In his seminal work Mitten in Europa (‘In the Middle of Europe’, 2014) Swiss historian André Holenstein describes transnationality as a condition of Switzerland’s existence. Since the 1990s the writers of history have increasingly taken a broader, global view as borders between nations were dismantled. Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft (1944/2002). But knowledge of the past is progressive. Nothing in the future will change the past. It was history from the bottom up, in keeping with the revolution in consciousness of 1968. It was all about people’s everyday lives continuities and circumstances rather than short-lived events. In his 1967 ‘History of Civilisations’, Fernand Braudel examined topics such as the earth’s population, food and drink, housing and clothing, technology and sources of energy, money and cities. This shifted away from the individualised view. In the 20th century, the French Annales school of history brought in the ordinary people’s perspective with the aim of establishing a ‘total history’. In the industrial age, history expanded to include sociology, economics and politics. “Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life”, he said. He suggested that, from the point of view of historical materialism, an age was not shaped by the big thinkers and rulers, but by the prevailing factors of production, the specific living conditions and balance of power at the time. Then Karl Marx (1818–1883) turned history on its head. Attention focused on the nation and its ruling elites, and the everyday lives of the anonymous masses were ignored. Not the slightest piece of invention was permitted. The historicism of the 19th century was meticulous about sources. In the 18th century, the philosophers of the Enlightenment recognised that historical judgement depends on the individual viewpoint. There was no challenging the divine order. What is important to each period? And how important? History in the Middle Ages was the history of salvation. At different times this light has been shone by different people with different interests and intentions, working with different methods and tools. The past only becomes history if we bring it out of the darkness and into the light. There are no actual statistics, just clues, but when pooled with indications from a range of sources you begin to get a rough idea. You deduce that there was a dispute about transport rights on Lake Lucerne around 1300, and at least 21 Lucerne merchants were trading with Milan and Como. So then you try another way around, looking for qualitative information instead of quantitative. Goods volumes along the Gotthard transit route were recorded for the first time for ten short years from 1493 to 1503, then there’s another 40-year gap. Neither the most extensive archive nor the brightest spotlight will help. There are no notes of volumes, or weights, and you can’t find anything if there’s nothing to find. For example, if you wanted to know what trade passed over the Gotthard after the Schöllenen Gorge was opened in around 1200, you’d have a challenge where the first 300 years are concerned. So what should we do? We must use the spotlight of history to illuminate, methodically picking out the detail, and always letting questions lead the way. It’s mind-boggling, requiring an almost Zeus-like talent for balance. The past is everything a) that ever happened and b) that never happened. And like everything endless and immeasurable it can be difficult to understand. The past is a dark, endless, immeasurable space.
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