A Summary of Three Articles
Eliza van Rootselaar
Throughout time there has been given much thought to the subject of empires; what constitutes an empire, what effect does an empire have on the world, is the decline of an empire inevitable, and many other questions have come to boggle our brains. These three short articles begin to answer our questions, all of them focusing on different aspects and addressing our perception of the empires that rule our history.
The first article, “Decline and fall... must empires always self-destruct?,” focuses on the mystery and fascination with the decline of the Roman Empire. People were awed by its power and perseverance and were ultimately shocked that its foundations were broken and the empire crumbled to the ground. The fall of the Roman Empire is for many people the first example of the rise and fall of an empire. Once the British Empire was in full swing, the author notes, “the parallels between Britain and Rome were eerily uncomfortable” (Hunt). As time continued, Rome had become the first example in a line of many. The author continues to suggest that history is merely a cycle of great empires followed by a gloomy Dark Ages until the next empire arises.
The second article touches on the negative connotations one currently finds in connection with the word “empire.” He suggests that an empire itself is not a new or taboo idea, but a common natural finding in history, “Empires are the historical norm,” Sibley states. He goes on further to address the recent theories that America itself has become an empire and there is a new emergence of the Anglosphere, or, “coalition of the willing”. Sibley’s main idea is that although America may be an empire, unlike with past empires, America does not seek to expand its borders physically or take advantage of others, but seeks to spread American values and ideals on a voluntary basis, an “empire of freedom” as he calls it.
The third article focuses on the importance of teaching school age children about previous empires, specifically teaching Welsh children about the British empire. Some teachers wish to stress that Whales is now an independent country as opposed to teaching their students that Whales was once a “colony” of the British Empire. Many people seem to agree that students need to be taught more about the empire, but it raises interesting questions as to how the empire will be presented, as a wealthy and flourishing empire, or as an empire that used slavery to create much of that wealth.
All in all, if empires are cyclical as these authors suggest, then I would presume that when teaching history, empires would be an important subject matter. If another empire is likely to dominate this world soon, or perhaps an empire is already in the making, then students and citizens of the world should know what to expect and how to survive its decline.