Throughout history humanity has had to face numerous threats to its existence. While many of these were man-made, mother nature itself can be a cruel mistress indeed. Perhaps there is not a more common or longstanding danger to humanity as the everlasting threat of disease. While nowadays it is relatively easy to teach people how […]
Author: Public History Student
The looted Cannon of Kandy: Far from home
Gold, silver and gems were all used for the decoration of the Cannon of Kandy. A beautiful cannon that’s being displayed by the Dutch Rijksmuseum. However the story behind the obtaining of the cannon isn’t quite as shiny as its looks are. The cannon was unjustly taken as war booty from Sri Lanka by Dutch […]
Bloodletting: the cure for all diseases
In the past there were limited medical treatments available for doctors. Often the first thing a doctor would do when someone got sick was: cut open their veins. This gruesome practice called bloodletting is thousands of years old. It is also known as phlebotomy, from the Greek words phlebos (vein) and temnein (to cut). Bloodletting […]
Ayahuasca: from the Amazon Rainforest to a worldwide hallucinating power
“I really did get just what I needed, and wanted. Emotions and trauma are stored energetically in the body.” – Sara’s story on her experience with Ayahuasca This sounds pretty interesting and as a solution for many troubled souls, but isn’t experienced without paying a price. The meaning of the medicinal drink Ayahuasca is ‘vine […]
The Female Body Reclaimed: Dolle Mina and the Media
On June 24th 2022, the U.S. Supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the right to a (safe) abortion as a federal law in the United States. Since then, a total of thirteen American States have restricted or prohibited abortions. The new restrictions range from a stricter time limit on when abortions are legal to […]
‘The Yellow Submarine is my trusted, mechanical friend’: Life inside the Iron Lung
It’s hard to believe that there are people who still depend on technology from decades ago to stay alive. Yet, this was exactly the case for Mona Randolph, an American woman who passed away in 2019 due to the long delayed effects of polio. She was able to use a wheelchair during the day but […]
‘My disability does not define me’: The prosthetic leg of Frida Kahlo
While many people might recognize her unibrow and bright color palette, most are unaware that the work of Mexican artist and activist Frida Kahlo (1910-1954) is deeply shaped by her disability. Frida’s lifelong struggle with her health eventually resulted in the amputation of her lower right leg in 1953. The prosthetic leg she used during […]
Hygieia: the goddess of staying healthy
Hygiene. It’s a word that we hear a lot in these times of pandemic and worries about our health. In order to slow down the spread of COVID-19, people are more and more expected to wash their hands regularly and take care of their hygiene. Hygiene itself, according to the website of the Rijksoverheid, includes […]
Golden Coach Revised: Changing perspectives of Colonial and Royal past.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in June 2021, an new exhibition opened in the Amsterdam Museum: ‘De Gouden Koets’. Centred around a Golden Coach, the exhibition shows this artifact of the Dutch Royal Family as its centrepiece. Six halls around the square are filled with items related to the coach wagon, which was made public after […]
Forgiven yet not forgotten: Victor Spencer’s execution
Twenty-one-year-old Private Victor Spencer was the last soldier during the First World War in the New Zealand army to be executed for desertion. His death was scarcely mentioned afterwards, as the fact was a great shame to his family and country. However, the silence changed after 2000 when the Pardon for Soldiers of the Great […]