POLL: Pick the Next Extra History Series! "Second Chances" (Patreon)

These topics were picked from the runners up from our series over the last year. Just one small problem. You all tied several categories! So we decided to include 5 options this month. Tis the holiday season after all!

The Thirty Years War: From Religious Feuds to Nation-States

Eight million dead in the heart of Europe. To this day, the Thirty Years' war ranks as one of the most destructive conflicts in human history—on that would shape the borders of Europe and create the idea of a nation-state. But the strange thing about the Thirty Years' War is how it changed. Beginning as a local Reformation-era conflict between Catholics and Protestants, the war increasingly became a proxy struggle, until it was largely a secular contest deciding which nations would dominate Europe. This is a series that's not so much about the battles and commanders, but how the meaning of the war shifted drastically from a religious conflict to a largely secular one.

The Taiping Rebellion: Jesus' Chinese Brother

Ask him, and Hong Xiuquan will tell you he's the second son of God, brother of Jesus, and on a divine mission to reshape China—and he has an army. A HUGE army. Seeking not just to replace the ruling class, Hong's religious movement the God Worshipping Society professes a Chinese syncretic version of Christianity that wants to reshape the country into a perfect Heavenly Kingdom. One he will actually get a chance to form for a time. But this kingdom is anything but heavenly—in fact, it will spark a decade-long civil war with the Qing Dynasty that kills at least 20 million people, and perhaps as many as 70 million. Come learn about a man the Qing feared so much, they cremated him and blasted his ashes out of a cannon.

Aztec Empire: The Three Cities

Today, we call the empire and their people the Aztecs, but in reality, it had no such unity. Formed during a bitter civil war as an alliance between three cities—Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan—the alliance was supposed to balance powers and prevent another bloody succession crisis. But this unity would not last. As the new empire became aggressively expansionist, Tenochtitlan began to rise in power above the other two cities, forcing them into subsidiary roles. Soon, the "triple alliance" was little more than an empty slogan, and the empire governed from Tenochtitlan, with the capital absorbing both the populations and the gods of the conquered. Yet this would be no ancient empire, for less than a hundred years after its formation it would face an external threat it could not stand up to—Hernán Cortés. This is a series about the formation of the Aztec Empire, and how its internal politics made it extremely vulnerable to Spanish invasion.

Peter the Great: Tsars Behaving Badly

In 1698 Peter the Great visited Britain, hoping to learn lessons that would help him modernize the Russian navy. Initially the toast of the town, he quickly wore out his welcome. Taking the helm of a British warship during a fleet review, he nearly crashed it. When fawning English hosts offered him their manor houses, he smashed the furniture and used their relatives' portraits for pistol practice. It was pure Peter—a man who modernized and industrialized his country while living a life of all-night benders we usually associate with rockstars. While Peter appeared in our Great Northern War series, this one will deal more with his domestic policies and shaping of modern Russia.

Prohibition: Temperance Brings Tommy Guns

Today, we often think of Prohibition as nothing more than a failed experiment, but that view ignores something: by the 1890s, America had a drinking problem. Chicago had more saloons than all of its groceries, meat markets, and dry goods stores combined. They were known as drivers of crime, centers of political corruption, and haunts for the immigrants much of American society hated. Opposing the spread of liquor, temperance activists—many of them women—descended on the alcohol industry with boycotts and vigilante raids, smashing bottles and closing bars. But when their nearly century-long movement finally succeeded nationwide, it would turn the streets of America into the battleground for both a new, bloody type of gang war and an empowered federal police...

What series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know!

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. The poll will end at 11:59 PM PT on Friday, December 11th.

Current Schedule: Teddy Rosevelt --> Jewish Pirates --> Your Vote!