I'm majoring in history, and am choosing to minor in a foreign language, and those are the only three offered. I'm leaning torward Chinease, even though I know its incredibly challenging, because its really rare for people in my area to speak it. What do you historians think?
Your choice will be informed by what history you are interested in studying. If you want to study China, take Chinese. If Latin America, take Spanish. For me, French would be the most beneficial in studying Africa.
The Western Sudan was colonized by France in the 19th century. One colonial legacy is that French is a secondary language of many people in West Africa, excluding Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Another effect of this colonial legacy is that French scholarship took an interest in the region during and after the colonial period. So, it is essential to read French to understand much of the literature about West Africa.
Similarly, were I to take a professional interest in Central Africa, French is an official language in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Gabon. Here, let me give an example. Jean-pierre Chretien is acknowledged as a leading specialist on the Great Lakes region. His book the Great Lakes of Africa has been translated into english, but there is still a good deal of his work not yet translated from French.
Finally, if you expect to study pre-colonial African history, French may be useful. Because written records are usually rare, historians of the time before European contact are informed by archaeological studies. Francophone archaeologists are well represented in Africa, particularly in Egyptology, but also in sites in Ethiopia and other places.
As everyone has stated, it depends on what your interest is in. MINE is in French history, so I'd take French; previously I was interested in Classics, so I took Latin and Ancient Greek. It all depends on what direction you need to go. Don't go Chinese just because it's rare, only go with Chinese if you have an honest interest in Chinese history.
What is your focus? That's what it really comes down to. If you haven't decided yet, then ask yourself: is pigeonholing a language minor really worth it? It may be more beneficial to do a minor in some subset of your history major like anthropology, art history, etc.
As I work in Peru, Spanish is practically mandatory. Don't know what I'd do without it. I'm working on picking up Quechua though, that's next on the list.
The language you choose is largely dependent on when/where you want to focus. Have any thoughts on that yet?
I speak all three, which has enabled me to do global/international history. But, like everyone is saying, it all has to do with where your interests lie. At most universities, Chinese will tank your GPA, but grad schools realize this and won't count it against you. Of the 8 languages I have studied it is actually the easiest to become conversationally fluent in, but the hardest to become literate. Also, if you learn both Spanish and Chinese, and already speak English, you can communicate with people on every continent.
