Dark History of the Panama Railroad | U.S. History | Extra History

[@extrahistory]

You can pick up a new skill with our sponsor Skillshare! Plus the first 500 people to click my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/extrahistory06241 Thanks so much for Watching!

[@Taiwan528]

One like and no replys? Lemme fix dat

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Always happy to learn with You guys! You make saturdays amazing! Thanks For this 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@also_arles]

Nothing makes a day better than a new upload from y'all! Kudos to you guys always being consistent with your upload schedule. 😊

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

YOU GUYS ALWAYS MAKE MY DAY! Thanks as always For making out saturdays so much better! Love to learn form You all!❤❤❤❤❤

[@nubbythecatsister8565]

Its really the best thing when you upload. I always wait and have notificatons on! Keep up the great work🤗😀

[@bonniedan123mc]

These stories often remind me of one Chinese poem written in the ninth century, the last sentence being “一將功成萬骨枯”, which roughly translates into “Behind a general’s victory rots tens of thousands of bones.” This video made me realize the poem applies not just to military men, but to entrepreneurs as well.

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

Thats a wild quote.

[@bthsr7113]

@@bonefetcherbrimley7740 How about "Those medals on a general's chest used to be someone's children"? Admittedly, that quote is in character for a semi-professional historian of a fictional setting.

[@The-rc9cm]

What's the price of a mile? Railway companies: Idk, lets find out

[@IliyaMoroumetz]

Calculations put it at least 750 dead workers per mile.

[@Wolfeson28]

Hear the sound of the locomotive Hear it echo in the night Axes thudding, fells the scene Scars the fields that once were green.

[@samdumaquis2033]

Sabbadon musique coming up

[@CSA-wg3mq]

@@Wolfeson28 nice parody

[@DuckwiththeSolver]

​@@samdumaquis2033 thousands of tracks laid to the beat, it's a train to panama

[@jokodihaynes419]

"History can say whatever it wants but rarely does it remember anything correctly"-Lawkeeper Equity Mlp Ace Attorney EOJ

[@fds7476]

Well _that's_ a reference I did not expect here.

[@OneRealSilverRaven]

Nice reference

[@endy7630]

She ain't wrong

[@davidjennings2179]

Which bit are you saying was incorrect in the video?

[@Volcano22207]

@@davidjennings2179he was referring to the workers takeing so long to get any recognition

[@kevinchen7166]

4:30 the manciheel tree, aka the beach apple. The tree has toxic(and caustic) sap which is water soluble(aka can enter your lungs when foggy). It’s fruits loop like green apples but cause massive inflammation and burning pain when consumed(sometimes fatally)

[@EdinoRemerido]

That tree is pure evil

[@sarahwatts7152]

Metal

[@arturoaguilar6002]

Reading the Wikipedia, it almost reaches the level of “so toxic it burns your eyes by just looking at it” (actually it burns your eyes if you set the tree on fire and let the smoke reach your face)

[@rikuvakevainen6157]

Like a tree wants to say: "Bring it on nature! You will not take me alive!"

[@Night_Star6248]

I like how there’s more railroad history videos being made for the channel

[@timesnewlogan2032]

I’d love to see a video on the runaway that crashed right before Eisenhower’s Inauguration. Do you know that one?

[@Night_Star6248]

@@timesnewlogan2032 it’s the one with a GG1 right?

[@MammothTrains]

​@@Night_Star6248 How about Montparnasse 1895?

[@timesnewlogan2032]

@@Night_Star6248Yep, that’s the one!

[@OGNoNameNobody]

Twenty *_Thirteen_* !!?! That's INSANE!!

[@atzuras]

It's money. Ships could do better, but why? They were made for commerce, not to win a race.

[@Goldenkitten1]

@@atzuras But using that logic, wouldn't a faster ship make money FASTER?

[@Ornzora]

​@@Goldenkitten1the technology isn't efficient enough to do it fast fast, not to mention world just recover from WW2 and Cold War, so they don't have enough money to build new weapon (because weapon grow and advance very quickly at Cold War, they can't afford to lose and have a chance to get invaded again after WW2), rebuild society and build new ship all at the same time, it's more convenience to just use what's exist at the time and borrow from your neighbor or ally (U.S.A., EU or USSR (pre fall)) "But then why they don't do it as soon as they recover ?" They did, but it's a MASSIVE ship, it take YEARS just to build the base and not to mention they must check it's safety and paint it with rust resistant paint

[@ultimateqmazing2537]

​@atzuras the faster your boats the more contracts you get to deliver said goods.

[@atzuras]

@ultimateqmazing2537 A plane is faster, but the ship is the preferred way of commerce because the expenses are lower. IF you have a lot of trade to do, you send two ships instead of one.

[@iqjohnny]

Has a sino-panamenian i am happy that you made this video. Not only because iam panamenian but my paternal family is this oldest chinese family in the souther republic. Saludos

[@JoeRogansForehead]

Huh , I didn’t know any of the Chinese survived

[@jackgreene7002]

"People Needlessly Died in Order to Accomplish this!" That has been the tag line of every event in human history and has only improved over the last century. Unfortunately, people seldomly appreciate that the foundation of our modern lives has been established upon the blood and treasure of countless people before us.

[@joeyjojojrshabadoo7462]

Well then it wasn't needless...

[@yucol5661]

People seldomly appreciated the value of human life, much less the value of the poor worker’s lives. Maybe content like this is part of why we humans improved on this area

[@jackgreene7002]

@@yucol5661 It would be nice if people saw this content and began to appreciate what it took to get where we are now.

[@masaheimoi]

I don't think this project could have been done without humans dying even if investors had cared about human life.

[@mrjoe5292]

@@masaheimoi Almost certainly not. But 6,000 out of 17,000 is a horrific death toll. We take things like basic safety standards for granted now but many people died and many people fought for even basic and common-sense precautions that we have today. Red tape can be annoying and frustrating but it's almost hard to comprehend just how much safer it is to work in construction and manual jobs these days.

[@mcintoshpc]

“Emancipated William” whale oil is up there among EH visual gags. Nice one!

[@Wolfeson28]

Took me a minute 🤣

[@marny3559]

I dont get itm

[@JMY1000]

@@marny3559 It's a reference to the 1993 movie *Free Willy*.

[@haydenbsiegel]

This brings a whole new meaning to the cliche, "They don't build them like they used to.", for all these blood drenched projects from history there are people who died but then those are the projects which stand the test of time.

[@hannahdigioia692]

There certainly is a thing to consider in regards to the human cost, but that phrase more refers to planned obsolescence, which is when a product is designed to break at a certain point.

[@bthsr7113]

@@hannahdigioia692 Here's the funny thing. On some level, we might actually have the Soviets to thank for pioneering that one.

[@ambarrose]

The human cost of these projects is generally much higher than what people can think of. I loved how you turned the theme towards this human tone. It's rare. 😊

[@dogood8750]

Believe me this is all call just a Prelude to the giant Fiasco that the American and French construction of the Panama Canal

[@sekh765]

Hope Extra History does an episode on the Panama Canal. Do a "Disastrous mega construction" duo ep with the Hoover Dam too.

[@malachiphoniex8501]

Yes! Man, do I love these one-off epsiodes. Short, sweet, simple and usually something I've never heard of.

[@jgaming5589]

The red dead 2 release in the newspaper bro 😭

[@pihlajafox]

Huh?

[@LaurieCheers]

Joke on the back of the paper at 0:00

[@andrewbachman698]

1:34 “Lie” No train went from Council Bluffs to Sacramento in 1869. The first bridge across the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs wasn’t completed until 1872, up until that point trains were unloaded in Council Bluffs and people and cargo transported across the river by barge and/or ferry. Then reloaded onto trains in Omaha.

[@MatNichols-iz9dy]

OMG FINALLY TAKING ABOUT THIS! As a train nerd I've been waiting for so long. Fun fact, the Panama canal still has a railway, and uses it. There is a huge resurrection right now bc ships are getting too big for the canal.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

EH! HUGE fan of your work! Never miss a video!😊😊😊😊😊

[@ImperatorZor]

Types of 19th century Ironclad... 1: Broadside Ironclad: basically an Age of Sail warship with sails and gun-decks, but upgraded with armour plating and a Steam Engine (Example: HMS Warrior) 2: Monitor: An ironclad built low to the water but with a big gun, hard to hit but can't go far to sea (Example: USS Monitor) 3: Casemate Ironclad: Has a bunch of broadside guns in a big central box on top the ship (Example: CSS Virginia) 4: Center Battery Ironclad: Has the guns in an armoured box in the middle of the ship (Example: HMS Alexandria) 5: Barbette Ironclad: Has the guns on the deck in open air armoured circles. (example: French ironclad Vauban) 6: Turret Ironclad: Has the guns in armored turrets (example HMS Devastation)

[@renegadeleader1]

You forgot the Iron clad rams of the 1870s that focused on fortified bows and ram spars instead of any focused main battery.

[@Number1Irishlad]

I was lookin up pictures of all these just to see, and I came across this gem of a French ironclad class: The Terrible-class ironclad

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You guys are the Best! The art, charm and narration are second to none! Love your channel! Hearth please ❤❤❤❤❤

[@extrahistory]

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

​@@extrahistory❤❤❤

[@Xiiki]

An almost immediate red dead redemption 2 reference, already know it’s gonna be a good video.

[@Rehteal]

I saw this frequent question on google: "What does the manchineel fruit taste like?" which is akin to asking "Does bleach pair well with cheese?" Google's answer: "It was sweet-smelling, so she took a tiny bite, then offered it to a friend. It was a manchineel beach apple. They felt a peppery taste in their mouths, then a tearing, burning sensation followed by a tightening of their throats until they could barely swallow."

[@orangesplatproductions]

3:19 that is actually mind boggling Insane

[@dclark142002]

Kind of astonishing to realize that in Panama, the canal would supplant a railroad...when most times it was the other way.

[@timothystamm3200]

Well there you didn't have deboard or unload anymore in mid transit.

[@GeneralLuigiTBC]

Something to keep in mind: Aspinwall did not build the Panama Railroad. The thousands of workers he hired did.

[@MontyBeda]

Without him getting investors and organising the whole venture there would be nothing built. It cuts all the ways, everything is cooperative and everybody involved played some role in seeing it finished.

[@3237uejuekwoqloqj]

That's not really what people say when they say build in that context and you (probably) know it

[@3237uejuekwoqloqj]

@@michaelthomas6280 when did they ever say something like that?

[@osurpless]

Rejection of Great Man Theory is always vital.

[@dogood8750]

I think it's fair to say that well Aspinwall may not have labored in the construction that he deserves primary credit for organizing managing supervising the entire Construction

[@zane_0_0.183]

THIS IS SO INTERESTING !! you guys never fail to post bangers

[@Goatcha_M]

That Australian Flag which is essentially the Eureka Flag palette swapped with a Union Jack stuck on needs a further video.

[@-Sonne-]

Can you do a vid about how the little Mirco chip that became one of the most importen items of the world

[@LexiLunarpaw]

My favorite Internet show is back!

[@extrahistory]

[@alanrobinson4318]

My great grandfather was an engineer on the Panama Railway during the building of the Panama Canal.

[@f.powell8724]

"Sea Witch" is such a cool name I wish more ships had names like that.

[@awesomehpt8938]

I suppose things didn’t stay on track then?

[@AtlasNovack]

Us California kids in 5th grade history classes learning about this and the missions 😂

[@HA11EYS_COM3T]

I never learned that, and I live in California

[@GallowglassVT]

Did they ever talk about the California genocide? We covered the history of the American West when I did my GCSEs, including the genocide, so I'm wondering if American schools covered it?

[@AtlasNovack]

@@GallowglassVT unfortunately, no. This was the 5th grade, and they didn't really cover that stuff when we got to high school and it would've been appropriate to

[@spencerjoplin2885]

4th grade is State history in California schools, 5th grade is US history. And, no, genocide isn’t being taught to 9-year olds, though the fact that many Indians died under Spanish rule is.

[@KailashEasterling]

a new extra history series is always welcome

[@ryleeculla5570]

Very clever to add yourself in the news paper saves a bit of time instead of animating 0:01

[@tns6862]

"A man a mile? Pfft..try a man a yard."

[@neonoah3353]

I thought about a joke after seeing this quote, but i rather not say it. Lol

[@Goofy_Dominican]

Aspinwall: We finished a railroad to Panama City! Tourists: how many people did you hire? Aspinwall: 16k Tourists: how many died, maybe like 100 Aspinwall: *sure, let’s settle with 100*

[@valmid5069]

...Taking a boat from New York to here by going around the Horn like a gentleman sounds more better alternative

[@princessmarlena1359]

Love that BoJack Horseman reference.

[@STEPHEN1463]

My grandfather designed railcars for Norfolk Southern Railway for more than 50 years. He is also a famous train car inspector. I like railway videos.

[@briannamcdaniel266]

Ah yes: my favorite part of the day. An Extra History video! ❤

[@FictionWriter95]

8:04 "Emancipated William Whale Oil" is fantastic XD

[@Quazarthegreat]

Who built Thebes of the 7 gates ? In the books you will read the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock ? And Babylon, many times demolished, Who raised it up so many times ? In what houses of gold glittering Lima did its builders live ? Where, the evening that the Great Wall of China was finished, did the masons go? Great Rome is full of triumphal arches. Who erected them ? Over whom did the Caesars triumph ? Had Byzantium, much praised in song, only palaces for its inhabitants ? Even in fabled Atlantis, the night that the ocean engulfed it, The drowning still cried out for their slaves. The young Alexander conquered India. Was he alone ? Caesar defeated the Gauls. Did he not even have a cook with him ? Philip of Spain wept when his armada went down. Was he the only one to weep ? Frederick the 2nd won the 7 Years War. Who else won it ? Every page a victory. Who cooked the feast for the victors ? Every 10 years a great man. Who paid the bill ? So many reports. So many questions. Bertolt Brecht 1935 Questions From a Worker Who Reads

[@abelBito5048]

I'm Panamanian, i love when this history gets told, not many people know this part of Panamanian history, you should do the history of Vazco Nuñes de Balboa next

[@DaniRockandFire]

Panamenian here. One awesome consequence of the great inmigrations of chinese, blacks and other ethnicities is that panama is one of the most mixed countries in the world and due to this mixing its a place with very little racial friction. Where jews and arabs frequently party together and where everyone can feel welcome. 🇵🇦

[@Aleena_Bina_Kosimo]

Timing is everything. I just watched the horror movie "Anacondas" last night.

[@kevinsmith3161]

As others have noted, the same conditions would be magnified when it came time for the Panama Canal, which the purchase and use of the Panama Railroad played a huge role. Hope this becomes a prequel to a future EH on that project!

[@BlueHooloovoo]

It's kind of ironic that Aspinwall went on to become one of the founders of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866.

[@GodoliyaAbnet]

Please please continue the so you have not read series please please please please 😢😢😢😢😢

[@palladin9479]

So wonder when Rob is gonna do an episode or even series of the working conditions in post industrial China? Would his backers even allow him to make such a thing or would he risk being thrown in jail.

[@dl_flexonya6296]

😢

[@dl_flexonya6296]

😢

[@FakeBlocks]

Please do the Greek war of independence of 1821 against the ottoman empire next I've been asking for this since the first episodes of the sengoku Jidai!!.

[@EthanTheRenegade1313]

please tell the artist who drew the alligators that I love them

[@josederozas3778]

As a panamanian i am so exited to see this video loved it

[@kaltaron1284]

That death rate isn't too different from when the Japanese built railways in Burma. Crazy.

[@dl_flexonya6296]

😢

[@Waddles452]

Cool video

[@OldPoppyHistoryChannel]

how long does it take you to make one video? Do you work alone or with a team?

[@Grayson-tk5hn]

a team i think he makes a video every week

[@jessemeyer445]

MAN I FREAKING LOVE THIS CHANNEL 🎉🎉🎉 GREATEST HISTORY CHANNEL EVER 💯‼️‼️‼️‼️

[@ameliaholder6530]

Well! I was born and live in the small town that Aspinwall started on the Caribbean side of the isthmus. It used to have his name but New Granedian (Colombia) authorities decided to call it Colón (Columbus). I grew up with this history. It is interesting to know about all the merchandise transported, we only usually know about the California voyagers and all the diseases and deaths the constructors suffered.

[@jimmypetrock]

The best video of all time

[@dimetime93]

How long did it take to shoot and edit this video?

[@SONICX1027]

It would be cool to see Extra History doing their storytelling about the Transcontinental Railroad

[@spikethompson2000]

Correction at 4:23, it wouldn’t have been home to alligators, rather it would have had crocodiles, alligators are only found in the US and China

[@iapetusmccool]

They also have caimans (which aren't alligators, but are more closely related to gators than they are to crocs).

[@theduke7539]

I think it really says something about how difficult panama's terrain is when massive industries in the 21st century still have failed to build a single railroad or paved road that runs from the northern most point to the southern most point. Theres actually no roads that cross from north to south america because theres a 50 mile stretch of wilderness that even modern machines have never conquered

[@carolmm3065]

Dato histórico curiosos: Este ferrocarril fue el lugar de una de los incidentes más tontos de la Historia de Panamá Llamado "El incidente de la tajada de sandia" probocado porque un norteamericano un tal John si no mal recuerdo no quiso pagar 25 centavos por una tajada de sandia.

[@eccentric_traveler]

If you guys plan to do a series on the Commodore Vanderbilt, that’d make my day! Fascinating life he had. I recommend ‘The First Tycoon’ by T J Stiles as a source.

[@8888Legomaster]

The the 6000 deaths were tragic but they weren’t in vain! People didn’t just travel through Panama because it was quicker and more comfortable it was safer The trip from the East Coast to the West Coast over land was dangerous and many people died trying to make the Journey. Although the railroad was made for profit it saved many live by making this long and arduous journey quicker and safer.

[@CallMeThyme]

2D 7,2K L 223 C 3,54M S 112 260 V

[@cheydinal5401]

Oh no I 100% saw the "And today's episode is made possible" joke coming this time, oh God

[@markheathcliff9649]

Pov: you're history teacher is this dude:

[@Dogbehu]

Can't help but wonder how many lives were saved, since people no longer had to do the 8-day trek

[@viktorarman934]

Eyyy whats up doc?

[@krankarvolund7771]

"With one million dollar" In today's money that's 40 millions dollars.

[@TheCreepypro]

both impressive and horrifying as history often is

[@lietsiyon3464]

Will you guys talk about the Watermelon War?

[@harrisonlowlicht]

OG early access

[@danderson6455]

@ 5:53, I see a Christian Cross. Were any of the folks how died making this railway not Christian? If so, what was their story?

[@yaquelin1begreen]

NICARAGUA MENTIONED!! I'll admit, my first thought upon starting the video was "but what about the steam boats through Nicaragua?", and lo and behold! I'd love to see a video about nicaraguan history one day: it could be about national heroine Rafaela Herrera, the invasion of William Walker, the history of the short-lived miskito-kingdom or just the Cerro negro and it's effects on the country!

[@rdreher7380]

I gotta give you some props. Your locomotive actually looks like a locomotive, having enough of the proportions and the important parts of a locomotive included to give a mostly complete silhouette of an American style 4-4-0. It even looks a bit like a specific locomotive that ran on the Panama Railroad, Engine #51, which had that oddly recessed headlight like your image. I imagine that might be what the artist used as a basis. The only things I can criticize are that those cab windows are rather odd, and she's missing her bell. There's other parts missing of course; steam locomotives are complicated machines, and American style locomotives have all lots of those intricate parts on the outside! But any further nitpicking would be just be pedantic. A lot of cartoon depictions of trains I've seen in non-train nerd made videos can't even get the basics of what a steam locomotive looks like - missing smoke stacks, missing boiler, wacky rods, missing pistons, you name it! So it was refreshing to see your decent quality depiction. One detail I do want to mention though is tenders. You never actually show your locomotive pulling a train, so you can get away with not showing it with a tender, but because I've seen way to many steam locomotives, of a non-tank variety, depicted without tenders, I want to mention it. I think people who know like less than zero about trains have only the fuzzy silhouette of Thomas on their mind - Thomas the TANK engine. Tank engines have TANKS to hold their water, and bunkers to hold their coal, so they don't need tenders. Most steam engines, however, need tenders, and really the tender is an INTEGRAL part of the engine, so it's always flabbergasting when people forget about that. Like I said, you don't show your engine actually pulling your coaches without a tender, so I can't really say you made this mistake, I just want to mention it because it's a all to common thing I see.

[@jonnypena7651]

With the amount of dark things USA companies did to centralamerica around that era (Banana wars and the Panama Canal) this one was was just overworked employees, something that we still have today. Great video as always.

[@yeoldeseawitch]

Did you know that the first steam locomotive to travel through the panama canal after it was built was not only british, but the flying scotsman itself?

[@lynnwood7205]

$400 divided by $20.67 = 19.35 x 2335 = 45,186. So the $400 dollars of 1849 would represent about $45,000 of today's money $20.67 price of one troy ounce of gold in 1849, the 19.35 troy ounces multiplied by 2024's gold price of $2335 per troy ounce is a little over $45,000

[@Voucher765]

There are two 2-6-0 moguls the ICC used that survive today, One of which is on display at the Rogers Locomotive Works at Paterson now museum and was used by the Erie railroad on it's mainline

[@brittanygrant6318]

This is just as good as Oversimplified

[@diogomiceli1280]

Something similar to this craziness was the building of the Madeira-Mamoré railway at the remoteness of Northwestern Brazil.

[@Frisher1]

As someone who lives here I can definitely confirm that the weather is bad, rain on a daily during a very long winter and extremely high heat during the summer, but I'm used to it, I wonder if the UK heat is worse since I've never been there? I've heard it's pretty bad too

[@kayeka4123]

Absolutely not. UK heat is very manageable compared to the likes of Panama. Though it has been getting hotter each year for a while now, so people keep complaining about heat because they're not used to it.

[@Mr110074]

I was hoping they were going to a series on the Panama Canal.

[@DrJambonius]

Who is having from Sierra video game "Gold Rush"? Very good video!

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

Crocodile and caimans, there are no alligators in Panama. They stop in Mexico. Leave it to an animal person to notice that in an awesome historical video.

[@ToxyTheGachaAnimatronic]

I saw what the other side of the newspaper said nice little easter egg

[@Pawnlake]

Nice

[@ScarletRebel96]

Panama 🎶 🎵

[@extrahistory]

Rock on!

[@jasoncrawford2664]

Awesome ❤❤❤

[@BrazenBard]

...Oh, wow, now I kinda wanna dig up (heh, heh) Sierra's Gold Rush... Never got through that one back in the day...

[@mister_r447]

A lot of people must have had their lives spared from that dangerous area by that railroad.

[@StrangeGamer859]

Nowadays big business wants to take away labor laws and wont even do impressive useful infrastructure as compensation

[@Steggy777]

Darien scheme 2 electric boogaloo...

[@aKalishnacough]

Worth.

[@arturoaguilar6002]

I didn’t expect the Panama Railroad to be a 19th century version of live service.

[@DouggieFresh50]

And I love your train videos

[@bloodskeliton7988]

Can you guys do some videos on the Arab conquest of north Africa or just videos on north Africa it just a huge subcontinent that you have never made a single video on

[@CitizenOfPoland]

Thanks for creating a new, awesome video! Btw, I have a question, could you pls make a video about the californian gen0cide? Not many people know about this, including americans themself.

[@dl_flexonya6296]

😢