History Lessons

" History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. "

Napoleon Bonaparte

Think of three historical figures. What do you know about them? Where did you get your information from? The chances are that you either read it somewhere or someone who read it somewhere told you about it. Did you ever think about who wrote down these facts? How can you be sure that they are true? The thing is, many historical " truths" are historical myths.

Let's take some examples. In America, 4th July is Independence Day, the most important holiday in the American calendar, which the Americans celebrate with parades and fireworks. It was on 4th July, 1776 that Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. It was a good start. However, the struggle continued for another seven years after this, with some of the most brutal fighting in the whole war, as King George III was not willing to grant America total independence, which was the only arrangement that the American leaders would accept. So the fighting continued. The first draft of a Treaty of Peace was signed in November 1782 and in February 1783 the King officially announced that the war would soon be over. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 3rd September that same year.

Think about the discovery of America. What's the first name that comes to mind? More than likely it's Christopher Columbus. Was America really discovered by him? He had set out to reach Asia and that's where he thought he was when he came to America. But there were many people there before him. The first ones were certainly the Native Americans, thousands of years before 1492. Where had they come from? Even the Vikings had made a number of expeditions, with Leif Eriksson landing there in around 1000 AD. Perhaps Amerigo Vespucci was the discoverer of America. After all, unlike Columbus before him, he was the first fifteenth-century explorer to realise where he was, or rather, where he definitely wasn't. So, maybe the word " re-discover" is more accurate when it comes to Columbus, if history is to give him any credit at all. Everyone believes such historical " facts" because, like you they got them from what they thought was a reliable source. But how can such things be written down in the first place? One of the reasons must be that history is seldom " cut and dried". The events are often complicated and messy. The achieving of American independence was alengthy affair. Presumably 4th July was chosen as the date to celebrate because it was seen as more significant than the date of the actual end of the war. Another reason is that such myths always contain a grain of truth. Columbus was not the first person to travel to America, but he was the first fifteenth-century explorer to go there. His " re-discovery" was, from a historical point of view, extremely significant for Europe since his voyages opened up large-scale commerce between Europe and America.

History has traditionally been written by the winners. If the conquered indigenous peoples had written the history of the discovery of the New World, it would most probably have been very different, but not necessarily objective: the point of view of the conquered can be just as biased as the point of view of the conqueror. But that is not the whole story. The writing of history depends not only on the " side" the writer is on, but also on the culture and attitudes of the era it is written in.

History is always subjective. So, remember: when you read history, take it with a pinch of salt.

1. America was not actually free from British rule until

A July 1776.

B November 1782.

C February 1783.D

September 1783.

2. One thing that is definitely true is that

A Christopher Columbus didn't know he had found a new land.

B the Native Americans had always been in America.

C the Vikings were the first to discover America.

D Amerigo Vespucci was the first explorer to travel to America.

3. People believe things that are not true because historical facts

A are always from unreliable sources.

B are written down.

C are not complicated.

D are not simple.

4. Columbus is credited with the discovery of America because

A the fact that he travelled there is true.

B this historical myth happens to be completely true.

C his voyage there had important consequences for 15th-century Europe.

D he wrote the history of New World explorations.

5. If native people had written the history of the New World, then history would have been

A accurate.

C objective.

B complete.

D different.

6. What the writer means by " that is not the whole story", is that

A history should always be written by the losers.

B the writing of history depends on many factors.

C the history of the discovery of the New World was never finished.

D history should not be written by the winners.

7. What might be a suitable alternative title for this text?

A There's no history, only biography.

B History is deception.

C History: lies, lies, lies!

D The pen is mightier than the sword.

Завідувач кафедри __________ Т.І. Крехно Викладачi _______________І.С. Лученцова

_______________ А.О. Пікалова

_____________ C.О. Тимошенко

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