• Catfish [she/her]
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      3 months ago

      These are countries where not too long ago people shat and poured piss out their windows. Anglo castles had a potty house that sat over the castle walls and they’d hang their clothes in it because the unique environment killed the fleas and bugs on their clothes. They have never been known for their hygiene, Native Americans said the first colonists stank to hell and wouldn’t bathe.

      • olgas_husband
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        3 months ago

        portuguese colonists were bothered by brazilian natives bathing 5-7 times a day, that was their first push to learn native languages only to teach them that bathing reduces your sex drive.

        according to the map apparently they got better, i believe it is a cultural vestigial traits from when that territory was under arab rule or smth, and muslims are the most hygienic people in the planet, so it eventually prevailed in modern era with recent scientific discoveries.

      • SadArtemis
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        3 months ago

        Native Americans said the first colonists stank to hell and wouldn’t bathe.

        There’s plenty of records from the Islamic world and east Asia saying the same tbh. On one hand, it’s probably a bit exaggerated (only slightly), but on the other hand, western Europe in particular deserves all the bad reputation it gets and then some.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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          3 months ago

          Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, guy who comissioned Taj Mahal, had some European advisors and mercenaries in his service, mostly British, Italian and Portuguese, and commented on them they could maybe become great people if they would wash their asses. Which was pretty shocking comment for this man so i assume they must have really stink especially they weren’t even allowed close to the emperor as per etiquette.

      • Rania 🇩🇿🏳️‍⚧️
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        3 months ago

        I remember a page in “Endless Holocausts: Mass Death in the History of the United States Empire” that mentioned that a tribe got sick because the Spanish colonizers kept shitting and pissing in a river that was used as drinking water.