Pick the Next Extra History Series! "Explorers and Pioneers"

It's time for our Extra History poll! Where you get to vote on what our next "Extra History Series" is about!

These four topics were selected from our "Shorts Topic" Patreon Suggestions and are listed in no particular order below.

The Donner Party: Ravenousness and Rescue

You think you know the story of the Donner Party—a group of foolish migrants to California who took the wrong path, late in the season, and ended up in a hell of snowbound cannibalism. Except that's not really the case. The story of the Donner Party is one of families, groups of migrants to California hoping to make a new life with children in tow. A story where a shady pioneer tried to tout a new, faster way to the west and advertised it with printed pamphlets. One where misfortune after misfortune (as well as infighting among the various families) delayed a wagon train of 87 members and drained their supplies, even before an early snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains trapped them under 10 feet of snow. It's a story of resilience, as families tried to make food out of anything edible, from oxhide rugs and roofs to oxen bones boiled over and over to make thin soup. It's a story of cutthroat capitalism, as families tried to buy supplies off each other with promises of paying double, and one of heroism as mothers and fathers set off across the snows to try and rally rescue parties. Ultimately, it's a story of cannibalism and murder (though less than you think), and rescue parties that brought 48 members of the wagon train back alive—people who would need to live for years with the horror of survival.

The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration: Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott

In the late 19th and early 20th century, countries competed to become the first to explore the unknown southern land of Antarctica. It was a period dubbed (in retrospect) the Heroic Age, one that could not draw upon the technological advancements of the post-WWI era and where progress instead came from human endurance, grit and traditional sailing skills and fieldcraft. It was also one where expedition deaths were far more common. While this series will talk about many of the early expeditions, it will largely focus on three men: the 1911 race to the South Pole between Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Englishman Robert Falcon Scott (which would lead to both victory and tragedy). It will then focus on the Imperial Trans-Arctic Expedition by Ernest Shackleton, which met disaster when their ship was trapped and crushed in the ice, leading to Shackleton rallying his men to a desperate escape across the continent—one of history's greatest feats of endurance and leadership.

Lewis and Clark (and Sacagawea): The Corps of Discovery

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and his second-in-command William Clark set out to discover what the hell exactly the United States had bought during the Louisiana Purchase. They'd been sent by Thomas Jefferson, who was interested in finding a route to the Pacific Ocean (by river, ideally) and wanted to notify indigenous people living in the west that they were now part of the United States. They set off with 40 men, a Newfoundland dog, a load of supplies and trade goods and medals of friendship to pass out to native people. They would find great expanses, adventure, disease, civilizations entirely new to them, and eventually reach the Pacific. They'd also pick up several followers, among them Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman without whom they would not have reached their goal or possibly even made it back alive. However, this expedition is more complex than the textbook version—the Corps of Discovery was both a geographical survey and a colonial project, mapping out the west for expansion. There are also fascinating stories like that of York, an enslaved man who William Clark owned since childhood, and who Clark regularly refused to free despite his pleas. Come hear the story of how America stretched from sea to shining sea.

Mutiny on the Bounty: Rebellion, Resilience and Revenge

You know the story of the Mutiny on the HMS Bounty—but you probably know the Hollywood version. In that, the tyrannical captain William Bligh pushes his crew to the brink, until his handsome second-in-command Fletcher Christian makes a bid for freedom and leads his followers back to their idyllic life among indigenous girlfriends in Tahiti. Worried about Royal Navy pursuit, they flee to Pitcarin and find only danger and starvation. The reality is much different. At first, HMS Bounty was a happy ship—a crew largely recruited by Bligh because they were already friends or family contacts, on a simple mission to chart a path across the Pacific and transplant breadfruit plants to the West Indies. At first, discipline was light, and Bligh put in place many lessons learned from his mentor James Cook. Yet as Tahiti approached, discipline began to break down among the young crew (most were under 30, and had no experience with long voyages). Bligh did not help things by his favoritism toward (and later targeting of) his young mentee Fletcher Christian. After five months relaxed discipline in Tahiti, where many of the men became attached to Polynesian wives or lovers, things reached a boiling point. Christian staged a mutiny, only to find out that just over half the crew supported him. He loaded Bligh and his supporters in a small open launch and cast them into the Pacific. Yet Bligh survived. Without charts and only basic instruments, he steered his small boat 3,500 miles to the nearest British post—and sent the Royal Navy after the mutineers. What resulted was an 18th-century manhunt, as mutineers were arrested on Tahiti, with the remains of Christian's party later found on Pitcairn. A story of sensational trials, betrail, murder and revenge that lit up the London newspapers.

Our Current Schedule is:

The Unholy Roman Emperor Frederick II vs. The Papacy Starting 1/25 -> History of Cats: Fabulous Felines! -> Your Pick!

***Friendly reminder: The poll will end at 11:59 PM PT on Thursday the 16th. You can vote for as many choices as you want! This style of voting helps us see what people are most interested in without having to make tough decisions between a couple of close favorites. ***