Coming up on CTDEA series 2...

We've been so busy recording and releasing shows that we've plum forgot to tell you what you can expect in series 2. To set that right, here's our classic CTDEA-brand teaser post of what you can expect from series numero deux.

So, what countries that don't exist anymore are coming up on the second series of Countries That Don't Exist Anymore?

1. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

In desperate times, a lone man can change everything. In the case of 19th century China, it was a man named Hong who claimed to be Jesus Christ's brother. This would have been all be very whimsical if it hadn't lead to one of the bloodiest civil wars in Chinese history. Swings and roundabouts.

2. Great Republic of Rough and Ready

The story of the Great Republic of Rough and Ready is really the story of the Californian Gold Rush. Of what happens when hundreds of thousands of men flocked into California in the late 1840s with a lust for gold and no time for law and order and taxes. Or personal hygiene.

3. Axum

At CTDEA HQ, we specialise in countries that have been lost to the mists of time. And often there's good reason for that. Either they weren't around for very long or had shaky foundations.

While the Axumite Empire may be a country that most don't know much about, there's no good reason. It lasted almost a thousand years and (at its peak) it was considered a super power of the ancient world - along with China, Persia and Rome. Find out more about the Roman Empire of Africa. It's Axum!

4. Soviet Republic of Bavaria

From the sublime Axum to the ridiculous Bavarian Soviet Republic. Founded during the German Revolution of 1918-9, the Bavarian Soviet Republic proved that anything was possible when the Establishment is too war weary to fight back. But a lot less is possible when you lose the key to the ministry toilet.

5. Willoughbyland

The British Empire is the largest empire in history, but that didn't mean it was always plain sailing for England's colonisers. Set to a backdrop of civil war, espionage and scarily large snakes, the colony of Willoughbyland (in Guiana) went from smallholder paradise to slave-soaked super plantations over a decade in the 1650s.

6. Sparta

This...is...our Sparta episode. Probably the best known country in our show so far, the Spartans are still renowned for their martial culture, well-oiled torsos and always say die attitude. But are the Spartans everything we've been shown on 300 - or is there more to them than monosyllabic meatheads?

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