The new envoy from London arrives at Qing's doorstep in August 1842 with a simple mandate: stop allowing Britain to be "humbugged" & finish the war Elliot started. What follows is the British Empire at its most efficient & brutal... and a treaty that, somehow, doesn't mention opium once...Time Period Covered:Aug. 1841–Aug. 1842
Major Historical Figures:The ... Show More
Mar 2026
#323 - Opium War 8: Perfect Equality
The war is over. The treaty is signed, sealed, & delivered. Yet though the smoke has cleared, the haze of uncertainty over what - exactly - just happened... lingers on. And that misunderstanding will echo for the next century. While Qiying writes love letters to Pottinger and the ... Show More
43m 45s
Apr 2026
#324 - Taiping 1: The Second Son of God
Even in the fallout of the Opium War, dreams endure—but what happens to a dream deferred? In Canton, one young man’s starry-eyed visions of success run headlong into the brutal wall of the Imperial Examination system. And when that dream finally shatters, it neither dries up, nor ... Show More
39m 15s
Feb 2020
10. China's Han Dynasty - The First Empire in Flames
A city in ruins. A dynasty in tatters. An empire in ashes...This episode, we look at the remarkable story of the first empire of ancient China, the Han dynasty. With ancient Chinese poetry, songs and folk music, we look back at the first empire's rise, its remarkable technologica ... Show More
2h 53m