History Unwritten podcast

History Unwritten

Cody Michaels

Guided narrative history of the rest of the world. Each season we explore a different historical civilization from Africa, Asia or the Americas, from its beginning to its end, stopping along the way to talk about the people who lived in it and how they lived.

55 Episodes

The Tale of Khun Chang and Khun Phaen
1/3/2023
1:15:10
The Tale of Khun Chang and Khun Phaen is the seminal work in Thai classical literature. The romance between Khuns Chang and Phaen and the female love interest Wanthong are our window into Ayutthayan gender and social class. While what we find may be disagreeable to modern sensibilities, we are nonetheless compelled to bear witness and learn more - to better understand the era in question. Visit this episode's webpage for the Dramatis Personae
Season 4 Announcement & Schedule
4/30/2022
2:38
In which we reveal the identity of Series 4 - along with an announcement of the schedule.
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3.19 - A New Siam
4/29/2022
37:06
Ayutthaya is gone, but Siam lives. A new kingdom, forged by two capable generals, restored Thai authority over their country. That New Siam would survive, stronger than ever, to the present day, becoming modern Thailand. Series Website
3.18 - Collapse
4/15/2022
32:08
Ayutthaya would fall in much the same way it did in 1569: at the hands of an ambitious Burmese King. But this time, there would be no comign back. Ayutthaya was no more, and the future of Thai history would be entirely new. Series website
3.17 - An Age of Culture
3/25/2022
31:07
The reigns of Thai Sa and Borommakot were peaceful and prosperous. The half-century before the city's fall thus became a golden age for art, literature and religion. This "Age of Culture" would last just until the collapse, but would forge Thai culture as it exists today. Series website
3.16 - Phetracha & the Tiger King
3/11/2022
28:03
No, not that one. The Ban Phlu Luang, founded by the usurper Phetracha, would be Ayutthaya's last. They oversaw an era of social upheaval which fundaentally altered Thai society. Their first two kings, if the chronicles are to be believed, were cruel and violent men, though, and the bane of decency. Series website
3.15 - The Revolution of 1688
2/25/2022
46:46
Half a world away, four months before the famous "Glorious Revolution" another revolution had taken place in Siam. King Narai, bereft of an heir, had perhaps bequeathed too much power to his Greek minister, Constantine Phaulkon. Soon, irate court ministers would rally against the minister - and his French allies. Series Website
3.14 - The Unraveling Thread
2/11/2022
28:38
Throughout the middle of Narai's reign, court intrigue plagued the Palace in Lopburi. Ministers vied for power over the King, with their factions waxing and waning in turn. Amidst the King's failure to produce an heir, and increasing harshness and paranoia, this feuding paved the way for a new advisor to enter the fray - Constantine Phaulkon. Series Website
3.13 - Phra Narai
1/28/2022
50:57
Narai "the Great" is Ayutthaya's most famous King outside of Thailand. But he cuts an unusual figure, breaking with the pattern of his predecessors. Warlike to a degree not seen since Naresuan, and unconcerned with tradition, he followed his own desires and interests. Foreign visitors and communities in Ayutthaya never found a firmer friend than King Narai. Indeed, it was by their aid that he came to the throne at all. Persians, Japanese, Malays, Dutch and Chinese were rewarded for service or simply for their friendship to the King. In time, this would bring about momentous chaos. But for now, it created a strange era of rich cultural exchange - not to be seen again in Siam for two centuries. Series Website
3.12 - The Royal Metropolis
12/18/2021
53:27
You arrive in Ayutthaya, April 1685, along with the French embassy to King Narai. While in the city, you are treated to a tour of the capital by an Englishman in the service of the European Mahatthai. What do you see there? And what are your impressions? Series Website

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