The Abandoned Hill With Two Members Of Parliament

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  • Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
  • Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, is a now-desolate hillfort run by English Heritage. But it was once one of the most important sites in southern England: so important that it had two members of Parliament. Then, it became a "rotten borough": and a warning about power.
    Thanks to English Heritage: more information and how to visit: www.english-he...
    Research and script assistance from Jess Jewell
    Drone camera by Jamie Bellinger
    Edited by Michelle Martin: / @onthecrux
    Audio mix by Graham Haerther: haerther.net
    Filmed safely, following all local and national guidance: www.tomscott.c...
    SOURCES:
    Corfield, P. (2000). Power and the professions in Britain 1700-1850. London: Routledge.
    Dodsworth, W. (1814). An historical description of the cathedral church of Salisbury : including an account of the monuments, chiefly extracted from Gough's "Sepulchral Monuments," and other authentic documents : also, biographical memoirs of the Bishops of Salisbury, from the earliest period by W. Dodsworth, verger of the Cathedral
    English Heritage's own research page: www.english-he...
    www.historyhome...
    🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
    📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
    ❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com/ / lateralcast
    ➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: / tomscottplus
    👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif

Комментарии • 2 тыс.

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  4 года назад +7478

    Strong wind doesn't play well with lockdown hair. I forgot to put the tag at the start of the video, but this was filmed safely, following all Covid guidance and law: you can pull down the description for a link to the precautions I'm taking!

    • @smileless3465
      @smileless3465 4 года назад +58

      Good tom!

    • @chaewonpupuz
      @chaewonpupuz 4 года назад +5

      Hi :)

    • @mikumicha7363
      @mikumicha7363 4 года назад +20

      Great Job Tom! Keep up the valuable content!

    • @manoballimbu4051
      @manoballimbu4051 4 года назад +97

      What... how does your comment say 3 weeks ago when this video came out 1 minute ago?

    • @ppilleppille1516
      @ppilleppille1516 4 года назад +29

      What,this was commented 3 weeks ago and the video came out today

  • @lifthras11r
    @lifthras11r 4 года назад +4594

    I honestly feel like Tom is shouting "one take!" to the sky in the outro.

    • @marysiamilach8460
      @marysiamilach8460 4 года назад +120

      got the same vibe. That was a nice moment

    • @GaviLazan
      @GaviLazan 4 года назад +163

      I feel like every time we see him at the end of a video he's yelling "one take!"

    • @marysiamilach8460
      @marysiamilach8460 4 года назад +190

      @@GaviLazan Nothing would top the "one take!" after the one about RUclips IDs. Sometimes I rewatch it solely for the ending and it has never failed me to bring me joy.
      Good times.

    • @Electroporcupine
      @Electroporcupine 4 года назад +16

      @@marysiamilach8460 I rewatched that one just last night, he's so chuffed with himself.

    • @timj6121
      @timj6121 4 года назад +10

      Those are definitley the "one take!" arms haha

  • @snake3rd
    @snake3rd 4 года назад +7475

    Never thought my house would be in a Tom Scott video, but can just about see it from here!

    • @gizmodobaggins7040
      @gizmodobaggins7040 4 года назад +724

      Daryl Watts doxed yourself.

    • @Alien1375
      @Alien1375 4 года назад +229

      Nice place to live.

    • @ElaborateTiger
      @ElaborateTiger 4 года назад +437

      Hey I'm outside, let me in

    • @chairchair1231
      @chairchair1231 4 года назад +185

      @Susan Reed,????????

    • @aliakeel
      @aliakeel 4 года назад +103

      @@chairchair1231 why 🙄 can't 😑 you 😕 understand 😮 what 😞 they're ☹️ saying 🤔😑🙁😒

  • @RyanNeufeld
    @RyanNeufeld 4 года назад +1511

    "History is fractal" - such an elegant way to describe it.

    • @madokafied
      @madokafied 4 года назад +2

      It really is

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 4 года назад +7

      There's just so much of it.

    • @jakedee4117
      @jakedee4117 4 года назад +20

      Nice isn't it, the closer you look at history the more detail is revealed and you'll never get to the end of it.

    • @ogivecrush
      @ogivecrush 4 года назад +28

      It always exasperates me when I watch a history video and invariably someone(or many someones) will comment that they can't believe they didn't learn about it in school. So much history, so few school years.........

    • @AdrianPardini
      @AdrianPardini 3 года назад +2

      Connections by James Burke is such a nice example of this.

  • @FISHD0G747
    @FISHD0G747 4 года назад +1014

    "History is fractal. You could spend days, or years, or a lifetime studying everything that happened over those few days in 1832. Or, you could sum up centuries in a few minutes." 5:17
    Fantastic quote. Beautifully summarizes an idea I've always had but could never had stated so clearly. Have a feeling it will stick with me.

    • @blatherskite3009
      @blatherskite3009 2 года назад +16

      Yep. That line jumped out at me, too. Fractal is a great description: the more you "zoom in" the more detail there is.

    • @scottnunnemaker5209
      @scottnunnemaker5209 2 года назад +3

      I feel like this is most peoples view of history, which is also why it’s a great excuse not to learn any history or at least any meaningful history. All the good history stuff is in the details anyway.

    • @bigredc222
      @bigredc222 2 года назад

      @@scottnunnemaker5209 Sometimes you learn things about your hero's that you wish you didn't learn.

    • @scottnunnemaker5209
      @scottnunnemaker5209 2 года назад

      @@bigredc222 good, then you can stop worshipping horrible people as heroes because of ignorance.

    • @bigredc222
      @bigredc222 2 года назад

      @@scottnunnemaker5209 I don't have to worry, I've never worshipped anyone.

  • @tobeytransport2802
    @tobeytransport2802 4 года назад +1576

    I thought this was either going to be:
    - two MPs were buried there
    OR
    - you going along with two MPs to the hill
    😅 oh how wrong I was

    • @MissCracker
      @MissCracker 4 года назад +12

      I thought it was a MP tomb or something 😭

    • @GumSkyloard
      @GumSkyloard 4 года назад +7

      I thought it had 2 statues of MPs.

    • @christopherlee-hudson3283
      @christopherlee-hudson3283 4 года назад +4

      @@ragnkja I only know about rotten boroughs from Blackadder.

    • @bulman07
      @bulman07 4 года назад +6

      Or a constituency boundary splitting it down the middle

    • @HassanSelim0
      @HassanSelim0 4 года назад +19

      I thought two MPs lived there or are currently living there 😂

  • @swumbles
    @swumbles 4 года назад +3778

    manchester: hi we'd like these laws
    some guy on a hill: *no*

    • @sandwich2473
      @sandwich2473 4 года назад +186

      riots ensue
      some guy on a hill: no
      more riots
      some guy on a hill: no
      even more riots
      some guy on a hill: ok

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 4 года назад +14

      some guys not on a hill

    • @TheInselaffen
      @TheInselaffen 4 года назад +2

      Settle down our kid.

    • @Flutesrock8900
      @Flutesrock8900 4 года назад +31

      More like: Some guy whom we pretend is still on a hill *wink wink nudge nudge*

    • @rudmanpaul2812
      @rudmanpaul2812 4 года назад +2

      Nowt changes

  • @tkgsg
    @tkgsg 4 года назад +6138

    A moment of silence for all people like me who thought that this hill still has 2 MPs

    • @deinname7981
      @deinname7981 4 года назад +66

      F

    • @amrutasaralkar8008
      @amrutasaralkar8008 4 года назад +44

      F

    • @supernoodle704
      @supernoodle704 4 года назад +36

      F

    • @567secret
      @567secret 4 года назад +274

      I wasn't sure what the title meant to begin with, for some reason I parsed it as "The Abandoned Hill, With Two Members Of Parliament
      " so thought this video was either going to include two MPs, OR there were two MPs buried there.
      Much happier with the direction it went though.

    • @tobster1499
      @tobster1499 4 года назад +11

      F

  • @cook_it
    @cook_it 4 года назад +2402

    The last quote is too true.
    "It's hard to convince people with power to give up that power" is the exact problem that many in this world face.

    • @josh_final
      @josh_final 4 года назад +133

      Which is why we need to be careful when deciding which powers we give the government. For too much of the world its a bit late

    • @Wasserkaktus
      @Wasserkaktus 4 года назад +19

      It isn't if you are actively humble your whole life: Then power is a noble privilege you are given and can freely and easily relinquish when there isn't any further reason to wield it.

    • @TheUnitedEstates
      @TheUnitedEstates 4 года назад +153

      @@Wasserkaktus I, for one, am extraordinarily humble. Perhaps the most so.

    • @woutervanr
      @woutervanr 4 года назад +166

      Even harder to convince people not in power that the people in power are usually the ones responsible for their misfortune and not "the others"/"traitors". I'm willing to bet that this is the case in not only every current country, but also every single on that has been. There still is hope for the future, always.

    • @katethegoat7507
      @katethegoat7507 4 года назад +121

      Eat the rich

  • @CalebDennis1
    @CalebDennis1 4 года назад +1031

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly."
    As Gary would say, "topical."

    • @charlieackroyd3243
      @charlieackroyd3243 3 года назад +31

      It’s even more topical now

    • @lawrencecalablaster568
      @lawrencecalablaster568 3 года назад +17

      “SATIRE”

    • @GeorgeFarren
      @GeorgeFarren 3 года назад +10

      @@charlieackroyd3243 And even more even more today. New voter suppression laws yay! /s

    • @freddy4603
      @freddy4603 3 года назад +18

      I'm gonna be impressed when there's a moment where this ISN'T topical

    • @smg7602
      @smg7602 3 года назад +1

      Gary? Who the hell is Gary?

  • @timhorsburgh2193
    @timhorsburgh2193 3 года назад +170

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly."

    - Tom Scott, Things You Almost Certainly Know

  • @charlieg.8768
    @charlieg.8768 4 года назад +494

    Me and the boys owning an old castle to get seats in parliment

  • @EvelynnEleonore
    @EvelynnEleonore 3 года назад +290

    How I got radicalized: Tom Scott explaining that historically, often only the threat of disempowerment through force can convince those in power to share it

    • @graceygrumble
      @graceygrumble 3 года назад +13

      Sometimes, those in power really want to raise up everyone, because they see the country as a society which needs to advance.
      They're increasingly scarce.

    • @mortimer687
      @mortimer687 3 года назад +7

      @@graceygrumble sadly though, the institutions many of those people in power work with only represent the interests of the oppressors from the start. power can only be attained by dismantling the current system and replacing it with the power of the oppressed.

    • @graceygrumble
      @graceygrumble 3 года назад +20

      @@mortimer687 Many believe that power is only ever relinquished through fear of revolution, or revolution itself.
      Sometimes, people like Cadbury and Salt, show that taking care of 'the worker' increases productivity and their own personal wealth.
      Until everyone sees that housing people; giving them well-paid work; educating them and looking after their health is necessary in order to increase the prosperity of everyone, we'll continue with an unfair and fearful society:
      More prisons, more crime, more police and more gated housing.
      Being 'good' is economically viable, but people can't see it, because they're foolish.

  • @chrisgurney2467
    @chrisgurney2467 4 года назад +489

    ''And now the returning Officer for Dunny on the wold, Mr E Blackadder...."

    • @chthonicmonster
      @chthonicmonster 4 года назад +26

      ... and Mr S Baldrick.

    • @svmitche
      @svmitche 4 года назад +20

      And a Robber Button is?

    • @Shaun.Stephens
      @Shaun.Stephens 4 года назад +3

      @@svmitche ... a Rubber Bottom with a few letters transposed.

    • @alexgreenwood404
      @alexgreenwood404 4 года назад +8

      @@chthonicmonster sod off

    • @mulgerbill
      @mulgerbill 4 года назад +13

      And we're all very glad that Mr Blackadder stepped in at the last moment

  • @epiendless1128
    @epiendless1128 4 года назад +802

    "Mr. Scott, _you_ are the only voter in this rotten borough...?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    "One voter, 11k upvotes -- a slight anomaly...?"
    "Not really, Mr. Hanna. The number of votes I cast is simply a reflection of how firmly I believe in this video."

    • @brantnuttall
      @brantnuttall 4 года назад +38

      Nice. As soon as we heard the phrase rotten borough, we knew where it was heading.

    • @IlanPearlman
      @IlanPearlman 4 года назад +12

      A rubber button

    • @EcceJack
      @EcceJack 4 года назад +3

      Glad I'm not the only one with such a one-track mind 😄

    • @johnmisterjtatrevor-allen5790
      @johnmisterjtatrevor-allen5790 4 года назад +17

      @@IlanPearlman Well lucky, lucky us! Luuuck! Luuuuck! LuckluckLUUUUCK!!

    • @TechnicFyre
      @TechnicFyre 4 года назад +42

      For those like myself, who may be wondering: it’s a reference to Blackadder season three, episode one “Dish and Dishonesty” in which Blackadder gets a hold of a rotten borough, and as its single voter casts 16472 votes for Baldrick.

  • @lizardlegend42
    @lizardlegend42 4 года назад +647

    1:55 ah yes the famous Salisbury Cathedral, so famous that it would warrent a couple days' holiday from Russia for the sole purpose to look at the cathedral.

    • @Ma_Zhongying
      @Ma_Zhongying 4 года назад +93

      They then went back to Moscow after Salisbury was too cold.

    • @DELLPOWEREDGER
      @DELLPOWEREDGER 4 года назад +119

      Why of course have you not pondered with great awe at the 123m tall spire comrade *cough* *cough* friend

    • @Makujah_
      @Makujah_ 4 года назад +9

      Can someone tell what this references to?

    • @narutohokage20
      @narutohokage20 4 года назад +75

      @@Makujah_ the Salisbury poisoning a few years back

    • @puzzlem
      @puzzlem 4 года назад +18

      @@Makujah_ Skripal poisoning

  • @_iphoenix_6164
    @_iphoenix_6164 4 года назад +1957

    Imagine being a hill and then an MP comes along

    • @runlarryrun77
      @runlarryrun77 4 года назад +87

      "Hello, I wonder if you'd consider voting for me..."

    • @kyriacosstavrinides893
      @kyriacosstavrinides893 4 года назад +62

      That's why it's in ruins.

    • @_iphoenix_6164
      @_iphoenix_6164 4 года назад +9

      Kyriacos Stavrinides ayy

    • @Madhattersinjeans
      @Madhattersinjeans 4 года назад +21

      Imagine being a hill.
      No I don't think I will.

    • @esquilax5563
      @esquilax5563 4 года назад +20

      I don't think an MP coming along adds much to the weirdness when I'm already imagining being a hill

  • @mojosbigsticks
    @mojosbigsticks 4 года назад +87

    We camped on Old Sarum as re-enactors, and I fell in love with my partner in Salisbury Cathedral tea shop. Thanks for the memories Tom.

    • @Dockhead
      @Dockhead 4 года назад +7

      now thats a story!

    • @MichaelBosley
      @MichaelBosley 4 года назад +1

      I used to go to the re-enactments as a child every summer. Good fun.

    • @gregoryspatisserie9858
      @gregoryspatisserie9858 4 года назад +2

      That’s very sweet

    • @Alfonso162008
      @Alfonso162008 4 года назад +4

      Re-enactors of what, if I may ask?

    • @mojosbigsticks
      @mojosbigsticks 4 года назад +5

      @@Alfonso162008 Medieval, War of the Roses to be precise. But the town's procession also included a dragon on a string, so maybe not completely accurate.

  • @vidieo__
    @vidieo__ 4 года назад +27

    Tom, you never cease to amaze me. "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly" is exactly the problem that we're facing right now!

  • @lazarusmekhane439
    @lazarusmekhane439 2 года назад +179

    I'd just like to emphasise how chaotic the demand for Reform was. When the Reform bill was rejected the second time in the House of Lords, rioters in the city of Bristol controlled the entire city for three entire days; in which they burnt down numerous palaces and mansions of Anti-Reform politicians. When the Reform bill was rejected the third time, there was a dangerous period titled, 'The Days of May'. During which there was a massive run on the banks and caused £1.8 million to be withdrawn from the Bank of England. In today's terms, that's £200 million.
    In fact, the only way Reform was ever achieved, it required the Pro-Reform Prime Minister, Earl Grey, to threaten the House of Lords by asking King William IV to flood the House with Pro-Reform Lords.

    • @mollusckscramp4124
      @mollusckscramp4124 Год назад +5

      That's really cool, the history of "public outrage" is so important when you look back at progress for such large nations

  • @jackdutfield6096
    @jackdutfield6096 4 года назад +308

    Given Scott's use of landscape shots my house would turn up in one of these videos eventually, and here we are

  • @Timohtep
    @Timohtep 4 года назад +235

    A rotten borough was a major plot point in an episode of Black Adder, so I actually happened to know what they were before I watched this video. Thanks Rowan Atkinson!

    • @namugriff
      @namugriff 4 года назад +5

      Timohtep and Mister S. Baldrick.

    • @chthonicmonster
      @chthonicmonster 4 года назад +8

      Sorry to bother you Mr E Blackadder, but what does the S in his name stand for?

    • @chthonicmonster
      @chthonicmonster 4 года назад +5

      Ah, Sodoff

    • @autribasu
      @autribasu 4 года назад +11

      Java Coder “When I was a young boy, I’d try to play with the other children, and introduce myself as Baldrick. They replied, yes, we know, Sod off Baldrick!”

    • @chthonicmonster
      @chthonicmonster 4 года назад +3

      The power of an expensive turnip is to great. All I want one day is a turnip of my own.

  • @BrainsApplied
    @BrainsApplied 4 года назад +1360

    Tom Scott, the guy who can equally well talk about IT, art or history!

    • @oricalu448
      @oricalu448 4 года назад +118

      And linguistics

    • @curioustill
      @curioustill 4 года назад +100

      Or even implied social commentary disguised as history ;-)

    • @nagata277
      @nagata277 4 года назад +10

      That's his talent, talking something and making it entertaining!

    • @Linkzcap
      @Linkzcap 4 года назад +16

      Is it "equally well talk" or "talk equally well"? If only we had someone who could equally talk well about linguistics...

    • @maskettaman1488
      @maskettaman1488 4 года назад +7

      It's just the wikipedia page on a topic but with a british accent. Excellent presentation nevertheless

  • @KyleDB150
    @KyleDB150 4 года назад +106

    "History is fractal"
    That's an excellent way to say it, you can spend the same amount of time studying one day in one persons life, or a century of a civilisation's rise and fall, just depends how deep you want to look.
    It's important to think though, we're probably in just the dawn of recorded history, just a handful of generations from figuring out the earth goes round the sun. As much history as there is, there's an infinite amount more yet to be made (hopefully)

    • @BobMarley-vl5gl
      @BobMarley-vl5gl 4 года назад +4

      Kyle Brown *cue distant sound of nukes dropping*

    • @nomadiccleric5672
      @nomadiccleric5672 4 года назад +1

      *of OUR recorded history :) aliens!!

  • @FlamingMonocle
    @FlamingMonocle 2 года назад +5

    Came here on a school trip as a kid, my love of history developed almost immediately. Great video.

  • @TheBlackBrickStudios
    @TheBlackBrickStudios 2 года назад +17

    You know you are watching a Tom Scott video when a discussion about a historically important hilltop turns into an existential reflection on human society with modern day parallels.

  • @JoeKoenen
    @JoeKoenen 4 года назад +3

    This video made me cry. You did a really good job threading a needle, and making a statement.

  • @ameliawhinney4173
    @ameliawhinney4173 4 года назад +24

    So strange to see Old Sarum on a Tom Scott video - I was just up there yesterday on a walk. It's amazing to live in an area with so much history - the great views and fun you can have running up and down the hills are also a bonus!

  • @georgethompson5407
    @georgethompson5407 4 года назад +36

    One of the best parts that was missed out is how the cathedral moved. According to legend, one of the archers in the castle was told to fire an arrow, and where it landed would be the new cathedral. As it fell, the arrow hit a white stag, which ran for eight miles, until it finally collapsed at the site of today’s cathedral’s alter.

    • @speedy01247
      @speedy01247 4 года назад +6

      sounds like the archer was subtly telling them to leave town. (how else can you hit a animal on "accident" like that)

  • @damascus6478
    @damascus6478 4 года назад +5

    I remember going to Old Sarum about 25 years ago because I had free admission on some sort of tourist card. I got out at the Salisbury rail station and asked where it was and was told it was "just up the road." it took 45 minutes to walk there, and I remember it being uphill, and it was raining. As nice as it is, when I got there I was less than enthused because of the walk, the rain, and the thought that I had to walk back.

  • @skidaim
    @skidaim 4 года назад +231

    This guy would be the final boss in Guess My Age

  • @haroldthetallandmighty4544
    @haroldthetallandmighty4544 4 года назад +266

    It'll be a dark day in hell when Tom Scott runs out of things to talk about

    • @countertony
      @countertony 4 года назад +58

      "I'm standing at the river Styx." (Drone camera pulls back and up to show Tom under portable floodlights next to a river. Cue socially-distanced interview with Charon.)

    • @donaldasayers
      @donaldasayers 4 года назад +30

      I would watch a Tom Scott video about a dark day in hell.

    • @haroldthetallandmighty4544
      @haroldthetallandmighty4544 4 года назад +14

      @@donaldasayers It'd be a 40 min documentary about the phrase

    • @donaldasayers
      @donaldasayers 4 года назад +10

      @@countertony And going on to point out that the three headed dog is called Cerberus, which means "Spot".

    • @TheElvisnator
      @TheElvisnator 4 года назад +2

      Imagine him dying
      It'll be the shittiest and darkest day in history
      And Reckful also died on Thursday. Can we get an F in the chat, bois?

  • @enregistreur
    @enregistreur 4 года назад +35

    « It is extreme difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly. »
    Put in today’s context, that’s a very subtle move. Nicely done Tom!

  • @efnissien
    @efnissien 3 года назад +8

    Dunwich was even more notorious as a Rotten Borough, it elected two members of parliament for a constituency that dated back to the 12th century - however, by the time the constituency was abolished in 1832, most of the village had fallen victim to coastal erosion and been washed out to sea.

  • @qwertyTRiG
    @qwertyTRiG 4 года назад +7

    I love how many of your videos don't merely present interesting information, but also end with a point and something more generally relevant to our lives or our understanding of history and society. Thanks.

  • @我吃面
    @我吃面 4 года назад +295

    "how do you convince people with power to give up that power? Public outrage, radicals, protests"
    Spot on
    "Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth." - Lucy Parsons

    • @dairallan
      @dairallan 4 года назад +39

      @Jonathan Williams You must be some sort of revisionist idiot. No democracy has ended because rich people paid taxes. However, almost every democracy which was killed was killed due to wealth hoarding by an ever narrower elite and their refusal to pay their share. This is what history records. But as the facts dont fit your narrative, sure, you make things up.

    • @IamCoalfoot
      @IamCoalfoot 4 года назад +8

      I agree, but would like to add:
      Take care that your actions do not harm those you would wish to save, because such is not revolution, but dissolution.

    •  4 года назад

      @@dairallan taxes are paid on profits, not on seized capital.

    • @Ljubi12882
      @Ljubi12882 4 года назад +4

      @@dairallan Their share? Like back in the days in Russia when people were finally free and some of them, the kulaks, used their new liberties to get wealthy. But then they were deported to Sibiria to freeze because of less skillfull people's jealousy. That was entirely the fault of the kulaks and that's what i call justice!

    • @kabobawsome
      @kabobawsome 3 года назад +9

      @@dairallan Bingo. Athens, the original democracy, which already HIGHLY favored the wealthy, nearly collapsed into an oligarchy because some rich people wanted more. The Roman Republic fell because 3 rich dudes wanted more power (before all betraying each other). The Wiemar Republic fell because the Allied Powers had tried to use their victory in WWI to attempt to treat Germany as another colony and because a bunch of land-owners and wealthy people were terrified of fair elections. The US government coup-ed the Bolivian government recently at the ADMITTED behest of Elon Musk. The rich are the one who kill democracy.

  • @javidproductions9353
    @javidproductions9353 4 года назад +138

    Fun fact: Tom Scott and Ted Ed upload a video at exactly the same time (within a minute) every Monday.
    Edit: typo

    • @jobansand
      @jobansand 4 года назад +1

      Wait, seriously??

    • @sprigsprog
      @sprigsprog 4 года назад +36

      Gotta love Tom Scoot. Tom Scott’s scootering brother.

    • @anthonynonstop7533
      @anthonynonstop7533 4 года назад

      Yes

    • @mauz791
      @mauz791 4 года назад +1

      @@sprigsprog skeet skeet

  • @RoraxPlays
    @RoraxPlays 4 года назад +12

    "it is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up, willingly."
    Ayeee I see what you did there, good on you Tom

  • @TheRealGuywithoutaMustache
    @TheRealGuywithoutaMustache 4 года назад +27

    Tom with the truth bombs at the end though

  • @20quid
    @20quid 4 года назад +441

    5:01 "These days Parliamentary boundaries are drawn by an independent group based on population."
    Sorry Americans.

    • @ShankarSivarajan
      @ShankarSivarajan 4 года назад +45

      "Independent."

    • @the_original_Bilb_Ono
      @the_original_Bilb_Ono 4 года назад +3

      No apology neccessary.

    • @anyGould
      @anyGould 4 года назад +67

      @@ShankarSivarajan If it's anything like the Canadian commissions, it's about as independent as you can get while still using humans. My favorite feature of ours is that the independent commission gives the report to Parliament (or provincial assembly) for passage into law, so the lawmakers have to actually be on the record as being OK, or on the record claiming the commission screwed up and how. So they may not be happy that their dwindling rural base lost a seat... but is it worth being on the record saying they want an extra seat in spite of all the data saying it shouldn't have it? ;)

    • @ragzaugustus
      @ragzaugustus 4 года назад +13

      @@ShankarSivarajan The way to make them independent, is to make it a split between competing political parties. That's the solution, so just make a it a 50/50 split between republicans and democrats, let some libertarian lunatic have a seat and leave one for a green or something, there we go, that's how you avoid gerrymandering.
      Or just go proportional and avoid the whole mess.

    • @Tustin2121
      @Tustin2121 4 года назад +31

      The districts drawn within each state in the US for representatives (state and national) are based on population, which is recounted by the census every ten years, but we still have trouble with that “independent group” part...

  • @nathangathercole6888
    @nathangathercole6888 4 года назад +10

    really enjoyed this video, just finished A-level history going over the parliamentary changes and going through events like the Peterloo massacre, suffragettes and the key figures like Henry Hunt, weird time in history especially when you look into how people got rights to vote, potwalloper is quite a weird one. and i recommend watching blackadder S3 as they go into surprisingly good detail about rotten boroughs and even who voted, which did include animals. well done England.... thanks Tom, putting the old archaeology and not so long ago reforms and different boroughs together made a good video, especially for me, someone who loves History, Archaeology and Ancient History.
    Sorry for the long Message all!
    Also Tom Please make more.

  • @willman2k8
    @willman2k8 4 года назад +78

    Reading about Peterloo it's upsetting that this isn't more heavily remembered for the tragedy it was

    • @gemstonegynoid7475
      @gemstonegynoid7475 4 года назад +15

      Sad thing is it's not a unique event by any count.
      Even here in USA theres been multiple government sanctioned massacres against protesters

    • @TheStarBlack
      @TheStarBlack 4 года назад +13

      Dark stains on the establishment have a funny way of getting forgotten.

    • @zekewhiak956
      @zekewhiak956 4 года назад

      Blackstar 76 not really forgotten

    • @bacicinvatteneaca
      @bacicinvatteneaca 3 года назад +7

      That's how it works. The more a protest challenges actual power structures, the more violently it gets repressed. That should tell you a bit about the Capitol storming from the other day.

    • @JohnyG29
      @JohnyG29 2 года назад

      People keep talking about the bloody event, I'm surprised anyone hasn't heard of it. Can one call 18 deaths a "massacre"?

  • @SpudY2K
    @SpudY2K 4 года назад +73

    The sad thing is, if the rotten boroughs hadn't been abolished when they were, there would be no shortage of people today, many with a lot of power and influence, who'd be happy to argue that they deserve to exist. That getting rid of them would be an affront to tradition and everything the country stands for. Worth thinking about that when politicians defend things in the name of tradition.

  • @joeym5243
    @joeym5243 9 месяцев назад +1

    Watched this during an intermission in a quiz bowl tournament and a question regarding the reform act was asked in the second half. Thanks mate for making videos so good I'd watch them multiple times

  • @argonaut8560
    @argonaut8560 4 года назад +37

    Fun little history lesson in 5 minutes quite enjoyable as well.

  • @princesidon
    @princesidon 4 года назад +7

    We love you Tom! Thanks for being my favorite RUclipsr and continuing to make videos! ❤️

  • @savepangolins5196
    @savepangolins5196 4 года назад +6

    You gotta appreciate the effort put into every video: Love your dedication and commitment!

  • @EdwardWFeery
    @EdwardWFeery 4 года назад +3

    My favourite fact from the saga of Old Sarum is that Salisbury was originally known as New Sarum - and they didn't get round to officially changing the name until 2009.
    Thanks for another great and informative video.

  • @gejyspa
    @gejyspa 4 года назад +2

    Very informative as usual. I went to the wikipedia article about rotten boroughs, which also included the similar "pocket boroughs", and thus I was able to finally understand the line in HMS Pinafore that had for the past 40 years or so meant absolutely nothing to me (I mean, sure, I could have looked it up earlier, but never had the desire to).

  • @eoghan.5003
    @eoghan.5003 4 года назад +442

    5:36 Tom Scott subtly advocating for violent revolution against the billionaire class I see. That red shirt isn't a coincidence.

    • @livinMicro
      @livinMicro 4 года назад +5

      problem is that things are so twisted the revolution would be against those that want the country and for those that want a singular global rule by either EU or UN. The fights we have today are due to infiltration of our governments by those in cfr, imf, un, bis, etc...

    • @adamwright7638
      @adamwright7638 4 года назад +32

      Tomrade Scott

    • @LilithsOwn303
      @LilithsOwn303 4 года назад +1

      He's wearing a blue-grey hoody today! :)

    • @Olyvia..
      @Olyvia.. 4 года назад

      Mr. Steven Craig Smith Sr. Communism is in favour of abolishing borders right?

    • @Domihork
      @Domihork 4 года назад +5

      @@Olyvia.. Sure... That's why the Eastern block ruled by communists had the Iron Curtain...

  • @icedragonair
    @icedragonair 2 года назад +3

    English heritage is such a great organization. Their RUclips channel is great too. They do the sublime series "cooking the the victorian way" of course, but they have loads of other great vids too, and their work overall is really great.

  • @VerrouSuo
    @VerrouSuo 4 года назад +19

    TWO members of Parliament? That’s more members than we could ever get to agree!

    • @beeble2003
      @beeble2003 4 года назад

      In those days, all boroughs returned two MPs.

  • @Bbonno
    @Bbonno 4 года назад +1

    A Tom Scott video commenting on current events that is also timeless at the same time?!
    This is why we like this channel!

  • @Neil070
    @Neil070 2 года назад +2

    In 2022, those words "it is extremely difficult to get people with power to give it up willingly" ring very true for people in the UK and Sri Lanka

  • @seancraig7773
    @seancraig7773 2 года назад +3

    Probably worth mentioning that for much of the last hundred years of its life as a rotten borough, Old Sarum was owned by a family (the Pitts) that produced two PMs. So not just some random powerful schmo, but at times the *most* powerful schmo.

  • @DanielVerberne
    @DanielVerberne 4 года назад +3

    Tom you are one impressive fellow. I don’t doubt the significant behind-the-scenes effort and prep, but what we see and hear ultimately is extremely clear, professional and engaging content. I’m honoured to have known of you prior to your future elevation to Leader of the Milky Way.

  • @autumnmatthews3179
    @autumnmatthews3179 4 года назад +30

    An MP representing just themselves? That never happens nowadays

  • @lemster101
    @lemster101 4 года назад +1

    I'm always insanely impressed by Tom's ability to memorise such long and detailed talk.

    • @paddystrongjaw9995
      @paddystrongjaw9995 3 года назад

      How do you think theatre actors manage, lots of practice and dedication.

  • @canbrit4621
    @canbrit4621 3 года назад +1

    omg i climbed that moat when I was 8 or 9. helped by my older brothers. damn near killed me. We snuck in after walking all the way from home on Fisherton Ave. I'm 52 now and when I google map that now, Im like omg what were we thinking. Thanks for the memories Tom. I miss Salisbury and the UK.

  • @gastonmarian7261
    @gastonmarian7261 4 года назад +56

    Comrade Scott: "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly."

  • @tya04
    @tya04 4 года назад +17

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly."
    Sounds familiar.

  • @myrarblom9539
    @myrarblom9539 4 года назад +363

    let’s stop for a minute and talk about his light-blue hoodie.

    • @OrigamiMarie
      @OrigamiMarie 4 года назад +121

      It looks to me like a gray hoodie that got caught in the middle of a color grading triangle and was deemed the least important thing to get perfectly correct.

    • @Thisath100
      @Thisath100 4 года назад +38

      definitely a light grey hoodie, don't worry

    • @benjaminvingborg3145
      @benjaminvingborg3145 4 года назад +48

      You are mistaken. The definition of the colour grey is the colour of Tom’s hoodie.

    • @zyaicob
      @zyaicob 4 года назад +4

      I'm so glad you brought it up

    • @franchufranchu119
      @franchufranchu119 4 года назад +27

      Dont worry the red shirt is under it

  • @herbieklein2271
    @herbieklein2271 Год назад

    Tom has such a calming way to talk, i could listen to him for hours regardless of the topic/s

  • @Narokkurai
    @Narokkurai 3 года назад +16

    I remember listening to the Revolutions podcast and hearing something very interesting: until around the time of the English Civil War, the role of government wasn't to serve the citizens, but to manage land. The people *on* the land were relatively unimportant, what mattered was simply the land, its taxable value, and who actually controlled it. And controlling a hill fort could still have some value--even if it is abandoned.

    • @13gan
      @13gan 2 года назад +2

      Considering that it evolve from the feudal age, it actually make a lot of sense. This is because the relationship between people are governed by an intricate system of feudal rights. Commoners technically have no obligation under feudal rights to be loyal to their kings but rather to their local lords. The lords themselves are practically autonomous with the king functioning more like a lord among lord rather than absolute monarch. Not to say that the kings are powerless but outside of the royal domain where the lord is directly the kings, the way their power function is indirect aside than certain prerogatives. That is why the House of Lords is the most important house of parliament then with the House of Commons being its junior counterpart.

  • @ChrisThorntonUK
    @ChrisThorntonUK 4 года назад +5

    Tom, this was a really smart way to examine contemporary issues through the lens of history. Props to you and Jess Jewell.

    • @velvetindigonight
      @velvetindigonight 2 года назад

      Also 'we cannot understand the present unless we understand the past'..... our past........ and we rarely get that in the media or at school............................... which is why................................ Hey ho Enjoy!

  • @CharlieHardy96
    @CharlieHardy96 3 года назад +6

    "It is extremely difficult to get people with power to give it up willingly" well I never thought I'd hear something historical like that linked to something ongoing in 2020.

  • @TheSpacecraftX
    @TheSpacecraftX 4 года назад +215

    The rottenest of rotten boroughs.
    S. Baldrick has my vote.

    • @kirepudsje3743
      @kirepudsje3743 4 года назад +4

      I actually thought of the same person, but in his role from Time Team instead..

    • @rikeep
      @rikeep 4 года назад +7

      What does the S stand for?

    • @HMJ66
      @HMJ66 4 года назад +27

      @@rikeep Sod off

    • @klonkikeklonki8760
      @klonkikeklonki8760 4 года назад +17

      @@HMJ66 Well, I guess it's none of my business really.

    • @saltezers2242
      @saltezers2242 4 года назад

      Great thread xD

  • @OnlyGreatFilmMusic
    @OnlyGreatFilmMusic 4 года назад +2

    Top Tip if you are visiting Stonehenge, it is very close to the Old Sarum; and the entrance fee of stonehenge alone is high enough to justify looking at getting a English Heritage yearly pass, giving free access to Stoneghenge, Old Sarum, and hundreds of other sites

  • @_drewcifer
    @_drewcifer 4 года назад +1

    Very apt closing statement. Fascinating piece of history I was not aware of

  • @musclehank6067
    @musclehank6067 4 года назад +18

    The ground: increases in elevation by half a metre.
    The british: blimey mate! Take a gander at the size of that hill! Its nearly a whole mountain innit!

  • @eaaeeeea
    @eaaeeeea 2 года назад +7

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly". It's sad when a person's ethics are corrupted by power, the only argument they'll believe is violence against them.

  • @GunadityaTripathi
    @GunadityaTripathi 4 года назад +172

    "French Revolution was in *'living'* memory then"

    • @gordonrichardson2972
      @gordonrichardson2972 4 года назад +24

      Throat gesture at 04:27

    • @BleuSquid
      @BleuSquid 4 года назад +1

      @@gordonrichardson2972 any idea what that gesture means?

    • @krashd
      @krashd 4 года назад +29

      @@BleuSquid It generally means death, but in this instance it specifically means beheading as that is what happened to the French royals.

    • @KenKopin
      @KenKopin 4 года назад +15

      I took it to mean that the "Living" part of Living Memory didn't strictly apply to everyone involved.

    • @pmaxgray
      @pmaxgray 4 года назад +2

      And of course, the most recent French Revolution was only two years prior. Together with a heap of other revolutions across Europe.

  • @abbiearcher4716
    @abbiearcher4716 4 года назад +42

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly."
    Tom Scott calls for Revolution.

  • @Yesnomaybeidontknowcan
    @Yesnomaybeidontknowcan 4 года назад

    Hey Tom. Thanks for stopping by my home town 👌🏻

  • @tomm5663
    @tomm5663 4 года назад +51

    "It is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up."
    Tom Scott is *BASED?*

  • @0hate9
    @0hate9 4 года назад +220

    Tom Scott: people with power don't want to give it up and it might take a violent revolution to make them
    Me: …comrade Scott?

    • @CuFhoirthe88
      @CuFhoirthe88 4 года назад +8

      Not always flying that shade of red... nnnguy.

    • @muddyerbbine6254
      @muddyerbbine6254 3 года назад +26

      why do you think he's always wearing red?

    • @cmelton6796
      @cmelton6796 3 года назад +2

      @@muddyerbbine6254 red ones go fasta

    • @dielaughing73
      @dielaughing73 3 года назад +6

      I think the kids say 'based'

  • @PotatoBoiYT
    @PotatoBoiYT 4 года назад +111

    Tom Scott’s comment is three weeks ago, as usual!

    • @bigwooz501
      @bigwooz501 4 года назад +4

      Wait what

    • @Alligatr
      @Alligatr 4 года назад +2

      sorcery

    • @thatonecuber9266
      @thatonecuber9266 4 года назад +4

      Like, how? probs just a scheduled video or something. Correct me if I’m wrong

    • @aliakeel
      @aliakeel 4 года назад

      @@thatonecuber9266 the video was private for a bit of time, Tom put a comment when it was private

    • @madokafied
      @madokafied 4 года назад

      @@aliakeel im going with scheduled video

  • @januernest8594
    @januernest8594 4 года назад

    Discovered this channel about a week ago and it instantly became my favourite to watch

  • @zugamifk
    @zugamifk 4 года назад +1

    Hey Tom, thanks for the video! I'm Canadian and I don't know much about English history, this a really wonderful little tale. Thanks for sharing!

  • @Kyun9432
    @Kyun9432 4 года назад +60

    "the Frech Revolution was still living memory"
    Hehe, nice one

    • @jonathanbuzzard6648
      @jonathanbuzzard6648 4 года назад

      In 1832 it certainly was inliving memory. Reading/listening comprehension failure then.

  • @Alaric323
    @Alaric323 4 года назад +4

    The lessons learned here are still relevant today, especially in the US with the political crisis going on right now.

    • @jamestheotherone742
      @jamestheotherone742 4 года назад +2

      True. Government and concentrations of power are always slow to react and adapt to social and technological change. The longer it takes, the longer the tension builds up and the more "energy" is released when it does.

  • @Darklava144
    @Darklava144 4 года назад

    I'm from Salisbury and this video was very informative. Thanks for highlighting some of the political history of my hometown/city.

  • @peraltarockets
    @peraltarockets 4 года назад +2

    I'm enjoying these videos where you use an "oddity" of history to step into a broader context. The sad/funny thing is that in California, we have two Senators representing forty million people while 10 Senators represent far fewer people.

    • @miguelortega9241
      @miguelortega9241 4 года назад

      The Senators represent states, which are presumed to be equal members of the Union.
      If you want representation, then there's the House for that

  • @OneHonestGuy
    @OneHonestGuy 4 года назад +14

    1:27 nice reverse pan :) that traffic..

    • @gimmethegepgun
      @gimmethegepgun 4 года назад

      According to most of the world that's a regular pan :)

    • @skjorta1984
      @skjorta1984 4 года назад

      where

    • @RaymondHng
      @RaymondHng 4 года назад

      I was thinking when did they drive on the right in the UK?

    • @clockworkkirlia7475
      @clockworkkirlia7475 4 года назад +1

      Well noticed! Good eye.

  • @sprigsprog
    @sprigsprog 4 года назад +6

    Why does it feel like this video is awfully well timed? And then when I think about it, why it would be well timed at literally at any point in history.

  • @globalhikingcr
    @globalhikingcr 4 года назад +11

    “Dunny-on-the-World is a tuppenny-
    ha'penny place. Half an acre of sodden marshland in the Suffolk Fens
    with an empty town hall on it. Population: three rather mangy cows, a
    dachshund named `Colin', and a small hen in its late forties.”

    • @JohnSmith-pd1fz
      @JohnSmith-pd1fz 4 года назад

      ++globalhikinger++ There are neither Wolds nor Fenland in the county of Suffolk despite what you may have heard.

    • @SeaSandLand
      @SeaSandLand 4 года назад

      No people at all then... apart from Colin.

    • @robseybaby1
      @robseybaby1 4 года назад

      @@JohnSmith-pd1fz I was going to agree until I remembered that Suffolk has several fens (lakenheath and Hopton jump immediately to mind) and whilst there is not specifically any swathes of land labelled as 'wolds' and Suffolk is hundreds of miles from the Cotswolds or the Wolds of North East England, it does have the town of Southwold.

  • @tompw3141
    @tompw3141 4 года назад

    3:27 I love that a sign warning you there's a sheer drop is all people are deemed to need to be safe,

  • @myjrbs
    @myjrbs 4 года назад +2

    Wow I couldn't even notice the greenscreen at all, amazing job

  • @danx64
    @danx64 4 года назад +19

    "it is extremely difficult to convince people with power to give it up willingly" - Tom Scott, 2020, calling for revolution

  • @cottontheeastercottontailr265
    @cottontheeastercottontailr265 4 года назад +56

    This guy and Half-Asleep Chris are the only 2 people i’m still on YT for
    Edit: yall might stay for diff people but these two are the ppl i stay for

  • @JayExci
    @JayExci 4 года назад +8

    Based

    • @terquoise
      @terquoise 4 года назад

      yes Jay very based

  • @souta95
    @souta95 4 года назад +1

    The lessons learned from this hill still ring true to this day...

  • @5527channel
    @5527channel 4 года назад +1

    hey tom,love your all videos. love from turkey. as a guy who loves filming and making simple videos but a one also wanna do better. you're inspiration for me. please never stop making videos. love your accent and acts while speaking in videos. (subtitles are supergood for me.)

  • @Mr.Not_Sure
    @Mr.Not_Sure 3 года назад +3

    OMG, good to know that Salisbury is known for something else than tall spires!

  • @Njald
    @Njald 4 года назад +18

    This is Tom Scott telling people that it's time for revolution.

  • @muralibhat8776
    @muralibhat8776 4 года назад +10

    I'm waiting for a TechDif: Quarantine edition :P
    Great video though. Especially the comment about history being like a fractal :)

  • @gtheofanopoulos
    @gtheofanopoulos 4 года назад

    Excellent and very significant closing point. Good job Tom.

  • @michaeldeierhoi4096
    @michaeldeierhoi4096 2 года назад

    I had the good fortune to visit Old Sarum in 1983 with my doctor brother who was doing research in Oxford and his partner. That same day we also visited Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehinge, Avebury and a few other places. As soon as I saw the thumbnail I recognized it as Old Sarum. Thanks for the post.

  • @jasonbraun127
    @jasonbraun127 4 года назад +6

    2:01 This guy looks like he's setting out to go on a big adventure.

  • @jacks_alt
    @jacks_alt 4 года назад +16

    Mr. Scott has gone gray and it’s a good look.