Tracing History.

Many people have debated about the Definition, Origin and the Scope of History. According to E.H.Carr,who has written "What is History?", "History is nothing but representation of the facts of the past, through an Historian's mind and imagination." This covers the definition but what about Origin and Scope of History as a subject? 

Some scholars say that History covers only Political history. For example, the Greek scholars definitely thought that "History is of only elite people". At that point of time, when Herodotus said elite people, he meant 'people who ruled the lower classes', 'people who had power.' But at the same time he also said, "Poetry is better than History." Here, he is keeping literature at a higher level than History. According to me, this shows how narrow the outlook was when it came to History. The scholars preferred imagination to the actual facts. Poetry or literature is nothing but actual facts after all. But, we can not forget that Greeks were the forefathers of History. They not only made History but gave recognition to the subject through the word "Istoria", which means Investigation. They could not have been more accurate. Looking at it with today's perceptions, one can understand the vastness and depth of the term "Istoria." Whereas on the other hand, Indian comprehension of History is completely different. In Ancient India, History was not a specific science, there were no dates, no chronologies and no family histories. The main source of Ancient Indian History is not documents but the archaeological event. For example, Indus Valley Civilization. Yes, they do have some texts but scholars are far from deciphering the script which existed then. This is in contrast with the Egyptian civilization. They have stone tablets as well as monuments and there is a definite chronology. 

As we move to medieval period, the understanding of History changes. There was advent of Christianity and Islam into the world and accordingly History also underwent a serious change. It became theological and philosophical but it did not forget its "political" roots. Throughout the medieval period, it stuck to political changes undergoing the world. But at the same time, slowly it started taking into consideration the other factors. Writers of History, started to fathom that only political changes are not the sole factor. For example, Crusades. Crusades are one of the bloody fact of Christian Church history. It was mostly "Religious"  type of history but it changed the political conditions in the medieval world. It became one of the most important factors. The second example I can think of right now is of Reformation, again a political agitation but changed the structure of the world which existed then. History became more broader and started to adapt.

While coming to Modern Period, we can see the table turned completely. More so in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first and foremost of it, according to me, was Industrial Revolution and French Revolution. Industrial Revolution because History gave importance to the science, which was considered as Taboo by church and was not a part of Political history of Europe or the world. French Revolution, though considered as Political revolution, a rebellion against the system, the main cause of it was problems of peasants or the more specific term for it is "Bourgeoisie". It was more of a class struggle. It was then followed by American Revolution, Russian Revolution and so on and so forth. The French revolution brought social factor into History and it did not end here. It was followed by scholars such as Ranke, Karl Marx, R.G. Collingwood, Foucoult, etc. These people brought forward the trend of Materialistic History and Scientific History. They made History a science which encompasses every significant event which takes place around us. They pushed forward the factual basis rather than imagination. 

This was how History was considered to be a science at the same time humanistic. And this also shows that History covers almost every branch, not only humanistic but also scientific. In a way, it includes everything which is significant and that is the most astonishing side of History according to me.


Thank you for reading.

History is a mighty dramas, enacted upon the theatre of times, with suns for lamps and eternity for a background.  ~Thomas Carlyle

P.s. Remarks and criticisms will be greatly appreciated as I am still an amateur.