184. The Buddhist Merlin
9 September - 35 minsWhile in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers - Vajrabodhi - was enshrining himself as the Merlin of first India, and then China. Undeniably one of the most extraordinary characters of the 8th century, Vajrabodhi would play a crucial role in transporting Buddhism to the Chinese court, along with Indian scholarship. After being sent there on an important embassy by his cousin, a mighty Pallava king of Southern India, Vajrabodhi embarked upon a colourful odyssey to rival those of antiquity, meeting, as he went, a young boy who would later become his loyal companion and a powerful sorcerer in his own right; Amoghavajra. Toget...
201. The Raj at War
For many years, commemorations of the two World Wars excluded the memorialisation of soldiers from the British Empire. But campaigners have gradually turned the spotlight on their experiences. In the First and Second World War, approximately 3.8 million soldiers from the Indian subcontinent served in the British Army. Indian and British troops often formed friendships that lasted beyond the wars, bonded in their camaraderie and bravery. Yet there was a ceiling for Indian soldiers, they would never go on to receive top jobs or become commanders. And despite camaraderie on the front, the top generals saw Indians as lesser. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, the British were given the order to “cut loose your Indians and your mules”. This horrified leaders in Delhi and despite Nehru’s passionate antifascism, the Congress began small acts of civil disobedience in protest of India being placed in a war that it didn’t sign up to. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Yasmin Khan to discuss the Raj at War, and how World War Two became a catalyst for the end of British rule in India… 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
40 mins
7 November Finished
200. The East India Company’s Global Manhunt
After robbing the fleet in a brutal, barbaric fashion, Henry Avery caused a diplomatic incident of global proportions. The Mughals were furious and the East India Company, which at this very moment was trying to make inroads into India, had to go into overdrive to prove that he was not part of the company. As a result, they undertook one of the greatest manhunts ever to try to catch Avery. It crossed the world, going to the Caribbean and eventually to the British Isles, but will they find him? Listen to William and Anita to find out… To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
46 mins
5 November Finished
199. Robbing the World’s Wealthiest Dynasty
One of the most notable pirates of his day, Henry Avery would go on to make potentially the most lucrative heist ever on the high seas. Originally a navy man, Avery then took the well-trodden path of starting out as a privateer and turning to piracy. Via a mutiny he soon found himself in the Indian Ocean looking to take the biggest prizes - Mughal ships - and in August 1695 the greatest appeared before him. The ships of Aurangzeb himself were heading for the Red Sea, so Avery hoisted his sail and went after them. Listen as William and Anita discuss one of the most infamous pirates of the age and his attempts to rob the Mughals. To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
42 mins
31 October Finished
198. The Pirate Trial of the Century
William Kidd, a respectable Scottish privateer during the late 17th century, tasked with hunting down pirates on the orders of a murky cabal of British aristocrats, but with the crown’s blessing, finds himself and his crew frustrated by the absence of pirates in the waters off Madagascar during October 1696. With mutiny brewing on his ship The Adventure, Kidd - ever mercurial in his willingness to abandon the law - brutally killed one of his crew with a bucket, before attacking an apparently French Trading vessel captained by an Englishman - illegally. From that point onwards Kidd went rogue, attacking vessels hither and thither, drubbing and torturing as he went, or so the stories say… So, was Kidd really a devious, thieving pirate, whose innocence was but a calculated ruse, or a truly blameless man, caught up in powers and intrigues above his head, and pushed to the brink by a traitorous mutiny? Join William and Anita as they discuss William Kidd’s burgeoning pirating career and his turn to the dark side: his spate of violent pillaging, his time on the run from the British government and the famous treasure hoards he buried along the way; culminating in the most famous trial of the century, and a gibbet on Execution Dock…. To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
42 mins
29 October Finished
197. The Pirate Hunter
Alongside legends like Blackbeard and Calico Jack, William Kidd is one of the most famous pirates to have entered the public consciousness, thanks to Hollywood, sea shanties and literary mythologization. A Scottish sailor and privateer living during the late 17th century, Kidd went from a life of prosperous respectability and high society on Wall Street; hunting down pirates and protecting the trade of the British Empire, to a life spent on the run, pillaging ships as he went. But what was the process by which Kidd turned to the dark side? And was it against his will? His fate changed in 1695 when a murky syndicate of aristocrats commissioned Kidd - with the authorisation of the government - to hunt down pirates and Frenchmen in the Indian Ocean, and protect the trade there. From that point onwards Kidd’s law-abiding life of respectability would spiral out of control… Join William and Anita as they discuss the thrilling and tumultuous early career of the elusive William Kidd: his conversion from family man to pirate, his alleged visits to the famous Pirate utopia in Madagascar, and the acts of violence that would change his life forever… Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
43 mins
23 October Finished
196. Blackbeard’s Reign of Terror
“At our first salutation he drank damnation to me and my men who styled cowardly puppies saying he would neither give nor take quarter…” By the end of November 1717 Blackbeard had become one of the most feared pirates of his age. Having declared war upon the British empire in revenge for his imprisoned brethren in Boston, he reigned down violence and destruction upon the eastern seaboard of North America, disrupting trade and causing havoc. By 1718 he had a devastating fleet of some six ships, helmed by his own flagship and one of the most famous pirate vessels of all time: the Queen Anne’s Revenge, a former French slaver. Finally, after blockading Charleston in exchange for a mere box of medicine, the British navy decided to take decisive action and hunt Blackbeard down. The man they sent for the job was Lieutenant Robert Maynard, who finally found his terrifying foe anchored on an island off North Carolina. Taking Blackbeard’s pirates by surprise, a bloody battle ensued that would see a legendary pirate duel to the death… Join William and Anita as they discuss Blackbeard’s terrifying reign of fear, the climax of his cataclysmic career, his downfall, and the astounding duel that would seal his bloody fate… To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition To buy David's book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Suppressing-Piracy-Early-Eighteenth-Century-ebook/dp/B0917NM46Y/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
42 mins
21 October Finished