Vanessa, thirty-five, had three children with an abusive husband. She “lost her mind, started doing heroin”, after losing the children, who were taken away and given to her mother. The drugs led to homelessness and prostitution. She grew up on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but now spends her time in Hunts Point, “trying to survive everyday. Just doing whatever it takes”.

A boat, center, is surrounded by Japan Cost Guard's patrol boats after some activists descended from the boat on Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in East China Sea Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Regional tensions flared on the emotional anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender as activists from China and South Korea used Wednesday's occasion to press rival territorial claims, prompting 14 arrests by Japanese authorities. The 14 people had traveled by boat from Hong Kong to the disputed islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. (Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun/Masataka Morita/AP Photo)

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.

Street vendors carry chickens for sale at Kawran Bazar in Dhaka, Bangladesh January 25, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)

A model presents a creation by Colombian brand Elena Plus Clothing at Colombiamoda during Medellin's fashion week in Itagui municipality near Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia, on July 24, 2017. Colombiamoda will take place between the 24th and 27th of July. (Photo by Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

A Chinese tourist visits the Mutianyu Great Wall covered in snow on February 23, 2021 in Beijing, China. Affected by the new coronavirus (COVID-19), the number of visitors to Mutianyu Great Wall in 2020 dropped by about 60%. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Young adults wearing a mask, attends a ceremony as they commemorates the Coming of Age Day of young people entering adulthood in Tokyo, Japan, on January 10, 2022. While the COVID-19 epidemic continues to progress in Japan due to the new Omicron variant, the events that have been organized by the various municipalities of Tokyo have followed a strict sanitary protocol, such as temperature control, disinfection of hands, and the wearing of a protective mask. (Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A model presents a creation from the “Remembranzas y Colores” collection by Mexican designer Carlos Pineda with textures and prints honouring Mexico, during the first day of the 76th edition of Intermoda in Guadalajara, state of Jalisco, Mexico, on January 18, 2022. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)