As a young person in Australia in the 70’s and 80’s, the phrase “Go to Timbuktu” was a mild insult to go get lost. Like many children, and also like my Grandmother, I believed that Timbuktu was a remote Australian town out in the outback (check out Australian town names and you will see Timbuktu would fit right in). Grandma used to tell her children to “Go to Timbuktu” when they were naughty. Much to her surprised at some point in the 80’s her Eldest Son, working as a oil man in strange places all around the world, sent her a letter from Timbuktu just to let her know he’d found the place!
Here in my part of the USA (PA), we say "From Timbuktu to Kalamazoo" to mean either something was everywhere, or a really long trip. Kalamazoo is a small city in Michigan, USA, so pretty much the far side of the world from Timbuktu
Finally, someone explaining the history of Timbuktu instead of using it as a punchline to mean "place that's waaay over there that I've never been to". That being said, that place is waaay over there and I've never been there.
I've learned my lesson - don't type it out, screencap it. Leave nothing to chance (like when photoshop decided to render all my pasted text backwards in the Ibn Khaldun video rip) -B
@@OverlySarcasticProductions Also nice catch using the N'Ko script for the Manding languages of West Africa! Not terribly historically accurate, but important to recognize the literary culture of that region no matter how recent.
@@OverlySarcasticProductions There's a magic unicode character at the start of the text that tells it to render backwards (right to left). Pretty easy to copy the letters without getting that. Some programs will also strip it since it can mess up all text that comes after and e.g. make all your English text backwards.
"Salt comes from the North, gold from the South, and silver from the country of white men, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu." What a cool line. It really paints a very cool picture of the world these people lived in. I hope to find lines like these more if I go to study history as well.
Note: Timbuktu prospered despite significant power changes until the Moroccans invaded the Songhai Empire in 1590 and started to take control of the city in 1591 following the Battle of Tondibi. Due to the majority of university faculty members being executed or banished in 1593 for their disloyalty to the newly established rulers, the city's importance declined along with trade, which was negatively impacted by increased competition from newly opened transatlantic sailing routes.
@@ario2264 While there wasn't a university system in the same manner as Europe (having a variety of independent schools for each teacher), he is most likely referring to the highest ranking Ulama of the city, who would have been the equivalent to a professor. Everything else is very true thought, the Moroccan invasion force did a purge of intellectuals in Timbuktu.
@@AdamWood-dx7xm They were all Berbers from North Africa anyway. Just some Muslim legal/ religious scholars with their own private students. There was no 'university', 'university faculty' or 'library'.
@@ario2264This is simply not True. The Tuareg are a nomadic people even to this day, not settled agrarian with large urban centers. The prominence of Timbuktu is a direct result of its annexation & expansion by the Mandé Emperor Kankan Musa Keita. It would be purposefully filled with scholars from across his empire mostly of Soninke, Mandé & Songhai orgin, all Niger-Congo & Chadic peoples. Berbers & Arabs were categorised as "Bidan" (pale/white) most berbers that interacted with these cities being traders & not permanent residents, they were even given specific ethnic districts. You dont need a Bidan quarter in a Berber city anymore than you would need an Italian quarter in Milan. Relations between the Soudan (literally means land of the blacks) and the bidan nomads werent always cordial either. A Songhai King, Suni Ali Ber was infamous for driving them out of the cities and massacring entire clans of nomads in punitive campaigns. Askya Muhammad Toure drove Sephardic Jews out of his cities in a drive to standardise religious practice. It is only after the Moroccan invasion where we get the new rulers of the Niger bend trying to justify their rule by claiming the forebearers of Sahelian states came from Yemen (not even the Magreb which is where berbers are from) leaning on the very common practice of Muslim rulers of West Africa claiming a distant ancestorial link to Bilal the ethiopian companion of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. This should be taken as seriously as the Christian irish monks claiming the first irish were from Ancient Troy. All evidence, genetic, archaeology, linguistic & historiographical confirms local origins. As for there being no universities, Ibn Battuta famously went there thinking he could acquire a commission as a judge and professor, only to be told he didnt meet the academic requirements. Timbuktu had multiple competing Madrasas with an international student body. So prominent were the Scholars of Timbuktu that they would hold sway on succession to the title of Mansa & Askya, leading to the Emperors bestowing upon them lavish gifts of land, people, and material.
Time to learn about the place everyone says they can throw something to, and why neighboring civilizations nearly had their economies collapsed when it's emperor visited. Another great time from Blue.
@@_jpg and now, according to the Ted-Ed Video “The True Cost of Gold”, French Corporations control all of Mali’s gold. This explains why, in Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, the Wakandans were sharing Vibrainium technology with Mali, and also why the French got mad and tried to do what the French Intelligence do.
@@dandelion_16would love it if it was a collaboration with another channel who’s been doing African Literature longer too. Boosts are good. Collaborations are good.
Blue, you literally nearly made me cry today. This one video basically condensed much of the research I'd been doing for my own pan African fantasy world that focuses on a nation based on the Mali empire while pulling in elements from all 3 of the empires listed here and demonstrates exactly why I made the decisions I did. And thank you so much for highlighting the libraries and emphasis on scholarship. So many depictions of Africa focus on the oral tradition and pretend both that it's untrustworthy and that because of its importance that some cultures in Africa didn't have a written or literacy focused tradition as well. Always great to see that myth dispelled.
I recommend watching Ted-Ed’s video on Timbuktu if you haven’t already. They go into a lot more detail on how the people of Timbuktu have been saving their books and culture through literal underground resistance networks for centuries. The focus there is resistance to the French, but still the whole early modern history is covered too.
But, isn't it actually true that having a manuscript from year 1200 gives you a lot more confidence than hearing a story that originated in 1200? No pretending here.
@@muskyoxes Depends on who's telling it, how and how they learned it. A griot isn't a mere child playing telephone the way most people try to pretend they are.
So, fun fact. Timbuktu is twinned with six different places, being Chemnitz in Germany, Kairouan in Tunisia, Marrakesh in Morocco, Saintes in France, Tempe (in Arizona) in the US and (my personal favourite) a charming little town in mid-Wales called Hay-on-Wye. I've actually been there and I have never been so sad to leave a place. It's absolutely delightful. The town's economy is almost entirely predicated on books and there are second-hand stores EVERYWHERE. I got my first copy of the Sword in the Stone from Hay-on-Wye, among a number of other volumes. Blue, if you're ever in Wales for whatever reason, I cannot recommend a visit highly enough.
@@ballisticm0use72 mostly it means the cities made a public declaration of friendship. sometimes called "sister cities" in the US. often they do some sort of cultural exchange/outreach stuff, promote tourism, etc. More of a symbol than a strict legal concept
@@Mcdt2 Pretty much that, yeah. I actually still have the little map I got from my visit. I remember entering the town and seeing the sign proudly proclaim "Hay-on-Wye, Twinned with Timbuktu."
It amazes me how little western education teaches about Africa. It wasn't until I was a teenager that found out Africa isn't a continent of deserts. Since, I all I was taught about Africa was Egypt. And it wasn't until this video that I learned Timbuktu was in Africa. I thought it was Asian 😔
Unfortunately it’s significantly harder to find textual sources for West Africa and those that exist are kinda dangerous to see. A lot of the texts in Timbuktu have actually been in danger of being destroyed by extremist groups in Mail to the extent that random citizens have to hide them in their own houses instead of the libraries.
Yeah as someone who now focuses a lot on the Sahel, Maghreb, in my history masters, it is pretty shameful how generally speaking Western schools kind of avoid Africa both in history and geography. That's a generalisation, im sure many ppl might have different experiences cuz 'Western Education' is a oversimplifying the education of two or more continents of countries. Talking of oversimplification, the fact a lot of ppl still talk about Africa as Africa, just naming the whole continent, 1.2 billion people, 54 or so countries, and yet we keep referring to it as ONE place and ONE culture/people/history. I mean its often been mocked how Americans can't name countries on a map, but lets be serious, how many schools in the world actually take a map of Africa and try to teach you each country. And sorry but just becuz we have google maps doesn't excuse not teaching that. Timbuktu is one of those few idioms relating to Africa that is still very well-known and repeated in the West, the same way most ppl are familiar with Hannibal or Ramses/Cleopatra/Nefertiti, even when most of us have no idea of what they mean. i think at least nowadays plenty schools talk about colonisation of specific regions, which is sometimes even more insulting that you learn about how massive the slave trade is and they dont even tell you about any of the achievements of African kingdoms, leaders, artists, political figures, resistance fighters etc. But luckily there's so many books and articles and scholarly research on the African continent, some regions more than others, I think in terms of pre-colonial history North Africa is definitely most well-known to most of the West, whereas there's still a lot more to discover in terms of archeology and records in much of the interior of Africa, in the Sahel/Sahara, or the Congo. That's what makes researching and reading up on the many different histories of, or in, Africa always interesting becuz there's a lot of fascinating stuff that just is never mentioned in pop-culture.
That's because general education only focuses on what is relevant for the country's history. Students in Japan don't learn a whole lot about the West because its not relevant to their history until the Meiji restoration.
It always interests me how history is taught elsewhere, so perhaps for comparison - my German (Thuringian) curriculum as I remember it: - History begins as a school subject in 5th grade. Topics include everything from the first known history, across the Egyptian bronze age and ending approximately with Greek antiquity and the conquests of Alexander. - 6th grade is devoted to Rome: the mythological founding, establishment of the Republic, Punic wars, Ceasar, the rise and fall of the Empire and finally the great migration. - 7th grade picks up where we last left off, with Odoacer conquering Rome. From there we cover the Merowingian and Carolingian dynasties and the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the Reformation and ensuing wars. In the middle of all this, brief mention is given to transatlantic exploration and the beginning of colonialism. - 8th grade is the Enlightenment, French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, again with some colonialism mixed in, the Congress of Vienna and Restauration of the French monarchy, the German revolution of 1848, the founding of the Second Empire in 1871 all the way to World War 1 - 9th grade picks off at the Peace of Versaille and November Revolution, covering the Weimar Republic, coup attempts both communist and reactionary, the rise of the NSDAP, the Third Empire and, briefly, World War 2. - 10th grade goes into some more depth on the rule of the National Socialists and the Shoah, continuing to the postwar period, German division and the Cold War. (this is where school finishes for the Middle Maturity students) - 11th and 12th grade go into additional detail on some of the previous aspects, with some liberty give to the teacher's choice of subject. For us, it was Athenian Democracy and then a more detailed repeat of the last 200 years of German history. I'd really like to know the curricula of other places too.
As a person who has a personal and Familial interest in this area, I thank You for recording this essay! Note: The flag of Ghana is, Green for the land, Gold for the land's riches, and Black for the people of the land.
@@GottaZaynred is for the blood spilled in the fight for independence. Gold is for the natural resources as Ghana is one of the worlds largest producers. Green is for nature, lush forest and wildlife. Black represents the people and the star shape represents Ghana being the shining star for Africa as it was the first subsaharan African country to gain independence.
If you want a read on Timbuktu protecting their books that Blue doesn’t mention, look up “The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu.” It tells the story of the 2012 Al-Qaida backed militants attempt to destroy those manuscripts and the librarians act to protect them
I can't tell you how happy I was to see this video in my notifications! Timbuktu was one of my favorite West African cities to research alongside Kumasi and Edo (Benin City). It's economic, cultural and intellectual history is so fascinating and really underappreciated IMO. I hope we can recover, translate and archive as many manuscripts in Timbuktu, they could fill in so many holes in our understanding of both the city and the Sahelian Empires as a whole!
As someone training to be a book and paper conservator, all those hidden books are just amazing to comprehend. Thanks for making this video I never knew about so much of this!!
I love learning about African history. It’s so rarely discussed that it feels like a breath of fresh air when someone comes along and says “Hey! Africa has some cool shit too”! Great vid as always.
Wow wow wow... are you saying there is a whole bunch of primary sources about West African history, actually stored away with preserving in mind, just waiting to be found? ... I... I'm honestly astonished. I mean... we might get some actual history about Africa that's not focused on and/or recorded by Egypt or European colonists. This is huge!
You know what I noticed watching this that hit me half way through. We didnt get standard intro others do that mentioned how Africa was over looked in history so we dont have a lot of information. I dont know if was done because of time but I felt like the content respected the areas rich history for what we know about it today. Even when talking about ancient west Africa and rivers. good job.
I really like seeing more videos regarding African history. I appreciate learning about Roman and Greece, but I feel those and other European history gets highlighted a ton. Glad to see more stuff on African, Middle Eastern, and Asian history.
One of the most wealthiest and most powerful leaders in human history was a black African king and it’s a real shame that he doesn’t get the credit and recognition that he deserves.
We barely get good history about our own nations, I would be hesitant to think American schools would do African history any justice at all. Trusting the football coach/history teacher to do a good job researching African history is a tough ask.
My country has the opposite Problem, WE get so much in our own unpleasent History in Like every class in addition to the History classes so there plain was Not any space left for other History. Like WE Had slavery and colonialism mostly in english class instead of History, cause History was eaten Up by a Bit of Roman Empire and republic, a tiny Bit french Revolution and a hell of a Lot Nazi Germany and then occupation and seperation under the Allied forces . . .and Like world war one a Bit, AS context to how and why the Nazis came to power
I’ve never learned about African history (outside of Egypt) in school. It’s frustrating they don’t teach about such a fascinating and historical continent.
@@dengar96 Probably because learning about African nations histories isn't a need or a must for understanding the history of America. So why should they give justice to it when it's not needed? Of course, I'm talking from the perspective of history classes that are forced on you/the ones you need to take to learn about your own country. Extra curricular stuff that you can choose to take. Then I can understand the sentiment. Otherwise, you shouldn't be forced to learn about other countries histories and cultures that don't directly intersect with your own.
Thank you. 30 years ago, this would have been considered afrocentric non-sense despite all the evidence. I remember my parents teaching me about the Empires and when I'd bring it up in school, I was told Africans had nothing, did nothing, and were nothing. Not in those exact words but you get the point. Seeing non-African and non-afro diaspora historians cover such topics with taste is....refreshing.
I’m stunned. I don’t usually watch Blue’s videos but on some whim I decided to check this one out and it touched something in my soul. I wish more people knew about this amazing history and I’m glad this video will reach so many.
Whenever you post about African history I want to learn even more. I get so disappointed at how little I was taught in school and what I’ve been missing out on all this time.
@@ΣτελιοςΠεππας the Timbuktu Library has been standing longer than the United States has existed. Not to mention that it's on the edge of a LITERAL DESERT. I'd say you have to be pretty smart to make a city stand that long
I've spent over twenty years existing on this rock in space and until today I was never told Timbuktu was an actual place and not just some punchline!! Thank you for educating us
Africa has so much history and there's so little actual content addressing it that I am absolutely over the MOON anytime someone respectable like OSP puts a video out on it. My only option otherwise is to dig through academic papers myself, and without throwing shade on their authors, I think we all know how dull those are. Thank you so much, I absolutely love having entirely new histories opened up to me.
One of the craziest stories about Timbuktu comes from the city's recent history. When the book collection was threatened during a civil war about a decade ago, there was a massive effort to smuggle the books out of the city to save them.
I think the mosque designs are really cool. The protruding timbers look aesthetically pleasing, creating dimension on the otherwise flat and monochrome walls, while also being practical to the strucural maintenance.
I’ve visited and prayed in many grand mosques. But I feel like these gorgeous mosques in Mali are the most beautiful and splendid. Thank you Blue for taking us to Timbuktu
Really appreciate your dives into African history lately Blue! It's a huge blind spot in my world knowledge and you're answering some very basic questions I've held for a long time
This might be my favorite video yet and I am surprised. From the maintenance of the city itself preserving such ancients structures for who knows how long, to the perfect way they handled both the keeping of knowledge to the changing of times and preserving as much of that knowledge as possible. They just handled it flawlessly, so many times have I heard: That city was sacked and all it's books were burned, or: that city became irrelevant and disappeared into the river of history. They actually managed to preserve everything they had done in a way that made it seem like either they knew it was coming for the first time in human history or they were just wise enough to do the right thing with what they had even if it was selfless. I love how their structures actually keep people invested in maintaining their home and heritage. And how they continued to this day even after their city's relevance all but disappeared.
7:22 And just like that, the torons have become one of my favourite architectural designs. Stunning as many western and eastern architecture designs are, they're often a symbol of affluence. A way to show off wealth and power. The torons, on the other hand, were designed to be of help to those who maintain the building, thus becoming a symbol of community. It's beautiful in its simplicity.
@@ario2264 you mean the part of the video that says "being made of limestone or earthen bricks covered in wet soil"...? In other words, the structural elements are brick, with mud forming the exterior facade. You can see the limestone bricks poking through the mud at several points in the video, especially around doorways.
@@ario2264 To respond to you in kind -- earthen bricks are not "mud," as you falsely claim, and the buildings needed to be _refaced,_ not rebuilt, after the rainy season. Or in other words, basic maintenance was done on a protective outer layer to prevent the erosion of the actual underlying structure. The point about the recency of the limestone might be interesting, or have some weight, if it came from someone whose criticism did not so strongly resemble bad faith. As is, you appear to be actively looking for the least charitable way to interpret the video and your interlocutor's statements every time you respond, even down to nitpicking terminology which conveys understanding of underlying reality just fine, without ever offering any points of your own. I am unimpressed by your critique, to say the least.
I watch several history channels but I need to say that yours just is the most memorable overall. Applying pop culture, memes and humor to your history videos not only makes them more digestible but more memorable. The ultimate testament to that being me finishing your almost 3 hour Rome video and being like, "Wait there's no more?!" You do good work thank you!
Help! I'm feeling emotional about a mosque design! I've always wondered about the poles sticking out of some central African architecture. That's amazing and beautiful
I learned a little bit about Timbuktu in my history class, but god is it so much cooler than I was lead to believe. Osp has a way of finding all the most interesting and life like parts of cultures and stories to explain and analyze pieces of history in a away thats engaging and true to the people who lived it. I always wondered why such a rich culture had clay houses and uninteresting architecture, but thats just cause we only ever looked at old white peoples depictions of it and not a real photo or something made by natives. And the whole reasoning behind the built in scaffolding and clay, like a garden you tend, is sooo cool.
I don’t know if it is a cool thing or a shame that the only reason I had already heard of Mansa Musa was because he featured in a Carmen Sandiego video game. That whole region sounds so cool and their history deserves more recognition.
I remember hearing about him in a couple places myself, though I think (and I might be misremembering) my first time hearing about him was in "the history of the world, I guess" by Bill Wurtz
Some things: When I was a child, Timbuktu was often mentioned in the same breath as the clearly made-up "Farawayistan" in Danish translated Donald Duck comics, so I periodically get reminded that it did, in fact, exist. Since the other one was clearly a country, I just thought Timbuktu was, too. I think it took this video until I realized it was only a city.
One of the best OSP videos ever. Lines up pretty well with my African History classes in college, but much shorter and accessible to wide audiences. Bravo ❤
5:58 This image with Blue's narration makes me feel fascinated and sad at the same time. Thanks to the story I learned from one of Jacob Geller's videos.
In regards to the sources in the description, I've read Joshua Hammer' book on the Badass Librarians of Timbuktu and would highly recommend it. The story of the city is well laid out in the beginning chapters and does an amazing job presenting the major modern-(ish) influences on the city's history. Plus the first few chapters are really funny to read.
When I was little, I watched Disney's The Aristocrats and, in the end scene, there is a comment about sending someone off to Timbuktu. For a long time I assumed this was a made up place name. Some years ago I came across it again and realised it was actually a very real place in Africa! It was an unexpected treat to see a video on this topic as I never did end up learning what made this place special, and now I know. ❤
Any city that has a ridiculous amount of books is on my cool list! Timbuktu has fascinated me for years. Really glad to see you make a video on it with your utter excitement and enthusiasm for interesting history, wherever it may be.
I love african history! Thank you so much Blue for giving us actual information on this fascinating yet rarely discussed piece of our world. I think we would all gain a lot if you made more videos on the subject of Africa! (Fun fact, I found this channel because of the Great Zimbabwe video)
PLEASE DO MORE VIDEOS ON MEDIEVAL AFRICA. this is my Favourite time period of west African history that honestly not many no of other than Mansa Musa There are so many Kingdoms and city states that can be explored
If anyone wants to know more about this, I recommend the book "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu." It goes into Timbuktu's history as a scholarly city while also telling the story of the people who enacted a plan to save Timbuktu's precious manuscripts from members of the Taliban who wanted to destroy them, because Timbuktu's rather different - and unusually tolerant - take on Islam was viewed by them as offensive. I found it very interesting. (Honestly, the fact they don't teach African history more in Western schools is mind boggling to me. Africa is a lot less primitive than Western sources would have you think).
When I was a kid, we used Timbuktu as shorthand for 'nowhere place at the ass end of the world' and 'scram off to Timbuktu' (or something to that effect) was a sort-of PG version of go to Hell Learning about Timbuktu now makes me realize that our dumbassed preconceptions back then could not have been further from the truth. Thank you, Blue, for sharing the love for culture and knowledge and hopefully correcting more such preconceptions in the future.
Can you do a history summarized of Beirut? The city that used to be called the “paris of the middle east” but that then fell victim to religious violence and corruption
I've been working on a campaign setting and this is huge! One of the major cities I've been working on is a trade hub on the edge of a desert, and this has given me so much more to think about beyond "Uhhhh it's Ul'dah but without Lalafels I guess?". Thanks!
What's actually surprising to me is that traders haven't been sailing along the northwest African coast down to Ghana/Mali for significantly longer instead of walking through the desert on camels. Like, the only thing you'd HAVE to stock up on the way is water, you'd never have to sail out of sight of the coast, so ships that work in the Mediterranean should also work there.
Because the sea route was difficult. The Atlantic is far rougher than the Mediterranean and few safe harbors on the west coast (and therefore difficulty in restocking water, remember the Sahara goes right to the coast). Among other things getting safely around Cape Bojador (and back) usually meant sailing out of sight of land (bad winds and reefs extending well out to sea that could wreck a ship).
As someone from america, whos knowledge of world history is largely Eurocentric, i absolutly love learning more about african history especially pre euopean colonization. Thanks alot Blue
@@ario2264 Genuinely question, how do you define university? And ESPECIALLY how do you define library? I would agrue there was a university. But I understand how you can argue otherwise cause it wouldn't meet modern standards. But how can you argue there wasn't a library? A library is literally just a large collection of books. Timbuktu clearly had many of these. Some families literally still own hundreds of books and have shared them. How can you argue there wasn't a library?
Can I just say how much I appreciate the time we live in? I remember when I was a kid, asking my mom if Timbuktu was really a place. She genuinely did not know, and given that this was a time before Pocket Internet, we didn't have the resources to look it up. Now--not only is that information readily accessible, there's a succinct and thoughtful video celebrating its existence and the knowledge it has to offer. This place that was embedded in my childhood cultural consciousness as only meaning "far away" now feels, not only real, but alive and vibrant...and just a little bit closer.
As a native arabic speaker, I truly do appreciate Blue's attempt at pronouncing the words. Sure the pronounciation isn't perfect, but it means alot for someone to actually make an effort to pronounce the words correctly instead of just "english-ing" it. Props!
In one of Steven Brust’s novels, there’s town the locals called “fjord.” Then invaders with a new language came, and called it + fjord. This happens 7-8 times, until you’ve got town named “fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord” after you unwind all the translations.
Ancient slavery wasn't better than the triangle trade. In fact, the "industry" of slavery was largely unchanged in the african region until at some places it was abolished. Difference from triangle trade is that the slaves were kept "in house" so to speak, africans enslaving each other, whilst triangle trade pulled the population to the new world.
The industry of slavery with Europeans very much changed the power dynamic in Western Africa. But that's just because Europe was a mastodonte of power and efficiency, everything they did, good or bad, had far more impacts than the other less powerful civilisations.
@@mrsupremegascon The power dynamic change can be traced to the facts that the slaves were taken out of the continent and that europe was a semi-constant buying power vs. the often waning african ones. However, that wasn't the topic. The topic is that according to blue the triangle trade was "worse" than the ancient type of slavery, which is fale on the grounds that it didn't change much in the ways of implementation: African power A beats B and takes X% population as slaves (sometimes the entire population), and either keeps it for own markets or sells them to others. The slaves themselves are to do any work they are given, are treated lower than their captors, and are considered property/ cattle. The arrival of europeans (just the british and portugese tbh) did indeed significantly increase the rate at which africans enslaved each other, but in the system itself there wasn't much change. Well, besides the price of slaves skyrocketing, going from 12 manilas (copper wrist/ ankle loops) to 40.
@@kovi567the trans saharan slave trade lasted 700 years. The trans atlantic slave trade lasted 300 years. Yet they sold the same amount of slaves. To say it only increased the rate of slavery is very disingenuous. Not to mention under the first example not every person titled slave was an actual slave. Most were servants or paying off debt but get lumped together as 1 so people like can prop up the numbers. You could also marry into the family of your owner, such a thing was impossible in the new world. Slavery is wrong in scenario but your attempts to beliitle the trans atlantic trade is pathetic.
@@AYTM1200 Trans atlantic slaves also were able to be freed in different ways, and in fact were prominent members of abolitionst movements. They were also slaves of every different kind, the only difference is that when an indentured slave was sold to the colonizing nations, they become property slaves (which for the record was also communicated to the sellers, so the blacks and arabs selling their slaves to europeans are just as much to blame). Furthermore, the atlantic slave trade lasted 400 years, whilst trans-saharan slave trade lasted 1200-1300 years. It also only moved a bit more than half of the trans atlantic amount. 7.2 mil contra 12.8 mil. I'd also like to point out that you are arguing against a strawman. If you'd have actually read what I wrote, you'd see I said the arrival of europeans did indeed significantly increase the rate at which africans enslaved each other, as there were constant demand for it. You even pointed out that in a lesser time they moved the same amount of slaves (which is incorrect, congrats on not even reading up on the topic). So why would I be disingenous? I said the same thing as you did. Next time do actual research (or at least check the wiki if you are too lazy) before calling the other party patchetic for things they didn't even do. Just to point out: I'm not belittling the trans atlantic slave trade. What I'm saying is that the industry of slavery, regardless of time and place, is equally horrible, and all the european, african, asian and american people that engaged in it were equally evil.
when the French colonized Algiers..90% of the people knew how to read and write when they left..the rate was 10 to 15% they burned so many libraries luckily Timbuktu's library survived
"River of Rivers River"
That just means it's the ULTIMATE river.
Eh it's okay
Reminds me of the fact that a lot of the rivers in England are named avon... which is an old breton word for river
the final boss of rivers
The Mekong River in South East Asia and the Ouseburn River in Newcastle upon Tyne in England both mean have river river river as their names as well.
River³
Ah, the River of Rivers River that's just south of the Desert Desert, of course.
Now all they need is an ATM machine and some PIN numbers and we can complete misstatement bingo
This comment made me spit out my chai tea
They are, of course, on the same landmass of Lake Lake
If I ever go to LA I want to see The The Tar Tar Pits.
It’s right by the sahil shore 😂
As a young person in Australia in the 70’s and 80’s, the phrase “Go to Timbuktu” was a mild insult to go get lost. Like many children, and also like my Grandmother, I believed that Timbuktu was a remote Australian town out in the outback (check out Australian town names and you will see Timbuktu would fit right in). Grandma used to tell her children to “Go to Timbuktu” when they were naughty. Much to her surprised at some point in the 80’s her Eldest Son, working as a oil man in strange places all around the world, sent her a letter from Timbuktu just to let her know he’d found the place!
Here in my part of the USA (PA), we say "From Timbuktu to Kalamazoo" to mean either something was everywhere, or a really long trip. Kalamazoo is a small city in Michigan, USA, so pretty much the far side of the world from Timbuktu
That is just such an Australian story.
@@adude20 As in where they used to make the checker cabs? yes, heard of it even in the damp end of the surrey hills
Even in India
My mom grew up in Korea and she would threaten to send me to Africa if I was bad 😂
Finally, someone explaining the history of Timbuktu instead of using it as a punchline to mean "place that's waaay over there that I've never been to". That being said, that place is waaay over there and I've never been there.
Honestly, as someone that's been told that punchline way too many times, this comment is genuinely hilarious.
Now this is a brilliant set up and punch line. Bravo 😂
All joking aside. I legitimately thought this place was in the U.S. you know somewhere like Montana.
As a kid I legitimately thought Timbuktu was a made up place that people used to say for somewhere that was way to far away to actually visit.
@@timtheasianinc thought it was next to alberquerque
Your dedication to typing correct arabic word instead of backward one is admirable
I've learned my lesson - don't type it out, screencap it. Leave nothing to chance (like when photoshop decided to render all my pasted text backwards in the Ibn Khaldun video rip)
-B
@@OverlySarcasticProductions
Hi Blue congrats on your engagement
@@OverlySarcasticProductions Also nice catch using the N'Ko script for the Manding languages of West Africa! Not terribly historically accurate, but important to recognize the literary culture of that region no matter how recent.
@@OverlySarcasticProductions There's a magic unicode character at the start of the text that tells it to render backwards (right to left). Pretty easy to copy the letters without getting that. Some programs will also strip it since it can mess up all text that comes after and e.g. make all your English text backwards.
@@gkky-xx4mc You don't know what 'literary' means, do you.
"We heard you like rivers so we put rivers in your rivers so you can river while you river."
Just don't be in denial when someone catches you trying to steal their River
Bro it's been so long since I've seen this meme. Thank you for bringing this old man joy 😅
Down at the river
Yo Dawg
Yo Dawg😂😂. Thanks for this. Brings back memories 😄
"Salt comes from the North, gold from the South, and silver from the country of white men, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu."
What a cool line. It really paints a very cool picture of the world these people lived in.
I hope to find lines like these more if I go to study history as well.
If Timbuktu was so great how come there wasn't a Timbukthree?
Checkmate historical anthropologists
because it didn't need a third attempt. ;)
But where is timbukone?
@@runningthemeta5570those poor sons of-er we don't talk about Timbukone
*laughing in timbuksix* i'm 3 timbuk's ahead of you
Man, between this and Blue's previous video, linguistics are really kicking our boy's ass
The Sahara Desert was filled to the brim with the slave trade AND sand?!? I think Anakin just found a new nemesis...
leave it to obi wan to comment this lmaoo
Obi-Wan! Im a big fan of your work
Bloody legend
Note: Timbuktu prospered despite significant power changes until the Moroccans invaded the Songhai Empire in 1590 and started to take control of the city in 1591 following the Battle of Tondibi.
Due to the majority of university faculty members being executed or banished in 1593 for their disloyalty to the newly established rulers, the city's importance declined along with trade, which was negatively impacted by increased competition from newly opened transatlantic sailing routes.
There weren't any university faculty members.
@@ario2264 While there wasn't a university system in the same manner as Europe (having a variety of independent schools for each teacher), he is most likely referring to the highest ranking Ulama of the city, who would have been the equivalent to a professor. Everything else is very true thought, the Moroccan invasion force did a purge of intellectuals in Timbuktu.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@@AdamWood-dx7xm They were all Berbers from North Africa anyway. Just some Muslim legal/ religious scholars with their own private students. There was no 'university', 'university faculty' or 'library'.
@@ario2264This is simply not True. The Tuareg are a nomadic people even to this day, not settled agrarian with large urban centers. The prominence of Timbuktu is a direct result of its annexation & expansion by the Mandé Emperor Kankan Musa Keita. It would be purposefully filled with scholars from across his empire mostly of Soninke, Mandé & Songhai orgin, all Niger-Congo & Chadic peoples. Berbers & Arabs were categorised as "Bidan" (pale/white) most berbers that interacted with these cities being traders & not permanent residents, they were even given specific ethnic districts. You dont need a Bidan quarter in a Berber city anymore than you would need an Italian quarter in Milan. Relations between the Soudan (literally means land of the blacks) and the bidan nomads werent always cordial either. A Songhai King, Suni Ali Ber was infamous for driving them out of the cities and massacring entire clans of nomads in punitive campaigns. Askya Muhammad Toure drove Sephardic Jews out of his cities in a drive to standardise religious practice. It is only after the Moroccan invasion where we get the new rulers of the Niger bend trying to justify their rule by claiming the forebearers of Sahelian states came from Yemen (not even the Magreb which is where berbers are from) leaning on the very common practice of Muslim rulers of West Africa claiming a distant ancestorial link to Bilal the ethiopian companion of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. This should be taken as seriously as the Christian irish monks claiming the first irish were from Ancient Troy. All evidence, genetic, archaeology, linguistic & historiographical confirms local origins. As for there being no universities, Ibn Battuta famously went there thinking he could acquire a commission as a judge and professor, only to be told he didnt meet the academic requirements. Timbuktu had multiple competing Madrasas with an international student body. So prominent were the Scholars of Timbuktu that they would hold sway on succession to the title of Mansa & Askya, leading to the Emperors bestowing upon them lavish gifts of land, people, and material.
Time to learn about the place everyone says they can throw something to, and why neighboring civilizations nearly had their economies collapsed when it's emperor visited. Another great time from Blue.
Letting your rivals collapse by bombing their economies with gold sounds like a effective, yet costly strategy.
@@_jpg and now, according to the Ted-Ed Video “The True Cost of Gold”, French Corporations control all of Mali’s gold.
This explains why, in Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, the Wakandans were sharing Vibrainium technology with Mali, and also why the French got mad and tried to do what the French Intelligence do.
He gave out gold on his way to Mecca not "neighbouring civilizations" but you must be always negative
4:04 does this mean Red is making a video on the Epic of Sundiata? If so, it would be awesome to see her tackle the “Lion King of Mali”!
MY DREAM !!! The story of Sundjata deserves a movie, an anime and a game !! It is so epic yet so underrated ❤❤❤❤
Djibril Tamsir Niane’s play was my favorite book as a child.
Please! I would love to see her tackle it!
@@dandelion_16would love it if it was a collaboration with another channel who’s been doing African Literature longer too. Boosts are good. Collaborations are good.
God I'm begging for this
Blue, you literally nearly made me cry today. This one video basically condensed much of the research I'd been doing for my own pan African fantasy world that focuses on a nation based on the Mali empire while pulling in elements from all 3 of the empires listed here and demonstrates exactly why I made the decisions I did. And thank you so much for highlighting the libraries and emphasis on scholarship. So many depictions of Africa focus on the oral tradition and pretend both that it's untrustworthy and that because of its importance that some cultures in Africa didn't have a written or literacy focused tradition as well. Always great to see that myth dispelled.
I recommend watching Ted-Ed’s video on Timbuktu if you haven’t already. They go into a lot more detail on how the people of Timbuktu have been saving their books and culture through literal underground resistance networks for centuries. The focus there is resistance to the French, but still the whole early modern history is covered too.
But, isn't it actually true that having a manuscript from year 1200 gives you a lot more confidence than hearing a story that originated in 1200? No pretending here.
@@muskyoxes Depends on who's telling it, how and how they learned it. A griot isn't a mere child playing telephone the way most people try to pretend they are.
Oh how I love the emotion behind that “YET”
Remember when a butler was about to send a cat and her kittens to that place?
Yeah. Me too 😂
I guess sometimes school is a fate worse than death.
We just watched that one yesterday
He would have been better off sending them to Abu Dhabi!
@@AaronCorr Aristocats?
So, fun fact. Timbuktu is twinned with six different places, being Chemnitz in Germany, Kairouan in Tunisia, Marrakesh in Morocco, Saintes in France, Tempe (in Arizona) in the US and (my personal favourite) a charming little town in mid-Wales called Hay-on-Wye. I've actually been there and I have never been so sad to leave a place. It's absolutely delightful. The town's economy is almost entirely predicated on books and there are second-hand stores EVERYWHERE. I got my first copy of the Sword in the Stone from Hay-on-Wye, among a number of other volumes. Blue, if you're ever in Wales for whatever reason, I cannot recommend a visit highly enough.
Twinned? What does that mean
@@ballisticm0use72 mostly it means the cities made a public declaration of friendship. sometimes called "sister cities" in the US. often they do some sort of cultural exchange/outreach stuff, promote tourism, etc. More of a symbol than a strict legal concept
@@Mcdt2 Pretty much that, yeah. I actually still have the little map I got from my visit. I remember entering the town and seeing the sign proudly proclaim "Hay-on-Wye, Twinned with Timbuktu."
Fucking CHEMNITZ of all places? Didn't expect that twist
Tempe*, AZ.
It amazes me how little western education teaches about Africa.
It wasn't until I was a teenager that found out Africa isn't a continent of deserts. Since, I all I was taught about Africa was Egypt.
And it wasn't until this video that I learned Timbuktu was in Africa. I thought it was Asian 😔
An argument could be made that the Asian equivalent to Timbuktu is Samarkand.
Unfortunately it’s significantly harder to find textual sources for West Africa and those that exist are kinda dangerous to see. A lot of the texts in Timbuktu have actually been in danger of being destroyed by extremist groups in Mail to the extent that random citizens have to hide them in their own houses instead of the libraries.
Yeah as someone who now focuses a lot on the Sahel, Maghreb, in my history masters, it is pretty shameful how generally speaking Western schools kind of avoid Africa both in history and geography. That's a generalisation, im sure many ppl might have different experiences cuz 'Western Education' is a oversimplifying the education of two or more continents of countries. Talking of oversimplification, the fact a lot of ppl still talk about Africa as Africa, just naming the whole continent, 1.2 billion people, 54 or so countries, and yet we keep referring to it as ONE place and ONE culture/people/history. I mean its often been mocked how Americans can't name countries on a map, but lets be serious, how many schools in the world actually take a map of Africa and try to teach you each country. And sorry but just becuz we have google maps doesn't excuse not teaching that. Timbuktu is one of those few idioms relating to Africa that is still very well-known and repeated in the West, the same way most ppl are familiar with Hannibal or Ramses/Cleopatra/Nefertiti, even when most of us have no idea of what they mean.
i think at least nowadays plenty schools talk about colonisation of specific regions, which is sometimes even more insulting that you learn about how massive the slave trade is and they dont even tell you about any of the achievements of African kingdoms, leaders, artists, political figures, resistance fighters etc. But luckily there's so many books and articles and scholarly research on the African continent, some regions more than others, I think in terms of pre-colonial history North Africa is definitely most well-known to most of the West, whereas there's still a lot more to discover in terms of archeology and records in much of the interior of Africa, in the Sahel/Sahara, or the Congo. That's what makes researching and reading up on the many different histories of, or in, Africa always interesting becuz there's a lot of fascinating stuff that just is never mentioned in pop-culture.
That's because general education only focuses on what is relevant for the country's history. Students in Japan don't learn a whole lot about the West because its not relevant to their history until the Meiji restoration.
It always interests me how history is taught elsewhere, so perhaps for comparison - my German (Thuringian) curriculum as I remember it:
- History begins as a school subject in 5th grade. Topics include everything from the first known history, across the Egyptian bronze age and ending approximately with Greek antiquity and the conquests of Alexander.
- 6th grade is devoted to Rome: the mythological founding, establishment of the Republic, Punic wars, Ceasar, the rise and fall of the Empire and finally the great migration.
- 7th grade picks up where we last left off, with Odoacer conquering Rome. From there we cover the Merowingian and Carolingian dynasties and the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the Reformation and ensuing wars. In the middle of all this, brief mention is given to transatlantic exploration and the beginning of colonialism.
- 8th grade is the Enlightenment, French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, again with some colonialism mixed in, the Congress of Vienna and Restauration of the French monarchy, the German revolution of 1848, the founding of the Second Empire in 1871 all the way to World War 1
- 9th grade picks off at the Peace of Versaille and November Revolution, covering the Weimar Republic, coup attempts both communist and reactionary, the rise of the NSDAP, the Third Empire and, briefly, World War 2.
- 10th grade goes into some more depth on the rule of the National Socialists and the Shoah, continuing to the postwar period, German division and the Cold War.
(this is where school finishes for the Middle Maturity students)
- 11th and 12th grade go into additional detail on some of the previous aspects, with some liberty give to the teacher's choice of subject. For us, it was Athenian Democracy and then a more detailed repeat of the last 200 years of German history.
I'd really like to know the curricula of other places too.
As a person who has a personal and Familial interest in this area, I thank You for recording this essay! Note: The flag of Ghana is, Green for the land, Gold for the land's riches, and Black for the people of the land.
What about red?
@@GottaZaynred is for the blood spilled in the fight for independence.
Gold is for the natural resources as Ghana is one of the worlds largest producers.
Green is for nature, lush forest and wildlife.
Black represents the people and the star shape represents Ghana being the shining star for Africa as it was the first subsaharan African country to gain independence.
African history is the most fascinating and slept on part of history and I will DIE on that hill!!
Thanks for covering more of it!
Huts and camels, and a bunch of muslim wars. Wow, what a history
If you want a read on Timbuktu protecting their books that Blue doesn’t mention, look up “The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu.” It tells the story of the 2012 Al-Qaida backed militants attempt to destroy those manuscripts and the librarians act to protect them
Thankyou for the book recommendation. I really enjoyed it:)
That YET makes me extremely excited for more African history with Blue in the future
I can't tell you how happy I was to see this video in my notifications! Timbuktu was one of my favorite West African cities to research alongside Kumasi and Edo (Benin City). It's economic, cultural and intellectual history is so fascinating and really underappreciated IMO. I hope we can recover, translate and archive as many manuscripts in Timbuktu, they could fill in so many holes in our understanding of both the city and the Sahelian Empires as a whole!
What about Chinguetti? It's a fascinating city in of itself...
As someone training to be a book and paper conservator, all those hidden books are just amazing to comprehend. Thanks for making this video I never knew about so much of this!!
I love learning about African history. It’s so rarely discussed that it feels like a breath of fresh air when someone comes along and says “Hey! Africa has some cool shit too”! Great vid as always.
No lies detected
I’m a Maliaboo and seeing a Timbuktu series warns my heart
Wow wow wow... are you saying there is a whole bunch of primary sources about West African history, actually stored away with preserving in mind, just waiting to be found?
...
I... I'm honestly astonished. I mean... we might get some actual history about Africa that's not focused on and/or recorded by Egypt or European colonists. This is huge!
Egypt was a black african civilisation. Coming from a Cameroonian ancient Egyptiand culture is extremly african.
You know what I noticed watching this that hit me half way through. We didnt get standard intro others do that mentioned how Africa was over looked in history so we dont have a lot of information. I dont know if was done because of time but I felt like the content respected the areas rich history for what we know about it today. Even when talking about ancient west Africa and rivers. good job.
Wouldn't be Friday without OSP
So true
Indubitably
I really like seeing more videos regarding African history. I appreciate learning about Roman and Greece, but I feel those and other European history gets highlighted a ton. Glad to see more stuff on African, Middle Eastern, and Asian history.
One of the most wealthiest and most powerful leaders in human history was a black African king and it’s a real shame that he doesn’t get the credit and recognition that he deserves.
Mansa Musa? He also had slaves toiling in his gold mines.
@@l_pin5930 Well, most leaders have done that, especially in the past.
I may only hope that Africa continues to create those type of leaders. In power, wealth, and kindness.
@@l_pin5930that doesn't disprove anything blackwater said. Nor was / is he the only rich dude to have slaves working for his wealth.
@@senittoaoflightning4404 oh, I'm not criticising it, but I see plenty of videos stating that "slavery is a western invention" which is pure nonsense.
Thank you for teaching me about African history because for some dumb reson my school doesn't teach ANY OF IT not even the cool stuff😢
We barely get good history about our own nations, I would be hesitant to think American schools would do African history any justice at all. Trusting the football coach/history teacher to do a good job researching African history is a tough ask.
My country has the opposite Problem, WE get so much in our own unpleasent History in Like every class in addition to the History classes so there plain was Not any space left for other History. Like WE Had slavery and colonialism mostly in english class instead of History, cause History was eaten Up by a Bit of Roman Empire and republic, a tiny Bit french Revolution and a hell of a Lot Nazi Germany and then occupation and seperation under the Allied forces . . .and Like world war one a Bit, AS context to how and why the Nazis came to power
I’ve never learned about African history (outside of Egypt) in school. It’s frustrating they don’t teach about such a fascinating and historical continent.
@@kako128 most of africa was technically pre-historic prior to the arrival of europeans
@@dengar96 Probably because learning about African nations histories isn't a need or a must for understanding the history of America. So why should they give justice to it when it's not needed?
Of course, I'm talking from the perspective of history classes that are forced on you/the ones you need to take to learn about your own country.
Extra curricular stuff that you can choose to take. Then I can understand the sentiment. Otherwise, you shouldn't be forced to learn about other countries histories and cultures that don't directly intersect with your own.
Thank you. 30 years ago, this would have been considered afrocentric non-sense despite all the evidence. I remember my parents teaching me about the Empires and when I'd bring it up in school, I was told Africans had nothing, did nothing, and were nothing. Not in those exact words but you get the point. Seeing non-African and non-afro diaspora historians cover such topics with taste is....refreshing.
I’m stunned. I don’t usually watch Blue’s videos but on some whim I decided to check this one out and it touched something in my soul. I wish more people knew about this amazing history and I’m glad this video will reach so many.
I think a lot of us (me included) discovered the gem that is Blue that way. My fave vid of his is the plague video
Why _wouldn’t_ you watch Blue’s videos?
You should check out his Zimbabwe vid if you haven't yet!
Haha I’m the opposite, because I’m a history nerd I usually watch Blue’s videos and not red lol , I like them both tho
Whenever you post about African history I want to learn even more. I get so disappointed at how little I was taught in school and what I’ve been missing out on all this time.
This is why the Malians/Songhai are often a playable civilization in games such as the Age of Empires series or Civilization series.
And also why the University of Sankore is a wonder in Civ VI and maybe later versions.
i got 500 million power in rise of kingdoms
@@Reckless211 What does that mean?
Tibuktu, Great Zimbabwe, and the rock hewn Churches of Lalibela are 3 amazing examples of African ingenuity.
Throwing in the coral cities like Kilwa and the pyramids of Meroê
Man, some people have low standards...
@@ΣτελιοςΠεππας what do you mean, exactly?
@noahjohnson935 That I can't see how they require "ingenuity." Craftsmanship, yes, especially the churches. But ingenuity? Really?
@@ΣτελιοςΠεππας the Timbuktu Library has been standing longer than the United States has existed. Not to mention that it's on the edge of a LITERAL DESERT. I'd say you have to be pretty smart to make a city stand that long
The old name of that river reminds me of the scientific name of the Eurasian brown bear, Ursus arctos arctos (literally "bear bear bear").
I’ve always wondered why this place keeps getting referenced in British settings like The Aristocats, and now I know! Thank you Blue!
It was also French controlled at the time so it must of been cheaper to ship to than Bora Bora.
_The Aristocats_ takes place in France.
@Xalerdane I bet you're real fun st party's
Jokes aside that's something i did not know. Thanks for the information?
This was fun, especially since for most schools Africa barely exists. Love any city whose claim to fame is books and knowledge!
.... I genuinely did not know Timbuktu actually existed. Thank you for teaching stuff, Blue!
I've spent over twenty years existing on this rock in space and until today I was never told Timbuktu was an actual place and not just some punchline!! Thank you for educating us
The architecture of those mosques gives me BIG dune vibes. I adore it
The fremen culture is heavily influenced by Islam and Saharan culture
They even practice a form of Sunni Islam combined with Zen Buddhism.
_Do not ask me how that works, I have no idea._
@@dengar96 I was aware of the overall Islamic influence, but the Saharan part is new info to me. Makes me love the books even more!
@@Xalerdane knowing the series I'd guess the space cocaine makes it make sense lmao
@@motorcitymangababe There isn’t enough magic space cocaine in the universe to explain the Orange-Catholic Bible.
Africa has so much history and there's so little actual content addressing it that I am absolutely over the MOON anytime someone respectable like OSP puts a video out on it. My only option otherwise is to dig through academic papers myself, and without throwing shade on their authors, I think we all know how dull those are.
Thank you so much, I absolutely love having entirely new histories opened up to me.
One of the craziest stories about Timbuktu comes from the city's recent history. When the book collection was threatened during a civil war about a decade ago, there was a massive effort to smuggle the books out of the city to save them.
I think the mosque designs are really cool. The protruding timbers look aesthetically pleasing, creating dimension on the otherwise flat and monochrome walls, while also being practical to the strucural maintenance.
I’ve visited and prayed in many grand mosques. But I feel like these gorgeous mosques in Mali are the most beautiful and splendid. Thank you Blue for taking us to Timbuktu
THANK YOU FOR DOING MORE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN HISTORY, SO MANY MORE PEOPLE SHOULD LEARN HOW FASCINATING IT IS
African history is so underrated. Please release more of these.
Really appreciate your dives into African history lately Blue! It's a huge blind spot in my world knowledge and you're answering some very basic questions I've held for a long time
Had no idea what the reason was for the particular architecture of Timbuktu. Fascinating!
Learning about the layers of meaning in the local architecture genuinely moved me. Everything in this video was fascinating.
Sound like Red’s gonna have a video to make soon. The Epic of Sundiata sounds interesting.
This might be my favorite video yet and I am surprised.
From the maintenance of the city itself preserving such ancients structures for who knows how long, to the perfect way they handled both the keeping of knowledge to the changing of times and preserving as much of that knowledge as possible.
They just handled it flawlessly, so many times have I heard: That city was sacked and all it's books were burned, or: that city became irrelevant and disappeared into the river of history.
They actually managed to preserve everything they had done in a way that made it seem like either they knew it was coming for the first time in human history or they were just wise enough to do the right thing with what they had even if it was selfless. I love how their structures actually keep people invested in maintaining their home and heritage. And how they continued to this day even after their city's relevance all but disappeared.
7:22 And just like that, the torons have become one of my favourite architectural designs.
Stunning as many western and eastern architecture designs are, they're often a symbol of affluence. A way to show off wealth and power. The torons, on the other hand, were designed to be of help to those who maintain the building, thus becoming a symbol of community. It's beautiful in its simplicity.
in other words they were built from mud (not limestone as this video falsely claims) so they needed to be rebuilt after every rainy season.
@@ario2264 you mean the part of the video that says "being made of limestone or earthen bricks covered in wet soil"...? In other words, the structural elements are brick, with mud forming the exterior facade. You can see the limestone bricks poking through the mud at several points in the video, especially around doorways.
@@LincolnDWard some of the buildings were reinforced with limestone blocks recently. Originally they were just mud/clay and wood.
@@ario2264 To respond to you in kind -- earthen bricks are not "mud," as you falsely claim, and the buildings needed to be _refaced,_ not rebuilt, after the rainy season. Or in other words, basic maintenance was done on a protective outer layer to prevent the erosion of the actual underlying structure.
The point about the recency of the limestone might be interesting, or have some weight, if it came from someone whose criticism did not so strongly resemble bad faith. As is, you appear to be actively looking for the least charitable way to interpret the video and your interlocutor's statements every time you respond, even down to nitpicking terminology which conveys understanding of underlying reality just fine, without ever offering any points of your own. I am unimpressed by your critique, to say the least.
@@jemolk8945 Do you think I care? You don't even have the slightest knowledge of what you're talking about.
I watch several history channels but I need to say that yours just is the most memorable overall. Applying pop culture, memes and humor to your history videos not only makes them more digestible but more memorable. The ultimate testament to that being me finishing your almost 3 hour Rome video and being like, "Wait there's no more?!" You do good work thank you!
Help! I'm feeling emotional about a mosque design!
I've always wondered about the poles sticking out of some central African architecture. That's amazing and beautiful
Your point on how the architecture facilitated the communal aspect of the culture rewired my brain. Definitely one of my favorite cities now.
River of rivers river might be the biggest flex I’ve seen from a freshwater body of water. 😁 Thank you for the video, Blue!💙
I learned a little bit about Timbuktu in my history class, but god is it so much cooler than I was lead to believe. Osp has a way of finding all the most interesting and life like parts of cultures and stories to explain and analyze pieces of history in a away thats engaging and true to the people who lived it. I always wondered why such a rich culture had clay houses and uninteresting architecture, but thats just cause we only ever looked at old white peoples depictions of it and not a real photo or something made by natives. And the whole reasoning behind the built in scaffolding and clay, like a garden you tend, is sooo cool.
I don’t know if it is a cool thing or a shame that the only reason I had already heard of Mansa Musa was because he featured in a Carmen Sandiego video game. That whole region sounds so cool and their history deserves more recognition.
I remember hearing about him in a couple places myself, though I think (and I might be misremembering) my first time hearing about him was in "the history of the world, I guess" by Bill Wurtz
Dudette, I first heard of Mansa Musa in a board game, but I really found out about him in an ERB, Epic Rap Battles of History! Video.
Begin!!!
Someday, go on UA-cam and look up The History Teacher's song about him.
I once went to Oulata,another University town in the desert.Its in Mauritania,wonderful place.
Some things: When I was a child, Timbuktu was often mentioned in the same breath as the clearly made-up "Farawayistan" in Danish translated Donald Duck comics, so I periodically get reminded that it did, in fact, exist. Since the other one was clearly a country, I just thought Timbuktu was, too. I think it took this video until I realized it was only a city.
In English there is an idiom "From here to Timbuktu" which means somewhere faraway and unfamiliar
One of the best OSP videos ever. Lines up pretty well with my African History classes in college, but much shorter and accessible to wide audiences. Bravo ❤
5:58 This image with Blue's narration makes me feel fascinated and sad at the same time. Thanks to the story I learned from one of Jacob Geller's videos.
In regards to the sources in the description, I've read Joshua Hammer' book on the Badass Librarians of Timbuktu and would highly recommend it. The story of the city is well laid out in the beginning chapters and does an amazing job presenting the major modern-(ish) influences on the city's history. Plus the first few chapters are really funny to read.
And somewhere in the area is an old butler named Edgar complaining about cats... 😁
When I was little, I watched Disney's The Aristocrats and, in the end scene, there is a comment about sending someone off to Timbuktu. For a long time I assumed this was a made up place name. Some years ago I came across it again and realised it was actually a very real place in Africa! It was an unexpected treat to see a video on this topic as I never did end up learning what made this place special, and now I know. ❤
Me, nodding along to "gold, ivory, rock salt, food," having no idea the next word would hit me like a brick.
Any city that has a ridiculous amount of books is on my cool list! Timbuktu has fascinated me for years. Really glad to see you make a video on it with your utter excitement and enthusiasm for interesting history, wherever it may be.
My name is Sahil (ساحل)!
And I had no idea about all this! Pretty neat!
I love african history! Thank you so much Blue for giving us actual information on this fascinating yet rarely discussed piece of our world.
I think we would all gain a lot if you made more videos on the subject of Africa!
(Fun fact, I found this channel because of the Great Zimbabwe video)
PLEASE DO MORE VIDEOS ON MEDIEVAL AFRICA. this is my Favourite time period of west African history that honestly not many no of other than Mansa
Musa
There are so many Kingdoms and city states that can be explored
Name some examples! Lets go looking
.. i went on a youtube binge of western african history just days ago, now YOU're back with this?!
i feel spoiled
If anyone wants to know more about this, I recommend the book "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu." It goes into Timbuktu's history as a scholarly city while also telling the story of the people who enacted a plan to save Timbuktu's precious manuscripts from members of the Taliban who wanted to destroy them, because Timbuktu's rather different - and unusually tolerant - take on Islam was viewed by them as offensive. I found it very interesting. (Honestly, the fact they don't teach African history more in Western schools is mind boggling to me. Africa is a lot less primitive than Western sources would have you think).
it's mostly clueless fluff. read a real book instead
When I was a kid, we used Timbuktu as shorthand for 'nowhere place at the ass end of the world' and 'scram off to Timbuktu' (or something to that effect) was a sort-of PG version of go to Hell
Learning about Timbuktu now makes me realize that our dumbassed preconceptions back then could not have been further from the truth.
Thank you, Blue, for sharing the love for culture and knowledge and hopefully correcting more such preconceptions in the future.
1:51 Hell yeah, now we got business!
the part about west african architecture and the communal construction of the madrasas is so fascinating!
Can you do a history summarized of Beirut? The city that used to be called the “paris of the middle east” but that then fell victim to religious violence and corruption
I've been working on a campaign setting and this is huge! One of the major cities I've been working on is a trade hub on the edge of a desert, and this has given me so much more to think about beyond "Uhhhh it's Ul'dah but without Lalafels I guess?". Thanks!
“Place covered by small Bunes”
brb, crying
-B
"Place covered by small Bunes"
@@OverlySarcasticProductions don’t worry about it! I thought it was fun
Bunes...?
@@_jpg Typo in the video, around 3:11 that's supposed to read "Dunes"
What a fabulous synopsis - you did a beautiful city and incredible history credit! Great work, OSP!!
What's actually surprising to me is that traders haven't been sailing along the northwest African coast down to Ghana/Mali for significantly longer instead of walking through the desert on camels. Like, the only thing you'd HAVE to stock up on the way is water, you'd never have to sail out of sight of the coast, so ships that work in the Mediterranean should also work there.
My guess is that the Phoenicians DID do that, but by the time of Timbuktu, the Phoenicians had long since faded from history.
Because the sea route was difficult. The Atlantic is far rougher than the Mediterranean and few safe harbors on the west coast (and therefore difficulty in restocking water, remember the Sahara goes right to the coast). Among other things getting safely around Cape Bojador (and back) usually meant sailing out of sight of land (bad winds and reefs extending well out to sea that could wreck a ship).
The Carthaginians did try that and they didn't try again. Read up on Hanno the Navigator's Periplus of this southward journey...
As someone from america, whos knowledge of world history is largely Eurocentric, i absolutly love learning more about african history especially pre euopean colonization. Thanks alot Blue
There is actually a really good new board game called Sankore about the library/university in Timbuktu!
amazing seeing as there was no university or library in Timbuktu
@@ario2264 There was the University/Mosque of Sankore, which he talked about in the video, which also conatined a library. And Sankore is in Timbuktu.
@@cirthador1453 There was a mosque of Sankore, no university or library.
@@ario2264 Did you watch the video? Also, literally just google "University of Sankore". It shows up immediately.
@@ario2264 Genuinely question, how do you define university? And ESPECIALLY how do you define library?
I would agrue there was a university. But I understand how you can argue otherwise cause it wouldn't meet modern standards.
But how can you argue there wasn't a library? A library is literally just a large collection of books. Timbuktu clearly had many of these. Some families literally still own hundreds of books and have shared them. How can you argue there wasn't a library?
Can I just say how much I appreciate the time we live in? I remember when I was a kid, asking my mom if Timbuktu was really a place. She genuinely did not know, and given that this was a time before Pocket Internet, we didn't have the resources to look it up. Now--not only is that information readily accessible, there's a succinct and thoughtful video celebrating its existence and the knowledge it has to offer. This place that was embedded in my childhood cultural consciousness as only meaning "far away" now feels, not only real, but alive and vibrant...and just a little bit closer.
Ah yes, the whole
Invading force: what's that river called?
Native peoples: **personal word for river**
Invading force: ah yes, River River!
I dont think berbers where the natives of timbuktu either.
As a native arabic speaker, I truly do appreciate Blue's attempt at pronouncing the words. Sure the pronounciation isn't perfect, but it means alot for someone to actually make an effort to pronounce the words correctly instead of just "english-ing" it. Props!
This is so fascinating. The part where you explained torons and the meaning present in the way the mosques are constructed is beautiful
Awesome topic!
In one of Steven Brust’s novels, there’s town the locals called “fjord.” Then invaders with a new language came, and called it + fjord. This happens 7-8 times, until you’ve got town named “fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord fjord” after you unwind all the translations.
Great video, Blue
This was amazing, more West African history please!
What about timbukone
One of the best videos you guys have ever done. Spectacular
Ancient slavery wasn't better than the triangle trade.
In fact, the "industry" of slavery was largely unchanged in the african region until at some places it was abolished.
Difference from triangle trade is that the slaves were kept "in house" so to speak, africans enslaving each other, whilst triangle trade pulled the population to the new world.
The industry of slavery with Europeans very much changed the power dynamic in Western Africa.
But that's just because Europe was a mastodonte of power and efficiency, everything they did, good or bad, had far more impacts than the other less powerful civilisations.
@@mrsupremegascon The power dynamic change can be traced to the facts that the slaves were taken out of the continent and that europe was a semi-constant buying power vs. the often waning african ones.
However, that wasn't the topic. The topic is that according to blue the triangle trade was "worse" than the ancient type of slavery, which is fale on the grounds that it didn't change much in the ways of implementation: African power A beats B and takes X% population as slaves (sometimes the entire population), and either keeps it for own markets or sells them to others. The slaves themselves are to do any work they are given, are treated lower than their captors, and are considered property/ cattle.
The arrival of europeans (just the british and portugese tbh) did indeed significantly increase the rate at which africans enslaved each other, but in the system itself there wasn't much change.
Well, besides the price of slaves skyrocketing, going from 12 manilas (copper wrist/ ankle loops) to 40.
@@kovi567the trans saharan slave trade lasted 700 years.
The trans atlantic slave trade lasted 300 years.
Yet they sold the same amount of slaves. To say it only increased the rate of slavery is very disingenuous.
Not to mention under the first example not every person titled slave was an actual slave. Most were servants or paying off debt but get lumped together as 1 so people like can prop up the numbers.
You could also marry into the family of your owner, such a thing was impossible in the new world.
Slavery is wrong in scenario but your attempts to beliitle the trans atlantic trade is pathetic.
@@AYTM1200 Trans atlantic slaves also were able to be freed in different ways, and in fact were prominent members of abolitionst movements.
They were also slaves of every different kind, the only difference is that when an indentured slave was sold to the colonizing nations, they become property slaves (which for the record was also communicated to the sellers, so the blacks and arabs selling their slaves to europeans are just as much to blame).
Furthermore, the atlantic slave trade lasted 400 years, whilst trans-saharan slave trade lasted 1200-1300 years.
It also only moved a bit more than half of the trans atlantic amount. 7.2 mil contra 12.8 mil.
I'd also like to point out that you are arguing against a strawman.
If you'd have actually read what I wrote, you'd see I said the arrival of europeans did indeed significantly increase the rate at which africans enslaved each other, as there were constant demand for it.
You even pointed out that in a lesser time they moved the same amount of slaves (which is incorrect, congrats on not even reading up on the topic).
So why would I be disingenous? I said the same thing as you did.
Next time do actual research (or at least check the wiki if you are too lazy) before calling the other party patchetic for things they didn't even do.
Just to point out: I'm not belittling the trans atlantic slave trade. What I'm saying is that the industry of slavery, regardless of time and place, is equally horrible, and all the european, african, asian and american people that engaged in it were equally evil.
This is your best produced vid yet blue!
RAD!
"The Historian's Plight" reverberates within my soul.
when the French colonized Algiers..90% of the people knew how to read and write
when they left..the rate was 10 to 15%
they burned so many libraries
luckily Timbuktu's library survived