disastrous consequences as well. Diplomats, although often used to smooth relations, at the same time also gathered information ‘on the assumption that the state where they had been posted was a potential enemy’ (p. 545). Finally, Holslag claims, trade does not necessarily promote peace either. Here he is less convincing. One need only to point to the European Union (or to the fact that democracies have never gone to war with each other) to see that strong economic interdependence can be a strong deterrent to war, although it has to be admitted that the EU is under threat from resurgent nationalism, populism and illiberal democracies like those of Poland and Hungary. Holslag has written a fascinating study that is a welcome addition to the ever growing body of literature on World History. Of course, one can debate about certain arguments, but that’s the essence of writing history and research. For example, Holslag states that the tide turned in the Second World War in 1942, although most (military) historians claim it was 1941. Holslag is to be applauded for writing a highly accessible study; that he dates the battle of Cannae in 215 B.C. instead of 216 B.C. (p. 189) is happily forgiven.

中文翻译：

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哥白尼之前：15 世纪科学学习的文化和背景 ed。作者：Rivka Feldhay 和 F. Jamil Ragep

灾难性的后果也是如此。外交官虽然经常用来缓和关系，但同时也收集信息“假设他们被派往的国家是潜在的敌人”（第 545 页）。最后，霍尔斯拉格声称，贸易也不一定能促进和平。在这里，他不太有说服力。只需指出欧盟（或民主国家从未相互开战的事实）就可以看出，强大的经济相互依存可以成为对战争的强大威慑，尽管必须承认欧盟处于来自复兴的民族主义、民粹主义和非自由民主国家（如波兰和匈牙利）的威胁。Holslag 撰写了一篇引人入胜的研究报告，是对不断增长的世界历史文献体系的欢迎补充。当然，人们可以就某些论点进行辩论，但这就是撰写历史和研究的本质。例如，霍尔斯拉格指出，在 1942 年的第二次世界大战中，形势发生了逆转，尽管大多数（军事）历史学家声称那是 1941 年。霍尔斯拉格撰写了一篇易于理解的研究报告，值得称赞；他将 Cannae 之战定为公元前 215 年而不是公元前 216 年（第 189 页），这一点令人欣慰。