Introduction to history
Unit 1
Meaning of history
Term history first used by Greeks
Originally meant inquiry,
investigation and research.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Title-Herodotus-
Father-History-Courses/dp/1565852893
History is the study of the human past What is wrong with this
.
definition?
a branch of knowledge
What is that records and explains
past events-
history? Merriam Webster
History, in its broadest sense, is
everything that ever happened.
Henry Johnson
What is the past? Where
does it begin and end?
What is
history?
What is history?
• When we study the past, we need to use certain parameters
• History is the study of the human past at a certain time, described
in written documents behind by humans.
• Everything before history is called prehistory
• Sumerians in Mesopotamia were the first known and recorded
civilization in history dating 3200 BCE
emergence of hieroglyphs in Ancient Egypt around 2800
History is not a simple fact, there is no absolute truth but rather
different versions of the truth
Sumerian Cuneiform (ca. 2500 BCE), six-column
Sumerian economic tablet mentioning various quantities
of barley, flour, bread and beer. Excavated at Shuruppak,
Tell Fara, Iraq
“History is a myth we all
Importance of history today agree to believe.” Napoleon
“History is more or
less bunk
[nonsense] … the
only history worth
a damn is the “HISTORY is something that never
history we make happened, written by a man who
today”. wasn’t there”
American industrialist Henry
Ford, who in 1916
wrote an unnamed cynic.
Do you agree with these statements? What is the use of
historical knowledge today?
Importance of history today
Power
“History is important. If you don’t
know history, it is as if you were
born yesterday. And if you were
born yesterday, anybody up there
in a position of power can tell you
anything, and you have no way of
checking up on it”.
Howard Zinn
https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/are-there-
lessons-from-the-history-of-school-reform/
Importance of history today
• Our present is shaped by past events. To understand
present state, i.e., racial inequalities etc., one must
understand the past.
• To understand what has changed and what has “If you don’t know where you’ve
remained the same. come from, you don’t know where
you’re going”.
• To avoid blunders committed in the past. “Those we Maya Angelou
do not remember the past are condemned to repeat
it”. George Santayana
• History teaches us tolerance for those different from
us in terms of faith, race, political ideology, ethnicity
etc.
• Fascinating stories
Identifying bias in history
FACT: A fact can be verified and can be proven as true.
OPINION: An opinion is a statement that reflects a
personal view. Opinions cannot be verified and proven
to be true or false.
BIAS: Bias is a preconceived opinion formed without
due consideration of the facts.
Identifying bias in history
How can biased be identified?
• Emotive language
• Quality of research (sources used)
• Unbalanced accounts
Facts, opinions and bias
Is there bias in the statements below?
“Who is Sam Nujoma?
Namibian President Hage What is special about
Geingob has described the him? He is a thug, liar
country’s founding President and loser.”
and Father-Dr Sam Nujoma as Bernadus Swartbooi
a visionary and fearless (National Assembly
leader of Africa. 2020)
2020
Historiography
• Historiography simply put is the writing of history
• It is pre-occupied with the tenability of evidence,
arguments, theories and interpretations of the past.
• dynamic, it is constantly subject to
History is
change. As new sources become available, new
questions are asked, new methods and theories are
developed, new interpretations take place.
http://colourofmoney.kshitij.com/need-dynamic-rather-static-benchmarks/
Historiography
E.H. Carr said:
“Before you study the history, study the historian.”
Historiography
E.H. Carr said: “Before you study the
history, study the historian.”
• Facts of history do not speak for
themselves, they are interpreted by
historians
• No historian can be 100% objective
• Historians are susceptible to bias
because they are a product of their
environment and society therefore, they
may place their values, beliefs,
behaviors, and attitudes onto the
topics they study.
Historiography
How are historians sometimes bias in their writing?
• Misinterpretation of evidence
• Unbalanced account of person, event, institution etc.
• False interpretation of the past based on evidence
which is known to be false (e.g., empty land myth in
South Africa)
• Casual explanation of historical events, when some
but not all-important causes are mentioned(usually
found in school textbooks)
• Fear
• No access to available information
Historiography
Within South African historiography, several schools have emerged to interpret South African history :
• British imperialist historiography
• Afrikaner nationalist historiography
• African nationalist historiography
• Liberal historiography
• Radical/ Revisionist school historiography
British imperialist historiography
• Imperialism is the building up of
empires
• Before WWI, Britain and France
had largest their empires.
• British empire described as “The
Empire on which the sun never
sets” Unknown
• Imperialism is one of the causes The British colonies, African kingdoms and Boer Republics in 1885
Historiography of WWI
Difference between protectorate and colony
• Both a protectorate and a colony are territories of other countries.
• Protectorates generally have more autonomy than colonies and often allowed to govern
themselves to a large extent.
• Colony is controlled and settled by another country.
Historiography
British imperialist historiography Why is it bias?
• British imperialist emerged in the 19th • Interpreted from British point of view
century (unbalanced account)
• Blacks presented as threats to the British and
• Central theme of this school is expansion of not the subject of history
British Empire, its achievements and benefits
• Achievements of blacks not mentioned
• In South African historiography, writing • Racist ideology, that it was the (moral duty of
concentrated on: British to civilized blacks who were seen as
❖Activities of governors backwards)
• Historians wrote as participants of the imperal
❖British settlers and their activities system and not observers
❖War against Xhosa on eastern front (used to • No mention of what caused frontier wars (e.g.,
be called Kaffir Wars, now called frontier Xhosa fought because of invasion of their land
wars) by whites)
Historiography Liberal historiography
• Liberal comes from the Latin
Why is it bias?
• Interpreted from white
word liber meaning “free”. liberal perspective
• Liberal historiography in South • Failed to see economic
Africa emerged in the 1920s and growth based on race
1930s
• Emphasis was on the social and
economic aspects of history
• Considered the history of South
Africa to the result of all its
inhabitants
• Persisted that arrival of western
colonization and spread of
capitalism was a great step
forward
Historiography
What is a nation?
• Collective entity/ group who share
ethnicity, history, culture, religion or
language
• A nation shouldn’t be confused with
a state. A nation can exist without a
state and may be dispersed across
multiple states.
Historiography
What is nationalism?
• Nationalism originated in 18th
century in western Europe
Germany, Germany above all, over everything in the world,
When it steadfastly holds together,
offensively and defensively.
The words of the German national anthem,
Deutschland uber Alles
Land of Hope and Glory, mother of the free...God who made thee
mighty, make thee mightier yet.
written by the English composer Elgar and sung by British people
at the Prom concerts every year.
https://thenib.com/nationalism-isn-t-patriotism/
Historiography
“I am a Yugoslav nationalist
What is nationalism? aiming for unification of all
Nationalism was one of the causes of WWI and Yugoslavs and I do not care
WWII, therefore has negative connotation what kind of state but it
must be free from Austria”.
Afrikaner nationalist historiography
Afrikaner nationalist historiography developed
parallel to the liberal historiography
Rooted in:
❖Aversion of English domination
❖Great Trek. Voortrekker leaders such as Piet
Retief, Hendrik Potgieter and Andries
Pretorius are considered Afrikaner heroes.
❖Founding of Boer republics
Historiography ❖Suffering during Second Anglo-Boer War
(1899-1902)
https://www.thecollector.com/what-was-the-great-trek/
Historiography
Afrikaner nationalist historiography Why is it bias?
• Interpreted from Afrikaner point of view
(unbalanced). Historian wrote as participants of a
system and not observers
• Concerned with achievements and suffering of
Afrikaners
• Racist ideology. Blacks presented as inferior
• Achievements of blacks not mentioned
• Empty land myth
• No mention of that blacks were fighting against
invasion of their land
• No accounts of ill-treatment of San and Khoisan
farm labourers
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Great-Trek/606510
Historiography
African nationalist historiography
By 20th century, concept of nationalism became a
world-wide movement, including African and Asia.
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/nkrumah-kwame-1909-
1972/
Historiography
African nationalist historiography Why is it bias?
• African nationalist movement in South • Idea for “new Africa” was elitist, from view of
Africa emerged in late 19th and early 20th middle-class intellectuals and the role that
century in response to British colonialism they would play in the “New Africa”
and white minority rule • Not clear the role that would be played by
“ordinary Africans” in the “new Africa”
• Focus on political freedom. Black people
to be included in political affairs • Too preoccupied with showing that Africa
had produced cities, politics and monarchs
• Unity of African people just like in Europe. Didn’t focus on African life
before colonialism
• To a certain point: focused on issues of
land ownership and decolonization of • Politics at the expense of economic survival
African mindset • Ignores the differences between Africans
