1495 Syphilis Outbreak: The Deadly Disease That Swept Across Europe | The Syphilis Enigma | Timeline 

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As a Native American, I find it rather strange that this documentary was trying to say that the Natives gave syphilis to the Europeans, because our Native history says it was the other way around.

The music is like syphilis of the ears

I asked my grandfather, who was born in 1930, what the biggest difference was in society between his childhood and now. I was expecting him to say something like the internet or smart phones. He didn’t even have to think about it, and his response surprised me: syphilis. He said syphilis was the biggest difference between his youth and now, because he remembered seeing the syphilitic people on the street, with sores on them and behaving erratically because of the way the disease impacts the brain in later stages. Blew my mind because this was not an answer I expected-we have eradicated it so successfully thanks to antibiotics (which weren’t around in his childhood, obvi) that I think the average person can’t really understand how drastically that impacted our societies in the past.

Good God, the person whose skeleton had these horrific lesions suffered unimaginable agony. Hundreds of years later, you can’t help but feel pity.

This documentary left out a very important fact about the transmission of syphilis. Syphilis wasn't only transmitted through sexual intercourse. One could easily contract syphilis by touching these terrible syphilis sores called chancres. One could have had accidental contact with any of the chancres on a patient with syphilis, who was in the active stages of this disease. We need to remember that disposable exam gloves were not used in direct patient care and with any activity involving bodily fluids, until the early 1980s. This was probably in response to worldwide HIV/ AIDS and Hepatitis B. Reusable surgical gloves which were cleaned and re-sterilized, were used--, then sized, sterile, disposable wrapped surgical gloves came out later.. These were only used on surgical cases, strict aseptic procedures, and in all internal exams. No gloves were used in starting I.V.s, drawing blood, regular patient care, examining patients, cleansing debris, rashes, vesicles, boils, or chancres, and emptying bedpans, urinals, or Foley catheters, before the 1980s.. Antibiotics only came into use in the later part of the 20th century. Penicillin, discovered by Dr. Fleming in St. Mary's Hospital, London in 1928, and was researched at Oxford. Penicillin was first used on injured Allied soldiers with wounds in World War II. Purified Penicillin in large doses was never used on a live civilian patient until 1942 in New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, U.S.A., when Anne Miller's life was saved, using large doses of Penicillin to treat "blood poisoning" from an infection, following a miscarriage. It was a well known fact that huge numbers of nuns and monks who cared for the diseased, the sick, the poor, and those who were afflicted with syphilis, leprosy, and also, the Bubonic Plague, contracted these diseases of those whom they cared for,. and they usually died from these diseases.

It is shocking in that first skeleton that the person lived so long with Syphilis that those deformaties went into his bone. What a terrible life. So much suffering.

The background music ruined this for me.

The monks and monasteries were the long term care facilities of that time. It afforded the seclusion and necessary health care services for most likely the rich merchants and when they died what wealth they had was endowed to the monastery. This would definitely explain why so many skeletons had signs of serious disease. We shouldn’t assume these were the bones of the monks but instead their patients. Most healthcare was provided by the local herbal healers or barbers or veterinarians especially for the poor. Trained and licensed doctors or hospitals were rare unless you lived in a large city.

Man I wish this type of stuff was on the History channel instead of Ice Truckers or some other bull. This is history. Awesome video.

I don’t understand the background noises. I’m trying to watch a documentary. Not have nightmares. 😭😭😭

The fact that human psychology looks for somebody to blame for the matter of sicknesses is truly mind-blowing to me

I was a correctional officer. I watched an inmate go through it all. When his mind began being affected it was quick decline. He began smearing his own feces on the walls of his cell. We transferred him to the isolation unit. I could be talking about his childhood as clear minded as you and me. Then in a moment he would be trying to bite the nurses. After just a few days he died.

The sound editor was told he would be working on a serious historical medical documentary and immediately thought: "weird wolf howl sound mixed with creepy off note string instrumentals and female Celtic chants all crammed together then played over and over again with a few bells and light awkward percussion will be a great match for this subject matter" Maybe he was inspired by Ross from Friends??

I’m always amazed at the number of scientists and historians who refuse to believe any information that doesn’t conform to their own personal viewpoint. As lifelong students of these fields we are supposed to be open minded- and yet so many aren’t! That is why history and science often moves at such a slow pace.

One thing to keep in mind is that Colombus wasn't the first time the old and new worlds had collided. The Vikings, the Chinese, and the Polynesians all visited the Americas before Colombus.

The dinosaur like screeching when they show Syphilis from a microscope view is HILARIOUSLY unexpected. 😂💀

Next time don't hire someone with syphilis to compose the soundtrack

Came for the syphilis bones, stayed for the strangest soundtrack I've ever witnessed on a documentary.

There is another explanation that is not mentioned here. Hull was a port town and it is possible that some sailors from there did a trans-Atlantic crossing 150 years before Columbus. The ship technology of the mid-thirteen hundreds was certainly good enough to make the trip, but navigation was uncertain enough that the survivors probably couldn't reliably retrace their steps. Especially if they were all sick with syphilis afterwards!

Interesting and informative. Special thanks to historians/medical personnel . Sharing personal information/knowledge making this documentary more authentic and possible.

Is that godawful noise supposed to be victims of tertiary syphilis screaming as they die in agony? Because it sounds like a deranged attempt at a pterodactyl scream...

Corona Virus has taken me on a research mission of plagues, and sickness.

One theory does not have to exclude the other. Remember there was prior contact the new world trough the Vikings and Hull is in the area that the Vikings were in as well. It might be pretty limited before because it was kept more regional compared to the time after Columbus when his man took it back as well.

Syphilis can be transmitted by simply coming into contact with a lesion. It is not necessarily a sexually transmitted disease. The friars could have come into contact with it simply by caring for the sick.

1- Scientists studied the bones at the burial site of a Greek community in an Italian city, Metapontum, and found indisputable evidence of syphilis. This city was last inhabited in 207. Thus, those bones were buried, at least, 1285 years BEFORE Columbus expedition. 2- Scientists researched bones, ancient texts and Roman medicine of the city of Pompeii, and discovered indisputable evidence of syphilis in the city. Pompeii was destroyed and buried by a volcano on August 24 year 79. Thus those bones were buried, at least 1413 years BEFORE the Columbus expedition. Those information proved that Syphilis was present and rampant in Europe, way before Columbus expedition. If you want to hold,, at all costs, to the unproven theory that The Indian gifted the European with the syphilis disease, you have to first, believe that the Columbus expedition was a 'back to the future' event. For the record, the above findings were stated clearly, in the video. Watch it again.

Very interesting. My Dad was a medic in WWII and he worked in the VD ward. He told me lots of stories about GI's that caught Syphilis and if not treated it was terrible. If caught early Penicillin would cure it. He was scared of it.

Syphilis may have been brought to America from the old world with the first peoples who crossed over the land bridge during an ice age.

The bright flashing light that accompanies the electric shock sound is not only annoying but migraine & seizure inducing . Hopefully it’s not going to occur throughout the entire documentary. The information is truly interesting. I’m a nurse and in 2020 I took care of a patient with neurosyphilis. It’s still plaguing patients in high risk groups.

Everyone’s complaining about the music while I’m too busy being blinded from the random bright white flashes

It was surprising to hear that some believed that syphilis had come TO Europe FROM the Americas; I'd learned that syphilis and gonorrhea were some of the "gifts" that European explorers brought to the Americas, along with smallpox, measles and others.

These sound effects are priceless!😂😂😂😂

This was a very thorough documentary! The quality of this channels documentaries is insane!

Apparently the syphilitic skeletons were temporarily reanimated just long enough to compose and perform the music for this documentary before resuming their post-death, decomposition rest....

The person who did the soundscore for this documentary is probably reading the comments and crying 😂

Can’t believe the woman in blue doesn’t wear gloves while handling V D bones…

Does anyone else have a problem with people digging up someone's skeleton and using it for scientific or historical work? This was once a person who lived, although they lived a long time ago. How many people would be comfortable with a loved one's or their own grave being dug up 50-100+ years in the future, and have someone fiddling with their head cavity as if it's just a curious object someone found in a junkyard vs. allowing the remains to RIP? Yes, we can learn from human remains, but who are we to unearth people's graves and mess with their bones?

The soundtrack needs more cowbell.

Until this documentary, I had never heard of the theory that the indigenous peoples of the Americas had given syphilis to Columbus. Instead, I’ve known for decades that Columbus brought it to the Americas.

There has been a recent skeletal discovery in the Yucatan Peninsula dating over 9,900 years ago of a 30 year old woman who had Treponema peritonitis, a disease related to syphilis.

the editing on this was hilarious. from the eerie plunking tune from when things are Being Considered Very Seriously, to the moaning women of Feeling Very Sorry About Things, to the wailing roar of Pain Itself. i loved the way the guy describing venereal syphilis wafted out of the darkness and fixed me with a dramatic stare as his writings were narrated by the gentle italian man. i loved the way a person had to be lying down flat on their back on some rocks and then go invisible to demonstrate the concept of sleeping. i loved how many times i had to watch that monk spank himself as B roll. this is a masterpiece. bravo.

Can we not have the screams of the damned in the back ground!

Evidence of Syphilis within the friary walls can be explained by: 1 . Their interaction with the poor and sick that they cared for; 2 . Lack of knowledge of how the disease was transmitted from one person to another; 3 . Inadequate sanitation habits: handwashing, basic hygiene and sanitation between treatments of the sick persons that they ministered to; 4 . Portal of entry to infections in the gashes that they open in their skins, when they inflicted their bodies.

I love the Y2K aesthetic of this one, from the sweet triphop soundtrack and sampled audio effects to the computers/graphics and weirdly lit up skeletons. Usually these things are terrible quality and have been through not just one VHS recorder, but this is crisp and almost seems unreal. Very cool! One of my favorites.

Amazing documentary. Both in information and presentation.

A few more Wilhelm screams could've really cemented the mood.

This would be so much more enjoyable to watch without the horrible sound effects. That being said, very interesting content.

Thank you. This has been fascinating. 👍

This was so interesting. Thank you

I have a skeletal disease called Monostotic Fibrous Dysplasia in my right femoral neck. What that means is that very top of my thigh bone, up by the ball of the hip, is hollow. The bone was eaten away and destroyed due to a genetic anomaly. I’ve had multiple bone graft surgeries to the spot. And let me just say, crappy, rotting bones *hurt*! I’m lucky in that my cyst is now stable and I only had serious pain from it for a few years (though I was left with major pain issues from the surgeries and fractures, but that’s another story). But I always cringe when I hear about bone issues like they described in the beginning because I know how annoying and painful they are.

"Who really gave syphilis to whom". This very question is still asked by some today lol!

This makes a lot of sense as Syphillis is a mutation of the disease Yaws. If any organism doesn't mutate or change it's self, it will not survive. The Spanish Flu only had a few mutation's and it became a pandemic. COVID19 is a mutation and in itself it is spurning newer and newer mutation's that we call strains.

Imagine having to walk on legs overrun with Syphillitic bone destruction.

I think there were likely outbreaks occurring even BEFORE they think. As with melanoma, syphilis was probably mistaken as leprosy. Sailors are buried at sea, so how would anyone know if they had it? No, i believe it's been around for centuries.

“Civilization means Syphilization”…best line in any online doc ever. 🤣

People did also join monasteries as a form of penance, so there is a nonzero possibility that they had contracted syphilis before becoming friars. Just a thought.

You wouldn’t have thought just seeing someone who had syphilis how deeply the damage was going I had no idea how it was eating away at the bone 😢 what excruciating pain.. I heard on another video that death would have been a relief from the horrible suffering and it just made me realize how truly painful this disease was.

I can't imagine how much pain this man (skeleton #1216) must have been in. The lesions ate through his flesh *and* through his bones! I hadn't realized how truly bad syphilis could be!

The interpretation of all this seems wrong to me as an MD. Friars often cared for the severely sick. They would not be above caring for syphilitics. A wealthy individual could have had syphilis and his family then paid for a propitious burial. He could also have become a friar himself before symptoms were severe. This puts syphilis in Europe 150 years earlier than believed. Most Europeans drank alcohol to avoid disease passed through water. Why these archeologists assume the friars were having drunken orgies is beyond me. I remember an MD friend of mine correcting me when I considered the effect of STD on the life of the ancients. I didn’t know syphilis was formerly thought to be absent from Europe until after Columbus. Taboos about sexual promiscuity are based partly on these diseases. Soldiers and sailors who travel are naturally susceptible.

It is a fascinating and thought provoking documentary the whole way through.

i really enjoyed that i have learned alot about something i knew very little about , also the way it was put over and explained was easy to absorb ,,,,excellent 9/10 from me ///

I worked for an internal medicine practice. The secretary and I were dreading an appointment for our rudest patient. The doctor said his disposition was a consequence of long term Syphilis.

This Syphilis Pandemic video has become a big part of our family's Christmas tradition! We all gather around and watch during our Christmas meal. It truly brings us glad tidings of Great Joy!

Amazing! Watching them uncover that whole site in Hull.

Very nicely made and very interesting 👍👍

I do not think that l have ever been more grateful to have not been living in those times than l am watching this. The suffering must have been so intense, so agonizing for those in the grips of this plague, for those in the midst of having their bodies shredded. l cannot even fathom having to endure this or worse yet, watching someone that l love struggle with it until they were taken. How horrifying.

The friaries were often the only places the poor could go for hospital care. The friars nursed the sick and the dying, including cases of syphilis, as part of their Christian duty. Syphilis sufferers were outcasts of society, their families didn't want them and wouldn't nurse them up till their deaths. The friaries did, and they gave comfort to the end for these poor souls.

Thanks for sharing.

A smiley face! At 4:31 while talking about recognizing syphilis showing up on bone, the camera scaled up a leg bone to a smiley face indentation? Or pumpkin head! 🎃 😯

Wow, I have finally found the perfect soundtrack for my wedding ceremony. I’m also impressed that they were able to capture my morning groans /stretch.

Wow, that one guy REALLY didn't want to be wrong. He totally agreed that the bones showed signs of syphilis but was like... nope, it's not possible.

Real detective work! So interesting!

I had always thought syphilis was around since ancient times.

This music killed half of Europe not the plague.

My GGF died of syphilis which he’d picked up while working for the British Army in Ireland. He died of what was then called ‘ the wasting disease ‘ in Rainhill psychiatric hospital ( the largest psychiatric hospital in the North of England ) shortly after admission there .

CONGRATULATIONS! You have reported as a new discovery a conjecture that I read about 40 years ago! Basically the author speculated that the non-fatal form of the pathogen's activity (which in fact is a disease called yaws) mutated in Europe because the little Ice Age caused more covering up and led the little varmints to mutate to transmitting through the mucous membranes of the sexual organs. I note however, that there was nothing in the documentary to explain this big explosion in 1495 Naples. Btw, it wasn't just Europe: by 1505 it had reached Japan.

Years ago as a key data operator my state agency was contracted to enter death certificates from the early 1900s into a computer data base. So many of the death certificates after WWI were of veterans who died of syphilis. It was incredibly sad.

It can also be transmitted by mother to child in utero and at birth. It is a body fluid transmission, so it can also be contracted when coming into contact with contaminated blood or other body fluids. If the monks treated the sick, they could have contracted it w/o sexual contact.

Fascinating history. It seems that syphillus was in Europe over a century before the "new world" was discovered.

Interesting video with a new approach. But I wouldn't trow away the pre-Columbian theory at the moment. Not yet. Maybe It would be interesting also to look, if possible, towards viking skeletons. They had also contact with North America and the local population and they were well-presented in North England. It could be also a way of disease transmission?

It's weird when I think about things like this disease I think about it in past tense but it's a disease that still exists today just not common to find but there's still cases of it in hospitals.

There were 2 children's skeletons found in Pompeii that showed signs of congenital syphilis. It had probably been around for ages in the known world, not just the Americas.

Imagine this man spent years of work on a theory just to have it blown to smithereens in an instant. Science is always evolving...there is no denying it. Fascinating show.

Very concerning that the scientist presenting the skeleton @5:00 she is not wearing any gloves thus leaving her hand/finger oils on the artifact. Nowadays this won't happen in any lab research (especially when handling artifacts from the past).

The soundtrack deserves an investigation. Don’t watch at night!

George just doesn't want to be wrong about his writings.

Seems to me that one skeleton that had syphilis prior to1492 is enough to say that, yes, it was present in Europe before Columbus.

The sound effects were a hoot. The best part for me.

Consider as well that Columbus wasn't the first European expedition to the Americas in fact some of his crew had been before as Portuguese cod fishermen. Not to forget the Vikings the Irish and the cod fishermen of Portugal France and British. The new world cod fishery was one of the best kept secrets of the new world.

"so what kind of religious community was this?" The fun kind apparently.

Imagine the pain they went through :( I feel horrible for the people who had no relief from this. I couldn't imagine what the disease would feel like. But if it's eating ur bones that's horrible.

Dendrochonology gives the date the wood was cut. Not when the coffins were built. And I believe the disease started in Europe. However,another fact is that Europeans-Vikings- were in Americas around 1000 ad. They did have contact with natives but usually in warfare,I think

i cannot believe she is handling human remains without gloves...

Narrator: ..and they were, of course, celibate. Me: Well, SOMEBODY wasn't!

I dont care how old those bones are...I would NOT touch that scourge with my bare hands

Half of comments here are from people who either didn't watch the documentary or , even worse, didn't understand it.

Me: (Listens to acid house and rave) RU-vid: Here let’s us recommend you a documentary about syphilis

George is a careless scholar. He refutes evidence because it counters his thesis.

Why am I watching this? To distract myself from the coronavirus.

Wow! Great Documentary!