Historiographical Review Essay:

Examining Yuval Harari’s View of Conquest as a Global Unifier

Gabrielle R. Von Seggern

AH110: Global History Fall 2019

2 November 2019
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In Yuval Harari’s bestselling book ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind​, he uses the

chapter “Imperialist Visions” to explore the topic of how conquest existed as a major watershed

moment in human history by “amalgamating many small cultures into fewer big cultures” which

thus made the world both a smaller and more interconnected place12. After using historical

examples to expand upon the still-visible positive impacts achieved through controversial

imperialistic methods, Harari concludes by commenting on an emerging global culture united

under a future global empire. However, Harari provides an incomplete presentation of the effects

of conquest by solely focusing on resulting unifications -- failing to address the divides that have

also resulted from imperialistic expansion. More specifically, humanity’s extensive history of

colonialism has led to the rise of cultural distinctions and the movement to both represent and

preserve individual cultural identities; such a movement would hinder further amalgamation

towards Harari’s predicted singular overarching culture34.

To examine how Harari’s account fails to fully represent the idea of conquest, one must

first define ideas of conquest (and the associated concepts of empires, imperialism, and

colonialism) both within and without ​Sapiens​. “Imperial Visions” defines several key traits of

imperial conquest; namely, that regardless of how an empire formed, it must rule over a

significant number of distinct peoples and have flexible borders with potentially unlimited

appetite. The cultural changes within conquered states werer described being “slowly digested by

the conquering empire, until their distinct cultures fizzled out”56.

1
Yuval Harari, “11: Imperial Visions,” in ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind​ (New York, NY: Harper
Perennial, 2018), pg 197
2
#globalruptures
3
#thesis
4
#historicalargument
5
Yuval Harari, “11: Imperial Visions,” in ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind​ (New York, NY: Harper
Perennial, 2018), pg 197
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Outside of ​Sapiens​, Stanford University admits that “Both colonialism and imperialism

were forms of conquest that were expected to benefit Europe economically and strategically” but

distinguishes colonialism as the process of domination -- establishing settlement and political

control over subjugated peoples7. Additionally, historians like Matthew Restall also describe

conquest as “a mere episode in the globalization of access to resources of food production”8.

Harari’s undeniable statement about conquest unifying groups through assimilation of

culture has much evidence, such as the main languages spoken in the Americas (English,

Spanish, Portoguese, French, etc) directly deriving from the colonial rule of Great Britain, Spain,

Portugal, and France. As conquest involved both a role of conqueror and conquered, it was

interesitng to see how the two groups interacted and meshed. “Even when subject peoples were

successful in adopting the imperial culture, it would take decades, if not centuries, until the

imperial elite accepted them as a part of “us”... they had already lost their beloved local culture,

but they were not allowed to take an equal part in the imperial world. On the contrary, their

adopted culture continued to view them as barbarians”910.

Despite the fact that there are no “pure” cultures as unaffected by conquest, it would not

be fair nor accurate to equate modern Korean/Palestinian/German/Brazilian cultures. Their

distinct histories have led to different modernities that could not easily be combined. Based on

Harari’s analysis of a dominant culture subjugating smaller cultures through conquest, it would

6
#globalpast
7
Margaret Kohn and Kavita Reddy, “Colonialism,” in ​Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy​ (Stanford University,
2017)
8
Matthew Restall, “Apes and men: The myth of superiority,” in ​Seven myths of the Spanish conquest​ (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003), pp 131-145
9
Yuval Harari, “11: Imperial Visions,” in ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind​ (New York, NY: Harper
Perennial, 2018), pp. 188-209.
10
#historicalagency
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be highly biased and ethnocentric to assume any culture dominant. Even if perceived in the sense

of finding commonalities between cultures, different groups have different political structures,

values, and identities. Colonialism and imperialism has long-lasting effects beyond globalization;

borders are still largely respected as they once were in regards to colonizers, not divided by

race/culture/features. But within the framework of nations, states developed concepts of national

identity in ways to unite cultures.

The topic of unification and division is more completely understood when Harari’s

chapter is viewed in conjunction with other sources. German historian Jürgen Osterhammel

agrees with Harari’s justification of why military conquest resulted in major watersheds, as

“Conquerors do not only vanquish an army: they occupy a land, destroy or topple at least part of

its elite, install their own men instead, and introduce foreign laws and sometimes also a foreign

religion” -- essentially transforming both the conqueror and conquered11. However, not all people

easily fell into categories of simply conquered or conqueror. In ​The Cultural Geography Reader​,

people living on borders of societies did not experience cultural change from isolation but from

connection12.

Clearly, the aforementioned historians agree that colonialism qualifies as a form of

conquest. However, the conjectures each one makes about conquest itself has distinct

11
Jürgen Osterhammel, “Chapter X: Revolutions From Philadelphia via Nanjing to Saint Petersburg,” in ​The
transformation of the world: A global history of the nineteenth century ​(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014)
pp 514–571
12
Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference,” in ​The
Cultural Geography Reader,​ 1st ed. (London, 2008), pp. 60-67. “A focus on people who live in the borders between
dominant societies or nations (and here borders is also a metaphor for people who identify, culturally, with more
than one group) makes clear the fact that differences between cultures come about not because of their isolation
from each other, but because of their connections with each other. Such a conclusion also suggests that along with
difference comes the hierarchies of power. Culture is not only a concept that expresses difference between peoples,
but also a concept that masks the uneven power relations between peoples, and these uneven power relations can
only exist through connection, rather than isolation.”
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implications. Because Harari claims that conquest acts as a unifier more than anything else and

merges cultures into new conglomerations; his claim logically follows that nationalism is losing

ground and human society is approaching one all-encompasing culture. However, this approach

fails to consider evidence that would indicate the exact opposite. In a review of Harari’s book,

counterexamples surface as to explain why “The Westphalian system of nationstates does not

seem to be on shaky ground” and how stark differences in global geography would make a world

government unlikely, indicating that Harari’s claims of the future lacks substantial backing13. By

not including such counterexamples, ​Sapiens ​seems almost an oversimplification instead of a

brief history14. It becomes curious as to why a professor of history in the Hebrew University of

Jerusalem -- someone with a great understanding of history’s complexities -- would chose to

generalize society without much nuanced consideration; his background in history indicates an

understanding that sweeping generelizations have potentially harmful effects15. For example, if

Harari’s proposed future of cultural assimilation would follow patterns of history, that would

indicate that the culture of the conquered would naturally concede to the culture of the

conqueror; but translated into modern day, this raises concerning questions about heirarchy and

differentiating value between cultures, seeming to indicate than one culture would have to

dominate over another -- a highly problematic situation of ethnocentrism. However, if society

were to combine into one global culture, distinctions would undoubtedly fade until community

13
​John Sexton, “A Reductionist History of Humankind,” in ​New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology & Society
(2015). Sexton shares examples if Brexit, Scotland seeking independence from the UK, the US refusing to concede
to the United Nations, and more. While these indications of nationalism may be temporary in the overarching history
of humanity, they do seem to contradict Harari’s prediction of a single unified culture and would have warranted
mentioning in ​Sapiens,​ if only to address these modern events as soon to change.
14
#critique
15
#historicalperspective
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identity would fully disappear. This erasure of identity could very well become a global silencing

of subaltern groups.

Both imperialism and colonialism are based on ideas of subjugation. When one society

takes control of another, cultural assimilation is guaranteed. However, while conquest has led to

societal amalgamation, humanity’s history of colonialism has also established semi-permanent

divides between incompatible cultures. Divisions caused by conquest have led to significant

distinctions between cultural groups; these distinctions keep community identities intact, thus

making Harari’s concept of a globally-inclusive culture highly improbable for as long as he

overlooks the societal value placed in cultural community identity16.

Word Count:

MUST BE 1000-1200

16
#historiography
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References17

Ferro, Marc. ​Colonization: a Global History.​ London: Routledge, 1997.

Gupta, Akhil, and James Ferguson. “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of

Difference.” In ​The Cultural Geography Reader,​ 1st ed., 60–67. London, 2008.

Harari, Yuval. “11: Imperial Visions.” In ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind​, 188–209. New

York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2018.

Kohn, Margaret, and Kavita Reddy. “Colonialism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Stanford University, August 29, 2017. ​https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/​.

Osterhammel, Jürgen. “Chapter X: Revolutions: From Philadelphia via Nanjing to Saint

Petersburg.” In ​The transformation of the world: A global history of the nineteenth

century​ (excerpts from pp. 514–571). Princeton: Princeton University Press. Available

through Claremont Libraries, JSTOR Database. 2014. ​https://course-resources.minerva.

kgi.edu/uploaded_files/mke/n7NODr/osterhammel---revolutions.pdf​.

Restall, Matthew. “Apes and men: The myth of superiority.” In ​Seven myths of the Spanish

conquest​ (pp. 131–145). New York: Oxford University Press. 2003.

Sexton, John. “A Reductionist History of Humankind.” ​New Atlantis: A Journal of

Technology & Society​ 47: 109–20. 2015.​http://search.ebscohost.com.ccl.idm.oclc.org

/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=aph&AN=112289902&site=ehost-live&sco

pe=site​.

17
#professionalism
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APPENDIX A: HC/LO APPLICATIONS

In order of appearance:

1. #globalruptures: I address the topic of conquest as a watershed moment in history

because of its long-lasting major social/cultural/structural changes that happened on a

global scale. While this tagged sentence briefly addresses why conquest is historically

important in this sense (through the assimilation of various cultures), later on I will

discuss more about how the conquered/conquerering cultures exhibited a form of cultural

exchange and merger, not simply erasure from history.

2. #thesis: The thesis of the paper illuminates how Harari’s account of conquest fails to

address an important piece of history (distinctions between cultural identities) and why

this missing piece is the key to explain why Harari’s vision of a fully unified global

culture loses plausibility.

3. #historicalargument: I form a historical argument that criticizes the secondary source of

Harari’s “Imperial Visions” to make a broader point of the importance of acknowledging

the nationalism, cultural identity, and preservation of shared history that have arisen from

humanity’s extensive history of conquest.

4. #globalpast: I place the concept of conquest within the global perspective of imperialism

and colonialism that was mostly taking place by western powers; colonialism became

prevalent post-1492 while the age of imperialism took place in the 19th-20th centuries, --

though the two concepts were closely linked through the idea of conquest (which both

predates colonialism and outlives imperialism). Understanding these distinctions

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historical placement of these events helps us as learners to conceptualize the shared

history of humanity.

5. #historicalagency: I explore the actions, motivations, and alternatives of each actor

(conquered and conqueror) within a conquest situation, essentially exploring how and

why individuals would act/react when interacting with their opposing actor’s society.

6. #critique: In this section I critique Harari’s chapter on conquest, where it excels, falls

short, and how other sources both compare to and supplement Harari’s perspective.

7. #historicalperspective: While Harari does support his points very well, he leaves out

information that would have been beneficial to include (namely, current respect of

cultural distinction). I draw attention to the criticisms provided in the review which label

Harari as a reductionist and his background as a professor of history in Jerusalem.

8. #historiography: Utilizing Popkin’s suggested “thematic” approach, I examine definitions

of key terms of my argument (conquest, imperialism, colonialism), ways in which

cultures were both merged and distinguished from each other through conquest, how

Harari’s “Imperial Visions” compares to other sources in regards to these topics, and

broader implications of such information.

9. #professionalism: The title page, bibliography, and in-text citations are all formatted

according to Chicago writing standards. Additionally, the essay was run through spelling

and grammar checks to refine wording and overall formality of the essay..