How borders shaped world history – with Jonn Elledge

We live in a world of borders – and often take them for granted. But they’ve shaped the world in myriad ways over the centuries. Our politicians go to extreme lengths to secure them and in some cases build giant walls to protect them. So what can we learn from examining their history?  

 

Andrew Harrison is joined by Jonn Elledge, author of A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps, as we talk about the weird and wonderful history of the lines on our maps.  

 

• “Open borders aren’t inherently progressive, Genghis Khan was in favour of them!”  – Jonn Elledge  

• “When you look back through history, You have empires, you have cities but there aren’t many borders.” – Jonn Elledge 

• “Borders in Europe only really started settling down in the 17th and 18th centuries.”  – Jonn Elledge  

 

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Buy Jonn Elledge’s book A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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