- Why Orthodox Christian countries remain stuck Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg View
- How communist Bulgaria became a leader in tech and sci-fi Victor Petrov, Aeon
- Slobodian’s The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber
- Rethinking the unitary executive in American politics Ilya Somin, Volokh Conspiracy
Links
Nightcap
- The Sexless Life When Sex Is God David French, National Review
- An excellent, conservative history of America’s sexual revolution Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal
- An excellent, libertarian history of America’s sexual revolution BK Marcus, FEE
- Why economics is, and should be, creepy Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias
Nightcap
- Kurdistan still has a chance (2014) Avedis Hadjian, International Business Times
- The invincible Mrs Thatcher Charles Moore, Vanity Fair
- “Enhance your penis!” Arnold Kling, Medium
- The influence of Karl Marx—a counterfactual Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
“The Dutch Empire”
That’s the subject of my weekend column over at RealClearHistory. An excerpt:
6. The Dutch Empire vied for supremacy with the Portuguese empire, which, beginning in 1580 with the Iberian Union of Spain and Portugal, was a rival Catholic state attempting to establish a global hegemony of its own. The Portuguese were actually the first Europeans to establish trading forts throughout the world, but the aforementioned Iberian Union severely weakened Lisbon’s plans for global hegemony due to the fact that the union made Portugal the junior partner. The Dutch conquered and then established colonial rule at Portuguese colonies on four different continents, and unlike the Portuguese, focused on commercial interests rather than converting the natives to Catholicism and creating a politically connected empire. Because of the commercial nature of the Dutch project, many of the indigenous factions were happy to switch from Portugal to the Netherlands as business partners. And partners they were. Both the Portuguese and the Dutch (as well as the British and French later on) paid rent to local political units on the trading forts they built throughout the world. Such was the nature of power on the world scene before the end of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century.
Please, read the rest.
Nightcap
- Was Cairo’s Grand Opera House a tool of cultural imperialism? Adam Mestyan, Aeon
- Back in the USA, from Japan Scott Sumner, TheMoneyIllusion
- Why we must rethink our outdated ideas about international trade Richard Baldwin, Chicago Booth Review
- The complicated legacy of colonial contact William Buckner, Quillette
Nightcap
- Learning about World War I through German eyes Jonathan Boff, OUPblog
- The Danger of a Distorted View of the Right Conor Friedersdorf, the Atlantic
- It was supposed to be a simple troll John Holbo, Crooked Timber
- Strauss on Nietzsche: the God Killer Keith Whitaker, Claremont Review of Books
Nightcap
- A Common Free Speech Misunderstanding Ken White, Popehat
- Giovanni Gentile’s philosophy is to this day highly original Flaminia Incecchi, JHIBlog
- Why dictators exploit ancient ruins Paul Cooper, BBC
- The French Revolution’s impact on diplomacy Blake Smith, the Wire
RCH, and a warm welcome
My topic over at RealClearHistory today is the Mexican-American War. I lay out a general background on all the players, hoping that a primer will do readers there some good. An excerpt:
Texas. In 1821, the newly-established Mexican government was having severe trouble with the Comanche in the area and invited Americans to settle the region. This pushed the Comanche west and helped weaken them, but it also laid the groundwork for a Texian secession from Mexico. Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1835, but of course nobody in Mexico City recognized this declaration. Texas and Mexico fought for more than a decade before representatives from the Lone Star Republic finally succeeded in lobbying Washington to annex Texas and incorporate it into the American federation. It’s worth noting here that immigration was not the cause of Texian secession from Mexico, as some nativists are apt to claim today. Texas was, like Yucatán, tired of being governed poorly from Mexico City. The anti-immigration argument would be much stronger if Mexico wasn’t facing revolts and secessions everywhere it turned.
Please, read the rest. I’m going to, as I promise in the piece, delve into slavery and the war next Tuesday, but there’s also other topics to think about. Secession comes to mind for me, as I can’t help but ask what could have been if the Senate had not rejected Yucatán’s bid for annexation. Also, is annexation the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to not only “exit” in libertarian circles, but entrance as well?
Speaking of entrances, I’d like to officially, warmly welcome Mary Lucia Darst to the consortium and highlight her first thoughts with NOL: “The Sad Retreat.” I’m not going to spoil it for you, so if you haven’t read it yet, now would be a good time (don’t forget to say ‘hi’ while you’re at it). Here is her bio. I am extremely excited to read what she shares here over the next few years.
Nightcap
- Khalistan’s Deadly Shadow Terry Milewski, Quillette
- Yes to Europe: The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain Daniel Hannan, Spectator
- Will there always be an England? Andrew Sullivan, Daily Intelligencer
- Translating the classics is harder than it sounds Colin Burrow, London Review of Books
Nightcap
- The Russian view of Syria and Israel Michael Koplow, Ottomans and Zionists
- It’s time to end one-size-fits-all approach to aid Seth D. Kaplan, American Interest
- How the Syrian protests spiraled into savagery Ian Birrell, Spectator
- Historians can’t seem to catch up to urbanization Michael Goebel, Aeon
Yasmina
I was sick, still am, sort of. That’s why I have not done much. Here is a story (story) about immigrants I wish you would re-read. It was posted at NOL in March of 2012.
Nightcap
- How the Brooklyn Bridge was Built Erica Wagner, New Statesman
- The rise of India’s right-wing populists Max Rodenbeck, NYRB
- Searching for Scythians on the New Silk Road Nicholas Danforth, War on the Rocks
- Christianity in Asia was a little strange Soni Wadhwa, Asian Review of Books
The deadliest riots in American history
That’s the subject of my weekend column over at RealClearHistory. The riots are all, by far, due to racism and nativism, but for some strange reason labor’s riots in the late 19th century get the lion’s share of the spotlight in history textbooks.
An excerpt:
6. Memphis, May 1-3, 1866. Another post-Civil War riot, the Memphis unrest was more violent and more organized than the brawl in New Orleans. Like N’awlins, Memphis was a Southern city long under Union occupation, but unlike the port city, Memphis had a large immigrant population of Irishmen who were in direct economic, political, and social competition with recently freed blacks. The Irish had such a large population in Memphis that they were able to take control of many levers of local government once Union troops banned native whites from holding office (for being Confederates), and the new group on the block was none too kind to the recently freed black population. Forty-eight people lost their lives, but the burning of homes (often with black families still inside of them) and churches, the raping of black women, and the fact that no prosecutions were carried out meant that Memphis would remain a hotbed of white supremacy for another century. (The riot enraged much of the Union, however, and led to a sweeping victory for Republicans later that year. The GOP quickly passed the First Reconstruction Act in 1867.)
Please, read the whole thing.
I’ve never been to Memphis, but it’s a city with good hip-hop music and good BBQ. Someday I’ll get up there for a long weekend or something.
Nightcap
- Some women don’t want reproductive rights Rachel Lu, the Week
- What the West can learn from India Blake Smith, the Wire
- A Pullable Thread of the Social Fabric Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias
- “Hero-worship is spiritual poverty.” David French, National Review
Nightcap
- TV’s third “Golden Age” BK Marcus, FEE
- The life and death of North Africa’s first superstar Chris Silver, History Today
- The Pope that came from the South Avedis Hadjian, FOX News
- Globalization and Marxism JN Nielsen, Grand Strategy: The View from Oregon
Notes On Liberty 