Past Imperfect (Journal)
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Unity Deferred: The "Roman Question" in Italian History, 1861-1862
No full textFollowing the Risorgimento (the unification of the kingdom of Italy) in 1861, the major dilemma facing the new nation was that the city of Rome continued to be ruled by the pope as an independent state. The Vatican\u27s rule ended in 1870 when the Italian army captured the city and it became the new capital of Italy. This paper will examine the domestic and international problems that were the consequences of this dispute. It will also review the circumstances that led Italy to join Germany and Austria in the Triple Alliance in 1882
The Case of Goa: History, Rhetoric and Nationalism
No full textThe Indian armed forces "liberation" of the small Portuguese colony of Goa in 1961 put an end to a fruitless diplomatic contest between New Delhi and Lisbon. The arguments used by each government to defend its right to Goa provide an interesting case study of how history can be used in an attempt to define a "people." Since few Goans were persuaded to make a stand on either side of this debate, this case indicates the limited power of nationalist rhetoric, and therefore the need for historians to look beyond such rhetoric to understand the formation of national identity
From Budgeting to Buying: Canadian Consumerism in the Post War Era
No full textFrom the late 1940s to the early 1960s Canadians shifted from a predilection for careful budgeting and "making do" to consumers in training, and later, full-fledged participants in the buy now, pay later mode of North American consumption prevalent from the sixties to the present. Using three "typical" Canadian families featured by Chatelaine Magazine in 1949, 1954 and 1962 as the hub of analysis, this article examines the transformation in attitudes toward domestic spending, the use of credit, and the manner in which new patterns of spending and consumption were simultaneously reflected in and authorized by the magazine
The East Lost the Cold war, but did the West Win?
No full textClearly the East lost the Cold War to the West, suffering total economic and political collapse by the late 1980s. Yet it is not entirely clear if or what the West won. Western economies continue to labor under the extensive military commitments. The ideology of liberal democracy, although laudable, is difficult to implement. Capitalism, as an economic system, is torn between the need for perpetual growth and the protection of a fragile environment. Was the end of the Cold War truly "the end of history" as some suggest, or do the lessons of the period stand instead as a cautionary for the future
The Attempted Repeal of the Quebec Act: The State of Parliamentary Opposition in 1775
No full textThe Attempted Repeal of the Quebec Act on 17 and 18 May 1775 is a subject which has, as of yet, not attracted Canadian or British Imperial historians working on eighteenth century Quebec. An examination of the repeal attempt made by Lord Camden and Sir George Savile in both Houses of Parliament in 1775 reveals that the American Crisis led the Opposition to pursue a policy of conciliation with the American colonies. The attempted repeal of the Quebec Act was one way the Opposition hoped to head off the threat of imminent war. This study contributes to a fuller picture of the Imperial context in which decisions were made with regards to Canada during the rising American crisis
Faith, Identity, and Nationalism: The Impact of the May Thirtieth Incident on China\u27s Christian Colleges
No full textThe Christian colleges founded in China by Protestant missionaries in the early twentieth century constituted a major nexus of cultural exchange between East and West, but also raised complex issues of identity and power both for the missionaries and their students. The tragic killing of eleven student protesters in Shanghai by British troops in May of 1925, an event that came to be known as the May Thirtieth Incident, brought many of these tensions to the surface. Tin\u27s paper examines the impact of this event on three of the Christian colleges—Yenching University in Beijing, St. John\u27s University in Shanghai, and Lingnan University in Canton. The reaction of each school was different, reflecting not only the influence of geography and political factors, but the vision of mission education embraced by their respective leaders. In the end. however, none of the institutions were left untouched by the incident, which triggered a shift in lines of identity and power that favoured Chinese interests. The resulting changes at the colleges can be seen as a harbinger of a coming era in which Western imperial domination would meet a similar fate
