What topic should EH cover?
Added 2017-10-07 19:58:44 +0000 UTCWhat topic would you like to see Extra History cover in the future? Cast your vote on the poll below by 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, October 10!
Current Schedule: Otto von Bismarck --> Khosrau Anushirawan --> Genghis Khan --> Your Vote!
About these topics:
Empire of Mali - Founded by a crippled man who rose to become a hero, the Empire of Mali was one of the richest empires in world history. One of its leaders, Mansa Musa, famously bankrupted the economies of several other nations when he traveled through them on his pilgrimage to Mecca. We will learn about the rise and fall of this great empire of Africa.
Alexandre Dumas (Grandfather, Father, and Son) - A former slave rose to become one of Napoleon's greatest generals, and his adventures in turn inspired his son to write novels like The Three Musketeers which captured the imagination of the French public. Even his grandson became a famous playwright, securing the family name among the brightest stars of French literary history.
The Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman - The Underground Railroad helped American slaves escape to freedom in the north, but how they actually operated and what they really did have been obscured by myth. We will dive into the real foundations of the Underground Railroad as well as learn about its most famous conductor, Harriet Tubman.
Spanish-American War - The explosion of a US Navy ship outside Cuba escalated an already tense situation between the US and Spain. So-called "yellow journalists" helped whip the American public into a frenzy while leaders struggled and failed to find diplomatic solutions. The war that followed shook the Spanish Empire to its core and led to US acquisition of Pacific territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.
Feel free to campaign for your favorite option in the comments! Although the EC crew will be around to answer questions, we will not be very chatty in the comments because we don't want to swing the poll.
Comments
I'm so torn! Mali and Musa or Dumas and France? Let's vote Mali, they're up first, Dumas shall wait...
SpOKi C
2017-10-09 23:50:22 +0000 UTCIt's not purely the fact that patrons are European; there's a lot to do with the fact that we are trying to hit a balance between topics that would commonly appear on a Western school curriculum (so that teachers and students can use these if they so choose) and topics that expand our awareness of the world. But yeah, with Khosrau Anushirawan and Genghis Khan coming up, there's gonna be a lot of non-European history in the near future!
Extra History
2017-10-09 23:29:00 +0000 UTCJust chiming in to confirm what's been said here: once a month, we put up a post where we ask $8+ patrons to submit their topic suggestions through a form. We then pick from the suggested topics at random at the end of every series (roughly every 7 weeks)!
Extra History
2017-10-09 23:27:26 +0000 UTCI'm voting for Mali.... But I hope we can get to Dumas next round!
Todd Carter
2017-10-09 20:17:29 +0000 UTCMansa! Musa! Mansa! Musa! *cough* sorry about that, got a little overexcited at the prospect of more african history. Really hope it wins, looking good so far :)
Mikael
2017-10-09 18:16:04 +0000 UTCI'm curious about the region, will give Sundiata a shot :)
Mikael
2017-10-09 18:13:47 +0000 UTCmaybe at one point you can cover Ruricovich dynasty
MrCapitan
2017-10-09 17:44:55 +0000 UTCWell they sort of did with the Urbino and (to a lesser extend) Palmyra one-offs. And yes, i certanly hope there will be more like these (or maybe even doubles like the hawai one).
Fabian Lenk
2017-10-09 14:48:16 +0000 UTCAre there any really interesting stories out there from/about very small countries (Or Duchies, Principalities, etc) or places that no longer exist? And have you guys considered looking onto making an Extra history about them?
Dara Robinson
2017-10-09 10:05:59 +0000 UTCIf you do cover Mali, I expect the focus will be on Mansa Musa; since it's debatable to what extent the Epic of Sundiata should be considered "history", I'd say spending one episode on it would be a good limit, then moving on from there.
Brian Rose
2017-10-08 18:06:18 +0000 UTCWhile the Underground Railroad is a fascinating topic of which I, not being from the US know little about, my vote goes fist to the empire of Mali (give me more non european history!) and for the Dumas family (give me more non political/military history!)
Román Gorojovsky
2017-10-08 16:02:23 +0000 UTCDumas was a close second for me behind Mali. I love the Three Musketeers.
Tacey Whittemore
2017-10-08 15:25:24 +0000 UTCI would go with the Empire of Mali, it's new and we don't really talk about Africa that much to be honest.
Xenin
2017-10-08 15:05:25 +0000 UTCAw man... All of these are soooo good! This is easily the toughest poll yet.
CheshireDude
2017-10-08 02:28:23 +0000 UTCJust wanted to point out that in your description, you referred to Puerto Rico as a Pacific territory. I love the series, keep up the good work.
Hot Mess Response Team
2017-10-08 02:05:54 +0000 UTCI'm voting for the Dumas family, but I won't be unhappy if Mali wins.
Nicholas Kosky
2017-10-08 00:57:35 +0000 UTCIt isn't a poll, it's a form where you submit a short answer. The crew usually puts it up a few weeks before the end of each series.
Timothy Pazdziorny
2017-10-08 00:39:35 +0000 UTCI vote for all. All are good! :D
Matthew
2017-10-07 23:59:34 +0000 UTCIt's part of the eight dollar reward tier, I'm not entirely sure how they do it (I'm a lower tier) but they should make a post for the new topic once a month
Tiberia Prima
2017-10-07 23:07:59 +0000 UTCAs I said before it's because most of us Patreons ~ including myself ~ are European so we tend to suggest European Topics, but Genghis Khan's coming soon and I am super-duper excited about that.
Martin Verran
2017-10-07 22:55:04 +0000 UTCAll for One and One for all! No contest as far as I'm concerned but I Voted for the Mali Empire because of Civilization IV and the Underground Railroad because most of us Europeans are ignorant of it nowadays.
Martin Verran
2017-10-07 22:45:05 +0000 UTCI love the suggestions chosen for this week, no offense I love you guys and y'all do an awesome job, but the content tends to be a bit Eurocentric.
GaysianAmerican
2017-10-07 22:32:20 +0000 UTCThe Empire of Mali? I think that was my suggestion. Either way, I'd love to see you guys cover it! If you need sources, I'd recommend Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. It tells the tale of the founding of Mali. I read it back when I was in college and it really got me interested in the history of the region!
Colin
2017-10-07 22:05:35 +0000 UTCI wonder what EH's take on Sundiata will be should they cover the Mali Empire... I read one version of the Epic of Sundiata (oral tradition + passage of centuries --> multiple versions of same legend) in an African history class I took in college. While it stands to reason that not all of the story can be taken at its word, that in turn raises questions about what the more mystical aspects of the story actually refer to.
General Luigi
2017-10-07 21:31:24 +0000 UTCMy father told me a story about dumas senior. How in some siege against the austrians he started throwing his men over the wall or something along those lines
Michael Waisfeld
2017-10-07 20:47:14 +0000 UTCTo war, by Jingo!
t.
2017-10-07 20:37:01 +0000 UTC"Alexandre Dumas was black." Is one of my favorite movie lines. More people should know of his story. Elect Dumas for EH Topic!
Turlas85
2017-10-07 20:36:34 +0000 UTCIs there a separate poll for adding new topic suggestions?
RoninGM
2017-10-07 20:33:14 +0000 UTCMansa Musa!!
Mohammed Deriye
2017-10-07 20:30:15 +0000 UTCIt’s cool to see Mali up on the ballot. It’s an interesting subject that is kinda forgotten about
Caleb F Failes
2017-10-07 20:20:54 +0000 UTCAs a note, I think all of these are great topics and would love to see them! I maybe a little biased because I suggested the spanish-american war as a topic but I think that all of them are amazing
Trainer
2017-10-07 20:18:56 +0000 UTCEmpire or Mali is something I’ve not seen anywhere else. Dan Carlin has a great podcast about the Spanish-American war and I’ve seen a couple of good things on Dumas and the railroad on line before. Therefore please vote for the Mali Empire!
Elle
2017-10-07 20:16:53 +0000 UTCVote Spanish-American War! I hope that will give us some good insite into the United States' relationship with Puerto Rico.
Stephen Watson
2017-10-07 20:15:26 +0000 UTCWhoever wins, we win!
RMS Oceanic
2017-10-07 20:11:24 +0000 UTCIt is also a death blow to the Spanish Empire
Christopher Pitterle
2017-10-07 20:10:15 +0000 UTCI was going to say something about why the Spanish-American war should be covered, given its vast role in shaping the modern world and the shamefully little amount of attention it gets, but Jose pretty much said what I was going to say
Cody Gerard
2017-10-07 20:10:07 +0000 UTCI think that the Spanish-American war is a subject worthy of attention. This was the event that propelled the US to prominence and the starting point of the US as a great power.
Jose Beltran Escavy
2017-10-07 20:07:38 +0000 UTCCool I suggested the Spanish American war!
Trainer
2017-10-07 20:06:10 +0000 UTC
