World history is a cyclical phenomenon that tends to be repeated within an amount of time sufficient for people to forget what happened. For this reason, historians feel the proper analysis and description of historical events to be their civic duty. The vivid examples of parallels between such events are presented in Barbara W. Tuchman’s book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam. In the chapter The British Lose America, Tuchman tries to evaluate the British attempt to colonize America that eventually led to some undesired consequences for the British Empire.
On the example of one historical event, however, the author managed to summarize the major mistake state leaders make when trying to invade other nations and cultures. When colonizing the land, they so do not consider the kind of nation they cope with, being led exclusively by the desire for conquest. As a result, this eagerness ends in defeat and loss of one’s dignity. However, what strikes the most is the fact that while those examples of imperial-colonial relations could be acceptable centuries ago, the patterns of such behavior can be traced in the modern world. Such behavior makes scholars question the process of human development over the years, considering that some state leaders mimic the imperialistic ruling patterns.
Thus, The March of Folly serves as a manifest of all the mistakes emperors had made before making a step towards an attempt to keep peace across the globe. Although it may seem clear that cultural identity ignorance may lead to inevitable and violent consequences, some “almighty” leaders of today are still driven by nothing but greed and egocentrism. History is cyclical, and there is a chance of unavoidable rebellion of those whose opinion is being ignored nowadays.