S2E6: E-RAT-icate!
To combat an outbreak of bubonic plague in turn-of-the-century Manila, the American authorities assembled a crack force of ratcatchers and waged a war against rodents.
Feb 12, 2022•12 min
The Colonial Dept.
Welcome to the Colonial Department, the podcast where we take long-lost stories from Philippine colonial history and bring them to life. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept
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Episodes
S2E5: A Dream of Silk
Over the course of the Galleon Trade, the Spanish bought silk from China for millions of silver pieces. But what if, some canny entrepreneurs thought, the Philippines made its own silk industry?
Jan 29, 2022•14 min•Season 2Ep. 5
S2E4: The Walls of Intramuros
For centuries, the forbidding stone walls of Intramuros protected the forces occupying the archipelago. How were they built? How were they tested? And how did they eventually fall?
Jan 14, 2022•18 min
S2E3: From Cambodia With Love
In 1872, the year of the execution of Gomburza, a king visits the Philippines… and falls head over heels in love with a lady from Bulacan.
Dec 15, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 3
S2E2: Homo Caudatus
From missionary reports to primetime sitcoms, the occupiers of the Philippines have obsessed about Filipinos, monkeys, and that strange question of whether the inhabitants of the archipelago possessed tails.
Nov 30, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 2
S2E1: Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves (Remastered)
When we think of the Galleon Trade, we usually think of rich cargoes of silver, or spices, or silk. But it also carried human beings, in chains, from Manila, to be sold in Mexico. This was the Transpacific slave trade. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales From the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. You can find out more about it here. (An ...
Nov 16, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 1
A Sneak Peek of Season 2
As The Colonial Dept moves onto a new season, we look back at our first thirteen episodes... and give a sneak peek of the stories that are coming next. The archives of the occupied Philippines are rich with untold stories, and we're here to bring them to light.
Nov 03, 2021•4 min
S1E13: Tornaviaje
Magellan may have been the first European to sail to the Philippines, but it would be an aged friar, charts in hand, eye to the east, who would steer the Philippines into the colonial age.
Oct 20, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 13
S1E12: The Pearl, and Plunder, of the Orient Seas
In the aftermath of the British conquest of Manila, the East India Company had to answer an important question: How will they wring every penny they could out of their new prize?
Oct 05, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 12
S1E11: Lights, Camera, Propaganda!
To win the battle of hearts and minds in their newly conquered colony, both the Americans and Japanese use a terrifying new weapon: cinema.
Sep 21, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 11
S1E10: You Otter Get Rich In Manila
From the coves of Spanish California, to the jade courts of the Qing Dynasty—and in the middle, the great port city of Manila. This is the story of the Philippine otter fur trade.
Sep 07, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 10
S1E9: Spain's Last Stand, Part Two
Even as a new war swept the fledgling republic, one final, furious ember of the Spanish Empire still burned in Baler. And try as Spain, the US, and the Philippines might, this stronghold would not surrender. Part 2/2
Aug 25, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 9
S1E8: Spain's Last Stand, Part One
As the empire crumbled around them, a detachment of Spanish troops transforms the church of Baler into a fortress... one that would outlast the Spanish surrender. This is the story of the Siege of Baler. Part 1/2
Aug 11, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 8
S1E7: Seven Months of Darkness (Remastered)
From May to December 1754, all of Taal was ash, and tremor, and hell, as the deadly volcano's eruption changed the face of Southern Luzon forever. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast, entitled Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946, is now available. Visit my publisher’s website for availability. (An ebook version is also available on Amazon. )...
Jul 28, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 7
S1E6: Manilaner—The Story of a Jewish Refugee in Manila (Remastered)
Born in 1931, Frank Ephraim grew up under the shadow of Nazi tyranny. But after the horrors of Kristallnacht, his family decided to flee to the Philippines—a country that was opening its borders when many others were closing theirs. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast, entitled Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946, is now available. Visit my ...
Jul 13, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 6
S1E5: That Strange Disease Called Philippinitis (Remastered Ver.)
Anxious? Depressed? Fatigued? Slowly losing your mind? In their new colony, American colonial officers began succumbing to a strange mental disorder that they could not explain. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946 . Purchase here . (An ebook version is also available in Amazon .) References: ...
Jun 30, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 5
S1E4: The Lost Plan of Z (Remastered Version)
The Japanese called it Z Sakusen: Operation Z, a last-ditch plan to turn the tide of the war. And then, in 1944, on the Cebu coast, a copy of the plans was lost. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946 . Purchase here . (An ebook version is also available in Amazon ....
Jun 16, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
S1E3: Baseball Country (Remastered Ver.)
The Americans bring professional sports to the archipelago, and in 1914—during Philippine baseball's golden age—a match is fought between an all-Filipino team and an all-Black team. Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946 . Purchase here . (An ebook version is also available in Amazon .) Re...
Jun 01, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 3
S1E2: The Manilamen Mercs of Shanghai (Remastered Ver.)
During the Taiping Rebellion in the 1860s, Filipino mercenaries form an elite corps of troops to protect the ancient port city of Shanghai. Their leader? The fearless Vicente Macanaya, whom his own men call "bulletproof." Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946 . Purchase here . (An ebook v...
May 18, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 2
S1E1: The Three Mandarins (Remastered Ver.)
Who were the three mandarins who visited Manila in 1603, and why did their arrival set off one of the bloodiest rebellions—and massacres—in Philippine history? Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946 . Purchase here . (An ebook version is also available in Amazon .) References: Kueh, Joshua ...
May 04, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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