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What topic should EH cover?
🕑 Added 2017-10-07 19:58:44 +0000 UTC What 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
SpOKi C
I'm so torn! Mali and Musa or Dumas and France? Let's vote Mali, they're up first, Dumas shall wait...
Extra History
It'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
Just 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)!
Todd Carter
I'm voting for Mali.... But I hope we can get to Dumas next round!
Mikael
Mansa! 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
I'm curious about the region, will give Sundiata a shot :)
MrCapitan
maybe at one point you can cover Ruricovich dynasty
Fabian Lenk
Well 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).
Dara Robinson
Are 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?
Brian Rose
If 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.
Román Gorojovsky
While 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!)
Tacey Whittemore
Dumas was a close second for me behind Mali. I love the Three Musketeers.
Xenin
I would go with the Empire of Mali, it's new and we don't really talk about Africa that much to be honest.
CheshireDude
Aw man... All of these are soooo good! This is easily the toughest poll yet.
Hot Mess Response Team
Just 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.
Nicholas Kosky
I'm voting for the Dumas family, but I won't be unhappy if Mali wins.
Timothy Pazdziorny
It 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.
Matthew
I vote for all. All are good! :D
Tiberia Prima
It'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
Martin Verran
As 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
All 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.
GaysianAmerican
I 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.
Colin
The 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!
General Luigi
I 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.
Michael Waisfeld
My 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
t.
To war, by Jingo!
Turlas85
"Alexandre Dumas was black." Is one of my favorite movie lines. More people should know of his story. Elect Dumas for EH Topic!
RoninGM
Is there a separate poll for adding new topic suggestions?
Mohammed Deriye
Mansa Musa!!
Caleb F Failes
It’s cool to see Mali up on the ballot. It’s an interesting subject that is kinda forgotten about
Trainer
As 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
Elle
Empire 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!
Stephen Watson
Vote Spanish-American War! I hope that will give us some good insite into the United States' relationship with Puerto Rico.
RMS Oceanic
Whoever wins, we win!
Christopher Pitterle
It is also a death blow to the Spanish Empire
Cody Gerard
I 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
Jose Beltran Escavy
I 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.
Trainer
Cool I suggested the Spanish American war!
