Medical miseries of the Napoleonic Wars (w/Martin Howard)
Alex Stevenson sits down with Martin Howard, author of the newly published 'The Napoleonic Wars: A Medical History' (March 2025). Together, they dive into the real and often overlooked medical realities of the Napoleonic Wars.The discussion explores how disease, especially yellow fever and malaria, decimated armies in places like the Caribbean, frequently eclipsing battlefield casualties. Martin Howard explains the psychological, social, and strategic impact of mass disease, highlighting how military leaders and soldiers navigated the ever-present threat of death and illness during this era. The episode also delves into medical advancements, the organization of military healthcare, and personal anecdotes that bring the human cost—and resilience—of the period into sharper focus.Help us produce more episodes by supporting the Napoleonic Quarterly on Patreon: patreon.com/napoleonicquarterly
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Production update: June 2025
Here's a brief update on the state of the podcast. The main points:- The podcast is temporarily slowing down its pace. There will now be a main episode, three bonus episodes and three Patreon bonuses every 42 days, rather than every calendar month; published alternating weekends / midweek, ie an episode every 10/11 days rather than every 7.- A new super-bargain priced tier is being introduced on Patreon so those who feel short-changed have the option of downgrading. It also offers incredibly good value to those who might want to join our community of Quartermasters...
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Napoleonic Qs #5: Bonapartist ghosts, British baddies, French brinkmanship
Josh Provan is joined by Charles Esdaile and Alex Mikaberidze, with Alex Stevenson and Clemens Bemmann along for the ride, to discuss all things politico-diplomatic in this Q&A episode. Including: 02:30: British dirty tricks (Warning: Grumpy Charles alert)24:00: French brinkmanship32:00: Poland's prospects36:32: Napoleonic ghost storiesLink: Napoleon's little red man41:00: Listener feedback
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A lost 2013 interview: David Andress on beating Napoleon
Seven years before the Napoleonic Quarterly got going properly, a single interview was recorded in 2013 - in the Palace of Westminster, of all places. A young Alex Stevenson, then a lobby journalist, spoke to Professor David Andress of the University of Portsmouth about his new book, 'The Savage Storm - Britain on the brink in the age of Napoleon' (it was subsequently retitled 'Beating Napoleon' - for obvious Bonaparte-googling reasons). David kindly returned to the podcast once it hit its stride in 2020, but it's a great pleasure to finally get around to releasing this outlier. Twelve years might be some sort of record...Quartermasters - keep a look out on Patreon for more from this interview from David, where he discusses the situation in the first half of 1803.Help us produce more episodes by supporting the Napoleonic Quarterly on Patreon: patreon.com/napoleonicquarterly
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Episode 46: Q2-1803 - The Napoleonic Wars
1803… April… May… June… Three months in which war once again breaks out between Britain and France… American negotiators worrying about Louisiana’s future get an unexpected offer from the First Consul… And on Saint-Domingue, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines unifies resistance to the struggling French expedition.This is episode 46 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months which sees the beginning of what will become known as the Napoleonic Wars.[04:25] - Headline developments[16:25] - Graeme Callister on the resumption of war between Britain and France[39:40] - Peter Kastor on the Louisiana Purchase[1:01:20] - Marlene Daut on the Arcahaie Agreement, the anti-French slide and progress towards Haitian independence on Saint-Domingue
Taking the epic conflicts of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars three months at a time. Each episode features interviews with leading historians of the period - covering the campaigns, diplomacy and political dramas of an extraordinary 24 years.
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