Radio War Nerd EP #224 — Peak & Fall of Maratha Empire + Annibale on Italy Pandemic, Pt. 3
Recorded: March 30, 2020
Intro: The War Nerd & Ames compare west coast vs. east coast airbnb misery in mid-pandemic...
At 12:30 - Annibale joins us from northern Italy for his 3rd installment from the deadliest pandemic zone in the world. The news is not good—deaths vastly underreported based on total mortality reports, still many unknowns, although the rate of infection is finally slowing some...
At 51:00 - We're joined by The Fakir for part 2 of the incredible story of the Maratha Empire. In Part 1 (EP #220) we learned about the early rise of the Maratha Empire up through the mid-late 17th century, and some of the amazing characters led by Shivaji. In this installment, the the Maratha nation nearly vanishes in the early-18th century, then rapidly expands and conquers nearly all of India proper, before slowly deteriorating in a series of civil wars and wars with the ascendant British Empire...
Maps & Illustrations:
*Peak Mughal Empire, 1707
*Aurangzeb's ruinous whack-a-mole campaign in Maratha heartland, early 1700s
*Peak Maratha Empire, 1760
*Maratha Empire (and British expansion), 1795
*Maratha Empire in decline, 1805
*Bajirao
*Tarabai, leader of Maratha resistance, early 1700s
*Gingee Fort
*Swivel cannon (zamburak)
Listen to Part I of the Maratha Empire with "The Fakir": RWN EP #220.
Follow Annibale on Twitter. Listen to Annibale's popular RWN series: Coronavirus in Italy (#222, #223); Venetian Empire (#207, #208, #209, #214); The Hundred Years War (#175, #176, #177, #180, #182, #183); Italy's Years Of Lead (#134, #135, #136, #139); Italian Resistance in WW2 (#131).
Total time: 3:11:33
Comments (13)
Great series with the Fakhir! Really enjoyed it.
Outstanding presentation by the Fakir! Need moar!
I'm a bit late to catching up on the backlog but I really think all the Annibale stuff should be public reposts every time he's on. His information is priceless.
Too bad Mark is upstate during the end of the world. He's right by Oriskany, Stanwix, the old raiding paths of Joseph Brant and Palmyra where Mormonism was founded (I went once and it was delightfully weird)!
It's really cool to do a Google Street View through the Gingee Fort - you can start here at the Crossroads and go 4 different ways. I found the Venkatramana Temple to be really interesting: https://goo.gl/maps/1HP9WRywWqEZeZTy7
Extra points if you find the old cannon
The economic consequences of COVID-19 are one thing, but what about the political consequences? Like the sick and morbid social experiment going on across the so-called global south, where countries which are in absolutely no shape for a lockdown are being locked down by their respective governments. After all, SE-Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Latin America combined does make up a majority of the world’s population, so it seems like a topic worth discussing.
To the point of why it is not a very good idea to lock down a city like Nairobi, and how colonial era health policies helped shape segregation (racial segregation and class segregation). Still, I'd say the conclusion is a bit optimistic. https://www.theelephant.info/features/2020/03/23/why-colonial-era-edicts-will-not-defeat-the-coronavirus-in-kenya/
Another excellent appearance from the Fakhir! Hope to see him back on at some point.
We do too!
Welcome to Mass, Mark. I have been a fan and reader since the Exile. Sanity and social distancing appear to be a lot better here in Boston, but it's probably a bit late for that now. Hang in there, guys.
Thanks, stay safe!
Regarding Italians following the rules, in his book Italian Ways Tim Parks recounts that he was once on a train from Milan to his home in Verona and he got into conversation with a passenger without a ticket. She told him not to worry in case of an inspection. He asked her why not worry and she replied that they (the railway authorities) were not serious about it. However, those on the bus were serious (they would stop the bus and not let anyone off until all the passengers were checked) and it was a big deal to get caught without a ticket.