Anita Arnon

But when he sees them with his own eyes, when he meets them, when he talks to others in Europe about these, for want of a better word, the chinless wonders who are actually running the show, why?

Why should they?

We know the country.

We were born in the country.

We're doing all the work, so why is this happening?

In the next episode, that's what we're going to be looking at because it is going to be really down to the peninsulares, the Spanish, who change the rules.

And that is what he's – had this remained, I mean, people would have grumbled and perhaps it would have limped on.

But the Spaniards are going to try and close their grip on power.

And if you want to listen to that next episode right now, you don't have to wait.

Go to Empire Club.

You join our club and you get it all in one go, the whole Bolivar series.

But until the next time we meet, it's goodbye from me, Anita Arnon.

To some, he is the revolutionary hero who restored China to its rightful place on the global stage.

Mao Zedong has one of the most recognisable faces in the world, yet he started life as a rural boy in a muddy provincial village.

From Empire, the Goldhanger World History Show, I'm Anita Arnon.

In this six-part series, we're joined by world-renowned expert Rana Mitter to explore the life of the father of communist China, Mao Zedong.

We'll explore the greatest famine in human history, a catastrophe where Mao himself predicted that half of China may well have to die.

And we'll play a clip from the series at the end of this episode for you to listen to.