Sometimes it's difficult to realize when you are part of a trend, a cog in the wheels of history or maybe the force making that wheel spin. Did Francis Cavanagh know that he was part of a wave of convicts settling what was to become a new country when he was transported to New South Wales? Probably not. No doubt his concerns were more about survival and not adding to his sentence.
There are other times when you might acknowledge to yourself that the thing you are caught up in will become part of the historical record. I'm sure that would cross a person's mind as they sign up to serve in wartime but it wouldn't be their primary thought. History would come from looking back and taking account once the war was over.
Sometimes even new discoveries about history can become part of the historical record. I'm thinking of the discovery of the remains of Richard III in recent years. That's something that comes readily to mind after seeing Turi King interviewed at the Vancouver Writers Festival recently. She was in on the identification of the former king and at the festival because she has a book out, The Secrets of our DNA: How Genetics Has Changed the World. I wonder what other discoveries are in the book? Maybe I'll read about some historical discoveries or reinterpretations that are new to me.
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