Is it good to learn history using Wikipedia?
4 Answers 2020-07-23
The use of shields in warfare as existed at least since the bronze age, and it became a core element of warfare in all european and asian nations. Besides Japan, I don't know any country or place in the world that had active relations with countries possessing shields and just didn't catch on to it. Maybe I just don't know enough about japanese history but it seems like they've never used shields. Why would they not use them if they had knowledge of its existence? Maybe they focused more on armor, therefore making a shield not necessary? Or is there another reason? Maybe they had shields but I've just never seen them before?
2 Answers 2020-07-23
How much do we know (or how little) of Linear A and how likely is it that we decipher it? I have heard some people say it will never be understood and others say that we should eventually, it's just a complex code at this point.
But is this true? Will we ever learn how to read this language and learn more of the nations that used it?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
1 Answers 2020-07-23
In Ancient Greece, the spear was the main weapon used in warfare, it was easy to produce and "quick" to learn how to use, perfect for armies made of militia and non-carreer soldiers. I don't know much about Roman warfare, especially regarding weaponry and equipment, although it seems more flexible and diverse regarding the types of weaponry, but still had a heavy leaning towards the use of the spear. However by Medieval times the sword seems to have taken a more important role than the spear. What caused the changes of weapon of choice between the Greeks, Romans and Medieval Europeans? What were the reasons for one type of armament being better suited or more useful for a certain time period and situation?
P.S: I'm sorry if the way I wrote this is a confusing, if you want me to clarify something about my question feel free to ask!
1 Answers 2020-07-23
I am referring specifically to the claim by some analysts/historians that it was a false flag operation carried out by the FSB.
1 Answers 2020-07-23
Pretty straight forward question. I know some of the history behind it shares some common factors (such as US involvement). So why did South Vietnam fall while South Korea and Taiwan flourished and remained independent from their Communist counter parts?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
My understanding is during WW2 in the Pacific Theater that an island would be heavily bombed for a few days prior to invasion. However, the bombing was largely ineffective for eliminating ground forces since the Japanese had underground bunkers that were insulated from bombing. Similarly, in Vietnam underground tunnels and bunkers were leveraged. Also, during the Vietnam War bombing served as an early notice that American ground troops would be air-lifted to the area following the bombing event. The Vietnamese could then decided whether to attack or evacuate those areas if they so desired. They could pick their battles.
Clearly bombing is very effective in destroying strategic targets-- like in the European theater, mainland Japan, etc.. But, the military forces in Vietnam could not be destroyed out from arial bombing. It seems like an ineffective strategy.
Why was bombing pursued as a strategy?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
Hi r/AskHistorians! I have a few points of curiosity regarding money in the Japanese Empire, and would deeply appreciate your insight.
If I was a Japanese person with a boatload of money in my Japanese bank accounts in the Japanese mainland, and I travelled to:
How would I be able to access the Yen I had stashed back home, would I be able to? (I suppose this part of the question also broadly extends to "how did banking systems work in a period without the internet?")
And: how did the Japanese Military Currency work?
Any input would be greatly appreciated, I would also love to hear anything more from you about money/purchasing power/economics in the "East" during this period. Thank you so much!
1 Answers 2020-07-23
I’m aware that the “American” accent dates back to the early 18th century, as noted in another thread about British Colonial America and accents. Did any French speakers in New France have any notably different accents from those of their native France?
2 Answers 2020-07-23
Were there any Catholic members of the UDA or UVF? If so, how were they treated? Knowing how both of these paramilitary organizations were protestant and carried out many atrocities against Catholics around Northern Ireland, it seems very unlikely that there were any Catholic members.
1 Answers 2020-07-23
News coverage of the spray painting of a memorial to the 14th SS Division in Oakville Ontario has created interest across the country in why monuments like this exist?
Other questions include:
Is this a form of Holocaust denial by Nazi-collaborators?
Ukrainian immigrants to Canada who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th century tend to be associated with the Canadian Left and Prairie Socialism, did this political demographic change in the aftermath of WW2?
2 Answers 2020-07-23
Would they have rotating crews? Would they stop mid-ocean, or is such a feat impossible. If, perhaps, most would go to sleep (leaving a skeleton crew up top, I'm sure) in what condition would the ship be left in case of a mid-night emergency? Was there a night-captain of sorts, or someone who would ymtake the lead? Any other neat information you might think applies here?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
So, I studied this for a single semester in college, and ended with a research paper that had a conclusion I will share if anyone asks, but, tbh, I was a dumb sophomore, and while my sources are good, looking back on it now, I question my thought process and methodology. So, I was hoping to get some perspectives from someone who studied the subject for a bit longer. Simone Bolivar actively modeled himself as a Washington of the South, and his Gran Colombia was meant to be to South America what the USA was to North America. However, while Washington founded a nation that would grow to command first a continent, then a hemisphere, and eventually most of the world, Bolivar's Gran Colombia did not even outlive its founder. Bolivar is quoted as saying, "All who have served the Revolution have plowed the sea," but is that true? Why did the South American Revolution fail to create a United Nation of States where the North American Revolution succeeded?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
I'm watching Back to the Future 3 with my mom and she made a comment about how strange it is that the Americas didn't have domesticated horses until colonisation. Is this true? My gut is that that might be a pretty colonial and deterritorialising assumption to make, along the lines of "European settlers brought civilisation with them.'
1 Answers 2020-07-23
Thursday Reading and Recommendations is intended as bookish free-for-all, for the discussion and recommendation of all books historical, or tangentially so. Suggested topics include, but are by no means limited to:
Asking for book recommendations on specific topics or periods of history
Newly published books and articles you're dying to read
Recent book releases, old book reviews, reading recommendations, or just talking about what you're reading now
Historiographical discussions, debates, and disputes
...And so on!
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion of history and books, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
6 Answers 2020-07-23
Basically just the title, the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne led to the unification of the two kingdoms. Why did the same thing not occur with William of Orange/William III?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
For a bit of context, there was a big debate in my dnd group about portrayal of clothes and that got me researching clothing from different people in history. Being Portuguese I decided to research the pre Roman population of Iberia but everything I found was a bit vague.
1 Answers 2020-07-23
I am curious about this because it was one of the most controversial wars in US history, there was a draft, many people opposed it, left-wing politics became more widespread during the 60's/70's, 23% of combat troops in Vietnam were black and there was a lot of racism, etc. I am wondering if there were any American soldiers who were sympathetic towards the plight of the Viet Cong, and either went awol in Vietnam or full on defected and joined the Viet Cong. Maybe this is a dumb question, but I feel like I have to ask because it wouldn't surprise me if such things had happened during this time. If there are no records of such things taking place, why didn't this happen?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
Hi all! My name is Ed Roberts and I'm a lecturer in early medieval history in the School of History and Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK). My research focuses on later Carolingian and Ottonian Europe, and I'm the author of Flodoard of Rheims and the Writing of History in the Tenth Century.
This is a book about historiography, in every sense of the word - how history was perceived and written in the tenth century, and how subsequent historians have approached and understood that period in the light of its surviving narrative sources. Flodoard, one of the period's rare chroniclers, has traditionally been read as a passive observer of a "darkening" tenth century in which political authority disintegrated and religious standards collapsed. I argue that we have been too ready to take Flodoard at his word. He was in fact a very discerning author who crafted quite deliberate narratives of his time. Bad things happened to him and his community of clerics in Rheims; he was pessimistic about his own day and nostalgic for an imagined idyllic past. In offering a corrective to misapprehensions of Flodoard and his works, I suggest that the West Frankish (French) political community of the earlier tenth century was not the morass of violent conflict it has long been portrayed as, and that the period was far more culturally innovative than has tended to be recognised. You can read a bit more about why I wrote the book here.
I'm happy to chat about anything related to the history of Western Europe in the tenth century, or indeed the early Middle Ages up to c.1100. I've also researched and published on early medieval legal practice, including legal documents (charters), literacy and languages (i.e. Latin and the vernaculars), and canon law (esp. the Pseudo-Isidorian forgeries). My current research looks at bishops from c.900-c.1100, asking how redefinitions of what it meant to be a bishop contributed to the triumph of the "reform papacy" and the "Gregorian revolution" in the late eleventh century.
I'm also interested in digital humanities and public history. I helped build Charlemagne's Europe, a database of charters from the reign of Charlemagne (768-814), and lately I've begun incorporating Wikipedia editing into my teaching and asking my students to think about the powerful role it now plays in the dissemination of historical knowledge.
You can also find me on Twitter @e_c_roberts. I'll be here from 3pm BST (10am EDT) until at least 7pm, and I'll do my best to answer your questions!
EDIT: It's coming up to 9pm here and I'm going to have to call it a day for now! Thank you so much for so many excellent questions. There are a lot more here that I'd really like to answer, so I promise I'll return tomorrow and in the coming days to answer more (some of my answers might have been a little long, apologies!) and to check for follow-ups. Once again, many thanks, and I hope you enjoyed reading my responses!
101 Answers 2020-07-23
What kind of influence did the "Red Scare" have on school curriculum in the US during the 50s, 60s and 70s? Were there institutionalized operations to promote"anti-communism" in schools?
Were there state or national standards schools were expected to adhere to? If so, who were the authorities deciding the curriculum?
What publishing companies were creating the most popular text books of the time? Is there evidence that the Federal government may have been influencing the content of those text books?
1 Answers 2020-07-23
1 Answers 2020-07-23
Why was Tsarina Alexandra so hated for being German, and why was their marriage so controversial? Nicholas' mother was from the Danish royal family, but at the time the Danish royal family was of primarily German descent, and his paternal grandmother was German as well, his paternal grandfather had a German mother, and so on. Why was it such a big deal when Russian-German marriage had been going on for centuries?
2 Answers 2020-07-23