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Changes always have an origin, a person or an idea that gives rise to these transformations. Some affect small communities, others have a universal impact.
Colt, the legend. Before the revolver, reloading the weapon took 20 seconds. In the Far West that was a problem because in that period a warrior could shoot several arrows. Samuel Colt, with his cheap and reliable repeating pistol, solved the problem although that made him a founding father of violence in the United States. Lead projectiles and human projectiles: decades later the figure of the bullet man became popular, although the First it was a woman, Rossa Richter.
War in the underground. Although the war between Israel and Palestine has made the military use of tunnels topical, Hamas is not the inventor of this technique that dates back to Antiquity. The pioneers were, among others, none other than the Jews. Of course, tunnels are also used for peaceful purposes such as transportation. This week marked the 175th anniversary of the first train journey on the Peninsula between Barcelona and Mataró, quite an event.
The Europe of Westphalia. The Peace of Westphalia marked the beginning of a new era in Europe and in international relations whose influence has continued to this day. The treaty put an end to the religious wars of that century and the clashes between Catholics and Protestants of the previous century. Michael Servetus, a pioneer in fields such as medicine, suffered the consequences of religious persecution.
Milton Friedman and immigration. The now controversial Milton Friedman is considered the father of neoliberalism and the inspirer of the conservative economic policies of Western countries, especially in the final stretch of the 20th century. Friedman, opposed to those who defended Keynes's theses, was first able to test his ideas in Chile. Years later, in this speech he defended the advantages of liberalized, deregulated and, of course, rights-free immigration.
Photograph the spirits. This newsletter has already dealt on some occasions with spirit photography developed in the 19th century and in which an attempt was made to capture in photos – conveniently faked – the supposed spirits of ancestors. The public domain review now publishes an extensive collection. It was a fertile time for ghost stories, perhaps because the gases emitted by the lighting of the time often caused hallucinations, as The Paris review explains (in English).
X-ray of a medieval state. The political and administrative complexity of medieval states was much greater than is often thought. In this article, the Clío Library analyzes the structure of the Crown of Aragon, from its highest levels to the most local positions, its tax system and its forms of property. Interesting for those interested in a less dark era in history than is often claimed.
Dictators: not even with hot water. The topic that occupies this section this week occurs in the present and has occurred so many times in the past that it almost enters the realm of obviousness. This Monday the Serbian economist Branko Milanovic published an article in Letras Libres in which he wondered – and tried to answer – why dictators do not retire. The reality is that the vast majority of authoritarian leaders are either overthrown and often killed, or die in bed. Of the six leaders who lead his team, four were deposed by force – Saddam Hussein, Mussolini, Idi Amin and Noriega – and two died of natural deaths exercising power until the last day – Franco and Kim Il Sung.
All of them are leaders of the last century, an era that produced many dictators who, like Hitler, met a violent end. But it does not seem that the dynamics of these leaders have changed at the present. Kim Jong-un shows no signs of having the slightest intention of leaving power, the Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, despite the fact that he is technically elected in democratic elections, has been in power for almost 30 years amid accusations of electoral fraud, and at least In the eyes of the West, the same could be said of Putin.
Milanovic believes that dictators do not abandon power because they always find legal loopholes to remain in it, their illegalities can take a toll on them if they resign and, above all, they really have no incentive to hang up their boots. One of the few who left his position did so thinking that he would be safe from criminal responsibilities. It was Augusto Pinochet and he was wrong.
