English actress Michelle Keegan at “The Jonathan Ross Show” TV show, Series 18, Episode 7 in London, United Kingdom on December 4, 2021. (Photo by Brian J. Ritchie/Hotsauce/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

English fashion model Daisy Lowe attends day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Edwards/The Sun)

Wind gusts, blowing down King Street, twist umbrellas during Hurricane Ian in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, September 30, 2022. (Photo by Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier via AP Photo)

A fisherman transports a shark and other fish with his ride to the traditional fish market in Lampulo, Aceh, Indonesia, 12 April 2018. The fishing industry is one of Indonesia's largest economic contributor, with almost half of the country's population working in the sector. (Photo by Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA/EFE)

Hira Naveed reacts to her shot on the eighth green during the first round of the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Thursday, April 18, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo by Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Fisherman Jose Miguel Perez, whose nickname is “Taliban”, navigates the oil infested waters of Lake Maracaibo, near Cabimas, Venezuela, May 21, 2019. Nobody lives as closely with the environmental fallout of Venezuela's collapsing oil industry as the fishermen who scratch out an existence on the blackened, sticky shores of Lake Maracaibo. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/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.

A woman takes part in a carnival parade as part of New Year's Eve festivities in San Jose, Costa Rica, 27 December 2023. (Photo by Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA/EFE)