May 1, 2026 · 40 min
This is the fourth in our series of recap episodes, offering a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it in a whole new way. We hope this will provide a helpful refresh for longstanding listeners - whilst at the same time offering an 'entry ramp' to the podcast for those who want to get up to speed relatively easily before we crash full-speed into the intensity of the Napoleonic Wars. This episode covers 1795, a year in which French politics is just as full of turmoil as ever before - but that isn't stopping French military success across the continent. It's quite the contrast: purges, insurrections and uprisings in Paris, at the same time as French forces cross the Rhine, taking war deeper into Austrian-controlled territory, and the Prussians, Spanish and others drop out of the fight altogether. British efforts around the edges feel just that, marginal; an ill-fated expedition to stir up revolt in Brittany, the seizure of Cape Town and on Sri Lanka of Trincomalee. And empire-building continues in eastern Europe too, with the final partition of Poland. What a 12 months - and it's all laying the groundwork for an even more remarkable year next time round...