11
votes
0answers
75 views
Language of early French (West-Frankish) kings
When did Old French displace Frankish as the language spoken in the West-Frankish court, and who was the first natively "French" king?
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Why did Nazi soldiers do Hitler's bidding?
The atrocities committed by Nazi soldiers during World War II are well known. I'd like to know what motivated these soldiers to do Hitler's bidding? Were they brain-washed? Did they believe they were ...
10
votes
2answers
381 views
Hitler's Death: Fact or Fiction
Is there any consensus among modern day historians of how Hitler was killed or if he was killed, and is there any significant proof that he did die so as to disprove the conspiracy theorists?
10
votes
3answers
624 views
Real-life examples of finding long-lost treasure?
Whether it's Indiana Jones, National Treasure, or the latest Dan Brown novel, popular culture has fallen in love with the idea of finding long-lost treasure, preferably in some elaborate underground ...
10
votes
5answers
1k views
When did the Holy Roman Empire collapse?
In the 1500's, the Holy Roman Empire was a relatively powerful country. By the mid 1800's, it seemed to be superseded by in importance by its states.
When did the unified "Holy Roman Empire" really ...
10
votes
5answers
324 views
What was the worst economic crisis of all times?
I am interested in reading about the worst economic crisis of all times. By that I mean the largest reduction in GDP over a period of at least a year. The economic crisis should not have been caused ...
10
votes
4answers
184 views
What is considered to be the pivotal battle between Caesar and Pompey?
Caesar and Pompey's forces battled with one another on numerous occasions during the Fall of the Roman Republic. What is the earliest battle that is commonly accepted as the one where it became clear ...
10
votes
4answers
695 views
Why Did the US Drop Nuclear Weapons on a Weakened Japan
Why did the United States drop two nuclear bombs on the Japanese mainland when they were already on the wining side?
10
votes
5answers
501 views
What was Finland's position in World War Two?
What was Finland's position in World War Two? Apparently, they were fighting against the Soviet Union, but not as Nazi Germany's ally. Are there reasons for this, and were they actually on Germany's ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
What were the main causes of successful take over of India by Britain?
Have you ever heard of any country controlled and ruled by a joint-stock company?
This happened in India. The East India Company ruled an entire country of huge size for 101 years (1757–1858). During ...
10
votes
5answers
390 views
Are Americans More Obsessed With the Military Aspect of History? If so, why?
If there is anything in my mind that has been particularly pronounced about American historical interests it has been an overriding interest in the military aspects of history. This can be viewed in ...
10
votes
3answers
542 views
Why was China not colonized by any country?
Why didn't China become a colony of anybody, unlike most other Asian countries?
10
votes
4answers
691 views
Is history always written by the victors?
The famous "history is written by victors" saying argues that the victors overwhelmingly influence historical accounts.
Be it in the past or present, are there any examples of history written by the ...
10
votes
3answers
283 views
How common are major cities not built by abundant water?
When you look at the biggest cities in the world, they all tend to be built on a major body of water, either a coast, a large lake, or a major river. This made sense in ancient times, as abundant ...
10
votes
5answers
385 views
Why did Jews not immigrate to the Muslim world?
Throughout most of history, Jews lived significantly better in the Muslim countries than in Christian ones. Moreover, after the expulsion from Spain, many Spanish Jews moved to the Muslim world (from ...
10
votes
2answers
259 views
Why is Las Vegas located where it is?
Anybody know the history of Vegas and basically why that location was chosen as the main hub for gambling, hotels, and entertainment given that (at that time) it was pretty much a random desert in the ...
10
votes
3answers
405 views
Gold Confiscation Act of 1933
On March 9, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) called Congress in for an emergency session, which would result in the speedy passing of the Gold Confiscation Act. According to FDR's Executive Order ...
10
votes
3answers
135 views
Attempts to return the War to the Souths Favor after Gettysburg
With regards to the Union victory at Gettysburg being the turning point of the American Civil War:
Were there any major Confederate victories after the battle of Gettysburg?
Did the Confederacy ever ...
10
votes
3answers
168 views
Was there any separation between hunting bow technology and weapon bows?
Was there a clear trend throughout early history (say, before 1300 for Europe) to have (or ot have) separate technologies/materials for bows and arrows for hunting purposes, and same-period ...
10
votes
3answers
277 views
Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
Were Argentina's and the UK's Antarctic territorial claims significant in the Falklands War?
10
votes
2answers
165 views
Who gave King Richard I the title Coeur de Lion?
When King Richard I went to the Holy land during the Third Crusade, he was given the title coeur de lion (French for lion heart). Who gave him that title? I Imagine that it was a French person.
10
votes
2answers
278 views
Why were there no Internment camps for German-American Citizens in USA during WW2?
I am certainly aware of Japanese-americans being detained in Internment camps , after the attack on Pearl Harbor , and subsequent declaration of war on United States , by the empire of Japan.
About ...
10
votes
2answers
402 views
Which 11 countries were democratic in 1941?
Relistening to the BBC's History of Democracy broadcast in July 2011. The historian on the show talked about the low point for democracies being 1941 when there were just 11 parliamentary democracies ...
10
votes
1answer
5k views
When did the American War of 1812 actually end?
My daughter was recently studying this in high school, and somehow I had always assumed that it had only lasted a year. Apparently it ran on for at least a couple of years, but her textbook only ...
10
votes
3answers
245 views
What historical conditions (culture, technology, events, etc.) contributed to China's current lead in population?
If their growth rate was comparable to the rest of the world over the past several millenia, then was it only a matter of having a "head start"? (If so, then how did this initial condition come to ...
10
votes
5answers
572 views
Were there any war movies made during WW2 that were well regarded by front-line American soldiers?
I've read in a few places that American soldiers during WWII (meaning men who had actually seen combat, not rear echelon troops) preferred light comedy or romance movies to the sanitized propaganda in ...
10
votes
2answers
423 views
Did the U.S. and Soviet Union have a submarine battle in 1968?
There are books and articles about the Soviet submarine K-129 and the USS Scorpion in 1968, with various stories of attempted nuclear attacks and reprisals. Is there a factual narrative about these ...
10
votes
1answer
183 views
Were there originally seats in the elevators in the Eiffel Tower?
There were seats drawn on the blue print for the tower. Today there are no seats. Were they fitted and then taken out or were they never installed at all?
10
votes
2answers
167 views
How did France worsen its relationship with Turkey?
Several years back Turkey barred some French companies to participate in one of its arms procurement tender. Turkey doesn't allow French military air-crafts or ships to pass its territorial space. ...
10
votes
2answers
384 views
Effectiveness of Cossack cavalry
I know that some people in Europe very much admire Russian Cossack cavalry and think it is very effective. But in Russia there was a proverb that one hussar is equal to two cossacks, one dragoon is ...
10
votes
2answers
227 views
Why were there civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia, but not in Slovenia or Macedonia?
It seems that during the breakup of Yugoslavia there were civil wars during speakers of the (then officially) same language - Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, but not, e.g., between Serbs and Slovenians. ...
10
votes
3answers
122 views
Finding reviews of academic books?
I find it quite diffucult to find reviews of academic books on various subjects, especially for books in the english language.
In Denmark we have a service where we can search almost any book academic ...
10
votes
2answers
162 views
How Many Surface Ships Have Reached the North Pole?
I realize that the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika (Soviet Union) reached the north pole on August 17, 1977. However, I would like to know of any other ships that have also reached the North Pole.
...
10
votes
3answers
886 views
Why did the United States enter World War I?
The topic of World War I came up last night with a few strangers, at a bar, of course. One seemingly knowledgeable gentleman, who happened to have Howard Zinn's A Peoples' History of the United States ...
10
votes
3answers
356 views
What factors contributed to Jews moving out of the Middle East?
History shows that the Jews started moving out of the Middle East in the 1000s? Until then there were no major Jewish centers outside the Middle East (Babylon, Egypt, etc.) except for Rome. By the ...
10
votes
3answers
339 views
Is it true that medieval villages didn't have names?
Recently I've read a certain book about the Middle Ages that has been quite popular with laymen but is held in utter contempt by professional medievists. In fact, I hadn't known the book's reception ...
10
votes
2answers
404 views
Evidence of diets that were exclusively vegetarian
What evidence, provided by archaeological anthropology, is there in regards to diets that were exclusively vegetarian by choice from Ancient history (4th millennium BC) to Classical antiquity (5th ...
10
votes
5answers
256 views
What factors contributed to the popularity of Eastern cultures in the USA in late 20th century?
Question says mostly all. To be more concrete, I am talking about the popularity of Krishna and Buddhism on the religious side, and stuff like yoga on the more practical side. Some other things might ...
10
votes
3answers
565 views
Why is the Qing Dynasty in China considered Feudalistic?
From my understanding of the Qing Dynasty (and a few more dyansties before it as well), the Empire (under the Emperor) owned all land. Power and responsibilities were delegated to state elected ...
10
votes
2answers
92 views
Which is the first culinary book ever written?
I strongly believe that food is a fundamental part of a country's tradition, so which is the first culinary book ever written?
10
votes
2answers
133 views
Buying/Renting/Leasing houses during history?
I was wondering about something. After the last financial crisis, many people have talked about not buying a house, but renting one, and they made it sound like a "new" idea. So what was it like ...
10
votes
3answers
214 views
To what degree has the historical effectiveness of Non-Violent resistance movements been impacted by parallel violent resistance movements?
Martin Luther King had Malcolm X. Gandhi had Bhagat Singh.
I've lately been involved in a pretty radical movement in which there are many people arguing against the movement being only ...
10
votes
2answers
229 views
From where does the superstition about Friday the thirteenth originate?
There are several interesting stories about this, but what historical information do we have that would indicate the correct one?
10
votes
1answer
262 views
Why did Meiji consider switching from Japanese to English?
During the Meiji restoration, the Emperor sought to switch Japan's national language from Japanese to English. Why was that? Why, ultimately, was it unsuccessful?
The Role of English and Other ...
10
votes
2answers
212 views
Aside from the Jews, did Hitler had a final solution plan for other ethnicities / races in the Third Reich?
We know that the Nazi ideology explicitly singled out Jews as the main reason to all Germany's problems. An thus there were exterminated. Nazis also persecuted gypsies, polish people, and many POW. ...
10
votes
2answers
114 views
Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?
During the Napoleonic wars in Europe, many heavy cavalry units still retain the use of armours, for example, French Carabiniers-à-Cheval below,
How effective were these to protect the cavalryman ...
10
votes
2answers
262 views
Writing month with roman numbers
I got an old wall clock. I'm not at all a clock expert and I would like to know more about its real age.
It has a date engraved in its wood: 18/III 07. I assume that this is finishing-date and 18 is ...
10
votes
1answer
171 views
What are the origins of Pakistani laws on “blasphemy?”
Pakistan appears to have draconian laws against "blasphemy" of the Prophet Mohammed, Islam, or the Koran?
...
10
votes
3answers
272 views
Is there any country(former colony) in the world that obtained independence and then again tried to join its colonist ruler?
Is there any country(former colony) in the world that fought for/obtained independence and then again tried to join its colonist ruler?
I guess an African country did so.
Can anyone tell me?
10
votes
3answers
890 views
How was occupied France governed during World War II?
During the occupation of France during World War II, how was the area governed? Specifically, were local governments still allowed and who handled normal police activities? If local Frenchmen did ...
