Search results

"Queen Elizabeth's ambassador in France and Scotland, Throckmorton threaded his path through skirmishes of all sorts. At the apex of the Reformation, his refined skills and those of his spies saved hundreds of lives and prevented conflicts. Painstaking research corrects some errors in the accepted history; letters, maps and illustrations bring the story to life"--

Kurstädte standen lange im Schatten der Stadtgeschichtsforschung: zu klein, zu idyllisch und in ihrer Bedeutsamkeit oszillierend. Eine vergleichende Perspektive auf Kurstädte enthüllt rasch, dass sie äusserst vielschichtige, ja sogar widersprüchliche Orte des entstehenden Tourismus waren. Kurstädte siedelten sich im Spannungsfeld von ländlicher Idylle und städtischer Moderne bzw. von Entsagung und Überfluss an: Kneippkuren standen neben rauschenden Theaterabenden, reiche Industrielle neben Armenbadbesuchern. Dieser Stadttypus galt als Experimentierfeld der urbanen Moderne, wo man bald zentralisierte Schlachthöfe, Fotografen und Telegrafen antraf. Kurstädte waren auch Orte der politischen Auseinandersetzung, des entstehenden Rassismus und der Fremdenfeindlichkeit

This text analyses the different expressions of identity, the practices of identification, and the conflicts that emerge from this among the people of Mayotte, one of the four islands of the Comoro archipelago. Formerly a French colony, in 1975 Mayotte opted to remain a part of France while the remaining three islands became an independent state. Mayotte is beset by a number of ills: overpopulation, poverty, and underfunded health, education, and social services. Blame is laid at the feet of the significant population of irregular migrants from the neighbouring islands who are attracted by wages, and social services that are better than in the Union of Comoros (albeit still low and underfunded). Underlying these economic problems, however, is a fundamental question of identity, as the Maorais, the people of Mayotte, attempt to define themselves politically (and often by implication socially) as French rather than Comorian, part of an ongoing process of rejection of any possibility of political and economic domination by the other islands of the group. These different expressions of identity give rise to conflicts that are vented in regular episodes of anti-immigrant violence and a pervasive discourse of Maorais difference. However, in other contexts Maorais may claim to be Comorian rather than, or in addition to, French, and the inconsistencies in claims to and practices of identity are a regular feature of island life. Drawing on the concept of the persona, Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, and the associated concept of capital, this paper argues that the Maorais perform different identities in different fields, a strategy that allows them to mitigate, if not avoid entirely, the conflicts that arise in attempting to be at once French and Comorian.

This book explores how New Zealand, a small country almost as far from Western Europe as it is possible to be, assumed political importance in Britain's accession to the European Community vastly out of proportion to its size, proximity and strategic position. At several points in accession negotiations, the issue of New Zealand's continued trade with Britain threatened to derail UK Government attempts to join the Community. This issue also interacted with the broader context of the Cold War, economic shocks and decolonisation, materially affecting the terms of entry into the European Community, and altering Britain's relations with its European partners and the British public's perceptions of British membership. After entry, New Zealand continued to resurface as a continued source of tension between Britain and an integrating Europe. The role that New Zealand played sheds light on Britain's attempts to retain global influence after the demise of its formal empire. Contributing to a growing body of research which challenges the traditional historical narratives of British 'decline' and colonial 'independence' in the second half of the twentieth century, this book fills an important gap in the historiography of Britain following the 1973 enlargement of the European Communities. Hamish McDougall is Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs -- Whare Tawāhi-a-mahi i Aotearoa. Previously, his doctoral study of international history at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), focussed on the topic of Anglo-New Zealand relations in the context of European integration

"If you peer closely into the bookstores, salons, and diplomatic circles of the eighteenth-century Atlantic world, sooner or later Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry is bound to appear. As a lawyer, philosophe, and Enlightenment polymath, Moreau created and compiled an immense archive that remains a vital window into the fragile social, political, and intellectual fault lines of the Age of Revolutions. But the gilded spines and elegant designs that decorate his archive obscure the truth: Moreau's achievements were, at every turn, predicated upon the work of enslaved and free people of color. Their labor amassed the wealth that afforded him the leisure to research, think, and write. Their rich intellectual and linguistic cultures filled the pages of his most applauded works. They set the type, dried the paper, and folded the pages that created his legacy. Every beautiful book Moreau designed contains an embedded story of hidden violence. Sara Johnson's arresting investigation of race and knowledge in the revolutionary Atlantic surrounds Moreau with the African-descended people he worked so hard to erase, immersing him in a vibrant community of language innovators, forgers of kinship networks, and world travelers who strove to create their own social and political lives. Built from archival fragments, creative speculation, and audacious intellectual courage, Encyclopédie noire is a communal biography of the women and men who made Moreau's world"--

"How many people know that Hitler was writing an opera when he lived in Vienna or how he developed his antisemitic outlook while living there? Who has ever heard about Hitler's "second book," in which he revealed his major foreign policy plans, a manuscript that remained secret? How many realize that Hitler's regime planned on replacing Christianity with its own "religion" and substituting Mein Kampf for the Bible? Why did Hitler name his regime the "Third" Reich, and why did he choose the swastika as its logo? Why did the fine arts enjoy such an honored status during the Reich? What were the lesser-known original purposes of the concentration camp system established in Germany just weeks after Hitler seized power? All these questions and many more are addressed by a WWII tour director of thirty-five years in Exposing the Reich. The book illuminates how the devastation and tragedy of the war and the concurrent genocide could happen, examining the lethal blend of inciting hatred, ongoing indoctrination, justification for drastic action and the complete control of all media"--

"One of the earliest and most consequential presidential decisions was George Washington's decision to step down after two terms in office, despite the fact he would almost certainly have won a third term in office had he chosen to run. His decision set a pattern that would be followed by presidents for more than a century to follow, until FDR broke with tradition and instigated the passing of the 22nd Amendment. While popularly portrayed as a noble decision by Washington to restrain the power of the executive office, Yalof argues that Washington was motivated in large part by self-interest-a desire to cement a legacy of honor and integrity. He was also never motivated by the desire to reign in the executive with an unwritten two-term limit. If anything, Washington hoped to strengthen the executive branch by demonstrating that the institution of the presidency could be trusted with even more power and independence than it had so far received. His voluntary relinquishment of the presidency after eight years in office achieved these goals"--

When the Norman and Breton armateurs sent their ships to the New World in the sixteenth century, they had faith that through the ability to negotiate with the Indigenous peoples with whom they sought to trade, the leaders of these expeditions would return to Saint-Malo or Dieppe with precious cargo. Among these were brazilwood (used to dye cloth), chinaroot (to relieve symptoms of the pox), and furs for the European market. Storms or attacks by hostile vessels could destroy or reduce the value of the profit, but over the years the financial return proved advantageous. How and why this risky but profitable venture fell into the hands of Breton and Norman financiers lies at the heart of our story. The consequences of their investment in Brazil, Canada, and Florida would change the world, and the strategies used by the merchant mariners they sent out were key to the success of their enterprise. Seeing and Knowing the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Exchange and Alliance Between France and the New World During the French Wars of Religion is the first analysis of accounts or relations by French naval expeditions to focus on specific strategies of encounter and trade from Canada to Brazil, including the area of Florida and South Carolina. Since the expeditions took place during the French Wars of Religion an effort is made to examine how differences of religion and character affected the success of the alliance and exchange. The work is suitable for inclusion in undergraduate/graduate French, history, cultural studies, or anthropology courses.