Prompt Cast
The Historical Power Struggles between Britain and Russia in Afghanistan and India
TLDR This episode explores the tensions and power struggles between Britain and Russia in Afghanistan and their desire to control India. The British discover secret clauses in the peace treaty between Russia and France, revealing their plan to conquer India, leading to a series of embassies sent to prevent it.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This episode discusses the historical tensions and power struggles between Britain and Russia, particularly in relation to Afghanistan and their desire to control India.
05:04
The phrase "Great Game" is offensive to some people because it downplays the devastating consequences of the power struggles between Britain and Russia in Afghanistan and India.
09:34
Napoleon and Alexander I meet at the Peace of Tilsit and negotiate a treaty with secret clauses.
14:16
The alliance between Russia and France is bad news for Britain, as the secret clauses of the peace of Tilsit reveal their plan to take British India from the British and liberate it under French sovereignty.
18:55
The British discover the secret clauses of the Tilsit agreement between France and Russia, revealing their plan to conquer India, and immediately send word to Lord Minto, the Governor General of India, who sends off four embassies to try to prevent it.
23:22
Lord Minto sends four embassies to different rulers in the region, including one to Shahshuja Sadazai, the ruler of Afghanistan, who is lavishly entertained and given extravagant gifts by the East India Company.
28:05
Shashuja Sadazai, the ruler of Afghanistan, is lavishly adorned with diamonds and is described as a glittering, beautiful youth with perfect manners and decorum, in contrast to Elphinstone's expectations of wild, shaggy Afghans.
33:00
Shashuja's position becomes untenable as he loses battles with rival clans and is overthrown by his brother, leading to his arrest and subsequent escape to seek sanctuary with Ranjit Singh.
38:11
Claude Wade, a British spy in Ludhiana, recruits Shashuja and Wafa Begum to use them as pawns to project British power into Afghanistan in the future, while there is also a rival spy network led by Pottinger in Buj, Gujarat.
42:54
Lord Ellenbra, the new president of the East India Company's Board of Control, becomes the first big Russophobian in British history, advocating for a policy to limit the power of Russia in Asia.
47:29
The fear of Russian expansion and their aggressive actions in Turkey and Persia leads to an overreaction and paranoia among the British, which ultimately leads to a fatal miscalculation by the East India Company.
Categories:
History
