Is it true that history is always written by the victors?

Answer 1

At first glance, yes.

For example: in America, we're taught that the brave colonists won the Revolutionary War because of our passionate ideals. However, less than a third of all the colonists sympathized with the Sons/Daughters of Liberty while unity between the states themselves hardly existed.

There are at least two points of view for every story. Chances are you're hearing the bias of the better. However, there are other perspectives (whether they're the good guys or the bad guys) who become insignificant. In my history class, we had to read books by Howard Zinn, who, although an eccentric rambler, is consistant in telling American history from the "oppressed" point of view. All history is written with bias and must be carefully weighed, realizing that not everything you read is pure.

Answer 2

in order to answer this question, i recommend going back the ancient Greeks, to the time that the first historical inquiries where taken.
it is true that history is also written by the victors, and usually their side of the narrative will be dominant. it can also be written by any one whom sees his time is an important experience in the story of mankind .
such is the case of Herodotus, aka the father of historiography, telling the story of the war between the Greeks and the Persians:
".[0] This is the display of the inquiry of Herodotus of Holinesses, so that things done by man not be forgotten in time, and that great and marvelous deeds, some displayed by the Hellenes, some by the barbarians, not lose their glory, including among others what was the cause of their waging war on each other." (histories 1.1.1)
one can find similarities in the words of Thucydides,
" Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, beginning at the moment that it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war, and more worthy of relation than any that had preceded it. This belief was not without its grounds" ( The Peloponnesian War 1.1.1)
thucydides was an athenian telling the story of a war that, althogh after his death, the spartans finnaly won.
today's histoians try to understasnd their ancient colligues in their original contex, knowing that the contemparry writers laked the perspective we today have.

Answer 3

Often it is true that the victors write history. If they don't, history is often written by academics of whom the victor's approve, which has the same result. Sometimes, though, both sides of a battle write their own version of what happened, both claiming to be the winner! The ancient Babylonians seemed to be particularly prone to this!

Answer 4

No, not always.
Athens lost the Peloponnesian War but the war iss best known from the History of Thucydides the Athenian. The victors -Spartans and their Allies - just weren't so keen on writing.
In late victorian times Roman Catholics got quite a strong grip on 16th-century English history.
The south made more impact writing about their Civil War defeat than the north did about their victory.
But you may consider these the exceptions that prove the rule.

Answer 5

yes because whoever wins is the guy who gets to tell the story. he gets bragging rights. now it's not common with the internet and how we can say whatever we want and have easier access to both sides of the story. back then when the only way news was reported was somebody either wrote it down and mailed it or word of mouth.

lets say that my army as outnumbered 3-1. but after the battle i managed to win. well nobody is the wiser so I'll make up a story about the battle that would make me look better. i'll say that it was 5-1, i personally lead a flanking attack against them with an infantry unit. then i rode out in front to inspire my men when suddenly, i was surrounded by 10 barbarians.but i cut them down one by one and escaped and won the battle. the losers are most likely dead or sold into slavery. those that survive and ran are never going to talk about it so it does not matter.

something a little more recent, Hitler was a vegetarian and never smoked but no history books ever talk about that

Answer 6

Mostly proven by history that the victors get to write it.....the best example is the allied victory of the facsists in WWII. The US and Britain had to align themselves with the greatest butcher of the 20th Century in the likes of Joe Stalin. But the history books only refer to the atrocities of the Nazis and the moral high ground of the allies....the bad things the Soviets did are glossed over.

Answer 7

Mostly yes - and victors have a way of seeking out and destroying any opposing versions while the victory is still fresh. Only in situations where powerful laws protect freedom of expression can this be avoided. But then, when those nations fall, the protections fall with them, don't they? Still, occasional contrary views surface. But remember, they can be biased as well!

Answer 8

Not always...the accounts of history vary depending on the perspective of the one "passing down" the history. But if the victors are the ones alive...it is probably so.

Answer 9

It is a statement only. Proof is another matter. Chou (Chinese)dynasty,200-800 b.c. might be such example. The victor, Chou Man emperor, was being described very nice. Because he was a victor.
Tsia emperor, the loser, was infamous for his cruelty. The history we read of that part, were written by the victors.
So you were right.

Answer 10

The victors are usually the ones who are still around to tell the tale. Look at the stories of WWII. Do you hear what the Nazi's who were in high command had to say. What does Hitler have to say about what he ordered to be done? He isn't here (he killed himself before he could be captured) to tell us his side of it.