Hanging with History

Harald Hansen
  • 5.0 (13)
  • History
  • Updated Semimonthly

The first season focuses on the origins of the Industrial Revolution or the Great Enrichment, we go deep into history to gain enough background knowledge to actually understand the various theories of the origins of the Great Enrichment. Eventually we learn that we also need to know how the miracle was consolidated, as the many other close approaches to the Industrial Revolution failed.A kwirky style, but intellectually ambitious with the goal of understanding history well enough to understand the miracle that happened that one time. It's gonna be a long series.

  1. 3d ago

    214, The Napoleonic Wars Come to an End

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. Consider the British Empire in 1792, the year of Macartney’s expedition to China and the year young Emperor Francis began to look askance at the French Revolution and all the ruling factions within it started to wish for a war.   Well at that time the empire was rather modest, a few spice islands, Canada, Gibraltar, New South Wales had started, there was a logging settlement in Honduras, and in India, Bombay Madras and Bengal, with Bengal the largest British territory in India.  Trade with China is substantial, around 25% of all, generating 16% of total government revenue.  But except for Penang, a stop on the way, no territory to support it. By 1803 the value of British trade increased 81%.  From the French revolutionary wars to 1803, the empire grew to include Trinidad, Ceylon and Malta, even after returning most captured possessions at the Peace of Amiens.  Then by 1814.... The British position in India was massively increased, with the Mughal empire , Hyderabad, Mysore, and most of the South under various forms of British control.  Furthermore, the main waystations to get there, including the Cape colony of South Africa, and the Indian ocean islands were now under British control. The number of sugar islands increased and British Guiana became real and there were more gold Coast trading posts in Africa, and Tasmania was added to New South Wales.  And before the decade was over the third Maratha war would cement control over much of the rest of India and see the establishment of the first post in Singapore.  With many supporting bases like St Helena where Napoleon was stashed along with the newly established Ascension Island to help support St Helena. I’m describing a different world now, different to 1792.  One where rivals to British sea power just do not exist.

    28 min

  2. May 27

    213 Latin American Independence

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. More focus on Mexico and California than is ideal, but there is a general overview of Spanish America. Spanish America, more than  anywhere else, shows us the global ramifications of the Napoleonic Wars.  “The crisis and collapse of Spain’s empire was the direct result of political turmoil in Europe.  During the Napoleonic wars this vast empire got fragmented, was henceforth relegated to the sidelines of world politics.”  It’s a big deal.  Spanish America was important to the world and world politics.  The disparate countries of Latin America stopped mattering after independence when they are separate things rather than a huge mass.  This is sort of a harsh, brutal truth,   This was partly because of the Monroe doctrine, Thou Shalt Not Interfere in the Western Hemisphere lest thou tempt the wrath of God, and British policy also was to keep other Europeans out, more practically by means of controlling the seas, and giving a firm no to plans from the Spanish and Russians for interference from non Spanish forces.

    42 min

  3. May 13

    212. Boring Administrative History; HR

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. The challenges to recruiting enough men for service in the Royal Navy and the Army and Militia were formidable.   It is revealed that the War of 1812 was really one war too many for Britain.   The necessity to supply seamen for the new North American Lake service meant that the Royal Navy did not have enough men to staff the newly produced ships.  The Mediterranean command and the North American commands were both screaming or more ships.   The Army had its challenges as well.  Losses exceeded new recruits from standard methods every year, but 1807.  Special efforts were required. The Militia had its own challenges, needing to put down the Luddite Riots 1811-1813.

    40 min

  4. Apr 29

    211. Boring Administrative History; Smuggling and Moving Money

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. The trade war between Britain and Napoleon reached a new level in 1807.   British merchants were desperate for new markets.  The French were finding trouble, customs dues fell 80% despite the new Rhine river trade.  We've already talked a great deal about how the Russian economy was pushed to the brink. Smuggling was the response.  The British smuggled into the Mediterranean via Malta, and into North Germany through Heligoland.  I'll tell you what percent of smuggled British goods were seized by the French officials, you will not believe it. But the French kicked off an organized smuggling campaign as well, involving 6 different government departments, requiring a lot of paperwork.  But under the cover of all this smuggling, quite secretly, banking was taking place.

    30 min

  5. Apr 15

    210 Boring Administrative History; Finance and Taxation

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. The wars from 1793 to 1815 included expenditure of 830 million pounds for Army Navy and Ordinance, mainly the Navy. Another 65 million pounds was spent on subsidies to allies.  Looking at a total of 895 million, probably with secret funds we are over 900 million pounds.  To do all this spending 578 million was added to the national debt This was unprecedented, nobody knew how deep capital markets were or potentially were.  No clue, they had never been tested like this before.    Would people continue to be able to buy our debt?  What if we also taxed them very high, higher than they had ever been taxed before? These were real live questions people in Westminster and the City were asking. What people didn’t really understand is that while Napoleon commanded the people and farms of most of Europe, Britain actually commanded most of its money, present and future, I’ll explain how that worked this episode.

    37 min

  6. Apr 8

    209 Boring Administrative History; Industry

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. “The removal of soil, earth or rubbish, the conveyance of stones, sand or lime, everything is done by little four wheel carts drawn by a single horse on iron railways.. the advantage they represent is immense.  England owes to them part of her wealth.  Never without THEM could coal, iron ore, lime stone, slate and other raw materials have been conveyed such distances and nevertheless at a very trifling cost.” We spend most of our time on the defense industries.  What is revealed is that across a large number of domains the British are world leaders or nearly so.   So much so, that one would not expect this to be possible.  There must be an unknown variable explaining the phenomena of British superiority.

    46 min

  7. Apr 1

    The Ending of Corruption; Boring Administrative History

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. We have a real example of a cultural change brought about by the pressures of war.   The great weapon of war against corruption is accounting and auditing.  But first attitudes must change.  We see various forms of corruption becoming less and less tolerated, as by an unconscious process every form of corruption is tainted by association with the worst of them. We’ve been covering the end of corruption in numerous episodes from  Shelburne to Pitt, with Burke, with Middleton’s efforts in the dockyards in the Chips Anyone? episode and then Jervis’s crazy attitudes in the naval episodes. Now we’ll look at some of the specific mechanisms with which these forms of corruption are tackled.  There are crazy figures, for example the total value of unaudited accounts in 1807 is equal to the value of the entire national debt. I identify three kinds of corruption.  First there is the kind that can’t ever go away, though controls and sunlight can reduce it greatly.  This I will name Fraud, where contracts are violated and/or payments are made without contracts at all, and where government funds are used for private purposes.  Then there is traditional corruption, of the sort when clerks accept tips to perform tasks outside their usual work.  3rd is official corruption, sinecures and emoluments wielded by government to secure votes, but also for other purposes.

    48 min

  8. Mar 25

    Boring Administrative History; Intelligence and Communication

    You can send a text, include contact info to get a response. Before the 1807 attack on Denmark, Napoleon gave an ultimatum to Denmark, to Talleyrand’s horror btw.  The ultimatum was for Denmark to turn over their fleet.  But before the deadline for the French ultimatum passed the British invaded, which obviously required months of preparation beforehand.   The British, warned by intelligence, that was remarkably accurate, were able to act.  The question of whether it was the wisest action is a separate question. While focusing on intelligence around the French Navy, the episode covers the Post Office packet system and the King's Messengers, the problems Napoleon had with subordinates lying to him, or telling him what he wanted to hear and the problems of intelligence in faraway waters. There are a couple insights you might not otherwise hear.  1) That British intelligence within Napoleon's realm was so successful that it was also confused by the lies generated within the Napoleonic system. 2) The failed Pichegru plot could be said to have worked for Britain, by kicking off the War of the 3rd Coalition and Napoleon's Glory Years, the threat of invasion was lifted for Britain at the price of French dominance over Central Europe.

    25 min
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out of 5
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About

The first season focuses on the origins of the Industrial Revolution or the Great Enrichment, we go deep into history to gain enough background knowledge to actually understand the various theories of the origins of the Great Enrichment. Eventually we learn that we also need to know how the miracle was consolidated, as the many other close approaches to the Industrial Revolution failed.A kwirky style, but intellectually ambitious with the goal of understanding history well enough to understand the miracle that happened that one time. It's gonna be a long series.

Information

  • Creator
    Harald Hansen
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    214
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Hanging with History
  • Show Website
    Hanging with History

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