Category Archives: Empires and Imperialism

Black Flag: Pirate History and Video Gaming

Posted on October 30, 2013 by briansandberg

Pirate mania continues.  Following the creation of Talk Like a Pirate Day and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Assassin’s Creed video games franchise has now shifted into the piracy business. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, History in the Media, History of Violence, Information Management, Piracy, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Reparations to Caribbean Nations for Slavery

Posted on October 30, 2013 by briansandberg

Some European nations are considering offering reparations for their involvement in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and Caribbean plantation slavery during the early modern period. Sir Hilary Beckles, a historian and university president in Barbados, and Jamaican historian Verene Shepherd have … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Union, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History of Violence, Human Rights | Leave a comment

Reenacting the War of 1812

Posted on September 10, 2013 by briansandberg

The bicentennial of the War of 1812, which lasted from 1812 to 1815, continues to attract attention in parts of the United States and Canada. Naval reenactors recently simulated the battle of Lake Erie, which was fought in September 1813 … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, History of Violence, Maritime History, Museums and Historical Memory, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Early Modern Historian’s Memoir

Posted on May 18, 2013 by briansandberg

John H. Elliott, a noted historian of early modern Spain and its empire, has published a memoir of his career as a historian. His memoir is entitled History in the Making (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012). Eliott is … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers in History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Wars of Religion, Historiography and Social Theory | Leave a comment

Renaissance Martyrs Canonized

Posted on May 12, 2013 by briansandberg

Pope Francis has canonized the 800 Martyrs of Otranto, who were supposedly executed by Ottoman forces after the southern Italian town of Otranto surrendered in 1480. Otranto was caught up in maritime and naval conflicts during the Renaissance, as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Union, Italian History, Mediterranean World, Religious Violence, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Dutch Royal Coronation

Posted on April 30, 2013 by briansandberg

The Dutch people are getting a new monarch. Willem-Alexander is being crowned King of the Netherlands in elaborate coronation ceremonies today in Amsterdam. Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son, Willem Alexander, ensuring the continuation of rule by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Union, European Wars of Religion, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture | Leave a comment

The Danger of Pre-emptive Strikes

Posted on April 13, 2013 by briansandberg

With tensions already running high on the Korean peninsula, many American policy-makers and advisers are talking tough. Now historian Jeremi Suri has weighed in, arguing in an op-ed in the New York Times that “the Korean crisis has now become … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Political Culture, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | 1 Comment

Sephardic Jews Invited to Return to Spain

Posted on March 6, 2013 by briansandberg

More than 500 years after the infamous 1492 expulsion of Jews from the kingdom of Spain, the modern Spanish government is preparing to invite Jews to return to the country. “In November [2012],” according to the BBC, “Spain’s justice minister … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Union, European Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Human Rights, Mediterranean World, Political Culture, Religious History, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History | 1 Comment

Atrocities in Vietnam

Posted on February 28, 2013 by briansandberg

The United States military forces committed widespread atrocities during the Vietnam War, according to documents unearthed in the National Archives by journalist Nick Turse. The evidence of numerous mass killings of Vietnamese civilians reveals that the infamous My Lai Massacre … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Empires and Imperialism, History of Violence, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

French Military Intervention in Mali

Posted on January 12, 2013 by briansandberg

French President François Hollande has launched a military intervention into war-torn Mali, where a civil war has been raging for months. The French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault explained the rationale for the French intervention, claiming that military action is justified … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Empires and Imperialism, European Union, French History, History of Violence, Mediterranean World, Political Culture, State Development Theory, Strategy and International Politics, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment