Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

Matthew Rolston: Talking Heads presents monumental color portraits of dummies chosen from a collection of nearly seven hundred ventriloquists dolls (dating from 1820 –1980) housed at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

In this photo provided by Britain's Ministry of Defense, on Monday, March 4, 2024, F-35B Lightning jets are parked at a flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, under the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) near the coast of Norway, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Photo by UK Ministry of Defence via AP Photo)

American actress and model Karruche Tran arrives at Highlight Room for a Halloween party in Hollywood, CA. on October 29, 2019, dressed as Nancy Callahan from “Sin City”. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Life reconstruction of the new oviraptorosaurian dinosaur species Anzu wyliei in its 66 million-year-old environment in western North America as seen in an undated handout illustration by Mark A. Klinger, Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Some 18,000 species, great and small, were discovered in 2014, adding to the 2 million already known, scientists said on May 21, 2015 as they released a “Top 10” list that highlights the diversity of life. Anzu wyliei, one of the top 10, dubbed “the chicken from hell”, is extinct. The feathered dinosaur whose partial skeletons were unearthed in the Dakotas was a contemporary of T. rex and Triceratops. (Photo by Mark A. Klingler/Reuters/Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

Parts of the Royal Chariot, which will be used during the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's funeral later this year is seen at the National Museum in Bangkok, Thailand, February 6, 2017. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

A supporter of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shows her "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) themed decorated nails outside the venue on the day of a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Seth Herald/Reuters)

Electric cars sit charging in a parking garage at the University of California, Irvine January 26, 2015. “The Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration”, a $79 million project funded half by federal stimulus money and half by Edison and partners like UC Irvine, was launched in 2010. The $12 billion utility's research team Southern California Edison is testing everything from charging electronic vehicles via cell phone to devices that smooth out the power created by rooftop solar panels. Those are some of the roughly 60 projects in the works at Edison's Advanced Technology division. It has a small $19 million annual budget, but its influence far exceeds that. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)