George Clay
@g-g-clay.bsky.social
I’m a historian of the seventeenth-century Caribbean. I write about religion and slavery, and occasionally about emotions.
Pinned
George Clay
@g-g-clay.bsky.social
· Jun 6
The Emotional Dimensions of Colonial Rule in the Sixteenth-Century Andes: José de Acosta, Jesuits, and Emotions During the Great Resettlement* | The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2
This article examines the writings of the Jesuit José de Acosta (1540–1600) on Andean governance at the time of the Great Resettlement (a late-sixteenth-century Spanish attempt to resettle Andean peop...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
An article I wrote about emotions and colonialism has just come out in The Sixteenth Century Journal - you can find it below or message me if you’d like a PDF!
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Not to sound like a broken record, but a lot of this discussion skirts around the obvious point that the President and the Secretary of Defense killed eighty people with bombs, on camera, because they wanted video footage that would make them look “tough.”
December 6, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Not to sound like a broken record, but a lot of this discussion skirts around the obvious point that the President and the Secretary of Defense killed eighty people with bombs, on camera, because they wanted video footage that would make them look “tough.”
one of many reasons this analogy is unsuccessful is because there’s no good analogy for “the President killed some people on camera because he thought the footage would make him look like a tough guy.” That’s a pretty unique kind of psychopathy (but an extremely common political tactic in the U.S.)
If the US Coast Guard stops a ship in international waters and seizes their cocaine, is that a war crime? The ship has not done anything illegal. Should we prosecute the Coast Guard Captain for piracy?
December 6, 2025 at 12:23 AM
one of many reasons this analogy is unsuccessful is because there’s no good analogy for “the President killed some people on camera because he thought the footage would make him look like a tough guy.” That’s a pretty unique kind of psychopathy (but an extremely common political tactic in the U.S.)
Whether their bombs kill children in Gaza or sailors in the Caribbean is probably irrelevant to U.S. politicians, because all that matters is a photo op which proves they’re tough on terrorists.
December 2, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Whether their bombs kill children in Gaza or sailors in the Caribbean is probably irrelevant to U.S. politicians, because all that matters is a photo op which proves they’re tough on terrorists.
Reposted by George Clay
It's up on my blog too emspanishhistorynotes.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/c...
November 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
It's up on my blog too emspanishhistorynotes.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/c...
Please apply to come and work in my department! I’m very happy to answer any questions you may have
***Job Opportunity***
Assistant Professor or Higher in History, specializing in Southeast Europe, the Middle East, or the Eastern Mediterranean, American University - Bulgaria
95/
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69324/a...
Assistant Professor or Higher in History, specializing in Southeast Europe, the Middle East, or the Eastern Mediterranean, American University - Bulgaria
95/
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69324/a...
American University - Bulgaria - Assistant Professor or Higher in History | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
October 23, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Please apply to come and work in my department! I’m very happy to answer any questions you may have
***TENURE-LINE JOB***
My new department, at the American University in Bulgaria, is hiring a historian of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is a tenure-line job with a 3-3 teaching load.
My new department, at the American University in Bulgaria, is hiring a historian of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is a tenure-line job with a 3-3 teaching load.
American University - Bulgaria - Assistant Professor or Higher in History | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:17 PM
***TENURE-LINE JOB***
My new department, at the American University in Bulgaria, is hiring a historian of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is a tenure-line job with a 3-3 teaching load.
My new department, at the American University in Bulgaria, is hiring a historian of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is a tenure-line job with a 3-3 teaching load.
@naoisedolan.bsky.social tells the story of her (brutal, illegal) detention by Israeli forces. As she herself notes, Palestinian political prisoners in Israel (of whom there are still 11,000 including 400 children) fare infinitely worse.
What happened, in brief
That time Israel kidnapped me
naoise.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM
@naoisedolan.bsky.social tells the story of her (brutal, illegal) detention by Israeli forces. As she herself notes, Palestinian political prisoners in Israel (of whom there are still 11,000 including 400 children) fare infinitely worse.
The Guardian has published a story on the 18,500 children killed by Israeli forces (and U.S. weapons) in Gaza
Young lives cut short on an unimaginable scale: the 18,457 children on Gaza’s list of war dead
Every name on a list compiled by health authorities in Gaza of the child victims of Israel’s offensive
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 8:49 AM
The Guardian has published a story on the 18,500 children killed by Israeli forces (and U.S. weapons) in Gaza
Stephen Bush’s evisceration of Robert Jenrick’s racism is beautifully written and all of you should read his (I’m told award-winning, free) morning email
Thank the Tories for keeping Robert Jenrick out of high office
Shadow justice secretary’s comment about not seeing a ‘white face’ shows he does not understand integration
www.ft.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Stephen Bush’s evisceration of Robert Jenrick’s racism is beautifully written and all of you should read his (I’m told award-winning, free) morning email
Reposted by George Clay
"The day had begun with Robert Jenrick accused of racism. This is of course quite unfair. Racists believe in something." Absolutely fantastic sketch by @roberthutton.co.uk. Every line is a banger:
Rob whistle | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
The day had begun with Robert Jenrick accused of racism. This is of course quite unfair. Racists believe in something. Some of us remember Jenrick as a chubby-cheeked fan of David Cameron fighting…
thecritic.co.uk
October 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM
"The day had begun with Robert Jenrick accused of racism. This is of course quite unfair. Racists believe in something." Absolutely fantastic sketch by @roberthutton.co.uk. Every line is a banger:
Earlier this summer I defended my PhD dissertation, “Captivities and Transformations: Slavery, Religion, and Emotion in Cartagena de Indias and Providence Island, 1620-1650.” The final version has now been approved!
September 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Earlier this summer I defended my PhD dissertation, “Captivities and Transformations: Slavery, Religion, and Emotion in Cartagena de Indias and Providence Island, 1620-1650.” The final version has now been approved!
“The time for justifications, arguing about semantics and hand-wringing over the “complexity” of the conflict has long passed. The only question now is, how is it that the world cannot get Israel to allow a morsel of food into a starving civilian’s mouth?”
Protesting over Gaza’s starvation feels like screaming into a void – but we mustn’t stop | Nesrine Malik
Political platitudes and a few trucks of aid won’t save the children dying now. But they show leaders can’t ignore public opinion for ever, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
July 28, 2025 at 10:41 AM
“The time for justifications, arguing about semantics and hand-wringing over the “complexity” of the conflict has long passed. The only question now is, how is it that the world cannot get Israel to allow a morsel of food into a starving civilian’s mouth?”
The U.K. Government’s ban of “Palestine Action” has (entirely predictably) led to the arrest of people carrying milquetoast placards at peaceful protests.
Ian Hislop shares the joke that got someone arrested | LBC
YouTube video by LBC
youtu.be
July 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
The U.K. Government’s ban of “Palestine Action” has (entirely predictably) led to the arrest of people carrying milquetoast placards at peaceful protests.
Dr Badar Khan Suri: “I was always thinking, Why am I here? They have identified me with the Palestinian cause, being married to a Palestinian and given my sympathies with Palestinians. So if they have put me here for them, my suffering is nothing in comparison to theirs.”
July 27, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Dr Badar Khan Suri: “I was always thinking, Why am I here? They have identified me with the Palestinian cause, being married to a Palestinian and given my sympathies with Palestinians. So if they have put me here for them, my suffering is nothing in comparison to theirs.”
A Georgetown colleague, Dr Badar Khan Suri, describes being kidnapped by ICE. “To this day they haven’t been able to provide an arrest warrant in court, because it doesn’t exist. They were playing from a playbook which has no rights.”
"Dr. Badar Khan Suri was returning home from a campus iftar on March 17 when masked [ICE] agents jumped out of an unmarked car and detained him outside his home. He had not been charged with any crime."
Our colleague speaks out in @hammerandhope.bsky.social
hammerandhope.org/article/geor...
Our colleague speaks out in @hammerandhope.bsky.social
hammerandhope.org/article/geor...
hammerandhope.org
July 27, 2025 at 11:26 AM
A Georgetown colleague, Dr Badar Khan Suri, describes being kidnapped by ICE. “To this day they haven’t been able to provide an arrest warrant in court, because it doesn’t exist. They were playing from a playbook which has no rights.”
“The number of people reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire at GHF aid distribution sites continues to climb, as the people of Gaza face starvation. The Gaza Health Ministry has counted 1,021 people killed and another 6,511 wounded at GHF sites since the program was put in place…”
Our Reporter Got Into Gaza. He Witnessed a Famine of Israel’s Making.
The people of Gaza face starvation under the joint U.S.-Israeli food distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
theintercept.com
July 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
“The number of people reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire at GHF aid distribution sites continues to climb, as the people of Gaza face starvation. The Gaza Health Ministry has counted 1,021 people killed and another 6,511 wounded at GHF sites since the program was put in place…”
Reposted by George Clay
Important reporting from Gaza:
‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation
Israel’s offensive and aid curbs tip enclave of 2.1mn Palestinians into famine
www.ft.com
July 26, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Important reporting from Gaza:
An article I wrote about emotions and colonialism has just come out in The Sixteenth Century Journal - you can find it below or message me if you’d like a PDF!
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Emotional Dimensions of Colonial Rule in the Sixteenth-Century Andes: José de Acosta, Jesuits, and Emotions During the Great Resettlement* | The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2
This article examines the writings of the Jesuit José de Acosta (1540–1600) on Andean governance at the time of the Great Resettlement (a late-sixteenth-century Spanish attempt to resettle Andean peop...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
June 6, 2025 at 4:59 PM
An article I wrote about emotions and colonialism has just come out in The Sixteenth Century Journal - you can find it below or message me if you’d like a PDF!
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Sixteenth Century Journal: Vol 56, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
I don’t quite know what to say about this, but I’m very happy and very grateful, and I’m looking forward to reading everyone else’s wonderful work!
Many congratulations to @g-g-clay.bsky.social 🥇winner of the 2025 Hakluyt Society Essay Prize, and to runners up Peter Wells & James Fox
www.hakluyt.com
🏆👏🏆👏🏆👏
www.hakluyt.com
🏆👏🏆👏🏆👏
May 7, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I don’t quite know what to say about this, but I’m very happy and very grateful, and I’m looking forward to reading everyone else’s wonderful work!
Reposted by George Clay
"A forensic doctor who examined the bodies of some of the 15 paramedics and Palestinian rescue workers shot dead by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza has said there is evidence of execution-style killing..."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Evidence of ‘execution-style’ killings of Palestinian aid workers by Israeli forces, doctor says
Forensic consultant says multiple bullets were used from short range in attack that has caused global outrage
www.theguardian.com
April 3, 2025 at 2:20 AM
"A forensic doctor who examined the bodies of some of the 15 paramedics and Palestinian rescue workers shot dead by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza has said there is evidence of execution-style killing..."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Reposted by George Clay
It's outrageous that the Secretary of State can, on his sole authority, have a legal resident of the US summarily detained and deported without any due process. This power renders millions of people legally in the US effectively without rights.
www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/u...
‘They’ve never been afraid before’: Why some green card holders’ concerns are growing | CNN
Some immigrants with green cards — documents deeming them lawful permanent residents of the United States — tell CNN they’re still scared the Trump administration could kick them out of the country.
www.cnn.com
March 30, 2025 at 4:25 PM
It's outrageous that the Secretary of State can, on his sole authority, have a legal resident of the US summarily detained and deported without any due process. This power renders millions of people legally in the US effectively without rights.
www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/u...
The great historian Greg Grandin observed that when Kissinger bombed Cambodia, he kept it secret for fear of mass public outrage, and the cover up was part of the scandal. Nowadays apparently the scandal is that bombing is not kept secret enough.
March 27, 2025 at 2:27 AM
The great historian Greg Grandin observed that when Kissinger bombed Cambodia, he kept it secret for fear of mass public outrage, and the cover up was part of the scandal. Nowadays apparently the scandal is that bombing is not kept secret enough.