Does History Really Repeat Itself?

Posted by Roger Saunders Jul 16, 2008

The Real Reason We Study History

Isn’t the reason we study history to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes time after time? What’s that you say? You’re not sure this process really works?

Well, I have to agree! My own study of history seems to be more about finding places where other eras have repeated their mistakes than looking at my own era and making adjustments. One of the biggest problems we face today is the fear of what is going to happen in the Middle East. We see the instability of governments who are being heavily influenced by Muslim extremists and we have even been attacked on our own shores by these religious folks who claim a form of religion but don’t seem to follow its example too well.

Just over 500 years ago, we saw similar issues. Through the Crusades, Western Europe controlled not only the Holy Land but also the spice trade routes. Imperceptibly, the Ottoman Empire began to make inroads into the control of this resource. The economic power that accompanied it led to the downfall of Euro-Asia to Ottoman control. This threw the monetary markets on the Italian peninsula into depression and there seemed no end to Ottoman incursion … until alternate sea routes began to open to the west via Spanish and English exploration and to the east via Portuguese exploration. Slowly but surely, by the mid 16th century the Ottoman threat receded.

We can see this today. Swap spices for oil and the Ottoman Empire for the extreme Muslims that seem to be gaining in strength. The answer is similar. While there are no new worlds to discover, we can search for alternatives to our oil dependency. If we can be creative enough to do this, we can once again throw off the threat from the Middle East by decreasing the wealth that finances their adventures. Is this our chance to learn from history?