The 1886 Yoruba Peace Treaty and Imperative Lessons of Yoruba National Unity

I salute you, Your Royal Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan, our royal Father of this great occasion in the life of our Yoruba nation. I salute our beloved Governor and Host, Governor Seyi Makinde (of Oyo State). I salute the leaders, officers and members of the many organizations that have put today’s occasion together. I salute all the eminent Yoruba men and women who have honored the invitation to this august occasion. I salute all our guests, friends, and well-wishers here gathered. Ladies and Gentlemen: In the thousands of years of the pre-20th century history of the Yoruba nation, the Yoruba Peace Treaty of September 23 1886 is a unique document of incalculable importance. In modern Yoruba history, it is a foremost document that was deliberately designed to foster unity and peace among all parts of Yorubaland and among the entire Yoruba nation, Black Africa’s largest nation, and Black Africa’s foremost leader in civilization. Representatives of virtually all kingdoms and ethnic sub-groups of the Yoruba nation appended their signatures to this treaty – from the Alaafn of Oyo to the Ooni and chiefs of Ife, the chiefs of Yorubaland’s most powerful city of Ibadan, the kings and chiefs representing the large alliance known as the Ekitiparapo comprising the Ekiti, Ijesa, Igbomina and Akoko subgroups, the Awujale and war-chiefs of Ijebu.

COVID-19: Cartography as a Witness of Change of Spanish Urban Models along History Due to Sanitary Crisis

During past centuries, pandemics were something very natural to the human race, but as result of industrialisation during the 19th century, they became a larger problem. The arrival of populations to big cities provoked the development of irregular and overpopulated quarters without any measures of safety, and facilitated the expansion of diseases. The problem resided in sanitation problems, as the example of what happened in London and Paris. As a solution, in different cities, and as a starting point, Paris with the Haussman’s proposals, issued different reforms and extension plans were made in Spain (Nadal 2017, 357-385). Humanity believed that these extension plans would give us a healthy density and an ordered expansion. We opened big boulevards to believe that we had a wide city to walk, but nothing could be further from reality. At the beginning of 20th century, history repeated itself, and now, a new pandemic crisis has shown that cities have, again, a crisis of congestion. Keywords: cartography, cities, COVID-19, urban models

Historical Policy of the Roh Moo-hyun’s Government in South Korea: Seeking Reconciliation with the Past

Historical policy was one of the main directions of the domestic policy of the Roh Moo-hyuns government (2003-2008). The ideological justification of revising the 20th century history of Korea was the idea of building a new Korean society based on the principles of democracy and the rule of civil rights and freedoms. Through the implementation of a new historical policy the Roh Moo-hyuns government tried to prove that the creation of such a society was impossible without revealing the truth about the historical past, in which the state repeatedly neglected civil rights and committed crimes. Increased attention to issues of restoration of the historical justice is typical for the current government of Moon Jae-in, the political successor of Roh Moo-hyun. Based on the analysis of the governmental documents, legislation this paper reveals the main disagreements between political parties of the Republic of Korea around the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, identifies the key results of its activities.

High Voltage of the City: The Development of Siberian Historical Urban Studies in the Works of an Irkutsk Historian (to the 70th Anniversary of the Birth of Professor Vadim Shakherov)

The article provides the analysis of the main stages in the research career of the famous historian, urbanist and expert in the history of Siberian entrepreneurship, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor V. Shakherov. The evolution of the scholar’s scientific interests is highlighted in the text. The author outlines the main areas of the scientist’s research: studying the role of the city in building economic and socio-cultural environment of Siberia in the period from the 18th to the early 20th century, history of merchant class and entrepreneurship in pre-revolutionary Siberia, history of banking and credit system of the region, historic and cultural monuments of Siberia. The article presents the analysis of Shakherov’s major works, which reflect his contribution to the development of Siberian studies. Special attention is paid to his scientific, pedagogical and social activity aimed at preserving historical heritage of Irkutsk. The author of the article emphasizes that the research career of V. Shakherov and History Faculty of Irkutsk State University are tightly connected.

Latvijas 20. gs. vēstures hronoloģija: problēmas, iespējas un risinājumi

The 20th century history of Latvia is complex and sometimes difficult to understand for a non–professional. In the 1900’s, in Latvia various powers changed several times and events unfolded rapidly and with many turning points. Tracing all of them is a challenge even for a professional historian. The chronology is the first serious attempt to provide an answer to this challenge and make the history of Lat-via more understandable not only for history enthusiasts, but also for people interested in history – both in Latvia and elsewhere. The group of historians who developed this chronology also faced various problems – from the development of the most important criteria for the selection of facts to the problems of the exact data of events. Although a complete reflection of chronology cannot be expected in a chronology of this nature, which, in the author’s opinion, is only an ideal goal – it is undoubtedly a significant step towards the fur-ther formation of chronology and creation of deeper understanding of history of Latvia.

How Jesus Taught His Disciples to Walk With Head Held High

In spring 2010, a student of the Orthodox Theological Faculty of Belgrade invited me to visit the well-known monasteries of his region of Valjevo: Celije, Pustinja and Lelich. I had heard of Nicholai Velimirovich before. I knew about his outstanding role in the Serbian Orthodox Church and the 20th century history of the Serbian people. But when I saw his birth place and breathed the air and the spiritual atmosphere of this amazing scenery, he became for me a much more living person. The following text is not a research paper on his homilies, but an exegetical essay. However, I am grateful to the Nicholai Studies for publishing it, since it shares the endeavour which was Nicholai’s: to read and patiently reread the Gospel and to communicate the teaching of Jesus Christ as faithfully as possible so that it may illuminate both our personal lives and the destinies of our nations. The Serbian Chrysostom insisted that we need Christ to open our eyes in order to understand who He is. This is precisely what the central section of Saint Mark’s Gospel, analysed in the present study, is about. It also contains this aspect of Jesus’ teaching which was central for Bishop Nicholai: we will see God’s Kingdom and walk with head held high when we follow in the steps of Jesus, when we, instead of sacrificing the others to our interests, become their servants.

Alternative Publications, Spaces and Publics: Revisiting the Public Sphere in 20th- and 21st-century China

Reviewing the extant literature on China's public sphere from the perspective of 20th-century history and social science, this introductory essay argues for the continued relevance of studying the publications and public practices associated with knowledge communities. By steering away from normative definitions and by envisaging publicness as a process, a connection can be explored between social discourses and political practices in China. Discursive communities, based on shared identity or sociability, may appear marginal, but at key moments they can play a unique role in modifying the dynamics of political events.

LAW AND STAGE

We have been looking for answers to the question: what is law and what is its relation to morality for several thousand years. It seems that the definitions and analyzes created so far are still insufficient. A look at the past proves that we are developing the law in this area, generally pushed to it by some tragic events that affect not only law but also universal culture. On the other hand, it is the broadly understood culture that shapes certain patterns of desired behavior much stronger than the law. Shaping the mutual relations between law, morality and pop culture should be the subject of reflection and scientific research. It seems that we are stuck in a certain stagnation, in a deadlock in the development of law, which started in the first half of the 20th century. History proves that we will be stuck in it at least until the next terrible event that will shock the international community, change the perspective and trigger a domino of change.