In the 18th century, evolutionary theories were in circulation among intellectual circles. When the evolutionary process was applied to history writing, historians split history into different periods based on the evolutionary process and studied it from the hunting period to the present-day. They found that each period had its own characteristics, traditions and institutions relevant to the time. On the basis of this study, they concluded that history moved forward.

According to historians, studies show that human beings had creativity, inventiveness and a lot of energy to change the environment; a phenomenon that was explained by the two German philosophers, Lessing (d.1781) and Herder (d.1803). However, historians of the 18th and 19th centuries still faced the problem of scarcity of source material. Since the condition of libraries was not up-to date, books and manuscripts required for research were not easily available. State documents and papers remained under control of the rulers and were inaccessible to researchers. The rulers were keen on maintaining the confidentiality and secrecy of state documents, fearing that they might be used against their interests.

In spite of these drawbacks, the subject of history gained importance in 1757 at the University of Gottingen in Germany where a department of history was established. This was followed in 1769 by College de France and degrees were awarded to students.

As societies become historically conscious and standards of research and writing progress, history writing moves closer to a more complete form

In the 19th century, there were radical changes in the subject of history. Since Germany at the time was not a united country but divided into a number of small states, it had no national history and it was difficult for historians to integrate small parts of history as a unit. Therefore, instead of adopting narrative history, they turned their attention to the philosophy of history. During this period, all leading philosophers of Germany expressed their point of view on the different aspects of the philosophy of history especially Hegel’s (d.1831) ideas which contributed significantly to understanding the process of history.

Besides philosophers, German historians introduced new research methodology and style of presentation. Historians of Gottingen University collected the source material on different periods of history and used them for writing not only political history but also the history of literature, art, architecture and science. Other European historians followed their model and a new kind of history emerged which had a wider scope and perspective to understand the past.

Another aspect of the 19th century was the nationalist movement in Germany, while attempts were made to use history to trace the roots of the German nation. The Grimm brothers collected German folk literature and mythology to create the spirit of nationalism among the people.

When Napoleon defeated Germany, it created a strong sense of nationhood and historians turned their attention from world history to the history of their nation. They collected material from medieval history to trace the Germanic traditions and institutions which played an important role in shaping German society. In 1819, a society was formed to search and collect old manuscripts related to German history. The publication of these sources provided enough material for historians to write a national history which on the one hand inspired people and created a sense of pride while on the other hand, it was used by the rulers and politicians to accomplish their own interests.

One important aspect of this period was that the European states opened their documents, papers and archives to historians. Leopold von Ranke (d.1886), who was a professor of history at the University of Berlin, introduced new research methodology emphasising that correct history should also be written based on state documents, diplomatic correspondence, treaties and secret alliances. He believed that historians should write history objectively and judge events without any prejudice and bias. He argued that it was the task of historians to report events exactly as they happened. He was anti-people and refused to recognise the role of common people in shaping history.

Ranke’s students after completing their education were appointed as professors in different German universities where, following his methodology, they undertook research projects on the different periods of German history. Ranke also influenced other European countries where his method was adopted and followed. However, one of the drawbacks of his history writing was that political events were focused upon but social and cultural aspects were ignored.

In the 20th century, history became popular and historians of different countries organised themselves into associations, holding frequent conferences where research papers were presented for discussion. A large number of history journals began to be published in different European languages. In universities, students wrote their doctorate thesis on micro-level and intensively studied the topic of their research. The popularity of history also indicates that a large number of books were published on ancient, medieval and modern periods.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 11th, 2015

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