1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,560 Speaker 1: Defeat it's not something any of us hope to encounter 7 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: in life, but for almost all of us it is inevitable. However, 8 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: for military commanders, defeat has mortal consequences. Every move, every 9 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: choice on the battlefield means some men will die. Commanders 10 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: just have to hope that they make enough right choices 11 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: so that casualties are limited and victory is secured. In 12 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: nineteen oh four, there was one naval commander who unfortunately 13 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: made all the wrong choices. His defeat was so total 14 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: that it changed the course of history and is still 15 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: studied to this day. Admiral Zenovi mad Dog Rosesvensky was 16 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: known for his strong command style. As the leader of 17 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: Russia's Baltic Fleet, it was on him to oversee a 18 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: huge number of ships in the oceans north of Europe. 19 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: Everything changed in February of nineteen oh four, though, when 20 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: Japanese Admiral togo Hehachiro led an assault on the Russian 21 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: Port authority in modern day northeastern China, the Japanese were 22 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: tired of the Russians encroaching on land and resources in 23 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: the Yellow Sea. The Russians were used to be in 24 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: the strongest power in the region, and they paid no 25 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: mind to their Chinese and Japanese neighbors. But Japan was 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: a newly industrialized nation after the Meiji Restoration in eighteen 27 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: sixty eight, which brought back imperial rule. The Japanese rolled 28 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: over the Russians on land and sea, overwhelming them with 29 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: superior tactics and technology. As such, Russia's only hope for 30 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: reinforcements was Rososvensky's Baltic Fleet. But the problem is right 31 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: there in the name. The Baltic Fleet was in the 32 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: Baltic Sea on the other side of Russia, over four 33 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: thousand miles away by land and quite a bit farther 34 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: by water, and they would have to travel all the 35 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: way around the Eastern Hemisphere to reach the Yellow Sea. 36 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: The Tsar renamed the Baltic Fleet the Second Pacific Fleet, 37 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: and it began its long journey in October of nineteen 38 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: oh four. It took seven months for the fleet to 39 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: travel around Africa and across the Indian Ocean and South 40 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: China Sea to reach their destination, which is why it 41 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: wasn't until May of nineteen oh five that the fleet 42 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: finally arrived in the Strait of Tsushima, where they were 43 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: to engage the enemy. But right away the balance was 44 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: not in the russians favor. The sea was incredibly foggy, 45 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: and so they could barely see anything or even communicate 46 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: from boat to boat with signals. Hey Hachiro meanwhile, had 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: spent the long month since the Battle of Port Arthur 48 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: outfitting his ships with Newtonis telegraph technology that allowed them 49 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: to communicate wirelessly. His boats patrolled the straits watching for 50 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: any sign of the Russians, and that's when Rosesvensky made 51 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: a costly mistake. He kept his hospital ship lit, meaning 52 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: that it could be seen through the fog. In the 53 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: old ways of war, a hospital ship was lit up 54 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: so that the enemy would know not to fire on it. 55 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: But this was the dawn of a new age, and 56 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,679 Speaker 1: he Hachiro had no knowledge of Western customs. Rosesvensky's next 57 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: mistake was to assume that he Hachiro would bring his 58 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: ships alongside the Russians for a broadside attack. This was 59 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: the traditional attack, but once again he Hachiro was only 60 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: interested in new ways of war. Instead, he crossed the tee, 61 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: a naval warfare tactic where a commander brings his ship 62 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: in front of the enemy column instead of alongside, forming 63 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: a tee shape. This allows the attacker to use all 64 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: of their cannons, while the enemy can only use the 65 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: few cannons on the front of their ships. Once he 66 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: Hachiro caught sight of the Hospital ship, he crossed the 67 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: tee and opened fire on the Russians. Rosesvensky tried to surrender, 68 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: but the Japanese didn't understand the Russian signals. They completely 69 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: destroyed the Russian navy, killing ten thousand Russians while only 70 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: losing a thousand Japanese sailors. The Russians soon had no 71 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: choice but to seede control of the Yellow Sea to Japan. 72 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: It was the first time an Eastern power had defeated 73 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: a Western power in battle, and it gave the Japanese 74 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: the confidence to continue to grow and expand their empire. 75 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: Rosesvensky was wounded, but he survived and taken to a 76 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: Japanese hospital. While he was recovering, Hehachiro visited him, saying, 77 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: defeat is a common fate of a soldier. There is 78 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: nothing to be ashamed of in it. The even bigger 79 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: lesson for Russia, though, was one of the dangers of hubris. 80 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: They were not innately superior to their eastern neighbors. It 81 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: was a lesson learned far too late, as Rosesvensky wasted 82 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: months of his life and the actual lives of his 83 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: men in his vain attempt to save his country's interests 84 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: in Asia. Curiously, the Japanese would learn the same lesson 85 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: decades later, when they, like the Russians, over extended themselves 86 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: and foolishly attacked a different, newly industrialized power across the Pacific. 87 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: But that's a curious story for another day. Why do 88 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: we put people on trial? It seems like this question 89 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: should have an obvious answer, but it doesn't. An idealist 90 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: might say that trials exposed truth and hand out justice. 91 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: A cynic might say that they exist simply to strike 92 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,239 Speaker 1: fear into potential criminals, hopefully preventing crime in the future. 93 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: Both would agree, though that, whatever the driving motivation, criminal 94 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: proceedings provide closure to the victims of a crime. If 95 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: someone has wronged you, there is immense relief in theory, 96 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: at least in seeing the wrongdoer condemned by an official 97 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: body and punished for their ax. But what if the 98 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: perpetrator of a crime has no understanding of the laws. 99 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,799 Speaker 1: What if human law was not designed to govern them 100 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,799 Speaker 1: at all. Scattered throughout history are a handful of peculiar 101 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: cases where judges and juries had to determine the guilt 102 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,799 Speaker 1: of not a person but an animal. From the ninth 103 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: to the twentieth century, there were at least one hundred 104 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 1: and ninety six cases of animal trials conducted in civilized nations. 105 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: The majority of these recorded cases were in mainland Europe France, 106 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: to be precise, and while just under two hundred cases 107 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: spread across ten centuries doesn't sound like a lot, it 108 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: has provoked intense study among historians and has produced some 109 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: fascinating stories. For example, in thirteen eighty six, the Norman 110 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: city of Falaise conducted a trial for a pig who 111 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: was accused of eating an infant. The pig was sentenced 112 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,479 Speaker 1: to maiming and death. Once the sentence was delivered, it 113 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: was wounded on the head and four lane and then 114 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: marched to the gallows before an enormous crowd. On the 115 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: way to the rope, it was allegedly dressed in a 116 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: new suit, as was customary for prisoners of the time, 117 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: and pigs are famously ravenous creatures, so it's not a 118 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: surprise that the filet's trial is not the only pig 119 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: that has been found guilty of murder. In fourteenth century 120 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: seven ye a pig and its six piglets were put 121 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: on trial for the death of a five year old boy. 122 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: The owner of the animal was also tried for negligence, 123 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: and yet by the time the court reached its verdict, 124 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: only the animal was punished. The pig was to be 125 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: put to death. The piglets, by the way, were spared. 126 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: Although they were also found covered in blood on the 127 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: scene of the crime, it was impossible to determine whether 128 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: they were also guilty. Reasonable doubts cleared the piglets of wrongdoing, 129 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: and in some cases these animals on trial would not 130 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: face the judge undefended. In the early fifteen hundreds, for example, 131 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: a young French attorney named Bartholomew Chessenie successfully defended the 132 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: rats of Utun, who had been accused of eating the 133 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: bar crop. Overall, you can divide European animal trials into 134 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: two categories, secular and ecclesiastical. A secular trial would pertain 135 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: to domestic animals under human control, such as dogs, livestock, birds, 136 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: and beasts of burden, but animals that were not under 137 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: human control, such as rats and insects, would fall under 138 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: the jurisdiction of the church, thus ecclesiastical. Oh And on 139 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: occasion there would be an overlap with local folklore, as 140 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: was the case with a rooster that in fourteen seventy 141 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: four laid an egg. The court could not determine whether 142 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: the egg had become a basilisk or a cockatrice, but 143 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: both carried the same sentence death for the bird in question. 144 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,440 Speaker 1: No one seems to have considered that this was a 145 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,559 Speaker 1: female chicken that had been misidentified as a rooster. It's 146 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: strange to consider that these sorts of trials occurred at all, 147 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: and that they were not driven by hysterical mobs, but 148 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: by town officials, bishops, and lawyers. From the Middle Ages 149 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: into the early Renaissance, animals were considered as much of 150 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: their respective communities as the people themselves. So perhaps we 151 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: should not be surprised that the Middle Ages were rife 152 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: with animal crime. Europe had been ravaged by the Black Death, 153 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: and if they could have found the rats guilty of 154 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: mass slaughter by spreading plague, they surely would have done so. 155 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: After the Dark Ages, the symbolic importance of a trial 156 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: mattered more than justice or deterence in a chaotic time. 157 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: The trial didn't exist for the victims or the perpetrators. 158 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: It was held for the community at large. Proof it 159 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: seems that social order mattered, and that no one was 160 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: above the law, not even an animal. I hope you've 161 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,319 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 162 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 163 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 164 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 165 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 166 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 167 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And 168 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: until next time, stay curious.