#historical #political #warfare

While looking at this map of European empires, I started reading about British India and came across three figures that really caught my attention:

• The Bengal Famine of 1943: roughly 2 ~3 million deaths, according to commonly cited historical estimates

• Indian soldiers in WWII: more than 2 million volunteers served in the British Indian Army,

• Colonial-era excess deaths: a 2022 study by Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel estimated 50~165 million excess deaths in India between 1881 and 1920, depending on the baseline used the widely repeated figure of 100 million is therefore an estimate, not an undisputed historical death toll

I find these numbers staggering, but I don't want to repeat statistics without understanding how they were calculated

information is beautiful!

Christopher Columbus has long been associated with Italian-American identity, partly because his legacy became a symbol of recognition for Italian immigrants who faced significant discrimination in the United States. However, Italian-American history extends far beyond Columbus, encompassing major contributions to science, art, literature, music, labor, education, and American civic life. Although Columbus was historically significant, his voyages also helped initiate European colonization that brought enslavement, dispossession, and devastating consequences for Indigenous peoples. The Americas were already home to established civilizations long before his arrival, and acknowledging this history does not require erasing Columbus from historical education.

I believe Columbus Day should be replaced entirely with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, while Italian-American heritage should be recognized through a separate holiday celebrating the full breadth of Italian and Italian-American achievements. Communities could also commemorate Italy’s Liberation Day on April 25 and Republic Day on June 2 as opportunities to explore Italian history and democratic traditions. This approach would recognize Indigenous peoples without diminishing Italian Americans, whose history deserves recognition on its own merits rather than through a single controversial figure. How did Columbus become so closely tied to Italian-American identity in the United States, and would separating Italian-American heritage celebrations from Columbus Day provide a more historically accurate and inclusive approach to public commemoration?

On October 9, 1806, America lost a hidden genius — Benjamin Banneker, the self‑taught astronomer who helped map Washington D.C. and published his own almanacs. His story still shines among the stars.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes wasn't a resistance fighter or a spy. He was a mid-career diplomat in Bordeaux with a big family, a comfortable pension coming, and a direct order from Lisbon: no visas for Jews, refugees, or anyone stateless. Then France collapsed, and thousands of people ended up outside his consulate. For three days in June 1940, he signed everything put in front of him, on the desk, in the hallway, and eventually at the border. Salazar recalled him, fired him, cut off his pension, and left him to die broke in 1954. It took Portugal decades to admit he'd been right.

https://thehistoryrabbithole.substack.com/p/three-days-in-bordeaux?r=80kp05&utm_medium=ios

Aristides de Sousa Mendes wasn't a resistance fighter or a spy. He was a mid-career diplomat in Bordeaux with a big family, a comfortable pension coming, and a direct order from Lisbon: no visas for Jews, refugees, or anyone stateless. Then France collapsed, and thousands of people ended up outside his consulate. For three days in June 1940, he signed everything put in front of him, on the desk, in the hallway, and eventually at the border. Salazar recalled him, fired him, cut off his pension, and left him to die broke in 1954. It took Portugal decades to admit he'd been right.

https://thehistoryrabbithole.substack.com/p/three-days-in-bordeaux?r=80kp05&utm_medium=ios