The Comanche peaked and then fell in the decades between 1840 and 1880. In this episode, we discuss that story arc. From the Comanche retaliation against Texas for the Council House Massacre, through a brief peace with the Texans, drought and declining bison herds, collapsing population, and finally to the back-and-forth relations with the US that culminated in the reservation period. In the middle of this story, Quanah Parker emerges as a great Comanche warrior who would then, in an unexpected pivot, urge assimilation as the last, best hope for his people.

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Further reading:
Comanches: History of a People T.R. Fehrenbach
The Comanche Empire Pekka Hamalainen
Empire of the Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne
The Comanches: A History 1706-1875 Thomas Kavanagh
The Last Comanche Chief Bill Neely

In this YouTube Video, archer Lars Anderson recreated Comanche feats of archery

If you wish to visit Quanah Parker's Star House, contact Wayne Gipson at Trading Post Restaurant in Cache, OK

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In the third episode of our series on the Comanche, Comancheria slowly divorces itself from New Spain to seek better fortunes in the bustling American markets. The Mexican government inherits a troubled border in Texas and disastrously mismanages the Comanche challenge. Texas breaks away from Mexico and her frontier explodes with settlements that pressure the Comanche homeland. Listen in as Chris and Jason discuss two restless worlds that are ready to collide.

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Further reading:
Comanches: History of a People T.R. Fehrenbach
The Comanche Empire Pekka Hamalainen
Empire of the Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne
The Comanches: A History 1706-1875 Thomas Kavanagh
The Last Comanche Chief Bill Neely

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Just in time for Halloween! Join Chris and Jason as they discuss two historic sites that are reputed to be haunted: Poveglia Island in the Venetian Lagoon and Greyfriars Kirkyard in Old Town Edinburgh. Are the tortured souls in their tragic pasts still with us today?

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Reading material on Poveglia Island is extremely scarce.
But if you're interested in Greyfriars, and larger Scottish history in general, you could do worse than this list.

The Ghost that Haunted Itself by Jan-Andrew Henderson
Scotland: the Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson
How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman
Charles II by Ronald Hutton

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The Comanche entered the southern great plains slowly and imperceptibly, ultimately to find themselves one part of a very restless world. There were imperial tensions between European powers, as well as ancient rivalries and territorial ambitions of powerful native nations. It wasn't exactly a game of thrones, but it was a contest nonetheless. Listen in as Chris and Jason discuss the Comanche's war of annihilation against the Apache, their tumultuous relationship with the Spanish, shrewd alliances with other native nations, and the peace that was engineered in the twilight of Spanish power in North America.

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You can reach out to us by email: fromheretohistory@gmail.com

Further reading:
Comanches: History of a People T.R. Fehrenbach
The Comanche Empire Pekka Hamalainen
Empire of the Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne
The Comanches: A History 1706-1875 Thomas Kavanagh
The Last Comanche Chief Bill Neely

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"They came to the plains from the west, slipping through the canyon passes of the Sangre de Cristo Range in small, roving bands...They were few in number, possessed little wealth...New Mexico's Spanish officials noted their arrival to the southern grasslands in 1706 and wrote it off as a minor event. Yet by midcentury, the Numunu, then bearing the name Comanches, had unhinged the world they had almost unnoticeably entered"

So begins historian Pekka Hamalainen's epic history, The Comanche Empire. They were the continent's greatest horsemen and possibly the most ferocious warriors in history. In the first of several episodes on the Comanches, Chris and Jason trace their origins as hunter gatherers in vast North American wilderness, their migration south, and the fearsome but adaptable culture they forged on their path to dominance of the southern Great Plains.

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You can reach out to us by email: fromheretohistory@gmail.com

Further reading:
Comanches: History of a People T.R. Fehrenbach
The Comanche Empire Pekka Hamalainen
Empire of the Summer Moon S.C. Gwynne
The Comanches: A History 1706-1875 Thomas Kavanagh

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Lord Chelmsford, looking to redeem himself from his failed first invasion, crosses into Zululand in force for a second attempt. Pressure on Chelmsford mounts as Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley races to South Africa to assume full command. Cetshwayo sues for peace but assembles his army for one last showdown at the capital city of Ulundi

Join Chris and Jason as they conclude their look at the rise and fall of the Zulu nation.

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Once again, here is a possible reading list on the Zulus and the Anglo-Zulu War:
The Washing of the Spears by Donald Morris
Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight
The Zulus at War by Adrian Greaves & Xolani Mkhize
Brave Men's Blood by Ian Knight
In the Shadow of Isandlwana by John Laband
Who's Who in the Zulu War Vols I & II by Adrian Greaves and Ian Knight
This article by DP O'Connor is an interesting take on Sir Bartle Frere
Running the Gauntlet by George Mossop

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In this episode on the Zulu nation, we discuss Cetshwayo's violent march to the Zulu throne, his cozying up to the British as a bulwark against the Boers, and then the inexplicable events that thrust his people into a war with England. As the English columns invade Zululand, a story of victory and defeat unfolds, with heroism and tragedy on both sides of the conflict.

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These are great places to start reading on the Zulu War:
The Washing of the Spears by Donald Morris
Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight
The Zulus at War by Adrian Greaves & Xolani Mkhize
Brave Men's Blood by Ian Knight
In the Shadow of Isandlwana by John Laband
Who's Who in the Zulu War Vols I & II by Adrian Greaves and Ian Knight
This article by DP O'Connor is an interesting take on Sir Bartle Frere
Running the Gauntlet by George Mossop

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The Zulu nation as we remember it was forged in a world of upheaval under the leadership of the intelligent, dynamic, and ruthless king Shaka Kasenzangakhona. Shaped by the tumultuous events known as the Mfecane, Shaka imposed and maintained a new order on his world by the force of his will, his innovative military tactics, and his brutal efficiency. After he was brought down by the assassin's spears, he was followed on the Zulu throne by two half brothers. And their reigns would collide in what many Zulus today remember as the moment the nation's soul began to break.
Join us in this episode for a fascinating journey through the reigns of these three Zulu kings.

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We posted a selected reading list with part 1 of this series but here it is again for convenience:

The Washing of the Spears by Donald Morris
Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight
The Zulus at War by Adrian Greaves & Xolani Mkhize
Brave Men's Blood by Ian Knight
In the Shadow of Isandlwana by John Laband

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