Der 4. September 1839 ist bei Weitem nicht das erste Datum, das einem in den Sinn kommt, wenn man an den aktuellen Zollstreit zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und der EU denkt. Eine Seeschlacht am anderen Ende der Welt, noch dazu eine von überschaubarem Ausmaß, hat augenscheinlich nichts mit dem zu tun, was Donald Trump und Ursula von der Leyen Anfang August in Schottland ausverhandelt haben. Und doch ist die Schlacht von Kowloon – eigentlich nicht mehr als ein kurzes Feuergefecht zwischen ein paar britischen Handelsschiffen und einer Handvoll chinesischen Kriegsdschunken in der Bucht vor Hongkong – vielleicht der Moment in der Geschichte, von dem aus sich das Kalkül der Europäer und die Motive der Trump-Administration am besten nachvollziehen lassen.

There’s this famous story about Christopher Wren, the legendary architect who rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral after the great fire of London in 1666: One day, while inspecting the ongoing construction, Wren came across three bricklayers who must have triggered his curiosity. He struck up a conversation, asking each of them in turn who they were and what they were doing. The first one answered: “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working here to feed my family.” The second one said: “I’m a builder. I’m building a strong and stable wall.” But the third one had a much more creative response: “I’m doing God’s work here! I’m constructing a cathedral in honor of the Almighty!”

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. I've been curious about the world for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I used to question my parents about the inner workings of almost everything, from household appliances to world politics. At some point I remember talking to my dad about the origins of humans, I think after having read or heard somewhere that African apes are somehow our ancestors. That made me think: Isn't Africa really poor nowadays? How come, if the first humans lived there, and not here in Europe? And what about America? Don't they have "native" peoples there as well? How did they get there, if today that journey takes more than 10 hours on a plane? Unfortunately (but understandably), my dads knowledge in anthropology was exhausted quite quickly, and I was not much the wiser.