Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
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0:13 - 0:15Mysteries of vernacular:
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0:15 - 0:17Quarantine,
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0:17 - 0:20a state, period, or place of strict isolation
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0:20 - 0:23meant to prevent the spread of disease.
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0:23 - 0:25In the 14th century,
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0:25 - 0:26the Bubonic Plague,
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0:26 - 0:28later called "The Black Death,"
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0:28 - 0:29spread across Europe
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0:29 - 0:32with devastating consequences.
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0:32 - 0:34It's been estimated
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0:34 - 0:36that the Plague decimated at least one-third
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0:36 - 0:39of Europe's population.
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0:39 - 0:41In a vain effort to stave off infection,
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0:41 - 0:44the Italian-speaking port city of Ragusa,
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0:44 - 0:46in what is now Croatia,
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0:46 - 0:48mandated that ships arriving
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0:48 - 0:50from Plague-infested areas
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0:50 - 0:52remain isolated on the water
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0:52 - 0:54until it was deemed likely
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0:54 - 0:57that they weren't carrying a disease.
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0:57 - 1:00This meant that the enter contents of a ship
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1:00 - 1:02and all of its passengers
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1:02 - 1:04were often forced to remain on board
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1:04 - 1:08for five or six weeks before being let ashore.
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1:08 - 1:09Though the drastic measure
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1:09 - 1:11was only marginally successful,
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1:11 - 1:16it wasn't long before other port cities followed suit.
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1:16 - 1:20In 1397, the official period of isolation
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1:20 - 1:22imposed on ships and crews
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1:22 - 1:25was set at forty days.
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1:25 - 1:28Although it did little to protect ports from infection,
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1:28 - 1:31the directive stuck.
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1:31 - 1:33From the Italian word quaranta,
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1:33 - 1:35meaning forty,
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1:35 - 1:38this period of stasis was given the name
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1:38 - 1:40quarantine.
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1:40 - 1:42And by the mid 1600s,
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1:42 - 1:44the word quarantine was being used
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1:44 - 1:46to describe any place,
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1:46 - 1:47period,
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1:47 - 1:48or state of isolation,
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1:48 - 1:51plague-related or not.
- Title:
- Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-quarantine-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teel
Stemming from the days of bubonic plague in Medieval Europe, quarantines were originally used to prevent ships from disembarking at a plague-infested port city. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the length of the wait, often 40 days, came to be associated with the word we use today.
Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 02:11
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar approved English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar accepted English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel |