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Article: Conspiracy Theories.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- May 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot, the `Man in the Iron Mask' and the Devils of Loudun offer some of the most compelling images of the early modern period. The cloak and dagger world of plots and conspiracies can, however, appear to be dangerous terrain for historians, fearful of being associated with those obsessively pondering the fate of John F. Kennedy, or the fantasy world of the X-Files. Yet conspiracies, real or imagined, were an essential feature of early modern life, offering a seemingly rational and convincing explanation for patterns of political and social behaviour. This theme has been chosen as the subject of the second annual ...