How Peru Accidentally Became a Superpower

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
  • Get an exclusive Surfshark deal! Enter promo code CASUALSCHOLAR for an extra 3 months free at surfshark.deals/casualscholar
    Embark on a journey through the mid-1800s, a pivotal era defined by the Industrial Revolution, where bird droppings, known as guano, emerged as a game-changer. This video navigates the influential role of Guano in the advent of industrial agriculture and the global shift in farming practices.
    Facing the alarming decline of soil fertility and farming productivity due to industrialization, societies needed a new solution. Traditional practices like crop rotation and the application of manure no longer sufficed. Enter Guano, the miraculous substance that sparked an agricultural renaissance, rejuvenating fields and boosting harvests beyond expectations.
    From farms in upstate New York, dwindling in productivity, to global fields experiencing unprecedented growth, this video reveals Guano's astonishing power and enduring influence on our world. From igniting agricultural transformations to shaping geopolitics, driving wars, and building empires, Guano has played a far-reaching role.
    Join us as we explore the extraordinary tale of this natural fertilizer and its pivotal role in history.
    - Contents of this video --------------------------------
    00:00 - The Problem that Threatened Progress
    04:47 - The Islands that Changed the World
    09:11 - The Age of Guano & Suffering
    13:13 - The New Peru
    15:39 - An Empire is Born
    18:39 - The Guano Empire Goes Bust
    21:30 - The Greatest Discovery in Modern History
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    THIS CHANNEL IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF PATREON!
    Support the channel by becoming a Patron today! / casualscholar
    Thank you to the channel's generous Patrons!
    Hayden Haun, Emmanuel Fredenrich, Pulaski, Adrian Willenbücher,
    Hallucination, A Fan, robin valero
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    - Sources used ---------------------------------------------
    Guano and The Opening of the Pacific World by Gregory T. Cushman
    History's Great Untold Stories: The Larger Than Life Characters and Dramatic Events That Changed the World by Joseph Cummins
    www.atlasobscura.com/articles...
    www.futurity.org/industrial-a....
    ushistoryscene.com/article/gu...
    www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
    www.coha.org/the-great-peruvi...
    www.encyclopedia.com/humaniti...
    mises.org/library/great-guano...
    www.economist.com/christmas-s...
    yaffle53.wordpress.com/2014/0...
    #Economics #History #Guano #CasualScholar #EconomicHistory

ความคิดเห็น • 700

  • @CasualScholar
    @CasualScholar  ปีที่แล้ว +44

    Get an exclusive Surfshark deal! Enter promo code CASUALSCHOLAR for an extra 3 months free at surfshark.deals/casualscholar

    • @nabankuraich9539
      @nabankuraich9539 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      10:43 10:44 10:44 10:46 10:46 10:47 10:52 10:52 10:52 10:53 10:55 10:56 11:03 11:04 11:06

    • @rogertriebwasser4779
      @rogertriebwasser4779 ปีที่แล้ว

      😊😊😊😊😊😊 LLC😊

    • @reinhardheinzwarfelr8215
      @reinhardheinzwarfelr8215 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      What are the music used in the video?

    • @myxiong441
      @myxiong441 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@rogertriebwasser4779ex

  • @extremosaur
    @extremosaur ปีที่แล้ว +379

    I saw a video where a pacifist said this was among the dumbest reasons to fight a war. Like bruh, literally this is feeding your nation.

    • @Bell_plejdo568p
      @Bell_plejdo568p ปีที่แล้ว +13

      So stealing from other countries is okay?

    • @oahmed64
      @oahmed64 ปีที่แล้ว +71

      ​@@Bell_plejdo568p yes

    • @Skyhanger
      @Skyhanger ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@Bell_plejdo568p as long as we're stealing bird shit 🐦💩

    • @PatrickKniesler
      @PatrickKniesler 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      While I can't disagree generally, one has to wonder at what point we're going to stop chasing jevons paradox with population.

    • @extremosaur
      @extremosaur 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@PatrickKniesler Once the education of a nation, and its breeding yield a population on average capable of perceiving at once nuance and greater than binary systems, I reckon the variety of demands would dissolve at least in part, the Jevons Paradox.

  • @m1k3droid
    @m1k3droid ปีที่แล้ว +824

    It is a myth that guano islands were solely about fertilizer. Mainlanders could easily get guano from many areas including bat caves, pig and chicken farms, etc. What these islands were valued for was that the purity of the guano was especially needed for making quality gun powder for naval cannon used on battleships.

    • @davey815
      @davey815 ปีที่แล้ว +139

      That's actually correct. Most of this was used to make highly explosive gunpowder, and even nitroglycerin... aka another form of nitrogen... aka.... TNT!!!

    • @icosthop9998
      @icosthop9998 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ​@@davey815 TY

    • @wmffmw1854
      @wmffmw1854 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      Agreed. Gunpowder was the real driver. Fertilizer was a convenient secondary use.

    • @wmffmw1854
      @wmffmw1854 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@davey815 Not quite, you forgot fuming nitric acid used to make Nitroglycerin and many other explosives and industrial processes. Then came oil.

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      Not true, those composts are really poor compared to peruvian guano islands

  • @tr33ck
    @tr33ck ปีที่แล้ว +633

    Fantastic video. As a Peruvian, we were taught about the importance of the guano islands in school, but admittedly a more reserved version in regards to the atrocities our government committed with the usage of slaves. What hits particularly close to home is the way in which the elite withheld the profits made from guano to themselves and for vanity projects which ultimately fractured our economy and nation. Sadly the repercussions are still seen today, since our main industries revolve around mineral and petroleum extraction, and one could argue the government practices have hardly changed since the guano days when it comes to allocating the money earned from those industries. Thank you for this video Casual Scholar, I don't think many people nowadays know about the importance guano had in the development of modern society.

    • @sethbartley2212
      @sethbartley2212 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      fascinating! thanks for sharing your unique insights. I'll have to read into this further.

    • @balabanasireti
      @balabanasireti ปีที่แล้ว +3

      "As a" 🤓

    • @BCSoHappy
      @BCSoHappy ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@balabanasireti 6:01 had seen

    • @lowtechredneck6704
      @lowtechredneck6704 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Do they also teach about the importance of the Andean plant that produces quinine? Highly ironic that it was the only effective treatment for centuries for a disease that only afflicted the Americas after European colonization. Peru has had much more impact on world history than is commonly recognized.

    • @ajax4898
      @ajax4898 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      thank you for sharing

  • @HandyMan657
    @HandyMan657 ปีที่แล้ว +369

    That's awesome, "How birdshit changed the course of history." I have never heard it put in exactly the same way I have before. Thank You Cas.

    • @tungsten2009
      @tungsten2009 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      the subtitles say "how sheet changed the course of history" lol

    • @Mrbfgray
      @Mrbfgray ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Tangent: at least on a small scale some market garden farmers (say 2 to 5 acres or so) have manage to be quite profitable without any commercial fertilizers (organic or synthetic) but instead compost and soil management, large scale organic farms may require organic fertilizer inputs but can regenerate soils while profiting from them. Naturally both tend to result in considerably higher quality produce but at significant price premium.
      (maybe common knowledge)

    • @icosthop9998
      @icosthop9998 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@Mrbfgray TY

    • @senatorjosephmccarthy2720
      @senatorjosephmccarthy2720 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@Mrbfgray , But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath to Yehovah. Thou shall neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord.. thou shall not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is a year of rest unto the land.
      Leviticus 25: 4 and 5.
      This command and principal of operation
      applies to all land on earth in all ages, and would have/will rejuvenate the land to it's former potential, but will not enrichen it beyond, as will composting.

  • @AwokenEntertainment
    @AwokenEntertainment 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +153

    Wow! I'm Peruvian and I never would've known that the discovery of Guano in Peru shaped the course of the world's history this much.. how fascinating

    • @catholic3dod790
      @catholic3dod790 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      That is why England and Chile that stolen the two provinces (states) Arica and Tarapacá for guano and saltire to make powders for the guns.

    • @catholic3dod790
      @catholic3dod790 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      ​@@RobespierreThePoof
      I went to Paracas. The birds pooed on the hills or guano. They smelled horrible.

    • @brankobelfranin8815
      @brankobelfranin8815 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@catholic3dod790 We did not steal them , read son.

    • @lolproo
      @lolproo 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Ese gringo ha tirado varias cosas erroneas, el guano peruano era importante pero no te sostenia una economía.

    • @brankobelfranin8815
      @brankobelfranin8815 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@lolproo cual gringo

  • @Ryanandboys
    @Ryanandboys ปีที่แล้ว +220

    As a farmer I did already know most of this and I have at times tried to explain to others but it never landed as well as I thought it schould have. Lol Now I can show them this video!

    • @ChemEDan
      @ChemEDan ปีที่แล้ว

      🐦💩

    • @MonsterMash01
      @MonsterMash01 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      The spelling. That was the reason. Lol joking

  • @azuriteknight2484
    @azuriteknight2484 ปีที่แล้ว +107

    The twists and turns of this story are fascinating. Love how you tied in various seemingly unrelated topics and showed the sort of butterfly affect that small moments can have.

    • @CasualScholar
      @CasualScholar  ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Thank you so much! Happy you enjoyed!

  • @augenbutter
    @augenbutter ปีที่แล้ว +33

    The island of Nauru, in the western Pacific Ocean, had migrating birds using it as their travel stop and toilet. It made the inhabitants wealthy, before it disappeared after the toilets were cleaned out.

    • @peterburger5145
      @peterburger5145 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      As an Australian, I know that Nauru was the source of our phosphate fertiliser.

    • @AG-iu9lv
      @AG-iu9lv 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      One of my upper level undergrad electives was history of peoples of South Asia & the pacific, during which we covered Nauru. That class turned out to be surprisingly useful in understanding that history is all context and does not happen in a vacuum.

  • @Rdg875
    @Rdg875 ปีที่แล้ว +83

    As a Peruvian, we are also taught that while the guano represented an important revenue stream during the early days of the Republic, this period is labelled by one of our most important historians as the "fallacious prosperity" as the Government instead of selling directly, it delegated the task to private entities (local and foreigners), with the latter using the gains to improve their industrial capacity in their respective countries, while ours remained stagnated. On top of that, a poor spending plan generated many poor-quality infrastructure and railways that only represented more debt.
    "in Peru it is extraordinary what does not happen" - Jorge Basadre - Peruvian Historian

    • @sethbartley2212
      @sethbartley2212 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      fascinating! thanks for sharing your unique insights. I'll have to read into this further.

    • @Rdg875
      @Rdg875 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@sethbartley2212 Years later, we had another economic boom with saltpeter. Rich saltpeter deposits were found in the south along within Bolivian territory (when Bolivia had a sea access). Eventually, it escalated to the War of the Pacific with Chile which resulted in Chile gaining the region of Arica and removing Bolivia of its sea access. The causes are different but the result was the same.

    • @balabanasireti
      @balabanasireti ปีที่แล้ว +3

      As a 🤓

    • @KainYusanagi
      @KainYusanagi ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Just another reason why I have hated international companies. If a company wants to do business in another country, it should have to work with a local company, so that both have vested interest in doing well for each other as well as themselves in a symbiotic relationship, rather than an exploitative one.

    • @erikmaguina1
      @erikmaguina1 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yup as a Peruvian I also learned this from the history class.

  • @declanmarshall6581
    @declanmarshall6581 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    I cant beleive how little school prepared me for life, bird poop salesman was never brought up when talking about the possible jobs that the subjects i took could lead to, it was doctor, lawyer, engineer but never on the prospects of harvesting white gold?

    • @lowtechredneck6704
      @lowtechredneck6704 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I prefer Simon Whistler's terminology; "sweet, sweet ass-gold".

  • @geeboom
    @geeboom ปีที่แล้ว +35

    In my island of Curaçao we have a tall "Table Mountain" that was mined for phosphate to the point that is disppearing.
    The tiny island of Klein Curaçao or "Small Curacao" off the coast was also mined. Several meters of its top soil were removed for its phosphate.

  • @msmsmsms4262
    @msmsmsms4262 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    2:57 "This is the astonishing and strange tale of how bird shit changed the course of history" lol the way that line was backed up by the epic opening song was great!

    • @hinpoppo9185
      @hinpoppo9185 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      BURD SHET STUNLOCKED ME
      I was expecting a mild “bird poop” but got hit by the hard T 😭

  • @FXwashere
    @FXwashere ปีที่แล้ว +20

    If you want to increase the value of your car, hope that a bird poops on it.

    • @gannonpatton2858
      @gannonpatton2858 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      This is why I always park my car under power lines.

  • @Seaweedsz
    @Seaweedsz ปีที่แล้ว +109

    As a peruvian, I really appreciate this video about our history. While I would have personally preffered a video about the economic history of Peru (kind of like how you did on your video about the soviet union or the one about Lichtenstein) I still found it insightful and it even helped me remember some things from history class back at school

    • @balabanasireti
      @balabanasireti ปีที่แล้ว +1

      As a 🤓

    • @jasonhaven7170
      @jasonhaven7170 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Like the fact they were enslavers and colonisers.

    • @romeosantos9006
      @romeosantos9006 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes, Peru was an enslaver of Easter Islanders, destroyed their history, depopulated the island, let the selfish elite dominate the decrepit economy, preferred visual illusion of progress, envied Chile, treacherously allied itself with Bolivia against Chile, was too weak to defend even Lima, and lost the War of the Pacific. Peru has a lot of historical baggage.

    • @romeosantos9006
      @romeosantos9006 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I bet Peruvian history glosses over its cruelty to Easter Islanders and the island itself.

    • @Seaweedsz
      @Seaweedsz ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@romeosantos9006 You seem to like making assumptions. We actually got to learn a bit about it, though we did not spend as much time with it as we did with the history of exploitation of blacks, chinese and of course the native themselves

  • @parabelluminvicta8380
    @parabelluminvicta8380 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    well we must say the dinosaurs did the most work for millions of years shitting in the planet. hahaha

    • @hamanu666
      @hamanu666 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Over one million years of poop. That’s a lot of poop!

  • @phann860
    @phann860 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    Extremely good and insightful, poor Fritz Haber apart from his Nitrogen extraction process was also involved in poison gas production during WW1. A sad tale as he was also Jewish and of course had to leave Germany. A great scientist all in all.

    • @thescott1091
      @thescott1091 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Fritz Haber's story is so remarkable and sad it's wild there hasn't been a movie made about him. His chemicals or poison gases also made an appearance in WWII as well...such a shame how it all ended for him.

    • @bobdollaz3391
      @bobdollaz3391 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      He didn't remain Jooesh, he converted to Lutheranism although that wasn't appealing enough to the 30's regime

    • @faridzuank3798
      @faridzuank3798 ปีที่แล้ว

      I saw this in @veritasium channel, very informative!

    • @antasosam8486
      @antasosam8486 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Sounds like karma

  • @Mr.Isquierdo
    @Mr.Isquierdo ปีที่แล้ว +23

    The moment he mentioned what they did to the Easter Island people I knew that was moment the island failed. The strongest and most knowledgeable gone. The rats. The pillaging. Why have historians questioned this event when they know an entire third of a population vanished?

    • @jz94117
      @jz94117 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It is a mystery. Where did all the Easter Islanders go? They just seemingly left in the middle of their meals.

    • @Mr.Isquierdo
      @Mr.Isquierdo 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@jz94117 there is a second encounter years after. The trees were gone, the people fought over caves, and there was cannibalism. I don't remember the documentary I saw years ago though. It mentioned two separate visits. I don't think it was the guano ship though

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Eh, didn't the Polynesians themselves accidentally brought rats? Those mofos have been hitchhicking all through the Austronesian Expansion.

    • @htopherollem649
      @htopherollem649 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      saw a video relatively recently that provided evidence for a disease being the cause for the loss of trees on Rapanui

    • @andresamplonius315
      @andresamplonius315 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Actually Rapa Nui "failed" long before europeans "discovered" it.

  • @orboakin8074
    @orboakin8074 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    22:25 How is Mr. Fritz not more well known?! His invention single-handedly saved so many lives and guaranteed food production for generations after him. he is a hero.

    • @Mr.Isquierdo
      @Mr.Isquierdo ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Same reason why the inventor of dynamite is remembered

    • @orboakin8074
      @orboakin8074 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Mr.Isquierdo yeah, I see your point.

    • @vermillioncap8784
      @vermillioncap8784 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Well he created most of the gas used in ww1 so you know, not a hero. Just a guy who did a good thing.

    • @krono5el
      @krono5el ปีที่แล้ว +1

      synthetic anything is never good for anyone or anything on earth.

    • @genericnameinc
      @genericnameinc ปีที่แล้ว +4

      What do you mean not well known? The haber-bosch method for synthesizing ammonia is taught in middle school chemistry...
      Well I guess it depends where you're from.

  • @RK-cj4oc
    @RK-cj4oc ปีที่แล้ว +32

    Please do more videos like this. This was amazing. Keep up the great work.

  • @cameronhedstrom7404
    @cameronhedstrom7404 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Very cool! One of the few channels these days I watch the video start to end with no skips or anything.

  • @cliffwoodbury5319
    @cliffwoodbury5319 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    South American should be so much more profitable than it is today. They were feeding the world for that long!!! This was a great video!!!!

    • @dennisestradda9746
      @dennisestradda9746 ปีที่แล้ว

      Amerika has kept it down toppling democratically elected president after another for dictatorship

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes, and the Potatoe comes from Peru!

    • @krono5el
      @krono5el ปีที่แล้ว

      more like the Americas were being robbed and stolen from while being destroyed for some christian europeans to get rich the last 400 years :D

    • @godofthisshit
      @godofthisshit 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @cliffwoodbury5319 The profits are in spain, portugal, and your wealth caste.

    • @BendyDH
      @BendyDH 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      South America all around should have definitely had a similar story to the US and Canada in terms of prosperous and modernized nations go, but corruption and European wealth stealing for far too long stunted the potential of South America all around. In the very least Argentina should be a world superpower right now with the likes of the US, Europe, Japan, etc

  • @JosephStJames2000
    @JosephStJames2000 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    You took an incredibly complex series of historical situations and created a concise timeline that was both easy to understand and engaging. Amazing presentation.

  • @sergekudrynskyj6662
    @sergekudrynskyj6662 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    An eye-opening history of the value and influence of bird droppings in agriculture. And the exploitation and use of labour in a hazardous unhealthy environment.

  • @theorderofthepurplephoenix3321
    @theorderofthepurplephoenix3321 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    “The astonishing and strange tale of how bird shit changed the course of history”
    -Casual Scholar

    • @erikmaguina1
      @erikmaguina1 ปีที่แล้ว

      😅😅😅😅 I was laughing at the same thing

  • @skyblueo
    @skyblueo ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thank you for this video. I had never heard of the American Guano Islands. It brings a new understanding to the battle of Midway.

  • @andrewrossy
    @andrewrossy ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Utterly marvellous… such an amazing 24 minutes. Thank you. .

    • @CasualScholar
      @CasualScholar  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you for the incredibly kind comment :)

  • @akapoka8732
    @akapoka8732 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    You know you watch too much random informational TH-cam videos when you get upset thinking “No way he titled the video this and it’s about GUANO..” then I remember nobody really knows about guano other than people who watch this type of stuff.

  • @niall5821
    @niall5821 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    If only Peru had had a strong leader, such as Paraguay's Dr. Francia, perhaps guano revenue could have been better spent. Maybe Peru's navy preemptively occupying islands all over The Pacific Ocean in order to better monopolize the resource. Uchronia.
    Being peruvian and fond of history I admire the accuracy of your video.

    • @celdur4635
      @celdur4635 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      We did use it better, and had a good leader. This video is grossly misinformed.

    • @jasonhaven7170
      @jasonhaven7170 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Fond of what? The fact they were enslavers and colonisers.

    • @celdur4635
      @celdur4635 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@jasonhaven7170 Please.

    • @romeosantos9006
      @romeosantos9006 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes, Peru was an enslaver of Easter Islanders, destroyed their history, depopulated the island, let the selfish elite dominate the decrepit economy, preferred visual illusion of progress, envied Chile, treacherously allied itself with Bolivia against Chile, was too weak to defend even Lima, and lost the War of the Pacific. Peru has a lot of historical baggage.

    • @Pan_Z
      @Pan_Z ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @Celdur
      > Disagrees
      > Doesn't elaborate
      Not the most convincing argument. What do you think was wrong in the video?

  • @MrPoornakumar
    @MrPoornakumar ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I learnt in 24 minutes what all I wanted to know for decades. Thank you.

  • @DIRECTCURRENT336
    @DIRECTCURRENT336 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    It's wild to think how many people's lives were supported by bird poop. And how if alternatives hadn't been found how insane the global starvation rates would have skyrocketed once all the bird poop had been used up.

  • @ROXANNE708
    @ROXANNE708 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Fascinating video! Keep putting out the amazing content! 👍

  • @rockystonewolf
    @rockystonewolf 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    Great video! Yes, Germany might have found the Nitrate harvesting from air, but Norwegian inventor Christian Birkeland was in the race too. Funded by business entrepreneur Sam Eyde, they made Norsk Hydro producing fertilizer in Norway. They plant had half Birkeland ovens, the others BASF ovens from Germany.

  • @esmenhamaire6398
    @esmenhamaire6398 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Superb. I knew some of the content, but about half of it I did not - thank you for expanding my knowledge of history!

  • @winter_just_as_summer
    @winter_just_as_summer 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Interesting Vid for sure! Who'd have thought that all would have gone to nowhere if not for bird poo 😂
    2 remarks for more precison though:
    1. WW I started in 1914
    2. BASF, that got the patent from Haber (who issued it in 1908 and got it granted in 1911) build the first industrial factory centered around the haber-process in 1913. Just FYI

  • @clivematthews95
    @clivematthews95 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    WOW 😯
    Absolutely mind blowing! The road humanity took to get to modernity is absolute madness.
    This begs the question yet again, are we good for this earth or it’s biggest curse?🤔
    Greed, ignorance, exploitation, and world domination by any means are the true diseases that will be the end us

    • @domthabomb3045
      @domthabomb3045 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Very well said…..

    • @krono5el
      @krono5el ปีที่แล้ว

      the indigenous Americans treated the land just fine. its the invading foreigners from europe that have no history or connection to the American continent so they will destroy it and everything on it without remorse in the name of jesus and the queen : D

    • @senatorjosephmccarthy2720
      @senatorjosephmccarthy2720 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Please type:
      King James Bible Online,
      Matthew 24: 4, 6, 7 and
      especially 8.
      Leading to
      Revelation 13.
      Revelation 14.
      Leading to
      Matthew 24: 21 and 22.

    • @clivematthews95
      @clivematthews95 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 that’s a lot of work, and I’m not really Christian or religious 😭

    • @jrstf
      @jrstf 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It appears the left wing politics will end us far before nature does. One by one the major agricultural centers are being shut down. Sri-Lanka farming shutdown by their own government by denying fertilizer to the farmers, Netherlands working on doing the same. Ukraine shutdown by a war to topple Russia.

  • @davidhenningson4782
    @davidhenningson4782 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Never... underestimate the 'significance' of a "good dump!"
    Those birds literally changed the world... one priceless dropping at a time😌

  • @Well_Earned_Siesta
    @Well_Earned_Siesta ปีที่แล้ว +2

    “How birds*** changed the world” should have been the video title… probably would get at least 10x more views

  • @seanmxkid
    @seanmxkid ปีที่แล้ว +38

    Anyone else get the notification for this video and found themselves unable to not click to see how you were somehow addicted to bird poop?

  • @joshlaws439
    @joshlaws439 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I always love your content it’s always so informative and they really help to educate me further on economics

  • @pulidoraul4937
    @pulidoraul4937 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The explanation of the guano issue is excellent. I have known it for some time, because my family from Canary Island used this kind of fertilizer...

  • @spencergauta8160
    @spencergauta8160 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    One of the most informative videos I’ve watched. Didn’t know ANY of this History

  • @mattheweburns
    @mattheweburns ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I read a book written by the USDA in the late 1800s suggesting extremely high yield for crops and cattle. That they subsidized even back then with unreasonable numbers.

  • @Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming
    @Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Of course, today it's been worked out that with the correct cover crops and rotating certain crops farmers don't need nitrogen, lime or potassium to be spread on their fields and still produce better crops.

    • @pedclarkemobile
      @pedclarkemobile 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Phosphorus is the macro element that is harder to maintain. It cannot be pulled from the air like N or C, it needs to be supplemented by rock dust or synthetic sources.

  • @nicocorbo4153
    @nicocorbo4153 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    great video. humboldt is one of my favorite historical figures

  • @ThinWhiteAxe
    @ThinWhiteAxe ปีที่แล้ว +5

    ahhh time for my bird poop fix.

  • @AboveBoardAndBeyondControl
    @AboveBoardAndBeyondControl ปีที่แล้ว +19

    That there is some Batsh!t crazy economics...literally! Outstanding Video! Love it!

  • @DragoonXV
    @DragoonXV 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I knew there was phosphorus mining in some Pacific Islands in the 20th century. I didn't know about guano until today! It's refreshing to get historical content that I'm not familiar with

  • @jasonhaven7170
    @jasonhaven7170 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    13:14 The Peruvians were colonisers of the Easter Islands and enslavers of Black, Chinese and Polynesian peoples.

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      INDEED

    • @Mastercrack_GS
      @Mastercrack_GS 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Something that Peruvian historians, professors, and even the government itself try to hide.

  • @michalchik
    @michalchik 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    There's an important omission in the basic science of this video that changes the whole conclusion. The guano shortage problem was not solved during world war I by The haber process. Only one aspect of it the nitrogen shortage was solved by that. The phosphorus problem is still solved by guano and geologic phosphorus deposits, and we are just about to run out of those, there is a phosphorus crunch going on right now and it's getting worse. There are very hard efforts going into solving the phosphorus problem, but it's not going to be as easier as pulling it out of that atmosphere because there is no phosphorus in the atmosphere, most of it is diluted in the ocean or spread out in the rocks and minerals of the earth. This is a looming crisis, and only some areas are going to be naturally abundant enough in their soil to allow them to be independent of phosphate fertilizers. You should consider doing the part two on the imminent phosphorus crisis and the international conflict it will probably cause

  • @williamlloyd3769
    @williamlloyd3769 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Related to these deposits in Peru.
    The Guano Islands Act was passed by USA 1856. This United States federal law passed by the Congress enables citizens of the United States to take possession in the name of the United States any unclaimed islands containing guano deposits.

  • @edgarmichael3276
    @edgarmichael3276 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The intro was soooo dramatic... made my day.....how bird shit saved humanity... or the symbiotic relationship that saves the planet. Great video

  • @Horizon3165
    @Horizon3165 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Well done documentary. Thank you.

  • @user-vu3kt7ss5q
    @user-vu3kt7ss5q 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    That was quite enjoyable, sir.

  • @Cronkna
    @Cronkna 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Man you need more subscribers you’re underrated as hell!

  • @alyanton2157
    @alyanton2157 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks 🙏for videos! Awesomely

  • @lukulamagnus5198
    @lukulamagnus5198 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Took me back to Econs History class in Uni. You got geopolitics right . Pitt the Oil Producing nations refused to learn from history. There are still millions in subsistence and peasant agric who don't get hold of fertilisers and die early.

  • @stephenmoerlein8470
    @stephenmoerlein8470 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Thanks for posting this interesting history.

  • @dennisbibik3061
    @dennisbibik3061 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    "Bird shit" got me😂

  • @angelofamillionyears4599
    @angelofamillionyears4599 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is an excellent post!! Very fascinating!!

  • @alexanderbaca7352
    @alexanderbaca7352 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    In so far as I am aware we still have to mine phosphorus, and in fact it is a very limited resource, perhaps a different video on rock phosphate?

  • @andro9009
    @andro9009 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I never thought that bird pope 💩💩💩 would be so important.

  • @renoits06
    @renoits06 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    you had me at bird shit

  • @moremer66
    @moremer66 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    "bird shit". greatest line Ive heard on here

  • @hoangvu220
    @hoangvu220 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Incredible! I have never heard such a story before. Thanks. I learned something interesting today.

  • @lindarocco9974
    @lindarocco9974 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I RoccoMend this excellent video. Thank you Casual Scholar for creating this video for us to learn from. I look forward to watching many more of your videos.

  • @PUNKDUDE1991
    @PUNKDUDE1991 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I'm surprised the British didn't outright take the islands from Peru

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Well they kinda did with the nitrate mines, this video is telling partialy the truth. The british equiped and armed Chile 10 years before the war with Peru to ocuppy the peruvian nitrate mines which after the war ended as british companies and chile just gaining the land. The war was between Peru and the British

    • @Mastercrack_GS
      @Mastercrack_GS 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I don't know but an Englishman named John Thomas North was the one who financed the weapons, in addition to a vice admiral named Patricio Lynch who was trained by the English royal navy, England took them away indirectly.

  • @thanduxolomantakana8444
    @thanduxolomantakana8444 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Beautiful script and narrated excellently. 🎉

  • @Caleta280
    @Caleta280 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    This is the real reason why British coordinated full support to Chile to invade Peru. And when Peru wanted to buy ammo and ships, guess who stepped in to block other countries after been paid to deliver it: USA. Later the US tried to play the friendly role by supporting a peace deal, after the Dutch, English and US companies had absorbed all sorts of contracts from the Peruvian nationals. USA even suggesting that Peru should pay Chile the cost of war, an insult to peace treaties. Then USA declared its Monroe doctrine.

  • @pmcllc1
    @pmcllc1 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Good research and presentation

  • @markeverhart3835
    @markeverhart3835 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    lmao. dude drops the line "how birdshit changed the course of history" got me dying.

  • @g.g.v5716
    @g.g.v5716 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    During that time, Chile, being the poorest country in America, was manipulated by British interests that sought to invade Peru, mainly due to its rich mineral deposits. As a result of the war between Peru and Chile, Peru's saltpetre mines and guano islands fell under the control of British companies. In this situation, Chile acted as a pawn in the hands of foreign interests and eventually seized Peruvian lands.
    It's also important to note that years before the conflict, England secretly provided Chile with arms and even supplies such as clothing, creating an imbalance of power in the region. In this context, Peru had invested in purchasing arms and ships in Europe, but these resources were blocked by England. Additionally, the country was dealing with internal civil conflicts, which weakened its ability to defend itself effectively. This combination of factors further exacerbated Peru's situation in the war and paved the way for the appropriation of its resources by foreign interests.

    • @SR-vt1tg
      @SR-vt1tg 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Gonna need a source for that chief

    • @cseijifja
      @cseijifja 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      That's false, as a peruvian, Chile had always been a more stable and functioning nation, and triumphed because of two things : They modernized their navy earlier, buying two state of the art ironclads, and had more and better support ships. And two, their weapons and supplies were standardized long ago, by the adquisition of belgian comblain rifles and teh stablishment of a supply system.
      Nothing of the sort happened on peru, because local authorities were too busy ploting against each other and deposing one another.

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 2 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@cseijifja You are not peruvian, you are chilean. Chile was the poorest nation in South America back then.

    • @cseijifja
      @cseijifja 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@g.g.v5716 no lo soy , y no lo era , paraguay esta ahi , igual que bolivia .

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@cseijifja Esos paises son nuevos, no mas de 200 años. ´Peru existe mas de 5000 años con la primera civilziacion de America, CARAL. El Virreinato de Peru abarco durante 300 años todo Sudamerica excluyendo Brasil, en el Imperio Inca con capital en Cusco, se ocupo Colombia, ECuador, Chile, Bolivia y Argentina.

  • @ROXANNE708
    @ROXANNE708 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    LOVE the new title! 💙

  • @700mobster
    @700mobster ปีที่แล้ว +3

    2:59 That caught me off guard lmao. I thought you were gonna say nitrogen or fertilizer but damn I guess that works too.

  • @Microbex
    @Microbex 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    One of Russia's main exports is fertilizer.
    Ukraine's main export is corn.

  • @byronarnason6006
    @byronarnason6006 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great presentation!
    Thank you

  • @m6uso
    @m6uso ปีที่แล้ว +3

    WHAT AN INTRODUCTION

  • @romeosantos9006
    @romeosantos9006 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The War of the Pacific involving Chile. Peru and Bolivia was oversimplified in this video.

    • @g.g.v5716
      @g.g.v5716 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      This video is telling partialy the truth. The british equiped and armed Chile 10 years before the war with Peru to ocuppy the peruvian nitrate mines which after the war ended as british companies and chile just gaining the land. The war was between Peru and the British

  • @alexlents4689
    @alexlents4689 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Props for having an uncensored swear in the thumbnail (a pretty mild one, but still a de-mon risk)

  • @wotwot6868
    @wotwot6868 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Very important lesson to learn for every individual of a nation state. Make sure that your government does not squander economic gains. Observe how some countries have manage not to squander.

  • @angelofamillionyears4599
    @angelofamillionyears4599 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very interesting !!! You have great posts !! keep up the great work !!

  • @ElEscolta
    @ElEscolta 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This feel like one of those dominoes memes begining with "Incas using bird shit as fertilizer" ending with "AMERICAN IMPERIALISM"

  • @petersz98
    @petersz98 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Where there is muck there is money! As an old saying goes.

  • @seananthony7494
    @seananthony7494 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Is it me or South America feels both familiar and exotic?
    I wish more videos focused on South America it’s such a unique place.

    • @zimriel
      @zimriel ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Joseph Conrad, "Nostromo"

    • @cseijifja
      @cseijifja 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      onyl reason it feels "exotic " , is mostly because of how filled with misinformation and stereotypes the palce is, in truth it's mostly iberian people in america.

  • @dannyspencer6194
    @dannyspencer6194 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very well done!

  • @MrHav1k
    @MrHav1k ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I had no clue. What a fascinating video.

  • @quakestormYT
    @quakestormYT ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great video as always!

  • @b43xoit
    @b43xoit 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Why is "feed" in present tense in the title? Hasn't guano been replaced by the Haber-Bosch process?

  • @BobWeaver3000
    @BobWeaver3000 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    ngl, about a minute in, I had a hunch where he was goin with the intro, and at 3:01, got a legit LOL outta me when hunch was confirmed

  • @catholic3dod790
    @catholic3dod790 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Arriba, Perú 🇵🇪
    Más trabajos

  • @mattheweburns
    @mattheweburns ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I knew there was more than just coal that sparked the industrial revolution, but we were never taught us in schools

  • @jatochgte
    @jatochgte 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    the Chileans gave a monumental beating to the Peruvian and Bolivian tyrants who had enslaved not only the Rapa Nui people, but also the Chinese Coolies, who were liberated by the Chilean army, which also took possession of the Island of Pascua and two other archipelagos, in addition to expanding its territory to Oceania and Antarctica, turning the small Kingdom of Chile into a tricontinental Republic and the largest naval power in the South Pacific, which even kept the USA at bay from intervening in Colombia and Panama !!

    • @PatrickKniesler
      @PatrickKniesler 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      The War of the Pacific is very interesting, but has a pittance of representation in Western thought. I continue to wonder what might have happened if it became a proxy war for American and European nations.

  • @chrissmith7259
    @chrissmith7259 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Great video and knowledge

  • @zimriel
    @zimriel ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This youtube is excellent and more people should see it. The only change is that I'd mention bat poop as well as bird poop.
    Also as these reserves run out, our chemists might be able to synthesise more nitrates, but only a nuclear-physicist can synthesise phosphorus. That's not happening at scale.
    What *might* happen at scale is asteroid mining. Be interesting if the Peruvian space-programme gets out into that. Let's hope the Peruvians offer better deals to its miners than their ancestors offered to Rapa Nui.

    • @zimriel
      @zimriel ปีที่แล้ว

      although 1913 as the first world war is, er. fix this plz Casual Scholar

  • @stevefritz5182
    @stevefritz5182 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I often argue how wars continuously set us back instead of moving us forward. The example of the Spanish in Peru is a great example. Knowledge was lost. I think that has happened all through history where societies make great leaps forward only to have conquering powers "kill" that advancement. Even in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. What was one of the first things destroyed? It was the most advanced aircraft ever made.

  • @geraldmiller5260
    @geraldmiller5260 ปีที่แล้ว

    How did they get sailors to crew guano ships?

  • @SleepyKyju
    @SleepyKyju 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I really want to get into gardening. I have 9 parrots of my own and we have a non-profit parrot rescue/sanctuary out of our house. Time to switch to biodegradable cage liners and start a bird shit compost pile out back.

  • @louisedavey3603
    @louisedavey3603 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    wow, that was so interesting. Thank you

  • @markheaney
    @markheaney 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    It seems to be a pretty big stretch to say that the USA is or was the fourth largest empire because that had a bunch of mostly uninhabited islands.

  • @gamingwithmahirofficial2489
    @gamingwithmahirofficial2489 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    this channel deserves a million subs