Hello and welcome to the When Diplomacy Fails introduction to season three.

Finally, we are back, and in this episode I'm going to introduce you to the changes when

diplomacy fails will be undergoing in its current format and why

you should care. I'll reveal to you the exclusive details about the episodic schedule that we'll

be following and hopefully wet your appetite for more failing diplomacy and general audio happiness.

In case you haven't realised yet, we'll be covering the period 1648 to 1699,

essentially what history deems the post-Westphalian age. It was an era rife with splendour,

diplomacy, great decisive events, and incredible figures and personalities that history just doesn't

make anymore.

We'll of course be covering Louis XIV and all the Sun King's greatest hits and misses,

but will also be delving deeper into the period and hopefully revealing what you may not have known about the era in general.

The importance of the Dutch to Europe, the maintenance of the Swedish Empire and the growth

of Prussia all were critical issues in the latter half of the Dutch to Europe, the maintenance of the Swedish Empire, and the growth of Prussia,

all were critical issues in the latter half of the 17th century that most are unaware of today.

It is these issues and many others that I, your humble Irish podcaster student hybrid,

wish to shine light upon.

Of course, if you've been with us from the start, or even just

joined in relatively recently, you'll have seen the Thirty Years' War in all its terrible glory.

Gustavus Adolphus, Wallenstein, Ferdinand II, Richelieu, Matzarin, Philip III, and Fourth,

were all incredible people in their own right, who I had the pleasure of

examining and bringing to your ears. We also saw the more interesting, controversial figures

like Frederick V of the Palatinate, who made the choice to take the crown of Bohemia in 1619,

...