I have always been interested in both science and history, with history including current events, but I considered the two as very different subjects. As time went on, the two seemed to move closer together. It was almost like a law of physics how history repeats itself. There is only a certain amount of information out there and it seems that we have to use information over, which is why history repeats itself.
What I have here is a "map" of relatively recent history. I decided to put it in a "question and answer" format.
We moved to where this is being written when I was 8 years old. The kitchen was kind of oddly shaped so it was difficult for a family to have dinner around a table. So we would have dinner while watching the news, and now I am very glad of that.
HISTORICAL POSTINGS
Here is a list of 9 postings about history on this blog, listed in chronological order. The first two are book length compound postings. These postings, taken together, form a "map" of modern history, as shown by the questions following this section.
1) "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" is all about how the French Revolution is like the "Big Bang" of the modern political order and the Republican side of America is the continuation of the Bourbon Dynasty.
2) "The House Of Holy Wisdom Where The Modern World Began" is about the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. This is where the monumental split between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches took place, in the year 1054, and the world has not been the same ever since.
3) "Understanding The World In Terms Of The South And West And The North And East" is about how the two halves of the world differ. The South And West is the realm of the monotheistic religions and the North And East is the realm of the eastern religions. The primary difference between the two is that basically the same nations have existed in the North And East since ancient times but nations come into existence with new ideas in the South And West.
4) "The Far-Reaching Legacy Of The Holy Roman Empire" is about how this political entity that existed across Europe for a thousand years is very much still with us.
5) "Why We Should Understand The Mongols" is about the legacy of the Mongol Empire in Asia.
6) "The Theory Of Kings" is about how kings have not gone away at all. We just don't usually call them kings anymore. Monarchy is the way that things have been done for thousands of years and it will not soon go away. How leaders of nations get along often depends on where they stand as kings. Nations that do not have at least a constitutional monarch run the risk of being ruled by someone who "acts like a king".
7) "The Strong Leader Binding Phase" is about how democracy does not come readily or naturally and a diverse nation must undergo an extended period of binding time under a strong leader before it is ready for democracy.
8) "The Rule Of Successive Revolutions" is about how the French Revolution was the "Big Bang" of the modern political era and has undergone two major reenactments, each supplanting the one before it. There has also been many minor reenactments. The first major reenactment, the Second Revolution, was the October Revolution of 1917 that started Communism. The second major reenactment, the Third Revolution, was the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that moved the world back toward religion. The signature event of the French Revolution was the Storming of the Bastille and each reenactment has it's own version of that. The signature event of the October Revolution was the Storming of the Winter Palace. The signature event of the Iranian Revolution was the Storming of the U.S. Embassy.
9) "The Sheet Theory Of History" is about how, in regions with long histories, that history tends to get reenacted, but done in the name of some modern "sheet" that covers it such as Islam or Communism.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Here are 33 questions about history and the answers based on the postings above.
1) Why was Communism established in Eastern Europe but it didn't last much more than forty years?
In "The Rule Of Successive Revolutions", Communism was the Second Revolution, or the first major reenactment of the French Revolution. But it had been supplanted by the Third Revolution, the Iranian Revolution, in 1979. The Cold War was based on the history of the 1054 schism, when the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Catholic Church as described in "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began", and Communism had overreached westward. It was able to do this during the time of the Second Revolution but not after it had been supplanted by the Third Revolution.
2) Why did Communism collapse in the West but not in the Far East?
Communism was the Second Revolution, as explained in "The Rule Of Successive Revolutions". It was supplanted by the Third, Iranian, Revolution of 1979. But that was a religious revolution and the division between the two halves of the world, that we saw in "Understanding The World In Terms Of The South And West And The North And East", was based on the difference between the monotheistic (western) religions and the eastern religions. Since Islam is a western monotheistic religion, the Third Revolution supplanted the Second Revolution more in the west than in the east.
3) Why did the Soviet Union become so powerful but didn't last?
Communism was the Second Revolution, and it was supplanted by the Third Revolution in 1979. Also, the Soviet Union was a reenactment of the Mongol Empire and it lasted for just about exactly the same amount of time as the original Mongol Empire. This was explained in "Why We Should Understand The Mongols".
4) Why did the Nazis and Fascists not conquer the Soviet Union?
The Nazis called themselves "The Third Reich", with the Holy Roman Empire being the First Reich and the time of the Kaisers the Second Reich. The relationship between Mussolini and Hitler mirrored that of the Pope and Charlemagne, who he crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor. But the purpose of the Holy Roman Empire was to rein in the eastern Christians who were questioning the authority of the Pope. It didn't succeed as they ultimately broke away as the Eastern Orthodox Church. By invading the Soviet Union, Hitler was trying to complete it's mission in modern secular form. Hitler also linked himself to Napoleon, and made a point of visiting Napoleon's tomb. Hitler's field of conquest turned out to be nearly identical to that of Napoleon. But this was mixing historical currents because it was Napoleon's conquests that brought the Holy Roman Empire to an end, and Napoleon's own invasion of Russia was unsuccessful. But it was mainly because Napoleon was of the first, French, Revolution and Communism was the Second Revolution, so the Second Revolution had to ultimately triumph. This is explained in "The Rule Of Successive Revolutions".
5) How can we explain the relationship between Iran, Iraq, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia?
When U.S. hostages were held in Iran, it was Iraq's Saddam Hussein who unintentionally got them released by invading Iran, so that those guarding the hostages were needed at the battlefront. Who could possibly have imagined that America would later twice go to war not with Iran but with Iraq? Iraq was a republic, led by a president, while Iran was a theocracy and Saudi Arabia an even stricter theocracy. We might think that Americans would favor Iraq first, then Iran and then Saudi Arabia. Instead it was reversed. But remember the French Revolution. We saw in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" that the king and queen who were overthrown and guillotined were actually America's first allies and helped it to gain independence. America's Republicans are the continuation of the Bourbon Dynasty and kings, even if they are not called kings, tend to stick together. Saddam Hussein had overthrown a king, and walked around in a military uniform like Napoleon. This put him on the diametrically opposite side of the French Revolution from America. The Iranian revolutionaries, while by far the most hostile to America, had also overthrown a king that was allied to America, but without the Napoleon factor. Saudi Arabia was actually still ruled by a king, and that put it closest to America.
6) Why do far-right leaders often stick together?
Monarchy is the way that things have been done for thousands of years, and that isn't going to change overnight. We still have kings, we just don't usually call them kings anymore. Rightward leaders are often really kings, and they tend to stick together. This was explained in "The Theory Of Kings".
7) How can we explain the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
At first glance the relationship between the two countries doesn't make any sense. The two had a fairly close relationship when Iran was ruled by the Shah, even though they were going in very different directions. Iran was westernizing while Saudi Arabia was an Islamic theocracy. When the Shah was overthrown in 1979, Iran also became an Islamic theocracy. We might think that the relationship would improve but it sharply deteriorated and relations were later broken for a number of years. But remember the French Revolution. It was all about kings. The two countries were close when they were both ruled by kings, but then Iran overthrew it's king. France has long been a haven for overthrown leaders in exile, but the Shah never tried to go there. Of course not, why would the king that had been overthrown want to go to the land that had set the precedence for overthrowing the king? This is explained in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris".
8) What is behind the war in Ukraine?
It goes back to the fundamental split between east and west from the Great Schism of 1054, when the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Catholic Church. This was explained in "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began". It is also the Mongol Empire trying to put itself back together, as we saw in "Why We Should Understand The Mongols".
9) What was behind the Iran-Iraq War?
The war was over where exactly in the river between the two the boundary was, and it seems utterly nonsensical that all of this death and destruction was over a few meters of river jurisdiction. But remember "The Sheet Theory Of History". This was really a reenactment of the ancient battle between Persia and Babylon. Saddam Hussein was really into Babylon, and had much of it rebuilt. The river was so important because the Persian warriors had gotten inside the walls of Babylon by partially damming the Euphrates River. This was explained in "Babylon Strikes Back".
10) What was Islamic State all about?
The un-Islamic barbarity of ISIS, or Islamic State, can be explained simply by "The Sheet Theory Of History". It was really a reenactment of ancient Assyria, which was known for it's barbarity, with Islam as the modern "sheet". IS was proclaimed in Mosul, which was where Nineveh was located as the capital of Assyria. It's field of conquest was roughly the same as that of Assyria.
11) Why are there non-state militias around Israel?
Because history repeats itself, and the Middle East has a long history. At the time of the Crusades, there were orders of knights that assisted and protected pilgrims to the Holy Land. Hamas and Hezbollah are direct descendants of these orders of knights, although they are on the opposite side.
12) What was the Khmer Rouge all about?
This is explained by "The Sheet Theory Of History". Communism was the modern "sheet". What it was really all about was restoring the glory of the Khmer Empire. This was based around the great city of Angkor, with the economy based on growing rice. It was also about restoring lost Khmer territory and this is why the Khmer Rouge launched attacks into neighboring Vietnam. It's barbarity could be a reaction against the earlier massacre of Communists in nearby Indonesia, as the Khmer Empire had gained independence from Java, which is now part of Indonesia. But Communism was just the modern "sheet", and Pol Pot later renounced it.
13) Why don't Morocco and Algeria get along?
There is no apparent reason why the two Arab neighbors should not have close relations. But both were French colonies and this gave them close exposure to the French Revolution. The French Revolution was all about overthrowing the king, in favor of a republic. Morocco has a king while Algeria is a republic, and this puts them on opposite sides of the all-important French Revolution.
14) Why did Communism end in Eastern Europe in 1989?
Anniversaries are important and this was the bicentennial of the French Revolution of 1789. The Eiffel Tower reminds the world how important anniversaries are as it was opened in 1889, the centennial of the Revolution.
15) Why was Romania so violent compared to the other 1989 revolutions?
The end of Communism in Eastern Europe, in 1989, was mostly peaceful, with the exception of Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu, and his wife, being overthrown and publicly executed, on Christmas Day, was a virtual reenactment of the French Revolution. The two even tried to escape, just like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, except that they tried to escape by helicopter, rather than by carriage. Symbolism can explain it, there is a copy of the Arc De Triomphe in Bucharest.
16) Why did Argentina recently surprise the world with a far-right government?
Napoleon indirectly facilitated Argentina's independence from Spain when he conquered Spain. The colonies that Spain managed to hold onto were Cuba, Puerto Rico and, the Philippines, until the Spanish-American War nearly a century later. Facial and body resemblance is important. We can see that Archbishop Desmond Tutu resembled Mahatma Gandhi. The posture of Boris Johnson resembled that of Winston Churchill. Silvio Berlusconi resembled Benito Mussolini. The election of Javier Milei is Argentina's version of the French Revolution and he bears a resemblance to Napoleon.
17) If the French Revolution is so far-reaching in it's influence then why does Britain seem to be immune to it?
Britain, actually England because this was before Scotland joined, had it's own revolution that was before the French Revolution, and may have been the predecessor to it. Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and King Charles I was executed publicly, just as the French monarchs would later be. His destruction of the Crown Jewels was a predecessor to the destructiveness of the French revolutionaries. Cromwell wanted to abolish the monarchy and make England a theocracy, which would later be reenacted by Ayatollah Khomeini in the second major reenactment of the French Revolution. Cromwell's revolution didn't last after his death, and the monarchy was restored, but this gave Britain immunity to the French Revolution. This is explained in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris".
18) Why did Britain join the European Union but later leave?
Europe is an interrelationship between the heritage of the Roman Empire and that of the Holy Roman Empire. The two are not completely mutually hostile and neither has been able to lastingly dominate the other. Unlike most of Europe, England was part of the Roman Empire but not the Holy Roman Empire. This is explained in "The Far-Reaching Legacy Of The Holy Roman Empire".
19) Why did Vietnam and Cambodia become Communist but Malaysia and Indonesia didn't?
Communism was the result of the Second Revolution, the October Revolution, which means that it was the first major reenactment of the French Revolution. Vietnam and Cambodia had been French colonies, unlike Malaysia and Indonesia, and this exposed them more to the French Revolution, so that they were more likely to follow a reenactment of it. In contrast, Communism was defeated in both Malaysia and Indonesia which hadn't been French colonies.
20) Why is Ataturk not considered as one of the fundamental reenactments of the French Revolution?
The creation of modern Turkey, led by Kemal Ataturk after the end of the Ottoman Empire, was certainly revolutionary as the entire society was transformed. But the revolution was not entirely from within. It was assisted by the Allied Powers that had been victorious in the First World War.
21) Why was there a Second Mexican Revolution?
The countries of Latin America had revolutions, or wars of independence, where they became independent of Spanish rule. But Mexico had a second revolution in 1910, when Porfirio Diaz was considered to have become dictatorial. After the independence from Spain, the French under Napoleon's nephew, Napoleon III or Louis Napoleon, aided the Conservatives in a civil war in Mexico. The result is that Mexico, for a few years, became part of what is known as the Second French Empire. We know that France is the land of the revolution, and Mexico was especially exposed to this, and it caused Mexico to undergo a second revolution. The land reform of this Second Mexican Revolution predated the October Revolution in Russia.
22) Why is America especially known for it's wealthy capitalists?
The Republican side of America, that allows more wealth accumulation by individuals, is the continuation of the French Bourbon Dynasty, as we saw in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris". The French king and queen were America's first allies, and helped it to gain independence. Constitutionally America cannot have a king, so it allows individuals to rise up and live like kings by their wealth.
23) Why does America have it's "Republican Heartland", and it continues into Alberta?
The "Republican Heartland" is the land that America acquired from France by the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase is named for Louis, which is the name of so many French kings, and was acquired from France. We saw in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" that the Republican side of America is the continuation of the French Bourbon Dynasty. The land that was the Louisiana Purchase continues into Alberta, and that is why it is Canada's "Conservative Heartland".
24) Why are there so many civil wars nowadays?
The breaking up of old empires, in particular the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the creation of new countries. A new country requires an extended period of binding by a strong leader before it is ready to become a democracy. This is what I call "The Strong Leader Binding Phase". If that phase is prematurely interrupted, by the overthrow of leaders such as Moammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein or, Omar Bashir, it tends to result in a splintering of the country.
25) Why is Iran so involved with Islamic militias outside it's borders?
In "The Sheet Theory Of History", we saw that, in areas with a very long history, that history tends to get reenacted while covered by some modern "sheet". The history of Iran goes back long before the beginning of Islam. Persia, the old name of Iran, has had several empires in it's long history. In the following image, from the Wikipedia article "Achaemenid Empire", we see that Israel and the Levant was part of the empire. This explains Iran's creation of, and support for, Hezbollah.
In the following image, from the Wikipedia article "Sasanian Empire", we can see why Iran today is so interested in distant Yemen. The blue at the bottom shows that it was once part of Iran's empire.
26) Why did America have a civil war but Canada didn't?
Why would America have a civil war but Canada didn't, even though Canada was divided by language? In "The Strong Leader Binding Phase" we saw that a new nation, that contains diversities, must undergo an extended binding phase by a strong leader before it is ready to be a democracy. Both countries underwent this phase by European kings, but America's was prematurely interrupted by declaring independence and this ultimately resulted in the Civil War of 1861-65.
27) How can Russia be so different today than it was during the Cold War, but relations with the West are no better?
The Soviet Union was, during the Cold War, perceived as the center of "Godless Communism". But today it is "Holy Russia", standing against the West that has fallen into decadence and apostasy. As described in "The Rule Of Successive Revolutions", this represents the Third Revolution, the Iranian Revolution of 1979, supplanting the October Revolution which was the Second Revolution, even though the October Revolution was in Russia. The Iranian Revolution was all about moving back toward religion. This also explains why Russia has reinstated the Romanov flag. It was the Romanov Dynasty that was overthrown in the October Revolution but now that Second Revolution has been supplanted. Vladimir Putin, from St. Petersburg which was the Romanov capital and where the October Revolution started, is like a modern tsar.
28) What was the basis of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s?
In "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began", we saw how the monumental split between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, in 1054, completely changed the world. The Byzantine Empire, where it took place, was later conquered by the Ottomans, who were Moslems. Yugoslavia was a union of republics that was created after the First World War. It broke apart after the end of Communism in Eastern Europe. But people had moved around and those who had moved to other republics, particularly Serbs, didn't feel like giving up their land. Just as had happened with the split, and the later conquest by Moslems, the major combat was first between the historically Catholic Croatians and the historically Orthodox Serbs. When that died down, the major combat was between the Serbs and historically Moslem Bosnians.
29) If the heritage of the French Revolution is so prevalent then what is America's version of it?
"America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" explains how the Republican side of America is the continuation of the French Bourbon Dynasty. Vietnam had been a French colony and America picked up the war from France. But this was the France from before the revolution, as France supported the emperor Bao Dai. The protests against the Vietnam War can be considered as America's version of the French Revolution. The 1967 March on the Pentagon, and attempt to levitate it, can be considered as America's version of the Storming of the Bastille. It was generally Republicans, representing the Bourbon Dynasty before the revolution, that supported the war and Democrats, representing the French Revolution, that opposed the war. The racial uprisings of the time can be considered as a parallel version of the French Revolution. Notice how important anniversaries are, it began with the Watts Riot of 1965 which was on the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation.
30) What are some minor reenactments of the French Revolution?
The two major reenactments of the French Revolution are the October Revolution of 1917 and the Iranian Revolution of 1979. What I mean by this is that these are successor revolutions that changed the basic direction of the French Revolution as the primary revolution of the modern political era. There have also been minor reenactments. By this I don't mean minor in importance, only that they didn't change the basic direction of the revolution. Some examples of minor reenactments are as follows. The Xinhai Revolution in China, in 1911, ended thousands of years of China being ruled by an emperor, in favor of a republic. King Farouk of Egypt was overthrown by members of the military in 1952, in favor of a republic. King Faisal II of Iraq was overthrown and executed in 1958, actually on July 14 which is Bastille Day. King Idris of Libya being overthrown by Muammar Gaddafi, in a military uniform, is classic French Revolution, with Gaddafi representing Napoleon, and a repetition of what had earlier happened in neighboring Egypt. Pol Pot, of Cambodia, had gotten married on Bastille Day and started time over with a ten day week, at Year Zero, upon coming to power just like the French revolutionaries.
31) Why didn't the presidency of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt last long?
Since the overthrow of King Farouk, in 1952, every president of Egypt has been from the military. This overthrow was a reenactment of the French Revolution, with the military of course representing Napoleon. The one exception was the brief presidency of Mohamed Morsi, in 2012-13. But remember that Napoleon actually came to Egypt, in a military uniform, and was responsible for bringing ancient Egypt into the world's consciousness. It was artifacts collected by Napoleon that turned the Louvre into the museum that it is today. The actual historic presence of Napoleon is what keeps Egypt being led by the military today.
32) Why did America declare independence from Britain but Canada didn't?
The settlement of America and Canada came after England's religious civil war, between the Anglicans and Puritans. This followed the Reformation and the Anglicans kept some of rites of Catholicism that the people were familiar with but the Puritans were more radical in that they wanted to eliminate anything that had anything to do with Catholicism. Puritans ultimately left and settled in Massachusetts so America had more of this radical separatist element than Canada did.
33) Why did the Arab Spring turn out so differently than the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe?
Anniversaries are important and what is known as the Arab Spring, uprisings against authoritarian governments, began twenty years after corresponding events in Eastern Europe. But the results were very different. Eastern Europe is explained in sections 1), 14) and, 15). The Arab Spring countries corresponded very closely with the former Ottoman Empire. The Middle East can be said to have yet to settle into a new equilibrium after the end of that Empire and the Arab Spring was a set of convulsions on the way to that equilibrium. The breaking up of the Ottoman Empire, following the First World War, resulted in a number of new countries and that brings us to "The Strong Leader Binding Phase". The Arab Spring uprisings were against these strong leaders.
You can see that the repetition of history operates just about like the laws of physics. History is not quite as neat as the laws of physics. An event may include multiple threads of historical reenactment. But it definitely does operate like the laws of physics.
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