Full History of the Giant Wars: The Bloodiest Conflict in Wizarding History

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1:10The Global Wizarding War, the First Wizarding War, the Goblin Rebellions, the Second Wizarding War. These are all conflicts most Harry Potter fans are familiar with. But what have I told you that there was another war in Harry Potter history that's established in canon, I might add, that almost nobody talks about. A conflict that we know existed, but that rolling only ever mentions briefly. Today, they suffered an hour and a half stoning on the subject of giant wars. Harry heard just enough within the first 10 minutes to appreciate dimly that in another teacher's hands, the subject might have been mildly interesting. But then his brain disengaged, and he spent the remaining hour and 20 minutes playing hangman on a corner of his parchment with Ron, while Hermione shot them filthy looks out of the corner of her eye. If you haven't taken the hint, or rather direct mention, I'm of course talking about the giant wars. But before we talk about the wars themselves, it's important to be understand the creatures involved. The giants in the Wizarding World are enormous magical beings that can grow well over 20 feet tall.

2:15They resemble humans in basic form, but their strength and durability far exceed anything a normal wizard or witch could physically match. Giants vary quite a bit in appearance, some resemble enormous Harry humanoids, while others look more like grotesquely oversized humans, occasionally with more beast-teal features such as protruding teeth. Their clothing is typically crude, made from animal hides and rough materials, and many decorate themselves with simple jewelry crafted from bone or other natural materials. Despite their fears and reputation, giants are not mindless creatures. They possess their own language, culture and social structure, and they are capable of learning human languages such as English. However, they are generally far less patient than witches and wizards, and disputes among them rarely end in discussion. Historically giants were known for being extremely aggressive. The conflicts among them were usually settled through violence, and leadership within their communities was determined by whoever could physically overpower the others.

3:15The strongest giant would become the tribe's leader, a position known as the Gurg. Because dominance was constantly challenged, giant society was often unstable, disputes regularly turned into brutal fights, sometimes to the death, which meant that their own internal conflicts played a major role in shrinking their population over time. But the time we hear about giants in the Harry Potter novels, their population had dwindled significantly. Giants have a violent and unpredictable temperament, both males and females are prone to fighting, and are capable of inflicting serious injury. Disputes are resolved almost entirely by brute strength, so much so that wars within the giant community have contributed to catastrophic population decline and brought giants to the brink of extinction. Small populations are known to exist in remote mountainous regions. But in fighting wasn't the only reason their numbers declined. Because at some point in wizarding history, giants fought a series of major conflicts now referred to as the giant wars.

4:15And to these conflicts involved, you guessed it, which is in wizards. And interestingly, this bit of overlooked history actually explains something that happens much later in the story. When Voldemort begins rebuilding his power, he actively tries to recruit all sorts of different creatures throughout the wizarding world, wolves, dementors, and many other dark creatures. And among this list of prospective allies were the giants, towering, resistant to magic, and bread for destruction, they were the perfect weapons for a war. And as we know, Voldemort ends up being successful in this regard. But Voldemort wasn't the only one who understood how valuable giants could be in the coming war. Albus Dumbledore recognized the same danger, which is why in the summer of 1995, he sent two representatives to try and reach the giants before Voldemort's followers could. Those representatives were Ruby's Hagrid and Olimp Maxine. Their task was to locate the last known giant colony and attempt to persuade its leadership to remain neutral, or ideally side with Dumbledore against Voldemort. At this point in time, the global giant population

5:18had been reduced to a single surviving colony, believed to number around 80 giants. The colony lived deep inside the remote mountain ranges, far from both wizarding and muggle settlements. Like all giant colonies, this colony was ruled by a gurg, the dominant leader who held authority over the group. And when Hagrid and Maxine arrived, the gurg was a giant named Carcus. Understanding how giant leadership works, Hagrid approached the situation carefully. Rather than immediately discussing alliances, he first presented Carcus with gifts from Dumbledore. These gifts were meant to show respect and establish goodwill, something that might make the giants more willing to listen. And for several days, Hagrid and Maxine returned to meet with Carcus and continued offering gifts and conversation. Dumbledore wanted us to take it very slow. Let him see we kept our promises. We'll come back tomorrow with another present. And then we do come back with another present. Gives a good impression, see. And gives them time to test out the first present and find out it's a good one.

6:18And get them eager for more. In any case, giants like Carcus overload them with information and they kill you just to simplify things. So we bowed out of the way and went off and found ourselves a nice little cave to spend the night in. And the following morning, we went back. In this time, we found Carcus sitting up, waiting for us looking all eager. But giant society is unstable by nature. Leadership among giants is constantly challenged and authority often changes hands through violence. And at the same time that Hagrid and Maxine were attempting negotiations, Carcus was overthrown by another giant named Golg Math, who seized control of the colony. So good, so good, so good. Spring styles are at norched and rack stores now. And they're up to 60% off. Stock up and save on rag and bone made well. Vince, all scenes and more of your favorites. How did I let no rack as a deedus? Why do we rock for the hottest still? There's so many good brands. Join the Nordic Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first and more.

7:18Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Score more with the college branded Venmo debit card and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash. Got paid back? With the Venmo debit card, you can instantly access your balance and spend on what you want, like game day snacks, gear, tickets, and more. The more you do, the more cash back you can earn. Plus, there's no monthly fear minimum balance. Sign up now at Venmo.com slash college card. The Venmo master card is issued by the bank court bank NA, select schools available, Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Max $100 cash back per month. Under giant custom, a new gurg doesn't necessarily honor the agreements or relationships of the previous leader. When Golgomath took power, Agrona McSeam effectively had to begin the negotiation process all over again. At the same time, Voldemort had already sent Dathieta on voice to the colony as well. These Dathietas approached the giant with a different strategy. Instead of gifts and diplomacy,

8:18they encouraged conflict among the giants and attempts to win favor with a new leadership. The situation inside the colony quickly became chaotic, with giants fighting among themselves for dominance. Eventually, the violence escalated to the point where Hagrid and Max Seam were forced to leave the mountains for their own safety. And unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the majority of the giants ultimately lined themselves with the Dathietas. And I suspect the giants willing this to listen to Voldemort likely had deeper roots. For generations, they'd been hunted, driven out of their territories, and treated as dangerous creatures, rather than as a society of their own. And much of that history can be traced back to the very conflicts we mentioned earlier, the giant wars. At some point in the past, relations between giants and the Wizarding World deteriorated to such an extent that open warfare broke out between the two groups. While the exact details of these wars are never fully described, the outcome seems clear. Giants were gradually pushed out of much of the territory

9:19they once occupied, and forced to retreat into remote mountain ranges far from human settlements. And as a direct result of this, what had once been a widespread magical species was reduced to a small and fragmented remnant. From the giant's perspective, witches and wizards were not allies or potential partners. They were the very people who had driven them into isolation in the first place. So when Voldemort's envoys arrived promising the chance to strike back at the Wizarding World, it's not that surprising that so many giants were willing to listen. Giants wanted nothing to do with witches and wizards. They hated them, and interestingly, the feeling was often mutual. For centuries, giants had been viewed by the Wizarding World not as a people with their own society, but as violent, uncontrollable creatures. Many witches and wizards feared them, distrusted them, and to believe they were simply too dangerous to coexist. No exchange illustrates this tension better than a conversation between Albus Dumbledore and at then Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

10:21Extend them the hand of friendship now, before it's too late, or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom. You cannot be serious. If the magical community got win that I had approached the Giants, people hate them, Dumbledore, end of my career. But now you might be wondering, when did all of this start? When did Wizard kind and Giant kind reach this critical point of no return? Unfortunately, this is where the historical records are frustratingly vague. We know the Giant Wars happened because Professor Ben's lectures about them at length in history of magic. There's also evidence in a clear divide that exists today between the two groups. But unfortunately, rolling never actually gives us a timeline, a list of battles, or even a clear explanation of what triggered the conflict in the first place. Which means that if we want to understand the Giant Wars, we need to piece together the clues ourselves. Now, the first thing that's worth mentioning is that that wasn't just one giant war. Professor Ben's explicitly mentions wars, plural.

11:24The existence of multiple ongoing conflicts would also make much more sense from a historical perspective. And I can't think of a stronger starting point for their initial war than the time periods surrounding the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy, in 1692. During this time, the Wizarding World was undergoing massive changes. Wizards were retreating into secrecy, governments were being reorganized, and magical communities were suddenly far more concerned about keeping dangerous magical creatures hidden from muggles. And as I'm sure you can imagine, giants aren't exactly discreet. Trying to maintain the secrecy of the Wizarding World while 25-foot tall humanoids roam the countryside is a bit of a tall order, no pun intended. Giants also don't seem like a type to take orders from a bunch of tiny wizards. Therefore, it's not hard to see how tensions might have escalated. Giants don't seem to be all too concerned with secrecy, and the first Wizarding War is the best example of this as during that conflict, after siding with Voldemort,

12:24giants were responsible for some of the wars worst atrocities against the muggle community. Even today, it's believed that giants will still kill muggle mountaineers who strayed too close to their mountain colonies, with those deaths typically written off as tragic climbing accidents. Basically, they make their own rules. Therefore, if giant tribes were attacking muggle settlements or simply refusing to move away from areas inhabited by humans, Wizarding authorities may have eventually decided that coexistence simply wasn't possible. And that could very well have been the spark that ignited some of the initial conflicts. Another clue comes from what we know about the decline of the giant population. While the time the Harry Potter story begins, giants are already on the brink of extinction. Their numbers have been reduced to a single major colony, something that almost certainly didn't happen overnight. Population collapses on that scale usually require long periods of sustained conflict. This is just further evidence that the giant wars were likely not a single war at all,

13:25but a series of campaigns fought across multiple regions over several centuries. In other words, the giant wars may have looked less like a traditional war between two nations, and more like a prolonged effort by visiting governments to remove giants from the Wizarding world entirely. Interestingly, one of the most dramatic drops in their population actually occurred in very recent history. Like I mentioned earlier, giants sided with Voldemort during the first Wizarding War, committing some of the most brutal attacks on muggles. And obviously, this drew the attention of the ministry, not just because they were committing brutal murders, but also because they were running the risk of exposing the Wizarding world. And so, the ministry responded swiftly and violently. At this stage, the ministry's best auras were dispatched to hunt down giant tribes across Britain with the money giants being killed during his operations. Basically, the giants lost, and this forced the remaining giants to go into hiding. Ron even alluded to this when he explains what happened to the giants that once lived in Britain. There aren't any left in Britain now though,

14:26but happened to them. Well, they were dying out anyway. And then loads got themselves killed by auras. Ron's language is a bit concerning here. Got themselves killed. But what this suggests is that although giant Wizard conflict may have been an ongoing issue for many centuries, it's very possible that most of the destructive conflicts between giants and wizards actually occurred in the modern era. This also means that when Hagrid went to plead for their assistance, he was speaking to the remnants of a species that had spent centuries at war with the Wizarding World. And this absolutely makes their decision to sign with Voldemort make a lot more sense. And that's it for today's video. Hopefully you learned a little bit more about a wizarding conflict that's been otherwise glossed over in Wizarding World history. Unless of course you've been paying attention during Professor Bin's lessons. If you want more of this type of stuff, let me know down in the comment section below. Also, if you enjoy the content, please like the video and subscribe to the channel. Until next time, remember, it does not do to dwell on dreams

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