Archival evidence can be cherry-picked to support dubious claims

Evidence

The tendency of modern academic historiography to accord absolute primacy to archive materials over what is dismissed as “secondary” needs to be subjected to critical scrutiny. The absence from the archives of the east of the Peninsula of any plan on Ferdinand’s part to convert his local Mudejars there comes to be interpreted as firm indication of the king’s intentions not to convert them. That seems to me to give too much weight to negative evidence. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 415 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Desired conclusions retroactively validate whatever evidence seems to support them; Repeated arguments surviving contrary facts for 300 years warrant suspicion — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 267; Absence of archival evidence can mislead historians about intentions — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 415 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Absence of archival evidence can mislead historians about intentions #complicates (0.72) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 415