Context - History

• On the 11th of September 2001, the Islamist extremist network al-Qaeda launched four coordinated terrorist attacks on the United States
• Terrorists hijacked four planes, deliberately crashing 2 into New York City's World Trade Centre (the Twin Towers), 1 into the Pentagon and the fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania following a fight with passengers on board
• On the 11th of September 2001, nearly 3,000 people, hailing from 102 countries, were killed
• The poem 'History' also nods to deepening ecological concerns, by 2002, when 'History' was published, the consequences of global warming were becoming abundantly clear
• Burnside is a proponent (public speaker) of 'deep ecology', a philosophy that argues for the innate value of all living things regardless of whether they're considered useful for human purposes
• The poem 'History' was written by John Burnside
• Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush