History lessons

How do you get all historical information, facts?

Do you know who wrote all these facts?

It was on 4th July, 1776 that Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.

King George III was not willing to grant America total independence.

But that was the only arrangement that the American leaders would accept. So the fighting continued.

Only after 7 years the King officially announced that the war would soon be over. 

And on the 3rd September 1783, both sides signed a Treaty of Peace. 

Next story is about the discovery of America. Who was the first discoverer?

Of course, the first ones were certainly the Native Americans.

Then to this continent came Vikings. They made a number of expeditions.

But real discoverer of America was Amerigo Vespucci, not Christopher Columbus. He knew that this was a new land, he realised where he was.

Christopher Columbus is more “re-discover” of America. His voyages were extremely important for all European history.

In our national history, we also have one doubtful person. And this is Bogdan Khmelnytsky.

I am sure, he made big things for all of us and our country.

Maybe he is a hero for our history, a great hetman. But at the same time, he is an enemy for Poland. Because as we all know Khmelnytsky killed a lot of Polish nobility in Ukraine.

Everyone believes such historical facts. But we should understand that one source is reliable, and the other is not.

History, in fact, is often complicated and messy subject. But people like simple things, so they want to believe that all written facts are true.

So, 4th July is not actually Independence Day. But that day was seen as a more significant for American history, than the date of the actual end of the war. 

Still, such myths always contain a grain of truth. Some facts may be the truth, and in some books, you really can find reliable information.

But usually, history has been written by the winners. if the losers had written the history, it would most probably have been very different. So, maybe we need to give a pen and a sheet of paper to conquered indigenous peoples, but not the conquerors.

As I said, history is a very complex science, so the writing of history depends not only on the “side” the writer is on, but also on the culture, attitudes and traditions of the era it is written in.

We should remember, history is always subjective. And when you read another one historical book, take it with a pinch of salt.

Thank you for attention. I hope you enjoyed this!