Europe
Illustrations from Guaman Poma, El Primer Nueva Coránica y Buen Gobierno
These two illustrations come from El Primer Nueva Coránica y Buen Gobierno [The First New Chronicle and Good Government] (1615), a history of the Inca Empire and the Spanish conquest of the Andes written and illustrated by Filipe Guaman Poma y Ayala, an indigenous Peruvian Christian noble.
Portrait of General Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (1764-1850) was a Uruguayan soldier who became a national hero for his contributions to the wars of independence from Spain. He is a celebrated figure in Uruguayan culture, and his name has become ubiquitous throughout the country.
Short Teaching Module: Sick Men in Mid-Nineteenth-Century International Relations
I use political cartoons, newspaper stories, and excerpts from government documents to show different perspectives of a country’s power and foreign relations. I have several aims in using the texts.
New York Times editorial on Mexico, November 21, 1855
The New York Times was founded in 1851. It was an antislavery newspaper before the Civil War, helping to establish the Republican Party in 1854. It covered international as well as national and local affairs. Historians regard the Times as a gauge of American opinion at the time.
Ottoman Reform Decree, 1856
The Imperial Reform Edict of Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I, appearing originally in 1856 and subsequently in this 1874 publication, promised equality of access to education, government appointments, military service, and administration of justice to all, regardless of religion, language, or race.
Ottoman Decree Regarding Protestants, 1850
This imperial decree, or firman, was translated from Ottoman Turkish to English by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Cartoon about the Ottoman Empire
This cartoon appeared in the popular British magazine Punch on September 15, 1853. In it, France is personified based on the mustachioed Emperor Napoleon III, and Britain appears as the symbolic figure John Bull.
Witches
Witches is well-conceived and equally well-presented project that takes our understanding of Scottish witchcraft one step further
The Miracles of Sainte Foy
In 1013, Bernard of Angers visited the relics of Sainte Foy at the abbey of Conques, in southern France. Initially skeptical of the cult which had formed around this little girl martyr, Bernard nonetheless fell under her spell.
On Diverse Arts (De diversis artibus)
Theophilus’ De diversis artibus is the only complete treatise on art to survive from the High Middle Ages.