5 Most Disastrous Accounts of First Contact in History

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Extracts taken from:
The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus published in Vol. III of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1939
Cronica Mexicana
Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Copyright © 1962, 1990 by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Expanded and Updated Edition © 1992 by Miguel Leon-Portilla
Reprinted with permission from Beacon Press, Boston
Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1 (1908) translated by Francis Augustus MacNutt
Abel Tasman's journal: gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600...
Letter from Emperor Qianlong: china.usc.edu/emperor-qianlon...
From E. Backhouse and J. O. P. Bland, Annals and Memoirs of the Court of Peking (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914), pp. 322­-331
Edited and Image Curation by Manuel Rubio - check out his amazing channel: @ArtandContext
Thumbnail Art by Ettore Mazza
Art by Alex Stoica
Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist, Footage from Artgrid and Storyblocks.
00:00 380: Coming Of The Huns
04:24 1519: The Spaniards Arrive
07:46 1520: Cortes Meets Montezuma
17:00 1642: Abel Tasman and the Maori
22:58 1793: Qianlong´s Letter To George III

[@VoicesofthePast]

Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/pastvoiceswt

[@Shadowofromefanatic]

The last one should say "George III" not "Charles III". I don't think Charles is quite that old.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Shilling manipulation games is despotic.

[@Hello-ig1px]

this channel is full of propaganda.

[@TeddyBelcher4kultrawide]

Did he edit out the Kentucky part of Chinese Christianity

[@connorb2112]

Love the channel but Months between uploads feels like an age to me, can't help but think that this channel would be alot bigger with more frequent uploads. Thank you for all your work on these videos I enjoy watching them all.

[@williamkarbala5718]

The description of the Spanish ships as mountains is fascinating because in the early 19th century Japanese accounts of Western steam ships used that same language. 'Flouting mountains.'

[@ernimuja6991]

Weird cuz Japan’s ships were of low quality but they tended to be huge too. At least the military ones.

[@Apogee012]

@@ernimuja6991 ur thinking of the wrong time, this is in the edo period when commodore matthew perry forced them to open in 1840-1850,

[@ernimuja6991]

@@Apogee012 No im thinking of that time. The Japanese had these huge ships that looked like boxes all made out of wood. Mainly used for transportation.

[@laurbster2680]

this may be a bit fanciful but i like to compare to modern day ufo sightings.. we have no idea what the hell we are looking at so just try and explain it with things we do know.. oh yeah a flying saucer.. just like these people did comparing ships to floating mountains

[@Apogee012]

@@ernimuja6991 oh really??? what were they called??

[@spectreagent00]

Roman #1: So what were the Huns like? Roman #2: Basically orcs.

[@perun5984]

Tolkien based orcs on steppe nomads so Roman#2 is not so wrong

[@tanner4280]

@@perun5984source: a Reddit post

[@eastbow6053]

@@tanner4280 hey at least now we can say to black people to cut it out since we never considered them to look like orcs 😁

[@GoldenChildBH]

@@eastbow6053 lol what, you guys never called us orcs though, just monkeys/apes.

[@eastbow6053]

@@GoldenChildBH who is "you guys", my people have been slaves to the ottoman empire for 600 years and they called us worse than apes, only the last 50 years did we have any sort of connection with black people. Just because anglo saxons have the same skin color as us doesnt mean we are the same 🙄

[@uriustosh]

First contact for Spaniards in the Aztec empire was with fishermen. As well, the Aztec held no illusion of what boats were, just having not seen such large ones before of such style.

[@fabbeyonddadancer]

Are there primary sources illustrating this

[@pinkbombshellcasing2672]

Source please

[@ProvisionalPatrioticAlliance]

Yeah but I think in a general sense they get that they are ships. In fact they can probably guess that they are Warships. Its probably more that theres no language to describe it. Do you honestly think NOBODY had constructed a boat by that point on the coast? Do you know what kind of cities these people built?????...

[@seantolson6223]

Exactly. Though I could see them being seen like floating fortresses almost, given the “fortification” of military caravels at the time. Bit like how a pontoon truck is considered a truck rather than a boat.

[@texasfuneral4787]

@bastiat I don't know if you are American but you are right. Like most "intelligent" Americans we are really lazy and want someone to tell us the source rather than actually searching for it ourselves and when they don't have the source we just talk shit about that person and assume they are just lying.

[@chrissilverfield7642]

Henceforth, I shall end all my correspondence with "Tremblingly obey, and show no negligence."

[@jamaaldaynitelong8367]

😂 Bra!!!!

[@kenrudd6362]

bold words for a celestial empire within opium distance

[@schnoz2372]

Company emails hit different now

[@balkanmontero]

This would have been cold as fuck if they didnt get absolutely dogged on later in the opium wars 💀💀💀

[@hoosieryank6731]

@@balkanmontero "I set no value on objects strange or ingenious..." Yeah, those words would come back to haunt them.

[@sevenstepsurvival]

Could you imagine what it must of been like during those first meetings of different cultures? Must of been like aliens arrived!

[@75patrickfoley]

Must have*

[@Wargasmo]

I was thinking about that when Montezuma brought Cortez and his men a bunch of daughters. Imagine meeting a new kind of person for the very first time, and then fucking one of them. They must have been over the moon, like Kirk fucking alien women..

[@alexanderstrickland9036]

I imagine a mix of curiosity, fear, distrust, and disgust were pretty common.

[@El-Californio]

Bro... you hit the nail on the head 💯% In three years you'll get to meet the "Aliens" as well 🛸👽

[@jmchez]

Look up, "Outside Context Problem".

[@freja9398]

Tenochtitlan must have been such a beautiful city! So sad every trace of it is gone and that the lake is completely dried up :(

[@stray_dog3960]

It was a capital of murder and deserved to be razed to the ground. Before anyone calls me racist, my ancestors were those monsters.

[@ProvisionalPatrioticAlliance]

Well Mexico City is kinda there...

[@Senkino5o]

Stained with blood and death.

[@napoleonbuonaparte8975]

@Renzo Alarcón Yeah bro, and Cuzco was modeled after the Olympus.

[@predakiller2]

it technacilly did not dissapear but has changed with history. the city you call Tenochtitlan is actually called Mexico City now

[@Artur_M.]

The letter of Emperor Qianlong is, of course, a great classic. Hilarious in more ways than one.

[@thisisntsergio1352]

Homie said "fuck around and find out"

[@kennyg1358]

Paper tiger

[@onlyfacts4999]

@@kennyg1358 Now China's getting payback on the Anglos with fentanyl

[@Ashitaka255]

@@thisisntsergio1352 and then he found out lol

[@mrbisshie]

@@thisisntsergio1352 Yup, and then his country got forced to buy Opium, lost territory to the Russians, and was forced to give GB Hong Kong, after getting completely curb stomped.

[@wfp9378]

The Dutchman taken ashore was likely eaten. People forget (and AFAIK no longer taught in school) that the Maori were at constant war among themselves, took slaves and practiced cannibalism.

[@lcplapiata5501]

Read the Boyd massacre bro, grim.

[@brendon1689]

many of the austronesian/pacific islander peoples practiced cannibalism

[@NeilRoy]

Our schools are trying to rewrite history and as the older of us gradually all die off, it is becomming easier. I have no doubt that what future generations will learn will be mostly fabrications.

[@gaddiusgaddium9082]

Kinda like 100% of all tribals?

[@marcuscorder]

@@paulprice1705 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-M%C4%81ori_settlement_of_New_Zealand_theories

[@lukaslambs5780]

I love the account of Montezuma basically saying “I’m just a guy, don’t let them tell you crazy stuff about me” A very human moment, such a shame things soured so quickly!

[@ydodel6707]

He seems to be very intelligent and well-spoken. The Aztecs apparently had a very rich tradition of philosophy and rhetoric but unfortunately it has been almost entirely lost

[@romanfan250]

It's amazing how the Romans and the Huns viewed one another. They viewed each other as a different species, like Romulans and Kleons from Star Trek.

[@shronkler1994]

@@squirtpussyassfart8518 I don't know if you're well intentioned or if you're trying to spread this myth maliciously, but races aren't different species. Different species are defined by the fact that they can't interbeed (and if they can, the offspring will be sterile or suffer some other type of incapacitation). Races aren't different species, and this is a myth that sounds like it was made to dehumanize others that don't look like you. We're all humans, lol

[@subzerotwarde3842]

@@shronkler1994 i think the correct distinction would be sub species

[@vr3027]

*Klingons

[@shronkler1994]

@@subzerotwarde3842 yea that's more appropriate i think

[@anametobenamed3717]

Modern conception of races is too shallow and inaccurate to be analoged onto the term subspecies. I appreciate the point you're trying to make but if you look at races, the genetic diversity is incredibly large to the degree that they are often more closely genetically related to humans outside of their racial group than those in the same group. Black people are the poigntant example of this. Africa being such a natural barrier laden continent has prevented large scale contact between the Congo, Niger, Swahili Coast,Mediterranean and Horn of Africa. Genetic studies if people from all these areas who would largely be considered black have as much relation to one another as they do to Indo-Europeans. That's profound considering they likely had no contact with Neanderthals.

[@CaesiusX]

Oh, how I do love this channel. Nothing's quite so educational or enlightening as hearing _directly_ from those who lived in these fascinating times.

[@thenoblepoptart]

Absolutely. The only barrier is the translation because I don’t speak medieval spanish lmao, we place our trust in the transcriber

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@thenoblepoptart Is this person a pirate?

[@abdillahijalalkhan2128]

ALLWAAH'S description of the Stately, magnificent and majestic Ships Plying the Oceans to the Landlocked Desert Arabs : { وَلَهُ ٱلۡجَوَارِ ٱلۡمُنشَـَٔاتُ فِي ٱلۡبَحۡرِ كَٱلۡأَعۡلَٰمِ } [Surah Ar-Rahmân: 24] Yusuf Ali: And His are the Ships sailing smoothly through the seas, lofty as mountains:

[@jurgnobs1308]

@@thenoblepoptart there is more to it. for instance, the accounts of hernan cortez were a letter to the king in which he explained away his mutany and murder of fellow spaniards. so, it was in his interest to twist the story quite heavily in his favour. yes, first person sources are very valueable. but you always have to remember that people lie and always have lied

[@mjanny6330]

@Jürg Nobs exactly, so one needs to be very careful with cultures who only have oral histories.

[@leadcloud8290]

I recently read Emperor Qianlong’s letter in full … and tbh the part where he’s usually laughed at (we have everything; we don’t need you; you need us) is not untrue if looked from his perspective. The part diverging the most from modern understanding is his description of the accepted diplomatic order in China: foreigners were permitted to live in Beijing provided that they adopted Chinese way of living and never returned to their homeland, and China couldn’t possible accommodate Britain’s request for sending diplomatic embassy that kept their customs and returned regularly to Britain, even more unthinkable should every state requests the same treatment. It of course goes against everything we know of the Westphalian system, but then again, makes sense from his perspective. Also, he knows of the prowess of Britain as he instructed costal guards to strengthen coastal defense as Britain was “unlike the other Western barbarians” and we don’t know what they would do, not having their demands met … which was quite interesting.

[@greenlamp9219]

the things i would give just to be able to see the look on the Kings face when he read that letter

[@Laura-kl7vi]

And, to his point of view, they didn't think much of the Europeans. They weren't as eager for their trade goods as the other way around.

[@kevinkevinkevin1909]

Funny fact....Qing Dynasty consider Britain as tributary state, because Britain brought gifts and bribes to Qing elites for favors.

[@hashkangaroo]

The funny part is that he listed out all of Macartney's demands in the reply letter because he believed Macartney was misrepresenting what the British king actually wanted and he was trying to set the record straight in case Macartney came back with a different story, such was the bad impression that Macartney's embassy had made.

[@marioalcantara7156]

Do they know about Britain's prowess or its rapacity? England wasn't more advanced that any other European country at the time.

[@parsleyisthicc]

I can imagine what the people of both civilizations were thinking meeting each other for the first time, especially the children. It must've been a "well shit...what now?" Moment.

[@ZephLodwick]

Marcellinus's telling of the Huns sounds like someone describing orcs.

[@dn8443]

Jr Tolkien actually based the orcs off of huns/Mongol hoard concept I'm pretty sure.

[@swampdonkey1567]

Alot of depictions of Orcs are based on a mixture of viking and mongols. My favorite orcs, the elder scrolls type, are basically 99% Mongolian.

[@apparentlyjeremy]

@@swampdonkey1567 mongolmer

[@DoofyGilmore1299]

Huns was demons in europeans eyes diffrent looking people who mastered in archery Huns bows was much more strong than european bows and a Hun arrow could easly pierce Roman shiels and armors also unlike europe Huns was nomadic so they was raiding instead of invading permenantly

[@vespasiancloscan7077]

@@swampdonkey1567 are TES orcs Mongolian though?

[@Kavino]

One thing is the video made Qianlong seem ignorant of the British and their empire which is very untrue. Qianlong is aware of the international situation especially of western European colonial empires and British mercantilism. He didn't think the British can offer him anything, and too much contact can be a destabilizing influence (don't want the Han Chinese to get too uppity against the Manchu ruling class).

[@chuegraff]

Quite literally was like these ancient peoples had seen alien creatures. Many different ancient peoples had completely different statures, different facial structure, massive height differences, different hair texture/color, and in some cases completely different skull shapes/sizes. Some may not have even thought they were the same species.

[@blakedebice8631]

just like we do today? 😂

[@MontiiCat]

The differences in skull measurements is completely false and when the “science” was conducted in them they took outliers of those populations to “prove” race is biological

[@jackstarr4726]

You mean 'subspecies'... It's a shame we aren't allowed by our rulers to speak accurately...

[@chuegraff]

@@blakedebice8631 imagine you were 60 years old in an African tribe 2000 years ago.nowhere in your tribes history,except folklore about “gods,” had knowledge of a 6 foot 5 white man with white/golden hair or a 4 foot olive skinned person with jet black hair ever been. Seeing that for the first time would be extremely shocking to anybody.

[@blakedebice8631]

@@chuegraff Yeah shit must’ve been crazy lol. The mystery and unknown stuff that these people experienced is so interesting looking back on it today

[@witchflowers6942]

a adore aztec history, and this account is so fantastic and mystical. I’ve only read retellings of this great encounter, never the full original accounts. it’s interesting how they would regard one another’s customs. how Cortez misinterpreted the gifts of Montezuma, and how he was meant to respond to them.

[@imperiumgrim4717]

Sad we could've been great as an empire but this Republic is our downfall

[@kntrsh]

It would be a great addition to hear about the impression had but all the fed up tribes that allied with the spaniards to topple the mexicas

[@canofsouls282]

@@kntrsh texcoco who allied with the spanish has accounts.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

​@@canofsouls282 I spoiled the surprise

[@quickschweezy]

@@imperiumgrim4717 wth is going on with the us/rus/china bots spamming everywhere with out of place political coments

[@Artur_M.]

I just love your videos! BTW, was an excerpt from the letters of Cortes already used before? I distinctively remember that part where Cortes is like: "If it ain't a church, it's a mosque". 😉 Seriously though, it's fascinating how we can see him applying his familiar frame of reference to describe unfamiliar things in the New Word.

[@Zeldaytal]

Due to the reconquista being so rooted in spanish culture, a pagan temple back then was refered as mosque. Samd with the therm "moor". While nos used only for magreb people, back then moor was used to every dark skined enemy, with aztecs being named moors in some ocasion aswell (in Bernal letters maybe, one of the main Cortes soldier and not as educated as him)

[@guywiththesly3321]

Say the same for europeans

[@TunnelSnakesrule13]

First contact between the British and the tribe of my father's ancestors was notably friendly. It happened very late so they already had resistance against the diseases that Captain Vancouver and his crew carried. His ship coming down the river was seen and was fascinating. Many fine furs were traded that day.

[@almightydiaz]

British propaganda

[@danielwoods3896]

@@almightydiaz??

[@ewok40k]

1793 China: We welcome you, unwashed barbarians. We do not need your tech or anything, but you can buy our tea and silk. If you behave, that is... 1842 Royal Navy: deploy the gunboat diplomacy.

[@azorahai7837]

Royal navy: Did I hear an opinion? *Proceeds to decimate outdated Chinese fleet*

[@vanyakalinka8305]

Qianlong has got to have one of the biggest mic drops in history.

[@goodwinter6017]

Lol, mic drop, stick to comedy! these people are as enslaved as ever, the European global banks have controlled China, the moment Europeans set foot in there. It was built up by the global bankers, all its cheap manufacturing industry are all deliberately coordinated by the bankers, in exchange for these perks, all kinds of horrible inhumane experimentations are carried out in that country. Quinglong would have regretted having such a stubborn isolation attitude towards his own people and outsiders, look at them now, an international guinypig, population disbalance, the global banks carried all their operations there first as a testing ground.

[@DeamonMaim]

Then the Opium wars happened... that letter sure didn't do China any Favours

[@weirdno.1uniqueno.173]

@@DeamonMaim The opium wars happened during his son or grandson reign, he was lucky enough not to face such a cruel reality, and the Qing during his time was still the most powerful empire on earth despite starting to fall behind on many areas especially technology, at least until Napoleonic era.

[@ihl0700677525]

In his letter, the Emperor seems to believe that Britain was nothing more than a small nation in remote part of Europe, which I guess is technically correct. It is just weird he seems so oblivious about British presence and activities in Asia. I mean, by that time, British Empire was a growing colonial powerhouse with ever-expanding dominion in India and South East Asia (Malaya & Singapore), basically a potentially *dangerous* rising power, located right next door to China. His ministers should have some knowledge about massive geopolitical shift in Asia, with these "barbarians" from Europe gradually subjugating and taking over more and more land in Siberia, India, and South East Asia.

[@ihl0700677525]

@@weirdno.1uniqueno.173 Qing dynasty might view itself as the most powerful nation. After all Qing army easily stop/defeat several Russian expeditions in Mongolia. That is, maybe Qing court believe that those Russian/Cossacks expeditions were the full extent of European military power. On the other hand the Qing court should have heard various stories from Chinese merchant communities about these European "barbarians" defeated massive allied fleet in Malacca, taking over parts of modern Malaysia and Indonesia, and winning several massive wars in India. I mean maybe Qing believe they possesses the best army and navy in the world, but don't you think stories about how ~30 Portuguese ships crushed an armada of hundreds of ships, or a small British army of several thousands men defeated a 50,000 strong combined Indian army might warrant further investigation?

[@Zeldaytal]

Cortes main objective was to take Tenochtictlan as intact as possible, with Moctezuma acting as a vassal for Charles V, so he could rejoice on how beautifull the city was. After la Noche Triste, (Alvarado in comand and not Cortez), and the brutal capital siege by both parts (warhammer tier brutal), Cortez broke to tears to see how all he had for his monarch was some gold and bricks. Sadly, ambushes on the road to Tenochtictlan, most of em ordered by Moctezuma, made spaniards very paranoid by the time they reach the lake city, hence why they chose to hold Moctezuma hostage as a safe conduct, hence why Moctezuma, as safe conduct, lost its value since his nobles stopped respecting him as the aztec emperor told the spaniards. The way to Tenochtictlan is what sealed its fate. Source: the same "Cartas de Relacion" used in the video.

[@_--Reaper--_]

Explain what you mean by "warhammer tier brutal"

[@olgagaming5544]

@@_--Reaper--_ Burn the heretic!!

[@childoftheeternalsky2382]

@@_--Reaper--_ Warhammer 40k and fantasy are board games (and eventually PC games) of the military strategy kind. They have deep stories behind them which feature excessive violence of the highest order.

[@diegofonseca6708]

Cortez and his men already had strong allies by his side which were the tribe and kingdom enemies of the Aztec like the Tlaxcalteca. The Tlaxcalteca were the main ones helping the Spaniards. Not to mention small pox… small pox alone was responsible for killing off most of the citizens of Tenochtitlán

[@hueytlahtoani1304]

Those ambushes are still very disputed. There are tons of possible explanations about the Cholula massacre, and others incidents such as at Nauhtla were not ordered by the capital.

[@gavroshtheswift9959]

I absolutely love your channel, I’m glad you released content often❤️ love from Norway 🇳🇴

[@TheKaryo]

I think you mean Qianlongs Letter to George III not Charles III at 22:58

[@moritamikamikara3879]

Bruh wrote a letter forward in time to today

[@brendon1689]

@@moritamikamikara3879 oh shit bro predicted ww3 from the 1700s 💀

[@onlyfacts4999]

Qianlong's letter was hardly first contact between China and Europeans.

[@pinkbombshellcasing2672]

Source please

[@Michiganfan105]

@@pinkbombshellcasing2672 I truly hope this is sarcasm. Ever heard of the Silk Road? Extensive trade routes between China and Europe that were in existence before the time Christ?

[@pickle2636]

@@Michiganfan105 the silk road was a trade network, not first contact. although contact had certainly been made before 1793

[@joey199412]

Romans and (Han) Chinese had official embassies opened in each other's empires. Macedonians that reached India established a colony in what is now northern China. So ancient greeks had contact with Chinese as well.

[@Senkino5o]

@@joey199412 Rome had no knowledge of China, just rumors and vice versa.

[@antonikudlicki1100]

Qianlong's diss on Charles was fire

[@minecwaftcat4474]

Lol

[@leviticuscornwall9631]

*gets addicted to opium*

[@vorynrosethorn903]

He dissed himself into the century of humiliation.

[@onlyfacts4999]

@@leviticuscornwall9631 China gets revenge now with fentanyl

[@thisisntsergio1352]

It was actually George III

[@alexhatfield4448]

He showed up demanding gifts in gold and daughters. What a wild time to be alive.

[@masterson0713]

I too make this demand.

[@meumnomen]

Dude had a plan

[@meivenheaven]

Back then when women were property of the father or husband. Yeah.

[@aviancypress5181]

@@masterson0713u too get dropped where u stand

[@masterson0713]

@@aviancypress5181 does that mean you refuse my demand for daughters and gold?

[@dannyarcher6370]

"We Spaniards are somewhat touchy and importunate." Some things are eternal.

[@vinny9868]

I personally have the opposite impression of the Spanish being relaxed and living one day at a time.

[@derekjackson1039]

Yep, “Aztecs: welcome, here is food, water, daughters….Spanish: put these shackles on, and we’re burning people at the steak”

[@dn8443]

@@vinny9868 Italians & Spaniards basically act the same. Its Latin nature to be impatient & persistent one minute then relaxed and chill the next 😂

[@NoPeace4theEvil]

@@derekjackson1039 Fake, literally we made the proto-human rights, "Leyes de Indias" and the inquisition had no power over and couldn't judge any local there.

[@bliecoug1029]

@@derekjackson1039 burgos laws stopped spanish from abusing natives but not all cases were easy to track also the spanish empire vacinated all the territories of the empire with the balmis expedition stopping the viruela from killing natives and never did any grnocide 90% of Hispanoamerica also spanish were not a lot sonthey used diplomacy to ally with pro hispanoc tribes and defeated the aztecs there were more tribes apart from the aztecs the natives were the ones that did the conquest of america spain only told them what to do and convinced them to joing

[@Orgruul]

Distinction between Chinese and Barbarian is most strict 26:40 Looks like the ethnic Manchu rulers assimilated too well

[@tcxnt5442]

是的🙂

[@rob6927]

It's possible they used a different term than "Chinese", people in the West don't realise that what you call "China" they call themselves the "Central state", which together with the tone of the letter says it all...

[@tcxnt5442]

@@rob6927 China =华huá

[@bobjones2959]

Well yeah. In those times back then, nationalism didn't exist and "China" was less seen as a nationality and more as a concept of hegemony and civilization. Whoever controlled China were the civilized ones, even if those people used to be so-called barbarians. Fun fact: Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, used to be called Dihua which meant "enlighten and civilize" because it was intended as a Centre of Chinese culture in the far western region. The Manchu Qing dynasty named it that. The communists changed its name to Urumqi which was the name of the small Mongolian village near where it was founded because they thought "Dihua" was too imperialist.

[@timothymatthews6458]

@@bobjones2959 Come on man, that is HAIR SPLITTING. It is still pretty much a nation-state.

[@El.Duder-ino]

Excellent episode, thank you for making and sharing it with the world👍

[@spiritualbliss7855]

Please do a documentary on Johannes Schiltberger also known as the german Marco Polo , a medieval person from Bavaria, Germany who got enslaved in 1380 and travelled all the way to Mongolia where he mentioned to have seen an Alma, a Big foot kind of creature

[@SECRETORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR]

You make one..

[@maximipe]

But Marco Polo was from Italy, hows that not the west lol

[@spiritualbliss7855]

@@maximipe sorry I looked it up again. He was called the german Marco Polo

[@maximipe]

@@spiritualbliss7855 Tbf wouldn't be surprised as some anglo authors don't consider the mediterranean countries

[@crafterrium8724]

@@maximipe italy is mediterranean

[@ridhwaanquasem7626]

How did Cortes have such a detailed conversation with Montezuma? Surely the language barrier must of been huge. I'm assuming some parts are made up or embellished by Cortes, but still I don't understand how they communicated.

[@f0llinge]

They knew there would be a language barrier so they brought in a translator. The Spanish had all ready been in contact with natives, and natives were all ready in contact with one another. At times, they needed 2 translators who had a single mutually comprehensible native language.

[@ShaqPlaque]

@@f0llinge This isn't wrong, but it also leaves out some truly wild details of the two specific people. Cortes negotiated for the release of a missionary named Gerónimo de Aguilar who had been shipwrecked earlier on the mainland. Aguilar learned Mayan through nearly a decade living with them (the other surviving Spaniard shipwrecked with Aguilar, Gonzalo Guerrero, assimilated into the Mayan culture and became a prominent warlord in the resistance against the Spanish). Cortes's party also came into conflict with a different group of Mayans that didn't have much in the way of fancy goods to give to the Spanish to make them go away - so they gave a bunch of young women. Among them was Marina, 'La Malinche', and after Cortes realized she could translate from Aguilar's Mayan to Montezuma's emissaries' Nahuatl (they had intentionally sought Cortes out), Cortes elevated her from slave/prostitute to an advisory role(slash prostitute - that still happened). There's ambiguity about the how's and why's of her support of Cortes's campaign, but support it she did and Cortes's time in Montezuma's court, and Montezuma's time as Cortes's prisoner, would not have happened the same way without her.

[@RomeWill]

They spoke Mexican 😂

[@Gtasplayer]

They had a Mexican translator who had learned Castellano. They had already Been in Mexico and made Allies with several nations tribes

[@jonathandoe2316]

You can bet you're soul he did.

[@lcplapiata5501]

Very cool bro, that you included the Tangata Whenua. If you have time you should look into the land wars of New Zealand from 1830 to 1860. Maori were also involved in the biggest case of cannibalism in European records. The Boyd massacre in 1809.

[@andyanderson5326]

1830s ? More like the 1800s onwards to escalation in 1820 the start of the Nga Puhi raids

[@jasonhaven7170]

Then the Europeans should've stuck to their own lands, and followed treaties to the word.

[@andyanderson5326]

@@jasonhaven7170 had nothing to do with the Europeans other than the sale of firearms and land grabbing missionaries. This was tribe v tribe civil wars all over the place.

[@mjanny6330]

@Jason Haven Many maori didn't even sign it. Technically, they're not under the protection of the law. But enjoy all the benefits as if they were, and none of the responsibilities.

[@lcplapiata5501]

@@mjanny6330 protection of law? Lol the only protection Maori need is from the actual pakeha.

[@failtolawl]

The Haida people are pretty interesting too. They would raid the coasts of northwestern North America, raiding and taking slaves from other tribes. When they eventually came to blows with Russian explorers their armor was too thick that the Russian muskets couldn't penetrate it.

[@chuck4385]

Pls make a these in audio format or podcast. So good for listening when doing light mental work such as programming/cleaning etc. thanks for putting this great info out.

[@Lonsoleil]

Much love and appreciation for Voices of the Past for working so hard to provide the world with such unique and informative historical material. Watching videos like this makes me realize what a shitty education I had.

[@ShaqPlaque]

On the contrary, I'm finding that these letters being presented void of context renders them near meaningless. Additionally, who is doing the translation? What are their aims? History is a pastiche and these are but loose floating scraps of the puzzle

[@SturdyRoots007]

@@ShaqPlaque there’s definitely a dishonest Western European narrative at play. Lol

[@joebungus3447]

@@SturdyRoots007 😢 I’m oppressed by western society

[@007kingifrit]

@@SturdyRoots007 you wish. the west looks like the good guys because they were. the people they met were cannibals

[@EnlightenedTurtle]

The world seems so connected with modern technologies. These people could only imagine a forest, a desert, a jungle ect, and the cultures there in, from the limited knowledge brought back by explores and merchants. Awesome video, thank you. 🙏🏻

[@victoriaburkhardt9974]

Wow, great footage…the art, the narrative. Excellent content. Thank you.

[@Danchell]

That was exceptional. Well done and so interesting. Thank you.

[@themouthofsauron6926]

Lol dude went off on the Huns

[@islammehmeov2334]

HUNS are the ANCESTOR of TATARS 💪

[@snoogles7903]

@@islammehmeov2334 both ugly sub humans then

[@islammehmeov2334]

@@snoogles7903 better than GEY HOMOSEXUAL westerners

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@islammehmeov2334 They became extinct, Timur killed them

[@islammehmeov2334]

@@user-cg2tw8pw7j TIMUR HIMSELF IS TATAR

[@La-my8asd]

The description of the Huns is a typical example of why one has to work with multiple different sources.

[@atlasaltera]

Ah, I love first contact stories. Now this is a gem of an idea for a video. Well done.

[@mrwelshmun]

Ive always enjoyed your videos but I haven't checked any of your content for a while guys. I must say the video editing/animated sequences is so much better

[@johnytwotimes4072]

This channel provides some of the best information for my imagination to put a picture to life and lives of so many that came before us. Thank you so very much

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

An interesting detail about China is that they called all raiders Huns, they used this name to refer to raiders from the steppe as well as Gothic raiders. The people we call the Huns nowadays are called this because they embraced the name of Hun.

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

@@YizhouRong the Chinese called the Turks Tujue not Turks. All those are names the Chinese didn’t use to refer to them.

[@wuotanaz1106]

What kind of Gothic raiders would have ever encountered China?

[@GewalfofWivia]

@@samuelrodriguez9801 today you learn that maybe pronunciations of words changed during China's millenia of history and that ancient Chinese were not ignorant of the differences between the nomadic peoples and actively engaged in diplomacy or even espionage to maintain balances of power and contain rising threats in the steppes.

[@GewalfofWivia]

@@samuelrodriguez9801 Then the Chinese also did not call the Huns "Huns", they called them 匈奴, Xiongnu in Mandarin, or most likely another pronuciation at the time. The Huns, according to Chinese sources, *called themselves* 胡 or Hu (familiar? like "Hun", maybe?). The Chinese only adopted 胡 as the general cognomen to refer to their western nomadic neighbors, while being aware of the difference between them.

[@AB-bg7os]

Not true

[@redline1916]

Aztecs fr went "nah that's fucking cap ain't no way, send him to the insane asylum" and then they saw the ships and were like "oh shit he was right"

[@CrazyInternetTales]

Great job with your videos! It's encouraged me to also up my game.

[@loszhor]

Very interesting! Thanks for uploading!

[@be.A.b]

Mystery was a greater part of life back then. Legends of strange people in far off lands were standard. The exhilarating curiosity of encountering new peoples, made some easier to exploit.

[@MattttG3]

Broooo I have been waiting for you to post these types again

[@ryanTDG]

Awesome video and channel, definitely subscribing

[@MrTraveler33]

It’s very interesting how first contact is relayed from these encounters.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

Barbarians do not change the Romans have a future view

[@spartanray2173]

Just imagine how much these historical stories were really twisted if we had a time machine and became undercover witnesses in these events

[@peterwilson5528]

I really enjoyed your video. Elegant and well-constructed. A pleasure to watch. Thank you.

[@Nivshah25]

This video is made absolutely brilliant, learned a lot

[@korr1990]

Also the Sentinelese straight up got tribe members stolen and returned dead and everyone's like "WhY dOn'T tHeY lIkE vIsItOrS?!"

[@jmchez]

The first time that the Spaniards witnessed the mass human sacrifice of the Aztecs, must have been as worthy of retelling here as any other stories.

[@eastbow6053]

Spaniards were afraid of the aztecs because they culture and religion reminded them of islam at first glance, back then if you can believe it islam was even more brutal than today nightmare fueling even. Unfortunate for the aztecs that Spaniards landed at that specific point in time, you can also blame islam because if it wasnt for them blocking ships raiding and enslaving europe population whenever they could europeans would have never venture to the west and would have never found america till 200 years later the least

[@Teponecc]

No proof of mass graves have ever been found

[@eastbow6053]

@@Teponecc well that is scary because that means they were eating the bodies

[@Teponecc]

@@eastbow6053i doubt they ate humans as a major food source. Most cannibal acts took place as ritual.

[@Panambipyhare]

@@Teponecc The Aztecs were just as bloodthirsty and evil an empire as many Europeans. For this reason, the majority who helped to destroy it were indigenous people from other subjugated tribes.

[@Billysdfhjd]

So glad I found this channel. Can't wait to binge it all

[@SECRETORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR]

Absolutely love this channel 😁🤟

[@pgaven9396]

I would have added Portuguese Explorer, Ferdinad Magellan's stellar experience on April 27, 1521 in Cebu meeting with Datu Lapu Lapu and a poison arrow on the island of Mactan. Fun fact: His body was never recovered and his skull was rumored to be displayed in Lapu Lapu's dining room on a wall. 😅

[@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns]

Keep in mind that in 1793, China was by far the world's largest economy, matched only by Greater India.

[@lollllolll.]

Slave/serfdom labour really paid off.

[@outis439-A]

@@lollllolll. yeah lowers unemployment

[@kennth6594]

And they were in power without enslaving Africans unlike the rest

[@jmo3344]

Didn’t last long after 1793, China was way too late to the industrialization party and couldn’t keep up with the times.

[@j4y167]

@@kennth6594 Africans enslaved Africans

[@omenzilla9755]

Thank you for blessing us once again

[@williamwatashe8258]

Most bestest title of any historical video ever thanks for learning us something

[@brutifullroast2548]

Those "small blunt pikes" are called a taiaha and the pointed on one end and flat and blank on the other end and the small clubs are called Patu's wich are made of green stone, wood, bone or a mixture. The Maori are very skilled with there weapons and in hand to hand combat

[@j4y167]

These days all they're skilled in is crying racism when their unemployment benefits arent raised, and drinking petrol

[@brutifullroast2548]

@@j4y167 hahaha not all. Seems like you've met some shitty ones. I'm actually doing very well. If you lived in NZ you would know and understand why they struggle over there. Jobs literally only pay enough for rent and 12hr days mon to fri and rent on average is $600+.

[@j4y167]

@@brutifullroast2548 I live in Australia and kiwis constantly talk shit about us and say NZ is better. If what you say is true, NZ is a solid ten times worse

[@brutifullroast2548]

@@j4y167 it is and it isn't. Australia is boring can't do anything without money and NZ is alot more scenic and nicer, complete opposite to Auz also alot more to do

[@maapauu4282]

​@@j4y167As a kiwi, there's good and bad in both. I think the cost of living is better for you guys, right? But if you're indigenous, you'd probably prefer here

[@FreeFallingAir]

You absolutely deserve millions of subscribers. This is fantastic

[@FreeFallingAir]

I agree with my 8 month ago self!

[@jmchez]

" I set no value on objects strange or ingenious and I have no use for your country's manufactures". This was a truly bad idea. Although, not that surprising, since China invented gunpowder, mechanical clocks, magnetic compass and (rudimenatry) printing press and yet, never developed them to the incredible degree that the Europeans did. Innovate or stagnate.

[@jamaaldaynitelong8367]

You never know until it's too late...Especially when you've had so much success unchecked for so long.

[@CatnamedMittens]

That was historically the Asian mindset to traders from the west since the Portuguese started traveling down Africa

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@CatnamedMittens No, the Portuguese pirates did this only for slavery and gold

[@CatnamedMittens]

@@user-cg2tw8pw7j false. Calcutta was done for trading rights

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@CatnamedMittens No, the Portuguese were just pirates or demons. They burned any city that helped them

[@natjonestower3035]

been missing these. Happy day.

[@user-dq1kr6zc2t]

Finally! Happy New Year Voices of the Past!

[@paulheydarian1281]

What makes it Happy?

[@lennart266]

so interesting to hear accounts of Dutch explorers around australia and Tasmania

[@JohannesVanDerStuyvebode]

"Explorers" of eerder plunderende kolonisten?

[@edd2184]

Amazing Video, the Narration was superb.

[@GrantPatN]

Love this content, great video!

[@moebunkbedsmoeproblems]

Qianlong's letter to King George III was an absolute drive-by.

[@maddogbasil]

Would've liked to see ibn battuta journey on this channel He's travels were legit amazing and just as brutal as much of these stories.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

I think he does have a video on him.

[@Dark-Memes]

@@huwhitecavebeast1972 yes he wa vlogger

[@mightisright]

Great job on the video!

[@8_bruh_8]

This is one of the best KZbin videos I have ever seen. 👏🏼

[@turkeysandwich1998]

China: Insults King George and the English people by calling them barbarians. King George lll: Lmao * hooks entire country on opium *

[@brendon1689]

now europe and america are hooked on worse drugs made with chinese ingredients

[@perlarosa886]

When you don't read history and twist everything

[@astronaut8917]

China now: *hooks entire youth of western society on tik tok *

[@perlarosa886]

@@astronaut8917 they didn't hook the entire youth. Just because it's a problem in the West doesn't mean it's a problem in Asia or Africa. In fact tick tock isn't that popular in Sri Lanka

[@brendon1689]

@@perlarosa886 i mean, they did specify western so...

[@robertsides3626]

It's sad. Even IF violence was never acted on and any of them would have had every intention of coexistence, disease would inevitably take its blood tax. Death is absolutely unavoidable.

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

Europeans are known to be savages unlike the Romans, Greeks and Canaanites

[@adrianchambers4417]

Sadly…the EUROPEANS…were unavoidable. 😑

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@adrianchambers4417 But the Greeks and Romans were very kind compared to the Europeans

[@TA-by9wv]

​@@adrianchambers4417 Loser cope

[@alegp97]

actually Cortez was kinda prophetic. But also from a biological and genetical perspective, smallpox was inevitable. Viruses are the only horizontal transport agents of genes, they exist since the beginning of life. If 80% to 90% of the native decline was due to epidemics we have to see it as evolution doing its bloody job leaving those good genes perpetuating. This happens all the time between large groups of individuals.

[@romansit9110]

It was very educational.Thank you!

[@mider-spanman5577]

I just love that thumbnail art!

[@michaellasumiso3462]

Fascinating - especially the recounting of Montezuma’s monologue - where is that documented?

[@blockmasterscott]

You forgot the tribbles on Space Station K-7. Now THAT is a disastrous first contact.

[@blastradius7193]

I like the way you tell a story man!

[@DreamRain001]

I love these !!! Best channel 👍👍👍

[@The88Cheat]

It's super interesting hearing these primary sources of events that will never happen again. It's kinda sad in a odd way that the planet is so well known and traveled.

[@filbao8113]

Alien meetings

[@ashaler__]

yeah i agree, honestly

[@Worldcitizen7777]

yeah and probably meeting with aliens will also be too late 😢

[@andrewklang809]

"Good Lord, the Huns seem absolutely monstrous! Brutal, barbarian, living like animals, treating everyone else as prey, a resource, a target. Like they have no heart, no soul." (Five minutes later, Cortes talks about his plans for the Aztecs.) ".......Oh."

[@dariusgreysun]

Yea all those human sacrifices the Spanish did....oh wait...

[@andrewklang809]

@@dariusgreysun Sacrificing captives through border wars vs: WIping out whole islands' worth of natives through slave labor, then raiding a whole continent for millions of more slaves to burn through your new colonies like firewood. Even the Aztecs can't make the Spanish look not-horrific.

[@MrKmas508]

@@andrewklang809 Genocide is ok when brown people do it

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@andrewklang809 Why do the Spaniards say to the Uzbeks that they are Muslims or Moors? Were they stupid?

[@brendon1689]

@@user-cg2tw8pw7j uzbeks? i assume you mean aztecs, but you forget that this is not long after the reconquista, so the context is yes, the spanish typically branded any enemies as moors or muslims

[@GenaTrius]

Gotta love Qianlong's response to ole Georgie "Look. I understand you may not really know what you're asking for, but, and this is crucial: go away and don't bother me no more. Go back to your trading post that we so graciously gave you and fuck off."

[@mr.j1003]

"We come in peace..." "Yeah, that's why we want to make that plural"

[@TruthbtoldMD]

From history we now know what our first contact with aliens is going to be like

[@Brett_S_420]

Not good.The military should not be allowed to be involved!

[@3lullabies]

Very interesting. For me, it shines a new light on Montezuma as a man, and the history of his people.

[@SturdyRoots007]

I think bc it fits a white narrative of colonial benevolence. It’s based on a lot of dishonesty.

[@rotapp7268]

Amazing video and amazing channel.

[@arribabajoizquidiagonal1906]

Thanks for this new chapter of the black legend.

[@wasteyelo1]

Qianlong's letter is fabulous. An early example of a mic drop.

[@tdkage]

God damn, Qianlong had no chill

[@ThomasSBird]

This is great. Wish a few of the sources were listed so I could read up

[@ShearDouchbaggery]

Surprised that I have not seen this channel before. Keep posting and I want to keep seeing what you have to offer

[@Cereal_Killer007]

How sad for Montezuma, he showed them every courtesy as a most gracious host but the spaniards still killed him anyway.

[@marcocortes9968]

To be fair, Moctezuma thought Cortez was a god. I think that is the only reason they were so nice.

[@Cereal_Killer007]

@@marcocortes9968 Hmmm...That may be a fair assessment but even if its true that doesnt put a silver lining on the actions of Cortez. Moctezuma showed every courtesy possible and that should have been reciprocated. Of course im saying this 400 years down the line so my understanding of the world they lived in cant be held to our current societal structure if im being completely honest here

[@marcocortes9968]

@@Cereal_Killer007 of course, I agree that it seemed like that would be the right thing to do. I do think eveb in that time, that was the socially right thing to do. He was supposedly catholic, and that is a value that is taught. But he came with his own intentions. In the end it looked like he only returned the favour with hurt. Though, all in all I think it was good they were conquered. As a mexican, the story of the aztec and spanisv is told as the backstabbed people. But when you look closer, seeing how the aztec treated their own and those that lived on the nearby regions, I think they were even crueler than the spanish.

[@Cereal_Killer007]

@@marcocortes9968 Crueler than the spanish? That would be tough to do...lol

[@marcocortes9968]

@@Cereal_Killer007 I guess it just depends on what people consider crueler. From my point of view, having your arms tied as you get your heart ripped out (and still beating) through your abdomen to be later eaten in a dish called “pozole”. Or perhaps having your entire skin ripped to look as a carpet Is worse than what the spanish did with prisoners.

[@user-md2ds2qh5i]

Damn. Qianlong's letter to George is so profoundly written.

[@johnoneill1386]

That final letter was absolutely beautiful.

[@cardboardbox191]

The was some from the Zulu's it wasn't first contact but it shows how things can be misunderstood after winning a battle they were nice enough to help the British dead to clarify they stripped and stabbed the corpses so the spirits could escape.

[@cardboardbox191]

@@masterson0713 You might be taking the mick but I'm going to assume you're being serious just in case. They where they have some nasty cultural practices but this was on the grand scale at the same time we brits were selling opium to china if I remember correctly to get tea. Us brits started the war on false premise to get cattle. But they were genuinely just trying to help out their enemies dead. If we buried their dead they'd think those barbaric scum there trapping the souls of the dead in the ground. edit The zulus civility to the enemy dead was misinterpreted at the time.

[@masterson0713]

@@cardboardbox191 I understand everything you said but I don't care. I care about what benefits my culture and when my culture is the only culture left we'll all be the better for it.

[@cardboardbox191]

@@masterson0713 Then why did you feel the need to single out the Zulu's as savages? and what culture are you referring to anyway?

[@masterson0713]

@@cardboardbox191 uh bc we just watched a video about Zulus? American constitutionalist.

[@johnsears6077]

@@masterson0713 ok buddy