The topic of Russian sanctions has been coming up in the news a lot recently, and a common talking point is that Europe can't enact total sanctions because they rely on Russia for their natural gas. How did they get around this during the Cold War? I can't imagine the Soviet Union was trading with NATO.

I recently listened to a 'In the Past Lane' podcast about African American soldiers in the Civil War, and the historian interviewed by the host seemed annoyed that the United States is referred to via a myriad of names (North/Union/Federals/etc) rather than the US in Civil War history, and I've been wondering the same question myself for years. Is there a reason? And is there a movement to change this? Thanks.

... especially at a time when it was really rare to attend college for ordinary citizens

I am looking for any and all information regarding the Canary Islands and its people. From the time of the Guanches up until the Spanish arrived. Book and article recommendations are welcome too, thank you

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I'm asking this question because I'm confused as to why the Ottoman's never had any major intellectual center that they were renowned for, or did they and I simply don't know about? how come during the renaissance, the scientific revolution, and the age of enlightenment, a lot of the knowledge being produced in Europe was not taking root in the Ottoman Empire? I might just be ignorant, but I don't recall a sort of Islamic renaissance or period of scientific development taking place in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans definitely seemed to have had the potential for opening a prominent intellectual center as they were definitely incredibly wealthy, and opening such a center in Istanbul would have increased the prestige of the Ottomans, but why didn't they?

I remember reading that the Ottomans did have a palace school, where students were given a fantastic education, but upon graduation, a lot of these students had to serve in the administration, I don't think any of them had the opportunity to become scholars or teachers and expand upon the ideas they were taught at this school. I do remember watching an extra credit's video where they talk about the lies and mistakes they made in their video series about Suleiman The Magnificent. If I recall correctly, they said that the status of education in the Ottoman empire was far better then the status of education in many parts of Europe.

So, I guess my question is also tied into what the status of the Ottoman education system itself was, and how it developed over time. So, to conclude, why didn't the Ottoman's have a grand intellectual center that they were renowned for?

edit: grammar and certain words

Why did Charles IX not marry Mary after his brother's death? If the marriage was advantageous for France when Francis was king, would it not be for Charles as well? She was Queen of Scotland with a claim to the English throne, as well as being his brother's widow -- both seem legitimate reasons to marry her. Some sources I've seen question whether Mary and Francis even consummated their marriage, so it seems like lack of virginity wasn't the issue. I've done some reading and can't find anything to indicate this match was even discussed. Does anyone know why?

I'm looking for something other than The Inheritance of Rome that's a straight-up history of post-roman Western European history. I'm having a particularly difficult time finding something. Thanks.

I was wondering with the many different types of traditional martial arts you know karate Kung fu wing chin that are for the most part ineffective when did they become like that is their a historical reason why they become more for show?

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I was watching a HowItsMade video about tempering steel to make it harden and it made me wonder how people discovered how to do things like smelting and tempering.

I came across “A Noble Cause? America and the Vietnam War” by Gerard J. Degroot and I’d like to read it, but it was published in 2000. Has enough changed in 18 years to render this book irrelevant?

When early European settlers/explorers arrived in the Americas, the pathogens they brought with them and the impact those diseases had on the Native Americans was devastating (and pretty well documented). Why didn’t Native Americans spread diseases to Europeans that they had never been exposed to?

What was the public opinion of the Spartan soldiers who were maimed, paralyzed, or hobbled in war in some way that made them unable to continue performing as a soldier? We're they admired or viewed as a burden or something between? What sort of employment could they expect after becoming disabled?

Continuing a reading group, one of our members is heading to Croatia soon and would like to read up about the political history of the Balkans. Given that as a reading group we've read a lot of leftist/marxist political history up to this point, it'd be cool to continue along this vein. Any suggestions?

I know for example that in Alexander the Great's Battle of Gaugamela, he only knew his left flank was losing due to a messenger. If I'm not mistaken, battles in that time could have huge battle lines stretching for kilometres maybe. How would an army communicate within itself in the middle of all the fighting and screaming, and still remain organized?

Speaking for example of Pliny's letters (assuming they were typical), how and by whom were the letters first transcribed? I assume that Pliny had someone copy each letter before he sent it? Afterwards, where and how were the letters preserved? Were they published in some way, or was there only one copy of them until they began to be copied in the post-Roman period (by monks, I assume)? Were they in a library? In a box of manuscripts? Is there some way to trace the entire history of a typical letter?

Hello there. It's probably a dumb question, but it's riddling me a lot. Has the famous explorer Amerigo Vespucci got into the current state of Maine? Thanks a lot for the answer!

All ottoman sultans were girded with the sword as a ceremony of their coronation The last sultan, Mehmet VI even allowed the ceremony to be filmed

After some research, I cannot find what happened to the sword after the dissolution of the ottoman caliphate and sultanate... So what happened to it? Was it destroyed? In a museum or mosque somewhere