How the Black Death changed the world

Take a look at the picture (below). I like to start some of my classes with an impossible task such as working out what these series of squiggles is all about. Surprisingly, if my pupils are given the topic they can come very close to guessing what these mystery pictures are all about. This particular medieval drawing is the beginning of a study of the Black Death.

Can you work out what it is? Pause for wild guesswork

The picture actually shows graffiti from the Middle Ages and gives a fascinating look into what people might have been thinking as the Black Death swept across Europe between 1348-51. The meaning is "A wretched, terrible, destructive year. The remnants of the people alone remain". It's taken from a medieval church in Hertfordshire where almost the entire population died. We can only guess what happened to the author.

Two great men: Churchill and Gandhi

If you were holding a dinner party for historical figures, who would you invite?

*Pause for thought*

Churchill and Gandhi are quite likely to feature in this imaginary feast and both personalities were great men in their own right. In fact, I admire them both and you might be hard pressed to find someone who didn't. In India, Gandhi's face is still all over their money (ironic given his own poverty and humility) and Churchill is still considered to be the classic representation of British greatness.

However, it can be difficult to get away from these accepted versions of people's personalities. Whilst studying Gandhi at university it felt odd to accept many of his shortcomings as leader and a man (perhaps I'll make it the topic of a future blog post). In the same way, my sixth formers are finding it difficult to get away from their interpretation of Churchill as one of the greatest Britain's who ever lived. Most want to keep their rose-tinted view of him despite my efforts to convince them that at times he was a complete plonker.

This became an easier task when comparing him with Gandhi. Despite both being in some ways great men, if you invited Churchill and Gandhi to your dinner party, they would not get on.

Gandhi is best known for his impassioned appeals for the independence of India from British Imperial rule. He dismissed the use of violence and was willing to take non-violent protest to the extreme. He fasted on a number of occasions to near starvation to try to stop conflicts.

The controversial Creation of Israel

The land of Israel/Palestine has been fiercely disputed throughout the last 3,000 years. Through the Roman occupation, Crusades and the most recently the Arab-Israeli conflict, this small strip of land has a continuous history of conquest, war and bloodshed.

When I talk to friends about teaching this, their knowledge is often good and they have heard a lot about the problem. But, many also say that they don't know enough about it to have a full viewpoint on the issues.

It's difficult to fully understand all of these issues but there are many aspects to find fascinating (and deeply distressing) about the study of this area but the deep feelings expressed by either side are perhaps some of the most hard-hitting.

This was recited by Palestinian school children at the beginning of their school day:

Palestine is our country

Our aim is to return

Death does not frighten us

Palestine is ours

We shall never forget her

Another homeland we shall never accept.

The second is one (probably very popular) Jewish view from the 1940s:

There is no room for both peoples in this country. If the Arabs leave the country, it will be broad and wide-open for us. If the Arabs stay, the country will remain narrow and miserable. The only solution is Israel without Arabs.

The question is: How did the two sides end up so divided and will there ever be a solution?

The mind control of Nazi propaganda

Ideas are a powerful thing. Throughout History (as well as the world today) people have tried to influence the decisions which people make and the thoughts which they have about the world. Sometimes this is done subtly (think about which brands you automatically pick up in the supermarket) and sometimes less subtly.

One of the hardest things to get your head around in History is that people in the past thought in fundamentally different ways to the way in which we think today. There are lots of examples of this but Nazi Germany is possibly one of the best.

To illustrate the point, take a look at the two pictures to the left. They were banned by the Nazi party and a member of the public would not have seen them. In one, the man is obviously Adolf Hitler and the other man (the one in the hat) is Joseph Goebbels; the head of Nazi propaganda. Try to work out why these would have been banned before you read on.

Pause for thought...!