Hillsdale College Center for Military History and Strategy Hosts Historian Jeremy Black
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Center for Military History and Strategy hosted author and historian Jeremy Black on April 10. At the event, Black spoke on his book “Imperial Legacies: The British and American Empires.”
“Jeremy Black is one of the most distinguished military historians of our time,” said Mark Moyar, William P. Harris chair in military history and director of the Center for Military History and Strategy. “Black’s emphasis on accurately understanding historical motivations is essential to maintaining a country’s identity.”
In his talk, Black drew comparisons between Britian and America and their historical ties to imperialism. Black gave an account of the historical context behind these expansions.
“On the whole, when you have imperial powers expanding in the past, they were often expanding, not at the expense of self-governing democracies somewhere or other, but at the expense of other empires,” said Black. “If you regard the past as evil, you destroy the identity of a country.”
Black is emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter and a senior fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group and of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Graduating from Cambridge, he did postgraduate work at Oxford and then taught at Durham, where he earned his P.h.D. A recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society for Military History and former editor of Archives, he is the author of numerous books, including “A Brief History of History,” “Tank Warfare,” and “Imperial Legacies: The British Empire Around the World.”
Black’s lecture was one of several hosted by the Hillsdale College Center of Military History and Strategy over the last several years. Previous speakers have included ancient historian Adrian Goldsworthy, American historian Kelly Robert DeVries, and the Brooking Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon. Following the lecture, Black spoke with attendees and signed copies of his book.
For photos from the event, please click here.
To learn more about the Center for Military History and Strategy, click here.