Misinformed

Dear Diary,

Let it be known that I hath the utmost respect and admiration for Universities, especially mine own (the O.U.) and have learned a great deal from them. Indeed Pangloss, another historian I know, a true savant with a towering intellect (I.Q. 196) said that no-one can claim to be an historian unless they have studied at University level. Now I have been studying for a couple of years, I have a tendency to agree with Pangloss. However, here are some facts that they (at the Unseen University) won't teach you about their syllabus...

Firstly, anyone studying The Arts: Past and Present will have no-doubt encountered the Art of old Benin. When I attended lectures, my dear tutor, God bless her, claimed that the Portuguese were "peaceful traders". This did not sit well with me simply because each time the Portuguese were depicted in the art of Benin, they sported rifles. Even the children bore arms.

I was talking to another historian on a bus the other day, and she claimed that the main source of metal for making the Benin 'bronzes' (made from brass) was in-fact the spent shell-casings discarded by the Portuguese hunters, on safari. The Benin people would shadow the riflemen, and reclaim the empty bullets, only to melt them down and re-cast them into their magnificent sculptures. This, is logic. It makes no sense to say that the manillas were traded, when the people of old Benin had a free and plentiful supply of metal.

The next module I am going to be studying is Mediæval to Modern: 1400-1900 wherein lies a case study regarding King Leopold of Belgium. Pangloss is Belgian. He was born there, his father was Belgian. As a result, he has an interest in Belgian history. In his studies, he discovered that King Leopold either didn't exist, or was an imposter. The reason for this was because the country needed a sense of cohesion, a national identity. The creation of a mythical monarch was part of this imagined notion. Alas, I love to pick-holes in the syllabus. Admittedly these two critical points are amidst a sea of truths that we study at this hallowed institution. A drop in the ocean of wondrous discoveries made at our University. Aye. I will consult with Pangloss about Leopold before I make the leap to this next module. When I have read the syllabus more fully, I will be able to make a more informed conclusion as to the validity of this dreamed-up historical figure.

Ciao for now dearest Diary,

Maximus Fleximus.