Relevant History

The War of the Austrian Succession marks the beginning of the transition from dynastic politics to a more modern sense of nationalism. At the time, though, it merely seems like a calamity. What begins as a personal land grab by the young Prussian Kin...

At the mid-point of the first season, Dan takes a breather to recap what we’ve learned, and discuss nationalism more broadly. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spot...

Following Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan, the floodgates to foreign trade are open. British, French, and even Russian merchants come to Japan, introducing foreign ways of life. Rebellious daimyos, worried about losing their way of life...

In the year 1853, Japan is an isolationist, feudal society. By 1877, she’s a modern nation, with a centralized government and burgeoning national industry. This process, called the Meiji Restoration, is one of the most remarkable national transformat...

After the founding of Russia’s Romanov Dynasty, the settlement of Siberia is ready to begin in earnest. Intrepid explorers push east across Asia, eventually coming into contact with the Chinese Qing Dynasty. There, Russia’s land borders will be estab...

In a rare twist, Dan dives into current events, evaluating the Russian invasion of Ukraine from a historical perspective. In the epic showdown between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will come out victorious? Here’s the situation on the g...

Siberia is the world’s largest wilderness and last frontier. The Russian conquest this vast territory begins in the 1500s, but will take more than a century to complete. By the end of Russian expansion, the Tsar rules not just all of Siberia, but als...

The Iroquois people, properly known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, are one of the largest and most influential of Native American groups. So, who are these people? What were they doing before European colonization, and how did this affect their so...

In the ending days of the Thirty Years’ War, both sides struggle desperately for any advantage. Under First Minister Cardinal Mazarin, France is fighting a war on three fronts. But military heroes like the Prince de Condé give her an advantage over t...

France’s entry into the Thirty Years’ War did not happen in a vacuum; decades of political sparring and power politics led to that point. To fully understand why and how France got into the war, it’s important to see France through the eyes of Louis ...