Dates That Made History
Historian Patrick Boucheron revisits the most important dates in history through the prisms of memory and collective imagination.
Episodes
May 1st, far more than just "Labor Day," has its roots in workers' struggles that began in Paris in 1889. Its symbols, such as the red triangle, representing the equal distribution of time in a day, or the hawthorn, with its more tragic connotations, are emblems of a dream of emancipation but also of disillusionment. Even today, its message resonates in the streets around the world.
In 212 AD, the imperial law known as the Edict of Caracalla extended Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. It is a fundamental law of the late Roman Empire, establishing the core principles of identity and citizenship. What does this event reveal about 3rd-century Rome? With Audrey Bertrand.
Frankenstein's creature, born from Mary Shelley's imagination during the summer of 1816 on the shores of Lake Geneva, embodies our fear of uncontrolled scientific progress leading to the dehumanization of the world and of life. How can a founding myth of modernity remain relevant?
On August 13, 1521, Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, fell to Hernán Cortés after a months-long siege. With its conquest, the Spanish conquistador not only conquered one of the world's largest cities, but also the spiritual center of a highly developed civilization. The conquest is not only part of Mexican history, but also of Europe's colonial conscience.
When Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia denounced the Italian invasion of his country before the League of Nations General Assembly on June 30, 1936, he called upon nations to uphold their obligations under international law. However, the silence of the major powers turned the Ethiopian crisis into a scene of political capitulation.
The collapse of the financial system designed by the Scotsman John Law to pay off Louis XIV's enormous debts is considered the first major stock market crash in European history. But what makes this moment so significant? Is it the failure of the paper money bank – or the deeper insight it provides into the power and debt regime of the French monarchy?
On October 14, 1066, the political order of northwestern Europe was redrawn at Hastings: William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson in a costly battle. Two months later, he was crowned King of England in Westminster. The famous Bayeux Tapestry documents the victory and the end of the Viking Age.
When the Abbot of Cluny traveled to Spain in 1143 to commission a Latin translation of the Quran, he was not seeking dialogue, but rather to understand Islam in order to better combat it. The story of this first translation tells of encounter and resistance – far removed from the narratives of the "clash of civilizations" and Andalusian coexistence.
The flood is the most widely shared origin myth in human history. It marks a turning point in human history and divides time in two. Archaeological discoveries, such as those of George Smith in the 19th century, have revealed accounts older than the Bible. A brief exercise in comparative mythology.
On October 24, 1648, the treaties ending the Thirty Years' War were signed in Münster. The Peace of Westphalia established the principles of state sovereignty and religious freedom and is considered the foundation of a new international order. How do wars end? Are we experiencing a crisis of the Westphalian system today?
The mystic Marguerite Porete was burned at the stake in Paris in 1310. She had written a book that the Church considered heretical. Against the backdrop of the trials of heretics and political opponents under Philip the Fair, the question arises: Was Marguerite Porete's gruesome death a harbinger of the later witch hunts?
January 1, 1804, marks the end of slavery in Saint-Domingue, which became Haiti, thus separating its history from its colonial power, France. It is not only the result of a national liberation war, but also leads to the founding of the first state on the American continent founded by former slaves. This is a truly significant event, not only in American and French history, but also in world history. However, the price of freedom was exorbitant, and the country is still paying it today.
In the year 800, on Christmas Day, Charlemagne was crowned emperor in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Leo III – an act that, in history books, marks the rebirth of the Western Roman Empire. But behind this solemn moment lies a complex interplay of power, religion, and political symbolism.
On September 24, 1877, the Imperial Japanese Army defeated the last samurai who had revolted against the forced modernization desired by Emperor Meiji. The portrayal of the battle and its protagonists is often reduced to an opposition between an archaic Japan and Western modernity. However, the story is much more complex.
In 221 BC, the king of Qin, a small state on the western edge of China, defeated the Warring States period and unified the Chinese Empire. Tradition has made this first emperor the founder of a political system that presents itself as immutable. But when did this date come into being? Since when has 221 BC been considered the year zero of imperial China?
