Here in Canada, I have always puzzled over the conflict in Ireland. I never really understood why - as I was growing up - there were bombings in Ireland... Was it never properly explained to me in school? Was the situation too complicated for me - someone who has never lived there - to understand? Spending 10 years in Israel taught me that political situations have nuances that are hard - if not impossible - for newcomers to fully appreciate... We assume that everyone views the world as we do... And it is a mistake to assume that hearing an explanation means the problem is really understood...
So today, as I continue to read the 1100-plus-page book, London The Novel (a book that spans the history of the city of London... I began it over a year ago and I'm about half way through!) I come across an interesting conversation between a father and his young son. It is the era of Shakespeare, over four hundred years ago. Father and son are discussing British colonialism. The British are sending out ships to explore and trade in many parts of the world. Trading companies are being established in India, Africa and America, among them the Virginia Company in America... (The Mayflower, with its band of Puritan settlers has not yet sailed to North America.) So it happened a long, long time ago...
Among the the settlements being established by the British - four hundred years ago - is one in Ulster, Ireland... This part of the British Isles was once a colony like Canada! I am shocked to discover that the root of the problems in Northern Ireland is so old!
Once I finish this book, I'll have to look for another one that details the history of Ireland over the past 450 years. (I have so much to learn!)
So today, as I continue to read the 1100-plus-page book, London The Novel (a book that spans the history of the city of London... I began it over a year ago and I'm about half way through!) I come across an interesting conversation between a father and his young son. It is the era of Shakespeare, over four hundred years ago. Father and son are discussing British colonialism. The British are sending out ships to explore and trade in many parts of the world. Trading companies are being established in India, Africa and America, among them the Virginia Company in America... (The Mayflower, with its band of Puritan settlers has not yet sailed to North America.) So it happened a long, long time ago...
Among the the settlements being established by the British - four hundred years ago - is one in Ulster, Ireland... This part of the British Isles was once a colony like Canada! I am shocked to discover that the root of the problems in Northern Ireland is so old!
Once I finish this book, I'll have to look for another one that details the history of Ireland over the past 450 years. (I have so much to learn!)
No comments:
Post a Comment