The film 12 Years a Slave was hugely popular, winning three Oscars. It was predicated on the idea that it was an authentic narrative of a black man in nineteenth century America. It was not. en.wikipedia.o...) www.gutenberg....
The novel "Roots" was plagiarized from the book "The African." That book was also written by a white man. The case went to court so it is easy to research.
I don't pay to watch trash, but I did read the book. I did see clips, including a terrible scene where the "slave" was essentially tortured. That isn't in the book. In the book, he was protected from harm by his white overseer. The producers knew that their intended audience doesn't read books, and are thirsty for things to be angry about
Angry about the fact that their ancestors started the slave trade by selling human beings as a commodity, so they don't criticise their own people, but angrily blame everyone else instead, raging anger because of shame!
Absolutely dead right, there is an industry creating bitterness and hatred towards White culture. Many people make careers and money out of it which is why it is kept going.
I see that you've learned the same as I many years ago. The idea is to show them as all being mistreated, when, in fact, many, who were interviewed before they died, had good things to say about their masters. Many said their masters didn't believe in whipping, and were Christians. Some also stated that they were taken good care of, given a place to stay, fed, and clothed. You'll never hear about the black slave owners, either.
@@craxd1This becomes a problem. Why are so many unconvinced by the primary accounts and sources written at the time? Historians would be accused of being a "Lost Causer" even if some of them make it clear they don't support the South seceding. Explaining nuance is lost on modern "anti-brights".
@@candy-le4nhI've read the violent crime figures and whilst it's apparent that Cleveland has a real problem, nihilist has only to look at the demographics of the areas with the lowest violent crime per capita to find solace. Makes you think. In the meantime, try to address the point made about written history and don't wander off onto your favourite talking point. LOL.
There is some mental case on YT trying to convince people that the Scottish highlanders were of African descent...i gave them quite an extensive history lesson on the highland clans and they accused me of being racists, deleted my comments and blocked me lol.
That’s what people like this are doing, they are deliberately usurping the names of our heroes to get first view on every internet platform/ search engines, etc. They can’t do it on their own, they have to use subterfuge in order to garner attention. There’s even a mass purchasing of domain names/words/titles, etc. A great example of this is Markle. Soon we won’t even be able to look up a word without having to pay them a fee. I wish Simon would look into this.
Over the past 4 years I have stopped watching TV, stopped going to the cinema, stopped reading papers and stopped listening to the radio. Why? Because I finally realized they are full of agendas, manipulation of thought and ideas, increasingly lacking morals, values and ever decreasing quality. We are constantly being persuaded and controlled. They don’t call it programming for nothing. I feel so much clearer without these distractions in my life.
Such a push for black people to be acknowledged as inventors of the world, with the most humanistic wonderful cultures. Yadee ya ..... nobody falls for it, except perhaps very young children and them themselves.
@@PeterBrenno they did not it's all black inventions myths that's why none of those great inventions aren't in any bl ack countries but all of those great inventions are in every Wh ite countries.
@@JAMESLOONEY-kd1nu Most world war 2 films I have seen prominently feature Americans, such as Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor. Contrary to your snarky opinion, the French Resistance, the Yanks, the Pacific conflicts, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan by the US and the Eastern Front seem very well documented in world war 2 movies to me. The fact is, the British were prominently at key conflicts in the war such as Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Burma and Malaysia so what you are claiming is historically inaccurate? Churchill was one of the three leaders of the Allies along with Roosevelt and Stalin. France fell and other countries stayed neutral. I can't think of any films predominantly featuring the British winning the war single-handedly.
I've read the book '12 Years A Slave' about Solomon Northup, the movie by director Steve McQueen greatly exaggerated the cruelty inflicted on slaves by white slave masters for maximum effect.
@@HistoryDebunkedsimonwebbWho claimed this memoir was written by this former slave, Si? Your illiteracy in the English language strikes again, right? LOL
@@HistoryDebunkedsimonwebb Which scenes of torture depicted in the movie are historically inaccurate, Si? Be specific. No? You've absolutely no idea, right? LOL
As a late teen in the mid 70s I bought into Roots being based on real factual history - like most of my generation . It took me many years to acquire the knowledge that much if it was rubbish . Shows how "effective" falsifying history via "entertainment" can be .
Gone with the wind is not about slavery . Slavery is in the background but one will not learn much about slavery from Gone with the wind. It is a love story that encompasses the American civil war.
Revisionist history is perfectly acceptable when the ‘revision’ involves and revolves around certain groups overcoming some terrible circumstances or deprivation Revisionist history is most certainly not acceptable when it paints a ‘bad person’ in a good light, explaining away decisions made or rewriting a historical record or story. A certain historian found this out to his reputational and financial detriment As we are about to be regaled with a new imagining of the ‘Blitz’ to satisfy the need of certain groups to insert themselves into a history that wasn’t theirs it seems accuracy or a public desire to have their history altered is immaterial. We will get what the establishment wants us to see, whether we like it or not
I just want to say the way you speak, your voice that calm British matter-of-factly speaking, makes even annoying topics bearable. Thanks for everything.
@@HistoryDebunkedsimonwebbYou are a breath of fresh air, you research your subject material and always give an unbiased report, I have learnt much and I'm sure I will continue to do so listening to your channel, Thankyou.
@@kevingallen1678 the excuses he comes up with as to why they didn't do this do that bla bla bla... Topography 😂. Europeans and others, literally drill through mountains
@@LouiseOC1no, that's the whole point. It's the authors lies and salacious propaganda...just using Northrup as a cover. He knew what would sell, and it wasn't the truth.
Yes, nothing peculiar arab-palestinians are living high on this. Now, to be fair, Jews do it too in some degree - often justly, sometimes overdone. But unlike most others, they took themselves out and up from the misery into a bright modern state. Even if Israel did got some help from abroads. But who doesnt gets help??
Most 'British' black people here are the children or descendants of black people who came here from the late 1940s onwards as economic migrants. They were never slaves, just opportunists. The US has historically had a larger black population than we have. I grew up in a rural area of England and the first black person I ever encountered in the flesh was on a trip to London in 1990! Lots of revisionism about these days though.
@@barneydenstad2148And I don't understand your comment. This is obviously the channel of a Brit. The comment you're responding to is also obviously by a Brit. Their comment compares the historical experiences of black people in the USA and the UK, and how they're not actually similar historically in many ways, and yet some black people in Britain seem to think they're identical! So I say again ... I don't understand your comment. What point are you trying to make?
@@basilmagnanimous7011 yes well maybe but why did they feel they didn't win awards ? , I watched a docu about Henry mancini who lost out to an award for just one song when it should have been film score , Mancini is legendary while this person did not write a film score , Mancini should have had more awards imo
@@politicas3361 it is quite possible that King Arthur did exist. Historians are still not in agreement. However, even if he did exist, it is clear that most of the legends surrounding King Arthur were made up.
You are correct. I will also say that people should read a Bible and take into account what it says about vengence. "Vengence is mine says the LORD." www.google.com/search?q=vengeance+is+mine+says+the+lord&oq=&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgBECMYJxjqAjIJCAAQIxgnGOoCMgkIARAjGCcY6gIyCQgCECMYJxjqAjIJCAMQIxgnGOoCMgkIBBAjGCcY6gIyCQgFECMYJxjqAjIJCAYQIxgnGOoCMgkIBxAjGCcY6gIyCQgIEC4YJxjqAjIJCAkQLhgnGOoCMgkIChAjGCcY6gIyCQgLECMYJxjqAjIJCAwQIxgnGOoCMgkIDRAjGCcY6gIyCQgOECMYJxjqAjIRCA8QABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gIyEQgQEAAYAxhCGI8BGLQCGOoCMhEIERAAGAMYQhiPARi0AhjqAjIRCBIQABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gIyEQgTEAAYAxhCGI8BGLQCGOoC0gEGLTFqMGo3qAIUsAIB&client=ms-android-uscellular-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
I don't see why English people make such a big deal about Stonehenge. You will find much more impressive structures around the world from around that time.
@@marcusali1783 Possibly because it is in England, built by the ancestors of the English, who see it as a direct link across the millennia to those said ancestors and percieve it as a part of their history at the historical and, for many, the personal and even spiritual level? It is personal to the English...that's why "they make such a big deal about Stonehenge".
@@marcusali1783It was an extraordinary feat for a number of reasons, namely for the movement of a significant amount of large stones which were transported from Wales.
@@carasdawr4752 Except that there is no direct link. The ancestors of the English are the Anglo Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans, who came centuries after Stonehenge was built.
BBC already promoting Olosuga's new book for Black History Month. Saying it changes everything we used to know about history. The attack on our past is ramping up.
I have read that when people suggested that Uncle Tom’s Cabin may have been unrealistic in some details, Harriet Beecher Stowe was able to confirm the realism of the passages by pointing out the similarity to passages in Twelve Years a Slave. As the author of the latter work had the opportunity of reading Mrs. Beecher Stowe’s work before writing his own book, one wonders just how reliable the confirmation is.
A blackman in the 1930s was interviewed about slavery and living on the plantation he said and I quote it was the best and wonderful life you could have I wish I was back there now the white man looked after all of us
I think I actually started the book several years ago but gave up after a few chapters because it did'nt seem very convincing to me. I have specialized in reading first hand accounts after I got interested in true life adventures about fifty years ago.The truth has a ring to it that fiction does not.
the film 12 Years a Slave totally ignores the fact that most slave owners were not horrible cruel monsters who abused their slaves, most of them provided health care, limited education, food, a dry place to sleep, clothes and shoes, they were financial investments and they needed to keep them fit and well, ill people don't work or breed, I'm not condoning slavery but these slaves were treated better in the USA than they were in Africa by their own people who enslaved them, beat them and put them in chains then sold them at coastal slave markets, the truth is usually worse than fiction and being told your own people and often your own family sold you must hurt a lot,
Well said ! , same thing going on today in Cambodia etc...mostly children , hence the sickening sex perverts such as " Gary Glitter " and businesses operating purely on child slave labour..
Rightly or wrongly, slaves were assets that would not be a good business practice to abuse. There are 19th Century oral recollections of slaves who (like it or like it not) felt content with their lot.
Some slave owners may have treated their slaves decently, but the slaves were still entirely at the mercy of their owners whims. There was no security for them. That is the point of Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Tom’s original owners are kind people but when the are bankrupted they have no recourse but to sell Tom.
The slaves had no recourse if their owners were cruel though. And families could be broken up and parents sold away from children etc on an owner’s whim.
@simonmilligan7497 I never said it wasn't his birth name ,but if you go back far enough that name was given by the slave owners. For example 4 generations ago my mc sweeney ancestor married a looney and took the surname
I am sure there were different experiences by black slaves. Some good, some bad. But one thing is certain: White racists and the Klan existed and these drove the engine so to speak.
Frederick Douglass documented slavery very well! No one is debating what happened in the book, as the accounts of what happened is 💯. Anyone who knows anything about slavery knows that these books were toned down.
I was born & raised in the area where Northup was from (as well as my maternal grandfather & all his family tree, we go back centuries in Essex & Washington Counties). No one ever mentioned him. He was exceptionally obscure, until the film came out. I had never heard his name, heard of the book. We spent multiple semesters, at various ages, learning about the Civil War and Slavery...WHY would they leave out the local connection? WHY would they leave out someone whose home we could have taken a field trip to?...and why would it be that my family, some of whom were from the same towns that Northup lived, had no clue?
@adirondackRuby please don't try to attach facts & logic to their propaganda. It Is a futile exercise. You are already armed with infinitely better information about the subject than these chancer's
@@candy-le4nh Where did I say that? I was pointing out how bafflingly weird it is to grow up in the same town a famous person lived in and NEVER be taught about that person.
@@AngelBaby-cp6kf So you think it's reasonable for someone to be well known, their story to be spread far & wide, to have toured to give lectures...and then just be forgotten for 150+ years?
Exactly Mr Webb, these Slaves were treated exceptionally well, three hour working days, sick pay , they could raise their children without fear of the family being broken up and sold, young women wasn't abused, or the men brutally disciplined, all these talks about uprisings from Hati to the carribean is simply not true, they were happy and treated wonderfully, they were even given English Christian name's and a image of christ to pray to !
No one is saying that slavery had any merit, just that Hollywood likes to inflame the passions without using the intellect. e.g. Braveheart. Slavery was abolished after thousands of years by the British because it was finally seen to be cruel and inhumane as Simon would be the first to acknowledge.
The thing is, when they did get their freedom most blacks did not leave the farms. A bit like the Indians who followed the British home after they were given independence.
The past remains, as ever, quite unchanged. It it truly astounding how very many people wish to seek fame by rewriting it. At the end of the day, greed and the desire for fame predominate. These "history rewriters" make me sick. Anything for a buck, eh?
The film was pure fiction - But was hyped up as it being a 'True Storey'. Blatant 'feel sorry for us' propaganda. I recall it was called-out at the time.
@@fransbuijs808 you are both correct. That is the great thing about being in America we get all kinds of new forms of art through the meeting of cultures.
Personally, I like Steve McQueen movies, the likes of 'Bullit', 'The Great Escape', 'The Getaway', etc. The last time I looked though, he didn't wear 'Joe 90' specs and his complexion was of a lighter tone.🤨 Jus' sayin'!
Having actually read the book, and I did see the movie too, I'm a little skeptic if the noted historian Simon Webb actually read the book himself. According to the book, Solomon Northrup was an educated "free-black" who was born and raised in the north during the pre-civil war years. Since the importation of Africans from Africa for the use as slaves had been outlawed, kidnapping free-blacks from the north and smuggling them to the south to be sold as slaves was occurring. Hence the reason why Northrup's manner of speaking was noted by imported black slaves that were in bondage with him, and even the slave masters. This is why Northrup sounded like an educated man when he spoke, surprising those around him in the South. By the way, Northrup could read and write too. Mr. Webb, you would have known this if you had read the book. The book 12 Years a Slave, was out of print since the mid-19th century and discovered by Dr. Sue Eakin in a antique collection when she was 12 years old. Having been told that the book was a "hoax," Dr. Eakin dedicated her early academic career to verifying whether the book was authentic or not. She found records of bills of sale for the slave, Solomon Northrup, who was forced to change his name to Platt, plus records of transport and exchange of his ownership during his 12 years as a slave. All FOOTNOTED by Dr. Sue Eakin when the book was republished with acknowledgements by Dr. Eakin including photographs of the documents. Of course you would have noticed this if you had actually read the book! I don't think the hoaxers in the mid-19th century did the same research as Dr. Eakin did, nor had the same resources. This is a fascinating book to read and I challenge anyone to read it for yourself. I'm not a writer like Mr. Webb, I'm just a reader. I did notice in Mr. Webb's bio that he describes himself as a "writer." Perhaps someday he'll add "reader" to his list of accomplishments some day.
Simon have you tried beef tallow on your nose? It’s a fantastic healing moisturiser, sorted my skin condition right out, really recommend it 👍 put it on overnight a few days a week.
@@brianbrown9512old sun damage, I believe he's been prescribed a cream, have to use that. That said, I've heard natural beef tallow is quite good for the complexion...there's one I'm thinking of trying, as winter plays havoc with my dry skin.
Good morning, what about the story of Liberia? The descendent of africans, that became american slaves, got the opportunity to settle in Liberia, in Africa. What happened? Did they create paradise land? How is the actual situation in Liberia?
You might want to Google Liberia wiki for an overview. For starters, Liberia is 85.1% Christian 12.2% Muslim. Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States.[7] Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia.[8] Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity,[9][10 Formed in 1816, the American Colonization Society (ACS) was made up mostly of Quakers and slaveholders. Quakers believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.[7][22] Believing themselves different from and culturally and educationally superior to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as an elite minority that created and held on to political power. The Americo-Liberian settlers adopted clothing such as hoop skirts and tailcoats and generally viewed themselves as culturally and socially superior to indigenous Africans.[28] Indigenous tribesmen did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.[13] Americo-Liberians encouraged religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples.[28] There's also a Freemasonary angle which the conspiracy theorists will love. But I will leave that for anyone interested in googling Liberia.
Wasn't Wilson, as a ghost writer, transcribing Northup's genuine 'lived experience'? Ghost-written books aren't generally attributed to the ghost writer. FYI, the quote comes from page 247, not the last page of Chapter 17 (which is page 249).
@@user-ti3tq6kz9q Obviously you have problems understanding the basics of English grammar and sentence structure. Still, for a basic AI program you are not doing too badly.
Wasn’t it basically a white ghost writer conveying the thoughts and experiences of a black man? That seems much lees egregious than the way you are framing it, Simon.
I don’t mind in the slightest that this is the case, the important point being that it is a first hand account. I haven’t read the book but enjoyed the film and who in their right mind would allow this revelation of the book being ghost written to affect the quality of the experience.
Except it isn't a first hand account. It's a made up account, by an author who knew what would sell, and wrote accordingly. Attach a real name to it and there you go...
Did the author "Roots" also admit the narrative was "made up"? Today, if he lived in the UK he would most likely be subject to arrest for inciting hatred.
He was sued several times by the authors he plagiarized. They won settlements, but out of court, and with gag orders. it was all made up, not real, and made to sell.
Hell, "The Woman King" was about a woman who was quoted she would conquer her enemies by force or enslaving them. She was the leader of The Kingdom of Dahomey (later Benin) which was the major supplier of slaves and huge slave port. She enslaved her enemies.
Good afternoon Simon as I stated yesterday about the life through a black child during the blitz ? Another piece of plagiarism from a director who has the name of a classic actor from days gone by.
Amazing how you can give a specific crime to one group of people for one period of time. It’s like saying that headaches belong to the Chinese, or indigestion belongs to the Japanese. Slavery has been perpetrated against all races and creeds for all time. It doesn’t belong to anyone and no group can claim sole victim hood. Slavery still occurs today and so few seem bothered about that slavery. So many are fixated on just one group and one time. Nobody owns slavery. Humanity is the victim.
@@candy-le4nh the nazi party and hitler in particular were fascinated with the occult and went to great lengths and expeditions worldwide to ascertain its veracity. From tibet to the Antarctic there is a fascinating trail. The spear of destiny and Gabriel's ark were two perfect examples of legendary artifacts that could give armies great powers The weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were a follow on of this. As was the so called rendlesham forest incident. Been involved in a 40 year research program. I could go on extensively.....
"More intelligent than the generality of his race" actual quote from the book 🤣 Maybe the supposed writer was just had Road to Damascus moment "sheeeeeit, we just a bit dumb cuz"
Also historically black people were indeed enslaved and suffered at the hands of Europeans, yet in modern day WOKE dipictions on tv and in cinema we see them as equals or in elevated positions throughout the ages enjoying all the fruits of European civilization. (Just to note, do remember what the Belgians did to the natives in the Congo).
They were also enslaved by their fellow Africans, and Arabs (a trade that began long before the European slave trade, and for some time after) but they get a pass
It may have been done under Belgian rule, but as I understand it, there were no Belgians involved. It was 👩🏿🦲👩🏿🦲 doing it to other 👩🏿🦲👩🏿🦲. So why do you blame Belgians??
@@fransbuijs808 yes, but the overseers were native 👩🏿🦲👩🏿🦲Congo people. They chose to do what they did to their own people. They are the ones who bear the responsibility for doing the deeds.
@@HistoryDebunkedsimonwebb Who has claimed this former slave wrote the book himself, Si? This is his memoir. As usual, basic difficulties in comprehending the English language have left egg (and something that looks like leprosy) all over your face! LOL
Sadly there are several former slave biographies that have not been made into movies including those of Fredrick Douglas and Brooker T Washington. They present a less white hat v. black hat picture which shows slavery to be significantly more complex. However, they also provide a much deeper picture of the evil of slavery for all of its participants.
Whenever you mention Steve McQueen, I immediately think of the actor in Cool Hand Luke and get confused! Who on earth is this McQueen fellow?? Edit: yeah got confused with Paul Newman, Mcqueens character, like Newman’s in cool hand, dies in Sand Pebbles. So I made a mistake with two characters who die.
@@gentlemanranker9143 ....the actor in 'Cool Hand Luke was the brilliant Paul Newman. The actor Steve McQueen was in the 'Magnificent Seven '. The modern day director Steve McQueen is a black guy who makes woke movies that promotes the importance of black people.
many decades ago, Simon lived in the middle east, and excess exposure to the sun at that time means he is now suffering the consequences. He mentioned in a video that he has to apply a cream to treat his damaged nose, and that this blistering is a side effect.
Lots of people with a story to tell, but without the skill or desire to tell it themselves, allow the publisher of their story to engage a ghost writer to tell it for them. There's nothing new in this practice and the fact that Soloman Northup allowed his publishers to employ someone to write the story doesn't detract from the truth of it. As a document describing the depth of exploitation involved, which was developed over centuries, to squeeze the absolute maximum effort out of slaves is both fascinating and deeply shocking. Northup was paid for his story, of course, as was the professional who wrote it. The publishers made a profit, they wouldn't have remained in business for long without making a profit, and the public was better informed upon a subject which was going to end in a catastrophic war.
There's another book that was made into a film that people think really happened. This novel won awards for best fiction when it was released. Steven Spielberg directed it. Was in black and white.
I started to read it and I agree about the language. And if Hamilton and Brown were involved in luring him into slavery, why on earth did they pay him forty-three dollars? Even if they didn't, $43 dollars sounds like a lot of money especially as they performed only once and "The audience was extraordinarily sparse, and not of the selectest character at that, and Hamilton's report of the proceeds presented but a "beggarly account of empty boxes." How could they have afforded this? 🤦♀ I am curious though that since names are called, if there is any evidence that any of these people existed. Does James H. Burch, and his business associates exist anywhere in census records? Property deeds?
