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<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa--7095367</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><atom:link href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/7095367/episodes/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><language>en</language><category>Books</category><copyright>Copyright Modern Genre</copyright><image><url>https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg</url><title>Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa--7095367</link></image><lastBuildDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:18:21 +0000</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Modern Genre</itunes:name><itunes:email>spreaker66@podcastlibrary.org</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Books"/></itunes:category><itunes:category text="Science"/><itunes:category text="Science"><itunes:category text="Nature"/></itunes:category><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><podcast:guid>37f19fb5-4ef4-5d89-97f4-eeb18301f963</podcast:guid><itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type><item><title>Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 073-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/short-nonfiction-collection-vol-073-various--74958856</link><description><![CDATA[Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 073-Various presents a compelling exploration of historical narratives, including the anchor title "Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa." This collection invites listeners to engage with significant events and themes that continue to resonate today, such as the complexities of colonialism and the impact of political strife on local communities. The stories woven throughout this volume reflect enduring human experiences, offering insights into resilience and the pursuit of justice. By revisiting these historical moments, listeners can gain a deeper understanding of the past and its relevance to contemporary issues, making this collection both enlightening and thought-provoking.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74958856</guid><pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:01:48 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74958856/short_nonfiction_collection_vol_073_various.mp3" length="196155599" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 073-Various presents a compelling exploration of historical narratives, including the anchor title "Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa." This collection invites listeners to engage with significant...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 073-Various presents a compelling exploration of historical narratives, including the anchor title "Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa." This collection invites listeners to engage with significant events and themes that continue to resonate today, such as the complexities of colonialism and the impact of political strife on local communities. The stories woven throughout this volume reflect enduring human experiences, offering insights into resilience and the pursuit of justice. By revisiting these historical moments, listeners can gain a deeper understanding of the past and its relevance to contemporary issues, making this collection both enlightening and thought-provoking.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>24495</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, with an Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/abraham-lincoln-s-lyceum-address-with-an-introduction-by-theodore-roosevelt-various--74951829</link><description><![CDATA["Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, with an Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt-Various" presents the powerful reflections of Abraham Lincoln, delivered in 1838, which address the importance of law, order, and the moral obligations of citizens in a democratic society. Lincoln's call for vigilance against the forces of disorder and tyranny resonates today, reminding us of the enduring need for civic responsibility and ethical leadership. With an insightful introduction by Theodore Roosevelt, this audiobook encourages listeners to contemplate the foundational principles that uphold democracy and the relevance of these ideals in contemporary discussions about governance and society.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74951829</guid><pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:01:55 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74951829/abraham_lincoln_s_lyceum_address_with_an_introduction_by_theodore_roosevelt_various.mp3" length="21082391" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, with an Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt-Various" presents the powerful reflections of Abraham Lincoln, delivered in 1838, which address the importance of law, order, and the moral obligations of citizens in a...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA["Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, with an Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt-Various" presents the powerful reflections of Abraham Lincoln, delivered in 1838, which address the importance of law, order, and the moral obligations of citizens in a democratic society. Lincoln's call for vigilance against the forces of disorder and tyranny resonates today, reminding us of the enduring need for civic responsibility and ethical leadership. With an insightful introduction by Theodore Roosevelt, this audiobook encourages listeners to contemplate the foundational principles that uphold democracy and the relevance of these ideals in contemporary discussions about governance and society.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>2633</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Pioneer Work in the Alps of New Zealand: First Exploration of the Southern Alps-Arthur Paul Harper</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/pioneer-work-in-the-alps-of-new-zealand-first-exploration-of-the-southern-alps-arthur-paul-harper--74404652</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74404652</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:01:23 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74404652/pioneer_work_in_the_alps_of_new_zealand_first_exploration_of_the_southern_alps_arthur_paul_harper.mp3" length="278708463" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>34803</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Vindication of the Rights of Men, in a Letter to Edmund Burke-Mary Wollstonecraft</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/vindication-of-the-rights-of-men-in-a-letter-to-edmund-burke-mary-wollstonecraft--74374222</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74374222</guid><pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:56 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74374222/vindication_of_the_rights_of_men_in_a_letter_to_edmund_burke_mary_wollstonecraft.mp3" length="83200707" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10390</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Imperialism and World Politics, Part 3 of 4-Parker Thomas Moon</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/imperialism-and-world-politics-part-3-of-4-parker-thomas-moon--74350420</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74350420</guid><pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:51 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74350420/20957_imperialism_and_world_politics_part_3_of_4_parker_thomas_moon.mp3" length="191104690" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>23862</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Diatessaron A Harmony of the Four Gospels-Tatian</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/diatessaron-a-harmony-of-the-four-gospels-tatian--74325705</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74325705</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:01:05 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74325705/diatessaron_a_harmony_of_the_four_gospels_tatian.mp3" length="187974101" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>23473</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Introduction to The Philosophy of History-Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/introduction-to-the-philosophy-of-history-georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel--74302417</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74302417</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:54 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74302417/introduction_to_the_philosophy_of_history_georg_wilhelm_friedrich_hegel.mp3" length="132379077" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>16530</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Slave Narratives: Folk History of Slavery in the United States, Vol. IX, Mississippi-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/slave-narratives-folk-history-of-slavery-in-the-united-states-vol-ix-mississippi-various--74283133</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74283133</guid><pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:01:02 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74283133/slave_narratives_folk_history_of_slavery_in_the_united_states_vol_ix_mississippi_various.mp3" length="156422519" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>19533</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 7, September 1906-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/mother-earth-vol-1-no-7-september-1906-various--74262111</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74262111</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:01:05 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74262111/mother_earth_vol_1_no_7_september_1906_various.mp3" length="76865833" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>9599</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Address to Free Colored Americans-An Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/address-to-free-colored-americans-an-anti-slavery-convention-of-american-women--74244456</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74244456</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:58 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74244456/address_to_free_colored_americans_an_anti_slavery_convention_of_american_women.mp3" length="43714229" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>5459</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Revolutions of Civilization-William Matthew Flinders Petrie</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/revolutions-of-civilization-william-matthew-flinders-petrie--74228775</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74228775</guid><pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74228775/revolutions_of_civilization_william_matthew_flinders_petrie.mp3" length="46603570" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>5820</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Square Deal-Theodore Roosevelt</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/square-deal-theodore-roosevelt--74208275</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74208275</guid><pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:00:53 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74208275/square_deal_theodore_roosevelt.mp3" length="111874616" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>13970</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Idea of Progress An Inquiry into Its Origin and Growth-John Bagnell Bury</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/idea-of-progress-an-inquiry-into-its-origin-and-growth-john-bagnell-bury--74179076</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74179076</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:53 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74179076/idea_of_progress_an_inquiry_into_its_origin_and_growth_john_bagnell_bury.mp3" length="259209720" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>32369</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Running Water-A. E. W. Mason</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/running-water-a-e-w-mason--74150668</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74150668</guid><pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74150668/5569_running_water_a_e_w_mason.mp3" length="248837065" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>31073</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Five Stages of Greek Religion-Gilbert Murray</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/five-stages-of-greek-religion-gilbert-murray--74095423</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74095423</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:01:14 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74095423/five_stages_of_greek_religion_gilbert_murray.mp3" length="192472977" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>24035</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Black Experience in America, 18th-20th Century, Vol. 1-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/black-experience-in-america-18th-20th-century-vol-1-various--74071643</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74071643</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:54 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74071643/black_experience_in_america_18th_20th_century_vol_1_various.mp3" length="168312811" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>21018</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, December 1827-Commissioner of Indian Affairs</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/annual-report-of-the-commissioner-of-indian-affairs-december-1827-commissioner-of-indian-affairs--74046797</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74046797</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:02:23 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74046797/annual_report_of_the_commissioner_of_indian_affairs_december_1827_commissioner_of_indian_affairs.mp3" length="81926440" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10230</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No.9, November 1906-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/mother-earth-vol-1-no-9-november-1906-various--74024183</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74024183</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:02:13 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74024183/mother_earth_vol_1_no_9_november_1906_various.mp3" length="86343305" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10782</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field - Tales They Told to a Fellow Correspondent-Henry William Fischer</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/abroad-with-mark-twain-and-eugene-field-tales-they-told-to-a-fellow-correspondent-henry-william-fischer--74001719</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74001719</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:01:52 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74001719/20345_abroad_with_mark_twain_and_eugene_field_tales_they_told_to_a_fellow_correspondent_henry_william_fischer.mp3" length="181189982" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>22626</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Shelley Selected Poems and Prose-Percy Bysshe Shelley</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/shelley-selected-poems-and-prose-percy-bysshe-shelley--73977341</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73977341</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:02:10 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73977341/shelley_selected_poems_and_prose_percy_bysshe_shelley.mp3" length="201931411" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>25216</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Web of Indian Life-Sister Nivedita</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/web-of-indian-life-sister-nivedita--73954249</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73954249</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:02:20 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73954249/web_of_indian_life_sister_nivedita.mp3" length="247442575" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>30900</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Crisis A Record of the Darker Races, Vol. I, No. 1-W. E. B. Du Bois</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/crisis-a-record-of-the-darker-races-vol-i-no-1-w-e-b-du-bois--73930470</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73930470</guid><pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:02:04 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73930470/crisis_a_record_of_the_darker_races_vol_i_no_1_w_e_b_du_bois.mp3" length="43983373" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>5493</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Woman and the New Race-Margaret Sanger</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/woman-and-the-new-race-margaret-sanger--73904531</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73904531</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:02:21 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73904531/woman_and_the_new_race_margaret_sanger.mp3" length="118243475" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>14766</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Damn! A Book of Calumny-H. L. Mencken</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/damn-a-book-of-calumny-h-l-mencken--73880367</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73880367</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:02:21 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73880367/damn_a_book_of_calumny_h_l_mencken.mp3" length="70349222" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>8785</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Strange Pages from Family Papers-Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/strange-pages-from-family-papers-thomas-firminger-thiselton-dyer--73858208</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73858208</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:02:14 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73858208/strange_pages_from_family_papers_thomas_firminger_thiselton_dyer.mp3" length="218040344" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>27228</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Social Life in England 1750-1850-F. J. Foakes-Jackson</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/social-life-in-england-1750-1850-f-j-foakes-jackson--73839918</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73839918</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:03:11 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73839918/social_life_in_england_1750_1850_f_j_foakes_jackson.mp3" length="174802162" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>21829</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Footnote to History Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa-Robert Louis Stevenson</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-robert-louis-stevenson--73349247</link><description><![CDATA["Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa" by Robert Louis Stevenson delves into the tumultuous events surrounding the Samoan islands during a pivotal period of conflict and colonial intrigue. This compelling narrative captures the complexities of international politics and the human spirit amidst chaos. Stevenson's keen observations and rich storytelling bring to life the struggles and resilience of those caught in the crossfire of imperial ambitions. As themes of power, identity, and the impact of foreign intervention resonate today, this audiobook offers a timeless reflection on the consequences of conflict and the enduring quest for autonomy.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73349247</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 20:27:44 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73349247/footnote_to_history_eight_years_of_trouble_in_samoa_robert_louis_stevenson.mp3" length="204355125" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa" by Robert Louis Stevenson delves into the tumultuous events surrounding the Samoan islands during a pivotal period of conflict and colonial intrigue. This compelling narrative captures the...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA["Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa" by Robert Louis Stevenson delves into the tumultuous events surrounding the Samoan islands during a pivotal period of conflict and colonial intrigue. This compelling narrative captures the complexities of international politics and the human spirit amidst chaos. Stevenson's keen observations and rich storytelling bring to life the struggles and resilience of those caught in the crossfire of imperial ambitions. As themes of power, identity, and the impact of foreign intervention resonate today, this audiobook offers a timeless reflection on the consequences of conflict and the enduring quest for autonomy.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>25518</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Footnote to History Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa - Robert Louis Stevenson</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/footnote-to-history-eight-years-of-trouble-in-samoa-robert-louis-stevenson--72447171</link><description><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72447171</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:59:14 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72447171/footnote_to_history_eight_years_of_trouble_in_samoa_robert_louis_stevenson.mp3" length="204143422" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Robert Louis Stevenson</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[CONTENT WARNING: THIS WORK INCORPORATES QUOTATIONS CONTAINING RACIST SLURS. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A BOWDLERIZED COPY, SEE BETWEEN ABOUT 07.47 AND 07.50, AND AGAIN BETWEEN 11.00 AND 11.08, OF SECTION 9 / CHAPTER 8. There is no single experience with imperialism. The world over, every country subjected to foreign influence or subjugated to foreign control has their own story shaped by economics, civics, development, environment, culture, geography, diplomacy and people. There is no single experience with imperialism, and yet I suspect most people would not judge Samoa’s experience to be particularly exceptional either. Robert Louis Stephenson’s A Footnote to History is a particularly engaging account for being a pedestrian’s-eye view of imperialism at work. In Stephenson’s own words, his story is largely “. . . one of rapacity, intrigue and the triumphs of temper”. There is that. Cultures clash. Ordinary people are caught in the gears—while others are simply spectators, swept along. There are schemers too. Those seeking to shape the world to their own designs. Those who wrought this Samoan Crisis. Many of them are caught in the gears too. Stephenson’s treatment of many of the subjects who populate this account is penetrating and sympathetic—be that the irascible Colonel Henry de Coetlogon, the savvy and resolute chief Mataafa or the upright but unbending Captain Eugen Brandeis to name but a few. Why all this fuss? What great riches would bring industrial behemoths like the Germany and the United States to the brink of war? For what bounty do they contend in these islands, so far from their own shores? They contend for the commercial production of copra—dried coconut meat from which coconut oil can be extracted. Coconut oil is an ingredient which can be used in margarine. During the late 19th century, copra was produced across the region including in the Philippines, Tonga, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Lurking behind men like Heinrich Becker and Wilhelm Knappe, Richard Phillips Leary and Harold Marsh Sewall, ever-present are the interests of certain business groups as perhaps embodied on the ground by men like Theodor Weber (Misi Ueba), and Stevenson’s own friend Harry Jay Moors (Misimoa)—whom he described in a letter as the “ablest, wealthiest and best-informed trader in Samoa”. From lobbying in Washington to smuggling in and directly supplying Mataafa’s forces with ammunition, traders like Moors were no mere bystanders but power players. Ultimately, for all the acquisitiveness and power games of man—there is no more apt reminder of where in the schema of our world that true power lies than the first Samoan civil war. “Do not let us weep,” said one Samoan in 1887 before Laupepa’s exile, “We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.” The strangers with their science and their industry would prove to be quite vincible, after all. Whenever Nature unleashes even a desultory shadow of shattering violence of which it is truly capable, even the mighty tremble and our contentions fall away. At least for a time. (Summary by Alister)]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>25518</itunes:duration><itunes:keywords>coconut,eight,footnote,imperialism,mataafa,samoa,samoan,stephenson,stevenson,trouble</itunes:keywords><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e2f32adc8f8619a72cea1ebf7148280a.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item></channel></rss>
