The Black Ships
In 1853, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry from the United States of America forced Japan to become open to foreign trade. How did he succeed where so many others had failed? Support the show My late...
23 Touko 202423min
Pillars of Resistance
Throughout the 1840s, various groups sought to find solutions to repeated violations of sakoku and questioned the ability of the shogunate to practically defend the country if there was an actual inva...
20 Touko 202424min
The Joseon Renaissance
Throughout the 1700s, after a series of political purges and national instability, the Joseon kingdom experienced a cultural flowering. Support the show My latest novel, "Califia's Crusade," is now a...
16 Touko 202424min
When Empires Collide
As the Qing Dynasty continued to decline in the wake of mass rebellions and longstanding insurgencies, a conflict with the British East India Trade Company would evolve into the disastrous Opium Wars....
13 Touko 202433min
The Golden Age of the Qing Dynasty
The reigns of Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong represented a time of increasing expansion, stabilizing, and solidifying for China in the 1700s. However, some of the tendencies of the Qing Dyna...
9 Touko 202429min
Kinjiru
The Sakoku isolation policies were meant to keep the Japanese government insulated from dangerous foreign influence. However, its tendency toward restriction and xenophobia could not be easily balance...
6 Touko 202426min
Let the Good Times Roll
After the expulsion of Matsudaira Sadanobu, the shogun was free to pursue the lavish lifestyle he had always dreamed of. Thanks to a buoyant economy, the rest of the nation joined him in conspicuous c...
2 Touko 202424min
The Kansei Reforms
Newly anointed chief of the roju Matsudaira Sadanobu wanted to set Japan back on course after the devastating Great Tenmei Famine. However, some of his more restrictive policies would prove unpopular....
29 Huhti 202425min
