52
votes
15answers
5k views
Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
This has always bothered me. Everyone knows that having to fight on two opposite fronts at once is bad... and it's also a well known fact that every European country which tried to invade Russia has ...
39
votes
8answers
984 views
Why China was able to unify and not Europe
If you look at a map of China through the ages, you will usually find (from about the Han up) a huge mass representing China. On the other hand, you look at a map of Europe, and you'll usually see a ...
35
votes
8answers
3k views
Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
Japan and the Soviet Union shared a common border in Manchuria and the German invasion of the Soviet Union weakened the Soviets greatly. In view of the advantages to Japan in seeing the Soviet Union ...
31
votes
7answers
774 views
History of scientific regression
Throughout history, humans have made many subtle and many substantial scientific advancements. Humans have explored, examined, learned, applied and at times seemingly "forgotten" and/or were unable ...
31
votes
3answers
3k views
Why did Canada not join the American Revolution?
America declared independence from Britain and fought a war of independence. Several states joined the fight, however, Canada remained British. Why did the American rebellion and war of independence ...
30
votes
5answers
2k views
Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
One thing that I always wondered is during the time where European powers were dividing up the world amongst themselves (1500-1900 roughly), why was it that Africa seemed to lag behind in ...
30
votes
2answers
2k views
How did Israel win the Six-Day War?
Considering Israel fought several Arab countries, which had troops largely outnumbering the Israeli, how did they manage to win the war decisively, with much fewer casualties than the Arab countries?
...
28
votes
3answers
900 views
Is there any proof that Robin Hood existed?
Is there any written proof/documentation that Robin Hood ever existed? Did he ever get arrested and got his name written in the prison books or something like that?
28
votes
6answers
9k views
Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse but not the Eastern Roman Empire?
There were several crises in the “late” Roman Empire.
For once, the crisis of the Republic, which resulted in the creation of Principat and later Dominat. This crisis may be related to the fact that ...
27
votes
2answers
589 views
What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
I know that wheat, barley, rye, onions, lettuce-like plants and turnips were common but how common were other things like meat or cheese? I've heard the "plowman's lunch" was a concoction of the dairy ...
26
votes
7answers
2k views
Why did Hitler declare war on the USA?
Since there had not been any offensives launched by either side against the other, why declare war just because Japan had attacked the USA?
26
votes
4answers
2k views
Why did Chamberlain act to appease Hitler leading up to the outbreak of World War 2?
There are accounts that British Prime Minister Chamberlain sought to appease Hitler because he just didn't want Britain involved in a war at that time. Others also argue that Chamberlain was naive and ...
26
votes
7answers
1k views
When were swords last used in European warfare?
Specifically, I'm interested in the last documented occurrence of swords (of any sort) being used as a primary weapon by infantrymen or cavalrymen in Western warfare. That is, when did any European or ...
26
votes
4answers
806 views
Why are many African nations poor?
Many African countries are currently in the bottom parts of socioeconomic rankings like GDP per capita, life expectancy, literacy, HDI, etc. Some of them possess a decent amount of natural resources ...
26
votes
5answers
2k views
Which came first: Polytheism or monotheism?
It seems a common position that monotheism tends to evolve out of polytheism. Wikipedia offers a few historical examples of this.
However, many polytheistic religions seem to have monotheistic ...
26
votes
2answers
389 views
How accurate or supported is Jared Diamond's “Guns, Germs, and Steel”?
Jared Diamond wrote a fascinating book that purports to explain, in a very broad way, the development of civilization. It has several explanations for the development of Eurasian civilization rather ...
25
votes
5answers
612 views
What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
Assuming they started at the same point (maybe the split of the continents or the migration of the first "Native Americans" to the American continent), why did the Old World end up developing faster? ...
25
votes
6answers
511 views
At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?
I've heard various arguments that the Byzantines were dealt the mortal wound at Manzikert in 1071 which allowed the Turks to claim most of Anatolia and set the stage for the later sacking of ...
25
votes
5answers
1k views
How did people travel to remote islands like Easter Island?
Easter Island is extremely remote, being thousands of kilometers from its nearest neighbor. How did people get there safely, and how did they even know it was there?
25
votes
1answer
789 views
Why does German money from the 1940s not bear Nazi symbols?
I have a 5-mark German banknote (I think from 1941 or 1942), looking exactly like this:
I am curious why the banknote not only does not bear a portrait of Hitler, but doesn't include any German state ...
25
votes
0answers
260 views
Were well-connected Germans able to park their sons in Norway during WWII?
Reading Antony Beevor's "The Second World War" he makes the point several times that a peculiar obsession of Hitler's was the defence of Norway and that there were close to half a million German ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
One of the common reasons given for the Renaissance and the subsequent scientific revolution is the rediscovery of classical works by scholars in Europe and the social change that the study of those ...
24
votes
2answers
1k views
Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?
One thing that comes up often when discussing "what-ifs" with family or friends is why the British government never nabbed Alaska when Russia had placed it up for sale and made it into Canada's fourth ...
24
votes
4answers
622 views
Are there confirmed cases where a country changed its language without being conquered?
I thought about this question and wondered: Are there any known cases where a country switched to a different language other than because of being conquered? If some country ever did this I would be ...
24
votes
5answers
375 views
Did the communication lag become a problem for the ever expanding Roman Empire?
There is a dispute among historians over whether the Roman Empire collapsed because of its increasing size and system-imminent flaws which were not suited for this size. The bigger the territory, the ...
24
votes
2answers
511 views
No speed limit on German highways - why?
I wonder what are the historical circumstances that led to lack of speed limit on German federal Autobahn network. There is an advisory 130 km/h limit, but it is not mandatory one nor obeyed ...
23
votes
3answers
922 views
Has Britain's 1940 invasion of Iceland been downplayed by historians?
On the face of it Operation Fork (Britain's invasion of Iceland in 1940) wasn't so terribly different from Germany's territorial landgrabs in 1939 and 1940.
Britain and her allies will have ...
22
votes
2answers
1k views
Why did the French sell Louisiana?
Why did an imperialistic country like France (at that time) sell a territory so large for so cheap? Was it an important region at the time? I heard that the port of New Orleans was particularly ...
22
votes
7answers
3k views
Was the secession of the Confederate states illegal?
Putting aside their reasons for wanting to do so and all the emotional responses they would provoke, was the secession of states from the Union to eventually form the Confederacy an illegal act in ...
22
votes
3answers
538 views
Why the Romans were unable to conquer Germania?
Emperor Augustus ordered his army to subdue the Germanic tribes in what is modern Germany. This was promptly achieved and by 6 AD the Romans controlled Germany up to the river Elba.
The Romans were ...
22
votes
4answers
226 views
What Factors Have Led to the Duration of US Copyrights Continuously Increasing?
The below image shows how the duration of US copyright laws has increased to 4x what it was originally. Is there a reason that copyright duration has only been extended in the US? What are the ...
21
votes
4answers
2k views
What language(s) were spoken within the Holy Roman Empire?
What language(s) were considered the primary language for the Holy Roman Empire? Were there many different languages spoken due to the many different regions?
21
votes
2answers
1k views
What was with the “poofy” pants found in various military uniforms?
I've often wondered why do various uniforms have those "poofs" on the outsides of the legs just above the knee? Was there a particular purpose to this, or a practical reason, or was it just the result ...
21
votes
5answers
543 views
When did the practice of formally “declaring war” cease and why?
Here's a detailed description of ambassador Neville Henderson being received by the foreign ministry in Berlin in 1939. Perhaps the most famous example.
He came in looking very serious, shook ...
21
votes
2answers
487 views
What is the origin of the “wheat and chessboard” legend?
The "wheat and chessboard" fable describes a geometric problem that is often quoted in stories about the invention of chess. According to Wikipedia, the main theme of the fable is:
When the ...
21
votes
1answer
620 views
What knowledge may have been lost at the Library of Alexandria?
Of course we'll never know for sure, but do historians have some reasonable ideas about what knowledge may have been lost at the Library of Serapeum of Alexandria, when it was destroyed by the Decree ...
20
votes
5answers
921 views
What was the purpose of Nazi extermination camps?
Why did they spend money and effort to build the infrastructure and organization, collect, transport and house the prisoners while execution on the spot would presumably be easier and less costly? I'm ...
20
votes
4answers
889 views
Why didn't France and UK invade Germany September 3rd 1939?
On September 3rd 1939, when UK and France declared war on Germany, both ordinary Polish people and government officials became enthusiastic. There were spontaneous demonstrations of support for the ...
20
votes
5answers
6k views
Why is Christopher Columbus credited for “discovering” America?
Even if we ignore the millions of native Americans who lived in the continent before Columbus "discovered" it, even if we ignore other civilizations (eg: Polynesians, Phoenicians, Chinese, Arabs, ...
20
votes
1answer
445 views
How beneficial were war bonds to the US during WWII
I've been watching classic cartoon shorts from Disney and Warner Brothers. So many devoted time to encouraging Americans to buy war bonds.
Did money collected from war bonds amount to a significant ...
20
votes
1answer
241 views
Did Archery evolve independently on separate continents?
Is there evidence that early civilizations across the world discovered archery independently from one another (like Native Americans, Europeans and Africans)? Or can the technology be traced back to a ...
20
votes
1answer
470 views
Did the end of the British Raj in India create an economic loss for Britain?
I know the economic downturn of the World War and the victory of the Labour Party played some role in Britain deciding to quit India. Did GB have any serious economic implications because of this? ...
19
votes
6answers
319 views
Why didn't the silk road run north of the Black Sea?
I have read many times that the only way for Europeans to get to China, or vice versa, was through Anatolia and Persia. This gave Istanbul an advantage in throttling trade, as well as Mesopotamia and ...
19
votes
6answers
358 views
Besides Magna Carta and general decentralization, what specifically led to democratization in England?
In England, the gradual weakening of the central government (starting with the Magna Carta), and the gradual rights given to nobility slowly pushed England to a democratic form of government. Yet in ...
19
votes
2answers
392 views
When and where did socks become common?
To be clear, I mean the socks you wear on your feet, to insulate you form your shoes/boots/other footwear.
By common, I mean easily available to the masses, rather than just to the rich.
19
votes
3answers
2k views
Why did China shut itself out of the world in the 15th century?
After a period of maritime explorations (see Zheng He) in the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty started shutting the Middle Kingdom out of the rest of the world. This of course continued with the ...
19
votes
1answer
561 views
Third Reich? What were the other two?
Nazi Germany is widely called the Third Reich. But what were the First and Second Reich then?
19
votes
2answers
285 views
Why did the USSR give Crimea to Ukraine?
In 1954 Soviets transferred Crimea from Russian Soviet Republic to Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
Why is this strange?
The whole act, at least officially, was meant to be "a gift", a token of ...
18
votes
10answers
964 views
Have fair-skinned peoples ever been the lower/oppressed class?
In many societies around the globe today we see that the darker skinned peoples are generally of a lower social status than the fair skinned peoples of the same area, or that fair skin is considered ...
18
votes
2answers
431 views
Where did the Romans store their cash?
In the era before banking was invented, where did wealthy Romans store their cash? The emperor probably could store it somewhere in the imperial palace thanks to the Praetorian guard, but what about ...
