Why didn't Russia Also Scramble Africa? (Short Animated Documentary)

Europe's great powers carved up Africa amongst themselves during the late 19th/ early 20th centuries in what's called the Scramble for Africa. Yet, one major power which was absent from the conquests was the Russian Empire. To find out why, watch this short and simple animated history documentary.
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[@rosswebster7877]

It’s funny how much of Russian history is shaped by the need for a port that doesn’t freeze over in Winter.

[@DVXDemetrivs]

this is a one-sided view of history

[@ElYeyuno]

Like old Odessa, Sevastopol or Vladivostok?

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@ElYeyuno black sea trade way separated from other world by Turks, and Vladivostok located on other side of Earth. So yes, we really having a lack of ice-free ports to trade via ocean

[@sunrisings292]

@@ImPedofinderGeneral ...Murmansk is ice free all the year...

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@sunrisings292 Yes, but it still located in polar circle. And there is lots of nuclear icebreakers on Murmansk port

[@samueltrusik3251]

They didn`t need to, finances were already secured by James Bizzonete.

[@thesle3p]

Not gonna lie I look forward to him saying "Rob Waterhouse" at the end of every video.

[@humminster]

Is no one gonna talk about the other people

[@genderbender6958]

@@humminster no no we won't

[@agonistadenoche7806]

What about Kelly money marker?

[@lchapo6698]

@@humminster lol who?

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Europe: This time for Africa Russia: *This time for Europa*

[@lolzhong3379]

Lol

[@h0ckeyd]

The US took part in the Berlin conference too.

[@h0ckeyd]

@Otto Von Bismarck They did indeed. I'm just not a huge fan of them complaining about European colonialism when they're no better. Just better at PR.

[@matt1550]

@Otto Von Bismarck they were a independent nation

[@jueviolegrace8827]

Supreme Léader 🙋‍♂️🙇‍♂️

[@shrike4526]

"Why didn't Russia Also Scramble Africa?" - Because Russia has Siberia.

[@sampejke]

yep with 10 thousand inhabitans

[@ablorenz]

@@sampejke lol

[@bluewanderer9450]

@@sampejke ahahahahhaa. Yep, it’s pretty abandoned. Now only 20 million people live here)

[@sampejke]

@@bluewanderer9450 38mln. Almost like Canada. I live in Siberia

[@bluewanderer9450]

@@sampejke ну, не 38, а 30, недооценил я нашу численность)

[@PK-rh3cs]

"This was done under the rule of Peter the Great" "This attempt petered out pretty quickly" I see what you did there

[@duo496]

take my upvote and get out

[@bakthihapuarachchi3447]

I didn't but I'm still gonna like your comment

[@jakobkiilerich3588]

@@seif9923 Read it again

[@seif9923]

@Lucas Lombardo lol

[@ecurewitz]

I noticed that too

[@willfeus5647]

Ashinov: "lets go to Africa" Tsar: "what was that? Siberia? say no more"

[@shawnv123]

wow

[@Tethloach1]

lol

[@ernestvanophuizen461]

On second thought, let's not go to Africa. It is a silly place.

[@comradekenobi6908]

based Tsar

[@JarrodFrates]

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, knowhatamean?

[@youcanlearnalotfromlydia]

Brilliant. As always. You continue to surprise and amuse. Never knew there were quite so many sinister yet hilarious ways to make a "soon" face with cartoon block men. You've got the narrowed eyes and sideways glances down to an art form. Also laughed out loud at skipping through the daisies of Suez and Gibraltar, and at "la nôtre". Also loved the detail of the black and white portraits. Top class, as usual from you. 100/10. Keep them coming!! And thanks so much for all your hard work on these :D

[@arkwill14]

2:09 - It was my understanding that the selling of Alaska wasn't so much about needing cash as it was coming to terms with reality. Russia realized it probably wasn't going to be able to hold on to Alaska as British ambitions in Canada crept ever closer and they did not want it to spark another clash with Britain (like the recent Crimean War, which went badly for them). The Russians would only lose yet more territory and influence. Also, Alaska wasn't too profitable anyways and it was hard to administer and protect due to its distant location. So they sold it -- but to stick it to the British they sold it to the Americans, knowing that the British probably didn't want Alaska badly enough to challenge the Americans for it.

[@smalltime0]

There is actually an argument that the federal government, to this day, loses money in Alaska. Almost nobody lived there until the gold rush ~30 years after the purchase, which benefitted the state - but not the federal coffers. Alaska gets to keep (depending on the field) over 90% of its oil and gas revenue and has been a net recipient of federal aid for the construction of infrastructure and for cleanups and rebuilding of the various disasters that have plagued it. The senators it sends are notorious for placing earmarks for funding of pet projects that benefit the state, but not much else. Ironically its one of the more conservative states, especially for social programs but seems to revel in pork barrelling. Russia made a strategic call -it would not have been able to defend the colony from Britain's Canadian colonies/colonists, and they got to make money in the process. The vast majority of the settlers there moved back into the Empire, notably to Siberia. Even if they somehow made the colony work, it'd be about 150 years before they could theoretically have made a profit.

[@AFGuidesHD]

Russian sign: "Please don't steal our colonies" Britain: "Ummm..."

[@internetexplorer7143]

I’ve seen you somewhere before

[@debilman9065]

Russian: Ugh! Fine we'll sell Alaska to the US, what do you think of that you cykac?

[@lopez7947]

*Britain approaches slowly and threateningly*

[@lol-rl8gc]

here before this blows up

[@verosotelo2764]

I didn't know you watched history matters

[@Suppiluliuma_1]

Russian:Be orthodox Ethiopian :Before you said that we already Orthodox from nearly 2000 year before .

[@sonoftheway3528]

Didn't Russia support Ethiopia in their war against Italy because of that?

[@hannibalbarca7220]

@@sonoftheway3528 yes

[@FixdalOK]

@@sonoftheway3528 Wars are about money, power and resources and religion is just a phoney excuse to get gullible peasants to support the war.

[@Essa5225]

@@sonoftheway3528 no Russia was under the rule of the soviet union which was a very secular regime that even attacked and destroyed churches they helped because Italy is their ideological enemy because Italy was fascist.

[@iuliusconstantcornelio2018]

@@Essa5225 There was a war before that in the 19th century, when both Russia and Italy were Christian monarchies and Italy tried to defeat the Ethiopians, but back then, they failed, unlike in the Second Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936, when mustard gas won the day....

[@Matakshaman]

I like how you mentioned the "other united kingdom", as no other history channel seems to acknowledge this

[@whitezombie10]

What do you mean?

[@Ghostkilla773]

@@whitezombie10 Norway and Sweden

[@whitezombie10]

@@Ghostkilla773 ok

[@MarshallTheArtist]

@@Ghostkilla773How do you kill a ghost?

[@tj4234]

“The other United Kingdom" **Rule Britannia Intensifies**

[@persimmon93]

Africa: no ice, bears, or tundras. Russian: this place sucks!!!

[@radziwill7193]

Canada in Russian sounds like "kak nado"-"How should be.""

[@ZdarovaZaibal3]

@@radziwill7193 Canada in Russian is Kanada (Канада). No æ in first syllable , but a. Stress on the second syllable. I’m from Russia.

[@radziwill7193]

Капец вы оба недалекие.

[@ZdarovaZaibal3]

@@radziwill7193 ты русский чи шо?

[@chipchilinkachip910]

@@radziwill7193 damn, you are one of them.

[@idek6585]

"Needed to pass Germany Denmark the United Kingdom the other United Kingdom" Please tell me I wasn't the only one who cracked up to that

[@u.s.1974]

You weren't.

[@GhostRider659]

Did make me do a double take

[@Lord_Of_Aether]

You're not the only one.

[@hamzaharoon6336]

I really liked that quick self-deprecation. But the Swedish UK was actually called "United Kingdoms", referring to both Sweden and Norway.

[@ethancooper2497]

Lmbo

[@IDontGetIrony]

The thumbnail was the most beautiful map I ever saw. A Russia with more warm water ports than it could want.

[@okene]

False. African natural ports are mostly horrible and far between. Being warm is not enough

[@looinrims]

Russia has tons of warm water ports, “Russia doesn’t invade countries for warm water ports, this is something the British came up with to rationalize Russian behavior and of course they’d think that since they’re a maritime culture.” -Mike Kofman

[@egebuluttopatan7921]

Russia: We don't have access to Africa,but maybe some strait help us Ottomans: *I'm in danger*

[@nullussum2535]

Russian army: *Ah shit, here we go again*

[@epicgamerzfail4575]

In Russia, you don't scramble the continent, the continent scrambles you.

[@sriyasodharmma4021]

C Y K A B L Y A T

[@MrKakibuy]

*tried

[@alexanderthegreat445]

That is actually really true of Russia

[@nikonghong]

Napoleon & Hi1ler: 😼😼😼

[@fredferd965]

That may be more true than you perhaps realize. The Russians do a lot of thinking. Their writing style is generally dark, bleak, moody. They play a lot of chess. I was in the US Army and spent two years in Alaska, a similar climate. During the winter everything was dark, bleak, moody, gloomy. We played a lot of chess. There were very few writers among us. Some of us lost our minds. I suppose I was one of them. Bwahahahaha, cackle, giggle (accompanied by finger burbling sounds), hee, heee, heee, heee. Oh, god!

[@jan-willemvankaathoven914]

I alreay guessed this was going to be about not having warm water ports, but the cossacks in Djibouti were a nice surprise.

[@ElYeyuno]

Yes. I always get interesting surprises here in just a few minutes. This is a good channel.

[@ChrisJones-ij3xp]

"Russian Somaliland"..."Russian Territory of the Afars and the Issas"..."New Moscow"...all have quite a different ring to them...

[@JackRabbitSlim]

Every man wants a piece of Djibouti.

[@Kenan-Z]

It's as weird as a polar bear on Sahara

[@T1Oracle]

The what in your what?

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

France: Did YOU do this? Tzar: Fun fact, *n o*

[@jueviolegrace8827]

Supreme leader, Tzar said you're his accomplice

[@thenationaltimelyactionhou9328]

Great video dude, I always learn something new watching your channel!

[@Dont-Watch-My-Vids-U-Regret-it]

Imagine being bigger than Pluto and a 2 of the worlds oceans and still wanting Africa

[@sir.shark1504]

"Jeographi"

[@half-hazard8903]

lmaooooo

[@ynnalyl6195]

They were still bigger than Europe and Antarctica bigger than 2 continents

[@greywolf7577]

Russia wants to control it all.

[@oteatimeo]

Eat too much, you'll get a tummy ache.

[@monikhadka]

America: why didn’t you colonize Africa Russia: you wouldn’t get it

[@grandtheftautoiii8854]

America? You mean like the Americas?

[@SciRuler]

Is this a joke in itself of it.

[@deutschland2900]

@@grandtheftautoiii8854 Ottoman Empire 🤝

[@Lord_Of_Aether]

@@grandtheftautoiii8854 They mean the US, which had a colony in Africa, Liberia.

[@grandtheftautoiii8854]

@@deutschland2900 Greetings🤝

[@Matthy63]

It's interesting because if you're a 19th century European power looking to do a colonialism in Africa, Djibouti and Madagascar are both incredibly good strategic locations, which is also exactly why Britain and France would never have stood for it.

[@hamodycraft1345]

This channel grew well, I remember watching one of his videos where he was like 100k subs.

[@ordinary_magician]

I like how you made one of the privateers look like a cartoony pirate

[@pplayer666]

Indeed, the Don and Kuban Cossacks have always dressed sharply; Zaporozhian ones however tended to look and act the part just like pirates, except operating on land.

[@Patmanduu]

“Please don’t steal our colony” - From Russia with Love

[@charlessaint7926]

American colony: Did you say Freedom?

[@clementl.9566]

@battledabstudio You must be kidding, the British Empire was more afraid of the French Empire than the other way around.

[@eraldorh]

@@clementl.9566 hahaha! good one

[@tortillawrapper5454]

@@clementl.9566 nah

[@harrysmith1070]

@@clementl.9566 Search up Battle of Trafalgar and The Battle of Alexandria. You'll soon find an answer to your question.

[@andrewmettler2228]

I have to say, if you're in the Patreon game mainly because creators will mention you by name, I don't think there's a better creator to support than this one.

[@KareemEisa]

Russia to france: I've never seen this man in my life

[@craigstockwell230]

To add: Imperial Russia did aid Ethiopia in the late 1880s, early 1890s. Russia sent guns to Ethiopia, such as the then-recently surplussed Berdan II rifles.

[@merlhawkins9108]

Russian always sent weapons to Africa for years!!

[@indianlionbro7857]

Didn't Hitler also build a base in Africa too? I read it a long long time ago.

[@enokua5466]

@@indianlionbro7857 Yeah because some african countries were colonized by germany

[@ellismarquez8410]

They were both, and are still, nominally Eastern Orthodox, so perhaps there was some degree of cultural connection.

[@tashalorm4313]

@@merlhawkins9108 They sent weapons to Africa to help them against the oppressors (The West)

[@Thomas-ww1tp]

I feel like this is the "Questions you never asked but you now realize are actually really good" channel

[@FutureMan420Blazer]

Word!

[@scintillam_dei]

They think outside the box even though their characters are boxes.

[@dominant2576]

@@scintillam_dei what box?

[@elYisusdelaNazza]

Great answer to a question I never asked myself. Love u bro.

[@PeaceToday2011]

I've seen this video before, but the dismissal of the the Russian failure to colonize Madagascar being summed up as privateers aren't good settlers (which, fun fact, they aren't) has peaked my curiosity. I've read that the Merina people had a relatively strong monarchy, and I'm curious if that had anything to do with the failure.

[@alanpennie]

They did. Something of a water control empire which organised rice cultivation.

[@NovikNikolovic]

If they were so strong, they could've put up a better resistance to France. I could see them losing to Britain, but France!?

[@datocosmico]

You are so clever, please consider saying bye bye to your dragon balls downstairs in order for humankind having to deal with your kin :)

[@stevemc01]

I clicked faster than the devaluing of the German Mark in the 1920s.

[@MrLrebelo1]

That’s fast

[@user-zo9hg4fw3t]

fuck?

[@zainmudassir2964]

Early 20s or late 20s?

[@thenorthernhandyman]

Deutsch Mark?

[@fullmetalalchemist9126]

@@MrLrebelo1 🚅

[@hornet370]

James Bizzonete has a new challenger, Charles the first

[@hamzaharoon6336]

The dude even got his own sprite.

[@Doogie2K3]

@@hamzaharoon6336 *[sad Ten Minute British History noises]*

[@njb1126]

I disagree, Charles I (of Britain) was so bad with money that he had to recall parliament then got into a war about it. Whereas James bissonette has been able to fund all of history quite comfortably

[@siyaaviation3659]

@@njb1126 lol

[@bskiez]

*1:55* I swear that made me laugh. Not laughing at anyone's plight just the slapstick comedy of this channel.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!!!!

[@MrStyker13]

I only wanted to point out that the answer is obvious if you've learnt Russian history and now I live in fear of this comment section.

[@saulofontoura]

You saved yourselves from immense social conflicts and future accusations of racism. It was a wise decision.

[@erynn9968]

Russia: just lives Europe in the past: colonizes Africa Europe now: why didn't they do that? Let's find an explanation!

[@user-ci4yw7vh1d]

@@saulofontoura it wouldn't work on us. We don't have races, we have only nationalities

[@igorivanov299]

@@saulofontoura Yes, but the left has assigned Russia/Russians as their proverbial scapegoat and red herring for everything & anything when things don't go their way. Also Russians living in the west are just as guilty for those perceived transgressions from distant past to those that we taught to feel transgressed all because we share the same pigmentation. They see white and they hate.

[@DVXDemetrivs]

@@saulofontoura Minorities still see all whites as oppressors, including us. So nothing has changed

[@jaggaming8685]

Also Russia is gigantic. They had resources already that they struggled to utilize. No need for international conflict for yet more resources when you got plenty. That and they were focused on modernization at that time.

[@DmitriKadykov]

Resources were not that important untill the end of 19th century. Big part of the territory was conquered just to get rid of annoying Tatarian tribes.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Because in Africa they blessed the rains instead of vodka

[@vasilhnatiuk4961]

these are so good, but i wish you guys do more custom animations.

[@mike_404]

If you're here just for homework: 1. They didn't want to protect a colony that wasn't inside its mainland borders 2. They had no easy route to get there

[@cianakril]

"They didn't need or wanted" should come first.

[@prohacker5086]

@@cianakril Everyone needs or wants some extra gold

[@altumurnemtzra2026]

@@prohacker5086 They had enough natural resources, europe's scramble was due to lack of said natural resources

[@cianakril]

@@prohacker5086 yeah, and that's why they sold Alaska, as selling this burden was more profitable than establishing colonies there when all available colonists were settling Urals and Eastern Ukraine yet. And this is why Russia never bothered with Africa either, as leaving Africa alone had saved more gold than holding over it, given available colonization resources at that moment. FFS, Russia has barely colonized itself within the current borders: most of the towns in Western and North-Eastern Siberia were established just 40 years ago and depopulated since the fall of USSR as they need development investments. With whole of Siberia, Alaska and Central Asia in possession, Russia didn't ever had a need for Africa.

[@Cybernaut551]

@@cianakril Morale of the story: sell more, not buy... Except for hold, not sell stocks, however.

[@faristotle2979]

Bro I love you guys. Thanks for making my commeny actually happen 💙

[@danielhale1]

"petered out" I have to pay attention during these videos, the puns are fantastic

[@permesan6846]

Everyone: **leaves USSR** Kazakhstan: Door stuck door stuck!

[@vladnikolaev1558]

75 % of the People voted in 1991 to stay within the USSR.

[@viacheslavqa5845]

@@vladnikolaev1558 138% actually

[@Erik_Kartmenz]

@@vladnikolaev1558 No

[@Erik_Kartmenz]

@@vladnikolaev1558 You forgot to say that in total 60% of the country's population took part in the voting, and not 100%. Further, you forgot to say that in the conditional republic of Tajikistan, where the population is people with IQ less than 80, they were much more willing to vote for the USSR than Russians in Russia.

[@Erik_Kartmenz]

@@vladnikolaev1558 You forgot to say that in total 60% of the country's population took part in the voting, and not 100%. Further, you forgot to say that in the conditional republic of Tajikistan, where the population is people with IQ less than 80, they were much more willing to vote for the USSR than Russians in Russia.

[@calus-superiorjackass3906]

"Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the other United Kingdom" Was I the only one who had to go a few seconds back? XD

[@emperorkarlfranzrulerofthe2826]

Nope, and as a Norwegian/british person i had a jolly good laugh at it, i love the humor of this channel

[@calus-superiorjackass3906]

@@emperorkarlfranzrulerofthe2826 yeah the humor is great, but at that moment I was like: which other UK? XD

[@MrRemicas]

This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!

[@bjrnerikternstenhaukens5541]

@@MrRemicas he can’tdo that! Shoot him...or something!

[@pelinalwhitestrake3367]

Yeah, I also forgot that Sweden-Norway was United Kingdom too.

[@altaccaltacc7652]

Russia: we have africa at home africa at home: siberia

[@reynardus1359]

Russia was never the colonial power in the sense the other European countries you're referencing. The people of the land Russia absorbed were given Russian citizenship for one.

[@nullgator8073]

That's still colonialism, a brand of colonialism Russia is particularly fond of (see current passportization in Ukraine)

[@reynardus1359]

@@nullgator8073 You should look the definition of colonialism. By your reasoning every state in the U.S. is a colony.

[@welcometotheinternet574]

“This was done by Europe’s mayor powers” Portuguese happy noises

[@tejasmisra9115]

Spain - 😑

[@alvaropenademiguel2308]

@@tejasmisra9115 Spanish sad noises XD

[@shaunmattice6413]

This made me laugh more than it should have.

[@markusdead96]

I dont get it

[@TheZeldaCinema]

@@tejasmisra9115 the spanish didn't really scramble for africa now did they?

[@MonsieurDean]

Going off my knowledge, I'd say because the only useful territory for them would be Egypt and the Red Sea coast to access the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, which Britain would absolutely not compromise on. Russia's navy in the Black Sea had also just been obliterated in the Crimean War, so I can't imagine they'd be able to defend their claim or even use it for a while.

[@MonsieurDean]

After watching, all I can say is that this is just more of a reason for Russia to retake Constantinople.

[@silverdeathgamer2907]

@@MonsieurDean That would require the other European powers allowing that to happen and would upset the balance of power so that was never likely to happen, at best it could be secured under a neutral or friendly Balkan state and even that is a stretch because at that point the Ottomans would likely be weak enough to allow Russia to threaten British and French interests in the Middle East and the Levant which would also not be allowed to happen.

[@ElYeyuno]

Yes, I Agree. Besides the Red and the Arabic Seas, there was Constantinople. Russia would have to fight 2 big and even more voracious Empires (and the Turks, again) to do so. And Russia did, in the Crimean War and the result was pretty bad.... 20 years later Russia rebuilt their fleet again and easily beated the Turks but stayed way from Constantinople.

[@allahblessrussiaandchinaan3719]

It’s the same reason why Muhammad Ali never attacked Vietnam. When the light of God shines on you(like it does on China, Russia and Africa) then it’s impossible for you to feed on each other blood. The spirit is more powerful than the flesh and therefore would never allow the righteous people to go to war against each other. China And Russia played a role in giving Africa independence

[@Cybernaut551]

@@allahblessrussiaandchinaan3719 But now Russia has airplanes and air traffic, so I don't understand why the Kremlin would covet Istanbul, Turkey.

[@seanjenkins4459]

Great video!

[@InTheBasementProduct]

Could you do an episode on Lesotho? I've always wondered about this hole that keeps showing up in maps of South Africa. I mean it HAS to have an interesting story, right? Totally landlocked. Totally encircled by a single other country. Please make an interesting video before I have to go and ughh... read about it myself...

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

Same for Eswatini.

[@Almirante1741]

0:07 Spain and Italy: Am I a joke to you?

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

*cries in spanish *moans in italian

[@deltoroperdedor3166]

19th century major powers: "Duh!"

[@nicolasiiiletzar7984]

Belgium : lel everyone ignore me :( i am not France !!

[@Giuan]

@Maximus Brutus Italy and Spain had both colonies or protectorates in Africa. Spain still had two cities in Moroccan lands

[@myownsite]

@@nicolasiiiletzar7984 ah yeah because Belgian colonial adventures is something they want to remember

[@blackwatertv7018]

As someone who’s played Kaiser Reich and Europa Universalis IV, I can confirm getting colonies in Africa is hard as Russia.

[@ramp597]

Fight Spain or Portugal and take a province in Africa In the peace treaty and move your capital there and use the Siberia frontier to rapidly colonise Africa, you can do the same thing with the new world

[@larrygorlitz]

"The attempt Petered out." Bravo! 👏🏻 Pun game 💯

[@fionawallace580]

I love these videos!

[@cyporg6183]

I just want to say thank you for making these videos, they’re very entertaining and informative. Thank you very much for making these videos :)

[@arthurq7843]

Ashinov's journey from Africa straight to Siberia must have been epic!)))

[@jasonapollo9916]

"Peter-ed out" might be the greatest pun of all time

[@darkphosphorus330]

Russia owning Madagascar, imagine how interesting that would be

[@lxndys]

I believe Russia's influence on Mada today is quite strong. The Malagasy Gov choose not to condemn Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. So there's that.

[@seronymus]

Orthodox Lemurs...

[@Leantenant]

And Hawaii

[@vahahadziev]

@@lxndys maybe its called common sense?

[@mattdavis9601]

"The Penguins of Madagascar" is about a KGB experiment gone horribly right.

[@makowako6035]

"Most of Europe greatest powers" Leopold II: *laughs in Congo*

[@greenbutter3190]

Stable video 👍

[@ngalahansel6066]

Watching from Cameroon,Wrst Africa and it makes so much sense now because I always wondered.

[@cekretone]

Seeing a new video from History Matters when opening KZbin is blessing

[@DanS044]

My guy keeps answering questions no one asked but I’m glad he answered them anyway :) Keep up the great work

[@julianfranktiglao8808]

Oooooo so you have a new channe "JT" well gladly because we missed you so much and gpadly your alive

[@eysia10000]

The fact that you dissed Norway and Sweden in this vid made me very happy as a Dane

[@user-xg4cn8hn1u]

Danes don't like Norway and Sweden?

[@themoreyouknow5678]

There. I've watched every video you've ever posted. Not a single bad one. I love this channel!

[@horus228]

When he said "United Kingdom" and Sweden+Norway light up, i was confused. When he said "the other United Kingdom" and the Uk light up, i was aroused!

[@bigbrotheriswatching2680]

A Russo-Ottoman empire would be a very interesting alternate history

[@mautun3830]

As a Turk NOO

[@bigbrotheriswatching2680]

@@mautun3830 dont worry buddy, what I really meant was Russian Empire, after the genocide you genetically inferior muts.

[@MegaMurcelago]

One remark upon selling Alaska. The main thing was - governors was convinced that Russia will not be able to hold Alaska in the face of wichever conflict, also it was not seen as good land back then. And so - Alaska was sold

[@paperbagman9445]

Yes, I am from the UK 🇸🇪

[@edwardteach8229]

England’s kingdom is just “the other one”

[@iuliusconstantcornelio2018]

Which one ?

[@AmirSatt]

It was "The United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway"

[@danielkron2513]

Guys, remember when Kalmar Union was a thing? I member

[@sirtrollalot7762]

@@danielkron2513 Pepperidge farm remembers

[@FixdalOK]

I hope Spinning There Plates is having an excellent day.

[@Alizz12]

I got recommended this now

[@Ron.S.]

Charles the 1st is a patreon of yours??? Lucky 🍀 you

[@hussey4826]

I like how this channel went from creating history videos to help GCSE students to having a comment section filled with James Bisonette memes

[@samueltakac8436]

Hypotetical Russian Libya ... my favourite part of Libya

[@ifyousayso03]

that's messed up

[@brrrrrtenjoyer]

I think Russian Ethiopia would have made some sense since both were Orthodox.

[@cianakril]

@CipiRipi00 and it had, twice.

[@prince-electorsnoo2540]

Could you make a video about Estonia sometime?

[@neondlalane5972]

this guy makes history so not boring

[@jackwilkes4188]

Belgium: Hand chopping time

[@westwoods7675]

You mean Leopold II. The Belgian government was very hands off in the Congo.

[@gimmethegepgun]

@@westwoods7675 I can't tell if that was a black humor pun or not.

[@rikjacobs8098]

@@westwoods7675 you mean Leopold II. The first Leopold never showed any interest in africa

[@what-oy8il]

@@westwoods7675 lol.

[@westwoods7675]

@@rikjacobs8098 Thank you for the correction. And no, not a pun, just an unfortunate pairing of words lol

[@jesperjonsson6482]

1:30 "The United kingdom, the OTHER united kingdom"... lol I like that the UK is the "other" united kingdom and Sweden-Norway is just The united kingdom x)

[@TheJohnblyth]

Worth waiting for Charles I :)

[@fransbuijs808]

Quest for the Jade Sea by Pascal Imperato is a good book about this.

[@magnus7857]

... and Charles the first. That was surprising

[@hamzaharoon6336]

The "My Friends... And Zoidberg" tropes at its finest.

[@charlesthefirst8352]

It was for me too 🤣

[@wetwillyis_1881]

Poor Ashinov, just wanted to get some sun, and wound up in Siberia.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

Siberia is large, about half has +30 Celsius (86F) 3 months in summer and +10С 3 months in spring. Giant mosquitoes, everhungry wolves and bears as a gift

[@Erik_Kartmenz]

@@ImPedofinderGeneral The key word is she's big. Siberia falls into several climatic zones. Basically, our cities in Siberia are located on the very border like Canada to the south. In Yakutsk, it is +30 in summer, in winter to -60, in the very south of Siberia the temperature differs from Moscow by only 5-10 degrees.

[@atlas94450]

I always listen for the end of the video to hear some of your patron's fun names like: Kelly money maker, Black like milk or Copper tone spinning three plates is my favourite

[@moretimeneeded56]

The attempt to colonise under Peter the Great “petered out pretty quickly” 0:37. Pun intended?

[@rootentootenbluebucko25]

This is the first time that Britain has been referred to as ‘the other United Kingdom’ and should now be made the standard when referring to the period.

[@never8931]

Can the comment section make some half original jokes? James bisonnete: NO

[@Ben-ep1de]

Fun fact..... no

[@smartcaja6681]

I'm sad you are the only one not financed by Mr. Bisonnete. :(

[@cianakril]

Jam Biso. Here's your half.

[@jazzcorneille7439]

Ahh yes... This channel answers the questions nobody asked, but everybody wants the answers of

[@shay3355]

Entire Europe : *busy scrambling Africa Russia : *I'm gonna do what's called a pro-gamer move*

[@settekwan2708]

3:31 Finally! Someone to rival James Bizanette !

[@cristienache739]

Their battle will be legendary

[@charlesthefirst8352]

Got to raise me some damn tax money first.

[@christiang1779]

"The other United Kingdom"...thanks for that! :)

[@regularbasis9295]

Thanks for the quick lesson

[@saulgoodmanKAZAKH]

Imagine if there were African states speaking Russian. This is very surreal.

[@jameswatson5807]

How so an African speaking English not surreal.

[@thomasbravado]

​@@jameswatson5807Because Britain, unlike Russia, was the number one naval power in the colonial era. That's literally the reason why English is spoken all over the place.

[@jameswatson5807]

@@thomasbravado I know the why, but is still surreal like when watching the news and seeing an African speak French i cannot help feel that that is strange. Even my self speaking English and having a English name, is odd same way if you hear a African man with a Japanese name. You would be curious as to why, well that is how many think even though they might not say it out loud.

[@TheWolfwiththeDragon]

0:33 Peter's attempt petered out.

[@iosifnikhma9669]

"The Russian empire who despite having much more experience in imperialist expansion than most of its fellow european" Spain, controlling quarter of the world, Britian controlling third of the world and France still having colonies in Africa: Am I a joke to you??

[@historyeditz8326]

Spainiards genocided those natives who welcomed them warm heartedly,British and French controlled those lands by befriending and then backstabbing them and some naval supremacy,on the other hand Russian Empire launched bloody campaigns to conquer lands where they have fight with other armies.

[@user-ng6wc4xr2l]

Только напомню, что Российская империя намного мирнее присоединяла свои территории и не выкачивала ресурсы из них как Европа, а наоборот вкладывалась в развитие этих регионов. Российская империя была именно империей, а у Европы были колониальные владения, которые они просто геноцидили, грабили и выкачивали оттуда все ресурсы.

[@nowomannocry4770]

@@user-ng6wc4xr2l Настолько мирно что она на протяжении 100 лет истребляла кавказские народы.

[@user-ng6wc4xr2l]

@@nowomannocry4770 Но при этом почему-то на Кавказе живёт в основном местное население, а в Америке нет) В конце концов если вспоминать сколько наших там поубивали становится плохо. Кавказ исторически не спокойное место, там всегда кто-то с кем-то воевал. Россия же понятно тоже воевала, но речь идёт о борьбе с османской империей за господство в регионе. Конечно потери были, но это не геноцид, а вот турки и вправду устраивали геноцид армян, и если бы не Россия, то армяне могли вообще быть уничтожены.

[@nowomannocry4770]

@@user-ng6wc4xr2l 1)плевать на "О"мерику 2) если бы сидели в своих мухосрансках то никто бы не умер 3) на Кавказе до прихода русских окуппантов был мир, дружба и любовь. 4) это самый что ни на есть геноцид. На Кавказе некоторые народы ПОЛНОСТЬЮ истреблены. (В частности все народы населявшие побережье черного моря). Также высылка в 1944 году чеченцев и ингушей в результате которой умерло 50% всех высланных признана Европарламентом актом геноцида.

[@aaronfield7899]

Can you make a video about the republic of Texas? From independence to annexation?

[@Terrabloxia]

If they had gotten colonies, They wouldve taken a area for ports (Such as madagascar or morroco) And rescources (Such as sierra leone.)

[@poankiyu7664]

"This attempt PETERED out pretty quickly." I see what you did there.

[@failuretv814]

That was awful

[@poankiyu7664]

@@failuretv814 I know

[@alec5982]

Peter the Great sent privateers to Madagascar. When it failed, it "petered" out