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I'm releasing a new video tomorrow. But unlike in the past, I won't be able to include manual subtitles.

Because of some changes on the YouTube backend my usual workflow for preparing subtitles isn't working anymore. The auto captions are still there, for what it's worth.

I apologize for the inconvenience. I know for many viewers subtitles are a major quality of life enhancement, and for some they are a necessity. I'll try to find an alternative solution soon. 

This is one of the most necessary videos ever published on YouTube. 

If you would like bonus content, early access to videos, or your name in the credits, check out the new Premodernist page on Patreon at  https://www.patreon.com/Premodernist .

Or, if you're just curious to see what a brand new Patreon page looks like, now's your chance.

I've done my best to set it up so that it maximizes value for patrons without getting in the way of making YouTube videos. I'm always open to feedback, though.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting the channel through liking, commenting, and recommending videos. Even if you can't support the channel on Patreon, doing those things is still a big help. 

Who would you vote for in 1792 to be George Washington's vice president? 

Who destroyed the ancient Library of Alexandria? 

100 years ago today Calvin Coolidge became U.S. president unexpectedly after the death of President Harding. Coolidge received the news while vacationing on his family's farm in rural Vermont and his father, a justice of the peace, administered the oath of office at 2:47 am on August 3, 1923. 

It's fun to discover a channel when it's still small, knowing that it's going to be big one day. If you already like my channel then you'll probably like this one too. 

Here is a useful video answering questions people often have about slavery. It answers questions like

- Why didn't the Europeans set up their plantations in Africa?
- What about all the good things Britain did?
- What about the treatment of the Irish?
- Didn't the Africans enslave their own people?

If you like my channel you might also like J. Draper. In some ways she has a similar approach to mine (relaxed narrative style, no rapid editing, no flashy music or animations, grounded in research with sources listed). The only difference is J. Draper's videos are far more creative and engaging than mine are. Check out the channel if you're looking for more history on YouTube. 

Did Africa have the first Iron Age in world history?

As a follow-up to my most recent video, if anyone wants to see more about precolonial Africa, I highly recommend this video from Stefan Milo about African iron working.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=touQN... 

Here is an interesting followup to my video about the Ottomans as a Roman dynasty ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L-fA... ). I was reading an article this morning and came across this snippet from a 16th-century Portuguese named Garcia da Orta who lived in India and wrote a book about Indian pharmacology. He was confused about the difference between a Turk and a Rumi ('Roman'). First the Portuguese and then my translation into English:

"Muytas vezes perguntava, andando nas guerras destes reis da India, a algum soldado branco se era Turco, e respondia que não, senão que era Rume; e a outras perguntava se erão Rumes e respondião-me que não, senão que erão Turcos: e perguntandolhe qual era a differença que havia antre hum e outro, diziãome que eu a não podia entender, porque não sabia os nomes das terras nem a lingua mo sabia dar a entender."

"Many times, during the wars of the kings of India, I would ask some white soldier ["soldado branco" referred to any non-Indian mercenary, usually from the Middle East] if he was a Turk, and he would answer, "No, I am a Rumi." And at other times I would ask if they were Rumis and they would answer, "No, we are Turks." And asking him what was the difference between one and the other, they would tell me that I cannot understand, because I don't know the names of the countries nor can I understand the language."

Quoted in Salih Özbaran, "Ottomans as 'Rumes' in Portuguese Sources in the Sixteenth Century," Portuguese Studies, 17, no. 1 (2001), 71-72.

Fun fact: Garcia da Orta's pharmacology book, published in 1563, was the third book ever printed in India.