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Explaining History

Nick Shepley

How do we make sense of the modern world? We find the answers in the history of the 20th Century.


For over a decade, The Explaining History Podcast has been the guide for curious minds. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise and fall of ideologies into concise, 25-minute episodes.


This isn't a dry lecture. It's a critical, narrative-driven conversation that connects the past to your present.

Perfect for students, history buffs, and anyone who wants to understand how we got here. Hit subscribe and start exploring.


Join us at Explaining History for daily modern history articles and news.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 42 episodes
  • Avg 32 min
  • English

Episodes 42

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  • September 29 · 26 min

    Bombing Damascus – France, the Mandate System, and the Atrocities of 1925

    In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we return to Susan Pedersen's *The Guardians* – the definitive history of the mandate system – to examine one of its darkest chapters: the French bombing of Damascus in October 1925. The French had acquired Syria under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, though the British never really accepted their claim to it. Lawrence of Arabia had raced to Damascus in 1918 to deliver it to the Arabs – and by extension to the British – in defiance of the agreement. But the French got their mandate, and they ran it with a combination of arrogance, ignorance, and violence. The revolt that erupted in 1925 was not, as the French insisted, the work of brigands and agitators. It was the product of accumulated grievances: the division of Syria into four statelets, the creation of Greater Lebanon, the subordination of Syrian officials to French approval, the demotion of Ottoman-trained officers, and an economic policy that pegged the Syrian pound to the unstable franc. The Druze leader Sultan al-Atrash – a Syrian nationalist who had served in the Ottoman army and joined the Arab Revolt – was not a local warlord, as the French imagined, but a man with a vision of complete independence and free elections. The French response was brutal. Villages were burned. Circassian, Kurdish and Armenian irregulars were unleashed to loot and terrorise. Corpses were paraded through the streets of Damascus and strung up in Marjeh Square. And then, on 18 October 1925, French tanks rolled through the narrow streets and the bombardment began – two days of shelling and aerial bombing of an undefended city. The international outcry was immediate. The *Times* of London, hardly a radical publication, ran reports that turned colonial assumptions on their heads. Readers who knew nothing of Syrian villages could place them in the category of the primitive – but every biblically literate child had heard of Damascus. And now its ancient streets were being blasted by a European power that claimed to be a civilising force. This episode explores the bombing of Damascus as a moment of crisis for the mandate system – a moment when the gap between the rhetoric of tutelage and the reality of colonial violence became impossible to ignore. **Topics covered:** - The French acquisition of Syria under Sykes-Picot - The revolt of Sultan al-Atrash and the Druze - General Sarrail and the blindness of French colonial officials - The use of irregular forces and aerial bombardment - The bombing of Damascus, October 1925 - The international outcry and the *Times* coverage - The crisis of legitimacy for the mandate system --- *If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us – we are migrating from Patreon to Substack. Details in the show notes.* Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper Website: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • September 11 · 26 min

    MI6 in 1914

    Intelligence and infighting at the start of the Great War

Showing 1–20 of 42 episodes