I know there is 20 year rule and i'm not interested in recent events, what i want to know is history of how Catalonia became part of Spain and when ? Were they an actual independent sovereign country at some point of history ? Which part of their history do they believe gives them right for independence ?

P.S not taking any sides here just interested about facts, cause a lot of people are saying a lot of different things.

P.P.S Re-posting cause title apparently confused some people.

Greetings. I'm curious if anyone knows of a good book or website where I can get in depth data (such as it exists) on the Napoleonic wars. In particular I'm curious about the size of the total armed forces of the French Empire at its height in 1812 (and not just in the Russian theatre).

Cheers.

As I'm studyng now, the Italian army since nearly 1890 (a bit earlier) has been really weak. The only Italian colonies in Africa where Libya, Eritrea and Somalia. They also failed in conquering Abyssinia.

In the First World War, although they won the Battle of Vittorio Veneto they struggled in Caporetto.

Already in the Second World War, Mussolini caused a lot of problems to Hitler due to the incompetence of his army in the North of Africa and other regions.

So why is that Italy's army is/was so weak?

They also do things like only give the actors their own lines so it's harder for the entire script to get out.

Were silent film theaters still common across the U.S. in 1930? 1935? 1940? Were there theater chains or theater owners who resisted the change over to sound for a while after "The Jazz Singer's" success? All those theaters had to install speaker systems and new equipment. Did this happen overnight, or did it take a while?

I asked this about a week ago and didn't get a response. Seeing what this week's theme is, I thought I'd try again. Thanks!

I have read in several places now that wealth in Early Medieval Ireland was shown by giving things away. In particular kings sustained their status by giving food and gold away. How did this work? Where did the food and gold come from for them to give away?

(This is a repost of an earlier unanswered question. I believe this is allowed for under the rules. My apologies if not!)

Didn't they have statues in rome to look at? Weren't they inspired to copy them? If they had the time to carve gargoyles onto cathedrals, couldn't they have copied some classical art?

Or was it thought of as 'sinful' until the renaissance (when, that idea was upturned, for whatever reason)?

I'm a History major studying the Early-Modern and Modern era, so Capitalism and it's origins are of major interest to me. But what exactly are the origins of Capitalism? I've read quite a bit on joint stock companies and things like the East India Company, and it seems like the origins of Capitalism come from monopolies, rather than the liberal (European liberalism) myth that Capitalism arises from free market competition. Does anyone know of any good works on the issue? Also, I've been reading Marx's writings on the Opium war, and he makes an interesting comment that at the bottom of the advocates for free trade, a monopoly is always found- in the 19th century of "free trade". How truly free market was the 19th century? It seems like monopolies dominated more than anything else.

If so, were there mass evacuations? What was the response from the general public?

In the introduction to the 1897 book Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper, or What to Eat and How to Prepare it, it claims:

“We are all greatly dependent upon the state of our digestion. Napoleon could not rise superior to an illy-cooked dinner. Hence his Waterloo. The History of the French Revolution rose and fell with the state of Carlyle’s dyspepsia, and many a tragic episode in family life is superinduced by the baleful influence of a tortured stomach.”

How was Croatia allowed to issue an order sending special forces to Knin, for example, without permission from the overarching Yugoslavian government? I feel like I'm missing something.

I love to learn about Viking history but one area I've not explored extensively is the Great Heathen Army. So what I want to know is anything that can be either confirmed or is highly plausible about the army, such as their battle tactics or nationality of those within the army. Also I've read that the leaders were supposedly the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, but I've also heard he likely wasn't even a single person, so what is actually known about the leaders?

I know its not a commonly accepted theory im just asking to satisfy my curiosity. If this is not an acceptable post I understand if it is removed. Thanks in advance

I know during the Revolutionary War it was a pretty big feat to beat the leading superpower at the time but when did the U.S. really became so influential? Was it before or after Hiroshima?

I’ve been reading more history and I’m a bit perplexed to why Italy wasn’t able to pick up the fragmented pieces of Rome back together on the peninsula again. Why was Italy not a unified Medieval powerhouse?

From my understanding, in the 1300s Italy was one of the most innovative and wealthiest regions in Europe, being the epicenter of the Renaissance. The city states, were extremely wealth and pioneers in finances, capitalism, and trade, for which Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Amalfi are all eternally famous. While leading in technology and art, the region also had the largest, most literate and urbanized population in Europe.

From my understanding their ambassadors and scholars and scientists were sought by courts all around Europe just as were the Greeks and generated prestige for the region.

So with all this, the Alps and Mare Nostrum guarding the peninsula, why did it stay so fragmentized and unable to compete with great powers? Did infighting ruin this?

Was there, and if so why, a weak Italian identity?

Why was Italy consistently subdued by outside forces as long as it was and take until the 19th century to form?

Couldn't the Pope have served as a unifying force for Italy (if not all Catholics in Europe) or did he conflict with local city Aristocracy?

Did he grow up indoors or without milk for some reason? Or why else?