Marc Bloch: A Legacy of Scholarship and Courage

Marc Bloch (1886–1944), born into a French-Alsatian Jewish family in Lyons, was destined for an intellectual journey that intertwined scholarly brilliance with unwavering bravery. His father, a teacher of ancient history, instilled in Bloch a passion for learning from an early age.

Bloch's academic pursuits took him to Paris, where he navigated examinations and teaching roles in lycees, until the outbreak of World War I disrupted his studies in 1914. His wartime contributions earned him prestigious accolades, including admission to the Legion d’honneur and the Croix de Guerre, reflecting his dedication and valor.

Following the war, Bloch completed his doctorate in 1920, embarking on a distinguished career. Initially teaching in Strasbourg, he later assumed the role of professor of economic history in Paris from 1936 onwards.

A pivotal moment in Bloch's career came with the founding of the groundbreaking journal Annales in 1929 alongside Lucien Febvre. This endeavor epitomized his broad intellectual interests, delving into comparative history and fostering interdisciplinary dialogues.

Bloch's scholarly oeuvre is characterized by profound insights and diverse subjects. His debut book, Les Rois thaumaturges (1924), explored the mystical healing powers attributed to kings. Later, his seminal work La Société féodale (1935) illuminated feudal societies across two volumes, translated as Feudal Society in 1961.

In 1940, amidst the turmoil of World War II, Bloch penned L'Étrange Défaite (translated as Strange Defeat), a poignant analysis of France's collapse, attributing it to moral and intellectual failings. His unfinished notes on history (1942–43) were posthumously published, offering invaluable insights into the historian's craft.

Bloch's courage extended beyond academia. During World War II, he joined the French Resistance, enduring torture and ultimately sacrificing his life at the hands of the German occupiers in 1944.

Marc Bloch's enduring legacy resonates in the annals of history and academia. His scholarly rigor, interdisciplinary approach, and unwavering commitment to truth remain a beacon for historians and intellectuals. Bloch's life and work exemplify the profound intersection of intellectual pursuit and moral courage, cementing his place as a luminary in the study of history and a symbol of resistance against tyranny.
Marc Bloch: A Legacy of Scholarship and Courage

Modern history of clove

The use of clove as a spice reached Europe around the 4th century A.D., when commercial trading really started with the Arabs, who in turn acquired these dried and fragrant buds from the cultures to the East in Asia.

On returning to Spain in 1522, the Victoria, the first boat to circumnavigate the globe, carried in its hold a cargo of spices that included cloves. The Portuguese held the trading monopoly for cloves until they were driven out of the Maluku Islands by the Dutch at the beginning of the 17th century.

During the late Middle Ages, cloves were used in Europe to preserve, flavor, and garnish food. Clove cultivation was almost entirely confined to Indonesia, and in the early 17th century the Dutch eradicated cloves on all islands except Amboina and Ternate in order to create scarcity and sustain high prices.

The Dutch monopoly of the spice was broken in the latter half of the 18th century, when the French managed to cultivate the tree on their colonized islands in Asia. The islands of Zanzibar, which belong to present day Tanzania, in eastern Africa has been a major producer of cloves for many decades.

Clove oil was used medicinally in France for the first time in 1640, as a remedy for treating toothache and was documented in ‘Practice of Physic’.

Clove was established in Sri Lanka in 1796 A.D., before the arrival of the British. In Britain, cloves were worth at least their weight in gold, due to their high importing price in 17th and 18th centuries. In India East India Company introduced clove in 1800 A.D.

From the 1920-30s, Madagascar became one of the major producers and exporters of cloves. At the same time, a secondary product emerged, clove essential oil, which rapidly elbowed its way onto the world market.
Modern history of clove

Bleriot, Louis (1872-1936) – French Aviator

Bleriot, Louis was a French aviator who made a small fortune manufacturing headlights and other accessories for early automobiles.

He was declared a French hero in 1909 when he made the first journey by aero-plane across the English Channel. He was made a Commander de la Legion d’honneur in recognition of this achievement.

The son of manufacturer, Bleriot took a degree in engineering prior to his military service. In the early 1900s he attempts to build aircraft, later founding the French aircraft factory in 1906.

On 17 September 1907, he flew 186 meters in one of his own monoplanes. In subsequent flights he covered up to his 42 km overland.

On 25 July 1909, just weeks before Wilbur Wright flew around Manhattan, Bleriot took off from Les Barques, Calais, at 4.41 am and landed near Dover Castle 36 minutes later after flight of some 38 km.

His aircraft the Bleriot XI, which was constructed sratiung in 1908, was powered by a 25-HP (19-kW) engine. Bleriot was awarded the 1000 pounds prize of London newspaper had offered to anyone who accomplished the crossing.

His company also received hundreds of orders from the Bleriot XI monoplane. He became one of the leading aircraft designers and manufacturers.

In 1911, a Bleriot plane was the first to be used for military purposes (for reconnaissance by Italians against the Turks) and his plane were used by the French army during World War I.

All the Allied Nations used his famous SPAD fighter biplane in the early part of the war. After other more advanced airplanes replaced the SPAD in combat, Bleriot’s airplane became a training craft.
Bleriot, Louis (1872-1936) – Famous French Aviator

Jean-Paul Marat of French Revolution

Before the Revolution, Jean-Paul Marat (24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) had been a doctor and a writer and he had fancied himself an important scientist.

He was born in Switzerland and became a French Revolutionary.

In September 1789, he launched the newspaper that brought him fame: L’Ami du people (The Friend of the People).

His journalism was renowned for its fiery character and uncompromising stance toward ‘enemies of the revolution’ and basic reforms for the poorest members of society.

His newspaper was little more than an extended editorial page filled with intemperate calls for violence against traitors and for an elected dictator to serve for a limited time to save the Revolution.

His reputation as a blood thirsty writer who called for the executions of counter-revolutionaries made many suspects that he was behind the September Massacres. In 1792, Marat was elected to the National Convention.

Marat suffered from the chronic skin condition psoriasis and spent much time in his bath with a vinegar soaked bandage.

This was where Charlotte Corday found him. As soon as they were alone together she stabbed him, cutting his carotid artery.
Jean-Paul Marat of French Revolution

Napoleon at war

In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte managed to capture Italian city states such as Venice, Milan and Mantua and by 1798 Napoleon finally conquering the entire Italian peninsula. At the end of 1799, he sized power by force.

Napoleon was at war or preparing for war during his entire reign. He certainly seemed up to the task of defeating the European powers. He created a sprawling empire in Europe between 1802 and 1812 through military conquest and alliances.

As the wars with leading powers of Europe continued, Napoleon proved to be a brilliant military strategist and political leader.

By 1802, he had signed favorable treaties with both Austria and Great Britain. He appeared to establish France as a dominant power in Europe. But the peace was short-lived.

In 1803 France embarked on an eleven year period of continuous war: under Napoleon command, the French army delivered defeat after defeat to the European powers. Austria fell in 1805, Prussian in 1806, and the Russian armies of Alexander I were defeated at Friedland in 1807.

In August of 1806, while in Germanies, Napoleon dismantled the old Holy Roman Empire. In October, two separate French armies, one directly under Napoleon’s field command – defeated two Prussian armies, one at Jena in Thuringia and the second near Auerstadt. By month’s end, the French marched into the city of Berlin, the Prussian capital.

In 1807 Napoleon invaded Spain and he drive out British expeditionary forces intent on invading French. Spain became a satellite kingdom in French Empire, although the conflict continued.

By 1810, the French leader was a master of the continent. French armies had extended revolutionary reforms and legal codes outside French and brought with them civil equality and religious tolerance. At that times Great Britain was the only remaining European power at war with Napoleon.

They also drained defeated countries of their resources and had inflicted the horrors of wars with army’s occupation, force billeting and pillage. Napoleon’s empire extended across Europe, with only a diminished Austria, Prussia, and Russian remaining independent.

Napoleon was successful on the battlefield because he developed tactics which brought him victories. His men move d about without connections to supply lines, living off the land. This allowed his army to move swiftly without being hindered by slow moving supply wagons.

Napoleon at war