The 1918 flu killed more than AIDS and Ebola combined, yet left almost no memorials

historyanalysisWellcome Collection1918–1919 · Worldwide

The 1918 flu killed more than AIDS and Ebola combined, yet left almost no memorials

the gist

The 1918 to 1919 influenza pandemic, known as Spanish flu, killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people worldwide, far more than AIDS and Ebola combined. Yet it left few memorials, novels or artworks, and contemporaries noticed the silence. Most deaths came in a short four-week burst, many happened at home rather than in public, and in Britain and the US it killed about 2 per cent of the population. Compared with the Black Death, which killed 30 to 60 per cent of Europe's population, the loss was spread thinly and quickly forgotten.

how it works

Cyanosis, a blue tinge to lips and skin, appears when blood carries too little oxygen, and in the worst cases the lungs filled with fluid. Because so many deaths happened privately, there was no visible public ritual to mark them.

so what

The pandemic shows that how many people an event kills does not determine how it is remembered. Alfred Crosby's 1976 history was retitled America's Forgotten Pandemic in 1989, after AIDS had made remembrance a political issue.

the bigger pattern

Remembrance tends to follow visible, organised communities. AIDS memorials were built by activists demanding recognition, while most 1918 victims died largely unmarked.

fun fact

Spanish flu was named after Spain, which was among the first countries to report the illness openly, not because the virus began there.

Wellcome Collection · CC BY 4.0

Illustrative photo · Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Med…, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

source: Wellcome Collection ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗