The Romanovs and Peter the Great's Grand Embassy to the West

In 1697, Tsar Peter I of Russia—known to history as Peter the Great—embarked on an unprecedented journey: the Grand Embassy, a diplomatic mission that would take him incognito through Sweden, Prussia, the Dutch Republic, England, and the Holy Roman Empire. This episode follows Peter's eighteen months abroad, where he worked as a common shipwright in Dutch shipyards, visited the English Parliament in secret, recruited hundreds of European engineers and officers, and absorbed the technological and cultural innovations that would reshape Russia. We explore his meetings with William III of England and Leopold I, his frustration with the slow pace of diplomacy, and his scandalous behavior—including a drunken spree that destroyed a Dutch merchant's garden. The episode also covers the Streltsy Uprising that forced his early return, and how the Grand Embassy laid the groundwork for the Great Northern War and the reforms that transformed Muscovy into the Russian Empire. Featuring names like Franz Lefort, Patrick Gordon, and the shipwright Gerrit Claesz Pool, this episode reveals the journey that made Peter the ruler who would drag Russia into the modern age. #PeterTheGreat #GrandEmbassy #Romanovs #RussiaHistory #TsarPeter #17thCentury #DutchRepublic #Shipbuilding #GreatNorthernWar #FranzLefort #StreltsyUprising #WilliamIII #Reforms #RussianEmpire #History #FexingoHistory #TravelHistory #Diplomacy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo