POLL: Pick the Next Extra History Series! "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds!" (Patreon)

POLL: Pick the Next Extra History Series! "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds!"

It's time for the Extra History poll! Where you get to vote on what our next extra History Series is about. Our four Patreon suggested topics are listed below. 

Tulip Mania: Non-Fungible Tulips

In the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was one of the most prosperous, economically powerful and financially advanced countries in the world. Then, the tulips came. Brought to Europe via the Ottoman Empire, tulips quickly became a sought-after status symbol. And the financial betting began. Prices for tulip futures went sky-high between 1634 and 1637, with some going for 100,000 florins, when the average worker made only 300 florins a year—then the crash came. But how bad that crash was, what it looked like, and what caused it are debated even to this day. Is this a lesson in bubbles, or merely an early expression of consumer behavior, and how much economic pain did it really cause? Join us for an exploration of one of the world's first (and silliest) financial crises—and what it tells us about the Dutch Republic and early economies.

The Reign of Terror: Reason, Cults, and the Guillotine

It's 1793, and the French Revolution has started to sour. Amid the threat of foreign invasion, a backlash against Catholicism, and internal pressure from radicals to punish the enemies of the Republic, the Committee of Public Safety decides to rule through terror. But the oncoming wave of executions will be no simple story of fanaticism. Instead, we see a French state realizing that if it does not systematize justice and carry it out swiftly, the mob will do it for them. But not only aristocrats and traitors will fall—factions within government will turn the massacres and executions against one another, and rival cults will rise to try and replace Catholicism as the state religion. Finally, atop this teetering and dangerous bureaucracy will stand Maximilien Robespierre, a man only too aware of what happened to the last man to rule France...

The Bar Kokhba Revolt

In 132 CE, nearly sixty years after the first Jewish-Roman War, dissent was bubbling in Judea. When Roman governor Rufus decided to build a new city on the ruins of Jerusalem—and a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount—things boiled over. Under military leader Simon bar Kokhba, the population of Judea rose up and ejected the Romans for three years, forming an independent Jewish state where Bar Kokhba was hailed as the messiah. But the Roman Empire was not done with them—Emperor Hadrian returned with overwhelming force, destroying Jewish power in the region, wiping out huge swathes of the population, and killing their leader. The war would have huge consequences for Judaism, leading to religious changes, kickstarting the diaspora, finalizing the divide between Christiainty and Judaism—and leading Bar Kokhba himself to be declared a false messiah.

The Catharist Heresy: Building the Inquisition

In the 12th century, a new belief system called Catharism appeared in southern France and northern Italy. Its adherents asserted that there were two gods: one evil, one good. The evil one was the god of the Old Testament and ruled the physical world. The good one was the god of the New Testament and ruled the spirit. All humans were pure souls trapped in an evil body—and could only be freed by baptism and (at times) assisted suicide. Or at least... that's what the Church said the Cathars believed. How real this religion was, or if it was a term invented so the Church could target regional variations of Christianity, is still debated. But either way, the reaction would be very real. First came the bloody Albigensian Crusade, sweeping into Cathar territory, and later a new clerical body meant to investigate cases of heresy, and named after their technique of judicial questioning. Join us for the birth of this new "Inquisition" and what's considered the beginning of the European witch hunts.

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 Monday, January 18th.

Current Schedule: The Empire of Brazil --> History of Beer --> Your Vote!