00:00We're all familiar with driver's licenses, annual car checkups, traffic laws, and the plethora of other bureaucratic intricacies surrounding personal
00:10travel.
00:11But we shouldn't forget that for the vast majority of human history, we're moved from point A to point B
00:17on horseback.
00:20Now, of course, such mundane regulations aren't well represented in the historical record.
00:26Usually, the most we can attest to is horse-based transport, usually carts and wagons, being banned from entering particular
00:34streets or neighborhoods in cities.
00:37That's what our magnanimous friend Julius Caesar had promulgated in the city of Rome.
00:44During the first ten hours of day-night each day, horse-drawn traffic wasn't allowed in,
00:49with the only exceptions being for vehicles carrying human sacrifices to the Roman pagan gods.
00:54Those supplying the military, of course, and those intended for sanitation.
00:59Similar regulations have been found in other Roman cities, like Ostia and Pompeii,
01:05but they too were only concerned with where horses could tread, rather than who could use them.
01:12Even after the Roman Empire fell, things mostly stayed the same.
01:17So, many cities in medieval Europe inherited the Roman legal system, including the odd horse traffic laws.
01:26There were some innovations.
01:28For example, in the 15th century, our dear London instituted what may very well be one of the first speed
01:34limits ever,
01:35by restricting the speed of unloaded carts to that of loaded ones,
01:42under pain of paying 40 pence, and maybe even prison.
01:46It is roughly around this time period that we also see the emergence of criminal laws,
01:51specifically penalising improper horse-drawn conduct,
01:56as can be seen in this not-quite-photorealistic illustration.
02:01Now, while these laws remained a strictly local phenomena throughout the Middle Ages,
02:06they did spread alongside Europe's very first colonial endeavours, notably the Dutch.
02:14Already famous for their early contributions to capitalism,
02:18the Dutch also played a part in regulating horse-drawn commerce,
02:22and in standardising the size, shape, and composition of vehicles.
02:27As the Dutch expanded their empire to every corner of the earth,
02:30they brought their horse-drawn regulations with them,
02:34including to the humble city of New Amsterdam,
02:36on the eastern coast of North America.
02:39It wouldn't remain Dutch for long, though,
02:42being conquered by Mother England and promptly renamed New York,
02:46in honour of the eponymous Duke and future King James II.
02:51In order to protect the newly-arrived Britons from unfair competition,
02:55the New York colonial government began issuing cart licences
02:58that restricted who was allowed to own a cart.
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04:15Now let's see, horses certainly weren't well-oiled back in early New York,
04:21and there were quite few restrictions on them and their owners.
04:26Prospective licensees could only own a single horse and cart,
04:31and to do it, they had to be free of debts.
04:34To verify their legitimacy, licensed cart owners had to paint their license number
04:40on their carts, in red letters, on a white background.
04:45Under English rule, New York's horse regulations quickly diverged from the Dutch
04:51on one important point.
04:53Since 1684, black residents were forbidden from obtaining licenses
04:59and could only work as day laborers under white teamsters.
05:04This prohibition continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries
05:08as the U.S. manifested its destiny across North America
05:12and moved away from smaller carts towards larger wagons
05:16with two or even four horses.
05:18During this time, we also see the rise of dedicated express companies
05:24like American Express and Wells Fargo,
05:28which eventually graduated to handling money rather than cargo.
05:33These early corporations absorbed all the independent teamsters
05:37and, using their newfound influence,
05:40lobbied hard against licensing requirements.
05:43The strategy worked, and not just in America.
05:48During the second half of the 19th century,
05:51the licensing of teamsters and their horses
05:54had vanished almost completely from the Netherlands,
05:58Britain, and the U.S.
06:00But there were some who resisted.
06:04A last alliance of men and elves
06:07marched against the armies of Mordor.
06:14I met the Animal Welfare Movement,
06:16which was still young and local.
06:18Back in the late 1800s,
06:20it protested against the sweeping deregulation
06:23and, in some cities, found some success.
06:26The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
06:30or SPCA,
06:32was well-funded
06:33and exerted great pressure on the city's regulations,
06:37eventually restricting wagon loads and horse work hours.
06:41The SPCA also did quite a lot of good for horses themselves.
06:46In its first 20 years of existence,
06:49it rescued nearly 40,000 disabled horses from work,
06:54including over 5,000 horses
06:56that were taken off the street by equine ambulance.
06:59Ironically, the New York SPCA also became the city's biggest horse killer,
07:05since it euthanized nearly 30,000 horses that were beyond saving.
07:11But ultimately,
07:12the legal tug-of-war between teamster corporations and right activists
07:16didn't amount to much.
07:19Comprehensive nationwide licensing didn't emerge
07:21until the rise of the automobile during the early 20th century,
07:25by which point our equine friends were already on their way out,
07:29as a method of person transport, at least,
07:33though they did continue serving us faithfully,
07:35in war and in peace.
07:38But anyhow,
07:39thank you, my dear friends, for watching,
07:41and a hearty thanks to all of our gracious patrons for supporting us.
07:47Make sure to leave a comment down below
07:49about which topics you want to see featured next,
07:53and stay tuned for the next quadrupedally hoofed episode of
08:01SideQuest.
08:03A horse walks into a bar.
08:05Hey, says the barman.
08:07Yes, please, says the horse.
