logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
49m 56s

164. How the West was Won: The Truth Beh...

Goalhanger
About this episode

A whole genre of movies is based on a relatively short period of nineteenth-century American history. But what is the real story behind battles between Native Americans and white settlers during westward expansion? In the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, settlers flooded to the newly acquired territory and before long, violence was commonplace. Images of battles fought on horseback continue to shape our popular understanding, yet have often overshadowed the cultures and lives that were decimated during this period. Listen as Anita and William are joined by Karl Jacoby to discuss the interactions between Native Americans, settlers, and the US army in the latter half of the nineteenth century.


Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com

Goalhangerpodcasts.com

Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 20
283. Partition: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh (Part 6)
How did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan in 1971? When did India and Pakistan go from sharing intelligence to being at the brink of nuclear war? Why did George Harrison from the Beatles organise a concert for Bangladesh? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple, ... Show More
54m 53s
Aug 18
282. Partition: The Birth of The Kashmir Conflict (Part 5)
What happened to the 565 princely states within British India when it became independent from the empire? How are the current conflicts in Balochistan and Kashmir linked to the partition of the princely states? Why have copies of the Lonely Planet been burnt because of their maps ... Show More
49m 56s
Aug 13
281. Partition: Why Was India Split In Two? (Part 4)
Why was the Partition of India and Pakistan so rushed in 1947? How did Partition divide everything from stationery to army boots in a matter of weeks? And how do South Asians today grapple with the memory of the largest forced migration in history? William and Anita are joined on ... Show More
54m 11s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
447. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: The Winning of the West (Part 2)
With the American Civil War coming to a close in April 1865, George Custer, cavalry commander in the Union army, and a man of dubious political leanings for a unionist officer, was sent to Texas. Reckless, daring and bloodthirsty, the conclusion of the war came as a disappointmen ... Show More
1h 8m
Jan 2024
The Apache Wars
What were the Apache Wars? How did they begin? And how did the end of the Mexican-American War impact the indigenous people of that region? In the 19th century, U.S. forces and Apache groups in areas that are now parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas fought a series of conflict ... Show More
32m 41s
May 2023
Native Americans: a new history
For too long, argues Professor Ned Blackhawk, Indigenous people have been marginalised or viewed merely as passive participants in the history of the United States. Speaking to Matt Elton, Ned discusses the central role that Indigenous people have played across centuries of the n ... Show More
49m 22s
Apr 2023
How Horses Conquered America (Twice)
Horses have been a bulwark of American culture and society for centuries. Think of cowboys in the Mid-West or Native Americans riding bareback on the Great Plains. But new, ground-breaking archeological evidence has emerged to suggest horses were present in the Americas more than ... Show More
25m 18s
May 2024
446. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: Civil War (Part 1)
“Come on, you Wolverines!”The story of the American Indian Wars of 1862-68 is an enthralling tale of hubris, politics, recklessness, and the merciless assault of industrialisation and modernity on an old world, nearly extinguished. An immense tragedy, it is also a story of great ... Show More
1 h
Jan 2024
91. La guerre de sécession
En 1861, les États-Unis sont déchirés par la guerre de Sécession. Ce conflit fratricide, qui oppose le Nord abolitionniste au Sud esclavagiste, va durer quatre ans et laisser 620000 morts.Dans cet épisode, nous plongeons au cœur de ce conflit qui a changé à jamais l'histoire des ... Show More
19m 19s
May 2024
448. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: Horse-Lords of the Plains (Part 3)
Of all the great characters entangled in the story of George A. Custer and the American Indian Wars, few are as captivating as Crazy Horse. A mighty warrior of the Lakota Sioux, and a tremendous military tactician, he was a charismatic but enigmatic figure. The Sioux, of which th ... Show More
51m 28s
May 2024
454. Fall of the Sioux: Death of Crazy Horse (Part 1)
Though the Battle of the Little Bighorn seemed for the triumphant Lakota and their allies - the largest gathering of Plains Indians ever assembled - a miraculous victory, it was for them the beginning of the end. A great council was held near the battlefield in which they made th ... Show More
54m 59s
May 2023
2. Story of England: Medieval Invaders
Great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, bloodshed at the battle of Hastings, Bubonic Plague and Roland the celebrity flatulist. As dawn breaks, Dan walks the beach at Pevensey where William the Conqueror and his Norman Invaders landed in 1066, but not before getting a quick lesson from Medie ... Show More
59m 51s
Aug 2023
Indian experiences in WW2
Around 2.5 million Indian soldiers fought in the Second World War. Behind this staggering number lies a complex web of emotional experiences – and Diya Gupta unpicks that tangled web in her new book, India in the Second World War: An Emotional History. Diya speaks to Ellie Cawtho ... Show More
33m 30s