The Spanish conquest of America is a morally complex topic. Like any conquest, it involved brutality and violence. But this is not the whole story: to understand the conquest, one has to understand the logic of the conquerors’ world and their situation. The Spanish, having developed a Christian zeal in the long Reconquista, juxtaposed themselves... Continue Reading →
This source is a passage from Book 3, Chapter 30 of Polybius’ Histories on the causes of the Second Punic War. It argues that both sides are to blame for the war, giving reasons why. The Spanish city of Saguntum had placed itself under Roman protection since they had turned to the Romans to solve... Continue Reading →
On January 8, 1918, during World War I which America had just entered nine months earlier, US President Woodrow Wilson outlined his vision of a post-war world in his “Fourteen Points” speech. He advocated for diplomacy, free trade, the creation of an association of nations, and the redrawing of national borders. But Wilson faced backlash... Continue Reading →
In mid-16th century Europe, two intellectual groups, the resistance theorists and counter-revolutionary theorists, reconceptualized the nature of political power. They asked similar questions about the nature of society, government and the right of resistance, but came to very different conclusions. In 1556 the English theorist John Ponet published his Short Treatise on Political Power. Twenty... Continue Reading →
In 1520, Martin Luther published two tracts central to the Protestant Reformation: To the Christian Nobility in August, and The Freedom of a Christian in November. The former text appealed to the German political authorities to take the initiative in the face of the Church which he saw as corrupt, while the latter has him... Continue Reading →
One of the most important books on the Reformation is Brand Luther, written by historian Andrew Pettegree. It explores how Martin Luther became the pre-eminent and defining man of his age and how he was able to spread his version of the Christian religion, paying special attention to the role of printing. This paper will... Continue Reading →
Location St David's is in the region of Deheubarth in the southwest of Wales. It is a remote corner on the coast of the Irish sea, with rocky and barren soil without woods, rivers, or meadows, never exposed to the winds and tempests.[1] The cathedral is in a narrow valley with damp, marshy and unstable... Continue Reading →
Napoleon, leading a French army, invaded and occupied Egypt in 1798. His justifications for the endeavour were to have a position to harass the British in India, to protect the interests of French trade and to bring science and liberal, Enlightenment values to Egypt. The French saw some early successes, yet just 3 years later,... Continue Reading →
At the end of the war, Canada had plentiful wealth and was in a powerful position. Anxieties of a postwar decline and large-scale unemployment were shown to be unwarranted, as the industrial war apparatus, designed by C.D. Howe, the federal Munitions and Supply Minister, was smoothly shifted to regular, peacetime use. Not only did the... Continue Reading →
Canada entered the 20th century with indefinite wealth and advancement. Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's government continued building the railway and by 1914 it reached both coasts. While diplomatic relationships began to form with the rest of the world Britain directed most of Canada's international relationships, and Canadians started to get sick of being beholden to... Continue Reading →
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