Diplomatic History Commons^™

From Seizure To Settlement: Liberated Africans, Imperial Law, And Labor In The Indian Ocean World, 1810–1860, Holly S. Mcfate

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between British antislavery, imperial law, and labor management in the western Indian Ocean during the first half of the nineteenth century. Centered on the 1821 capture and condemnation of the slave schooner Industry by HMS Menai, the study employs a microhistorical methodology to reconstruct the legal and administrative processes that governed the lives of Africans seized from slave ships after their liberation. Drawing upon Vice-Admiralty Court records, Colonial Office correspondence, naval logbooks, and administrative registers from The National Archives (UK) and the Mauritius Archives, the thesis follows the transition of captive Africans from maritime interception …

"The Appearance Of The Confederate Flag In These Seas:" The Css Sumter, Neutrality, And The International Dimensions Of The American Civil War, John Macisaac Coleman

History Undergraduate Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Rewriting The Boer ‘Slim’: Alice Stopford Green’S Reports On St. Helena’S Prisoner Of War Camp And Her Impact On British Views Of Boer Prisoners, Natasja A. Swanson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Alice Stopford Green (1847 – 1929) was a prominent Irish historian and politician, known for her role as a political activist in the Irish Home Rule movement. Her lesser-known legacy is her investigative journalism on prisoner conditions in British prisoner of war camps during the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902). Her reports on Boer conditions in the Deadwood Prisoner of War Camp on the island of St. Helena reflected maltreatment and institutional abuse by the British Government. These discoveries supported the minority English opposition that thought that England was overstepping the rules of civilized warfare. Green was primarily concerned …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

15 Nr120 Monthly Lists Knyphausen Regiment April 1776 To October 1783, Johannes Schwalm Historical Association

Schwalm Marburg Files

No abstract provided.

Making A Victim: The Quest To Define Austria In A Cold War Context, Katherine E. White

The Cardinal Edge

When the Second World War concluded, the Allied Powers were left with the complicated question of how to deal with the territories that they had occupied on their march to Berlin. Of all the territories conquered by Germany under Nazi rule, Austria proved to be one of the most difficult and polarizing to define. It towed the line between victim and accomplice, having endorsed its own annexation to Germany in 1938. For ten years after the war’s end, the Allied Powers occupied Austria, locked in a stalemate over the country’s fate. This paper examines how the various occupying powers, in …

Lines In The Sky: American Air Defense Strategy 1950-1958, Jacob A. Battle

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

In August 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb, abruptly ending the American monopoly on nuclear weapons. While many in the Truman administration had believed that no other nation could construct the bomb, war planners were now faced with the possibility of an "atomic Pearl Harbor". In response, NSC-68 would be published, granting an unprecedented level of attention and investment to developing air defense measures. Throughout the following decade, new command structures coincided with rapid developments in radar, aircraft, and missile technology. Furthermore, the development of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) integrated radar, interceptors, and Nike missile systems …

Cold War Origins: The Iron Curtain Descends, I. B. Landry

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The West’s policy of containment would come to define the early years of the Cold War. Rooted in the communist takeover of Russia following the First World War, Soviet aggression was fostered under the leadership of Stalin, who envisioned global domination under communism. Thus, while tensions came to a head following World War II, evidence for an eventual clash of ideologies can be seen in its preceding years.

Wedded To Power: Dynastic Marriages And The Hidden Diplomacy Of Women In Early Modern Europe, Amelia H. Earl

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The diplomatic power of women in the ‘Great Power’ dynasties of Europe has been passed over in historiography because very often their power rested in their relationships to their male counterparts. Dismissing these women’s diplomatic and political power as “soft power” of the domestic sphere overlooks the fact that the political structure of Europe relied heavily on familial ties. In early modern Europe, the whole continent was a kinship; thus, familial relationships between two dynasties were inherently political. The daughters and mothers of these dynasties discovered that there was permeable access to the European political arena through marriage and motherhood. …

America’S Best Idea: The Separation Of Church And State, A Review, Michael A. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This article critically assesses Randall Balmer’s America’s Best Idea, a historical and legal examination of the Jeffersonian principle of church-state separation. Drawing on Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists and Roger Williams’ earlier theological insights, Balmer frames the metaphorical “wall” as both a constitutional safeguard and cultural cornerstone. The review analyzes the book’s treatment of evolving Supreme Court jurisprudence, particularly the shift from strict separationism to accommodationism in recent decisions. It contextualizes this legal transformation within the broader rise of Christian Nationalism, examining the ideological and institutional pressures reshaping civic discourse. While affirming Balmer’s historical rigor and rhetorical …

The Architects Of Consensus: Propaganda, Patriotism, And The Owi’S Battle For The American Mind, Ryan G. Fix

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

During World War II, the Office of War Information (OWI) became the United States' most sophisticated domestic propaganda agency, charged with forging national unity in the face of global conflict. This paper explores how the OWI fused federal authority with private-sector cooperation to influence public sentiment through film, advertising, journalism, and rumor control. Rather than resorting to direct censorship, the agency relied on voluntary collaboration, emotional appeal, and strategic framing to shape a coherent narrative that blurred the line between democratic persuasion and ideological management. Drawing on an extensive range of primary sources, including internal memos, field reports, and public …

One Last Victory: The 1980 Moscow Olympics And The Ussr’S Final Golden Moment, Pablo Boluda

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

While much of the existing scholarship on the 1980 Moscow Olympics focuses on Jimmy Carter’s infamous boycott, a closer examination from the Soviet perspective reveals a distinctive moment in Cold War history. Set against escalating global tensions following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Kremlin capitalized on the Games to project strength, unity, and international legitimacy. Although the Western boycott affected the Games, it created an opportunity for the USSR to showcase socialist athletic excellence and strengthen diplomatic ties with Non-Aligned nations, many of which resisted U.S. pressure to abstain. The Games were transformed into a carefully orchestrated ideological spectacle. …

Historiography Of The Medieval Tournament: How The Study Of Jousting Reflects Medieval Studies, Maddux L. Mullinax

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

In the modern age, sports are more than just athletes on a field in front of screaming fans; instead, they are dynamic showcases of strategic prowess, cultural expression, and societal values. Long before stadiums and sports arenas became the centers of competition and entertainment, medieval tournaments enthralled audiences with their unique blend of martial skill and pageantry. From the electrifying clash of a joust to the elaborate courtly dances, the history of the tournament weaves a vivid tapestry of medieval life. This merging of chivalry and combat creates an enduring spectacle that has captivated historians and enthusiasts for centuries. The …

The Buzzard In The Abolitionist Sea; An Examination Of Maritime Suppression, Imperial Policy, And The Slave Trade Through The Royal Navy’S Hms Buzzard, 1830s-1840s, Sean Joaquim Coudray-Pereira

Master's Theses

Analysis of the Royal Navy through the microhistory of the HMS Buzzard following the abolition of the slave trade between 1807 and the 1840s by Great Britain offers insight into the moral ambiguities and complexities of the humanitarian mission. The historiography of the slave trade has primarily focused on the moral and economic ideology behind its abolition, pitting one against the other. Applying a micro-historic approach highlights the nuances of both arguments, and through the HMS Buzzard’s crew, captives, disease, voyages, and legal battles accentuates the blend of both argument approaches. The case study of its longevity through all six …

The British Invasion Of Tea: How Advertising Wars Influenced America's Tea Drinking Habbits, Maddux L. Mullinax

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This paper examines the historical shift in American tea consumption from green to black tea during the early to mid-20th century. Initially, green tea from China and Japan was predominant in the U.S. until the 1920s. The transformation to black tea was spearheaded by British tea growers from India, notably through the strategic marketing efforts of Sir Charles Higham and the India Tea Growers Association (ITGA). Their campaigns focused on aligning black tea with American tastes, distancing it from its British colonial connotations, and leveraging global trade dynamics. The influence of World War II further entrenched black tea's dominance, with …

To The Shores Of Tripoli: America’S First Crusade To Cement Her Sovereignty, I. B. Landry

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The First Barbary War, also known as the Tripolitan War, is the conflict that set the tone for American sovereignty. The results of this research show that the Tripolitan War was about more than simply America’s right to exercise trade freely in the Mediterranean and North Africa. This was, in a sense, the litmus test for the new nation that would prove to be challenging to its Christian values. It can be concluded that Thomas Jefferson sanctioned the Augustinian campaign to not only benefit America, but all parties wishing to operate in the Mediterranean freely.

After Tours: The Battle Of The River Berre, Paul Aitchison

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The Battle of the River Berre, occurring in the years after the Battle of Tours, has not seen the same amount of scholarship as that defining battle of the century in Europe. The Umayyad Caliphate in Iberian continue to conduct military operations on the east side of the Pyrenees, controlling Narbonne and most of the province of Septimania, south of Aquitaine and west of Lombardy in the years after. The expansion of the Caliphate had continued almost unabated since 632 CE, controlling Arabia, Persia, the Near East, the Levant, Egypt, North Africa, and finally, the Iberian Peninsula. This astonishing expansion …

Downfall Of Lockheed’S F-104 Starfighter: How The Rush Of Cold War Re-Armament And An Aviation Industry In Crisis Led To One Of The Bundeswehr’S First Scandals, Theresa Hilz

Madison Historical Review

The "Starfighter Crisis," one of the Bundeswehr's earliest and most notorious scandals, highlights the complexities of Cold War military rearmament and the pitfalls of rapid decision-making in the face of geopolitical pressures. This paper examines West Germany's acquisition of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter in 1958, a move driven by the need to bolster NATO's nuclear capabilities and strengthen political and economic ties with the United States. The F-104, while a marvel of aviation technology with its record-breaking speed and altitude, proved disastrous for the German Air Force due to its high accident rate, earning it nicknames like "widow maker" and …

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

Khrushchevka: A Historical And Economic Analysis Of Russian Housing, Privatization, And Urban Renewal In Putin’S Russia, Victoria A. Faulkner

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The Moscow Urban Renewal Initiative (Инициатива обновления городов Москвы, 2017-) is the joint project of President Vladimir Putin (1999-2008, 2012-) and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin (2010-) to remove dilapidated housing structures in Moscow. Since 2017, the programme has already displaced about 20,000 Muscovites, with plans to displace 1.5 million more by its completion goal of 2032. These displacements have revealed significant economic deficiencies in the post-Soviet market economy of the Russian Federation. Delays in the programme due to the COVID-19 pandemic have only escalated issues further – as has the War on Ukraine. Understanding the importance of the Moscow Urban …

‘An Intriguing But Ambiguous Privilege’: Adventures In Franco-Irish Relations Through The Prism Of The Diplomatic Meal, Elaine Mahon

Books/Book Chapters

This essay discusses the welcome banquet held in February 1945 in honour of the newly appointed French diplomatic envoy to Ireland, Jean Rivière, hosted by Éamon de Valera at Iveagh House, the headquarters of the Irish Department of External Affairs. The banquet took place at a moment when ‘an intriguing but ambiguous privilege’ had been granted by Charles de Gaulle’s Provisional Government to Ireland as the only country permitted to retain its diplomatic representative to France in the post-liberation period. Following the fall of the Vichy regime and the liberation of France in August 1944, de Gaulle’s government de- manded …

4h Nr 3122 Fusiller Regiment Von Knyphausen, Trenton, New Jersey, 1782, Johannes Schwalm Historical Association

Schwalm Marburg Files

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of Caribbean Piracy: A Socio-Technical Analysis Of The War Of Spanish Succession, Maritime Innovation, And Edward Randolf’S Policy, Dominique M. Salinski

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This paper argues that the mode and historical context in which piracy ascended in the Caribbean after the War of the Spanish Succession, as well as the historical interrelation between maritime technology and pirate tactics, coalesced into a diachronic Damocles Sword that resulted in the downfall of piracy in the Golden Age. Sanctioning piratical enterprises as a subconventional maritime strategy displayed a geopolitical reliance on piracy by great powers. However, the depraved treatment conventional sailors received across all major European navies generated a social stratum that eventually bore the Golden Age of Piracy, while simultaneously contributing significantly to British naval …

'The President Requests The Pleasure': Irish State Dining, 1922-1940, Elaine Mahon

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter explores dining with Irish heads of state and heads of government based on a chronological scope from the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 to the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. It quickly becomes clear that between 1922 and 1932, the Irish government, led by William T. Cosgrave, undertook a broad range of hospitality, entertaining important persons from around the globe. Between 1932 and 1940, the Fianna Fáil government led by Éamon de Valera built on the foundations of state hospitality put in place by the Cosgrave administration but also implemented significant changes in official entertaining. The 1937 Constitution of Ireland …

Daniel G. Hummel's The Rise And Fall Of Dispensationalism: How The Evangelical Battle Over The End Times Shaped A Nation: A Review, Michael A. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This review examines Daniel G. Hummel's The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism, a comprehensive intellectual and cultural history tracing the origin and evolution of dispensationalist theology within Anglo-American Evangelicalism. Despite its dismissal as fringe eschatology, Hummel argues that Dispensationalism significantly shaped the Evangelical imagination and broader American culture. The review summarizes the book's key themes and highlights strengths such as scope and balance while suggesting areas for further consideration regarding transatlantic origins and minor factual errors. It concludes that Hummel provides an insightful, measured analysis of this resilient and controversial belief system but dismisses the theological movement as dead …

Short-Term Success: The 1988 Reagan-Gorbachev Summit, Samantha Foster

Senior Honors Theses

The 1988 summit in Moscow was the fourth, and final, summit meeting between U.S. President, Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev. The principal issues addressed during the summit included human rights and arms control. This event was the first time that President Reagan visited the Soviet Union and thus took time to explore Moscow by visiting a monastery, Red Square, Arbat Street, and students at Moscow State University. The summit would be considered a success after its close, as the INF Treaty was ratified and further progress in the area of human rights in Soviet Union had been …

Res Historica, Volume 3, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2024 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Johnathan Sorce, and Samuel Sanders.

Impact Of Nato Enlargement On Eastern Europe Security: Case Study Of Ukraine War, Heeyoung Chae

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a situation where Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, the role and the major dilemma of NATO is rediscovered. The blame is that while NATO had expanded its power towards the East European countries, it had provoked Russia to react to the threat of the NATO enlargement process. Within this background, this research’s objective is to examine the impact of the NATO enlargement in Eastern Europe related to the case of the Ukraine war, within the lens of Eastern European citizens’ perception of their security and NATO. The research aims to answer the role of NATO in securing the preservation …

The Creation And Destruction Of Zulu And Comanche Power During The 19th Century, Erhard M. Van Deventer Mr.

History Dissertations - Archive

During the 19th century, the Zulu and Comanche were two of the most powerful and dynamic indigenous peoples on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Both constructed regional powers that opposed European expansion based on their imperialistic nature, not to be confused with European imperialism. Comparing the Zulu and Comanche illustrates how each constructed an imperialistic realm and how their rise to power was connected to their keen use of conquest, diplomacy, and resource management as tools of statecraft in creating their domains. Their domains were created by imperialist expansion based on conquest. However, diplomacy and monopolizing essential regional resources …

Conferring Prestige Within Irish Diplomatic Dining: Éamon De Valera At Dublin Castle, 1934-1940, Elaine Mahon

Articles

This article explores the use of the diplomatic meal to confer prestige within Irish international relations between 1934 and 1940 when Éamon de Valera was both President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State and Minister for External Affairs. It examines how state hospitality evolved under de Valera’s leadership and how de Valera used the meal to confer varying levels of prestige, indicative of rank, status and provenance, on his guests of honour at Dublin Castle. The results would lay the foundation for further developments in state protocols for entertaining important visitors in preparation for Ireland’s growing international …