Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter

From rethinking the history of US humanitarian interventions to the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history.

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Humanitarian Intervention

Jeremi Suri, Zachary Suri, and Julia Irwin
This is Democracy

In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Julia F. Irwin to discuss American Humanitarian Assistance in the 20th and 21st century. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “The Old Colossus.” Dr. Julia F. Irwin is the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University.  She is a leading scholar of humanitarian assistance in US foreign policy and international history. Professor Irwin is the author of: Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening (2013) and, most recently, Catastrophic Diplomacy: US Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century (2023). Professor Irwin is also the Co-Editor of the Journal of Disaster Studies. [listen here]

A Journey to Discover an African Homeland

Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Smithsonian Magazine

One hot day in November 2017, Hasani Carter, a genealogist and middle school science teacher from Columbus, Ohio, walked the dusty path to the confluence of the Ezu and Omambala Rivers just outside of Aguleri, a village in southeastern Nigeria. The sun pounded down on his head as he neared the placid waves. Surrounded by dozens of members of the village, he and others he was traveling with were guided into the shallow water, where Eze (King) Chukwuemeka Eri, the traditional ruler of Aguleri, slowly poured water over their heads. “He baptized us and reinstated us into the community as Igbo,” an ethnic group, Carter recalled recently. “He absolved the hardships of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The eze took us to a shrine afterward; it was a white building with a thatched roof. We bowed, and he gave us our Nigerian names. Prince Chineme Eri is my name. It means ‘God’s gift.’ It was the most amazing experience of my life.”

Carter, 40, had traveled to Africa with Roots to Glory, a Maryland-based company that helps Black people, particularly descendants of those enslaved in the U.S., connect with their ancestral lands and people. Since the company was founded a decade ago, it has hosted hundreds of travelers on custom-designed pilgrimages to countries all over West and Central Africa. Many describe the experience as a homecoming celebration, a cultural exploration and a spiritual awakening all at once. “The very first village that I went to was the village where my ancestors walked,” Carter said. “I was more myself there than I am in Ohio. I didn’t have to think about my Blackness. I felt freer—fully free.” [continue reading]

Westminster Abbey agrees ‘in principle’ to return sacred tablet to Ethiopia

Lanre Bakare
Guardian

Westminster Abbey has agreed “in principle” to returning a sacred tablet to the Ethiopian Orthodox church, igniting a debate around restitution claims made by the East African nation. The tabot – a blackened flat piece of wood featuring a carved inscription that symbolically represents the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments – has been at the Abbey since British forces returned with it from the Battle of Maqdala, where it was looted in 1868.

As first reported in the Art Newspaper, the tabot could now begin its journey back to the country it was taken from 156 years ago. “The Dean and Chapter has decided in principle that it would be appropriate to return the Ethiopian tabot to the Ethiopian church,” a spokesperson for Westminster Abbey said. [continue reading]

The keeper of the Vatican’s secrets is finally spilling the beans

Nicole Winfield
Independent

The Vatican has been trying for years to debunk the idea that its vaunted archives are full of secrets: it has opened up the files of controversial Second World War-era Pope Pius XII to scholars, and changed the official name to remove the word “secret” from the title of the archive. But myth and mystery have persisted – until now.

The long-time prefect of what is now named the Vatican Apostolic Archive, Bishop Sergio Pagano, is spilling the beans for the first time, revealing some of the secrets he has uncovered in the 45 years he has worked in one of the world’s most important, and unusual, repositories of documents. [continue reading]

New Book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire to Explore the Imperial Regime – Exclusive

StarWars.com Team and Chris Kempshall
Star Wars

Unlimited power! Sheev Palpatine sure was excited about it, but the concept would prove fleeting in the face of a strong-willed galaxy. And we’ll soon take a deep dive into how the Chancellor-turned-Emperor tightened his grip…and then lost everything.

StarWars.com is excited to reveal Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, a new book from DK Publishing that promises to examine the intricacies of Imperial rule. Written by Dr. Chris Kempshall, a historian [at the University of Exeter] and co-author of Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy, it will explore the dark times from stories across mediums, including movies, games, series, books, and comics, with chapters covering every aspect of the Emperor’s regime. The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire arrives July 9. [continue reading]