I'm not sure if it's spelled right, but that's what it sounds like. It seems like the stereotypical opera lyric where that's what's always sung if someone or a character in a work wants to sing in an opera style. What are its origins and why did it catch on? Thanks.

Hello everyone,

With the recent death of Fidel Castro, we have noticed a decided uptick in questions related to him, the Cuban Revolution, and Cuba in general. As we have done a few times in the past for topics that have arrived suddenly, and caused a high number of questions, we decided that creating a Megathread to "corral" them all into one place would be useful to allow people interested in the topic a one-stop thread for it.

As with previous Megathreads, keep in mind that like an AMA, top level posts should be questions in their own right. However, we do not have a dedicated panel, so anyone can answer the questions, as long as that answer meets our standards of course! Do be particularly mindful of the rules against discussing current events, and basing answers on opinion/impressions.

Thank you!

edit: A quick request for patience in getting replies here today, folks! It's Thanksgiving weekend in the USA, and as a result, many of the flairs and other expert users are offline or otherwise incapacitated by tryptophan today. They'll be back! :)

From Russia, Moscow to Vladivostok, remained in one piece to eventually become part of the Soviet Union. How?

How was the new government able to get control of such a huge area in such a short time? Did they lose and later regain control of parts of siberia or elsewhere?

I am having a hard time understanding how the germans were living during the cold war. Was the east side really that bad? And if so, why? Which mordern countries is cold war Germany comparable with?

It might be worth expanding this out to slave-soldiers in general, but I'm struggling to understand why Mamluks and Janissaries were so loyal, trusted and influential. It pares with my understanding of slavery - it's remarkably different from anything I've seen in a Western context.

1. why were these slave soldiers treated so well, and given so much responsibility? WERE they treated well, or is that a superficial reading of history?

2. were middle-eastern attitudes towards slavery notably different from those in Europe and the Americas?

3. if so, were these attitudes exclusive to the middle-east?

thanks in advance :)

I've seen a few conflicting answers and wanted clarification.

It's a horrible question from a horrible train of thought, but why did the colonies import slaves from a continent thousands of miles away when their was a large population of Native Americans nearby?

If I remember correctly, Christopher Columbus attempted to do just that. About the Arawaks he said "They... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned.... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.... They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."

It seems much cheaper to just take from the tribal populations the colonists were already decimating off and on. Historically, human life was considered the spoils of war from the Romans to the Spanish conquest of Latin America. What am I missing here?

His regnal title (at least in English) doesn't have any mention of arch-king. Is this a fabrication of EU4, or a true title used by the leaders of the Kalmar Union?

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Brazil's first election in recent history without an electoral college occurred in 1989; Argentina in 1995. Did allowing the people to vote directly for president have any positive or negative economic consequences?

Or were they like -20c with no heating during cold days?

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I was recently reading Anchee Min's 'Empress Orchid' when I came across the punishment of removing the limbs of concubines and having her live in a vase. It was said to be especially reserved for unruly concubines of the emperor. One scene even involves the main character viewing a concubine who was a recipient of the said punishment, and was said to be only kept alive as a warning.

Did these type of punishment really occur? I've read of various punishments in Imperial China (such as whippings, ordered suicides and the thousand-slice death) but I've never come across this. Granted, my knowledge of Imperial China is sketchy at best.

PS. What other uncommon punishments were meted out in Imperial China for crimes?

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Haffner's last book 'From Hitler to Bismarck' is a very good read. This seems to at least partially be caused by the book having been dictated as he couldn't write himself anymore. Haffner seems to put a heavy emphasis on narrative, that makes me wonder how rigid he is in his claims, especially the most surprising ones.

a. He claims that the NSDAP leadership had hoped that more regular people would join in the pogroms on November 8th 1934. As it was, with mostly Party/SA members active, it was supposedly a failure. Haffner claims it lead to the Nazi leaders to tone down on Antisemtism and eventually even them choosing a more clandestine MO for the holocaust than they would have otherwise pursued. (Of course the legal situation of Jews got worse and worse throughout the 3rd Reich, but Haffner claims this didn't get as much fanfare as it would have otherwise.)

b. Haffner claims that Hitler tried to get Poland to let the German army through to the Soviet Union and that he tried to convince the UK and France to join in. He colors Hitler's attack on Poland, France, the UK etc. as largely the consequence of a diplomatic failure to enact this plan A.

So I've recently been reading through ancient historians such as Plutarch and Cassius Dio as well as more modern historians. However what I can't get my head around is why is Cleopatra a topic that people feel needs writing about.

Other than her affairs with Caesar and Mark Antony, what other reasons can there be... any explanations are helpful?