: The Pirates (amazon.com)
* Movieing On #233: Yellowbeard (csicon.fm)
* The Sea Dogs (infogalactic.com)
* Barbarossa Brothers, Barbary Pirates: Pirate’s Realm (thepiratesrealm.com)
* Old Ironsides (1926) (amazon.com)
* Jean Lafitte (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #90: Pirates

In part 2 of our series on World War 1, we take some time to talk about how the various Allied Countries armed up in the first months of the conflict, and how the United States basically became the “Arsenal of Democracy” long before WW2.
Show notes and links:

* “The Son” (2017) (imdb.com)
* The Persuaders! (TV Series 1971–1972) (imdb.com) The odd little action TV show with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis that we couldn’t remember the name of.
* Arsenal of Democracy (infogalactic.com)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #1: Colt New Service (csicon.fm)
* M1911 pistol (infogalactic.com)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #3: M1911 (csicon.fm)
* Lewis gun (infogalactic.com)
* M1895 Colt (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #89: World War 1 – Part 2

Not all of our topics are hopeful or uplifting. Discussions of wars and man’s inhumanity to man are part of the study of history. In this episode we talk about a controversial chapter in world history, the Armenian Genocide, that overlaps WW1, but that we felt should be discussed separately.
Show notes and links:

* Movieing On #236: The Thing From Another World (csicon.fm)
* House of Rejoicing: Part 1 of The Book of Coming Forth by Day (amazon.com)
* Armenian Genocide (infogalactic.com)
* Fresno (TV Mini-Series 1986– ) (imdb.com)
* The Promise (2016) – IMDb (imdb.com)
* The Promise (reelviews.net)


The History Files #87: The Armenian Genocide

As we continue into the 100 year anniversary of the Great War, eventually known as World War 1, we thought it appropriate to begin a series discussing this turning point in history. In this episode we talk about the events leading up to the war.
 
Show notes and links:

* Bleak House (TV Mini-Series 2005– ) (imdb.com)
* 124-Year-Old Never-Worn Levi’s Found in Arizona Cedar Chest (foxbusiness.com)
* The Influence of Sea Power on History, Alfred Thayer Mahan (gutenberg.org)
* RMS Lusitania (infogalactic.com)
* The History Files #17: U.S. in Mexico, 1914 (csicon.fm)
* The History Files #47: Pancho Villa (csicon.fm)
* National Guard of the United States (infogalactic.com)
* Zimmermann Telegram  (infogalactic.com)
* William Jennings Bryan (infogalactic.com)
* John J. Pershing (infogalactic.com)


The History Files #86: World War 1 – Part 1

While there are no records of large-scale wars or even battles in the Puget Sound area, there have been a few skirmishes over the years. Many people have heard of the Pig War (see HF ep. 53) , but fewer know of the Battle of… Port Gamble. It’s a case of truth being stranger than fiction, with the US Navy coming to the defense of the S’Klallam Indians of present day Little Boston, and we’re here to tell you all about it.
Show notes and links:

* Norwood Cove Object (mdihistory.org)
* Gordon’s Gun Closet #18: Indiana Jones (csicon.fm)
* Battle of Port Gamble  (infogalactic.com)
* Battle of Port Gamble (youtube.com)
* In the Land of the Headhunter (vimeo.com)


The History Files #63: Afghanistan pt. 1

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