The National Histories Podcast: Recent Episodes
The National Histories Podcast
At the National Histories Podcast our objective is simple: to provide a short, light-hearted and objective history of every nation in the world.
Since independence, Sudan has been ruled by a series of unstable parliamentary governments and military regimes. Why has this, happened? Tune in to find out.
Sorry for the rubbish pun but it had to be done. This is the history of Jordan in 50 mins, what's not to like?
Owing to their remoteness, the islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable lands to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. If you wish to find out more on their fascinating history, tune in now.
Yes you read it correctly, we are foolishly tackling the history of the entire history of the territory that comprises of the USA in 50 minutes. We have prepared the email inbox for complaints, don't worry. Please enjoy.
Belize has a diverse society that is composed of many cultures and languages that reflect its rich history. It is the only Central American country where English is the official language, while Belizean Creole is the most widely spoken dialect. Do you want to find out how this happened? Of course you do! So tune in you beautiful people to the wonderful history of Belize.
From the first mummies to the 33 miners, the whole history of Chile is here for you in just 40 minutes. Tune in to find out more.
Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has contributed to its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious diversity. Tune in to find out how the area became modern day Lebanon.
From the time of the Illyrians to the present day, join us for this retelling on the history of the modern day country Montenegro.
Between the first and fifth centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to present-day Mozambique from farther north and west. Northern Mozambique lies within the monsoon trade winds of the Indian Ocean. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed there, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India.
The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992. In 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections, and has since remained a relatively stable presidential republic, although it still faces a low-intensity insurgency.
Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. It's political history is also somewhat unique and in this episode we recount the tales and stories throughout Madagascar's history.
Kyrgyzstan's history spans a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial routes. Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination, including more recently under the USSR.
Brunei is a small country, occupying a segment of the northwestern coastline of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. But despite its size today, the Brunei sultanate once dominated the whole island and even had a presence in Thailand and the Philippines. Tune in to learn about how Brunei’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed, and how it became the somewhat secretive and punitive absolute Islamic monarchy it is today.
Malta's location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British. Most of these foreign influences have left some sort of mark on the country's ancient culture and language. Tune in to find out how so many of the great Mediterranean empires and kingdoms left their mark on this rather small country.
Saudi Arabia is a totalitarian absolute monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamist lines. The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture", with its global spread largely financed by the oil and gas trade. But how did this situation occur? What happened between the formation of Islam and the formation of the modern state. These are all questions answered in today's show.
Humans have lived in Fiji since the second millennium BC—first Austronesians and later Melanesians, with some Polynesian influences. In the 17th century, Europeans, and then later on, Indians arrived. How has the country's multi ethnic population fared in this time? Find out by tuning in.
Estonia is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy; ranking very high in the Human Development Index. But how did it get here? Especially considering how it was not a country for most of it's history. In this episode, we tackle the complex history of Estonia from start to finish. Well not finish, because they're Estonian... Sorry, my jokes are better in the episode... at least I think so.
In this week’s episode we discuss Panama – a country famous for its canal, which links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Obviously, a lot of this episode will revolve around the canal given its importance to Panama’s 19th and 20th century history. However, Panama was a centre of commerce and trade well before its construction…
One of Africa's newest oil producers, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania bridges the Arab Maghreb and western sub-Saharan Africa.
The country has a long history based on who controlled the trans-saharan trade. Large empires arose, one of which even ruled over parts of Spain for a time.
The largely-desert country presents a cultural contrast, with an Arab-Berber population to the north and black Africans to the south. Many of its people are nomads.
Many around the world will never have heard of the place that has the world's oldest continuous parliament, with the possible exception of motorbike racing enthusiasts. Today we delve into the history of The Isle of Man to tell you how it became and remained a small political entity in the Irish Sea.
In part of 1 of our second (and we promise, last) two-parter, we concluded with Alexander III and his military successes in the early 19th century. By this time, Russia was a significant power in Europe and the world. However, the weaknesses of its social arrangements became increasingly exposed as that century wore on and culminated in the removal of the Tsar and eventually the establishment of a socialist state in October, 1917. Join us as we discuss the Soviet period in close detail, how it unravelled, and how Mr. Putin came to dominate Russia’s political landscape for the past 20 years.
We know we promised to never do a two-parter again, but with the history of Russia being so jampacked with curious characters and disastrous disasters, Alex just couldn’t help himself. So, join us in the first part of our history of Russia to learn all about the development of the early Russian state – from the contentious role of the Varangians in the creation of the Kievan Rus to Nicholas III’s centralisation of power, and finally to Peter I’s and Catherine II’s roles in solidifying Russia’s place as a major world power.
Most people across the world probably first heard of kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991. But as you probably know from seeing this description, there is much more to this country than that. With the same ruling family since the 17th Century, there was a lot for us to sink our teeth into.
Since 1964, the UN has overseen and administered a buffer zone in Cyprus, which cuts through the entire island and separates it into Northern (Turkish-Cypriot) and Southern (Greek-Cypriot) zones. Join us in this episode as we try to properly contextualise this situation against Cyprus’ long and rich history, which has seen periods of both Hellenistic and Turkic dominance.
Ever wondered how a small, relatively infertile part of Southeast Asia became the most skyscraper-dense part of the world? Or maybe you're the opposite, and you're wondering whether Hong Kong was always a hotspot of the 'spirit of capitalism'? In either case, tune in to learn about Hong Kong's unique trajectory to financial superstardom, as well as the problems it currently faces when it comes to the independence of its political and economic system.
Myanmar, or Burma as it was known for much of its history, is currently going through a familiar period of political and social turbulence. In short, the military enacted a coup against the democratically elected government earlier this year, which has provoked nationwide protests and a predictably harsh response by the military to those protests. But this is not the first time the military has undermined democracy or repressed the people of Myanmar. Tune in to learn about how things turned out like this.
While many pre-Colombian sites of human habitation have been identified on the islands that compose Grenada, we do not know that much about them. Thus, much of this islands’ written history begins with introduction of Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is not to say that the native Caribs do not feature prominently in this story – indeed, their struggle against European domination is symbolic of the resistances that occurred elsewhere in the region. Since then, and the intervening years of political tumult, Grenada has developed into a vibrant society with a nutmeg-driven economy. Tune in to find out more!
On today’s episode we discuss Seychelles, a nation composed of 115 islands not far off the East African coast. While these scarcely populated islands were only settled as late 1770, their history has since been anchored to the power struggles between France and Britain and includes a wide variety of goings on – from serving as a haven for French corsairs to serving as a haven (or, technically, prison) again, this time to exiles of the French and British Empires. Tune in to find out more!
Uzbekistan has always been different to the rest of Central Asia – more settled than nomadic. With settlement usually follows cities and Uzbekistan has hosted some of the most brilliant in the region such as Bukhara, which emerged as a trading centre way back in the first millennium BC and continued to acquire the esteem of its visitors well into the Middle Ages. Tune in to find out more about Bukhara and Uzbekistan’s other glamorous cities and their various inhabitants over time.
On Today’s episode we discuss Tunisia – a country which has truly been at the crossroads of empires for millennia. Indeed, ever since the Phoenicians founded the ancient city of Carthage in 900 BC, which resided just north of where Tunisia’s modern capital is located, it has remained one of the most important and contested parts of North Africa, not least for its fertile plains which have nourished the bellies of people at home and abroad. Tune in to learn more!
While Chad is sometimes called the “dead heart of Africa” for its central, landlocked location and largely desert climate, its history is very much alive. Join us as we discuss its liveliness, from the era of indigenous and Arab empires that dominated between AD 900 to 1900, to French colonialism and Chad’s tumultuous postcolonial politics under Tombalbaye, Habré and Déby.
Much of Sri Lanka’s recent history has been dominated by the conflict between the majority Sinhalese population and its Tamil minority. And of course, a lot of this episode deals with this issue and seeks to highlight its historical origins. Sri Lanka’s history, however, is much more complex and profound than just this. Tune in to learn more!
In this episode, Luke guides us through the long, complicated but infinitely fascinating history of Japan. Join us as we wade through Japan’s many distinct periods, beginning with the first identifiable Neolithic culture, the Jōmon, through to the regions Sinification under the Kofun, and to the eventual rise and fall of the Samurai (and many more, of course).
Today, Monaco is one of the richest countries in the world. Even if we look back to Medieval times, we find that its inhabitants have always done pretty well. Monaco’s historical trajectory, however, is not a simple story of steadily accumulating wealth. There have been, to borrow a cliché, plenty of bumps in the road. Join us in exploring those bumps and everything else in between!
On our first episode of 2021, we return to the wonderful continent of Africa to discuss Botswana. Today, Botswana is one of Southern Africa’s most prosperous, peaceful and politically sophisticated nations. Tune in to learn about how this cattle-herding country of old has evolved into what it is today.
Of all the countries we will cover in this series (which is all of them), China’s history is perhaps the most jampacked. As we are sure you can understand, this makes telling its history in under an hour (or just over) quite the task. However, we think Luke did a pretty good job guiding you through China’s various periods of wholeness and fracture.
This small country in the centre of Balkans is steeped in an intriguing, complicated and at times traumatic history. Much of this has to do with its ethnic composition, which has ebbed and flowed between Serb and Albanian dominance through time. The balance between these two groups has not always led to acrimony, but in recent times it has tipped into disaster. In this episode we explore the historical reasons behind how this came to pass.
“We are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns”. First uttered some time in the early 19th century, this affirmation of Finnish national identity provides a rather snappy insight into Finnish history and its timeline. As you might have guessed, Sweden and Russia have played significant parts at different points. But, no matter how hard they tried, the local culture of the Finns and its various indigenous groups could never quite be tempered. Tune in to find out more.
All Central Asian countries have one thing in common – their history is complicated. But with complications comes great intrigue, and Azerbaijan is the perfect example of this fact. It has been predominantly Pagan, Zoroastrian, Christian and Muslim at different points in time, and it has been conquered and ruled over by many an empire from both West and East. Its borders have also been in a constant state of flux, which, when we look to the present, continues to cause problems for the stability of the Caucasus region. Tune in to find out more.
Ahh Liechtenstein. This small principality in central Europe has led an interesting existence... it was once dominated by ancient Alpine tribes such as the Helvetians before being integrated into the Roman province of Raetia under Tiberius. The Germanic Alemanni took control of it a bit later, then the Franks had their turn, and thereafter it remained a dominion of the Holy Roman Empire until well after it was purchased by the Liechtenstein dynasty in 1699. But, as the title implies, they didn't take much of an interest in the territory at first... tune in to find out more!
Ah, Bermuda. Small, sunny yet frequently stormy – this small ensemble of islands has done quite a lot in its 700-year history. Despite the uphill battle posed by its limited resources, the early colonists of Bermuda quickly made a success of it; first by specialising in tobacco, then shipbuilding, salt, and international finance later on. Tune in to find out more about how this small agglomeration of islands tells a rather big story.
Bolivia is a very high country both in the geological and cultural sense. Culturally, the area we now know as Bolivia has housed some extraordinary civilisations including the Tiwanaku and, for a relatively short time, the Incas. However, Bolivia has also had some lows, which have either been the consequence of foreign inquest or the inability of Bolivian (and other South American) elites to not fight each other, or indeed to do democracy properly. Tune in to find out more!
Tanzania has been inhabited by humans and our hominid ancestors for a very long time. And in that time, it has managed to house various ethnicities and cultures with relative stability. This was especially true under the premiership of Julius Nyerere whose political and ideological experiments took Tanzania down a rather different path compared to its East African neighbours. Tune in to find out more!
Haiti is, as the title of this episode suggests, the country where one of the only examples of a successful slave revolt in history occurred. Since then, it has struggled to deal with the legacy of colonialism, with insufficient funds to develop new industries and seemingly continuous natural disasters.
Emerging from several medieval kingdoms, Ghana made it's historical wealth from trading gold across the Sahara. Soon it would become known as the Gold Coast and a colony of the British. It was the first colony in Africa to be granted independence and after a difficult post-independence period, Ghana looks to have a bright future ahead of it.
Liberia is probably one of the most unique states in Africa considering who founded it. Despite this, unfortunately for the indigenous Liberians, this didn't really change anything in terms of rights and exploitation. Tune in to find out more.
A country that has been in a state of warfare for much of the past 50 years. Why is it still at war? Why is peace so hard to achieve? Listen to find out how the answers to these questions and how Afghanistan earned the name: "the graveyard of empires".
A nation that is sometimes dwarfed on the international stage by its loud neighbour, Canada has still managed to play a huge role in modern history. Tune in to find out more.
Sharing the Southern portion of South America with its neighbour Chile, Argentina rose and fell from international prominence. From what looked like a comparatively good socio-economic position in the early 20th century, it only took several military coups and state nationalisations to ruin a nation. Find out how and why this happened by listening now.
Mexico is one of the few places in the Americas where we have a good grasp of what society was like before the Europeans came along and ruined it. In this episode we talk of everything pre-Columbian with a special focus on the Maya and the Aztecs. Following this we discuss the Spanish colonial era and independence. We finish by discussing the devastating war on drugs and extrajudicial killings that have harmed Mexico's development in the 21st century.
Malaysia is a South-East Asian country with a rich in a diversity of useful natural resources. Historically, the country's geographic position as the quickest trade route between China and the West means that it gained wealth from this too. However, European colonialism brought about a very different trajectory for this nation.
We are potentially witnessing a turning point in the history of Belarus. At the time of recording, Belarus has just had another contested election. Unsurprisingly, Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets asking for him to go. How did it come to this? Why does Belarus exist in the first place? If you wish to put current events in their historical context, tune in to find out more.
Bhutan is a lesser known, highly religious country in the Himalayas region. The first half of the episode is packed full of mystic and religious figures with amazing stories. A country that followed a path of isolation from the world until the 1950s, the second half of the episode follows the nation through its comparatively late ingratiation into the world of community whilst also managing to maintain and promote its national identity.
Yemen has a tumultuous past. There is no clearer manifestation of this than the war that continues to rage there today. However, Yemen was once the home to some of the most grand, culturally rich and prosperous kingdoms in all ancient Arabia. In fact, it remained so well into the later Middle Ages. So the question beggars: why is it that Yemen's fortunes have dipped so horribly? Tune in to learn about - at least some - of the answers.
This is the second and final episode on the history of Turkey. This episode picks up at the rise of the Ottomans and takes us all the way to the present day. It is not all politics and dynastic struggles in this episode and we make sure that we cover the cultural diversity present throughout the Ottoman Empire's history and the factors for its collapse.
Turkey has had a huge portion of the world's empires run through all or part of its modern day territory. This episode attempts to discuss most of them in chronological order from when humans were first in Turkey to the beginning of the Ottoman empire. As you will soon learn, there is a lot to discuss so this will be part one of a two part series on the history of Turkey.
The Federated States of Micronesia are a relatively young nation made up of four Island regions. Until those pesky Europeans got involved, the islands were politically distinct. Each Island has its own story to tell, and in the case of one Island in particular, there is a nice demonstration of the value of money and currency, which is sure to excite anyone with a vague interest in economics. Tune in to hear about the wonderful stories this nation has to tell.
Suriname is probably a country most people know little about despite its rich and exciting history. It has been home to many people groups throughout its history and this is reflected in its incredibly diverse modern population. Unfortunately for the people of Suriname, it has had tumultuous post-independence politics, with military coups and the country facing near bankruptcy several times. Tune in to find out how this all happened.
Mongolia is a nation that many only associate with its short lived empire. However, beyond the great Khan, Mongolia has a rich history. What came before Genghis? What caused the empire’s collapse? How did Mongolia maintain its independence in the 20th Century? All questions that we look to answer in this episode.
Equatorial Guinea's challenging environment has made human settlement and population expansion difficult, but not impossible. However, this does not mean it was free from colonial meddling and it is this meddling that is still present even to the modern day. It is an exciting and tragic story filled with coups, witchcraft, court intrigue, and oil. Tune in to find out more.
Today we discuss one of the most remote countries in the world. Iceland's history is characterised by its people's battle with its arctic conditions and geological power, with often tragic endings. In this episode we uncover how a relatively poor country facing immense challenges to survive, managed to turn into a forward thinking and prosperous nation.
Australia is known for many things like its kangaroos, BBQs, didgeridoos, boomerangs and beer brands they do not actually drink. However, most people outside of the country probably don't know much about the rich impact that this country has had on the world and human history.
Throughout its history, Costa Rica has been caught in a crossroads of culture and empire but somehow they have always managed to do things a little differently from their neighbours. We don't normally do self-help guides because we are not the type of guys that you should take advice from but against our better judgement, we also let you know how to insert just a little more pure life into your life. Image by José María Figueroa Oreamuno (1820-1900)