Topic > Silencing the Past by Michel-rolph Trouillot: How Power Shapes the Fabrication of History

Love, hate, fear are universal emotions experienced in history and are shaped by cultural and religious traditions, economics, politics and from violence. Often, emotions are undetectable, like memory and silence, which are hidden and hidden away to be forgotten by historical records. As represented by many authors such as Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Irene Levia and other scholars; emotions are often hidden and silenced in historical context but can be remembered through personal narratives passed down from generation to generation. Throughout history, narratives have been falsified and embellished to appear honorable, fearsome, and powerful. Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot discusses how some historical narratives are constructed while others are silenced, how power shapes the fabrication of history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay by Trouillot, a distinguished Haitian anthropologist and historian who uses the Haitian Revolution to illustrate his understanding of how the past is remembered, constructed, and silenced. Henri Christophe, King Henry of Haiti, built a magnificent palace called Sans Souci which quickly lost its connotation. Colonel Jean-Baptiste Sans Souci was a former Bossale slave involved in the Revolution who excelled in guerrilla tactics but was betrayed and killed by Christophe. Christophe had the fabulous idea of ​​building the palace near the place where the murder took place and decided to name the palace after the enemy he had defeated, Sans Souci. The connection between the palace and the man, Sans Souci, has been suppressed and long forgotten, silenced. History does not belong to its narrators, professional or amateur, which concludes that history is not fixed exclusively on one narrative but on numerous perspectives if it has a chance to be heard. Historical facts are not created equally, narratives fall between what happened and what is said to have happened. It relies on extreme power that can control how it will be told over time. Archives hold such power, locking away distorted narratives and will omit certain aspects of history to control the difference between the chronicler, who never misses a single detail, and the narrator, who can hide the truth and generate silences within their narratives . This not only included Sans Souci, but also the history of Columbus, the Mayflower, slavery, the Alamo, and the Holocaust. Trouillot claims that our knowledge about slavery concerns only slavery in America, that US historiography, for reasons perhaps not too unlike its Brazilian counterpart, has produced its own silences on African-American slavery; there were whites and blacks in North America arguing about both the symbolic and analytical relevance of slavery to the present they were experiencing. The salience of slavery in the United States has engaged not only professional historians, but also ethnic and religious leaders, political appointees, journalists, and various civil society associations, as well as independent citizens, not all of whom are activists. Stating that slavery, in countries like Brazil, is silenced, hoping to be forgotten. Although such silence occurs, it does not mean that it is lost on its narrators. The story does not belong to the narrator who tells a story, whether professional or amateur; others will discuss false truths versus silent realities that have yet to be told. Therefore, stating that historians can recover a variation of sources to justify thisaffirmation; open the doors of historical archives that range in little or no perspective. The limited variation of narrators is why theories of history are very narrow-minded and one-sided, which distorts the historical narrative as it is told. Often, silence is a form of resistance that distorts the historical narrative by not claiming the unspoken truth. While silence is not actively hidden, it is a part of history that is not talked about. Silence distorts the narrative by limiting the amount of perspectives, it reduces the possibility of other truths that Western historiography is unwilling to claim. Western historiography is exclusively one-sided and contains falsified concepts of events such as slavery, Christopher Columbus, the Alamo, the Fourth of July and other national holidays. The truth of these fairy tales is silenced, hidden trying to be forgotten. Silence evokes emotions by preventing individuals from not talking about an evil past that is disturbing and unsettling. For example, Levin's article, Silence, Memory and Migration, discusses how a Holocaust survivor remains silent when speaking about the death of her younger brother. The survivor moves the story along, withholding details that would quickly mention that he died while being captured by soldiers. It's clear that his pain greatly affects his life, yet it happened so many years ago. Her silence has brought only misery and pain, unable to grieve and grieve properly, she remains broken for clinging to a silent past. It's the silent narratives like this, that could potentially change other narratives told professionally or amateurally. As Trouillot states, every historical narrative renews a claim to truth, arguing that Western historiography cannot be completely trusted. Each narrative can claim a new truth, a new perspective that can alter the one already written in the history books. History cannot be set in stone, narratives change with each narrator claiming their own truth. Silences enter the process of historical production at four crucial moments: the moment of fact creation, fact assembly, fact recovery, and retrospective meaning. Stating that silence at the moment of creation leads to the development of unreliable sources; it denies other interpretations of the story to be told, narratives that will most likely change the story entirely. Remaining silent while archives are written only leads to an assemblage of partial narratives that produce only false victories and inaccurate histories in Western historiography. The silences of resistance against Western historiography include topics such as San Souci, the Haitian Revolution, and the reinterpretation of the Alamo. The recreation of the mentioned narratives has caused Westerners to discredit and disapprove of these new claims, wanting to silence their voices by making petty remarks claiming that the work is inadequate. To begin with, the Haitian Revolution is the least detailed narrative told by Westerners, stating false accusations. never happened or state a false truth to appear superior. Historical narratives are grounded in prior understandings, which in turn are grounded in the distribution of archival power. In the case of Haitian historiography, as in the case of most Third World countries, these prior conceptions have been profoundly shaped by Western conventions and procedures, meaning that Western historiography holds these countries back by denying people of color simple education. to literacy. First, writing and reading Haitian historiography involvesliteracy and formal access to a Western, primarily French, language and culture, two prerequisites that already exclude the majority of Haitians from direct participation in its production. This leads Western historiography to be able to select who it wishes to share its knowledge with. Western historiography is all about power, money, trade and Europeans. Europeans who have set borders, who have proven to hide their knowledge from the entire world and who have chosen to become an elite country that invites only scholars to access and enter their universities. Western historiography tends to silence negative outcomes by creating false narratives to gain popularity in mythologized celebrations. Narratives are necessarily designed in a way that life is not, in the sense that narrators decide whether or not to give voice to a made-up narrative that alters the story of life with or without concrete evidence to prove as truth. Fabricating a false narrative is a way to maintain power by having a strong historical past that represents fear and terror. Remain fearful among other countries or be considered the strongest nation in times of war. For example, Columbus was taught to be seen as a hero to the United States, the founder of America. History has taught teenagers false narratives about what Columbus encountered once he arrived in America; he enslaved and mutilated Native Americans, infecting them with diseases that they brought with them and that killed a significant amount of the native population. Another false narrative that is taught to teenagers in school is how Thanksgiving came to be. It celebrates the meeting between the Pilgrims and Native Americans, a union between the groups that is actually difficult to demonstrate. In addition to having the first universities, Europe also has the power to control history; being able to hand-pick your own superior narratives. Furthermore, by containing the concepts of educational learning, Europe is able to control Western historiography and become the custodian of knowledge, which produces the whispers behind closed doors; a hidden transcription of reality. The whispers behind closed doors contribute to the understanding of the emotions of the story despite the silence hidden by the historical record. Closed door whispers are about the untold narratives that are only discussed in safe environments. Sandra Greene's article, "Whispers and Silences: Explorations in the African Oral" explores the hidden narratives of slavery and Christianity in Ghana. Christianity was first introduced to the Anlo area in the mid-19th century. Over time, he gained an increasing number of followers, a gain that brought traditional religious believers a constant attack on their beliefs and practices. It prompted missionaries working in the area to condemn these practices and the colonial government to outlaw many of them. Opportunities for political authority and economic prosperity moved away from traditional religious orders and were increasingly associated with belief in Christianity and Western education; and the numbers have declined. Greene states that scholars have documented both official stories and counternarratives as well as analyzed personal stories and even narratives that could be defined as gossip; all in a remarkably successful effort to use locally produced texts to reconstruct the African past. Therefore, meaning that scholars are willing to put in the effort to listen to counternarratives to gain knowledge of a hidden past of countries that often silence their people using fear. Greene continues to assert herself as do most mainstream political leaders in the South.