How did the Black Death affect Africa and Asia? (Short Animated Documentary)

[@Daglizzh]

Dude this guy needs a award for the most simple yet amazing art

[@AttaMan]

It adds so much comedic value

[@gigikontra7023]

@@AttaMan and sometimes a lot of disinformation

[@firstnamelastname9215]

Roblox art is amazing art? 😂

[@It_is_I_Rogal_Dorn]

It him or oversimplified.

[@SmashingCapital]

@@gigikontra7023 ???

[@ChessedGamon]

Fun fact, Switzerland didn't suffer the same mortality rates of the other parts of Europe, this is because after passing through the swiss border the disease was legally considered neutralized and did very little.

[@kilvesx7924]

Switzerland was actually fairly militarized at the time

[@miguelpadeiro762]

@@kilvesx7924 😐

[@benstrong4497]

Is that the empty bit on the map at like 0:08?

[@michaelweiske702]

@@benstrong4497 nah that's piedmont

[@Angelblue1302]

He’s make a Swiss permanently neutral joke. And I don’t think so, that empty bit seems a bit too far south for switzerland

[@benjaminthompson8359]

I was just thinking last week about how the black plague affected societies outside of Europe. Thank you for being clairvoyant.

[@Thecrownswill]

I forgot about the word clairvoyant. Thank YOU for bringing it back into my vocabulary!

[@nasis18]

He's great at covering stuff I had never known about, but is really interesting nonetheless. Glad that he does cover obscure things in history.

[@morbidsearch]

Same actually. I think it was because I saw that video about the Ukrainian guy who eradicated smallpox

[@alexanderrobins7497]

The Black Death and Bubonic Plague did have an impact on Africa, but not directly. I heard due to the population collapses in Europe, the slave trade from Africa started to replace those who died.

[@Thecrownswill]

No it was ongoing before hand.

[@Spongebrain97]

The black death is interesting because it drastically affected the medieval world but also the aftermath. How like serfs and peasants ironically got better pay and some rights because a majority of a lord's workforce died and so the survivors got more benefits due to high demand for their labor. Also how probably most people from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia are descendants of those survivors

[@Toonrick12]

Not like that's relevant today.... /s

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

@@Toonrick12 The mortality rate was way too low, and also we already had a lack of workers before the pandemic. Covid changed nothing in terms of quantity of workers.

[@hammer3721]

@@MichaelDavis-mk4me It changed quite a lot in terms of 'going to work.'

[@marmac83]

@@MichaelDavis-mk4me Except for the 300,000 or so fewer workers...

[@Sapoman2211]

@@MichaelDavis-mk4me a lot of the issues with pay and benefits are currently because the market is oversaturated with workers in many skillsets

[@DanielSann]

Fun fact, quarantine comes from the italian "quarantena" that means 40 days. When ships arrived in Venice they needed to stay isolated for 40 days before entering the port to limit the spread of the black death.

[@WFASPigeonGang]

Veneto stato

[@mrbisshie]

Did it work?

[@KaizerKlash111]

In France it's the same thing but with Marseille instead of Venice

[@NOLAGNOPROBLEM]

First known quarantine is from Republic of Dubrovnik

[@chidubemmo]

It's quarantina* actually but it doesn't matter that much

[@mrterp04]

Three new suggestions from myself, a Patreon supporter: 1.) Why did Germany give the “Blank Check” to Austria-Hungary in the lead-up to World War I? 2.) What was life like in China’s European Concessions? 3.) Why is Western Sahara still disputed?

[@2Links]

Would be interesting topics. I feel like #1 might have an easy answer but also be a lot more complex than you might expect. #2 Is a great question, while #3 is probably a poorly phrased question (many people living there don't want to be part of Morocco) but could still be an interesting topic

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

@@2Links Number three is well written. It is still disputed between surrounding states and the local population. All because Spain really didn't give a crap about it when leaving Morocco, it was no longer their problem.

[@riograndedosulball248]

I would fuse two of these questions into "what was life like in the Austro-Hungarian concession in Tianjin and why the hell did Austria go out to the trouble of colonising exactly *one quarter of a city on the other side of the world?"*

[@userofthetube2701]

1) The Germans didn't really believe that they would actually have to go to war. Because firstly, to them the Austrian demands seemed reasonable given that the heir to the Habsburg throne had just been assassinated with at least a strong suspicion of involvement by Serbian officials (you can debate if war is ever justified all day long, but as casus belli go there have been a lot weaker ones). And because secondly, the Blank Check itself was meant to be a deterrent against involvement by other powers. But, crucially, in the event that against expectations war were to break out anyway, the Germans were confident that they would win.

[@marcustulliuscicero5443]

@@riograndedosulball248 Coaling stations

[@ryandominguez1426]

I just want you to know that this channel is one of the reasons I returned to university to get my teaching certification and become a history teacher soon!

[@PlasmaKn1ghtFN]

Good for you sorry if this comes across rude

[@phoenix331]

Wow nice!

[@woah9523]

@@PlasmaKn1ghtFN good for you is fine to use here. If you’re not a native English speaker I know tone is difficult to convey over the internet. The way I would choose to use good for you in this situation would look very similar: “Good for you dude” Or “Good for you man” Just adding a little recognition of the person themselves can change the tone of what you’re saying completely.

[@tomeekun]

That is so cool. Good luck and congrats!

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

This channel is big part for me getting interested in history as i was struggling with science

[@BlameThande]

Great idea for a video. I think you should also do one on the Third Plague Pandemic you mentioned at the end, because that one's not widely known in the West (which wasn't hit as badly as Asia as you say) yet was the one where we actually found out how the plague works and first made a vaccine, and the story of how the plague first got to America is both interesting and harrowing.

[@indianapatsfan]

Although people living in that time period lacked access to modern medicine and technology, this was mitigated somewhat by the fact that deadly viral strains in those days were visible to the naked eye and some carried wooden signs with them as a means of communication.

[@Turnil321]

They still got experience. for example, if someone is close to a sick person they get sick. So moving away from people and keeping people away is logical.

[@dex6316]

@@Turnil321 r/woooosh

[@wynnexed]

@@Turnil321 r/woooosh

[@markusz4447]

@@Turnil321 not so much if you think it is gods punishment for your sins and not a disease

[@emperornapoleon6204]

@@markusz4447 they recognized it as a disease. The disease was God’s punishment. They’re not mutually exclusive.

[@Bling_The_Visual_Creator]

🇿🇦 Here's something interesting.. there's a Zulu word which describes a pandemic, it's "uBhubhane" which strangely sounds similar "bubonic"... It is said to have arrived with "aMasulumane" or the the followers of Suliman"... So that could mean the Black Death did get as far as Southern Africa via Muslin traders... But of course, no one was keeping written records to make it formal knowledge.

[@dardade3277]

That IS interesting! Thanks!

[@SomasAcademy]

It's very likely that the plague did indeed spread to Southern Africa via the Swahili Coast, but if the term "uBhubhane" goes back that far, similarities to the term "Bubonic" are probably coincidental, as "Bubonic" probably isn't a term the Islamic world would have been using back then.

[@rhetoric5173]

Muslumana literally means Muslims. I don’t even speak the language and this is obvious enough. As for the other word, the Arabic for plague is Tauon or Wabaa or several others, at any rate the spelling used is incorrect

[@cameronsprague101]

Why anyone is eating this up without thinking is beyond me...

[@SomasAcademy]

~1:15 There absolutely is evidence of the plague reaching Sub-Saharan Africa, it's just a subject that's only really come to attention in the last few years, so the research is limited. There are, however, examples of major settlements in Ghana being abandoned mysteriously at a time that just happens to correspond to the Black Death in Europe, and while Ethiopia doesn't have any clear records of the plague, they did embrace a Saint of the Plague, which suggests some familiarity. I believe there's also some evidence of the Plague impacting the Mali Empire, but I don't recall the details about that well enough to talk about it.

[@Khalid-eg2xg]

Just because they have a saint of plague doesn’t necessarily tie it to the Black Death as many other plagues happen over time

[@MegaTang1234]

Not exactly the black death but the plague of Justinian may have contributed to the fall of Axum.

[@mrniceguy7168]

That’s extremely circumstantial stuff. Settlements get abandoned all the time and pre-abrahamic peoples worship all sorts of deities for their problems. That’s like saying there is evidence for a worldwide flood because all sorts of people have a flood story.

[@SomasAcademy]

@@Khalid-eg2xg The Saint is an import from Europe specifically related to the Black Death, not just plagues in general. This absolutely doesn't prove that the Ethiopians had experienced that plague, as they could have simply carried him over based on the European experience, or associated him with other plagues, but it's worth noting when going over the evidence. Mass graves and abandoned sites in West and Southern Africa from the time period more strongly point to the presence of the Plague in Sub Saharan Africa.

[@azurethegolden7928]

Mali empire is North Africa..........

[@Daglizzh]

He also needs a award for always coming up with a new video idea like 500 years away from each other

[@emperornapoleon6204]

Another golden example of why this channel, this animation, this dialogue, is superb. Top shelf, 11/10!

[@pridelander06]

"The plague wasn't seen as infectious." Glad we've learned so much in the last couple centuries.

[@victorien3704]

lol no arabs did see it as infectious. thats why you werent allowed to travel or leave your town

[@Ttegegg]

I mean what are you gonna do in the middle age? Bath in urine? What even was a substance that can actually do results during those times

[@ImieNazwiskoOK]

@T teg egg Hand sanitizer from alcohol? But it would probably just seem way to wasteful and may have cost a lot.

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

@@Ttegegg Don't touch people with the disease, ever. Don't touch the things of infected people. Wash your hands, which no one really did except for getting dirt off. People at that time didn't know what germs were and took almost no precautions, they often stayed with the sick because they were sad they were dying, not knowing they were essentially dooming themselves.

[@JB-xl2jc]

@@ImieNazwiskoOK I don't think they understood germ theory well enough to understand why that would be a good idea.

[@andrewklang809]

I find it hard to believe Sub-Saharan Africa dodged the plagues entirely. Even if the Trans-Saharan trade routes closed down due to the caravaneers getting sick, the East African maritime routes wouldn't. India is an even bigger question mark. I wonder if the waves of plagues were smaller and more frequent, since they tended to originate in Asia (higher population, higher population density, more livestock), and it only hit Europe and the Mediterranean like a truck because several waves hit at once. Similar to what happened in the Americas after 1500.

[@xenotypos]

For sub-saharan Africa, the main issue is the lack of written records. So we simply don't know. But it's possible the lack of large urban centers protected them. Cities were always what enabled epidemies to thrive. It's also possible it was actually devastating but it just wasn't recorded. For India I don't know, there has to be an explanation but it's very hard to imagine one indeed.

[@vladprus4019]

Apparently, there are some more recent studies that show that the Plague likely did affect Sub-Saharan Africa (example: article "Did Black Death strike sub-Saharan Africa?", published in "Science", Volume 363 in March 2019), but it is hard to say due to sources being really sparse (those studies rely on genetics and stuff like that).

[@deshawnmoore1731]

@@xenotypos But Sub Saharan Africa *did* have large urban centers with cities so that possibility can’t be the case (and unfortunately is a byproduct of the “Dark continent myth”) with many ancient states having high population densities From what we know, the plague “was” potentially introduced via East Africa (most likely Mogadishu) and spread throughout Africa via the Inner African Trade routes however we have no idea how far it reached, the Damage it caused, if it could penetrate the Sahel etc due to no sources

[@chubbymoth5810]

Parts of Europe weren't affected either. What is now Poland dodged it as well for instance. Sea and river trade seem to have been the most effective way to spread, much like airplanes were in the Covid pandemic.

[@ObadiahtheSlim]

There is a hypothesis that the bacteria didn't do well in tropical environments so it was limited to the more temperate and arid parts of North Africa, Eurasia, and the Middle East. The tropical sub-Saharan Africa, India, and South East Asia were largely spared massive outbreaks. But lacking any solid evidence, this is just a hypothesis. It's entirely possible they did have outbreaks but they were seen as rather mundane and so didn't really write about it.

[@deron2203]

Always finding scenerios and questions I never thought of! Thanks for making the content History Matters!

[@thenoobgameplays]

Speaking of medical/disease history, could you make a video about the Vacine Revolt/Uprising of 1904 in Brazil? It could be a very interesting topic for a video. Love your content.

[@riograndedosulball248]

"People don't like to be forced to do stuff - a study case"

[@riograndedosulball248]

Also, breeding rats for their tails, lmao

[@ecurewitz]

Nice to see there were stupid antivaxxers back then too. Some things never change

[@bentayler2712]

Question, why when showing Europe with the plague is there a small part around north Italy that is left empty?

[@philipxp7872]

Swizz neutrality pun

[@b3ygghsas]

That’s milan, apparently it was one of the only places in the whole of europe to not be affected significantly by the plague, why? I don’t know, but I know that milan was the nicest place in europe to be when the black death started

[@alanyang18]

Milan was safer at that time I guess?

[@andrewklang809]

Milan, then as now, way too fashionable and expensive for the plague to move in.

[@jensfingerhat5078]

this is milan, one of the only places in europe that really avoided the black plague, same as ferrerra but that wasnt a populous town back then. the milanese did this by sealing up houses with the sick inside of them

[@phoenix331]

Europe during the plague: Oh dear lord, where did we go wrong? Islamic world: This is completely normal.

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

Yeah, Europe not having any medical professions nor hygiene may have played a part.

[@zainmudassir2964]

*It's Gods will* and ppl went about their day

[@xenotypos]

@@Breakfast_of_Champions I think it had more to do with the mindset. Hygiene may have been worse in Europe but it was shitty everywhere at the time, pre-industrial societies were just dirty. It was more a matter of mindset imho, considering how they reacted rather calmly to dozen of millions of people dying.

[@reddragon100]

@@zainmudassir2964 Islam world at that time was far more secular thinking than europe

[@joellaz9836]

@@Breakfast_of_Champions But Middle East suffered about the same casualties as Europe during the plague

[@randomguyhere6061]

Idea: How did the Roman Empire react to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii as it occurred on the Italian Peninsula and not long before the height of the Roman Empire.

[@sundiataq]

Cool vid. But one point that really needs clarifying is that modern scholarship looking at the question more seriously, is increasingly considering the possibility, or more likely, the probability that the plague did indeed cause widespread devastation across vast swaths of Subsaharan Africa, primarily evidenced by a sudden catastrophic population decline in the 14th century, witnessed in sites from Mali, Ghana and Nigeria, to Central and East Africa. There are Ethiopian written records of this period that outright mention plague in the 14th century and the devastation it caused. Quoting the abstract from "Did Black Death strike sub-Saharan Africa?": "In the 14th century, the Black Death swept across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, killing up to 50% of the population in some cities. But archaeologists and historians have assumed that the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, carried by fleas infesting rodents, didn't make it across the Sahara Desert. Now, some researchers point to new evidence from archaeology, history, and genetics to argue that the Black Death likely did sow devastation in medieval sub-Saharan Africa. Sites in West Africa suddenly shrank or were abandoned in the second half of the 14th century, and the oldest living relative of the Black Death strain survives in pockets in East and Central Africa. But to clinch the case, researchers need to find ancient DNA from the pathogen in the region." A good introduction to the topic is: "Reflections on plague in African history (14th-19th c.)", by Gérard Chouin.

[@Tgungen]

1:01 I love the idea of a real-life man dying of black death just standing still holding a sign saying "fair enough" in front of some random guy before collapsing into the ground in his final moments

[@karlwittenburg5868]

It’s like Will Poulter in Bandersnatch, he just says “fair enough, see ya round.” And throws himself off a balcony for like a 15-story fall

[@techguy2357]

Amazing how some places weren't as affected as other by so much great vid

[@gimmethegepgun]

I like how you showed that Milan just kinda didn't get it for whatever reason, but you forgot that this was like the only time in history things didn't suck for Poland.

[@PhoenicksUK]

I was wondering why that little blob between Milan, Genoa & Turin were exempted from Black Deathness. Anyone have any theories on why?

[@gimmethegepgun]

@@PhoenicksUK It's really an oversized exaggeration of how extensive the low-plague zone was. It was mostly just Milan. The ruler of Milan very aggressively took measures to prevent the spread of plague. They barely let anyone into the city, and when plague victims were found their homes were sealed shut from the outside, trapping them and their families inside to die without spreading it. Also, it's theorized that Typhus exposure confers some immunity to Y. Pestis, and there was a Typhus outbreak in Milan in early 1348, so it would've inoculated much of the population against plague.

[@PhoenicksUK]

@@gimmethegepgun Awesome knowledge, thanks! So basically Lockdown + Lockup + previous flea action. Got it. 😀

[@mimorisenpai8540]

Poland got affected but record pretty few

[@anthonyn.7379]

It's actually a common misconception that Poland was spared from the Black Death. Until recently, primary sources on the Black Death in Poland were not available, and as Sam Aronow put it, "absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence."

[@km1dash6]

I really appreciate this channel talking about how Eurocentric history played out around the world. I remember asking my World History teacher this question in high school and his response was "That won't be on the test."

[@alexpotts6520]

He could have been honest and said "I don't know".

[@marcocorsini4054]

The History we learn isn't only eurocentric, but, if you're living in an ex-colony such as Brazil (like me!) or the USA, it'll also be pretty colonial. Columbus is one of the great examples of how we just can't let go of our colony status many times and he gets idolized (there's a whole book called "The Invention of America" which expands on this) by doing something that he himself didn't recognize he'd done until he was almost dead. Also, about that book, it's by Edmundo O'Gorman and it has an awesome analysis on the topic and I do recommend it even if in the last part of the last chapter O'Gorman starts going on with how awesome the US is by even getting a little racist against the natives. An Argentinian guy called Enrique Dussel wrote a book called El Encubrimiento del Otro (don't know how that title would be in English) in which he basically takes O'Gorman by the balls while making his own version of how the Americas were invented. Yes I study History and my youtube comments are probably one of the most boring things on Earth

[@ummelofilo9642]

@@marcocorsini4054 cry about it.

[@marcocorsini4054]

@@ummelofilo9642 fui refutado kkkkkkkkkkk

[@nb2008nc]

@@marcocorsini4054 Columbus wasn't a big deal until Italian immigrants were pandered to in the 1880s. It helped Benjamin Harrison become president.

[@celticlad5866]

The plague reached Ireland though it didn't cause mass devastion. It was actually a huge benefit for as it allowed us to retake most of our land from the English as they had a minor case of being to weak to defend it.

[@Chilavertish]

A reason for this was a lack of urbanisation in Ireland, and where there were towns they were typically populated by foreigners so the effect on the Gaelic Irish was limited

[@pinkmail6841]

Irish people in 1400 when English people die of black death IT TIME

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

@@Chilavertish I think the Irish were also far more prone to keep clean. A disease spread by fleas on rats is less likely to affect you if you don't attract the fleas and if you keep house in such a way that rats aren't going to move in.

[@mimorisenpai8540]

@@lysanamcmillan7972 cleaness can't prevent disease

[@orwaelaiwy8135]

There are some vague rules about quarantine in islam, namely a quote from prophet Mohammad saying that "If the plague hits a region which you don't live in, don't travel there. If the plague hit the region you live in, do not leave". Also while medieval Christians thought that pandemics and natural disasters are God's wrath, Muslims perceived them in a different way. For them those are tests from God to strengthen faith and will. And even if muslims lose their lives to those events, they will go to heaven as long as they kept their faith in God's will and wisdom.

[@mimorisenpai8540]

Christian too beliefs who die from disease will go to heaven just Christian have more Apocalypse Rethoric

[@mimorisenpai8540]

But in Reality not All Christian or Muslims think same Some Christian think is just ticket go to heaven and some Muslim think this plague is wraith of allah

[@2Links]

2:40 Can someone explain to me the joke behind Milan (Lombardy? idk not an expert on Italian regions) not being affected in the map at the end? Edit: Apparently, it was actually less affected than other regions. What a cool detail.

[@b3ygghsas]

It’s not a joke, milan wasn’t affected by the plague for real, I don’t know why though

[@chrisforsyth8323]

It isn't really a joke; Milan responded to the Plague with a hyper-aggressive vigilance, quarantining everything and everyone.

[@2Links]

@@chrisforsyth8323 damn, I had no idea. That's really interesting. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for sharing

[@anthonyreyna8350]

@@2Links It’s not shown on this map, but Poland and the Basque region in Europe also avoided the worst parts of the plague as well.

[@SamAronow]

@@anthonyreyna8350 Poland didn't have it _quite_ as bad as in Germany, but it in no way avoided the Black Death. That assumption was based on a previous lack of access to contemporary Polish sources, but now we have them and it's clear that Poland experienced it.

[@chriskern998]

If I had a dollar for every time I heard the name James Bizonette, I'd have 271 dollars.

[@dhess34]

Absolute legend, that one.

[@ro.m.6432]

Another 228 dollars and you can buy the next Play station.

[@jerseyinsd]

...or kelly moneymaker

[@ΧαρηςΚοκκινος]

Kelly money maker

[@WolfenX4]

It always does my heart warm to see my favorite KZbin channel upload

[@max-louisvier595]

This is the only video I found on the net that talks about the Black Death outside Europe. Now this subject interests me a lot, because having lived 20 years in the Horn of Africa, (in Djibouti to be precise) the legends of the Somali Issas region, speak of a divine punishment which fell on the region at this period, and we also note a radical change in the structures of the societies, the organization of the tribes, the disappearance of certain clans, and the emergence of others. One interesting point is the transition from a society of herders practising transhumance to a society of nomadic herders, with villages being abandoned for nomadic camps. As in Europe at the same time, legends speak of ogres devouring children during periods of famine, cannibalism, etc. It's a pity that your diction is so fast, because my spoken English is not the best, and I find it hard to understand them all, and the KZbin transcription is let's say "quite folkloric". I will try to watch it several times to understand all the details.

[@ummelofilo9642]

Dude, try decreasing the speed of the video to 0.75x or 0.5x

[@hugoleonardoamaral586]

I don't know why but seeing the plague doctor and the plague holding signs and luggage, the guy running in the fields of flowers... I laughed out loud for the entire video. Well done History Matters, well done

[@qingyunwang3802]

There were records of Black Death in 14-16th century China. Problem is that official histories wrote from a macro scale (death toll, infection ratio, etc.) and didn’t like describing certain symptoms.

[@openlyracist8055]

James is single handedly funding this channel at this point, dude should be the CEO at this point

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

02:30 "First time?" Lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@beveragebrit]

You and Oversimplified have taught me some much about history keep going

[@Jacob-lv6zy]

I dunno why i laughed so hard, but the picture of the plaguebacteria holding the sign ”first time?” is one of the funniest illustrations I have ever seen on this channel.

[@cdcdrr]

Nice to see Africa being spared for once. Normally that continent's lead refrain is "and then it got worse".

[@savioblanc]

Even Covid didn't hit Africa as hard as doctors were predicting. Haiti, whose people are mostly of African stock, had hardly any deaths to Covid, despite being the lowest vaccinated.

[@congamonga7039]

@Jesse Hester Only part of the explanation. It is also genetical. Europeans and especially Asians are more vulnerable

[@everettduncan7543]

@@congamonga7039 also, COVID started in pangolins

[@alexanderrobins7497]

But on the flip side, those horrible plagues did some natural selection on those impacted. I have heard about 1 out of 11 European are immune to HIV due to a mutation in their ancestors. Africans already had a pretty good immune system due to constantly dealing awful diseases, but that is tragically one reason why they were chosen as slaves instead of indigenous populations in the Americas.

[@muhammadadeel8639]

Africans are the most genetically diverse people

[@theawfultrumpeter8538]

Interesting, my college history textbook actually says that china was the most devastated region by the Black Plague, with some cities reaching 90% mortality, but never mentioned the possibility of smallpox or other diseases. Although I wouldn’t put it passed them for being lazy like that in their research. Quite the discrepancy tho

[@rl9217]

Plague: (happens) Europe dying: This is a divine punishment. The Middle East: Meh, life already sucked before this. Sub Saharan Africa: What are you guys talking about? China: “Oh no! Anyways…”

[@jeffspaulding9834]

An interesting difference between Chinese and European history: if millions of people die due to some event in Europe, it's a major catastrophe and affected all aspects of life. If millions of people die due to some event in China, it's Tuesday.

[@ADMICKEY]

North n south America: ???

[@CCCPRusRus]

The Americas: ...........

[@manny2themaxxx333]

Europe: "WERE ALL GONNA DIE!" North Africa and Middle East: "Yeah some people are sick" Sub Saharan Africa: "Life is good"

[@deshawnmoore1731]

Genetic studies and general immunity in Sub Saharan populations give us some evidence that Sub Saharan Africans did actually be affected by the Black Death Trans Saharan and Trans Indian trade Routes would most likely slow but wouldn’t disappear so it’s likely that this would be how the plague entered Africa and from there spread throughout via inner African trade routes

[@Admiral45-10]

Western Europe: ,,We're all gonna die!" Eastern Europe: ,,Nah, I've seen worse"

[@aroundtheworld2813]

@@Admiral45-10 Eastern Europe: ,,Nah, I've seen worse" not really the worst of plagues were in the mediterranean world

[@Admiral45-10]

@@aroundtheworld2813 I meant the plague didn't really make this much destruction in Eastern Europe. It had relatively light outbreak, only targeting trade-based cities.

[@SomasAcademy]

Sub Saharan Africa actually likely was impacted by the plague, the research is just relatively recent so for a long time it was just kind of assumed that they were unaffected. There's an article in Science about it called "Did Black Death strike sub-Saharan Africa?"

[@thepersiannarration961]

Great video as always. Would love to see more content regarding the Middle East if possible though (specially Iran for obvious reasons lol)

[@yeeet1910]

As an Indian I would like to give some more info to the question: So, since the plague took place during the rule of "The Delhi Sultanate" in India. I have studied about them in history and yes there have been no accounts of the "black death" being reported or people dying to it, like there is not even a tiny mention about it in our books. So yes it didn't affect us like I would say 98% but if I have missed anything or spread false info or have written anything wrong pls lemme know. I would love to hear about it. Thanks for reading my comment. Edit: So seeing my comment section and people giving their opinions I believe we can conclude this question in 3 reasons why: 1. India was not in a trade relationship with the European world like maybe a little bit of trading did happen here and there but I'd highly doubt so it was that often or else India would've been ruled before hand rather than being ruled in the 18th century. 2. One of my most active Commentors Bakra Habibi may be correct as he stated that our border threats were from the Mongols not from the Rulers of the Middle East and the Mongols didn't have any sort of "Black Death" and stuff. 3. There might have already been a Plague outbreak before hand in India that made their immune system strong making the "Black Death" seem like nothing but a small scratch or it could also be coz of the medicinal plants and herbs that we used to use as our Doctors were profound scholars who excelled at any disease given to them which they would thoroughly examine and give u the remedy. Who knows? Maybe the Nalanda University still had some remedy for plagues and diseases like the "Black Death" or something like that. Anyways thanks for reading till here have a good day.

[@mcsweatshop]

Yeah as contagious and gruesome as it was it would be very odd to just…not mention it

[@hrotha]

It's so hard to come up with an explanation as to why it wouldn't affect India though. There must have been some reason, whether better urban hygiene or a better initial response that prevented it from becoming a notable outbreak worth writing about or the local climate at the points of contact with infected countries or what have you. It can't have been just dumb luck can it

[@MetallicMutalisk]

You're welcome

[@bakrahabibi5471]

As a Pakistani who's researched history, I've also not heard of any account of the black plague in the Delhi Sultanate. I guess it might be because either India was separated by natural borders like rivers and mountains , or ships came to certain ports far away from the capital, or because India's Western border was full of Muslims, who had a much higher regard for cleanliness than most other cultures(including Europeans). Note that I use India here as a geographical term, not a political one.

[@bakrahabibi5471]

During the time, war took place as usual, sultans were overthrown as usual, Bengal and the Deccan rebelled as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[@obaloluwaoloyede4479]

I so love your channel. Keep up the good work brother

[@LaRoche_]

Actually plague arrived in Ethiopia, a group of searchers found the writings of a priest around a plague epidemic describing a disease killing so much people each day that made it impossible to properly bury the infected once they were dead.

[@wimpieeeeee]

Nice and short with a lot of info, you have my like Sir!

[@Croz89]

I wonder if initially _Yersinia pestis_ didn't have good warm weather tolerance, and perhaps that is why tropical areas didn't initially see any outbreaks. Later on perhaps it did mutate to allow it to survive for longer in warm climates, which then allowed it to spread to the tropics.

[@Tsuruchi_420]

I mean, it did affect north Africa, the middle east and Iran, so that's probably improbable

[@connormcgee4711]

@@Tsuruchi_420 Yes, maybe it more has to due with dry climates than warm.

[@augustwolf_2256]

@@connormcgee4711 that's quite plausible. Y.Pestis originated in the dry Stepp-lands near the Gobi Desert and outbreaks were recorded as being at their worst in France and England during the summer months.

[@xijinpingsfavoritehemorrho1328]

Competition from tropical disease could have had a hand in it. I bet the Norway rat didn't have such a hold there as well. I wonder if those fleas that carried it liked those rats specifically or if those are just the rats they had.

[@Tsuruchi_420]

@@xijinpingsfavoritehemorrho1328 i forgot the disease is spread by the rat fleas for a hot second, that's probably it

[@nathanroon6961]

Another banger as always. Thanks for the great content!

[@JJ-on3hb]

James Bissonette’s philanthropy would have never allowed it to spread

[@marvelgeek9577]

0:18 I love how the depiction of the plague arriving in Europe is it looking like it’s on Holiday.

[@elefantepolski7456]

Why is Milan not filled in on these maps?

[@b3ygghsas]

Because milan was basically unaffected by the plague, I don’t know why though

[@hughjass1044]

The plague didn't go there. Then, as now, it's just too expensive.

[@zaipollizamabdulmalek5822]

@@b3ygghsas sick people were silled in milan, that how.

[@PhantomSavage]

"Africa didn't have it." Yeah I imagine it'd be pretty difficult for the plague to travel across the Sahara.

[@harveya1a952]

People wouldn’t have been affected at all if they had James Bisonette

[@noiihate213]

FACTS

[@somekindoflatindude9497]

Human-sized _Yersinia pestis_ with a sign has become my favorite character in the channel hands down

[@darkkiller_2127]

2:10 Idk y, but that scared the shit outa me

[@rumbleinthejungle3358]

Thanks for the upload

[@Theology.101]

Well it couldn’t have been too great of a time

[@demorbe-official]

You make things so easy to understand

[@matthew416811]

Sidenote: In the year 1347, China was in the late stages of the Yuan Dynasty. Providing that there were already scattered peasant uprisings before a major one, The Red Turban Rebellion (Completely unrelated to the Late Han Yellow Turban Rebellion) broke out which ultimately led to the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang and the retreat of Mongolian forces out back to the steppes. So, to oversimplify, kinda busy on the hand.

[@Oceanman26]

I'm liking these new animations, keep it up man

[@itzadam9359]

Video idea as a loyal Patreon supporter: Why was Finland 🇫🇮 given autonomy in the Russian Empire?

[@_Mr.Tuvok_]

“First time” The subtle darkness there-perfect

[@suntzu8499]

"an empty browser history tells a lot more than a full one" -Sun Tzu

[@danieldoyle0097]

1 minute since upload, I’ve never been this early

[@officialzji1828]

2:41 What is that missing spot on Northern Italy?

They were very religious in that part so God wasn't angry with them. Hence, no plague.

[@b3ygghsas]

Milan, I don’t know why but apparently milan was fine during the black plague

[@chrisforsyth8323]

Milan

[@Pepsi_Mig]

I don't know how, but every video you guys post manages to get me to think "huh I never thought about that but that's an interesting question"

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

I knew about the Black Death, but I didn't ask whether it affected Africa and Asia. Now, I know that there are plenty of unknowns! Thanks for the video! Also, nice anthropomorphic plagues at 0:18, 2:28, and especially 2:30! Furthermore, the literal illustration of "leaving everybody completely in the dark" was quite funny!

[@SomasAcademy]

Check out the article "Did Black Death strike sub-Saharan Africa?" in Science for some evidence that the scope of the plague was broader than what this video suggests!

[@StalinTheManWalshyTehMan]

You are the best channel I have ever seen keep up the good work

[@Robcobes]

1:20 "Chiner and India"

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nicely explained.

[@aravindhanil7235]

What was Imperial Japan's reaction to the fall of Nazi Germany?

[@Ethioutforlunch]

Ohh How I missed you History matters I love you so much this video is great

[@monsieur1936]

There was a theory that in order to do trade with India through Silk Road, traders had to cross high Hindukush Mountains which killed any bacterium infested flea to die because of reletively low pressure present at high altitudes, thus preventing the disease to spread in India. However, there is another theory that roughly at the same time, Sultan Mohammad Bin Tughlaq of Delhi ordered the relocation of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in Deccan and his vast entourage travelling to Daulatabad was ravaged by disease, probably bubonic plague, and Sultan himself fell extremely ill (probably plague) but survived. However, non of these theories are completely true in my opinion and both of them are just that, theories.

[@oakley1377]

Thank u very much for vid

[@Dock284]

Fun fact: Poland and parts of Hungry and Bohemia suffered less deaths for a reason that i honestly don't know

[@Cybernaut551]

Thank you for your service to education, History Matters!

[@Ben-ep1de]

At 1:28 does anyone know what they mean with refernce to the red turbans?

[@deiansalazar140]

I love that image of the sultan saying "fair enough" and keeling over. Best most underplayed joke ever.

[@i_am_rookie4]

Bruh i clicked faster than light lol

[@sALah1550]

History Matters answers the questions that we’ve never thought to ask

[@TheBrowncoat2112]

I can’t wait to see a similar History Matters video in the decades ahead documenting the spread of a recent “unspecified virus of unknown origin.”

[@srch100]

"write that down" the humor is top notch

[@calebhelsel7669]

0:08 why isn’t that one area by Nice in France colored in? Was that the one place in Europe to avoid plague?

[@theorangeoof926]

Probably a mistake

[@chakraborty1989]

That's Lombardi, Italy. It's famous for containing plague in that time

[@squiglemcsquigle8414]

That Lombardi..... Nice is a fair bit away

[@missp6983]

I love these drawings.🙂

[@CallumRSU30]

I like the historical accuracy given in having the Black Death wear the hat it wore at the time of its arrival.

[@jmalko9152]

Informative! Thank you!

[@Longshanks1690]

2:40 Shouldn’t Poland also be whited out on this map since the plague didn’t strike that Kingdom as harsh as it’s more western counterparts?

[@Admiral45-10]

It didn't strike Poland as hard, but it did strike it still (Jan Długosz claimed about half of the young population of Cracov died because of it). It had similar outbreak to Chech Kingdom or rest of Central Europe.

[@largezo7567]

I love the animations

[@TopHatTITAN]

I love the image of the black plague with a hat and suitcase

[@iloveallah5960]

Medieval Europe : did black plague hurt you? China and India: Well yes, but actually no

[@dwarasamudra8889]

That era was a very dark age for much of India. The Delhi Sultanate was made up of invading Islamic Turkic tribes who caused so much destruction. So many cities, temples, educational institutions etc were wiped out. Lots of massacres/genocides as well as forced conversions of Dharmik people to Islam, with Buddhism being completely wiped out. Up until the 13th century, Indian merchants were the dominant players in the Indian Ocean, simultaneously spreading Indian culture, languages, art and religions to much of Asia. However, post Islamic invasion, much of this dominance faded and within India there was a decline in art, music, sanskrtic literature, theatre, dance, temple construction etc. That era is known for having far fewer inscriptions or written accounts as result of the destruction and cultural decline.

[@ericsilver9401]

I feel the fact that I’ve never questioned this is a problem

[@AnteGamisouRe]

Why was there a little circle of non infected area near Torino in Italy?

[@b3ygghsas]

Milan was barely affected by the plague

[@julianmartinez3048]

Man, you've got 2,2m of patreons (measured in a 27" screen size). This makes you the most successful chanel on Patreon that I Know.

[@familygash7500]

*VIDEO SUGGESTION:* Why was Japan never colonised?

[@tengkualiff]

I didnt expect the plague doctor to look so cute in this version hahaha

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

Everyone alive in India or China in the 14th century has died, though, so we do have evidence of a slower, long running variant there.

[@ihavenojawandimustscream4681]

Its called the age variant

[@dwarasamudra8889]

That era was a very dark age for much of India. The Delhi Sultanate was made up of invading Islamic Turkic tribes who caused so much destruction. So many cities, temples, educational institutions etc were wiped out. Lots of massacres/genocides as well as forced conversions of Dharmik people to Islam, with Buddhism being completely wiped out. Up until the 13th century, Indian merchants were the dominant players in the Indian Ocean, simultaneously spreading Indian culture, languages, art and religions to much of Asia. However, post Islamic invasion, much of this dominance faded and within India there was a decline in art, music, sanskrtic literature, theatre, dance, temple construction etc. That era is known for having far fewer inscriptions or written accounts as result of the destruction and cultural decline.

[@aagamjain1395]

2:40 I love this channel's humor

[@pk3188]

what is that region in west italy which wasn’t affected?

[@b3ygghsas]

Milan

[@chrisforsyth8323]

Milan

[@Aadi686]

Another great video!

[@jordanscherr6699]

Well, the disease would have, and did mutate over time as it traveled. So it's entirely possible it built up it's rampage until reaching the European continent. The sad irony would be that it never "went way" so to speak, but simply latched onto a people who had built up an immunity. So when it circled around, it caused a second round of utter devastation upon the Asian nations. And if it was that nasty a natural-bioweapon, I suspect it legitimately never got to India or China until later.