What is history? Should we study history? Who creates history? Is history relevant?
The definition of history, is a question which has sparked international debate for centuries between the writers, readers, and the makers of history. It is a vital topic which should be relevant in our lives because it?s important to acknowledge past events that have occurred in our world that deeply influences the present. This essay will discuss what history is, and why we study it.
History is the study of past events leading up to the present day. It is a research, a narrative, or an account of past events and developments that are commonly related to a person, an institution, or a place. It is a branch of knowledge that records and analyzes
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Focusing on the people involved in a time, place, and series of events makes history. Biographies and historical fiction may popularize these entities/figures with descriptions of people who lived in the past or events that happened in the past. Such Historical figures and events include King Leopold II of Belgium and The Scramble of Africa in the late 19th century. Among other things, King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909), is known for the exploitation of Congo and the mass murder of its citizens as told in King Leopold?s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. King Leopold II of Belgium, created and ironically erased history by ultimately slashing the area's population by ten million during his reign in the Congo, and still managed to shrewdly foster a reputation as a great humanitarian. In telling this story, Hochschild gave detailed descriptions, especially of the individuals involved, both good and bad. Set in the palaces and boardrooms of Europe and in the villages of central Africa, it tells the story of the tragedy that took place during Leopold's so called rule. This ?horror? story gives and reveals the utter most secrets of the respected King Leopold. Prior to his colonization, In the mid-1870s, the King hired then world renowned explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was familiar with many parts of Africa, to help him go about conquering. During the following years Stanley stayed throughout in central Africa, talking various tribes into signing over their
History is a look into the past, showing how the world used to be compared to how the world is now. History is the structure we live by. It is how we came to be. Without history we would not know any of the important details about the past. For example, it is important to know why certain events happened. The different movements that caused the world to change and work the way it works today. History has a way to be very helpful. Knowing where we came from in this world and how we got to this point and time in our lives. Learning about what has happened in the past can also teach what not to do, so we do not repeat it.
Adam Hochschild’s “King Leopold’s Ghost” is an account of a man’s rise of power who was very cruel and did unimaginable things. When I began reading, I wasn’t sure where the novel was going, but I soon caught on to what Hochschild was revealing. As the story begins to unfold he tells a story of King Leopold II of Belgium who managed to seize land next to the Congo River in Africa. King Leopold used political manipulation and lies to get what he wanted. King Leopold had everyone fooled that he was a humanitarian and he was in the Congo for the greater good, but that was not the case. He claimed that civilizing the Congo would keep out “Arab slave- traders” to gain support of people, but Leopold wanted something else. Leopold was very
History, a collection of the past, holds a lot of information about events and society to help inform us in the present as it is the only data
“King Leopold’s Ghost- a story of greer, terror and heroism in colonial africa” written by Adam Hochschild, reveals the hidden horror in the Congo. Hochschild conveys the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908, as well as the revolting brutality during that period. Hochschild discloses how King Leopold II’s unpleasant and atrocious capacity of maliciousness is shown through mass killings and colonization of Congolese land. The Ghost of King Leopold II still plagues the world while he is celebrated as a great humanitarian. (use own words).
1909, over one hundred years ago, was the death of King Leopold of Belgium the sole owner of the Congo. Even years after he has left this earth and is no longer in the reign, the long-lasting effects he has had on the people and the land has forever changed the Congo. The memories left behind from the atrocities that occurred and the diminished resources due to extreme exploitation has prompted the author Adam Hochschild to write the novel, King Leopold’s Ghost. Using an Afrocentric point of view Hochschild describes how the events that took place under Leopold’s orders were acts of true terror and inhumanity.
The importance of our world's history is huge because it teaches us about our past and how we came to be in the world we live in today. History can help you learn about our ancestor’s origins and cultures.
A historian’s role is to inform the human race of the occurrences of the past, for if we forget the past we will repeat the same mistakes in the future. The lessons of the past become the innovations of the now, and it is this very concept that denotes the power of historians. History is all subjects, it is the math, science, and art of the past this makes history the single most vital subject in all of the world, which makes the irony of the fact that history is not a highly regarded area of study quite sad.
“History is the study of any past or present happening or events for which there is physical, written or oral evidence available to substantiate the happenings or events. Some students of history have difficulty with their motivation for the subject because they cannot identify with the personal value of history” (A Guide to Critical Thinking in the Social Studies 1). Clearly, there are many approaches to the study of an era or theme, but those most frequently relied upon in all levels of education are those which seek to present facts, documented from a wide number of sources, primary and secondary, as objectively as possible, a practice which detaches students from their studies and seemingly takes the “story” out of history. Relying upon
On the first day of class, we discussed the topic of history as a whole, and we also went over the typical subject of the syllabus. We agreed that history is the study and investigation of past events, and there are various sources that historians use to examine these events. Evidence from the past can include things such as written documents, oral records, birth and death records, and art. There are also numerous subsections of history that one can study. These specialized sections of history include, but are certainly not limited to concentrations in religious history, political history, economic history and even studies involving
History is the study of what happened in the past, but the causes of these events are important to understanding why we have historical changes. Although historical forces have an effect on the outcome of history, human agency is the greatest cause of historical changes. The actions of Themistocles during the Persian War and the leadership of Pericles during Athens golden age influenced the outcome of history in ancient Greece.
In the document, "Indians: Textualism, Morality, and The Problem of History," Jane Tompkins examines the conflicts between the English settlers and the American Indians. After examining several primary sources, Tompkins found that different history books have different perspectives. It wasn’t that the history books took different angles that was troubling, but the viewpoints contradicted one another. People who experience the same event told it through their reality. This becomes a problem when a person who didn’t experience the effect wants to know what happened. Tompkins said, "The problem id that if all accounts of events are determined through and through by the observer’s frame of reference, that one will never know,
The importance of our world's history is huge, because it teaches us about our past and how we came to be in the world we live in today. History can help you learn about our ancestor’s origins and cultures.
History is defined as the study of the science of humanity in the past. It's a broad subject that spans over countless people groups throughout the years that the world has been around. Even before the times we have written word history was still being made, and it is still extremely important. We tend to forget that in our average day to day lives we are still making history. That all over the globe everyone is taking part in what might be in a history book someday.
What is History? This is the question posed by historian E.H. Carr in his study of historiography. Carr debates the ongoing argument which historians have challenged for years, on the possibility that history could be neutral. In his book he discusses the link between historical facts and the historians themselves. Carr argues that history cannot be objective or unbiased, as for it to become history, knowledge of the past has been processed by the historian through interpretation and evaluation. He argues that it is the necessary interpretations which mean personal biases whether intentional or not, define what we see as history. A main point of the chapter is that historians select the facts they think are significant which ultimately
In my relatively few years of living on this planet, I have learned plenty. How to walk, talk, read, skate, water ski, drive and the list continues to grow and evolve. But, I know this is nothing compared to the amount I will one day know and I often forget this when taking on new challenges and opportunities. Even now, I sometimes finding myself wishing I could go back and tell myself what I know now. Growing up is part and parcel of learning, but what I learned when I ventured back into the years of the Fur Trade and reenacted history seems to stand out to me the most.