Podbit · Fin vs History
In 1697, aged 25, Peter the Great embarked on an 18-month European tour under the alias 'Sergeant Peter Mikhailov' — with 250 people in tow. He was disguised but still expected everyone to know who he was, and got annoyed when they didn't.
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At 32:37 · chapter starts 30:09
Peter's famous Grand Embassy is laid out in full: aged 25, he sets off in 1697 on an 18-month European fact-finding mission under the alias Sergeant Peter Mikhailov, except that he travels with 250 people and gets actively annoyed when Europeans fail to recognise him. He works as a common laborer at the Dutch East India Company shipyards, absorbing everything about Western technology, science, shipbuilding and medicine. The hosts note that Japan did something similar before World War II — sending people out to copy the best of the West — which is exactly what Peter is doing. Horatio launches into a heartfelt defence of massive entourages as a lost cultural institution. 'I wouldn't mind like a huge financially draining entourage. It is quite funny.'
In 1697, aged 25, Peter the Great spent 18 months travelling Europe incognito under the pseudonym Sergeant Peter Mikhailov.
Peter the Great travelled incognito across Europe on his Grand Embassy with an entourage of 250 people.
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