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History Undone

History's biggest moments, Undone.


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  • 20. What if the Indian Rebellion had succeeded? British OUT but a broken nation emerges

    59:46||Season 2, Ep. 20
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Professor Chandrika Kaul from the University of St Andrews to discuss one of the most important events in the history of modern India and Imperial Britain: the Rebellion of 1857. Also referred to as the 'mutiny', it began on the 10 May when Sepoy soldiers rose up in the city of Meerut near Delhi. A day later they had captured Delhi, before pushing. What started with soldiers, grew to include civilians and peasants and despite the British East India Company quashing it after 18 months, the EIC was dissolved and the British crown took direct rule of the country. The rebellion has a hugely influential and lasting legacy today, but what if it had succeeded? This is History Undone.

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  • 19. What if Franco had LOST the Spanish Civil War?

    01:01:46||Season 2, Ep. 19
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined once again by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry & Dr Klaus Schmider to discuss one of the most significant events of the 20th Century: the Spanish Civil War. It was a bloody and fiercely ideological war, that saw Francisco Franco's Nationalists control the country and would see him lead Spain until his death in 1975. Yet today we ask, what if the Republicans had won, or Franco's coup have failed? This is History Undone.
  • 18. What if Winston Churchill had died in WW2? 'The whole picture changes'

    54:38||Season 2, Ep. 18
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry & Nigel Jones to discuss the sometimes chaotic tenure of Winston Churchill during the Second World War. There periods of disquiet when he could have been ousted, assassination attempts, a near miss in the Blitz and ill health; yet he remained. So what if he had not? This is History Undone.
  • 17. What if the Nazi siege saw Leningrad fall? Moscow next & a Soviet armistice | History Undone

    48:43||Season 2, Ep. 17
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry & Dr Klaus Schmider to discuss one of the most devastating blockades in history: the siege of Leningrad. It is less mythologised than Stalingrad, perhaps because of the catastrophic loss of life and genocidal implications. Yet the Nazis never pushed on with a full-scale invasion, deciding instead to bomb and literally try to starve out the city. If they had, would it have changed WWII? This is History Undone.
  • 16. What if Hitler had taken the Mediterranean & Middle East? ‘Game over’ for the Soviet Union…. | History Undone

    55:17||Season 2, Ep. 16
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Dr Klaus Schmider to discuss a plan that Nazi Germany never went through with. At the end of 1940, Hitler faced a choice of where to head next and Admiral Raeder's thoughts were clear: head south through the Mediterranean, capture British Empire strongholds and push through to the oil fields. Yet that never happened and Barbarossa was launched in 1941. Yet what if the Germans had taken that other option? This is History Undone.
  • 15. What if Britain & France had backed the Confederacy in the American Civil War?

    56:30||Season 2, Ep. 15
    On this episode of History Undone, Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry & Professor Adam Smith to discuss the decision by Britain and France not to officially enter the American Civil War. Both European nations had commercial and diplomatic interests within the Confederacy and their neutrality was not guaranteed. So after the Trent Affair in 1861, how close did the British Empire come to fighting against the Union? This is History Undone.
  • 14. What if the Iranian Revolution NEVER happened? A nuclear Middle East & allies with the US

    59:37||Season 2, Ep. 14
    On this episode of History Undone, our new host Fergus Macphee is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi to discuss one of the most important moments in the history of the Middle East which still has lasting ramifications today: the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The monarchy had ruled Iran for over two and half thousand years, but from the end of the 19th century Britain had the interests of its empire locked on the country. A coup d'etat orchestrated by MI6 and the CIA in 1953 saw Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh ousted and the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi given absolute power. His 'white revolution, boom and economic bust followed, leaving the perfect situation for revolution and the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exile. An Islamic Republic was born, the effects of which we still feel today. So what if the revolution had never happened? This is History Undone.