Historiographical Literature Research Articles

Gabe Masao in Translation

The following section includes an introduction to the work of Okinawan historian Gabe Masao by Wendy Matsumura and Tze M. Loo, along with translations of two of his articles that were previously available only in the original Japanese. First, Matsumura and Loo’s introduction situates Gabe’s work within the historiographical literature on the Ryūkyū kingdom’s annexation by the Japanese state, arguing that although he eschews the word “colonialism” to describe the process through which the newly formed Okinawa prefecture is incorporated into the empire, his work provides compelling evidence to support the application of a colonial framework to understand Japan’s rule of the prefecture. Next is Gabe’s essay “From Ryūkyū to Okinawa,” as excerpted and translated by Matsumura. Last is Loo’s excerpt and translation of Gabe’s “Actions toward Modern Japanese National Consciousness: The Case of Ryūkyū-Okinawa.”

Strategic easing of height restrictions: Unveiling the intersection of free market principles and colonial mentality in Hong Kong’s urban densification

ABSTRACT High-density housing development is considered a pragmatic response to the conflicts between land scarcity and population growth. Under the rhetoric of (neo)liberalism, the flourishing private housing market narrative was anchored throughout the last century, along with significant contributions from government regulations. The 1955 Buildings Ordinance, which eased height limits, laid the groundwork for Hong Kong’s high-density foundations. The existing historiographical literature examines this from a technical perspective. However, it overlooks the decision-making processes behind these regulations and their alignment with or deviation from free market principles. This study examines colonial archives to scrutinize the colonial government’s approach to building regulations, revealing that easing height restrictions was not merely a technical adjustment but a calculated response to broader economic and demographic challenges. It was a strategy to stimulate private housing development and manage population growth without significantly increasing government spending. This raises concerns regarding prevailing assumptions that the colonial government supported a free-market approach to housing rather than exploring the debates and deliberations that shaped these policies. By comparing colonial experiences in Hong Kong and London, historical analysis challenges the conventional understanding of Hong Kong’s urban development, thereby highlighting the contentious relationship between liberal economic policies and the colonial administrative framework.

FILMS AND INDIA’S PARTITION: 1947 – 2024

The research paper aims to study the partition films and the developments in the historiography and literature relating to partition, - so that a comparative analysis of both can be carried out. This will help us understand the intricacies of the evolving relationship between cinema and historiographical literature on partition. In the annals of cruelty and goriness, nothing compares to the destruction and theft of property, the abduction and ravaging of women, the unimaginable crimes, and the inconceivable inhumanities committed in the name of religion. Several issues have been addressed in films about the partition of India. These include women's vulnerability, the trauma of uprooting from one's home, the difficulty of mass migration, the difficulty of rehabilitation, the terror of physical violence, and the humiliation of being labelled a refugee. The treatment of women during the split was a significant concern. In recent years, much research has been done on how vulnerable women are to violence. Also, the irresponsible and shameful behavior of the British who shirked their responsibility in maintaining law and order in the country which they consistently looted for nearly 200 years not only tells the story of their rapaciousness and brutality but also but also their nefarious designs of divide and quit.

Old Experiences and New Circumstances: Data Collection Methods of the Yugoslav Military Intelligence Service during the Yugoslav–Soviet Conflict (1948–1951)

Based on published and unpublished archival sources of Yugoslav origin, as well as relevant memoir and historiographical literature, this article analyzes the changes in the methods of work of the Yugoslav military intelligence service during the conflict between Yugoslavia and the countries gathered around the Soviet Union. During the years of intense conflict and frequent Soviet military threats, the Yugoslav side was forced to reorganize the military intelligence service, strengthen its personnel, form a new network of agents, establish intelligence centers in the country, and reformulate the methods of work of its military delegations as part of the process of strengthening the country’s defense capabilities. At the same time, in order to strengthen ties with Western armies, a system of continuous exchange of intelligence data was established.

The concept of polis religion: content, historical-religious argumentation, criticism

This article is devoted to a review analysis of the theory of polis religion in relation to ancient Greek culture. The article examines both arguments supporting this concept and critical opinions questioning it. The subject of the study is the concept of polis religion, the object is historio-graphical literature dealing with the comprehension and formation of ideas about the concept. In the first section you can find a review of the arguments in favor of polis religion, the work of leading experts in the field of ancient history and the history of religion involved in the analysis. The key theses that substantiate the existence and importance of the polis religion for the life of the city-states of Ancient Greece (polis) are highlighted. The role of religion in the political life of the Greek policy is discussed, as well as its influence of religious institutions on social structures. In the second section, the focus shifts to criticism of the concept of polis religion. The works of historians who question the universality and unambiguity of this theory are presented. Critics point to the diversity of religious practices and beliefs in different policies, the presence of individual cults and personal religious beliefs that do not always meet policy standards. The final section summarizes the results of the study. In this part of the article, the author seeks to offer a balanced view of polis religion, recognizing both the importance of this concept and the limitations of its use. A consensus point of view is formulated, which takes into account both supporters and critics of this concept. The scientific consensus on the theory at the moment can be formulated as follows: the concept of polis religion can be preserved only in its weak formulation.

ON THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF VASILY DIMITRIEVICH DIMITRIEV

The relevance of studying the biography of a prominent Soviet and Russian scientist, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Vasily Dimitrievich Dimitriev is due to the growing interest in representatives of the second post–war generation of historians who made a great contribution to the development of historical education and to studying the problems of national history in the second half of the twentieth – early 21st century. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the biography of V.D. Dimitriev, who, mastering and successfully implementing research practices, in his writings focused on studying the medieval history of the Chuvash people and the Chuvash region, as well as problems of ethnography, demography and historical memory. Materials and methods. The analysis of V.D. Dimitriev’s organizational, pedagogical and scientific activities is based on the study of the historian’s scientific heritage, historiographical literature, memoirs and Internet sources. When writing the article, the principle of historicism, the historiographical approach, the biographical method, as well as methods of systematic and comparative analysis were used, which made it possible to reveal the scientist’s diverse activities during the longitudinal period. Study results. Three stages of V.D. Dimitriev’s life were established. During the first stage (1924–1942), his personality was developing, his studies at the historical faculty of the Chuvash Pedagogical Institute were effective, during which he was elected secretary of the Komsomol committee of the university. The second stage (1942–1945) was conditioned by the Great Patriotic War, during which, after graduating from military school, he showed heroism defending the Soviet Homeland. The talent of the prominent Soviet and Russian historian Vasily Dmitrievich Dimitriev was fully revealed in the post-war period. Completing his studies at the Chuvash Pedagogical Institute, working at the Chuvash Research Institute of Language, Literature and History, and studying at the postgraduate training program of Lomonosov Moscow State University gave a powerful impetus to his organizational, scientific and pedagogical activities, which significantly influenced the effectiveness of his research practices in studying the medieval history problems of the Chuvash people and the Chuvash Region. An assessment of the historian’s scientific heritage and his contribution to the development of historical education in Chuvashia in the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the 21st century is also presented. Conclusions. The role of V.D. Dimitriev in the development of the Chuvash Research Institute of Language, Literature, History and Economics, historical education in Chuvashia in the modern period is revealed. He is proved to be one of the leaders of historian’s scientific school of the Chuvash Republic.

Recoinage of the imperial currency: the reforms of the viscount of Rio Branco (1871-1875)

Along with the Brazilian Law of Free Birth (1871), extensively discussed in historiographical literature, other reforms undertaken by the Viscount of Rio Branco, when head of the Council of Ministers (1871-1875), tended to be analyzed separately and thematically, and thus without rendering a clear meaning to his cabinet´s work. Through budgetary and banking-related primary sources, this article proposes that Rio Branco remedied the emancipation measure with financial, productive, and tax reforms in order to appease farmers in dire straits due to the wave of abolitionism. Despite the wide range of projects, also examined here, the capital mobilized by Rio Branco was specifically earmarked for coffee farmers of the Paraíba Valley. The Bank of Brazil, to which the greatest fraction of the Rio de Janeiro coffee capital was migrating, played a major role in the process. Thus, a type of uneven reformism, already glimpsed in the 1850s, was carried out by Rio Branco through a greatly increased public debt: on the whole, it focused on a recoinage of the imperial currency.

Activities of the Guardianships of National Sobriety in the Urals in Late XIX - Early XХ Century: Regional Experience in the Anti-Alcohol Struggle

The author reconstructs the regional historical experience of the anti-alcohol struggle in pre-revolutionary Russia. There is emphasized important practical significance of the problem under study in the context of solving problems of promoting a healthy lifestyle in modern Russian society. A wide range of historiographical literature and sources is involved, on the basis of which it is shown that by the beginning of the XX century in the work of the Ural guardianships of national sobriety there dominated the cultural and educational trend. The author comes to the conclusion that in late XIX - early XX centuries the guardianships of national sobriety failed to stop the spread of drunkenness in the region. However, despite the limited material resources allocated from the treasury, these institutions made a significant contribution to the organization of “reasonable” leisure for the Ural residents and to the development of the culture of the Ural society as a whole. The social support of guardianships of national sobriety in the Urals was one of the prerequisites for strengthening the temperance movement in the region during the period under review. Under the harsh conditions of the state-owned wine monopoly, the temperance movement was the spiritual and mental response of the public (secular and church) to the challenges of the time, and the promotion of the idea of sobriety was a palliative means of resolving this issue.

Diplomate Kraljevine Jugoslavije u senci – karijera Dušana Draškovića

The paper is focused on the career of Dušan Drašković (Douchan Drachkovitch), a diplomat of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia between 1926 and 1945. It analyzes the development of his official career, contribution to the activities of the Yugoslav diplomatic service with the particular emphasis on the phases of his work in Switzerland and France, as well as his family situation to the extent it had influenced his work and career. The article is based on the archival documents, domestic diaries, memoirs and the relevant historiographical literature as well as the witness’ interviews.

Between art and history: on the formation of Winckelmann’s concept of historiography

ABSTRACT Winckelmann’s work inhabits an ambivalent place in the history of historiography. His Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums (1764) is often referred to as the foundational document of art history, but almost never without the obligatory mention of its rather unhistorical dimension. The aim of the following discussion is to evaluate Winckelmann’s position in the history of eighteenth-century European historiography, especially with regard to the early phase of his career as a historian, i.e. the decisive period between his studies in Halle and his stay in Nöthnitz (1738–1754). During these years, Winckelmann carefully excerpted historiographical literature and dealt intensively with the model of universal history, whose structural patterns deeply influenced his reflection on art historiography.

UKRAINIAN HISTORIANS IN THE INTERWAR POLAND: PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY

The purpose of the article is to comprehensively investigate the forms and directions of international activity of Ukrainian historians of interwar Poland based on the analysis of various historiographical literature. The research methodology relies on the use of an interdisciplinary approach. Based on the principles of objectivity and historicism, the research has d the structural-functional systematic analysis of historiographical facts and the comparative-historical method. The article has used the heuristic possibilities of periodisation, classification and typology methods. The scientific novelty of the article consists in an attempt to comprehensively reconstruct the participation of Ukrainian historians of interwar Poland in international scientific cooperation. Conclusions. Despite the generally repressive cultural policies of the Polish government, Ukrainian historians in the Second Polish Republic generally adapted well to the difficult political and financial circumstances. Giving a proper response to numerous socio-political and cultural challenges, they managed to preserve the traditions formed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Mainly traditions of international scientific cooperation and, despite constant financial problems, Ukrainian free socio-humanitarianism in foreign forums. In terms of institutions, international scientific cooperation was most actively established by the members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Ukrainian Scientific Institute in Warsaw. This cultural activity gained special national importance in the 1930s of the 20th century, when Ukrainian socio-humanitarianism was subjected to devastating repression under the Soviet occupation. In general, in the conditions of stateless existence at the time, the international scientific cooperation developed by Ukrainian historians in the Second Polish Republic was a kind of cultural diplomacy, realizing the important task of establishing the political subjectivity of Ukrainians.

Did the ancient Romans have double-entry bookkeeping?

Purpose: The main purpose of the article is to establish whether the ancient Romans used double-entry bookkeeping. The secondary aim is to present a wide range of accounting vocabulary used by the Romans, which was later used by Venetian merchants and Luca Pacioli in the 1494 treatise on double-entry bookkeeping and which is still in use today.Methodology/approach: The paper uses a deductive inference method based on an anal-ysis of the economic, legal, and historiographical literature on the accounting vocabulary used in the state and private finances of the Romans. Findings: Although the terminology presented in the article suggests that the Romans had a highly developed accounting system using the principle of double entry, this was not the case. No material evidence of this has been found in accounting documents, such as single accounting records, repeated counter entries or balance sheets. Historians of ac-counting and banking rely on the analysis of secondary historical sources, such as legal literature that documents the course of trials in which account books were the main evidence. One trial that was fully described in the literature was between the partners Fannius and Roscius, in which Cicero was the defender of Roscius. The article demonstrates that Ciceros defense speech does not prove the existence of double-accounting in Rome. Reflecting on the reasons for the absence of double-entry bookkeeping, the author pre-sents de Ste. Croix's arguments, the most important of which was the Roman numerical notation system (I, V, X, L, C, M) did not force bookkeeping entries into columns. This was only done by the Arabic numeral notation system, which quickly translated into the opposite double notation.Research limitations: The lack of surviving documents and a need to rely on legal litera-ture.Originality/value: The article proves that the double notation the debit/credit convention cannot be ascribed to ancient Rome. However, the article informs the reader about the richness of the accounting and financial terminology of Rome at the turn of the era.

Local problems, global solutions? Making it rain in Hong Kong c. 1890-1930.

The late nineteenth to early twentieth century saw a small but dedicated rise in experimental rainmaking. The possibility that humanity might one day be able to control the weather - especially to alleviate drought - was very attractive to governments and private investors. The late nineteenth century was an era of scientific optimism and a number of rainmaking experiments across the world had brought the potential for weather control out of the realms of discourse and literature and further into tangible near-future science. There has been a small but thorough historiographical literature on this subject, focusing largely on American, British, and Australian efforts. This article seeks to build on this by exploring the little-known history of rainmaking in Hong Kong before 1930, centering on a case study of a particular experiment intended to alleviate the disastrous drought of 1928-9. As was the case elsewhere, Hong Kong's rainmaking efforts raised as much skepticism as they did support, with the government, scientists, and the general public in two minds about whether making rain was even possible. As such, this article aims to interrogate the concepts of the sociotechnical imaginary and the history of failure, while also contributing to the wider story of meteorological knowledge-making.

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RECOGNITION OF THE KINGDOM OF SERBS, CROATS AND SLOVENES

The paper studies international legal recognition of a state using the example of the recognition of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1919-1920. One aspect of the paper is based on historiographical literature, presenting and analysing the factual situation, which forms the basis for the legal analysis. The legal analysis is based on the nature of state recognition, as perceived at the beginning of the 20th century. The backbone of the paper is the actual course of recognition of the Kingdom of SCS. Nevertheless, the paper also touches on the topic of the origin of the Kingdom of SCS and problematizes the issue of whether that state was new or old. The main emphasis for the topic is the exploration of whether the Kingdom of SCS, at the time when it was striving to obtain recognition from the allies in the Great War, satisfied the conditions of statehood from the point of view of the then relevant norms of International Public Law. The paper follows a dual theoretical understanding of the international legal concept of recognition through both declarative and constitutive theories, reflecting different understanding of recognition both in the period following the end of the First World War and today in the 21st century. To that extent, consideration of the historical concept of legal recognition contributes to a more complete understanding of this issue in contemporary international law as well.

Položaj Rusije u multipolarnom svetu i strateške opcije Srbije

By relying on realistic theories of international relations, using the methods of content analysis, synthesis and comparison, it is possible to monitor and prove the phenomenon of establishing a balance of power in contemporary international relations. One of the key factors in that process is certainly the Russian Federation. The aspiration to redefine the post-Cold War international order and to shape a new one - multipolar and polycentric, is noticeable in Russia's strategies, as well as in the appearances of officials and concrete actions. Undoubtedly, Russia is positioning itself as one of the independent poles in the changing structure of the world political system, which is why it is necessary to consider the strategic options of the Republic of Serbia in that context. The paper consists of five parts. The introductory part is dedicated to the presentation of the framework - methodological and theoretical, as well as key concepts. The second part explains the structure of the world political system and the phenomenon of balance of power, while the third part specifically shows this through the current (foreign policy) positioning of Russia (influence on the transformation of the world political system and balance of power). The fourth part analyzes Russian - Serbian relations, their quality and content, while the fifth part discusses the strategic options of the Republic of Serbia. The time frame of the research is limited to the period from 2008 and the beginning of the global financial-economic crisis until today. For the purposes of the research, contemporary political science, security, economic, legal and historiographical literature was used, as well as primary sources related to decisions of international organizations, institutions of Russia and Serbia, as well as statements of officials relevant to this paper.

STUDYING THE 1938 MUNICH TREATY IN MODERN RUSSIA: OBSERVATIONS BY A HISTORIOGRAPHER

The Munich Treaty of 1938 has been of great interest to both Russian and foreign scholarship since its conclusion and up to the present time. The interest of researchers to this scientific problem can be explained by the fact that it has not only historical, but also great political importance. The circumstances of the treaty and its place in world politics on the eve of World War II are the object of fierce ideological struggle. For more than 80 years of study of the Munich Treaty a vast amount of historical literature has been accumulated, which is periodically analyzed in the historiographical literature. The article is devoted to the analysis of the historiographical literature, devoted to the analysis of the study of the Munich treaty of 1938 in the Russian historical science. Modern historiographers distinguish two periods in the study of the problem: The Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The analysis of the historiographical literature shows that while the authors' opinions largely coincide in assessing the Soviet period, there are significant differences in the assessment of the contribution of historians to the study of the Munich Treaty in the years of «perestroika», as well as in the post-Soviet period. This applies not only to the assessment of individual works of Russian scholars, but also to the directions in the development of post-Soviet science and stages in its development. Since the historiographic tradition in the study of the Munich Treaty has not ceased until now, the article analyzes the peculiarities of the literature, which was published on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Munich Treaty.

ЕТИКА BBC ЩОДО ЗАХИСТУ ДІТЕЙ

<div><p><strong><em>The aim of the study</em></strong><em> is to outline the concept of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) editorial policy on covering problematic issues of journalistic related to children, production of content specifically intended or likely to be available to minors, and other possible forms of direct or indirect interaction between media professionals and children.</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methods.</em></strong><em> The research was made possible by conducting a traditional (content-related) analysis of documents on journalistic ethics of the BBC, in which relevant issues of editorial policy were raised, and of historiographical sources of the scientific problem. Previously, inquiry and research work was carried out to establish appropriate documents. Therefore, through synthesis of the analyzed material, the stated aim was achieved.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> The article presents a body of current editorial documents of the BBC, which regulate the activities of journalists in various forms of interaction with children. As a result of the historiographical literature study, the origins of the BBC editorial policy on the so-called “children’s issue” are briefly considered. The content of current documents is analyzed, in particular, such as the BBC Editorial Guidelines, the BBC Child Protection Policy, the BBC Code of Conduct, the BBC Guide to Working with Children, etc. Emphasis is placed on that norms of BBC ethics on children, which are potentially most important for Ukrainian journalism. The research established the values which are the basis of the BBC editorial policy on child protection.</em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty. </em></strong><em>With this research, the moral imperatives of the BBC on children will complement journalistic ethics as a field of knowledge in which the relevant scientific problem has not yet been properly developed.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical importance.</em></strong><em> The research will contribute to the formation of journalistic morality on children as a specific audience and a distinctive source of information. For the same purpose, the study can be used in further scientific research in the field of journalistic ethics.</em></p></div><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> journalistic ethics, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), child / children, BBC Editorial Guidelines, media, journalism.</em></p>

«Неприсутні ніколи не мають рації»: міжнародна наукова діяльність українських істориків міжвоєнної Польщі

The purpose of the article is to comprehensively investigate the forms and directions of international activity of Ukrainian historians of interwar Poland based on the analysis of various historiographical literature. The research methodology relies on the use of an interdisciplinary approach. Based on the principles of objectivity and historicism, the research has d the structural-functional systematic analysis of historiographical facts and the comparative-historical method. The article has used the heuristic possibilities of periodisation, classification and typology methods. The scientific novelty of the article consists in an attempt to comprehensively reconstruct the participation of Ukrainian historians of interwar Poland in international scientific cooperation. Conclusions. Despite the generally repressive cultural policies of the Polish government, Ukrainian historians in the Second Polish Republic generally adapted well to the difficult political and financial circumstances. Giving a proper response to numerous socio-political and cultural challenges, they managed to preserve the traditions formed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Mainly traditions of international scientific cooperation and, despite constant financial problems, Ukrainian free socio-humanitarianism in foreign forums. In terms of institutions, international scientific cooperation was most actively established by the members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Ukrainian Scientific Institute in Warsaw. This cultural activity gained special national importance in the 1930s of the 20th century, when Ukrainian socio-humanitarianism was subjected to devastating repression under the Soviet occupation. In general, in the conditions of stateless existence at the time, the international scientific cooperation developed by Ukrainian historians in the Second Polish Republic was a kind of cultural diplomacy, realizing the important task of establishing the political subjectivity of Ukrainians.

Instrumentation and observations at the astronomical observatory in Hurbanovo in 1871–1918

The period of the last third of 19th century was beneficial to a boom of observatories run by amateur astronomers. One of them was built in Hurbanovo. It is well known that place names have changed throughout history; sometimes more than one was used at the same time, and it often depended on the language in which the historical documents were written. These peculiarities can easily confuse the modern reader. For the sake of clarity, we have decided to use modern official geographical names. Even in Anglophone historiographical literature, modern names are usually used in the first place instead of historical ones. All other historical forms of place names are mentioned in parentheses when they first appear (first in Hungarian, then in German). Several names or variations of those names may be discovered in historical records pertaining to Hurbanovo, e.g.: Stará Ďala (in Slovak), Ó-Gyalla, O Gyalla, Ógyalla, Ogyalla, Ó Gyalla, Ó Gyala, Ó-Gyala, Ó Gyála (in Hungarian), Altdala (in German). The town was named Hurbanovo in 1948. (Slovakia) in 1871 by a local nobleman Nicolaus de Konkoly. The paper is divided into two main parts. The first part is focused on the development of instrumentation and domes of the observatory. The second one is focused on various kinds of astronomical and astrophysical observations performed by the observatory staff from the beginning of the observatory until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.

К идентификации некоторых персонажей «Истории монголов» Плано Карпини

Research objectives: To identify representatives of the Mongolian ruling elite of the 13th century whose names are mentioned in the “History of the Mongols” by the Papal legate, Franciscan John (Giovanni) de Plano Carpini, as well as several historical realities of the epoch of the Mongol conquests. Research materials: The Wolfenbüttel copy of the “History of the Mongols” and its new Russian translation, Persian Arabic and Russian chronicles, Mongolian medieval writings of the 13th–17th century, historiographical literature on the Mongol Empire of the first half of the 13th century. Results and novelty of the research: Based on the comparison of information from various sources, different proposals for the identification of some characters appearing in the “History of the Mongols” by Plano Carpini have been offered. Identification of names is complicated by the abundance of their discrepancies in various editions and handwritten versions of the work under study. The basis for the present analysis was the second, lengthy edition of Plano Carpini’s work, existing in two copies that independently go back to the common protograph – the Wolfenbüttel (the 14th century) and the Cambridge (the 13th century). This article suggests the identification of the Mongol governors in the southern Russian steppes, Mautsi and Karbon, with Noyon Mugedu and an anonymous Gurgan (i.e., Batu’s son–in-law) respectively; Batu’s court dignitary Eldegai can be associated with Eldeke from the Juryat tribe. Assumptions are also made regarding the discovery of prototypes of the Mongol military commander and governor Korentsa (Kuremsa), the Khorezm ruler Altisoldan, and the town Summerkent of the “Saxes” (Saxins) people.