Search

The article reports on the impact of laws against religious offence in India on the writing and understanding of the country's history. It offers information on Shivaji, a 17th-century Maratha king who fought against the Mughal empire. It describes how Hindu nationalists are enforcing their will using extrajudicial violence to alter Indian history. The article also criticizes a statute in the Indian penal code that punishes anyone who deliberately hurt the religious feelings of any class.

The article discusses the collaboration between Nazi Germany and men from European countries including Ukraine, Slovakia, and Italy, focusing on the efforts to rehabilitate the memories of these men including collaborators Stepan Bandera, Benito Mussolini, and Miklós Horthy. Other topics include the economic and nationalist reasons behind the memory rehabilitation, the use of revisionism to alter historical narratives, and the rift between fascists and communists during the war.

The article discusses British historiography of the First World War. Particular focus is given to the development of critical and revisionist accounts of the war. Details on the influence of poetry written during the war on later historical accounts are presented. Topics include the causes of the war and counterfactual history.

The article discusses King Richard III of England, focusing especially on how he was portrayed in the Elizabethan play "Richard III" by William Shakespeare. It considers how histories written during the Tudor dynasty, which began with the ascension of King Henry VII, were vested in painting Richard III as an evil villain as a way of justifying the contemporary dynasty's right to rule. An overview of histories written by authors including Sir George Buc, Horace Walpole, and Sir Clements R. Markham, which portray Richard III in a more flattering perspective, is presented.

The article discusses how the Cold War affected the national identity of Finland. The author notes how a civil war after Finland's independence from Russia helped define the nation's identity but comments that the loss of territory to the Soviet Union during World War II led to a policy of appeasement. Despite its stated neutrality during the Cold War, ties between Finland and the Soviet Union during the administration of Finnish president Urho Kekkonen led to historical revisionism regarding Finland's past. The author comments on historians who suggest Kekkonen's subservience to the Soviet Union preserved Finnish independence. Allegations that Kekkonen used the threat of war with the Soviet Union to maintain power and gain re-election are noted.

The article explores how the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) interprets the history of the West's relationship with the Middle East. They compare the history of the Crusades to contemporary events. Other topics include the impact of European colonialism and imperialism in the Middle East, the revision of history for political needs by the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, and the prevention of terrorism and violence by jihadists.

The article discusses revisionist beliefs regarding British historical figures, taking into account truth, objectivity, and propaganda. The 12th-century Welsh Prince Madoc is a legendary person believed to have traveled to America, landing in Mobile, Alabama, with he and his shipmates marrying local Mandan Indians. Scottish peer James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, fought against King Charles I, went into exile, and became a follower of King Charles II. The 18th-century Jacobite movement in Scotland is explored.

The author reviews the essay "Counterfactualism and its Discontents" by Jeremy Black, which appeared in the August 2016 issue. He uses the 1901 book "A Political History of Cont­emporary Europe Since 1814," by French historian Charles Seignobos, as an example of why counterfactualism is not useful to the study of history.

I was about ten years of age, standing alone in the ruined hall of Grosmont Castle in South Wales. The wind rustled the leaves of the nearby trees as I looked up at the empty space where Maud, mother of the great Duke of Lancaster (who was born in this castle), had sat in the early fourteenth century. I pictured the decoration on the walls, the table on the daïs, the tablecloth, the dishes with rich sauces, the salt, and the servants bustling over the dinner. I imagined Lady Lancaster's expression in the weeks after the birth, coming unsteadily into the hall from her solar chamber, smiling, receiving visitors and messengers. In my mind's ear I heard her speaking to the chaplain seated beside her during a meal, and her conversation with her husband, Henry, Lord Lancaster, after his return from a hunting trip. Then I looked at the guidebook. On the page, these people were as dead as the stones of the ruined castle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses efforts to rehabilitate the image of 13th century British King John through revisionism, focusing on the validity of the stories of John that have given him a reputation of evil. Other topics include a discussion of the 1957 article "What Was Wrong With King John?" by W. L. Warren, the marring of John's image by the 13th century monk Roger Wendover, and information on John's role in creating the Magna Carta.

The author explores how the exhumation of the bones of King Richard III of England has helped promote a public interest in the history of Great Britain and perhaps helped fuel a propensity to revise history to modern standards of normative ethics and behavior. Topics considered include Medieval ideas of primogeniture, violence, and power. Both the book and television series "Horrible Histories" is discussed.

The article reviews the article "Stalin and the Communist Party in the 1920s," by Norman Pereira in the the August 1992 issue of the present journal.

The article examines the development of what the author refers to as grievance history, which largely interprets historical events such as genocides from the viewpoint of those negatively affected. Emphasis is given to the Armenian genocide begun by the Ottoman Empire. The author is skeptical of the effectiveness of this type of history, noting its possible impacts on national identity, national unity, and state power.

The article discusses the issue of the revision of history textbooks. It examines textbook revisionism in the U.S. and comments on American anti-British sentiments. The author also analyzes textbook revision in Germany and France, particularly reflecting on policy in occupied Germany after World War II. The work of various organizations such as the Committee of Intellectual Cooperation to foster international collaboration is considered.