1 Answers 2022-09-02
Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
6 Answers 2022-09-02
I suppose the threshold question is "was Anarchism disproportionately attractive to Italians around the turn of the century," but anecdotally, I feel like I've heard far more about Italian or Italian-American anarchists than, say, socialists or communists.
What about the ideology was specifically attractive to people of Italian extraction, or, in the alternative, why was/is Italian anarchy given such a prominent place in the popular understanding of early 20th century social movements?
2 Answers 2022-09-02
As far as i understand it, in the Conference of Villafranca, Napoleon III didn't consult Piedmont-Sardinia. Wouldn't disregarding the Piedmontese in the peace treaty void the terms of the defensive alliance?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
1 Answers 2022-09-02
In Western Europe during the 17th century (I’m mostly curious about the 30 years war) how did the pikemen fight in smaller groups away from the battlefield? Like if two small foraging parties clashed. Would even just a few pikemen stand side by side to fight with their pikes? Or did they use smaller weapons like swords and knives, and leave the pikes for larger set piece battles?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
I'm currently working on my writing exam for this semester course about the Atlantic slave trade, I'm trying to do a research question of something along the lines of how did the Communist government of Cuba remember slavery what was the kind of way they put it into their world-view then I found this monument but only a handful of pictures of it and not even exact data where it is standing nor any history behind it like who built it who designed and ordered it, nothing. So if anybody here has expertise in Caribbean history, especially middle 20th century Cuban history well then I could really use your help, a big thanks in advance, also book recommendation are much appreciated since I've also been really struggling to find any literature on the topic
1 Answers 2022-09-02
In many historic subreddits its a recurring meme, that of the 10 bloodiest wars in history, like 5 or so are Chinese civil wars. Do modern historians disregard these numbers widely or are the regarded are somewhat plausible?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
I assume that if he really did found the (or a) navy, then it was to stop the Danes/Vikings from invading? If so, how would they have gone about it?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
This ask is partially inspired by this scene in The Patriot. When musket techniques are discussed, it's usually in the context of war, where both sides can be expected to bring a lot of men, and where firing in volleys was critical to the effectiveness of this weapon. But what about in scenarios where there was a very small number of combatants (say 5 or less on either side) and the fighting took place at close distance? Urban conflicts or law enforcement, for example. How did they use muzzle-loading weapons?
I'm mostly curious about the United States and Europe in the late 1700s to early 1800s, but if other examples better provide an answer I'm fine with that too.
1 Answers 2022-09-02
1 Answers 2022-09-02
I've wondered this ever since I first learned that various lynchings or race riots were supposedly sparked or driven by claims that a black man had raped a white woman or girl. And about that -- which came first? Did a claim of rape then lead to or spark violence? Or did the desire to commit some violence come first, and then the claim of rape came up as pretext?
Who was it that typically made the claim that rape had occurred? The alleged victim? Male relatives? Local leaders of the community?
What did the community generally think had happened? That it was rape and it had happened? That it was just an excuse for lynching/violence? That it was a lie to cover up a consensual relationship between a white woman and black man?
Did the woman want the claim or rumor of an interracial rape to be public, to spread among the community? Or did she (or relatives) want it to be kept private? Did the woman ever refuse to go along with the story? Did it even matter what she said?
How was the alleged victim's reputation impacted? Did it lower her reputation? Did it "save" her reputation? Did it ever elevate her reputation?
Was the woman seen as an innocent victim, still honorable? Was she seen as somewhat responsible? Was she treated as "damaged goods"? Did it impact her marriage prospects? If the woman had been assumed to be a virgin prior to the alleged rape, what then? Was it assumed that the woman was still a virgin, that the rape claim being false? Or was it assumed she was no longer a virgin, that the rape claim was either true or that the claim was a cover up of a consensual relationship?
How was the issue of pregnancy dealt with if sexual intercourse had in fact occurred (whether consensual or non-consensual)?
Do we know how people (particularly women) felt about the difference in the way accusations of rape were treated when a white man was claimed to be the perpetrator vs. when a black man was claimed to be the perpetrator?
After retribution had been dealt, was it still maintained (by the community, by the men, by the woman) that the claim was true, that rape had occurred?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
For those unaware, Tik Tok’r Pawn Man released a video this week claiming someone asked him to sell a book with never-before-seen photos of the Nanking Massacre. Link
The video went viral and has created a wave of interest in China. link
In the original video, he shows some photos from the book that show the photographers travels and provides context, but he stops short of showing any of the “shocking” photos. It all felt a little bit like clickbait which made me skeptical.
He just posted an update on Twitter Link and the photos seem to be a let down.
So my question: Based on the context, do you think the photos are authentic? If they are, how should they be handled?
And, why is this causing such a stir? Is the Nanking downplayed in western education? Was there an actual effort to suppress the stories of the massacre.
Also, what actually happened in Nanking and why?
2 Answers 2022-09-02
There's lots of information on the tools used, the technological end. But I'm interested in the more social end. Property, social relations.
Who owned the mines? Did landlords oversea the organization of the mines themselves, or leave that to their tenants?
What was the relation of the workers? Were they paid wages? Did they lease the right to mine?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
In the napoleonic wars, you often hear about light, skirmish troops, and heavier, line infantry. What made these line troops “heavier” than the skirmish troops since armor wasn’t really used by infantry?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
Was there any sort of social safety net provided for the ? What about in other time periods?
1 Answers 2022-09-02
As a disabled person in the United States, I've always struggled to understand a very real fact: With very few exceptions everyone who applies for the Disability program in the USA is denied the 1st time they apply.
In fact, only 43% of applicants seems to make it into the program at all, often after years of appeals (1.2% declare bankruptcy they can never escape & 1.3%, roughly a thousand people a year, die in the waiting process; those numbers increases the more people apply).*
I've tried looking for podcasts, videos, and articles to find out who, but to no avail. I've read A Disability History of the United States, and even written the author (Kim Nielsen, a very nice person), but I can't seem to find the answer to who started it, or at the very least who established the pseudo-tradition.
Like, some human, at some point, set the pattern into place, and X number of years later something like 10,000 people died between 2008 & 2019 because of it. In part because "that's just what we've always done". But, given the way history (and organizations started by the government) seem to work someone had to be involved. Someone had to be the first person to deny a disabled person the right to live; someone had to write the by laws they followed; someone had to set the precedent which became the common practice.
And I want to find out who. And when. And how they did it; like how the rules for denial were created. The "why" is pretty obvious ("funding", eugenics, ableism, puritanicalism, etc), but if it's not obvious, I would love to know what it was. I would really like to have a specific face to point to when people me ask "Why is the Disability system so messed up in America?"
I've posted this before but they said I needed to ask more than who; I'd just assumed by explaining who, other unasked questions were implied such as "how did a person come to think denying the disabled aid was a correct thing to do". Then they said my header wasn't right. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm.
Please & thank you.
1 Answers 2022-09-02
As far as I'm aware, most- if not all- fascist totalitarian regimes had some sort of an "out group" as per the ideology. (eg Nazi Germany and Jewish ppl) Secondly, I know that one of the main goals of Mussolini's Italy was to "rebuild the Glory of Rome", so that may also play into the answer??
I do know the basic premise of fascism in theory, being all within the state, but for a regime to rise to that level of totalitarian power there needs to be some enemy.
1 Answers 2022-09-02
1 Answers 2022-09-01
Most if not all the European colonial empires had Germanic roots.
It might be far fetched, but perhaps ancient Germanic culture had traditions of conquering, subjugating, enslaving, pillaging, etc. and these traditions would later manifest into colonialism for Europeans. It wasn't simply a struggle for resources.
Other similar cultures were steppe nomads, various Native American tribes like the Aztec, and possibly the Japanese.
I am not claiming that Germans inherently want to conquer, but I noticed this connection, and I simply wonder if there is any truth to it.
Thank you!
1 Answers 2022-09-01
As many know, the cleanup of WW1 is still an ongoing process, with tons of munitions still being found or defused every year. The area that contained the main Western Front battlefields contains the Zone Rouge (Red Zone), and in some places is still off-limits because of the dangers there.
When the Germans invaded the area again in 1940, and then the subsequent allied push following the Normandy landings in 1944, did the armies ever go through the Somme, Ypres, Verdun, or any other major WW1 battlefield? Did it effect them in any way either because of the warped terrain, unexploded ordnance, or residual chemicals left by the gas shells?
1 Answers 2022-09-01
I’m reading through Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey-Maturin series (again), and I am a bit struck by the difference between the Royal Navy and the British Army of the time period.
The Navy had the Admiralty that directed their operations and coordinated an overall strategy.
But everything I know of the British Army in the Napoleonic era makes it seem like it is just a bunch of independent formations under some Lord or Duke or Earl who bought their command and just went around doing whatever the senior local commander thought was the best way to annoy the French.
Was there any sort of centralized leadership for the British Army that coordinated some sort of grand strategy?
2 Answers 2022-09-01
Edit: Thank you for the awards and interest in the question. I’ve woken up to so many interesting threads I can’t wait to read.
39 Answers 2022-09-01
I’m a high school student trying to write an essay/article about the history of African hairstyles (locs, braids, cornrows, etc). I want to include a section about the history and significance of these hairstyles, and then transition into explaining how slavery, Jim Crow, and other eras in western society and internalized racism have influenced the stigma around embracing one’s heritage by wearing such styles. Does anyone know some sources I can use for research for both sides of this topic?
P.S. I heard a story about why locs are called dreadlocks: Europeans were at war with Kenyan soldiers, and associated their hair with dread because of the battles. Does anyone know how true this is?
1 Answers 2022-09-01
If you were placed in the Soviet penal battalion(Shtrafbat) in WW2, were you ever able to get out of the battalion to join in the normal forces, if so, did this happen often and what made it happen?
1 Answers 2022-09-01
