1803. July… August… September… Three months in which the Maratha forces are defeated by Arthur Wellesley at Assaye… Hanover becomes the latest victim to Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces… And there’s another attempted uprising in Ireland. This is episode 47 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months in which the British and their sepoys take another step towards Empire on the Indian subcontinent.[07:08] - Headline developments[20:17] - Michael Rowe on the French invasion of Hanover[39:45] - Ravindra Rathee on the end of the Second Anglo-Maratha War[1:01:00] - Ciaran McDonnell on Emmet’s uprising
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1:30:46
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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Beating Napoleon: A lost 2013 interview with David Andress
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
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.