The Great Fire of London: England’s Fiery Holocaust

[@geographicstravel]

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[@Kegare_]

“350 years ago, London was cramped, dirty, overcrowded and dangerous.” Oh, how times have changed…

[@benjamin59422]

yh not much as changed has it 😂

[@HarryWessex]

Less so than Birmingham, Hull, Liverpool & Manchester at least

[@sevenofzach]

Tell me you haven't lived in a city without indoor plumbing without telling me. ... Weird flex lol

[@Kegare_]

@@sevenofzach Humour is wasted on you. Have a good life being a joyless oaf.

[@Kegare_]

@@sevenofzach Humour is wasted on you. Have a good life being a joyless oaf.

[@mr.powers4436]

Wasn't the question raised, "who should pay to rebuild" to which someone said "the king" And king charles responded " I didn't start the fire" Which later was became part of a song?

[@Demeatree]

Weirdly enough, we still use miles and mph in the UK for large distances. For height it's interchangeable

[@walterhankin46]

As an American, it’s common knowledge that yall still use miles. This man has also butchered the annunciation of Appalachia in another video, which here is also common knowledge. I’m getting the feeling this guy is only book smart and lacks real world studies.

[@DigitalLazarus]

This was fascinating history and well produced. Kudos to all. And thanks. Ace.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:55 - Mid roll ads 3:30 - Chapter 1 - The old city 6:40 - Chapter 2 - Fire hazard 9:40 - Chapter 3 - Firestorm 12:20 - Chapter 4 - The loss of reason 14:15 - Chapter 5 - Hellscape 17:25 - Chapter 6 - Aftermath 19:50 - Chapter 7 - From the ashes 22:00 - Conclusion

[@resileaf9501]

Feels rather topical with the raging fires in BC right now. I can't even imagine how terrible it must be to have your entire hometown reduced to cinders.

[@noizeemama3697]

I get tired of everyone mentioning the Chicago fire when the one in Peshtigo, WI that happened at the same time was way worse.

[@MelanieCravens]

Yes! Thank you! I agree!

[@mattyt1961]

the rest of the world has actually heard of Chicago

[@michellemire8462]

Yeah Peshtigo dont ring a bell to me.. as if i would want ppl to speak of Trois-Rivières great fire instead of Chicago great fire!

[@noizeemama3697]

@@michellemire8462 it happened at the same time. The fire was bigger and killed more people and property. So why should Chicago be more important?

[@yankeecrazy9]

Hey everyone! Scriptwriter Ben here, I hope you enjoyed the video. If you'd like to learn more about the Great Fire of London, I highly recommend the book "The Great Fire of London" by Neil Hanson, I relied on it heavily when writing for this video. Thanks for watching!

[@petercozzaglio6070]

This was a very hot topic in my most humble opinion.

[@eduardogutierrez4698]

I remember playing a PS1 videogame set against this event as the backdrop...

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

Even a lie detector isn't a "reliable lie detector." @19:28

[@RealLooktea]

For when the title gets changed this was the original one: 'The Great Fire of London: England's Fiery Holocaust' yeah...

[@TheGwinjoseph]

@@RealLooktea big yikes, the fire must have been trying to systematically eliminate all of the English

[@ea.fitz216]

There’s hyperbole and then there’s… yeah…

[@Silverwing2112]

Holocaust: noun noun: holocaust; plural noun: holocausts 1. destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by *fire* or nuclear war. "a nuclear holocaust"

[@plomox1234]

80% of the buildings inside the wall were destroyed. 13,000 houses destroyed, 200,0000 people homeless and a modern bill in the billions, yeah I'd say the fire was pretty bad

[@HarryWessex]

​@@TheGwinjosephThe rich sat & watched the poor burn then only recorded the 6 rich people who got killed.

[@maxmetodiev641]

I first learned about it in year 2 over a decade ago

[@fire.smok3]

Can't believe the comments lol. Do people not know vocabulary? This is a word that existed far before the WWII event and has been used after it as well to describe other events (like discussing possibilities of a "nuclear holocaust"). It's a general word meaning mass destruction or death.

[@VivaSepulchre]

I really fw with this narrator. Good job, fella

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Thanks For this Guys! Love to learn ftom you❤❤❤❤

[@hammeredbassman88]

Cramped, dirty, overcrowded and dangerous, in other words, a S***HOLE And 300 years later, nothing has changed 👍

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@willekln]

Interesting how this happened suspiciously in the year of the triple six.

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

We invented Satan and we invented counting time. So there’s actually nothing suspicious.

[@VivaSepulchre]

Uuuuugh 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@Marihl1354]

Jasper National park Canada burned this week.

[@kkillshott2422]

I saw the title and immediately came to comment section 😂

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

Wait, if Whitehall wasn't in London back then, where _was_ London? I mean, that's one block from Trafalgar Square, and a block the other direction from Big Ben. That's as central to downtown London as it gets, these days. If that used to be outside of town, where _was_ the town, back then? But yes, they would *definitely* have been using traditional units at that time. Even the French didn't start using the metric system until more than a century later. Britain didn't adopt it until the twentieth century, after France came to be regarded as a close ally.

[@jessgunn6639]

Closer to the east end and the docks

[@archstanton6102]

Talking about the City of London not Westminster

[@stephenreardon2698]

You are confusing the City of London & Greater London. See Jay Foreman's & CP Grays videos on the difference between the two.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@stephenreardon2698 Wait. Are we talking about the City of London? I don't remember the video saying that. I thought we were talking about London, i.e., the city that is just called London, which is different from the City of London, but also does not encompass the entire Greater London metropolitan area. (It's really confusing...) Currently, the City of London has a population of about ten thousand people (it's not really a residential area...); London has about several million people; and the entire Greater London metropolitan area has almost 15 million people. The City of London is, for obscure legal reasons, technically not a part of London, but it is part of Greater London.

[@stephenreardon2698]

@@jonadabtheunsightly The Great Fire of London was in the City of London & spread to the West End as described, reasonably accurately, in this video. At that point that was pretty much all that London consisted of. Westminster/Whitehall, as well as Southwark, were very much on the periphery. As for the rest of the modern geographic area of the modern county of Greater London, they were small villages, farmers' fields and royal hunting grounds in the counties of Surrey, Kent, Essex and Middlesex.

[@nicholaskrupp3978]

Wondering if the channel would consider doing one on Mount Kailash? ty

[@iluvmy67cuda]

Looks like the word police are already arguing in the comments 😂.

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

Yes and for good reason, it's personal and very traumatic for many still living and in a time of rising antisemitism.... maybe there's a reason people feel strongly?

[@neighborhoodcatlady6094]

I understand your point, but there is a difference between A holocaust and The Holocaust. Please look up definition of the word.

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

@@neighborhoodcatlady6094this is a nicer way to put it than most comments, so thank you for that. This is true, but we'd be silly not to understand the connotations no?

[@Willy_Tepes]

Just Pharisees, lol.

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@user-dn6fw1ss1c A lie exposed is a very dangerous thing..

[@mikebauer6917]

You sound is somewhat muddy and too quiet.

[@CearaRed]

what about the plague of 1665? it was also a contributing factor, n'est-ce pas?

[@nowaysis77]

We still use miles in the UK mate

[@johnashleyhalls]

You are using mile and yards because the metric system would not be inventaed for more than anothe rhundred years. I think the script writers need a science consultant, or is that a joke I just missed?

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Yes.

[@WarnockRafferty]

What happened to Simon

[@hollydavid69]

Find a new sponsor!

[@Shinzon23]

Huh. The context thing seems to think this is about the Holocaust that happend circa 1932 to 1945...

[@allenschmitz9644]

Really most citys didnt invent fire department s till about the 1870s so 1666 wooden citys didnt need an excuse to burn to a crisp.😢

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

"conflagration" would have been a better choice.

[@majorsabremechbeast3163]

Simon not bald anymore?

[@archstanton6102]

Simon not here for 12 months.

[@anglo-dutchsausage344]

"Keeps" seems to be really working.

[@Nudgeworth]

He's also no longer English and more high pitched

[@wh4070]

Sounds like you can't depend on those we elect to protect us. At least it's gotten better since then, right? Right??

[@figodwnnieto2581]

What a stupid title for this topic. I'm from the UK and the Great Fire of London wasn't even one of the most significant events in our history, so to refer to it as this is utterly ridiculous. Thought I'd check out this channel after a long time of not watching it after Simon left... Clearly I haven't missed anything good.

[@jamesheichel9465]

Minus the fire that description was a dead ring for 2024 london. Times may change, but stupidity never does. 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️

[@savidcaralho]

What the fuck is this title

[@Thenarratorofsecrets]

Means, great destruction. Title Has no connection to "the" holocaust.

[@ea.fitz216]

@@Thenarratorofsecrets Right, but this is by no means great destruction on that scale. Holocausts are used to describe genocides, apocalypses and extinction events. The Great Fire of London killed six people and caused property damage. Hardly a holocaust is it?

[@fioredeutchmark]

@@Thenarratorofsecretsso why is it capitalised like a proper noun then?

[@Thenarratorofsecrets]

​@@fioredeutchmark because it's a title

[@NationalTidende]

🎉

[@manman0006]

disgusting clickbait title

[@fire.smok3]

A holocaust is a general word meaning mass destruction. It is not specific to the WWII event. That's just the most well-known example in the current era's conciousness.

[@joeschmoe5009]

Thanks youtube/google for putting up information about a different holocaust

[@akumabito2008]

Simon looks weird today.

[@jeremymcdonald7974]

He's on that American diet now, apparently

[@tobyjohnson6722]

Big yikes. Talk about a clickbait title…

[@plomox1234]

Look up the definition of a holocaust. There is a historical connotation yes but look at the roots of the word and it means to be destroyed completely by fire. Ever heard the phrase nuclear holocaust?

[@Thenarratorofsecrets]

Til no one knows that the word holocaust has meaning outside of "the" holocaust

[@archstanton6102]

​@@Thenarratorofsecrets you and your friends might not know this. Many others know the wider meaning of the word.

[@georgehh2574]

​​​​​​​​​@@archstanton6102 You misunderstood them, combined with poor grammar. "TIL" - Today I Learned Their fault really, with "til" being short for until.

[@dahliacheung6020]

The term 'holocaust,' defined as the violent persecution and purge of European Jews and other people deemed "unworthy of life" by the Nazis, is also just a word that actually comes from Greek and means "burnt offering," in its literal definition. How this word connects to the Jewish people is that it's the Greek term used in Greek translations of the Torah and possibly also the Bible for the _olah_ which meants burnt offering in Hebrew. These offerings were given in the temple in Jerusalem for the atonement of sins. The term 'holocaust' was used in the 1800s to describe the 12th century killing of a town of people by French troops who chased them into a church while burning down the town, and that use while still metaphorically aligned with the original meaning, started the use of the world holocaust to also just mean "a great slaughter." Previous pogroms of Jewish people in the middle ages were referred to as _holocaustem_ which is the Latin form of the word. The Armenian genocide was called a holocaust because of the mass murder. The great fire of London was called a holocaust because of the deaths by fire. The US bombing of Japan was called a holocaust both because of the mass deaths and the fire. What we know as The Holocaust officially was referred to as "The Final Solution," by the Nazis and to the Jews it is called the _Shoah_ which means "the catastrophe" in Hebrew. However _Shoah_ specifically refers to the genocide of six million Jews and the term holocaust includes the four million people of there racial and religious background who were also systematically murdered by the Nazis. So while The Holocaust is used to describe the genocide enacted by the Nazis, the word "holocaust" continues to be used with its "original" but not literal Greek meaning. Hope this helps.

[@TheGwinjoseph]

holocaust??? using that word feels wrong dude, just use tragedy or catastrophe instead

[@fire.smok3]

A holocaust is a general word meaning mass destruction. It is not specific to the WWII event. That's just the most well-known example in the current era's conciousness.

[@lagavulinmtg5120]

Not having Simon narrate ruins it for me. Nothing against the new guy but Simon is the only essay youtuber I listen to.

[@ThroughTheThornvine]

Uhhh I dunno about using the word Holocaust for this one fam, raging fires aren't exactly systemic gennocide

[@brandonhallam51]

You ever looked up the definition? Or do you just respond how youve been programmed to respond

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

@@brandonhallam51people respond like this because of THE Holocaust, your response is insanely tone deaf

[@Thenarratorofsecrets]

​@@user-dn6fw1ss1cyes but the word holocaust doesn't only refer to genocide. I get why people are upset, but I also think those people need to broaden their horizons a bit.

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

@@ThenarratorofsecretsI think that's a fair point, words change with time so it's not surprising that the original meaning was something more general. Just wondering whether it's as effective and applicable now given its use has changed substantially since the 1940s?

[@fioredeutchmark]

@@ThenarratorofsecretsI think you need to learn English grammar. The Holocaust of the title is capitalised as a proper noun so is referring to the event in 1940’s war time Europe. Your pedantry isn’t appreciated.

[@motographicartsandfilming]

We use Miles as measurement in the UK

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Who does?

[@jeffree9015]

We still use miles to measure long distance now, lol

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Who is "we"?

[@Leonniclass]

Is the title some out of season April fools joke?

[@fire.smok3]

A holocaust is a general word meaning mass destruction. It is not specific to the WWII event. That's just the most well-known example in the current era's conciousness.

[@jenshep1720]

yo, you really shouldnt appropriate the term holocaust for this. its not at all the same or even similar, and its in pretty bad taste. maybe use something like "apocalypse" instead.

[@01NATHAN10]

😂😂😂😂

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

@JimAllen-Personajust because it's technically accurate doesn't mean it's in good taste.

[@pooryorick831]

From Webster's: Holocaust-- destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire. Apocalypse-- the complete final destruction of the world, as described in the book of Revelation. Holocaust is the more accurate word. Use your dictionary. It is your friend.

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

@@pooryorick831we all know what that word represents, despite its dictionary definition. It obviously is associated with THE Holocaust and pointing out technicalities doesn't soften the blow or make it less insulting.

[@brandonhallam51]

Lmao, appropriate... its literally being used appropriately by definition. Just educate yourself.

[@Nudgeworth]

Oh no, I really want to listen to this video. But unfortunately this nice non Simon guy has such a high pitch accent, it's painful to my ears. I guess I can't listen to geographic videos anymore.

[@jasonbernal9348]

Uh .... This isn't Simon

[@robertoleary5470]

He hasn’t been here for like 9 months get over it

[@giselematthews7949]

It's not Karl either. I agree, these guys have moved on. Get over it.

[@ea.fitz216]

I don’t believe that it’s appropriate in the slightest to term this a holocaust. You really can’t compare this to *the* holocaust and other instances of mass destruction which that word is used to describe.

[@MrPrussianjester]

It literally is in the definition though: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by *fire* or nuclear war.

[@ea.fitz216]

@@MrPrussianjester “Mass scale” is very vague. When holocaust is generally used to describe something, it’s a genocide, or an apocalyptic/extinction event. Are these really comparable to a fire in which *six* people died and a 17th century city suffered property damage? I mean, even looking at the subject of property damage alone- the destruction London endured was nothing compared to the total destruction of Jewish and Slavic properties under the holocaust. That’s not even considering how the death toll was literally a millionth of the actual holocaust’s deaths, not counting homosexuals, Slavs, etc. The truth is this title infantilises the destruction of the holocaust, and it is completely inappropriate to use it when other more accurate terms could be used (like inferno). It was a rage bait title for a channel desperate for views.

[@Thenarratorofsecrets]

@@ea.fitz216 the term is thousands of years old, was used in books to describe great fires throughout history. Instead of arguing with you though imma ask you to go find some actual holocaust deniers on this site and use that energy there, because here you're just being ignorant and trying to claim ownership of a word that's got nothing to do with you.

[@ea.fitz216]

@@Thenarratorofsecrets What the hell are you talking about, “claiming ownership”. It doesn’t matter if the term holocaust preceded the event, the use of the word to mean the event has superseded its use as a descriptive word. Basically, since you’ve completely failed to understand what I’m saying, you shouldn’t use a word with that emotional context to describe a fire that did jack shit in comparison.

[@thepax2621]

That title sounds like either an inflated nothing-burger or just clickbait 😅

[@01NATHAN10]

Christ is King 👑

[@bryan5213]

What's that have to do with the Great Fire of London???

[@catnotpat3693]

Random proselytizing on completely unrelated topics. You guys must be getting desperate. Accept the truth, civilization is losing interest in your Iron Age mythology.

[@01NATHAN10]

@@bryan5213 God bless

[@01NATHAN10]

@@catnotpat3693 God bless

[@user-dn6fw1ss1c]

Get a hobby, Jesus would want that for you lol

[@kyle870]

There are layers to the irony of this happening in 1666😂😂😂😂