Hi there, I am currently doing a history MA and I struggle with conveying ideas in writing. Is there anything I can do to improve this? I feel exhausted with the amount of effort I have to put in just to achieve an average mark. It is incredibly frustrating as I know I am capable of more. Are there any books or tips to help me?

I have heard of the use of fire ships in naval warfare in East Asia in antiquity. I just came across the Dutch 'Hellburners', which reminded me of those. How are the two different, and were the Dutch influenced by previous designs?

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Napoléon’s exile to the island of Elba ended terribly for the coalition as he escaped and then retook France fairly easily. Why not just off him when they had the chance?

I have always thought that all of the art made during those times were utilitarian in the sense that they were made just to look pretty. Were there any artworks in the middle ages that used context rather content to convey it's message, like a lot of art nowadays does by putting ordinary or ugly things on a pedestal?

I love postmodernism, Dadaism, surrealism etc. And I'd love to know more about those kinds of artworks in those times were art was more traditional.

EDIT: Now that I think about my title I think it may have been a bit badly worded. A better title would be: To what extent instead of did X exist.

I know South Carolina seceded in 1860, so things were building up beforehand. What I mean is, did the emancipation of the serfs in Russia cause any anxiety that might have contributed to the escalation of the conflict over slavery in the US?

As an American, I had always heard that the primary reason for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was the idea that it would be a bloodbath invading the country with no idea of when they'd surrender. But in a recent visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the only two reasons they had listed were justifying the cost of the Manhatten project and ending the war quicker to prevent the spread of Russian influence, with no mention of the what I had learned.

Is there a general consensus on the primary reason for the bomb drops, or like many things in history, is it a hodgepodge of reasons with each country leaning towards the reasons that are more favorable to their argument?

Just watch ken burns Vietnam and it says that during the LBJ era peace talks, There were 4 members (Hanoi, Vietcong, American backed south Vietnam and America). Leading to a controversy over seating when America wanted Hanoi and the Vietcong sitting together.

Weren’t they one and the same?

I have learnt of the Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming, and Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas but both seem like fairly long reads. Is there a single book by some historian that is somewhat shorter but containing both the histories of the Spanish conquests of Americas sufficient to whet my curiosity, even if reduced in details?

During, let’s say the 1800s, how long did typical ship journeys take? Let’s say you were going from the UK to India, or Ireland, or America. How long would each of those journeys take? Does it depend on the boat type, or the season, etc.?

More specifically about Oviedo, Henry Sinclair, Zichmni, Didrik Pining and Hans Pothorst.

The story goes like this. Russian Archaeologist in Mid June, 1941 were excavating a old tomb or something of one of Genghis Khan's sons. After a bit of digging they discovered his final burial spot. They dig it up, take the body and leave the sight. Just as they are about the exit the sight, they read an inscription above the door. It reads something like "Whoever disturbs my rest will unleash and enemy greater then I." They don't really care though and they take the body. Three days after they leave with the body, German invades. They keep the body but were kinda freaked out when they found out about the invasion. Germany kept pushing and the farther they got, the more they got scared. Eventually in late January they all finally agreed to bring the body back, They get to the sight and place the body there. 2 days after they place the body back, Russia wins the battle of Stalingrad.

I have no idea where I heard this story from or if it is even true. If it is, nice, great creepy story I can scare kids with. If not then still cool story. If anyone know anything about this, that would be amazing. Ill answer any questions you have about it to the best of my ability.

P.S. I am currently going to college to get my masters in history (Thank god its not English) and try to reserch every little story I hear. History is my huge passion but this one has got me stumped...

                                                                                                                   -Thank you, TheSleepyAmerican

This is my first time posting here, and I know specificity is important, so if the question is too vague, here is a more specific one.

What is the first piece of writing to reference a past human event?

Recently I've gotten quite interested in the Germanic peoples during the Classical Antiquity, particularly their general lifestyle, social hierarchy and their relations with the Greek city-states and Roman republic and empire. What are some reliable books I could read for more information on the topic? Thanks in advance.

I understand that the collapse of the unified tax structure in the West Roman Empire had a huge importance in breaking the sustain lines of the late roman army, but still, 15k is almost nothing compared to the scale of the warfare in 420AD. Couldn't the Eastern empire summon a force to match less than a twentieth of the size of their power a few generations back?

Even if we split 350k between East and West, how come Visigothic Spain could not raise an army 1/10 of the power of the late West?