Friends Small Talk: Lorraine Atkin "Mightier Than the Sword"

Lorraine Atkin and Stan Katz discuss Atkin’s new book, “Mightier Than the Sword: How Three Obscure Treaties Sanctioned the Enslavement of Millions and the Exploitation of Continents for more than 400 Years.” 

Through the examination of three treaties – the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Treaties of Nanking, and the Conference of Berlin – Atkin offers a fresh perspective on the history of colonialism, empire, and state-sponsored dominion in western “civilization.” She posits that treaties, or words on paper, granted the permission, or the sanctioned rationale, to decree that the annihilation of millions and confiscation of property was legal and just on five continents. Documents written hundreds of years ago embody the bias and power strategies of their time. However, they became chains that were solidified by international law, that have become impossible to break. Battles win territory, treaties can change the world.