video_title
stringlengths 25
104
| Sentence
stringlengths 73
2.51k
|
|---|---|
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | We want to be great. For a long time, history was all about the study of great men, and it was common to call people the great, although these days historians are less likely to do that because they recognize that one man's great is generally another man's terrible. And also the great has some misogynistic implications. Like it's almost always men who are called the great. You never hear of Cleopatra the Great or Elizabeth the Great. Sure, there's Catherine the Great of Russia, but for her masculine greatness, she was saddled with the completely untrue rumor that she died trying to scootily poop with a horse. Saddled. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Like it's almost always men who are called the great. You never hear of Cleopatra the Great or Elizabeth the Great. Sure, there's Catherine the Great of Russia, but for her masculine greatness, she was saddled with the completely untrue rumor that she died trying to scootily poop with a horse. Saddled. Get it? Anybody? Saddled with the rumor? |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Saddled. Get it? Anybody? Saddled with the rumor? Anyway, they could have soiled Catherine the Great's name just by telling the truth, which is that like so many other great men and women, she died on the toilet. Get it? Soiled. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Saddled with the rumor? Anyway, they could have soiled Catherine the Great's name just by telling the truth, which is that like so many other great men and women, she died on the toilet. Get it? Soiled. Toilet. Yes. Yes. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Soiled. Toilet. Yes. Yes. So, quick biography of Alexander of Macedon. Born in 356 BCE, died in 323 BCE at the ripe old age of 32. Alexander was the son of King Philip II, and when just 13 years old, he tamed a horse no one else could ride named Bucephalus, which impressed his father so much that he said, O thy son, look thee out at a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Yes. So, quick biography of Alexander of Macedon. Born in 356 BCE, died in 323 BCE at the ripe old age of 32. Alexander was the son of King Philip II, and when just 13 years old, he tamed a horse no one else could ride named Bucephalus, which impressed his father so much that he said, O thy son, look thee out at a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee. By that time, he was already an accomplished general, but over the next decade, he expanded his empire with unprecedented speed, and he is famous for having never lost a battle. Today, we're going to look at Alexander of Macedon's story by examining three possible definitions of greatness. First, maybe Alexander was great because of his accomplishments. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Alexander was the son of King Philip II, and when just 13 years old, he tamed a horse no one else could ride named Bucephalus, which impressed his father so much that he said, O thy son, look thee out at a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee. By that time, he was already an accomplished general, but over the next decade, he expanded his empire with unprecedented speed, and he is famous for having never lost a battle. Today, we're going to look at Alexander of Macedon's story by examining three possible definitions of greatness. First, maybe Alexander was great because of his accomplishments. This is an extension of the idea that history is the record of the deeds of great men. Now, of course, that's ridiculous. For one thing, half of people are women. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | First, maybe Alexander was great because of his accomplishments. This is an extension of the idea that history is the record of the deeds of great men. Now, of course, that's ridiculous. For one thing, half of people are women. For another, and this is important, there are lots of historical events that no one can take responsibility for, like, for instance, the Black Plague. Still, Alexander was accomplished. I mean, he conquered a lot of territory. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | For one thing, half of people are women. For another, and this is important, there are lots of historical events that no one can take responsibility for, like, for instance, the Black Plague. Still, Alexander was accomplished. I mean, he conquered a lot of territory. Like, a lot. His father Philip had conquered all of Greece, but Alexander did what the Spartans and the Athenians had failed to do. He destroyed the Persian Empire. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | I mean, he conquered a lot of territory. Like, a lot. His father Philip had conquered all of Greece, but Alexander did what the Spartans and the Athenians had failed to do. He destroyed the Persian Empire. He conquered all the land the Persians had held, including Egypt, and then marched toward India, stopping at the Indus River only because his army was like, hey, Alexander, you know what would be awesome? Not marching. Also, Alexander was a really good general, although historians disagree over whether his tactics were truly brilliant or if his army just happened to have better technology, specifically these extra-long spears called sarissas. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | He destroyed the Persian Empire. He conquered all the land the Persians had held, including Egypt, and then marched toward India, stopping at the Indus River only because his army was like, hey, Alexander, you know what would be awesome? Not marching. Also, Alexander was a really good general, although historians disagree over whether his tactics were truly brilliant or if his army just happened to have better technology, specifically these extra-long spears called sarissas. But much of his reputation as a general, and his reputation in general – anybody? Puns? Maybe I should stop? |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Also, Alexander was a really good general, although historians disagree over whether his tactics were truly brilliant or if his army just happened to have better technology, specifically these extra-long spears called sarissas. But much of his reputation as a general, and his reputation in general – anybody? Puns? Maybe I should stop? Okay – is because of Napoleon. Napoleon, like many other generals through the millennia, was obsessed with Alexander the Great, but more on that in a moment. That said, Alexander wasn't very good at what we might now call empire building. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Maybe I should stop? Okay – is because of Napoleon. Napoleon, like many other generals through the millennia, was obsessed with Alexander the Great, but more on that in a moment. That said, Alexander wasn't very good at what we might now call empire building. Alexander's empire is definitely visually impressive, but it wasn't actually much of an empire. Like, Alexander specialized in the tearing down of things, but he wasn't so great at the building up of institutions to replace the things he'd torn down. And that's why pretty soon after his death, his empire broke into three empires, called the Hellenistic Kingdoms. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | That said, Alexander wasn't very good at what we might now call empire building. Alexander's empire is definitely visually impressive, but it wasn't actually much of an empire. Like, Alexander specialized in the tearing down of things, but he wasn't so great at the building up of institutions to replace the things he'd torn down. And that's why pretty soon after his death, his empire broke into three empires, called the Hellenistic Kingdoms. Each was ruled by one of Alexander's generals, and they became important dynasties – the Antigonids in Greece and Macedonia, the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in Persia – all of which lasted longer than Alexander's empire itself. A second kind of greatness – maybe Alexander was great because he had an enormous impact on the world after his death. Like King Tut, Alexander the Great was amazingly good at being a dead person. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | And that's why pretty soon after his death, his empire broke into three empires, called the Hellenistic Kingdoms. Each was ruled by one of Alexander's generals, and they became important dynasties – the Antigonids in Greece and Macedonia, the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in Persia – all of which lasted longer than Alexander's empire itself. A second kind of greatness – maybe Alexander was great because he had an enormous impact on the world after his death. Like King Tut, Alexander the Great was amazingly good at being a dead person. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So after Alexander of Macedon died, everyone – from the Romans to Napoleon to Oliver Stone – loved him. And he was an important military model for many generals throughout history. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Like King Tut, Alexander the Great was amazingly good at being a dead person. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So after Alexander of Macedon died, everyone – from the Romans to Napoleon to Oliver Stone – loved him. And he was an important military model for many generals throughout history. But his main post-death legacy may be that he introduced the Persian idea of absolute monarchy to the Greco-Roman world, which would become a pretty big deal. Alexander also built a number of cities on his route that became big deals after his death, and it's easy to spot them because he named most of them after himself and one after his horse. The Alexandrian Egypt became a major center of learning in the classical world and was home to the most amazing library ever, which Julius Caesar probably accidentally burned down while trying to conquer a bunch of land to emulate his hero, Alexander the Great. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | And he was an important military model for many generals throughout history. But his main post-death legacy may be that he introduced the Persian idea of absolute monarchy to the Greco-Roman world, which would become a pretty big deal. Alexander also built a number of cities on his route that became big deals after his death, and it's easy to spot them because he named most of them after himself and one after his horse. The Alexandrian Egypt became a major center of learning in the classical world and was home to the most amazing library ever, which Julius Caesar probably accidentally burned down while trying to conquer a bunch of land to emulate his hero, Alexander the Great. Plus, the dead Alexander had a huge impact on culture. He gave the region its common language, Greek, which facilitated conversations and commerce. Greek was so widespread that archaeologists have found coins in what is now Afghanistan with pictures of their kings with the word king written beneath the pictures in Greek. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | The Alexandrian Egypt became a major center of learning in the classical world and was home to the most amazing library ever, which Julius Caesar probably accidentally burned down while trying to conquer a bunch of land to emulate his hero, Alexander the Great. Plus, the dead Alexander had a huge impact on culture. He gave the region its common language, Greek, which facilitated conversations and commerce. Greek was so widespread that archaeologists have found coins in what is now Afghanistan with pictures of their kings with the word king written beneath the pictures in Greek. This is also why, incidentally, the New Testament was eventually written in Greek. Although Alexander was mostly just conquering territory for the glory and heroism and greatness of it all, in his wake emerged a more closely connected world that could trade and communicate with more people more efficiently than ever before. Alexander didn't make those things happen, but they probably wouldn't have happened without him. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Greek was so widespread that archaeologists have found coins in what is now Afghanistan with pictures of their kings with the word king written beneath the pictures in Greek. This is also why, incidentally, the New Testament was eventually written in Greek. Although Alexander was mostly just conquering territory for the glory and heroism and greatness of it all, in his wake emerged a more closely connected world that could trade and communicate with more people more efficiently than ever before. Alexander didn't make those things happen, but they probably wouldn't have happened without him. But here's a question, if you're watching Jersey Shore and get so involved in the situation's romantic conquest that you leave the bath water running, thereby flooding your apartment, and you have to call a plumber, and the plumber comes over and you fall in love with him and get married and live happily ever after, does that make the situation responsible for your marriage? Thanks, Thought Bubble. Okay, a third definition of greatness. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Alexander didn't make those things happen, but they probably wouldn't have happened without him. But here's a question, if you're watching Jersey Shore and get so involved in the situation's romantic conquest that you leave the bath water running, thereby flooding your apartment, and you have to call a plumber, and the plumber comes over and you fall in love with him and get married and live happily ever after, does that make the situation responsible for your marriage? Thanks, Thought Bubble. Okay, a third definition of greatness. Maybe Alexander is great because of his legend. Since no accounts of Alexander were written while he was alive, embellishment was easy. And maybe that's where true greatness lies. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Okay, a third definition of greatness. Maybe Alexander is great because of his legend. Since no accounts of Alexander were written while he was alive, embellishment was easy. And maybe that's where true greatness lies. I mean, the guy died at 32 before he ever had a chance to get old and lose battles. He was tutored by Aristotle, for God's sakes. Then there's Alexander's single-minded, obsessive, Ahab-esque pursuit of the Persian king Darius, who he chased across modern-day Iraq and Iran for no real reason except that he desperately wanted to kill him. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | And maybe that's where true greatness lies. I mean, the guy died at 32 before he ever had a chance to get old and lose battles. He was tutored by Aristotle, for God's sakes. Then there's Alexander's single-minded, obsessive, Ahab-esque pursuit of the Persian king Darius, who he chased across modern-day Iraq and Iran for no real reason except that he desperately wanted to kill him. And when Bessus, one of Darius's generals, assassinated him before Alexander had the chance, Alexander chased Bessus around until he could at least kill him. These almost comical pursuits of glory and heroism are accompanied in classical histories by stories of Alexander walking through the desert and it's suddenly raining and these ravens coming to lead him to the army he's supposed to fight. And stories of his hot Persian wife, Roxana, who, while still a teenager, engineered the assassination of many of Alexander's fellow wives. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Then there's Alexander's single-minded, obsessive, Ahab-esque pursuit of the Persian king Darius, who he chased across modern-day Iraq and Iran for no real reason except that he desperately wanted to kill him. And when Bessus, one of Darius's generals, assassinated him before Alexander had the chance, Alexander chased Bessus around until he could at least kill him. These almost comical pursuits of glory and heroism are accompanied in classical histories by stories of Alexander walking through the desert and it's suddenly raining and these ravens coming to lead him to the army he's supposed to fight. And stories of his hot Persian wife, Roxana, who, while still a teenager, engineered the assassination of many of Alexander's fellow wives. And even in his death, people tried to make Alexander live up to this heroic ideal. Like Plutarch tells us that he died of a fever, but that's no way for a masculine empire-building awesome person to die. So rumors persist that he died either of alcohol poisoning or else of assassination-y poisoning. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | And stories of his hot Persian wife, Roxana, who, while still a teenager, engineered the assassination of many of Alexander's fellow wives. And even in his death, people tried to make Alexander live up to this heroic ideal. Like Plutarch tells us that he died of a fever, but that's no way for a masculine empire-building awesome person to die. So rumors persist that he died either of alcohol poisoning or else of assassination-y poisoning. I mean, no great man can die of a fever. Speaking of great men, it's time to strip down for the open letter. So elegant. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | So rumors persist that he died either of alcohol poisoning or else of assassination-y poisoning. I mean, no great man can die of a fever. Speaking of great men, it's time to strip down for the open letter. So elegant. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment today. Oh, it's Kim Kardashian's perfume. Thanks, Stan. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | So elegant. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment today. Oh, it's Kim Kardashian's perfume. Thanks, Stan. I'll wear this. I'll check it out. I'll give it a try. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Thanks, Stan. I'll wear this. I'll check it out. I'll give it a try. Ah, wow, that is, mmm, it's like all the worst parts of baby powder and all the worst parts of cat pee. An open letter to the ladies. Hello, ladies. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | I'll give it a try. Ah, wow, that is, mmm, it's like all the worst parts of baby powder and all the worst parts of cat pee. An open letter to the ladies. Hello, ladies. You've really been unfairly neglected in Crash Course World History and also in world history textbooks everywhere. Like there'll be a whole chapter exploring the exploits of great men and then at the end there will be one sentence that's like, also women were doing stuff at the time and it was important but we don't really know what it was. So back to Alexander the Great. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Hello, ladies. You've really been unfairly neglected in Crash Course World History and also in world history textbooks everywhere. Like there'll be a whole chapter exploring the exploits of great men and then at the end there will be one sentence that's like, also women were doing stuff at the time and it was important but we don't really know what it was. So back to Alexander the Great. History has been very good at marginalizing and demeaning women and we're going to fight against that as we move forward in the story of human civilization. Ladies, I have to go now because my eyes are stinging from the biological weapon known as Kim Kardashian's gold. Seriously, don't wear it. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | So back to Alexander the Great. History has been very good at marginalizing and demeaning women and we're going to fight against that as we move forward in the story of human civilization. Ladies, I have to go now because my eyes are stinging from the biological weapon known as Kim Kardashian's gold. Seriously, don't wear it. Best wishes, John Green. So in Alexander the Great we have a story of a man who united the world while riding a magical horse. Only he could tame across deserts where it magically rained for him so that he could chase down his mortal enemy and then leave in his wake a more enlightened world and a gorgeous murderous wife. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Seriously, don't wear it. Best wishes, John Green. So in Alexander the Great we have a story of a man who united the world while riding a magical horse. Only he could tame across deserts where it magically rained for him so that he could chase down his mortal enemy and then leave in his wake a more enlightened world and a gorgeous murderous wife. But of course it's not just Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty that celebrate the idea that ennobled violence can lead to a better world. And that takes us to my opinion of how Alexander really came to be great. Millennia after his death in 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt not because he particularly needed to invade Egypt, but because he wanted to do what Alexander had done. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Only he could tame across deserts where it magically rained for him so that he could chase down his mortal enemy and then leave in his wake a more enlightened world and a gorgeous murderous wife. But of course it's not just Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty that celebrate the idea that ennobled violence can lead to a better world. And that takes us to my opinion of how Alexander really came to be great. Millennia after his death in 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt not because he particularly needed to invade Egypt, but because he wanted to do what Alexander had done. And long before Napoleon, the Romans really worshipped Alexander, particularly the Roman general Pompey, aka Pompeius Magnus, aka Pompey the Great. Pompey was so obsessed with Alexander that he literally tried to emulate Alexander's boyishly disheveled hairstyle. In short, Alexander is great because others decided he was great because they chose to admire and emulate him. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Millennia after his death in 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt not because he particularly needed to invade Egypt, but because he wanted to do what Alexander had done. And long before Napoleon, the Romans really worshipped Alexander, particularly the Roman general Pompey, aka Pompeius Magnus, aka Pompey the Great. Pompey was so obsessed with Alexander that he literally tried to emulate Alexander's boyishly disheveled hairstyle. In short, Alexander is great because others decided he was great because they chose to admire and emulate him. Yes, Alexander was a great general. Yes, he conquered a lot of land. The situation is also really good at picking up girls of a certain type. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | In short, Alexander is great because others decided he was great because they chose to admire and emulate him. Yes, Alexander was a great general. Yes, he conquered a lot of land. The situation is also really good at picking up girls of a certain type. And Kim Kardashian is good at... Stan, what is Kim Kardashian good at? We made Alexander great, just as today we make people great when we admire them and try to emulate them. History has traditionally been in the business of finding and celebrating great men, and only occasionally great women. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | The situation is also really good at picking up girls of a certain type. And Kim Kardashian is good at... Stan, what is Kim Kardashian good at? We made Alexander great, just as today we make people great when we admire them and try to emulate them. History has traditionally been in the business of finding and celebrating great men, and only occasionally great women. But this obsession with greatness is troubling to me. It wrongly implies first that history is made primarily by men, and secondly that history is made primarily by celebrated people, which of course makes us all want to be celebrities. Thankfully, we've left behind the idea that the best way to become an icon is to butcher people and conquer a lot of land, but the ideals that we've embraced instead aren't necessarily worth celebrating either. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | History has traditionally been in the business of finding and celebrating great men, and only occasionally great women. But this obsession with greatness is troubling to me. It wrongly implies first that history is made primarily by men, and secondly that history is made primarily by celebrated people, which of course makes us all want to be celebrities. Thankfully, we've left behind the idea that the best way to become an icon is to butcher people and conquer a lot of land, but the ideals that we've embraced instead aren't necessarily worth celebrating either. All of which is to say, we decide what to worship and what to care about and what to pay attention to. We decide whether to care about the situation. Alexander couldn't make history in a vacuum, and neither can anyone else. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Thankfully, we've left behind the idea that the best way to become an icon is to butcher people and conquer a lot of land, but the ideals that we've embraced instead aren't necessarily worth celebrating either. All of which is to say, we decide what to worship and what to care about and what to pay attention to. We decide whether to care about the situation. Alexander couldn't make history in a vacuum, and neither can anyone else. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Alexander couldn't make history in a vacuum, and neither can anyone else. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson, and our graphics team is Thought Bubble. Last week's Phrase of the Week was, "[Bleeped out word for last week's phrase in the show's title screen.] |
Alexander the Great Crash Course World History #8.m4a | Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson, and our graphics team is Thought Bubble. Last week's Phrase of the Week was, "[Bleeped out word for last week's phrase in the show's title screen.] If you want to take a guess at this week's phrase or suggest new ones, you can do so in comments. If you have questions about today's video, you can also ask those in comments, and our team of historians will attempt to answer them. Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | There's no crocodiles? Blah! Stupid history, always disappointing me. Well, Captain Cook is pretty interesting too, and his death is a nice entree into one of the great historian feuds of recent times. God, I love historian feuds! INTRO So Captain Cook was born in 1728. He was a sailor and eventually a British naval officer who saw action in the Seven Years' War, which you will no doubt remember from last week. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Well, Captain Cook is pretty interesting too, and his death is a nice entree into one of the great historian feuds of recent times. God, I love historian feuds! INTRO So Captain Cook was born in 1728. He was a sailor and eventually a British naval officer who saw action in the Seven Years' War, which you will no doubt remember from last week. But he's best known for his three voyages of exploration and scientific discovery that took place in the Pacific Ocean. The first was between 1768 and 1771, the second between 1772 and 1775, and the third between 1776 and 1780, although on the last one, Cook's journey ended in 1779 because he died. And as you can see from the map, Cook pretty much owned the Pacific. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | He was a sailor and eventually a British naval officer who saw action in the Seven Years' War, which you will no doubt remember from last week. But he's best known for his three voyages of exploration and scientific discovery that took place in the Pacific Ocean. The first was between 1768 and 1771, the second between 1772 and 1775, and the third between 1776 and 1780, although on the last one, Cook's journey ended in 1779 because he died. And as you can see from the map, Cook pretty much owned the Pacific. He mapped the coast of Australia, paving the way for British colonization and also paving the way for the near destruction of Aboriginal peoples and their culture. As with the Columbian Exchange, Cook's voyages to Australia remade the biological landscape. He introduced sheep, which paved the way for Australia's huge wool industry. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And as you can see from the map, Cook pretty much owned the Pacific. He mapped the coast of Australia, paving the way for British colonization and also paving the way for the near destruction of Aboriginal peoples and their culture. As with the Columbian Exchange, Cook's voyages to Australia remade the biological landscape. He introduced sheep, which paved the way for Australia's huge wool industry. Right, there was a penal colony established in Australia, but the real story of Australia is its success as a colony. Within 80 years, Australia went from 1,000 Anglo-Australians to 1.2 million. Equally important, Cook explored and mapped out New Zealand, again paving the way for colonization and paving the way for Crash Course World History to make an announcement. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | He introduced sheep, which paved the way for Australia's huge wool industry. Right, there was a penal colony established in Australia, but the real story of Australia is its success as a colony. Within 80 years, Australia went from 1,000 Anglo-Australians to 1.2 million. Equally important, Cook explored and mapped out New Zealand, again paving the way for colonization and paving the way for Crash Course World History to make an announcement. We did it! We finally talked about Australia and New Zealand! We're a real world history class! |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Equally important, Cook explored and mapped out New Zealand, again paving the way for colonization and paving the way for Crash Course World History to make an announcement. We did it! We finally talked about Australia and New Zealand! We're a real world history class! Huzzah! Now all you Australians have to shut up about how we've never mentioned you. Right, so in his voyages, Cook also determined that there was no such thing as the mythical continent of Terra Australis, said to exist here, and he helped to dispel the idea of a Northwest Passage, which Europeans had been obsessed with for centuries. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | We're a real world history class! Huzzah! Now all you Australians have to shut up about how we've never mentioned you. Right, so in his voyages, Cook also determined that there was no such thing as the mythical continent of Terra Australis, said to exist here, and he helped to dispel the idea of a Northwest Passage, which Europeans had been obsessed with for centuries. He was the first European to describe Hawaii, and also the first to keep his ship's crews free of scurvy. Cook and his successors were part of the middle wave of European colonization, the one that took place after Europeans settled in the Americas, but before they set their sights on Africa. One more thing to mention about the context of these voyages, or rather their impact. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Right, so in his voyages, Cook also determined that there was no such thing as the mythical continent of Terra Australis, said to exist here, and he helped to dispel the idea of a Northwest Passage, which Europeans had been obsessed with for centuries. He was the first European to describe Hawaii, and also the first to keep his ship's crews free of scurvy. Cook and his successors were part of the middle wave of European colonization, the one that took place after Europeans settled in the Americas, but before they set their sights on Africa. One more thing to mention about the context of these voyages, or rather their impact. Besides huge territorial gains and increased wealth, exploration of the Pacific contributed to Europe's romantic fascination with science. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans became obsessed with mapping and charting and classifying the world, which maybe isn't like candlelight dinner romantic, but if you think about visiting never-before-seen lands and bringing back odd life forms, well, I mean, think about how we feel about space. And then, of course, as they colonized people, Europeans portrayed themselves as a civilizing force bringing both science and religion. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | One more thing to mention about the context of these voyages, or rather their impact. Besides huge territorial gains and increased wealth, exploration of the Pacific contributed to Europe's romantic fascination with science. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans became obsessed with mapping and charting and classifying the world, which maybe isn't like candlelight dinner romantic, but if you think about visiting never-before-seen lands and bringing back odd life forms, well, I mean, think about how we feel about space. And then, of course, as they colonized people, Europeans portrayed themselves as a civilizing force bringing both science and religion. Oh, it's time for the open letter? An open letter to the white man's burden. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment today. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And then, of course, as they colonized people, Europeans portrayed themselves as a civilizing force bringing both science and religion. Oh, it's time for the open letter? An open letter to the white man's burden. But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment today. Oh, it's a mustache, so I can look like Kipling. Dear white man's burden. I'm gonna go ahead and take this off, Stan. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | But first, let's see what's in the secret compartment today. Oh, it's a mustache, so I can look like Kipling. Dear white man's burden. I'm gonna go ahead and take this off, Stan. I think Tumblr has had enough to get their gifs. So white man's burden, you're a poem, and more than a century after Kipling wrote you, scholars still disagree over whether he was kidding. And this speaks to how weird and insane imperialism really was. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | I'm gonna go ahead and take this off, Stan. I think Tumblr has had enough to get their gifs. So white man's burden, you're a poem, and more than a century after Kipling wrote you, scholars still disagree over whether he was kidding. And this speaks to how weird and insane imperialism really was. Europeans seemed to genuinely believe that it was their unfortunate duty to extract massive wealth from the rest of the world. Seriously, were you kidding when you called natives half-devil and half-child? Because in retrospect, that seems to describe, you know, you. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And this speaks to how weird and insane imperialism really was. Europeans seemed to genuinely believe that it was their unfortunate duty to extract massive wealth from the rest of the world. Seriously, were you kidding when you called natives half-devil and half-child? Because in retrospect, that seems to describe, you know, you. Best wishes, John Green. Right, so now having discussed the life of Captain Cook, we shall turn to the most controversial thing he ever did, die. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Because in retrospect, that seems to describe, you know, you. Best wishes, John Green. Right, so now having discussed the life of Captain Cook, we shall turn to the most controversial thing he ever did, die. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So Cook landed in Hawaii at Kealakekua Bay in early 1779 and explored the islands. While he was ashore, he was greeted by an important person, either a chief or a god. And then in early February, he left. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Let's go to the Thought Bubble. So Cook landed in Hawaii at Kealakekua Bay in early 1779 and explored the islands. While he was ashore, he was greeted by an important person, either a chief or a god. And then in early February, he left. But the ship had trouble and was forced to return to the bay for repairs. During the second visit, he had difficulty with the Hawaiians, who'd previously been pretty hospitable. And there was a fracas in which Captain Cook was killed by at least one Hawaiian. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And then in early February, he left. But the ship had trouble and was forced to return to the bay for repairs. During the second visit, he had difficulty with the Hawaiians, who'd previously been pretty hospitable. And there was a fracas in which Captain Cook was killed by at least one Hawaiian. We know this from journals kept by various crewmen, but the historical controversy arises from the details and interpretation of his death. Why, in short, was Cook killed? The traditional view is that Cook was killed for some religious reason, although what isn't always clear. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And there was a fracas in which Captain Cook was killed by at least one Hawaiian. We know this from journals kept by various crewmen, but the historical controversy arises from the details and interpretation of his death. Why, in short, was Cook killed? The traditional view is that Cook was killed for some religious reason, although what isn't always clear. One of the most fleshed out versions of this story comes from the anthropologist Marshall Solins in his book Islands of History. So in the Hawaiian religious system, Ku, the god of war and human sacrifice, rules for eight or nine months out of the year. The other months are reserved for the fertility god, Lono. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | The traditional view is that Cook was killed for some religious reason, although what isn't always clear. One of the most fleshed out versions of this story comes from the anthropologist Marshall Solins in his book Islands of History. So in the Hawaiian religious system, Ku, the god of war and human sacrifice, rules for eight or nine months out of the year. The other months are reserved for the fertility god, Lono. The season-long festival for Lono is called Makaihiki, and during this, the Hawaiian king, who is associated with Ku, is ritually defeated. During the Makaihiki, an image of Lono tours the island, gets worshipped, and collects taxes. And at the end of the Makaihiki period, Lono is ritually defeated and returned to his native Tahiti. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | The other months are reserved for the fertility god, Lono. The season-long festival for Lono is called Makaihiki, and during this, the Hawaiian king, who is associated with Ku, is ritually defeated. During the Makaihiki, an image of Lono tours the island, gets worshipped, and collects taxes. And at the end of the Makaihiki period, Lono is ritually defeated and returned to his native Tahiti. The thinking goes that because Cook arrived in the middle of the Makaihiki, the Hawaiians perceived him as Lono, so Cook took part in the rituals and sacrifices that were made as part of the Makaihiki, and in Solins' view, Cook was killed as a ritual murder to mark the end of Makaihiki. For Ku to return, the festival to end, and the normal political order to be restored, Lono had to be defeated and presumably killed. For Solins, Cook's death fits perfectly with the ritual structure of Hawaiian culture. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And at the end of the Makaihiki period, Lono is ritually defeated and returned to his native Tahiti. The thinking goes that because Cook arrived in the middle of the Makaihiki, the Hawaiians perceived him as Lono, so Cook took part in the rituals and sacrifices that were made as part of the Makaihiki, and in Solins' view, Cook was killed as a ritual murder to mark the end of Makaihiki. For Ku to return, the festival to end, and the normal political order to be restored, Lono had to be defeated and presumably killed. For Solins, Cook's death fits perfectly with the ritual structure of Hawaiian culture. Thanks, Thought Bubble. So the big problem with this interpretation, which admittedly sounds pretty cool, is that we don't have much evidence that Hawaiians would have actually seen Cook this way. We find a really interesting opposing view from Gnanath Obeyesikere, and I will remind you that mispronunciation is my thing. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | For Solins, Cook's death fits perfectly with the ritual structure of Hawaiian culture. Thanks, Thought Bubble. So the big problem with this interpretation, which admittedly sounds pretty cool, is that we don't have much evidence that Hawaiians would have actually seen Cook this way. We find a really interesting opposing view from Gnanath Obeyesikere, and I will remind you that mispronunciation is my thing. Sorry, Gnanath. Anyway, he criticized Solins' interpretation of Cook's death for looking a lot more like European myth than like a Hawaiian ritual. First off, Obeyesikere argues that Cook himself would not easily be confused with Lono. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | We find a really interesting opposing view from Gnanath Obeyesikere, and I will remind you that mispronunciation is my thing. Sorry, Gnanath. Anyway, he criticized Solins' interpretation of Cook's death for looking a lot more like European myth than like a Hawaiian ritual. First off, Obeyesikere argues that Cook himself would not easily be confused with Lono. In fact, if he were taken for a god, it would probably be Ku, the war god, what with all the cannons and muskets. Also there's the fact that the name Cook sounds more like Ku than Lono. Also arguing that Native Hawaiians would see a European and think him a god has all kinds of troubling implications, one of them being that Native Hawaiians aren't terribly smart, when in fact we know that they are very smart because, unlike the rest of us, they live in Hawaii. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | First off, Obeyesikere argues that Cook himself would not easily be confused with Lono. In fact, if he were taken for a god, it would probably be Ku, the war god, what with all the cannons and muskets. Also there's the fact that the name Cook sounds more like Ku than Lono. Also arguing that Native Hawaiians would see a European and think him a god has all kinds of troubling implications, one of them being that Native Hawaiians aren't terribly smart, when in fact we know that they are very smart because, unlike the rest of us, they live in Hawaii. And last but definitely not least, Lono is associated with fertility, and the Hawaiians would have associated the Europeans with the exact opposite of fertility because they introduced gonorrhea to Hawaii. And there's a further problem with the Cook equals Lono equation, which is that nothing in Hawaiian religion has any of their gods being ritually killed. Part of their mythology can be seen as sanctioning a ritual killing of the king, but not of a god. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Also arguing that Native Hawaiians would see a European and think him a god has all kinds of troubling implications, one of them being that Native Hawaiians aren't terribly smart, when in fact we know that they are very smart because, unlike the rest of us, they live in Hawaii. And last but definitely not least, Lono is associated with fertility, and the Hawaiians would have associated the Europeans with the exact opposite of fertility because they introduced gonorrhea to Hawaii. And there's a further problem with the Cook equals Lono equation, which is that nothing in Hawaiian religion has any of their gods being ritually killed. Part of their mythology can be seen as sanctioning a ritual killing of the king, but not of a god. And also, it's a long way from ritual killing to actual killing. The truth is probably a lot less spectacular, which is that Cook was probably killed during a melee in which a bunch of Hawaiians were also killed. Before his death, Cook had attempted to take a Hawaiian king hostage in response to Hawaiians taking a bunch of stuff from Cook's boats. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Part of their mythology can be seen as sanctioning a ritual killing of the king, but not of a god. And also, it's a long way from ritual killing to actual killing. The truth is probably a lot less spectacular, which is that Cook was probably killed during a melee in which a bunch of Hawaiians were also killed. Before his death, Cook had attempted to take a Hawaiian king hostage in response to Hawaiians taking a bunch of stuff from Cook's boats. This was common practice for Cook. He had done the same thing in Tahiti and other Polynesian islands after islanders had taken European goods. Which, by the way, happened everywhere Cook went in the Pacific, so maybe he should have figured out that it was like a thing, that you were allowed to take stuff off boats in exchange for the right to hang out there. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Before his death, Cook had attempted to take a Hawaiian king hostage in response to Hawaiians taking a bunch of stuff from Cook's boats. This was common practice for Cook. He had done the same thing in Tahiti and other Polynesian islands after islanders had taken European goods. Which, by the way, happened everywhere Cook went in the Pacific, so maybe he should have figured out that it was like a thing, that you were allowed to take stuff off boats in exchange for the right to hang out there. Great sailor, terrible anthropologist, although to be fair, anthropology hadn't been invented. Additionally, right before Cook was killed, there were rising tensions between the Hawaiians and the Europeans, even though at first their relationship had been quite cordial, as evidenced by all that gonorrhea. So why the tension? |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Which, by the way, happened everywhere Cook went in the Pacific, so maybe he should have figured out that it was like a thing, that you were allowed to take stuff off boats in exchange for the right to hang out there. Great sailor, terrible anthropologist, although to be fair, anthropology hadn't been invented. Additionally, right before Cook was killed, there were rising tensions between the Hawaiians and the Europeans, even though at first their relationship had been quite cordial, as evidenced by all that gonorrhea. So why the tension? Probably because the Europeans dismantled a Hawaiian ritual space, some sources call it a temple, and used it for firewood. Cook attempted to pay for it, but his lowball offer of two hatchets, I'm not making that up, was refused. I'm sorry we destroyed your temple, but I'll give you two hatchets, one for each hand. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | So why the tension? Probably because the Europeans dismantled a Hawaiian ritual space, some sources call it a temple, and used it for firewood. Cook attempted to pay for it, but his lowball offer of two hatchets, I'm not making that up, was refused. I'm sorry we destroyed your temple, but I'll give you two hatchets, one for each hand. I mean, what would you even do with a third hatchet? So unfortunately, the earliest Hawaiian account offering this explanation for why Cook was killed comes well after the accounts, but at least it's a Hawaiian explanation. Of course, it's also possible that the Hawaiians were just upset that Cook had attempted to kidnap their king. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | I'm sorry we destroyed your temple, but I'll give you two hatchets, one for each hand. I mean, what would you even do with a third hatchet? So unfortunately, the earliest Hawaiian account offering this explanation for why Cook was killed comes well after the accounts, but at least it's a Hawaiian explanation. Of course, it's also possible that the Hawaiians were just upset that Cook had attempted to kidnap their king. Most accounts from the time portray a chaotic scene in which Cook himself fired at least two shots, probably killing at least one islander. And one thing that seems pretty clear, even as described by European chroniclers, is that Cook's death does not look premeditated, and it sure doesn't look like a ritual. But even so, the idea that the Hawaiians saw Cook as a god has ended up in a good many accounts of his demise. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Of course, it's also possible that the Hawaiians were just upset that Cook had attempted to kidnap their king. Most accounts from the time portray a chaotic scene in which Cook himself fired at least two shots, probably killing at least one islander. And one thing that seems pretty clear, even as described by European chroniclers, is that Cook's death does not look premeditated, and it sure doesn't look like a ritual. But even so, the idea that the Hawaiians saw Cook as a god has ended up in a good many accounts of his demise. Why? Well, one explanation is that it fits in with other stories of explorers. You've all probably heard that the Tainos thought Columbus was a god, and that the Aztecs supposedly thought Cortes was a god. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | But even so, the idea that the Hawaiians saw Cook as a god has ended up in a good many accounts of his demise. Why? Well, one explanation is that it fits in with other stories of explorers. You've all probably heard that the Tainos thought Columbus was a god, and that the Aztecs supposedly thought Cortes was a god. And this just makes Captain Cook one in a long line of Europeans who were thought to be gods by people who Europeans felt were savages. And making Cook a god also sets up a stark contrast between the enlightened West and primitive Polynesia, because Captain Cook often appears in history books as a model man of the Enlightenment. Sure, he never had much formal schooling, but his voyages were all about increasing knowledge and scientific exploration. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | You've all probably heard that the Tainos thought Columbus was a god, and that the Aztecs supposedly thought Cortes was a god. And this just makes Captain Cook one in a long line of Europeans who were thought to be gods by people who Europeans felt were savages. And making Cook a god also sets up a stark contrast between the enlightened West and primitive Polynesia, because Captain Cook often appears in history books as a model man of the Enlightenment. Sure, he never had much formal schooling, but his voyages were all about increasing knowledge and scientific exploration. And having him die at the hands of a people who were so obviously mistaken in thinking him a god makes an argument for the superiority over the intellectualism of the Enlightenment versus the so-called primitive religion of the colonies. But whenever a story seems to fit really well into such a framework, we need to ask ourselves, who's telling that story? One of the reasons we know so much about Captain Cook and the reason he shows up in so many history textbooks is because we have tons of records about him, but they're almost all European records. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Sure, he never had much formal schooling, but his voyages were all about increasing knowledge and scientific exploration. And having him die at the hands of a people who were so obviously mistaken in thinking him a god makes an argument for the superiority over the intellectualism of the Enlightenment versus the so-called primitive religion of the colonies. But whenever a story seems to fit really well into such a framework, we need to ask ourselves, who's telling that story? One of the reasons we know so much about Captain Cook and the reason he shows up in so many history textbooks is because we have tons of records about him, but they're almost all European records. Even the Hawaiian records we have about Cook have been heavily influenced by later contact with Europeans. So if we cast Cook's death as part of a native ritual, we're implying that Hawaiians were just performing a ritual script, which takes away all their agency as human beings. Are we making them recognizable, having them respond as we think Europeans would, by flying off the handle? |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | One of the reasons we know so much about Captain Cook and the reason he shows up in so many history textbooks is because we have tons of records about him, but they're almost all European records. Even the Hawaiian records we have about Cook have been heavily influenced by later contact with Europeans. So if we cast Cook's death as part of a native ritual, we're implying that Hawaiians were just performing a ritual script, which takes away all their agency as human beings. Are we making them recognizable, having them respond as we think Europeans would, by flying off the handle? I don't have an answer, but the debate between these two historical anthropologists brings up something that we need to keep in mind. Very often in history, we make statements about people who haven't written their own story, whether it's Hawaiians or Native Americans or working class people. And we try to imagine that we're seeing the world as they have seen it, but the best we can really do is offer an approximation. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | Are we making them recognizable, having them respond as we think Europeans would, by flying off the handle? I don't have an answer, but the debate between these two historical anthropologists brings up something that we need to keep in mind. Very often in history, we make statements about people who haven't written their own story, whether it's Hawaiians or Native Americans or working class people. And we try to imagine that we're seeing the world as they have seen it, but the best we can really do is offer an approximation. So is it really possible to present a Hawaiian version of Captain Cook's death? Or is the exercise inherently condescending and paternalistic? And most importantly, is our inability to escape our biases a good excuse for not even trying? |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And we try to imagine that we're seeing the world as they have seen it, but the best we can really do is offer an approximation. So is it really possible to present a Hawaiian version of Captain Cook's death? Or is the exercise inherently condescending and paternalistic? And most importantly, is our inability to escape our biases a good excuse for not even trying? As usual, those aren't rhetorical questions. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | And most importantly, is our inability to escape our biases a good excuse for not even trying? As usual, those aren't rhetorical questions. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Meller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself, and our graphics team is Thought Bubble. |
The Amazing Life and Strange Death of Captain Cook Crash Course World History #27.m4a | I'll see you next week. Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Meller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself, and our graphics team is Thought Bubble. Last week's Phrase of the Week was fancier hats. If you want to guess at this week's Phrase of the Week or suggest a future one, you can do so in comments, where you can also ask questions about today's video that will be answered by our team of historians. Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And they were really, really mad that these Ionians were helped by the Athenians and the Eritreans. And so Darius, the king of kings, goes off to try to conquer and put down the Athenians and the Eritreans. The first time he sends a fleet in 492 BCE, it's destroyed by a storm. And we'll see, this is not the last time that at least part of a Persian fleet is destroyed by a storm. Then in 490, he sends a fleet again. And then he is defeated by the Athenians at Marathon. And we saw that right over there. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And we'll see, this is not the last time that at least part of a Persian fleet is destroyed by a storm. Then in 490, he sends a fleet again. And then he is defeated by the Athenians at Marathon. And we saw that right over there. Let me do that in a color you can actually see. But as I mentioned in the last video, the Persians were not done. Darius would not live to see another round with the Greeks. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And we saw that right over there. Let me do that in a color you can actually see. But as I mentioned in the last video, the Persians were not done. Darius would not live to see another round with the Greeks. But his successor Xerxes would not only try another attempt, but he would amass a huge, huge force against the Greeks to, in his mind, finally take them over. And he wants it done so badly that he leads the forces himself. And so we are now 10 years after, 10 years after the first Persian invasion. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | Darius would not live to see another round with the Greeks. But his successor Xerxes would not only try another attempt, but he would amass a huge, huge force against the Greeks to, in his mind, finally take them over. And he wants it done so badly that he leads the forces himself. And so we are now 10 years after, 10 years after the first Persian invasion. We are now at 480 BCE, where Xerxes is going to try to invade Greece by land and by sea. But as we will see, he is also not going to be successful. But this second invasion is the stuff of legend. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And so we are now 10 years after, 10 years after the first Persian invasion. We are now at 480 BCE, where Xerxes is going to try to invade Greece by land and by sea. But as we will see, he is also not going to be successful. But this second invasion is the stuff of legend. And once again, the historical accounts come to us primarily from Herodotus, who was Greek and who was not a direct observer of this. So you might wanna take all of this with a grain of salt because it does make the Greeks look awfully good. But we do think that most of this happened. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | But this second invasion is the stuff of legend. And once again, the historical accounts come to us primarily from Herodotus, who was Greek and who was not a direct observer of this. So you might wanna take all of this with a grain of salt because it does make the Greeks look awfully good. But we do think that most of this happened. But obviously, Herodotus probably added a little bit of bias there. We are likely to never know. So let's think about, or let's see, what Xerxes attempts to do. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | But we do think that most of this happened. But obviously, Herodotus probably added a little bit of bias there. We are likely to never know. So let's think about, or let's see, what Xerxes attempts to do. So we see this magenta line. This is the line of attack of Xerxes in 480. And you can see there's one magenta line that is going by sea. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | So let's think about, or let's see, what Xerxes attempts to do. So we see this magenta line. This is the line of attack of Xerxes in 480. And you can see there's one magenta line that is going by sea. One magenta line that is going by sea here. And another magenta line that is going by land. And let's zoom in a little bit more. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And you can see there's one magenta line that is going by sea. One magenta line that is going by sea here. And another magenta line that is going by land. And let's zoom in a little bit more. I have another map here. So let's zoom in to this map right over here to give us a clearer picture of what's about to happen in this next Persian invasion. So just to reorient ourselves, here are the land forces. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And let's zoom in a little bit more. I have another map here. So let's zoom in to this map right over here to give us a clearer picture of what's about to happen in this next Persian invasion. So just to reorient ourselves, here are the land forces. And according to Herodotus and historians of that time, they numbered this force in the potentially millions of soldiers. Modern historians think it was closer to 50,000 to 300,000. We really don't know. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | So just to reorient ourselves, here are the land forces. And according to Herodotus and historians of that time, they numbered this force in the potentially millions of soldiers. Modern historians think it was closer to 50,000 to 300,000. We really don't know. But we think it's in the approximately 100,000 or a few hundred thousands, not millions. But by any measure, that is a huge, a huge military force. So this is the hundreds of thousands right over here. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | We really don't know. But we think it's in the approximately 100,000 or a few hundred thousands, not millions. But by any measure, that is a huge, a huge military force. So this is the hundreds of thousands right over here. So hundreds, hundreds of thousands. Or let me write this. Hundreds of thousands, maybe between 50 and 300,000. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | So this is the hundreds of thousands right over here. So hundreds, hundreds of thousands. Or let me write this. Hundreds of thousands, maybe between 50 and 300,000. They're coming this way, the Persian forces. And they also have a fleet of approximately 1,200 ships. Now the Persians really are not having good luck with weather whenever they try to attack Greece. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | Hundreds of thousands, maybe between 50 and 300,000. They're coming this way, the Persian forces. And they also have a fleet of approximately 1,200 ships. Now the Persians really are not having good luck with weather whenever they try to attack Greece. They face a storm and about a third of their fleet is destroyed. And so up here, they're left with about, and these are all approximate. Remember, this happened over 2,000 years ago, roughly 2,500 years ago. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | Now the Persians really are not having good luck with weather whenever they try to attack Greece. They face a storm and about a third of their fleet is destroyed. And so up here, they're left with about, and these are all approximate. Remember, this happened over 2,000 years ago, roughly 2,500 years ago. So it's amazing that we know anything about it at all. And obviously we have to rely on Herodotus and whatever historical accounts we can find. So the Persians are invading by land and sea. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | Remember, this happened over 2,000 years ago, roughly 2,500 years ago. So it's amazing that we know anything about it at all. And obviously we have to rely on Herodotus and whatever historical accounts we can find. So the Persians are invading by land and sea. And the Greeks have a strategy of let's try to stop them by land at Thermopylae and stop them by sea at the Strait of Artemisium, right over here. And there's some historical debate of, you know, was this a big, grand strategy to eventually try to defeat the Persians at Salamis, which eventually happens? Or were they, you know, genuinely trying to stop them there and because they couldn't, they had to retreat back to Salamis? |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | So the Persians are invading by land and sea. And the Greeks have a strategy of let's try to stop them by land at Thermopylae and stop them by sea at the Strait of Artemisium, right over here. And there's some historical debate of, you know, was this a big, grand strategy to eventually try to defeat the Persians at Salamis, which eventually happens? Or were they, you know, genuinely trying to stop them there and because they couldn't, they had to retreat back to Salamis? As we'll see, that second narrative is what actually happens. Well, I guess in some level, both of those narratives happen that they are able to at least slow down the Persians at both of these places. And the Persians are eventually defeated at the Strait of Salamis. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | Or were they, you know, genuinely trying to stop them there and because they couldn't, they had to retreat back to Salamis? As we'll see, that second narrative is what actually happens. Well, I guess in some level, both of those narratives happen that they are able to at least slow down the Persians at both of these places. And the Persians are eventually defeated at the Strait of Salamis. Now, Thermopylae is the stuff of legends. It is, if you've ever seen the movie 300, it is about the Spartan, the 300 Spartan soldiers led by King Leonidas, along with roughly 7,000 other Greeks that they're able to collect to stop the Persians at Thermopylae. And Thermopylae, you're in this coastal area where there's a very limited area for this massive Persian army to be funneled through. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And the Persians are eventually defeated at the Strait of Salamis. Now, Thermopylae is the stuff of legends. It is, if you've ever seen the movie 300, it is about the Spartan, the 300 Spartan soldiers led by King Leonidas, along with roughly 7,000 other Greeks that they're able to collect to stop the Persians at Thermopylae. And Thermopylae, you're in this coastal area where there's a very limited area for this massive Persian army to be funneled through. And the Greeks are trying to stop them at the pass of Thermopylae. And you can see this, you can see that right over there. And by Herodotus' accounts, they are actually quite successful of because they're funneling that Persian army into a very narrow space, the Spartans along with the other Greeks are able to push back. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And Thermopylae, you're in this coastal area where there's a very limited area for this massive Persian army to be funneled through. And the Greeks are trying to stop them at the pass of Thermopylae. And you can see this, you can see that right over there. And by Herodotus' accounts, they are actually quite successful of because they're funneling that Persian army into a very narrow space, the Spartans along with the other Greeks are able to push back. And this is a massive outnumbering, roughly 7,000 versus many tens or hundreds of thousands. But as Herodotus' accounts go, there was a traitor amongst the Greeks who go to the Persians and show them another way around. And show them another way around. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And by Herodotus' accounts, they are actually quite successful of because they're funneling that Persian army into a very narrow space, the Spartans along with the other Greeks are able to push back. And this is a massive outnumbering, roughly 7,000 versus many tens or hundreds of thousands. But as Herodotus' accounts go, there was a traitor amongst the Greeks who go to the Persians and show them another way around. And show them another way around. And so the Persians are essentially, are able to not only get around the Greeks, but by surrounding them, are able to defeat the Greeks at Thermopylae and continue their march. And remember, they were able to get to Eritrea before, 10 years before, but they really wanna seek their revenge on Athens. And they are able to go to Athens, but by the time they go there, they see that the town has been, for the most part, evacuated. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And show them another way around. And so the Persians are essentially, are able to not only get around the Greeks, but by surrounding them, are able to defeat the Greeks at Thermopylae and continue their march. And remember, they were able to get to Eritrea before, 10 years before, but they really wanna seek their revenge on Athens. And they are able to go to Athens, but by the time they go there, they see that the town has been, for the most part, evacuated. That the Athenians, when they saw that the Persians were coming, they went to Salamis right over here. So even though Athens was sacked and destroyed, the Athenian people were not destroyed. Now, simultaneous with Thermopylae, you had a naval battle happen in the Strait of Artemisium. |
Second Persian Invasion.m4a | And they are able to go to Athens, but by the time they go there, they see that the town has been, for the most part, evacuated. That the Athenians, when they saw that the Persians were coming, they went to Salamis right over here. So even though Athens was sacked and destroyed, the Athenian people were not destroyed. Now, simultaneous with Thermopylae, you had a naval battle happen in the Strait of Artemisium. And once again, even though there was about 600 ships, Persian ships that were in this battle, there was on the order of about 200 or 300 Greek ships. So the Greeks were once again outnumbered, and they were able to slow down the Persians, but not stop them. And the Persians kept having bad luck, especially with these storms, because even we had these first ships get destroyed, they sent some 200 ships around Euboea, I'm probably not pronouncing it perfectly right here, but then they get destroyed by a storm. |
Subsets and Splits