5. Beneath the Surface
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Beneath the Surface’ considers more detailed thoughts on the construction of such monuments as the Apollo Temple at Bassae and the various society conditions that made the building ...
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3. The polemics of possession
Rolena Adorno
in Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction
‘The polemics of possession’ examines the polemic regarding the Castilians' right to govern the New World. As the Indies had not threatened Spain the conquest of their lands was not ‘just’ ...
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2. Babylonian society through the perspective of Hammurabi’s Laws
Trevor Bryce
in Babylonia: A Very Short Introduction
An imposing stone stele (pillar) discovered during excavations of the ancient city of Susa in ad 1901–2 depicts Shamash, god of justice, and the Babylonian king, Hammurabi. It is also ...
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7. African religions today
Jacob J. Olupọna
in African Religions: A Very Short Introduction
African indigenous religion in contemporary Africa struggles to maintain its legal tone and identity in the face of the forces of Islam and Christianity, especially radicalized forms. But ...
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Conclusion
David A. Gerber
in American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction
The United States is truly a multicultural society, or a global society, as any visitor to the country will attest. This global society has developed in fits and starts. The Conclusion ...
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5. The century of the child and beyond
James Marten
in The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction
The 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child, issued by the United Nations, provided a far more detailed and supposedly binding set of conditions and rights than the 1924 Declaration of ...
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1. The Atlantic slave trade
Heather Andrea Williams
in American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction
Slavery had long existed in Europe and Africa, but the history of the Atlantic slave trade begins in the 1440s with Portuguese exploration of West Africa. ‘The Atlantic slave trade’ charts ...
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3. The work of slavery
Heather Andrea Williams
in American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction
‘The work of slavery’ describes the wide range of work and duties allocated to enslaved people—men, women, and children—in the North and South. From the 1600s to 1865 the vast majority ...
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4. Struggles for control
Heather Andrea Williams
in American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction
It took persistent effort on the part of slave owners and their allies to keep slavery in place, to make people work without pay, and to sustain the arguments that justified the forced ...
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2. Oviedo and Las Casas
Rolena Adorno
in Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction
‘Oviedo and Las Casas’ compares the differences between the histories of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Bartolomé de Las Casas. Oviedo, a product of the Italian and Castile courts, ...
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1. Traditions
James Marten
in The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction
More is known about ancient childhoods in the West than elsewhere in the world, but from what is known, all cultures believed that childhood was more than a phase of biological immaturity, ...
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3. Slavery, race, caste
Robert J. C. Young
in Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Slavery, race, caste’ explains how the most sustained form of early colonial violence involved the enslavement of millions of non-Europeans. Slavery was not simply an oppressive practice: ...
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2. From colony to empire to republic
Anthony W. Pereira
in Modern Brazil: A Very Short Introduction
‘From colony to empire to republic’ details Brazil’s unique path to statehood and nationhood. Brazil is a relatively recent creation. For more than three centuries, it was a colony of ...
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1. Brazil hosts the Olympic Games
Anthony W. Pereira
in Modern Brazil: A Very Short Introduction
‘Brazil hosts the Olympic Games’ examines the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August 2016. This was the first time the games took place in South America. ...
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Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Robert J. C. Young
Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction describes how people around the world have increasingly challenged the idea that Western perspectives are the only ones that count. ...
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Introduction
Louis P. Masur
in The U.S. Civil War: A Very Short Introduction
The introduction outlines the structure of this VSI and summarizes its aims, which include to seek to explain what happened during the Civil War, outline how the events transpired, and ...
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3. Assyrians at home
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
‘Assyrians at home’ describes the great variety of living conditions and human experiences in the Assyrian Empire in the 7th century, the period when the source material is most numerous ...
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4. Assyrians abroad
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
‘Assyrians abroad’ captures snapshots of Assyrian lives far away from the city of Aššur and Assyrian heartland through a range of primary sources from different periods. Accounts of ...
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5. Foreigners in Assyria
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
‘Foreigners in Assyria’ looks at Assyrian interactions with the wider world by focusing on foreigners in the city of Aššur and how they got there. The first two cases explore Assyrian ...
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20. Reluctant Imperialists?
Christopher Harvie and H. C. G. Matthew
in Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction
‘Reluctant Imperialists?’ outlines British imperial policy in the late nineteenth century. Britain did not, as a whole, look for increased direct imperial authority, nor did public opinion ...
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