This thesis tries to demonstrate the value of reading primary sources within the context of their cultural history instead of interpretting them through a modern day lense. It did so by stuyding...Show moreThis thesis tries to demonstrate the value of reading primary sources within the context of their cultural history instead of interpretting them through a modern day lense. It did so by stuyding the works of Ibn Battuta and Ma Huan two writers of travelogues from distinctly different cultures that both traveled around the Indian Ocean prior to the arrival of Europeans in the region.Show less
Deze scriptie gaat over de aanwezigheid in en het eventuele permanente vertrek van de VOC uit Cambodja. Aan de hand van secundaire literatuur en diverse VOC archiefstukken wordt deze gereconstrueerd.
This thesis focuses on the acculturation of European mercenaries in the armies of Post-Mughal successor states at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The thesis takes William...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the acculturation of European mercenaries in the armies of Post-Mughal successor states at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The thesis takes William Dalrymple's "White Mughals" as a departure point and uses sources left behind by the mercenaries to test his hypothesis that these mercenaries generally acculturated into the societies of the post-Mughal successor states. However, through the analysis of these sources, this thesis argues that there was no acculturation to the degree Dalrymple argued present. Moreover, this thesis argues that there was an active segregation from Indians by most of the mercenaries, with an economic motive.Show less
This thesis argues that the Angolan Bush War should be studied as a global conflict. The war involved a variety of state actors, from South Africa and Angola to Cuba and the Soviet Union, and a...Show moreThis thesis argues that the Angolan Bush War should be studied as a global conflict. The war involved a variety of state actors, from South Africa and Angola to Cuba and the Soviet Union, and a global perspective is required to understand the conflict as a whole. While much of the existing literature on the subject is focused on the political aspects of the war, the analysis of accounts from Soviet soldiers serving in Angola demonstrates that these political dimensions often played a minimal role in the lives of the troops on the ground. However, the accounts examined give detailed commentary on the interactions between the Soviet advisers and their foreign counterparts, including both their battlefield allies and adversaries, and thus offer unique insight into this complex episode of history.Show less