Past Imperfect (Journal)
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Origins of the European Economy: Communications Commerce, AD 300-900
No full textOrigins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce, A.D. 300-900. By Michael McCormick. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press. 2001. xxviii. 1101 pp. $90.00 (cloth)
The Molding of the Rising Generation: Soviet Propoganda and the Hero-Myth of Iurii Gagrin
No full textThe Anglo-German Alliance Talks and the Failure of Amateur Diplomacy
No full textIn 1914 Great Britain and the German Empire were implacable enemies, embroiled in the greatest war the world had ever known. However, little more than a decade previously relations between these two great powers were far different. From 1898-1903 the two states were engaged in extensive negotiations meant to cement their friendship with an Anglo-German alliance. The ultimate failure of these talks was largely the result of amateur diplomacy. It was the failure of men like Joseph Chamberlain and Hermann von Eckardstein who, through their impetuous and occasionally
dishonest dealings, prevented the honest and constructive discourse which could have led the negotiations to a successful conclusion
Gary S. Meltzer. Euripides and the Poetics of Nostalgia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
No full text
Soviet Use of Corruption Purges as a Control Mechanism: The Uzbekistan Case
No full textABSTRACT: In a series of purges between 1982 and 1988, the Soviet government sacked many of the Uzbekistan Communist Party\u27s elite and replaced them with people of unquestionable loyalty to the Kremlin. These purges, which were justified by charges of widespread corruption in the Uzbek Party, have been widely interpreted as indicating a profound change in the policies of the Soviet government, initiated by Yuri Andropov and continued by Mikhail Gorbachev. This essay argues that purges of the type carried out in Uzbekistan were a standard feature of the Kremlin\u27s policy under Brezhnev, and that the first symptom of the Uzbekistan purges manifested themselves well before 1982. The purges should be seen, therefore, as evidence of continuity between the nationalities policies of Brezhnev and his successors, rather than evidence of a changed policy
Mykhailo Hrushevs\u27kyi\u27s Historical Methodology
No full textLong suppressed in the Soviet Union, the works of Ukraine\u27s most noted historian, Mykhailo Hrushevs\u27kyi, have recently become the object of great interest in Ukraine. It is therefore necessary for the scholarly world to begin the process of re-examining Hrushevs\u27kyi\u27s writing of history. This paper rejects the common interpretation that Hrushevs\u27kyi\u27s work was a product of the nineteenth century Ukrainian populist tradition and was therefore indifferent to the idea of Ukrainian statehood or nationhood. By demonstrating the continuity of Ukraine\u27s historical development, H rushevs\u27kyi sought to modify the traditional Russocentric interpretation and to show that Ukraine was a distinct nation with a tradition of statehood. This paper illustrates how Hrushevs\u27kyi\u27s methodology, periodization scheme, and interpretive framework for East-Slavic history were all adjusted to support this "national idea;" this willingness to adapt his methods is the outstanding characteristic of Hrushcv\u27s\u27kyi\u27s historical methodology. His highly controversial interpretation of the origin of the East-Slavic peoples is also examined in this paper. Finally, Hrushevs\u27kyi\u27s historical bias as well as his contribution to the scholarly world are considered
Faith, Families, and Rebellion in Sixteenth-Century South-West England
No full textThe questioning of"the English Reformation" as both a definable entity and a usable term by revisionist scholars, provides a timely platform from which to engage in a re-examination of one event which occurred daring that period of profound religious change in sixteenth-century England. The 1549 rebellion in the south-west of England has been studied using \u27traditional* analytical categories of religion, politics, economics, and militarism. However, a new perspective on the rebellion is possible when the kinship ties of a group of leading gentry families in the south-west are examined. Although some historians recognize the close relationships which existed within the group, the focus is on the men of the families as local government officials without placing them in the wider context of their families. A close examination of the connections between the Arundell, Edgecombe, and Grenville families reveals a confused genealogical picture; one that suggests, however, that close kinship ties may have played an important part in the participation or lack of involvement of the family members in the rebellion
Pat Carney and the Dismantling of the National Energy Program
No full textThe Progressive Conservative energy policy initiative of 1984-1985 represented a distinct change not only in how policy was formulated but also in the party\u27s vision of Canada. The Tories endeavoured to decentralize government, encourage cooperative federal-provincial relations, and develop an energy policy outside the bureaucracy through consultation with the oil industry. Patricia Carney played a vital role first as opposition energy critic and then as minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. She emphasized consultation and cooperation with industry and the provinces and accepted most of their input uncritically. These developments are explored through an examination of the policy-making process developed by the Conservatives in opposition, and then put into practice after they took power in 1984
A Victim of Circumstance: The Timber Bill of 1772 and the East India Company
No full textIn 1771 a bill was brought before the British Parliament to limit the tonnage o f East India Company ships. The Admiralty claimed that construction of the large trading vessels consumed vital and dwindling supplies of English oak required by the Royal Navy. After convening for a year, the Committee organized to investigate the "timber" bill reported that the Company was not solely responsible for the shortage of timber. However, by 1772 the Company was in serious financial difficulty. In the face of mounting pressure for government control of the Company, the timber bill became another vehicle in t he debate of whether the Crown or the Company should control India. Although passed, the timber bill had less to do with the merits of preserving vital oak for the Royal Navy than it did with efforts to limit the powers of the East India Company