[The Baking Typewriter] A World History Explored Through Places and Spaces

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Nauru is a small island nation located on the equator in the Pacific Ocean. It is the smallest independent republic in the world. The island's area is similar to that of Yongsan-gu. According to World Bank statistics from 2019, the population is about 12,000.

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has made Afghan refugees a global issue. Twenty years ago, in 2001, Afghan refugees became a social problem in Nauru. At that time, a flood of Afghan refugees arrived. Due to prolonged civil war and news of an imminent U.S. attack following the 9/11 terror attacks, many Afghans fled their homeland. Australia offered economic aid to Nauru in exchange for accepting Afghan refugees.

Jacob Field, author of "50 Places That Shaped World History," explains that Nauru gained independence in 1968 and grew into the country with the highest per capita GDP in the world by selling abundant natural phosphate resources on the island. However, after the phosphate was depleted, Nauru faced an economic crisis, and refugee camps became an important economic source.

The author examines human history centered on specific places and spaces.

Although the Emperor is a symbol of Japan, he holds no real power, and Japanese history is explained through Shinto shrines. Itsukushima Shrine is a place sacred to the Japanese, famous for its torii gate (a pillar gate at the entrance of a shrine) built over the sea. An indispensable figure in the history of Itsukushima Shrine is the 11th-century daimyo Taira no Kiyomori. Kiyomori used power and wealth to support and greatly expand the shrine. By that time, the Emperor had already lost real power.

The Palace of Versailles is used to view the era of absolute monarchy, and the Pantheon explains Roman architectural technology. To explain sports as a new form of mass culture in the 20th century, the Maracan? Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is visited. The reason for describing the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA, is that the Bretton Woods system, which formed the foundation of the 20th-century world economy, was born there in July 1944. Delegates from 44 Allied nations, totaling 730 representatives, gathered at the Mount Washington Hotel to seek solutions for post-World War II economic issues and international trade.

Field says that the place where the Industrial Revolution began worldwide was an inn in Bruges, Belgium, emphasizing that places around the world are always potential sites of history.

Because the book takes a unique format of unfolding historical facts based on specific places and spaces, it offers interesting content not found in conventional history books. The topics covered are diverse, including politics, economy, culture, religion, and art. However, there are also parts that are difficult to understand due to unfamiliarity, such as Hirado Cave, known as the sacred site of Musilim, and Angostura, where South American independence leader Sim?n Bol?var planned independence. Since the vast history is condensed into short texts, explanations of many events and figures are omitted, which sometimes leaves a sense of regret.

Among the 50 places, two are related to Korea: Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The author describes Gyeongbokgung as the supreme royal palace of Joseon and the DMZ as a symbol of the Cold War.

(50 Places That Shaped World History / Jacob Field / Translated by Kim San-ha / Mirae N Chuang)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.