ABSTRACT
Men make history, and the leading members of the revolutionary generation realised that they were doing so, but they could never have known the history they were making ... What in retrospect has the look of a foreordained unfolding of God’s will was in reality an improvisational affair in which sheer chance, pure luck – both good and bad – and specific decisions made in the crucible of political crises determined the outcome ... If hindsight enhances our appreciation for the solidity and stability of the (historical) legacy, it also blinds us to the stunning improbability of the achievement itself. 1
