Essays On History
On The Myth That Darwin Influenced Hitler
An extended, book-length (unfinished) work investigating claims that Adolf Hitler's political views were directly influenced by Charles Darwin's scientific findings. Using numerous primary source historical documents it is shown that this was not the case. Rather, the evidence points to strong commonality between Hitler's political philosophy and some historical and contemporary influential schools of thought within fundamentalist Christianity.
The Fictitious Influence Of Darwin On Marx And Engels
It is claimed by some authors that Darwinian evolutionary theory acted as the necessary precursor for Marx and Engels to formulate their political philosophy. This extended essay presents evidence from primary source documents that strongly refutes this claim. First, the timeline would need to be reversed. Second, Marx and Engels consistently showed little respect for Darwin or for those trying to meld Darwinism with socialism. Third, proponents of a Darwin-Marx ideological link depend heavily on both misrepresenting Darwin’s scientific findings and ignoring Marx and Engels' misunderstandings of Darwin's work, particularly concerning Malthusian theory.
The Blood Of The Lads, It Falls Like Rain: Portraits Of The Slain From The Rural Welsh Parish Of Llanfrothen In The First World War
An extended historical essay discussing the impact of the First World War on the small, predominantly Welsh-speaking parish of Llanfrothen in North-West Wales, with biographical details of each of the 17 men who died, and what we know of the roles they played in the conflict.
The Cottager’s Reply
A brief essay, inspired by a work by Cotswold poet Frank Mansell, concerned with the economic and cultural damage caused by holiday-home ownership in rural areas of the United Kingdom.
Four Graves At Ynyscynhaearn
A brief history of the now redundant ancient Church of St. Cynhaearn in Gwynedd, North-West Wales is followed by biographies of four of the people buried in its churchyard; the composer and harpist Dafydd y Garreg Wen; the railway pioneer James Spooner; chemist, writer and publisher Robert Isaac Jones (aka Alltud Eifion), and the reluctant West African emigré Jack Ystumllyn.
Once A Not So Jolly Swagman: The Story Of Joseph Jenkins
A biographical essay of the 19th century Welsh farmer, poet and diarist Joseph Jenkins who, without giving any warning to family or friends, left his farm and family to become a swagman and labourer in the Australian colony of Victoria for 27 years, with his experiences and thoughts meticulously recorded in his diary.
The Generation Game: No Prizes For Young Earth Creationists
According to Biblical literalists, Homo sapiens suffered a population bottleneck of eight people (five of whom were closely genetically related), around 2348 BCE. If this is true, then no more than about 200 generations of humans can have lived since the purported Noachian flood. Current genetic and historical demographic evidence demonstrates that this is a physically impossible scenario.
An Honest Look At Flood Mythology Leaves Biblical Literalists All At Sea;
Close examination of the mythology of diverse cultures reveals that tales involving floods similar to the Noachian story are not nearly as globally prevalent as young earth creationists claim. Examples are given in which accepted methods of investigation have been ignored and/or evidence is knowingly presented dishonestly. The essay concludes with a general discussion of the psychology of mythology and how it negatively impacts on creationist claims.
The Fictitious Influence Of Darwin On Nietzsche
Primary source historical documents show that Nietzsche neither admired nor was influenced by Darwin. This extended essay demonstrates that claims of a Darwin-Nietzsche ideological link depend heavily on misrepresenting Darwin’s scientific findings and ignoring Nietzsche’s profound misunderstandings of biological evolution.
No, Jerry Bergman: Charles Darwin Was Not Psychotic
Creationist author Jerry Bergman has developed a cottage industry attempting to place doubt on evolutionary theory by invoking ad-hominem and argumentum ad consequentiam attacks on the person of Charles Darwin. This essay is a comprehensive refutation of his charge that Darwin was psychotic and sadistic and his 'psychiatric illness' has influenced evolutionary theory.
Henry Melville And Charles Darwin
A chance finding of a carte de visite led me to investigate the photographer Henry Melville which uncovered his brief, though historically significant professional relationship with Charles Darwin, as well as a sad tale of coincidence and tragedy.
Destined to Fail: The Ministry Of William Meirion Evans
Biographical essay concerned with the life of William Meirion Evans, an idealistic 19th century Welsh Calvinistic Methodist preacher from North Wales who played an important role in colonial Australia, establishing churches and supporting Welsh language and culture in the colonies of South Australia and Victoria.
Owning Assynt
This essay tracks the history of land ownership in Assynt, a region of the north-west Scottish Highlands, through the 20th century, from a feudal-style system and attitude, which largely ignored the needs and wishes of the people living on the land, to a more democratic system which better considers these inhabitants.
A Walk Around Cwmystradllyn
A short history and travelogue about Cwmystradllyn, a sparsely populated valley in North-West Wales.
And Now There Is Nothing But Trees
Inspired by a poem by D. Gwenallt Jones, this is a brief commentary on the damage caused to the Welsh landscape by commercial pine forests.
Tales from Tunisia
The North African nation of Tunisia is sometimes considered one of the more secular-friendly Islamic countries and in some ways, this is so. However, a dark undercurrent of fundamentalist Islam is also noticeable. This travelogue describes a visit to the Tunisian towns of Sfax, Madhia and Sousse in 2011, soon after the 'Sidi Bouzid Revolt' or 'Jasmine Revolution'.
Confessions Of A Praktica Geek
I confess to being a Praktica geek. My first serious camera was a Praktica SLR and it proved to be the cause of a bad dose of gear acquisition syndrome. I started collecting them. Eventually I had every mass-produced SLR Praktica ever made. I'm cured now but still harbour an attachment, hence this homage to the marque.
