POLL: Pick the next Extra History series! Disaster! (Patreon)

What series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know! This series is expected to air at the beginning of 2019. (Wow, is it really almost time for a new year? Time moves fast in YouTube production land!)

Friendly reminder: You can vote for as many choices as you want! This style of voting helps us see what people are most interested in without having to make tough decisions between a couple of close favorites. All of these topics were suggested by your fellow patrons!

The poll will end at 11:59 AM PT on Monday, September 24.

Current Schedule:  Majapahit: An Empire of Water --> Viking Expansion --> Dr. Sun Yat-sen --> Your Vote!

Feel free to discuss your votes in the comments! We the Extra History team will be staying out of it (except to answer questions, should you have any) because we don't want to influence anyone's opinion.

The Irish Potato Famine: The Great Hunger

In 1845, Ireland is ripe for an agricultural apocalypse. A quarter of tenant farmers live on plots of land totaling less than five acres—so small that potatoes are the only high-yield crop able to feed a family. Then, the Blight comes. Potatoes come out of the ground black and rotted. Those who eat them become sick. As the hunger worsens, a century of discriminatory British Empire policies come home to roost. In the next four years, 100,000 Irish will starve to death, and a quarter of Ireland’s 8 million inhabitants will quit the homeland and move abroad. Those who stay dream of revolution. 

Halifax Explosion: This Will Be My Last Message

The SS Mont-Blanc is carrying 3,000 tons of explosives—and it’s on fire. Ordinarily munitions delivery ships aren’t allowed inside Halifax harbor, but WWI has changed all that. The explosion briefly exposes the bottom of the harbor. A pressure wave rips out, destroying or damaging 12,000 buildings. Then the tsunami comes. In the wake of the disaster, fire crews, the Royal Navy, and the US Coast Guard will come to Halifax’s aid, Canadian doctors will develop new techniques for eye injuries—and the city will recover, gradually, from the largest accidental explosion in history.

  

Napoleon's Invasion of Russia: Emperor vs. Tsar

Napoleon has crossed the Neman River. He brings with him the Grande Armée, the largest military force ever assembled, fresh from an unprecedented string of victories. Tsar Nicholas has only half that number, mostly untested units and irregular forces. But this will be no stroll to Moscow. These armies will clash in the bloodiest single day of the Napoleonic Wars, Moscow will burn, and the Russians will use scorched-earth tactics and fighting retreats to draw the Emperor deep into hostile territory. But it will be winter that deals the final blow—and wipe the Grande Armée from the map. 

The Trail of Tears: Suffering and Resistance

A decade before he gained the presidency, Andrew Jackson was already advocating for an Indian Removal Act. Now that he’s won the presidency, he rams it through Congress on a thin majority. But the nations in question—the Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, Muscogee, Chickasaw, Ponca, and Ho-Chunk/Winnebago—will not go quietly. They’ll fight the removal in Congress, the courts, and the negotiating rooms. A few will fight with rifles. The result will be a human catastrophe, and one of the most tragic episodes in American history.