What did they do?

Apart from establishing when and where our subject lived, we also need to describe who they were and what they did.

In history writing, we try to do this as objectively as possible, focusing on known facts supported by historical evidence.

Bust of Pericles (Source)

For example, look at this brief biography of Pericles, one of the great figures of Ancient Greece. Which statements describe facts about who he was and what he did?

Pericles was born about 495 bce in the city-state of Athens. His family was wealthy and had power. His father, Xanthippus, was a statesman.

Sometime after 461 bce Pericles rose to power in Athens. He continued to lead the city for the next 30 years. During this time Pericles created more opportunities for ordinary citizens to participate in Athens’s democratic government. Citizens could help create the laws and serve on a jury during a trial in court. Only an adult male whose parents were both citizens could be a citizen. The women, children, slaves, and foreign residents, who made up about 88 percent of Athens’s population, were not considered citizens.

Pericles spent money on improving Athens. He increased the size of Athens’s navy and offered protection to other city-states in return for payment. Under Pericles the people of Athens built new temples, and in 447 bce they began work on a building called the Parthenon and a statue of the goddess Athena. Pericles made Athens the most beautiful and powerful of the Greek city-states.

By 430 bce a terrible plague had entered Athens. The disease killed Pericles in 429 bce.

Pericles (Britannica Kids)

This snippet describes:

Key features of Pericles (powerful family, dad was a statesman).
What he did (led the city, expanded democracy, built public works).

It includes one statement that sits on the edge between fact and opinion, which we've left unhighlighted because we'll talk about those kinds of statements on the next page.

Eddie Mabo (Source)

Here's a snippet about Eddie Koiki Mabo, an Indigenous Australian man who launched a legal case that changed the country's laws about rights to native lands.

Notice how this one uses quotes from witnesses at the time to describe who Koiki was and what he did.

In 1973, Koiki became co-founder and director of the Townsville black community school — one of the first in Australia. Unhappy with the approach to Indigenous education within the Queensland state education system, Koiki volunteered to work for half pay to help establish the school.

The school started with ten students in an old Catholic school building in the heart of inner city Townsville. It was regarded with open hostility within the general Townsville community including the Queensland Education Department, local newspaper and some local politicians. The then State Minister for Education denounced the motives of the student’s parents declaring their attitudes as racist and the school as ‘apartheid in reverse’.

A turning point in Koiki’s life happened while he was working on campus as a gardener at James Cook University. University historians Noel Loos and Henry Reynolds recall:

‘...we were having lunch one day when Koiki was just speaking about his land back on Mer, or Murray Island. Henry and I realised that in his mind he thought he owned that land, so we sort of glanced at each other, and then had the difficult responsibility of telling him that he didn't own that land, and that it was Crown land. Koiki was surprised, shocked... he said and I remember him saying, 'No way, it's not theirs, it’s ours!'

Koiki went on to give a speech at a land rights conference at the university explaining the traditional land ownership and inheritance system that his community followed on Mer. A lawyer in the audience noted the significance of Koiki’s speech and suggested there should be a test case to claim land rights through the court system.

Eddie Koiki Mabo(2022)

This snippet comes form the middle of a longer biography, so it starts in the thick of the action:

Koiki starts a school.
Faces opposition from local community and authorities.
A lunch with university historians makes him realise he doesn't own the land he thinks he owns.
He gives a speech about native land rights and attracts the interest of a lawyer.

This snippet also quotes witnesses at the time—the State Minister for Education and one of the historians at the university where Koiki worked.

Objective facts vs subjective evaluations

Some of the statements in this snippet again sit right on the edge of fact and opinion: the attitude of the community and authorities, and Koiki's reaction to the news of Crown ownership of his ancestral land.

Here we've highlighted them with 'What' because they are factual statements about what people said at the time, but they could also be flagged with a 'So what' tag, which is coming up next.

Now it's your turn. Imagine you're a historian writing about the life of this formidable warrior.

Describe part of their life in factual terms, perhaps including a quote from someone to describe a particular detail.

What language was used in these snippets to describe what these figures did? Here are just a few examples:

His family had wealth and power...
Pericles rose to power in...
Citizens could help create...
Pericles spent money on...
A terrible plague had entered...
Koiki became co-founder and director of...
Unhappy with the approach to Indigenous education...
A turning point in Koiki's life happened...
Koiki went on to give...
The school started with...

You might notice the language of 'what' is much more rich and varied than the language of 'when' and 'where'.

It's the language of noun groups and verb groups.

This gives you lots of options!

Using the snippets above as models, write 3-5 sentences describing what this "historical" figure did. Bonus: include a quote from a witness or another historian.

Arwenna Stormblade was born in the rural village of Elderglen, in 998 CE. Her family worked as farmers, managing a small plot of land on the outskirts of the village. From an early age, Arwenna demonstrated a keen interest in swordsmanship and began training with a local blacksmith.

At the age of sixteen, Arwenna joined the Crimson Guard, an elite military unit known for its rigorous training and discipline. Over the next decade, she served in various capacities within the Guard, participating in numerous campaigns across the kingdom.

In 1024 CE, Arwenna rose to the rank of captain within the Crimson Guard.

Describing historical figures