Don't forget Samuel Whitmore Jr. 1696-1793. Fought at Lexington and Concord at 79, killed two or three British grenadiers, was shot in the face and bayoneted, left for dead and subsequently recovered and lived another 18 years dying of natural causes.
@@Vandal_Savage Yep, I'm sure of that. bless his old heart. Well, what's that old saying, "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I've worked in nursing homes, and some of the old fellers still felt a little "spry", shall we say?
Superb video. Towards the end he says they probably thought they were living in the best of times. Makes you wonder if 200 years from now there’ll be a future Townsend video asking if future people could survive during our lifetime.
So many aren’t surviving our time so much death from poverty and lifestyle diseases and so many still don’t have good healthcare access or funds etc. it’s pretty barbaric! As averages those at the midpoint of middle class and above live 15 years longer than those below that point.
@@lijohnyoutube101When I was an assistant editor for a history journal, we published an article on how life expectancy changed at the beginning of the industrial revolution. In Belgium, the life expectancy dropped from 27 years to 17 years when people moved into town. So, when you complain about not surviving modern life, think about having a life expectancy where, at best, you'll probably not survive to 30.
@@lijohnyoutube101Here's another example. Barbara Hanawalt scoured the coroner's rolls of medieval England and found that the average marriage only lasted ten years because one spouse would be dead by then. In other words, if you lived long enough to marry, you had a 50/50 chance of dying before the age of 30-35. You would have six children, only half of whom would live to adulthood. That was the life of an average couple. I've seen theories that "many" people would have lived to be 70 or 80, but they don't explain what they mean by the word "many." One out of a thousand? One out of a hundred? Imo probably not, except in rare times of unusually good harvests and absence of epidemics.
@@edennis8578 oh yea people joke about OSHA but factory and city life was dangerous. Farming also had issues but the barbaric working conditions in the city, bad living conditions, lack of sleep, often poor nutrition, transfer of diseases in cramped environments etc etc The horrific nature of the Triangle Waist Company fire and the locked doors to prevent breaks and theft. The book The Jungle by Sinclair is also a great read! Yes we have made progress but our society particularly in the US is barbaric. We don’t value life, we say we do but in reality we value profit WAY WAY WAY more than life. We have very very little emphasis on quality of life. If someone has half a pulse no matter the horrific nature of their life we have totally normalized whatever it is, deal because all we care about is alive. It’s pathetic…and it’s inhumane. It’s 2024 and look the two employers with the by far percentage of employees on aid, they are Walmart and McDonald’s. The walmart family is collectively currently work around 250 BILLION dollars. That amount of money is so HUGE it’s impossible to even understand the enormity of the size of their wealth. Walmart doesn’t need to be employing at poverty wages to the point it’s employees can’t even pay for housing, food etc. they pay the employees that way due to inconceivable insatiable greed.
In 1904, my great grandfather, a barber, slightly knicked his hand pulling a cork out of a hair tonic bottle. A few months later, he was dead of what was probably blood poisoning. We all take for granted: public sanitation, clean drinking water, the development of antibiotics, and "Modern Medicine" overall.
You don't need modern antibiotics near as much as you think. Oregano oil. You should never take antibiotics more than 5x in a life time because it kills your immune system longterm
I have a similar story. My great grandmother received word one of her sons was killed in WW1 and the body was being shipped home. She busied herself with chores. One day she was working in the garden and cut her hand on something (we just don’t know what) and died shortly after with blood poisoning! All this while waiting on her sons body to come home 😢
well my tribal reservation does not and never has had clean drinking water, thanks US Government. We don't have access to clean water in a first world country. What in the hell.
And THEN, have a dozen kids!! The Lewis and Clark expedition was amazing. I’m glad I read about it with my kids. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch was another good book to read with them.
Every time we twist a faucet and potable water comes out, we should be glad to live in the times we have. A History professor of mine described it as the single greatest advance in Public Health ever made.
The times and places we live in It's started to hit me pretty hard recently how much of a luxury that is, knowing that even in first world countries there are people without clean water.
Very old guy here: Your passion and erudition comes across like the best and most inspiring teachers I remember from school 60+ years. Thank you for doing what you do. And . . .Oh god for a shot penicillin!
tbf both asthma and allergies are not necessarily something innate to your genetics and could be different just by growing up in different conditions, but yes, your chances aren't looking too great
well you can take consolation in the fact that you would have been exposed to horses early on and would not be allergic to them (research shows early exposer to allergens prevents allergies)
Me too! I just got over a bout of the throwing up disease and I thought I was going to die just yesterday! lol But, when that started happening back in the day - people really did die of what we consider now to be - Oh, I just had a stomach bug.
I was homeless and lived in a tent in New England. There were times when I went days without food or water and the winter was anything but easy. I had times that I prayed to die before I turned 30.
Glad u survived. Hopefully you're doing better off now. I'm not one to promote living horribly and suffer, just to type out some cliche response, but I definitely have felt what u felt. Definitely prayed for it to also happen to me. I never lost hope tho, was very close to it. There's some reason why our prayers weren't answered. Maybe God not saying ok, could be a good thing 🫤
Q I applaud 👏 your survival skills. If you survive that...because of good courage 💪 you can do anything! Keep it basic Food Water Clothes Shelter Get a job...cash helps Ebt cards ♥️ get you free food from the stores and fast food too Q
I really appreciate the constant references to the diaries, journals and other writings of actual people from those times like William Byrd, Nicholas Cresswell, etc.
Wow. Truly an inspiring video. All the comments too, with details about the immigrant/colonist experiences from the British Isles. Immigration and survival in the past really was a different game. They crossed that sea.
@@sparkyphantom92 Considering you don't personally know the OP or their struggles and life circumstances, you may want to think before leaving such a clueless comment.
I've done the dirt camping with very little food and shelter. At this point in my life, roughing it is a hotel that doesn't have room service. Cheers from sunny, if crazy, California.
My 5X great grandfather was George Graham 1756-1840 he was born in 1756 in New Jersey. At the age of 17 he went to fight in the Revolutionary war and In 1776 he was shot in the thigh during the battle of long island. Even after everything he went through he fought on with a limp and lived to be 84 years old. After the war he got married and moved to Southwestern Pennsylvania where his family still resides. Looking back on everything that could have gone wrong and didn't it really gives you perspective on how good you really have things today.
My Dad's family would have had no problem being transported back into colonial times. Grandpa was an Oklahoma sharecropper during the Great Depression, still farming with mules because he couldn't afford a tractor. Dad and his twin brother were born and raised in a log cabin, with an outside well for water, kerosene lamps for light, and a wood-burning stove and fireplace to cook on and for heat. They kept hogs, chickens and a couple of cows, and Grandma had a big garden. Dad and his twin brother would hunt squirrels, rabbits, and whatever else they could find for something other than hog meat. If the kids started looking "puny," Grandma would send them out to scour the ditches for greens so that they would get some vitamins. For something sweet, they grew sorghum. There was one guy in the county who had a mill and he charged a share of the syrup for using it, you had to bring your own mule to run it though. For money to buy necessities, Grandma and the older kids would second-pick harvested cotton fields for cotton to sell. They did the same for harvested corn fields to feed the hogs. The family didn't have electricity, indoor plumbing, or running water until they moved north after Grandma got a job building bombers during WWII. Grandpa still farmed though, but now with a tractor. Grandma worked as a riveter at Boeing for 30 years. There are B-52s still flying that she helped build.
@@odysseusrex5908 Grandma never said anything about Boeing ever contacting her about not remaining at her job. I think the reason why many women left the work force after WWII is that they were young, their men were back home, and they wanted to start families. Grandma already had kids in grade school. Boeing liked having a few small women riveters because they could get into places that the larger men couldn't. I suppose that once robotics were developed this wasn't so much of an issue anymore but grandma was retired by then.
If anyone here has kids, a cartoon series called Liberty's Kids from 2002 actually follows the Revolution from the perspective of three kids. Joseph Plumb Martin is actually in it too!
It's a pity isn't it? Nick Cresswell was like *the* original swashbuckling rogue adventurer. He survived more horror and extreme danger than many people do in their entire lives, yet even in his journal, on what he thought was his deathbed, he didn't lose heart. I would very much like to see a miniseries about him. In the same vein as the BBC/HBO John Adams series.
Beautiful video! I am very proud to be the descendant of a Huguenot man who moved his family to the frontier of Tennessee. I don't know much about him except he loved good food and wine, but he gave it up for his faith.❤
I can cook from scratch with 18th century techniques thanks to Townsends. I spin, weave, knit all fibers. I grow flax for linen plus all that takes to process. We had a derecho which took out everything 21st century. Had my Townsend lanterns and could cook over a fire. Big favor we had running water! But I do keep big bottles of water in storage. Skills! Skills. Having basic survival skills and skills to swap.
Yeah, but knowing medicinal skills then wasnt like it is now. I wouldn’t go to a barber/do tor back then. I would find a green woman/herbalist. And Im one. I would grow my own.
Thanks for sharing with us Jon. Enjoyed the looking back and reminiscing about reenacting the Rendezvous' and the fun and adventure they brought to us and knowing we could survive off the land . Stay safe , Fred.
In my case I can say with near certainty that I wouldn’t have seen my 20th birthday. Some of my Swiss ancestors tried moving to a Swiss colony in North Africa (Algeria) in the 1850’s. After losing four of their eight children to cholera and typhoid in 1854 and 1855 they went back home. In the 1870’s they tried again and moved to Canada where one of them had 18 children and didn’t lose a single one. Luck played an important part.
My grandfather was born in 1892. When he got married they had a wagon pulled by horses. He and my grandmother had a farm all through the depression and didn’t really know what depression meant. It is each generation’s job to make life a little better for the next. Look at how much has changed just since 1900
Great video like always. As someone with medical problems who can't really take anything for pain (allergy to the most common) aside from Tylenol, it's difficult to be in varying levels of pain/nausea every day without pause. So I can understand having to endure a ton of discomfort and always looking for ways to get done what I need to get done. I always try to think about the things that I'm happy I don't have to deal with despite it all. Anyways, looking to the past helps to inspire because there is always a lot to learn and it's fun and cool to be able to implement things into your daily life (like, maybe you end up using an 18th century recipe as the base of a new dish you make at home, etc, etc). Thanks for all you do at Townsends!
The big difference between us is in the 18th century, children would just die of disease, while in modern times we vaccinate to provide the same resistance that they get by surviving an infection. Medical technology is the main area in which we really move beyond the 18th century. Everything else largely just serves to allow more work to be done with less labour, or for more humans to live in an urban area. The absence of this is overcome through learning - just like a colonist from England would also need to do. People don't survive hard times because of toughness, people get tough because of surviving hard times.
Actually they don't get tough, in fact they have worse health and quality of life outcomes. Manual work takes it's toll on body even today people who do roofing or flooring are basically crippled by the time they are 50.
👍 Good description of conditions in colonial times. However, I was most impressed with your final thoughts of encouragement to overcome our fears and adversities today - excellent message.
John & the Townsends crew really give us a window to the past. My earliest ancestors in the US were indentured servants sent to the South and they somehow survived. Maybe I would have a shot too.
As is the case so often, your videos give us an opportunity to learn from the past to help us prepare for the future...... May we have eyes to see and ears to hear......
I think the first question really is how well do you know yourself. Trying to live with out everything we take for granted would definately show the difference between what a person thinks they can do and what they actually will do. I think the most sensable approach would be to pick a challange, say see what can be foraged for food in the local area and try just living on that for a few weeks. There would be so much to learn.
My husband's great grandfather left his home in New York state at 17, tagged along with a wagon train and walked to California, a year later decided to go home and so walked to Panama, crossed the isthmus, was captured by bandits, freed, and caught a ship back up the East Coast. Maybe when you see so many people die young you figure what have I got to lose? Amazing.
@@minecraftfox4384 Who knows? Young people were different back then. Richard King ran away from indentured servitude at age 11, hid out on a riverboat, was adopted into the crew, became a riverboat captain, confederate, entrepreneur, and most notably, the founder of the King Ranch in South Texas, which at the time of his death in 1885 encompassed over 825,000 acres. It's remarkable what people can accomplish when there's no one around to tell them it's impossible. :)
The closest I've come was back in 1997- at the Eastern Primitive Event.My wife and I spent two weeks there, in our camp (circa1750s). Our only use of modern tech during that time was a single plastic cooler for some fresh foods and using porta johns.This was during October in rural North Central Pa.Water was in a wooden keg, cooking was on a fire and brazier, fires started with flint/steel, i shaved with a straight razor, heated wash water on the fire, lit the camp with candle lanterns and candles. Much of our gear was from Townsends, Panther Primitives and Smoke and Fire.
My great grandparents immigrated from Europe to the US in 1867. They voyaged on one of the “coffin ships,” a freighter that had a deck added below after its original cargo was unloaded. These ships were so named because of the numbers lost at sea. Their party of ten included their aging parents, an uncle, and their children, including an infant. I’ve read that these temporary decks allowed six feet of headroom, just enough to stand. Families were allotted a 6-by-6 foot space on deck-people stacked like cordwood. My imagination can’t do justice to those conditions. I am forever astonished that they all survived. Alas, twelve years later, my great grandfather was shot dead while plowing.
I love these episodes especially. We can learn a lot from Mr. Townsend. I'd love to see a series of episodes going into the past and applying those lessons to today.
The “bloody flux” in colonial times refers to Dysentery which was caused by “poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water” (google). It was very common and very deadly.
And imagine all the parasitic infections that went untreated. A lot of these folks were probably zombies internally in regards to nutrition. Sounds like absolute hell.
Love the way that you bring this home to our lives today. That's really the greatest value in studying history and the gift of public history like you do--how we apply lessons of the past to today.
As a woman, I'd have to worry about working while pregnant and childbirth. Not only that my child might die but many women still die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
I was thinking the same thing. Each of my three children were transverse birth C section births. Would any of us have survived? Most likely not. Child birth, Childhood illnesses and injuries, the lack of antibiotics...it gets pretty bleak.
@@sharpaycutie2 that is an ignorant statement. Please do some research before speaking on this topic. Nature isn't perfect. People and animals die from pregnancy and labor related complications.
My 5th great grandfather was a 9 year old drummer boy during the revolution. He served with his 11 and 16 year old brothers in a unit separate from their father. They were Loyalists so by 1783 they were refugees in Quebec, Canada. When he was older he served in the War of 1812. He died at age 86 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada!
Since you mentioned the Lewis & Clark expedition: one of my favorite bits of biomedical history is that the Corps of Discovery were supplied with powerful laxatives called “Rush’s Thunder-clappers” after their creator, Dr. Benjamin Rush (considered the founder of American psychiatry and an ancestor of the doomed Titanic sub guy Stockton Rush). These were used to help treat constipation due to the explorers’ unbalanced meat-heavy diet, and they contained so much mercury that even 200 years later, archaeologists were able to trace their route using chemical analysis of where they stopped to poop.
Kind of like what happened with some of the earliest European settlers, where a lack of knowledge could heavily contribute to mortality in a settlement.
Thank You Jon! In those times people were dependent on each other for all their needs. Unlike today when we find everything under one roof made by huge industries and computers from all over the world. I believe there was a closer relationship with others to survive. Today people have grown apart in many cases. People were tougher then and far more able to have the skills to survive, being taught to do so because they had to. Today few people have the skills to provide the basics. The skills have become money. My GGGGrandparents came here from Ireland in 1815 into Philadelphia. He was born in 1772 and died in 1860. So he was in his 40s when arriving, which was pretty amazing in those days. Of course in 1815 the frontier was further west and Pennsylvania quite established. But to take that journey that late in life in those times was quite courageous. Thanks Again and Many Blessings! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
My answer is yes. First off and least important, I can and do shoot flint lock firearms, also I am a gunsmith who builds muzzle loading rifle. I also do blacksmithing. Its very much related to gunsmithing. I also learned how to do carpenter work without using power tools. My Father was an old time carpenter who used these tools and taught his sons to use them(old time german wood workers). And I grew up in the time when people had gardens, and preserved what they grew. I can hunt game, but would have no need to. Chickens, pigs geese, and other animals are easly cared for and lastly , my Grandfather was a bee keeper and I learned that from him. Im 74 and have been doing these things since chilhood so Im set. A little gardening advice. If you want your vegetable to thrive, plant flowers a around your garden. Bees will pollinate all your plants ..
The two biggest things that rescued infant and childhood mortality rates were constantly washing hands, faces, bodies (aka the adoption of Germ Theory)...and the use of incubators for infants. You could put a smaller tub inside a larger one filled with warm water, and place the wrapped-up baby in the dry inner tub...or iterally just put warm water in a tightly sealed waterskin wrapped up in the same place as a baby (not too hot, and constantly being changed out as it cooled down), and it worked to help infants survive longer. Incubators were used on poultry eggs from very early on; Ancient Egyptians were hatching eggs in mud huts (remember, warm climate!) from 3000 BCE, and Chinese farmers were using artificial heat by 250 BCE (these were for the eggs of chickens, ducks, geese, etc)...but it took all the way until 1880 for someone to consider using the same warmed-air system for human infants that was being used on eggs & baby chicks in the Paris zoo. And you know what? It worked! Constantly cleaning hands & faces & bodies, warmed up spaces for babies to rest and not get cold...these two things rapidly changed infant mortality rates. Continuing to keep everything as clean as possible with soap & water also drastically changed childhood mortality rates. The saponins in soap destroy the lipids (fats) in the cell walls of bacteria, etc, which destroys the bacteria that case many diseases. This effectively reduces bacterial infections. The best way to keep yourself healthy in pre-modern-medicine eras is to clean *every single scratch,* and *never scratch a mosquito bite with dirty hands* either.
One of the things we often don't think about these days is the mortality rate from disease in children under the age of 5. In my area, if you go through the various cemeteries, you'll find any number of small gravestones of someone's child who died back in the early 1900's.
Looking back through my genealogy shows that most generations past my grandparents' one lost children to disease. When I caught rheumatic fever as a child, my grandpa and grandma drove 300 miles to see us because they just knew that I was going to die. Fortunately for me, penicillin was available in the early 1960s. Polio is nearly unheard of today but even in my parents' time most people knew someone who had been crippled because of it.
@@Snargfargle One of the sad stories from my family history is a small headstone in the local cemetery, a girl who died in 1903 at the age of 3. She was my grandfather's cousin. Back in the late 70's, another of his cousins was visiting my aunt, and went to pay his respects at the cemetery. When he saw the headstone he stopped, and said "Oh. You know, I always thought that I'd had a sister, but was sure my memory was right. My parents never talked about her." One of my sister's friends father had survived polio as a youth, but needed crutches to walk.
Not just diseases, disabilities. They're extremely common among people today, because modern medicine has created ways to treat or help people cope with them. Those same disabilities in those days would have killed a lot of people at a young age, or caused them to meet their doom.
My great grandfather from Indiana died young of TB leaving my great grandmother a young widow with two small children. Back then they still believed that the night air caused many diseases which was why many used bed curtains. He spent many months away from home working on a farm with migrant workers no doubt he caught it while bunking together with his fellow workers.
@@lovelily8310I do believe that there is some truth in that as even a cold seems to get worse at night but that belief was blamed for way to much back then . Thank you for your input 😊
@@b.savage8953 Dew point - 100% relative humidity. Breathing in humid air can make the process more labored, and the water vapor also traps plenty of particles like allergens, mold spores, bacteria... that gets breathed in and collected in the lungs, making one more susceptible to infection. Being cold is also not very helpful to our immunity.
@@teeteetuu94 Those factors can increase the probability of contracting TB but I've yet to see any proof that those conditions can cause TB . Thank you for your input .
I say Yes - many of us would. Because we did. We're here because yes we did. When I was close to death with pneumonia on home care and I watched so many Townsends videos. Not only for the music and how easy it is to listen to Mr. Townsends, but also because it's inspiring to realize we can overcome hardship. I've heard other surgeons and doctors comment during livestreams that these videos are on in recovery rooms and help their patients.
My mother said people in the past including her relatives had an understanding of plant medicine that saved them when they were sick, so if you survived infancy, you could survive.
Food for thought is your forté. I love listing to your commentary on common things and am prompted to be thoughtful about the subject. Thanks for your enthusiastic observations
I am old enough to remember the 1970's, an era of no cellphones and landline phones only, no internet, no personal computers, no GPS or directions online with road maps only, if you missed seeing a movie during it's original theatrical run you missed seeing it, and if you missed watching something on TV, you missed watching it!
@@rosskardon7195 VHS and Betamax came out in the 70's old timer so not really no. Also all those movies came back out in the 80's so once again, no not really. You just had to wait a few years.
@@nicholasgarcia399 I grew up in the Navy. We moved hundreds of miles every 2.5 years. The Navy only covered so much in moving expenses (by weight). AC's are heavy.
I’d say most people wouldn’t be able to. But you never know who will be strong when faced with either hardship or death. I think I’d do pretty well for a while but disease or injury on the frontier would probably take me out.
And we need to be extremely grateful for all the luxuries we enjoy each day! Running water, flushing toilets, electricity, overflowing market places, heat and AC, vehicles, refrigeration, medicine, etc. We live in a great time!
A great video. I am a Boer. I find it so fascinating how tough our forefathers lifestyles were. From arriving in the Cape, to the Great Trek and the Boer wars. So many parallels with the pioneers of northern America. I see the hardened faces in pictures of the men during the Boer wars and always wander the same question, could we do what our forefathers did. I think not. There is a book called the Boer war in colour by Tinus Le Roux. So many pictures, each one explaining the different mens lives their names etc. Alot of effort went into it. If you're a history fiend. Highly recommend it. Awesome video again.
I really enjoy your outlook. I dont think they thought their times were difficult. These things, im sure, were "just part of life." I like to watch your videos and take lessons to improve my life. I especially like the food preservation videos. My goal is to survive with less so I can live prosperously in my personal endeavors.
The living history, reenacting community may be best suited for a permanent transition back in time. Having spent 25 years living, learning, teaching in the 18th century and early 19th and having the tools and skills I can say I can instantly live in the 18th century. For how long, who knows.
I work as an interpreter and foodways demonstrator at a living history museum and am surrounded by amazing people with skills that were mostly forgotten generations ago. Much of what I cook on the open hearth is grown, raised, or processed right there in the village and I often joke to guests that if there was ever an apocalypse, the “villagers” would probably survive! (Well, unless there were zombies involved!)😁
I love the food videos, homestead videos, Ryan doing recipes, and this right here etc. I love watching how Townsends have gotten more expansive! Btw! I hope you will do another Morel Mushroom video as it is getting to that time of year I think! :)
I would accept the challenge! But I would need a time traveler clause that I would allow me to return to my timeline when I absolutely needed to (think Naked & Afraid)
Would you still be willing to take on the challenge if you had to deal with those same situations and hardships in our present day,(with no time machine to take you out of it)?
Excellent. I've often pondered their hardships and the resiliency of my ancestors. It's mind boggling. I also think about the people who seem to just vanish from our family trees during those times. Unless someone journaled about their disappearance they may have met their demise alone in the woods by animal, drowning and being swept away, or falling into a cave etc with no one to find them.
I’m actually related to Merriwether Lewis, from the Lewis and Clark expedition. I could not imagine going through some of the things they went through, I have a journal of his he had gotten about 3 years prior to his death, and some of the stories in that journal are incredible
As I am now, no way. Diabetic, have worn glasses since I was seven, some serious allergies. I almost died giving birth to my youngest child, even with modern medicine and technology. Though I love studying history, I'd never be able to survive there.
@@BlackMasterRoshiDepends on the type of diabetes. If they are type one, then they'd straight up die in childhood. It was only until the 20th century that type one diabetes was a manageable condition instead of a fatal one......
@@BlackMasterRoshi Mmhmm those things are largely due to what we consume these days, which is nothing like what it was back then...plus other stuff I won't mention because most people don't like to hear so-called cOnSpiRaCy tHeOriEs (aka truth bombs)
My fifth great grandparents left Belfast in 1822 on a sailing ship- the Brig Finchett. I have a copy of the ship's manifest with their names on it. They settled in Chester County, South Carolina.
When I was 8 or so I had swine flu, I had a 104 degree fever but thanks to modern medicine I made a speedy recovery. When I was 20 or so, I had a large tumor on my ovary which was removed with a very simple surgery leaving only 4 small scars. Even recently I had Cellulitis, and it cleared up after a week on antibiotics. I also have very bad vision, but that's an easy fix with glasses. Thanks to modern medicine these are small inconveniences to me, but 300 years ago could have easily killed me or left me completely disabled.
I hear ya! My eye sight is -9 in both eyes. Can't see clearly past my nose. It means without contacts, I can't drive, work, see a computer screen, press any buttons etc. I guess that'd be considered "technically blind" at that point. Glasses were so thick it was like a fish bowl and gave me vertigo and a headache. Very thankful they made contacts as strong as they do. 🫶
A Very Interesting, Informative And Inspiring Video Presentation. The Younger Generation Needs To See This And Get To Know What What People Were Enduring At That Time. Thank You For The Informative Information.
My direct ancestor came off the boat in 1687, in new England, two weeks after his 21st birthday. He went straight west and didn't stop until he ended up in French territory. He got a native American wife and fell in with a group of French fur traders. The rest as you say is history. We look at there lives and say that's amazing, but I'm sure if they could see us they would be more amazed.
I'm allergic to horses, which might not have killed me, but would have given me a severe disadvantage in life since the most common source of transportation gives me trouble breathing. Also I had an appendectomy as a child which would have surely killed me at the age of 10. So no, I'd be dead for sure.
A wonderfully conceived and presented video, Mr. Townsend! Thank you. I have often posed that question to myself regarding survival in various eras of human history. Great work! (I fear that my own survival in olden times would tend toward "nasty, brutish and short." But I do have my vaccinations. :) ) Very nice closing thoughts as well. We - the humans - will in fact survive and continue to building for our collective future.
Can't help but think of that line in Dances with Wolves, "I bet someone out east is saying 'why dont he write?'" I couldn't imagine not hearing from someone for months, but then after several months, you have to assume they died. You stopped hearing from them, and there would be no reason except death, and you'd never know how. Couldn't deal with that. I text my adult sons EVERY DAY. I have to know theyre okay. In fact, i panic if they take too long to respond. Answers: no, i couldn't survive. I'd have a stress induced heart attack worrying about someone.
Why would anyone "have to assume" death just because they weren't contacted by someone simply too far out in the big, wide, beautiful (back then) world & too taken up with living a real, non-screen life to be constantly connected? A stable, realistic person of the 18th Century, not consumed by ego or co-dependency would not. They didn't think that way; they understood their world & had the psychological/emotional, as well as the physical, strength to live in it. You're right, you couldn't survive. Life (back then, again) was too simple a proposition for a 21st Century version of a human being to comprehend.
@@user-mz1kt6iz4e no, I couldn't and I wouldn't want to. I love the ability to carry a little computer in my pocket, so that when I get bored, I can be entertained easily. Like how some people are like "omg I would give anything to go back to the 80s." The 80s weren't that great. I remember them very well. Take off your rose tinted nostalgia glasses. In fact, my Internet was out for near 24 hours last week. It was the 80s and it fecking sucked. Hell, the song "burning heart" by survivor invokes the 80s smell (cigarettes, dep and aqua net) and I am instantly transported back to being a child, in McDonald's with my mother with the bad hair, eating my nuggies, while she sits across from me reading a newspaper, and smoking a cigarette. And the chair I am on, is a hamburger
Brilliant and thought-provoking, what a wonderful exploration of reality in the 18th century! Thank you for researching and compiling this marvelous reflection.
We would have two things in our favor if we time traveled back there. We are descendants of people who DID survive; and the vaccines we've had would also give us an edge.
Don't forget Samuel Whitmore Jr. 1696-1793. Fought at Lexington and Concord at 79, killed two or three British grenadiers, was shot in the face and bayoneted, left for dead and subsequently recovered and lived another 18 years dying of natural causes.
It was probably from flirting with another man's wife. :) and the family hushed it up..
@@GnomeInPlaid The man was a beast. I don't they make them like him anymore.
@@GnomeInPlaid at 97 years of age he was doing pretty well to be flirting with anybody, let alone another man's wife 😂
@@Vandal_Savage Yep, I'm sure of that. bless his old heart. Well, what's that old saying, "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I've worked in nursing homes, and some of the old fellers still felt a little "spry", shall we say?
Chuck Norris’ ancestor.
Superb video. Towards the end he says they probably thought they were living in the best of times. Makes you wonder if 200 years from now there’ll be a future Townsend video asking if future people could survive during our lifetime.
So many aren’t surviving our time so much death from poverty and lifestyle diseases and so many still don’t have good healthcare access or funds etc. it’s pretty barbaric! As averages those at the midpoint of middle class and above live 15 years longer than those below that point.
@@lijohnyoutube101When I was an assistant editor for a history journal, we published an article on how life expectancy changed at the beginning of the industrial revolution. In Belgium, the life expectancy dropped from 27 years to 17 years when people moved into town. So, when you complain about not surviving modern life, think about having a life expectancy where, at best, you'll probably not survive to 30.
@@lijohnyoutube101Here's another example. Barbara Hanawalt scoured the coroner's rolls of medieval England and found that the average marriage only lasted ten years because one spouse would be dead by then. In other words, if you lived long enough to marry, you had a 50/50 chance of dying before the age of 30-35. You would have six children, only half of whom would live to adulthood. That was the life of an average couple. I've seen theories that "many" people would have lived to be 70 or 80, but they don't explain what they mean by the word "many." One out of a thousand? One out of a hundred? Imo probably not, except in rare times of unusually good harvests and absence of epidemics.
@@edennis8578 oh yea people joke about OSHA but factory and city life was dangerous. Farming also had issues but the barbaric working conditions in the city, bad living conditions, lack of sleep, often poor nutrition,
transfer of diseases in cramped environments etc etc
The horrific nature of the Triangle Waist Company fire and the locked doors to prevent breaks and theft. The book The Jungle by Sinclair is also a great read!
Yes we have made progress but our society particularly in the US is barbaric. We don’t value life, we say we do but in reality we value profit WAY WAY WAY more than life. We have very very little emphasis on quality of life. If someone has half a pulse no matter the horrific nature of their life we have totally normalized whatever it is, deal because all we care about is alive.
It’s pathetic…and it’s inhumane.
It’s 2024 and look the two employers with the by far percentage of employees on aid, they are Walmart and McDonald’s.
The walmart family is collectively currently work around 250 BILLION dollars. That amount of money is so HUGE it’s impossible to even understand the enormity of the size of their wealth.
Walmart doesn’t need to be employing at poverty wages to the point it’s employees can’t even pay for housing, food etc. they pay the employees that way due to inconceivable insatiable greed.
all the processed foods and diabetes and dying just for a selfie. This time period will be widely mocked
In 1904, my great grandfather, a barber, slightly knicked his hand pulling a cork out of a hair tonic bottle. A few months later, he was dead of what was probably blood poisoning. We all take for granted: public sanitation, clean drinking water, the development of antibiotics, and "Modern Medicine" overall.
You don't need modern antibiotics near as much as you think. Oregano oil. You should never take antibiotics more than 5x in a life time because it kills your immune system longterm
Yep…….sepsis
This.
I have a similar story. My great grandmother received word one of her sons was killed in WW1 and the body was being shipped home. She busied herself with chores. One day she was working in the garden and cut her hand on something (we just don’t know what) and died shortly after with blood poisoning! All this while waiting on her sons body to come home 😢
well my tribal reservation does not and never has had clean drinking water, thanks US Government. We don't have access to clean water in a first world country. What in the hell.
And THEN, have a dozen kids!!
The Lewis and Clark expedition was amazing. I’m glad I read about it with my kids.
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch was another good book to read with them.
Every time we twist a faucet and potable water comes out, we should be glad to live in the times we have.
A History professor of mine described it as the single greatest advance in Public Health ever made.
The second greatest being refrigeration. Meat spoils very quickly if it isn't kept cold.
@@rtyria Not really. They preserved meat with smoke and salt back then. I'd place the "sanitary sewer" at number two. Pun intended.
Id back the refrigeration fresh meat and cold beer 👍
The times and places we live in
It's started to hit me pretty hard recently how much of a luxury that is, knowing that even in first world countries there are people without clean water.
That’s is true, thank a plumber.
Very old guy here: Your passion and erudition comes across like the best and most inspiring teachers I remember from school 60+ years. Thank you for doing what you do. And . . .Oh god for a shot penicillin!
I'd have died as an infant. Born clubfooted in both legs, very serious asthma, allergic to horses.
tbf both asthma and allergies are not necessarily something innate to your genetics and could be different just by growing up in different conditions, but yes, your chances aren't looking too great
Ich habe einen Klumpfuß!
(The only German I know.)
well you can take consolation in the fact that you would have been exposed to horses early on and would not be allergic to them (research shows early exposer to allergens prevents allergies)
@@aminorityofone As a toddler, an asthmatic attack from a horse, I ended up in the ER...
I'm with you. I have asthma, allergies, and bad eyesight.
Could I survive the 18th century? I died 4 times just watching this.
Excellent video, Townsends team!
Me too! I just got over a bout of the throwing up disease and I thought I was going to die just yesterday! lol But, when that started happening back in the day - people really did die of what we consider now to be - Oh, I just had a stomach bug.
I love your comment. Sincerely, my ghost. 😂
YOU DIED
@@purefoldnz3070 👻
Rest in Peace.😢
I was homeless and lived in a tent in New England. There were times when I went days without food or water and the winter was anything but easy. I had times that I prayed to die before I turned 30.
God had a different plan for you.
I'm glad you're still here.
@@PapaBear-k4k I second that.
Glad u survived. Hopefully you're doing better off now. I'm not one to promote living horribly and suffer, just to type out some cliche response, but I definitely have felt what u felt. Definitely prayed for it to also happen to me. I never lost hope tho, was very close to it.
There's some reason why our prayers weren't answered. Maybe God not saying ok, could be a good thing 🫤
I did that at 12 years old
Q
I applaud 👏 your survival skills.
If you survive that...because of good courage 💪 you can do anything!
Keep it basic
Food
Water
Clothes
Shelter
Get a job...cash helps
Ebt cards ♥️ get you free food from the stores and fast food too
Q
I really appreciate the constant references to the diaries, journals and other writings of actual people from those times like William Byrd, Nicholas Cresswell, etc.
Wow. Truly an inspiring video. All the comments too, with details about the immigrant/colonist experiences from the British Isles. Immigration and survival in the past really was a different game. They crossed that sea.
I’m barely surviving now, I don’t think a lack of indoor plumbing is going to help.
I hear that 😅
@@sparkyphantom92 Very privileged take
@@sparkyphantom92 Considering you don't personally know the OP or their struggles and life circumstances, you may want to think before leaving such a clueless comment.
@@sparkyphantom92 Some of us are more concerned with trying to get at least one meal every day
I've done the dirt camping with very little food and shelter.
At this point in my life, roughing it is a hotel that doesn't have room service.
Cheers from sunny, if crazy, California.
My 5X great grandfather was George Graham 1756-1840 he was born in 1756 in New Jersey. At the age of 17 he went to fight in the Revolutionary war and In 1776 he was shot in the thigh during the battle of long island. Even after everything he went through he fought on with a limp and lived to be 84 years old. After the war he got married and moved to Southwestern Pennsylvania where his family still resides. Looking back on everything that could have gone wrong and didn't it really gives you perspective on how good you really have things today.
My Dad's family would have had no problem being transported back into colonial times. Grandpa was an Oklahoma sharecropper during the Great Depression, still farming with mules because he couldn't afford a tractor. Dad and his twin brother were born and raised in a log cabin, with an outside well for water, kerosene lamps for light, and a wood-burning stove and fireplace to cook on and for heat. They kept hogs, chickens and a couple of cows, and Grandma had a big garden. Dad and his twin brother would hunt squirrels, rabbits, and whatever else they could find for something other than hog meat. If the kids started looking "puny," Grandma would send them out to scour the ditches for greens so that they would get some vitamins. For something sweet, they grew sorghum. There was one guy in the county who had a mill and he charged a share of the syrup for using it, you had to bring your own mule to run it though. For money to buy necessities, Grandma and the older kids would second-pick harvested cotton fields for cotton to sell. They did the same for harvested corn fields to feed the hogs. The family didn't have electricity, indoor plumbing, or running water until they moved north after Grandma got a job building bombers during WWII. Grandpa still farmed though, but now with a tractor. Grandma worked as a riveter at Boeing for 30 years. There are B-52s still flying that she helped build.
That sounds like the way my fathers family lived.🤗❤️🐝
Fabulous family story! Thanks for sharing.
What an INCREDIBLE STORY of your family!
That's very interesting. Not too many of the Rosie the Riveters kept their jobs after the war.
@@odysseusrex5908 Grandma never said anything about Boeing ever contacting her about not remaining at her job. I think the reason why many women left the work force after WWII is that they were young, their men were back home, and they wanted to start families. Grandma already had kids in grade school. Boeing liked having a few small women riveters because they could get into places that the larger men couldn't. I suppose that once robotics were developed this wasn't so much of an issue anymore but grandma was retired by then.
You're giving us the content I remember on PBS decades ago. My kids and I love watching your content.
Back when PBS was educational. I rarely watch it now.
If anyone here has kids, a cartoon series called Liberty's Kids from 2002 actually follows the Revolution from the perspective of three kids. Joseph Plumb Martin is actually in it too!
Loved that show!!
watched that show in history class!
it was a crap show and the kids were the wrong color. the should have all been white.
I loved that show!!!!
Used to watch that show!
It's a pity isn't it? Nick Cresswell was like *the* original swashbuckling rogue adventurer. He survived more horror and extreme danger than many people do in their entire lives, yet even in his journal, on what he thought was his deathbed, he didn't lose heart. I would very much like to see a miniseries about him. In the same vein as the BBC/HBO John Adams series.
Townsends makes the best most inspiring content on UA-cam, I feel good after watching every time, Thank You.
Beautiful video! I am very proud to be the descendant of a Huguenot man who moved his family to the frontier of Tennessee. I don't know much about him except he loved good food and wine, but he gave it up for his faith.❤
I've been building a time machine in my garage. I'll let you know.
I just got back from 2025. Do not eat the roach burgers. The antenna get stuck in your teeth. Aggrivating.
Me Too ! but mine only goes forwards in time, not back.
Same!
Can I come?
I wanna go back to Taco Tuesday!
This might be the best channel on all of youtube. Wholesome, educational, interesting, inspiring... Thank you Jon!
I can cook from scratch with 18th century techniques thanks to Townsends. I spin, weave, knit all fibers. I grow flax for linen plus all that takes to process.
We had a derecho which took out everything 21st century. Had my Townsend lanterns and could cook over a fire. Big favor we had running water! But I do keep big bottles of water in storage. Skills! Skills. Having basic survival skills and skills to swap.
Hi fellow Iowan
Yeah, but knowing medicinal skills then wasnt like it is now. I wouldn’t go to a barber/do tor back then. I would find a green woman/herbalist. And Im one. I would grow my own.
Very cool! I'd love to learn an 18th century skill such as weaving, candle making, etc.
Thanks for sharing with us Jon. Enjoyed the looking back and reminiscing about reenacting the Rendezvous' and the fun and adventure they brought to us and knowing we could survive off the land . Stay safe , Fred.
In my case I can say with near certainty that I wouldn’t have seen my 20th birthday. Some of my Swiss ancestors tried moving to a Swiss colony in North Africa (Algeria) in the 1850’s. After losing four of their eight children to cholera and typhoid in 1854 and 1855 they went back home. In the 1870’s they tried again and moved to Canada where one of them had 18 children and didn’t lose a single one. Luck played an important part.
I absolutely love your videos. Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve learned!
My grandfather was born in 1892. When he got married they had a wagon pulled by horses. He and my grandmother had a farm all through the depression and didn’t really know what depression meant. It is each generation’s job to make life a little better for the next. Look at how much has changed just since 1900
Great video like always. As someone with medical problems who can't really take anything for pain (allergy to the most common) aside from Tylenol, it's difficult to be in varying levels of pain/nausea every day without pause. So I can understand having to endure a ton of discomfort and always looking for ways to get done what I need to get done. I always try to think about the things that I'm happy I don't have to deal with despite it all. Anyways, looking to the past helps to inspire because there is always a lot to learn and it's fun and cool to be able to implement things into your daily life (like, maybe you end up using an 18th century recipe as the base of a new dish you make at home, etc, etc). Thanks for all you do at Townsends!
I truly appreciate your message of positivity. Thank you.
The big difference between us is in the 18th century, children would just die of disease, while in modern times we vaccinate to provide the same resistance that they get by surviving an infection. Medical technology is the main area in which we really move beyond the 18th century. Everything else largely just serves to allow more work to be done with less labour, or for more humans to live in an urban area. The absence of this is overcome through learning - just like a colonist from England would also need to do.
People don't survive hard times because of toughness, people get tough because of surviving hard times.
Modern humans won't survive, because there's no internet and all the essential infrastructures.
Actually they don't get tough, in fact they have worse health and quality of life outcomes. Manual work takes it's toll on body even today people who do roofing or flooring are basically crippled by the time they are 50.
I'd say that it's not so much that people get tough. The people who aren't already tough AND lucky don't make it.
We wouldn't make it because our microbium is much different and we would die of diarrhea or consumption ( bad water)
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Don't forget that the Lewis and Clark Expedition made it through with the incredible help of native knowhow and guidance. Please don't leave that out.
Phenomenal video, thank you all who made this possible.
👍 Good description of conditions in colonial times. However, I was most impressed with your final thoughts of encouragement to overcome our fears and adversities today - excellent message.
Your question is one of the reasons why I started watching your channel a couple years ago.
John & the Townsends crew really give us a window to the past. My earliest ancestors in the US were indentured servants sent to the South and they somehow survived. Maybe I would have a shot too.
As is the case so often, your videos give us an opportunity to learn from the past to help us prepare for the future......
May we have eyes to see and ears to hear......
The content and production value of this channel is simply wonderful. Every video makes me feel like I travel back in time.
I think the first question really is how well do you know yourself. Trying to live with out everything we take for granted would definately show the difference between what a person thinks they can do and what they actually will do.
I think the most sensable approach would be to pick a challange, say see what can be foraged for food in the local area and try just living on that for a few weeks. There would be so much to learn.
Absolutely. And better yet, I can teach others. Study hearth cooking, soap making, basket making, gardening, sewing, preserving, candle making, fence making, fireplace dimensions, primitive building, hunting, dressing out kill, tanning hides, herbal medicine, etc...
My husband's great grandfather left his home in New York state at 17, tagged along with a wagon train and walked to California, a year later decided to go home and so walked to Panama, crossed the isthmus, was captured by bandits, freed, and caught a ship back up the East Coast. Maybe when you see so many people die young you figure what have I got to lose? Amazing.
Why the heck would he walk to Panama to get back to NY? Wouldn't it have been easier to just start a trek back across the US?
@@thetaekwondoe3887 not necessarily. The ocean route was actually faster and less expensive.
Nice made up story.
@@minecraftfox4384 Who knows? Young people were different back then. Richard King ran away from indentured servitude at age 11, hid out on a riverboat, was adopted into the crew, became a riverboat captain, confederate, entrepreneur, and most notably, the founder of the King Ranch in South Texas, which at the time of his death in 1885 encompassed over 825,000 acres. It's remarkable what people can accomplish when there's no one around to tell them it's impossible. :)
@@kathrynbrowning4644 who? Oh, right, a nobody.
The closest I've come was back in 1997- at the Eastern Primitive Event.My wife and I spent two weeks there, in our camp (circa1750s). Our only use of modern tech during that time was a single plastic cooler for some fresh foods and using porta johns.This was during October in rural North Central Pa.Water was in a wooden keg, cooking was on a fire and brazier, fires started with flint/steel, i shaved with a straight razor, heated wash water on the fire, lit the camp with candle lanterns and candles. Much of our gear was from Townsends, Panther Primitives and Smoke and Fire.
My great grandparents immigrated from Europe to the US in 1867. They voyaged on one of the “coffin ships,” a freighter that had a deck added below after its original cargo was unloaded. These ships were so named because of the numbers lost at sea.
Their party of ten included their aging parents, an uncle, and their children, including an infant. I’ve read that these temporary decks allowed six feet of headroom, just enough to stand. Families were allotted a 6-by-6 foot space on deck-people stacked like cordwood.
My imagination can’t do justice to those conditions. I am forever astonished that they all survived. Alas, twelve years later, my great grandfather was shot dead while plowing.
Interesting. Imagine the 1500’s when mine came (to the kingdom of Nueva España and Nuevo México). There was even less
I love these episodes especially. We can learn a lot from Mr. Townsend. I'd love to see a series of episodes going into the past and applying those lessons to today.
The “bloody flux” in colonial times refers to Dysentery which was caused by “poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water” (google). It was very common and very deadly.
And imagine all the parasitic infections that went untreated. A lot of these folks were probably zombies internally in regards to nutrition. Sounds like absolute hell.
Love the way that you bring this home to our lives today. That's really the greatest value in studying history and the gift of public history like you do--how we apply lessons of the past to today.
As a woman, I'd have to worry about working while pregnant and childbirth. Not only that my child might die but many women still die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
I was thinking the same thing. Each of my three children were transverse birth C section births. Would any of us have survived? Most likely not. Child birth, Childhood illnesses and injuries, the lack of antibiotics...it gets pretty bleak.
Complications are due to outside causes never but pregnancy. It’s impossible to have complications due to pregnancy. Your body is built for pregnancy.
@@sharpaycutie2 that is an ignorant statement. Please do some research before speaking on this topic. Nature isn't perfect. People and animals die from pregnancy and labor related complications.
Nature doing its thing.
Your videos are the best! My family and I love watching them together. Thank you!
My 5th great grandfather was a 9 year old drummer boy during the revolution. He served with his 11 and 16 year old brothers in a unit separate from their father. They were Loyalists so by 1783 they were refugees in Quebec, Canada. When he was older he served in the War of 1812. He died at age 86 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada!
That's a lot further back than your 5th great grandfather. Try 8th. But then your made up story falls apart.
Superb video, sir! Greetings from here in Georgia, USA!
Since you mentioned the Lewis & Clark expedition: one of my favorite bits of biomedical history is that the Corps of Discovery were supplied with powerful laxatives called “Rush’s Thunder-clappers” after their creator, Dr. Benjamin Rush (considered the founder of American psychiatry and an ancestor of the doomed Titanic sub guy Stockton Rush). These were used to help treat constipation due to the explorers’ unbalanced meat-heavy diet, and they contained so much mercury that even 200 years later, archaeologists were able to trace their route using chemical analysis of where they stopped to poop.
Humans are perfectly capable of eating meat heavy diets without constipation. Hell, we've done it our entire existence.
I love listening to these stories, you have such a passion for history. Keep doing what you're doing brother. You're a natural at it 🤗
I think the biggest problem would be the learning curve to survive.
oh yeah
it's not like people get a lot of training at even dry runs at that these days, let alone the real thing
Kind of like what happened with some of the earliest European settlers, where a lack of knowledge could heavily contribute to mortality in a settlement.
Thank You Jon! In those times people were dependent on each other for all their needs. Unlike today when we find everything under one roof made by huge industries and computers from all over the world. I believe there was a closer relationship with others to survive. Today people have grown apart in many cases. People were tougher then and far more able to have the skills to survive, being taught to do so because they had to. Today few people have the skills to provide the basics. The skills have become money. My GGGGrandparents came here from Ireland in 1815 into Philadelphia. He was born in 1772 and died in 1860. So he was in his 40s when arriving, which was pretty amazing in those days. Of course in 1815 the frontier was further west and Pennsylvania quite established. But to take that journey that late in life in those times was quite courageous. Thanks Again and Many Blessings! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
My answer is yes. First off and least important, I can and do shoot flint lock firearms, also I am a gunsmith who builds muzzle loading rifle. I also do blacksmithing. Its very much related to gunsmithing. I also learned how to do carpenter work without using power tools. My Father was an old time carpenter who used these tools and taught his sons to use them(old time german wood workers). And I grew up in the time when people had gardens, and preserved what they grew. I can hunt game, but would have no need to. Chickens, pigs geese, and other animals are easly cared for and lastly , my Grandfather was a bee keeper and I learned that from him. Im 74 and have been doing these things since chilhood so Im set. A little gardening advice. If you want your vegetable to thrive, plant flowers a around your garden. Bees will pollinate all your plants ..
The two biggest things that rescued infant and childhood mortality rates were constantly washing hands, faces, bodies (aka the adoption of Germ Theory)...and the use of incubators for infants. You could put a smaller tub inside a larger one filled with warm water, and place the wrapped-up baby in the dry inner tub...or iterally just put warm water in a tightly sealed waterskin wrapped up in the same place as a baby (not too hot, and constantly being changed out as it cooled down), and it worked to help infants survive longer.
Incubators were used on poultry eggs from very early on; Ancient Egyptians were hatching eggs in mud huts (remember, warm climate!) from 3000 BCE, and Chinese farmers were using artificial heat by 250 BCE (these were for the eggs of chickens, ducks, geese, etc)...but it took all the way until 1880 for someone to consider using the same warmed-air system for human infants that was being used on eggs & baby chicks in the Paris zoo. And you know what? It worked!
Constantly cleaning hands & faces & bodies, warmed up spaces for babies to rest and not get cold...these two things rapidly changed infant mortality rates. Continuing to keep everything as clean as possible with soap & water also drastically changed childhood mortality rates. The saponins in soap destroy the lipids (fats) in the cell walls of bacteria, etc, which destroys the bacteria that case many diseases. This effectively reduces bacterial infections. The best way to keep yourself healthy in pre-modern-medicine eras is to clean *every single scratch,* and *never scratch a mosquito bite with dirty hands* either.
One of the things we often don't think about these days is the mortality rate from disease in children under the age of 5. In my area, if you go through the various cemeteries, you'll find any number of small gravestones of someone's child who died back in the early 1900's.
Looking back through my genealogy shows that most generations past my grandparents' one lost children to disease. When I caught rheumatic fever as a child, my grandpa and grandma drove 300 miles to see us because they just knew that I was going to die. Fortunately for me, penicillin was available in the early 1960s. Polio is nearly unheard of today but even in my parents' time most people knew someone who had been crippled because of it.
@@Snargfargle One of the sad stories from my family history is a small headstone in the local cemetery, a girl who died in 1903 at the age of 3. She was my grandfather's cousin. Back in the late 70's, another of his cousins was visiting my aunt, and went to pay his respects at the cemetery. When he saw the headstone he stopped, and said "Oh. You know, I always thought that I'd had a sister, but was sure my memory was right. My parents never talked about her." One of my sister's friends father had survived polio as a youth, but needed crutches to walk.
Not just diseases, disabilities. They're extremely common among people today, because modern medicine has created ways to treat or help people cope with them. Those same disabilities in those days would have killed a lot of people at a young age, or caused them to meet their doom.
Videos like these keep us grounded and thankful as a reminder of what we have today, which is thanks to those who came before us
My great grandfather from Indiana died young of TB leaving my great
grandmother a young widow with two small children. Back then they still believed that the night air caused many diseases which was why many used bed curtains.
He spent many months away from home working on a farm with migrant workers no doubt he caught it while bunking together with his fellow workers.
It’s actually not good to step out when the dew is falling.
@@lovelily8310I do believe that there is some truth in that as even a cold seems to get worse at night but that belief was blamed for way to much back then .
Thank you for your input 😊
@@b.savage8953 Dew point - 100% relative humidity. Breathing in humid air can make the process more labored, and the water vapor also traps plenty of particles like allergens, mold spores, bacteria... that gets breathed in and collected in the lungs, making one more susceptible to infection. Being cold is also not very helpful to our immunity.
@@teeteetuu94 convince me that night air causes TB . Thank you
@@teeteetuu94 Those factors can increase the probability of contracting TB but I've yet to see any proof that those conditions can cause TB .
Thank you for your input .
I say Yes - many of us would. Because we did. We're here because yes we did. When I was close to death with pneumonia on home care and I watched so many Townsends videos. Not only for the music and how easy it is to listen to Mr. Townsends, but also because it's inspiring to realize we can overcome hardship. I've heard other surgeons and doctors comment during livestreams that these videos are on in recovery rooms and help their patients.
My mother said people in the past including her relatives had an understanding of plant medicine that saved them when they were sick, so if you survived infancy, you could survive.
Food for thought is your forté. I love listing to your commentary on common things and am prompted to be thoughtful about the subject. Thanks for your enthusiastic observations
I think many people today couldn't survive pre-1990s America, let alone colonial times.
Or just in the 1990s. Personally, I liked them.
I am old enough to remember the 1970's, an era of no cellphones and landline phones only, no internet, no personal computers, no GPS or directions online with road maps only, if you missed seeing a movie during it's original theatrical run you missed seeing it, and if you missed watching something on TV, you missed watching it!
@@rosskardon7195 I miss those missed things.
@@rosskardon7195 but we had..........8 tracks.
@@rosskardon7195 VHS and Betamax came out in the 70's old timer so not really no. Also all those movies came back out in the 80's so once again, no not really. You just had to wait a few years.
I had honestly forgotten how excellent your videos were. This is such a great channel.
My great-great-uncle went to the US from Sweden. He died of dysentery during his first year.
My grandfather came over from Scotland. He died of tuburculosis when my dad was very young.
Excellent video and content, as always.
Thanks for the great history lesson and the perspective.
Great video to help us put our lives in perspective. We are living at the best time in history, so far.
I worked ouside and did not have AC last summer in TN. Rain made me happy because it was a reprieve.
Didn't get AC until I was 20 or so, not in the CA desert, NJ swamp or MD. Yes, rain is a God send.
@@rtyria why so long, if I may ask?
@@nicholasgarcia399 I grew up in the Navy. We moved hundreds of miles every 2.5 years. The Navy only covered so much in moving expenses (by weight). AC's are heavy.
Amazing how long humans survived without it. Almost like we don't actually need it to survive...
Your end message was good. Don't be afraid to seek the frontier. Whatever that may be.
It's amazing anyone survived all the hardships.
Fantastic viewing... thank you! Enjoy your channel! Peace
I’d say most people wouldn’t be able to. But you never know who will be strong when faced with either hardship or death.
I think I’d do pretty well for a while but disease or injury on the frontier would probably take me out.
Great video. Perspective is everything.
And we need to be extremely grateful for all the luxuries we enjoy each day! Running water, flushing toilets, electricity, overflowing market places, heat and AC, vehicles, refrigeration, medicine, etc. We live in a great time!
Spoiled rotten, I daresay.
First time watching your channel
Wowy, this is all so interesting!
Great finding such fascinating historical content! 💜
A great video. I am a Boer. I find it so fascinating how tough our forefathers lifestyles were. From arriving in the Cape, to the Great Trek and the Boer wars. So many parallels with the pioneers of northern America. I see the hardened faces in pictures of the men during the Boer wars and always wander the same question, could we do what our forefathers did. I think not.
There is a book called the Boer war in colour by Tinus Le Roux. So many pictures, each one explaining the different mens lives their names etc. Alot of effort went into it. If you're a history fiend. Highly recommend it. Awesome video again.
Great video! Well said....I believe we have many metaphorical rivers to cross....keep up the great work!
The answer is no.
Nope it’s yes
If you already survived till 20, probably yes, you could live until a good old age of 40.@@Higfoot
sure we would. as long as we don't mind being being bonded to someone and possibly mistreated.
Nah id win
Nah id win
I really enjoy your outlook. I dont think they thought their times were difficult. These things, im sure, were "just part of life." I like to watch your videos and take lessons to improve my life. I especially like the food preservation videos. My goal is to survive with less so I can live prosperously in my personal endeavors.
The living history, reenacting community may be best suited for a permanent transition back in time.
Having spent 25 years living, learning, teaching in the 18th century and early 19th and having the tools and skills I can say I can instantly live in the 18th century.
For how long, who knows.
I work as an interpreter and foodways demonstrator at a living history museum and am surrounded by amazing people with skills that were mostly forgotten generations ago. Much of what I cook on the open hearth is grown, raised, or processed right there in the village and I often joke to guests that if there was ever an apocalypse, the “villagers” would probably survive! (Well, unless there were zombies involved!)😁
@KateEileen That's awesome! We are prepared and enjoy what we do.
Until your first need of antibiotics, blood transfusions, or even simple surgery. That'll be a full stop to that life.
I love the food videos, homestead videos, Ryan doing recipes, and this right here etc. I love watching how Townsends have gotten more expansive! Btw! I hope you will do another Morel Mushroom video as it is getting to that time of year I think! :)
I would accept the challenge! But I would need a time traveler clause that I would allow me to return to my timeline when I absolutely needed to (think Naked & Afraid)
Would you still be willing to take on the challenge if you had to deal with those same situations and hardships in our present day,(with no time machine to take you out of it)?
Excellent. I've often pondered their hardships and the resiliency of my ancestors. It's mind boggling. I also think about the people who seem to just vanish from our family trees during those times. Unless someone journaled about their disappearance they may have met their demise alone in the woods by animal, drowning and being swept away, or falling into a cave etc with no one to find them.
Those people were resilient!
I’m actually related to Merriwether Lewis, from the Lewis and Clark expedition. I could not imagine going through some of the things they went through, I have a journal of his he had gotten about 3 years prior to his death, and some of the stories in that journal are incredible
As I am now, no way. Diabetic, have worn glasses since I was seven, some serious allergies. I almost died giving birth to my youngest child, even with modern medicine and technology. Though I love studying history, I'd never be able to survive there.
if you'd been born back then, you probably wouldn't have to worry about the diabetes or allergies.
just a myriad of other issues.
@@BlackMasterRoshiDepends on the type of diabetes. If they are type one, then they'd straight up die in childhood. It was only until the 20th century that type one diabetes was a manageable condition instead of a fatal one......
Because she would have died as an infant or young child early on. She would never stand a chance
@@BlackMasterRoshi Mmhmm those things are largely due to what we consume these days, which is nothing like what it was back then...plus other stuff I won't mention because most people don't like to hear so-called cOnSpiRaCy tHeOriEs (aka truth bombs)
@@worldwanderer91Neither would you.
I'd be ok so long as I could watch Jon on you tube to brush up on skills and keep motivated! ❤
I love this channel.
My fifth great grandparents left Belfast in 1822 on a sailing ship- the Brig Finchett. I have a copy of the ship's manifest with their names on it. They settled in Chester County, South Carolina.
When I was 8 or so I had swine flu, I had a 104 degree fever but thanks to modern medicine I made a speedy recovery. When I was 20 or so, I had a large tumor on my ovary which was removed with a very simple surgery leaving only 4 small scars. Even recently I had Cellulitis, and it cleared up after a week on antibiotics. I also have very bad vision, but that's an easy fix with glasses. Thanks to modern medicine these are small inconveniences to me, but 300 years ago could have easily killed me or left me completely disabled.
I hear ya! My eye sight is -9 in both eyes. Can't see clearly past my nose. It means without contacts, I can't drive, work, see a computer screen, press any buttons etc. I guess that'd be considered "technically blind" at that point. Glasses were so thick it was like a fish bowl and gave me vertigo and a headache. Very thankful they made contacts as strong as they do. 🫶
A Very Interesting, Informative And Inspiring Video Presentation. The Younger Generation Needs To See This And Get To Know What What People Were Enduring At That Time. Thank You For The Informative Information.
My direct ancestor came off the boat in 1687, in new England, two weeks after his 21st birthday.
He went straight west and didn't stop until he ended up in French territory.
He got a native American wife and fell in with a group of French fur traders.
The rest as you say is history.
We look at there lives and say that's amazing, but I'm sure if they could see us they would be more amazed.
This was a truly excellent video. Thanks for sharing all of this---metaphorically and realistically
Ironically, the commercial I skipped prior to the video was from Lululemon and featured a group of people that couldn't survive 1987 let alone 1787.
Thank you, that's the funniest thing I've heard all week!
I would guess metropolitan hipsters, it's one of reasons I got premium
@@ProfessorGothic Its funny because its true. That extra cortisol from worrying all the time isnt going to help you live any longer either.
@@RichardPhillips1066 Are you people seriously not using adblock in 2024? Its free and literally available on the chrome store lol.
😂😂😂
Thank you. This was great.
I'm allergic to horses, which might not have killed me, but would have given me a severe disadvantage in life since the most common source of transportation gives me trouble breathing. Also I had an appendectomy as a child which would have surely killed me at the age of 10. So no, I'd be dead for sure.
A wonderfully conceived and presented video, Mr. Townsend! Thank you. I have often posed that question to myself regarding survival in various eras of human history. Great work! (I fear that my own survival in olden times would tend toward "nasty, brutish and short." But I do have my vaccinations. :) ) Very nice closing thoughts as well. We - the humans - will in fact survive and continue to building for our collective future.
Can't help but think of that line in Dances with Wolves, "I bet someone out east is saying 'why dont he write?'"
I couldn't imagine not hearing from someone for months, but then after several months, you have to assume they died. You stopped hearing from them, and there would be no reason except death, and you'd never know how.
Couldn't deal with that.
I text my adult sons EVERY DAY. I have to know theyre okay. In fact, i panic if they take too long to respond.
Answers: no, i couldn't survive. I'd have a stress induced heart attack worrying about someone.
Why would anyone "have to assume" death just because they weren't contacted by someone simply too far out in the big, wide, beautiful (back then) world & too taken up with living a real, non-screen life to be constantly connected? A stable, realistic person of the 18th Century, not consumed by ego or co-dependency would not. They didn't think that way; they understood their world & had the psychological/emotional, as well as the physical, strength to live in it. You're right, you couldn't survive. Life (back then, again) was too simple a proposition for a 21st Century version of a human being to comprehend.
@@user-mz1kt6iz4e no, I couldn't and I wouldn't want to. I love the ability to carry a little computer in my pocket, so that when I get bored, I can be entertained easily.
Like how some people are like "omg I would give anything to go back to the 80s."
The 80s weren't that great. I remember them very well. Take off your rose tinted nostalgia glasses.
In fact, my Internet was out for near 24 hours last week. It was the 80s and it fecking sucked.
Hell, the song "burning heart" by survivor invokes the 80s smell (cigarettes, dep and aqua net) and I am instantly transported back to being a child, in McDonald's with my mother with the bad hair, eating my nuggies, while she sits across from me reading a newspaper, and smoking a cigarette.
And the chair I am on, is a hamburger
Brilliant and thought-provoking, what a wonderful exploration of reality in the 18th century! Thank you for researching and compiling this marvelous reflection.
We would have two things in our favor if we time traveled back there. We are descendants of people who DID survive; and the vaccines we've had would also give us an edge.
Your channel is awsome very uplifting and educational keep up the great job guys love it